Newborns begin to develop language skills long before they begin speaking. And, compared to adults, they develop these skills more quickly. People have a hard time learning new languages as they grow older, but babies have the ability to learn any language easily.
For a long time, scientists have tried to explain how such young children can learn the complicated grammatical rules and sounds of a language. Now, researchers are getting a better idea of what’s happening in the brains of the tiniest language learners. This new information might help kids with learning problems as well as adults who want to learn new languages. It might even help scientists who are trying to design computers that can communicate like people do.
Most babies go “ma ma” by 6 months of age, and most children speak in full sentences by age 3. For many years, scientists have wondered how the brains of young children figure out how to communicate using language. With help from new technologies, scientists are now finding that babies begin life with the ability to learn any language. They get into contact with other people, listen to what they say and watch their movements very closely. That is why they quickly master the languages they hear most often.
Studies show that, up to about 6 months of age, babies can recognize all the sounds that make up all the languages in the world. Starting at around 6 months old a baby’s brain focuses on the most common sounds it hears. Then, children begin responding only to the sounds of the language they hear the most.
In a similar way older babies start recognizing the patterns that make up the rules of their native language. For example, English children who are about 18 months old start to figure out that words ending in “-ing” or “-ed” are usually verbs, and that verbs are action words.
1.The new research in the second paragraph can be helpful in _____.
A. finding successful language learners
B. teaching kids with learning problems
C. designing human-shaped computers
D. improving babies’ language ability
2.The researchers found out that babies learn a language mainly by _____.
A. repeating the words of other people
B. remembering the full sentences they hear
C. hearing and closely watching others speak
D. figuring out the meaning of different sounds
3.The purpose of the text is to _____.
A. discuss
B. educate
C. inform
D. entertain
My roommate Lily was well organized, while I was not. Each of her objects had its place, but mine always hid somewhere. She even labeled (贴标签) everything. I always looked for everything. Over time, Lily got neater and I got messier. She would push my dirty clothing over, and I would lay my books on her tidy desk. We both got tired of each other.
War broke out one evening. Lily came into the room. Soon, I heard her screaming. “Take your shoes away! Why under my bed!” Deafened, I saw my shoes flying at me. I jumped to my feet and started yelling. She yelled back louder.
The room was filled with anger. We could not have stayed together for a single minute but for a phone call. Lily answered it. From her end of the conversation, I could tell right away her grandma was seriously ill. When she hung up, she quickly crawled (爬) under her covers, sobbing. Obviously, that was something she should not go through alone. All of a sudden, a warm feeling of sympathy rose up in my heart.
Slowly, I collected the pencils, took back the books, made my bed, cleaned the socks and swept the floor, even on her side. I got so into my work that I even didn’t notice Lily had sat up. She was watching, her tears dried and her expression one of disbelief. Then, she reached out her hands to grasp mine. I looked up into her eyes. She smiled at me, “Thanks.”
Lily and I stayed roommates for the rest of the year. We didn’t always agree, but we learned 高一阅读理解My roommate Lily was well organized while I was the key to living together: giving in, cleaning up and holding on.
1.What made Lily so angry one evening?
A. She heard the author shouting loud.
B. She saw the author’s shoes beneath her bed.
C. She got the news that her grandma was ill.
D. She couldn’t find her books.
2.How is Paragraph 1 mainly developed?
A. By analyzing causes.
B. By following time order.
C. By showing differences.
D. By describing a process.
3.The author tidied up the room most probably because _______.
A. she wanted to show her care
B. she hated herself for being so messy
C. she was asked by Lily to do so
D. she was scared by Lily’s anger
4.What might be the best title for the story?
A. Hard Work Pays Off
B. Learning to Be Roommates
C. My Friend Lily
D. How to Be Organized
LONDON—Terror struck in the heart of London on Thursday as explosions ripped through three subway trains and blasted(炸开)the roof off a crowded red double-decker bus. At least 37 people were killed and more than 700 wounded in the deadliest attack on the city since the blitz(闪电战)in World War II.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair blamed Islamic extremists and said the bombings were designed to coincide with the opening in Scotland of a G-8 summit of the world’s most powerful leaders. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the bombings—which came the day after London won the bid to host the 2012 Olympics--- have the “hallmarks(特点)of an al-Qaida-related attack”.
Trapped passengers in the Underground railway threw themselves on the floor, some sobbing. As subway cars quickly filled with smoke, people used their umbrellas try to break the windows so that they could get air. Passengers emerged from the Underground covered with blood and soot(黑烟). On the street, in a light rain, buses ferried the wounded, and doctors used a hotel as a hospital.
“I didn’t hear anything, just a flash of light, people screaming, no thoughts of what it was. I just had to get out of the train,” said subway passenger Chris Randall, 28, who was hospitalized with cuts and burns to the face, the legs and hands.
“It was chaos(混乱),” said Gary Lewis, 32, evacuated(撤离)from a subway train at King’s Cross station. “The one haunting(萦绕)image was someone whose face was totally black( with soot) and pouring with blood.”
Police said there had been no warning and that the blasts at three subway stations went off within 26 minutes, starting at 8:51 a.m. in an Underground train just outside the financial district. Authorities initially blames a power failure but realized it was a terror attack after the bus bombing near the British Museum at 9:47 a.m.—less than an hour after the first explosion.
1.The best title of the news report is ________.
A. London wins the bid for 2012 Olympics
B. London terror bombings kill 37, wound 700
C. G-8 leaders vow victory against terrorism
D. Chaos in London following multiple explosions
2.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the news report?
A. How the British government reacted (反应)to the attack.
B. What poor results the attack could lead to.
C. Why the terrorists attacked London.
D. How the trapped subway passengers escaped.
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the news report?
A. These explosions were the deadliest attack on London in history.
B. Terror attack happened right after the closing of G-8 summit.
C. Explosions had terrible effects on the survivors of the attack.
D. The worst explosion was the one that happened at 8:51 a.m.
4.The underlined word “initially” in the last paragraph probably means “_______”.
A. at once
B. at first
C. at last
D. without doubt
假定你是刘明，刚刚以优异成绩从美国某大学毕业。你的的美国朋友Tony邀请你去他的公司工作，但是你想回国工作。请给Tony写一封邮件婉拒他的邀请。
内容要点包括：
1.报效祖国；
2.照顾父母；
3.发展空间大。
注意：1. 词数100左右。
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Tony,
Thanks for offering me a job in your company, but I have decided to go back to work in China.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Liu Ming
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词。
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Last week our class voted on how to do for you class outing: visit the Singapore Zoo and go to the Night Safari(夜间动物园). We girls wanted to go to the zoo, but since we are in minority, we lost to the boys, that all wanted the safari. We got the admission rate for the students, which was great since I still had not enough money to buy a brochure about the park as well as something at the souvenir shops. The safari was scary(吓人的)but real fun. As we took the ride across the park’s dark jungle, we could see the eyes of many creatures look at us. Most of the animal there sleep when there sunlight and wake up at night.
Julie was at a crossroads. She had just graduated from university 1.was ready to begin life as an independent adult. She had already received some great job 2.(offer) from several major companies and was very3.(excite)about the opportunities. While4.(clean) out her dormitory room on her last day at university, she 5.(receive) an unexpected phone call. The6.(call) greeted her in careful English and then introduced himself as representing 7.international association. He had met Julie a few weeks ago at a job fair(招聘会)and 8.(impress) with her spoken English. The only difficulty was 9.his company was in the country of Colombia. Julie was 10.(curiously)to find out more, so after talking with her parents that evening, she booked a flight to South America.
