Languages will continue to diverge. Even if English were to become the universal language, it would still take many different forms. Indeed the same could happen to English as has happened to Chinese: a language of intellectuals which doesn’t vary hugely alongside a large number of variations used by local peoples.
We will continue to teach other languages in some form, and not just for reasons of practical use. Learning a language is good for your mental health; it forces you to understand another cultural and intellectual system. So I hope British education will develop a more rational approach to the foreign languages available to students in line with their political importance. Because so many people believe it is no longer important to know another language, I fear that time devoted to language teaching in schools may well continue to decline. But you can argue that learning another language well is more exhausting than, say, learning to play chess well—it involves sensitivity to a set of complicated rules, and also to context.
Technology will certainly make a difference to the use of foreign languages. Computers may, for instance, relieve the hard work that a vast translation represents. But no one who has seen a computer translation will think it can substitute for live knowledge of the different languages. A machine will always be behind the times. Still more important is the fact that no computer will ever get at the associations beyond the words associations that may not be expressed but which carry much of the meaning. In languages like Arabic that context is very important. Languages come with heavy cultural baggage too—in French or German if you miss the cultural references behind a word you’re very likely to be missing the meaning. It will be very hard to teach all that to computer.
All the predictions are that English will be spoken by a declining proportion of the world’s population in the 21st century. I don’t think foreign languages will really become less important, but they might be perceived to be— and that would in the end be — a very bad thing.
1.According to the text,we can infer that Chinese _______.
A.is a language full of cultural background
B.is narrowly used by local peoples
C.will be regarded as important as English
D.will soon become the universal language
2.Which of the following best describes the author’s opinion ?
A.Foreign languages should be taught for political importance.
B.Learning another language is just like learning to play chess well.
C.British education lacks a rational approach to the teaching of foreign languages.
D.Learning a language need to know a country’ cultural and intellectual system.
3.Why can the computer translation make a difference to the use of foreign languages?
A.It can replace for live knowledge of the different languages.
B.It can always keep the pace with the times in the translation.
C.It can reduce the hard work that a vast translation represents.
D.It can express the implied meaning beyond word associations.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A.Learning foreign languages is a challenging job.
B.Learning a language is good for your mental health.
C.Cultural background blocks the understanding of a language.
D.Computers play an important role in learning foreign languages.
In recent years, stressed-out urbanites have been seeking refuge in green spaces for the proven positive impacts on physical and mental health, but the benefits of “blue space” — the sea and coastline, but also rivers, lakes, canals, waterfalls, even fountains — are less well publicized, yet the science has been consistent for at least a decade: being by water is good for body and mind.
“Many of the processes are exactly the same as with green space — with some added benefits, ” says Dr Mathew White, a senior lecturer at the University of Exeter.White says there are three established pathways by which the presence of water is positively related to health and happiness. First, there are the beneficial environmental factors, such as less polluted air and more sunlight. Second, people who live by water tend to be more physically active. Third — and this is where blue space seems to have an edge over other natural environments — water has a psychologically restorative effect. When you are sailing, surfing or swimming, says White, “you’re really in tune with natural forces there.” By being forced to concentrate on the qualities of the environment, we access a cognitive state honed over millennia. Water is, quite literally, immersive.
Catherine Kelly is a wellness practitioner who teaches classes in “mindfulness by the sea”. She says the sea has a meditative quality.
“To go to the sea is synonymous with letting go, ” says Kelly. “It could be lying on a beach or somebody handing you a cocktail. For somebody else, it could be a wild, empty coast. But there is this really human sense of: ‘Oh, look, there’s the sea’ — and the shoulders drop.”
1.Why do people go to the “blue space” for a relaxation ?
A.To seek positive effect on body and mind.
B.To have a good swim in the blue sea.
C.To consider the beneficial environmental factors.
D.To tend to be more careful and active.
2.What is the second paragraph mainly about?
A.The characteristics of the beneficial and friendly environmental factors.
B.The classification of being by water is good for body and mind.
C.The importance of the beneficial and friendly environmental factors.
D.The causes of being by water are good for body and mind.
3.What does the underlined word “immersive” in paragraph 2 refer to?
A.Being interested. B.Being forced.
C.Being involved. D.Being moved.
4.What does Catherine Kelly find about “going to the sea” according to the text?
A.Trick of the lesson B.Secret of the happiness.
C.Sense of human beings D.Broadness of the sea
One special grandmother is lending 100 years of wisdom to strangers on New York City’s upper West side. Her office attracts many New Yorkers, who wait for a chat with the woman.
Inside the office, you will find a laptop with 100-year-old grandmother Eileen Wilkinson waiting to chat. She may live across the country in Washington State, but thanks to her grandson, Mike Matthews, who is a social professor at New York University, she is now sharing words of wisdom for a chat.
“You can be anything you want, ” Eileen said. “Don’t complain about anything. You can do something about it.”
Over the past three months, hundreds of people have stopped by, chatting with Eileen as if they were old friends. “She completely gets a kick out of meeting New Yorkers because they are so open about their lives, ” said Matthews.
A music student asked for advice on a performance. Others were curious about life in 1917.
One boy said he was already planning his next visit. “She is so wise and energetic,” he said. “And she really doesn't look 100 years old. She looks as if she was in her early late 80s.”
Eileen spent most of her life as a homemaker and mother. She said truly listening gave her advice-giving ability and she was honest.
Eileen hosts online chats and has two accounts of the social media. “It works both ways because I get great joy talking to them, ” she said. Eileen isn't slowing down any time soon, bringing new meaning to the saying, “The road to your grandma’s house is never long.” She said the secret to her long life was living a good life.
1.How does Eileen help strangers?
A.By chatting with them.
B.By working for them.
C.By lending money to them.
D.By giving speeches to them.
2.What do strangers think of Eileen?
A.She is a responsible mother.
B.She is good at performing.
C.She is full of energy and wisdom.
D.She is a woman of caring for education.
3.What will Eileen do in the future?
A.Set up online chats.
B.Make her life simple.
C.Bring new meaning to the saying.
D.Continue to share her wisdom.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A.Ways of Living a Good Life.
B.A Special 100-year-old Woman.
C.Helping the Strangers Is Interesting.
D.The Secret to a 100-year-old Woman’s Long Life.
Whether you're looking for antiques, food, collectors' items or just random junk, our rich heritage has produced some of the finest markets in the world. Here are 3 of them.
Edinburgh Farmers’ Market
Traders have long sold their goods in the shadow of the city’s spectacular castle, which dates back to 1130—－and it’s a tradition that shows no sign of abating. Edinburgh Farmers’ Market takes place on Castle Terrace every Saturday and attracts a huge crowd with its locally sourced goods. The market is now in its 15th year and champions the very best in Scottish produce, from knitwear to organic water buffalo and lobster.
Ford Airfield Market
Looking for an old-style prosthetic leg, a ventriloquist’s dummy, or even a suit of armour? The chances are you will find what you are after—and plenty of other random stuff—at one of the hundreds of stalls here. A market and two huge car-boot sales are held throughout the week all year round, come rain or shine.The market has been running for 25 years and is a well-known treasure trove for antiques experts looking for a bargain.
St George’s Market
Follow your nose along May Street in Belfast and the smells of delicious home-made food from across the globe will land you in St George’s Market. With three different weekly markets accompanied by fresh food and live music, St George’s was once voted the best in the UK. When Belfast became an important port in the 17th century, the range of goods grew and trading thrived.
1.What is special about Edinburgh Farmers’ Market?
A.It lasts a long time.
B.It provides local products.
C.It offers all kinds of food.
D.It attracts antiques experts.
2.When was the trading at St George’s Market booming?
A.It the year of 1130.
B.Fifteen years ago.
C.In the 17th century
D.Twenty-five years ago.
3.Where is this text most likely from ?
A.A diary. B.A novel.
C.A website. D.A magazine.
假如你是育才中学的学生李华，你从网上看到John在某英语俱乐部发布了一个帖子，邀请各国爱好英语的学生参加该俱乐部，以加强交流，提高英语水平。请你根据以下提示，用英语写封电子邮件，希望能参加该俱乐部，并交更多的朋友。
要点：1. 简单介绍自己（如：哪国人、爱好等）；
2. 参加该俱乐部的原因（交朋友、提高英语水平）；
3. 希望成为其中一员。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头已经给出，不计入总词数。
Dear John,
I’m glad to read the post on the Internet that you welcome students who like English.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
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。每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：在错的词下划一横线，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。
Now a hot topic is being discussed about whether old computers in our school should be replaced in new ones. With the rapid develop of science and technology, there is no doubt the old computers are totally out of the date. The headmaster as well as the teachers are not satisfied with the slow working speed of the computers. Therefore, all of us request to have a new computer so that their problems can be solved successful. What the school should consider is what to deal with the old computers wisely. Personal speaking, throwing them away to the place which they are regarded as rubbish is not a good idea.
