Although the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have English as an official language, the United States does not have an official language. This is how it’s possible to become a US citizen without speaking English. Canada also has French as an official language, though it is mostly spoken in the province of Quebec. Because many of the English speakers who originally inhabited (居住) Canada came from the US, there is little difference in the American and Canadian dialects of English. Similarly, Australian and New Zealand English have few differences, except Australia was originally settled as a penal colony (流放地) and New Zealand was not.
British colonialism has spread English all over the world, and it still holds prestige (影响力) in South Africa, India, and Singapore, among other nations. In South Africa, English became an official language, along with Afrikaans and 9 African languages, in the 1996 constitution (宪法). However, only 3% of the country’s 30 million people are native English speakers. Twenty percent are descendants (后代) of Dutch farmers who speak Afrikaans, and the rest are native Africans.
India became independent from Britain in 1947, and the English language was supposed to be phased out (淘汰) by 1965. However, today English and Hindi are the official languages. Indian English is characterized (具有…的特征) by treating mass nouns as count nouns, frequent use of the “isn’t it?” tag, use of more compounds, and a different use of prepositions. In Singapore, Chinese, Malay and Indian languages have an effect on the form of English spoken. Everyone is taught English in the school system, but there are a few differences from British English as well. Mass nouns are treated as count nouns, “use to” means usually, and no articles (冠词) are used before occupations (职业).
1.Why can people become a US citizen without speaking English?
A.Different languages are spoken in the US.
B.The US doesn’t have an official language.
C.They can speak their own language there.
D.They can learn English there.
2.Compared with Australian English, the English spoken by New Zealanders .
A.is closer to American English B.is a kind of old English
C.is very similar in many ways D.is different from British English
3.What do we know about South Africa?
A.It has 11 different official languages.
B.English is its only official language.
C.20 percent of its people are native English speakers.
D.English is becoming less important there.
4.What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A.The Indians are poor with English grammar.
B.Singaporean English is similar to Indian English.
C.People in Singapore tend to misuse count nouns.
D.English is a required subject in Singaporean schools.
In ancient Greece, Socrates was a widely-recognized wise man. One day one fellow met the great philosopher and said, “Do you know what I just heard about your friend?”
“Hold on a minute,” Socrates replied. “Before telling me anything I’d like you to pass a little test. It’s called the Triple Filter Test.”. “Triple filter?”. “That’s right,” Socrates continued. “Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you’re going to say. That’s why I call it the triple filter test.
The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?” “No,” the man said, “actually I just heard about it and…”. “All right,” said Socrates. “So you don’t know if it’s true or not.
Now let’s try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?” . “No, on the contrary…”. “So,” Socrates continued, “you want to tell me something bad about him, but you’re not certain it’s true.
You may still pass the test though, because there’s one filter left: the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?” “No, not really.”
“Well,” concluded Socrates, “if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?”
Well we can always participate in loose talks to curb our boredom. But when it comes to your friends its not worth it. Always avoid talking behind the back about your near and dear friends.
1.Why did Socrates stop the fellow when he wanted to tell him about his friend?
A.Because he didn’t know the fellow.
B.Because he wanted to tell the fellow something first.
C.Because he knew the fellow wouldn’t tell him something useful.
D.Because he wanted the fellow to think twice before speaking.
2.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A.Socrates was a great philosopher in Ancient Greece.
B.The fellow wanted to tell Socrates something bad about his friend.
C.Socrates was curious to hear what the fellow wanted to tell him.
D.It’s not a good idea to gossip about our friends behind the back.
3.What does the underlined “curb” mean in the last paragraph?
A.increase B.describe
C.reduce D.hide
Four national parks worth the trip
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
New Mexico
In Carlsbad Caverns, there are more than 119 caves, including the main cave with the mile-long Big Room walk inside. The park is set along New Mexico’s quiet southern border. Make time to also explore the surrounding Chihuahuan Desert, home to the most diverse collection of cactus (仙人掌) species (物种) in the world’s deserts. In summer, visitors can watch half a million Brazilian free-tailed bats fill the evening skies.
Tel: 575-785-2232
Price:﹩10 per person; kids 15 and under, free
Channel Islands National Park
California
Just off the coast of Ventura, the five Pacific Channel Islands offer 160 miles of pristine (原始的) coastline. You can reach the islands by boat or plane. Once there, you can see gray whales, Risso’s dolphins and elephant seals while on a whale-watching tour, or search for the rare native species such as island foxes.
Tel: 805-658-5730
Price: free
Isle Royale National Park
Michigan
Isle Royale is a 570,000-acre island in the northwest of Michigan's Lake Superior. Each summer, visitors go there by ferry or seaplane to explore the island's 19th-century shipwrecks (沉船), learn about trout and whitefish or paddle the plentiful waterways by boat.
Tel: 906-482-0984
Price:﹩4 per person; kids 10 and under, free
Dry Tortugas National Park
Florida
Dry Tortugas — a remote island about 70 miles west of Key West and due north of Havana — is an ideal place for swimmers. In fact, the majority of the park’s 100 square miles are actually underwater. Visitors can take a boat, ferry or seaplane to Dry Tortugas, where they’ll discover shipwrecks, sea turtles and nearly 300 types of birds.
Tel: 305-242-7700
Price:﹩10 per person for seven days; kids 16 and under, free
1.How much should a couple with two little babies pay for Carlsbad Caverns National Park?
A.﹩40. B.﹩30.
C.﹩20. D.﹩10.
2.Which place is the best choice for someone fond of boating?
A.Florida. B.Michigan.
C.California. D.New Mexico.
3.Which park should a swimming lover visit?
A.Isle Royale National Park. B.Dry Tortugas National Park.
C.Channel Islands National Park. D.Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
假如你是李华，请你代表所在的红星中学写一封英文感谢信，致意奋战在抗击新型冠状病毒肺炎第一线的医护人员，要点如下:
1. 表达谢意；2. 感谢的原因；3. 表达信心。
注意:
1.词数80左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头语和结束语已为你写好，不计入词数。
Dear medical workers,
I am Li Hua from Hongxing Middle School.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
单词拼写
1.If the plan doesn’t meet with the manager’s a________, our work will be forced to stop.
2.The books in the library are well c________ so that it is easy to find a specific one.
3.U________, I had to give up my travel plan for the winter vacation due to the Covid-19 epidemic.
4.The new vaccine has saved a great many people’s lives and has proved b________ to everyone concerned.
5.This dish, which is t______ of local cookery, enjoys great popularity among tourists.
6.After weighing its strengths and w_______, John decided to take the position.
7.She accused the press photographers of v________ her privacy.
8.This house has long been a________, for there’s thick dust everywhere.
9.The hospital being c________ at present will be completed in two years.
10.Compared with buses, the underground which arrives at regular intervals is more p____.
阅读下面短文，在标有序号的空白处填入一个适当的词，或填入括号中单词的正确形式。
There is a gigantic study that’s been done in 38 cultures. 1.turns out that in every culture, both males and females desire their potential mates to be bright. But we don’t have our IQs 2. (print) on our forehead. How do we know that someone’s 3.(intelligence)? In Western cultures, at least, it’s often by the person’s sense of humor. Because creating and appreciating jokes both require us to make 4. (connect) between many separate pieces of information, 5. (have) a sense of humor shows that we possess a wide knowledge and 6. we know how to think about things in novel and creative ways.
Take a cartoon 7. example: a mouse is standing outside his house, having just pulled a gun on a cat, who pretends to give in by raising one paw (爪). “Six rounds. Nine lives. You do the math,” the cat says. In order to appreciate this joke, you need to know that mice are 8. (usual) the victims of cats, many guns have six bullets (子弹), and cats 9. (say) to have nine lives because of their ability to always land on their feet. You also need to be able to do some math 10. (understand) that the cat has the advantage in this scene after all.
