Speaking fast shows that we have a good command of English, thus is a good thing.

A.speak as fast as possible

B.speak aloud if possible

C.practice it constantly

D.practice with our classmates regularly

Of course, most people should be able to learn to speak English __8__ . But it takes a lot of practice, many years, _9_ fact. If the student can afford it, he might __10_ a vacation in an English speaking country.

1. A. and B. to C. for D. as

2. A. few B. little C. many D. much

3. A. spoken B. speak C. speaking D. speaks

4. A. remember B. forget C. take D. do

5 A. master B. study C. learn D. research

6. A. stop B. halt C. begin D. continue

7. A. will B. shall C. should D. may

8. A. fast B. slowly C. fluently D. quickly

9. A. as B. in C. at D. with

10. A. take B. took C. taken D. taking

Language is always changing. In a society where life continues year after year with few changes, the languages do not change either. The earliest known languages had difficult grammar but a small, limited vocabulary. Over the century, the grammar changed, and the vocabulary grew. For example, the English and Spanish people who came to America during the sixteenth century gave names to all the new plants and animals they found. In this way, hundreds of new words were introduced into English and Spanish vocabularies. Today life is changing very fast,and language is changing fast too.

There are several major language families in the world. Some scientists say there are nine main families, but other scientists divided them differently. The languages in each family are connected, and scientists think that they came from the same parent language. About 3% of the people in the world speak languages that are not in these major families.

1. The early language had many words and easy grammar.

A. T B. F

2. In the next few hundred years we can expect language to change a great deal.

A. T B. F

3. This article shows that language changes with changes in society.

A. T B. F

4. From this article we can know that language will become easier and easier.

A. T B. F

5. The first English and Spanish people arrived in America more than 400-500 years ago.

A. T B. F

He is incapable of saying, " I thought that last advertising campaign had a lot of good ideas in it, but perhaps next time we could give the copy more vitality(活力). " Instead, he would say, " That campaign was a disaster. A child of three could have done better !"

The fact that he is often right does not help. Other employees dislike his manner even more, but he is too insensitive to notice.

Another character among the list of ill-mannered employees is Sally, who seems to regard just being at work as a severe punishment. Everything is done unwillingly. Asking her to do a task beyond her basic job description is often not worth the trouble. It will be done, but only half-heartedly.

Fergus is just the opposite. He shows an over-familiarity to his boss. When an important visitor is shown into the manager's office, Fergus cannot take the hint and leave. Instead he will attempt to take part in the conversation, declaring, "You can talk in front of me. Henry and I don't have many secrets, do we？" Over the years Fergus has fallen behind his former equal. But he seeks to maintain the same close relationship that he imagines existed in their younger days.

Which of the following words describes Ted best？

A．Cold.

B．Tactless.

C．Stupid.

D．Warm-hearted.

After the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was founded in 1927, the particular style. of speech of the BBC announcers was recognized as Standard English or Received Pronunciation (RP) English.Now, most people still consider that the pronunciation and delivery of BBC announcers is the clearest and most understandable spoken English.

English has had a strong association with class and social status.However, since the Second World War there has been a considerable change of attitude towards speech snobbery, and hallmarks of class distinction such as styles of speech have been gradually discarded, especially by the younger generation.

As the need has arisen, new words have been invented or found from other languages and incorporated into English.Similarly, old words and expressions have been discarded as their usefulness has diminished or the fashions have passed.This also happens to styles and modes of speech which became fashionable at a particular time and in specific circumstances.

By the end of the 1960s it became apparent that it was not necessary to speak Standard English or even correct grammar to become popular, successful and rich.The fashionable speech of the day was no longer the prerogative of a privileged class but rather a defiant expression of class lessness.

The greatest single influence of the shaping of the English language in modern times is the American English.Over the last 25 years the English used by many people, particularly by those in the media, advertising and show business, has become more and more mid-Atlantic in style, delivery and accent.

In the 1970s, fashion favoured stressless pronunciation and a language full of jargon, slang and “in” words, much of it quite incomprehensible to the outside world.What is considered modern and fashionable in Britain today is often not the kind of English taught in schools and colleges.

1.Which one of the following is NOT true？

A.The use of the English language has not changed much in this century.

B.The BBS announcers speak Standard English.

C.English has no association with class and social status now.

D.Young people all speak English in the same way.

2.What does the author imply by saying “there has been a considerable change of attitude towards speech snobbery” (Para.3)？

A.People all speak English like BBC announcers.

B.There is a great change of attitude about how English should be spoken.

C.Some people still think their way of speaking is inferior.

D.Most people don’t believe their way of speaking is inferior.

3.According to the author, there was a trend in the U.S.for the young people _________.

A.to speak Standard English.

B.to speak English without class distinction

C.to speak English with class distinction

D.to speak English with grammar mistakes

4.The word “mid-Atlantic” in the passage (Para.6) probably means _________.

A.American and European

B.American and British

C.the Atlantic Ocean

D.in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean

5.It can be concluded from the passage that ________.

A.Standard English is taught in school and colleges

B.the young people are defiant because they refuse to speak standard English

C.English language is influenced by American English in the last 25 years

D.there has been a great change in the English language in this century

1.2 million Hispanics live in the Big Apple and one in five New Yorkers speaks Spanish at home. In the last ten years, the Hispanic population has grown by 400 000. This reflects the enormous increase in the Hispanic population in the States. There are now 42 million Hispanics resident in the USA, representing 15% of the total population.

There is a new language, SPANGLISH – a strange mixture of Spanish and English – which is invading the city. The New York Times recently said that it had become the city’s third official language. Its use is colloquial and often limited to short sentences and signs. Many New Yorkers now wear socketines on their feet, drop something on the carpeta, shop for grocerias and have cornfley (“cornflakes”) for breakfast.

Norma Rodríguez, a 45-year-old Cuban living in Washington Heights, says it forms a part of her life now: “Sometimes, you don’t realize that you’re mixing the two languages. You just hear them both all the time and find that you’re inventing new words.” Other people, however, are fighting against this new street language. Businessman Juan Cortés sees it as a sign that the Spanish language is being destroyed. “It’s difficult, but I try not to speak it – it feels vulgar to me.”

Meanwhile, a surprising number of academics have spoken in favour of Spanglish. José María Ruiz, from NY State University, even runs courses in Spanglish and has written a dictionary. “It is a dialogue between two languages and cultures. We have to accept that languages change and evolve. The only languages that never change are dead ones.”

1、The Spanish-speaking population has grown very fast recently.()

2、More people are interested in studying Spanish than before.()

3、Spanglish is mainly used in formal contexts.()

4、Norma Rodríguez doesn’t notice when she is speaking Spanglish.()

5、Juan Cortés doesn’t speak Spanglish because he feels stupid when he tries.()

The cohesiveness(内聚力)of a family seems to rely on members sharing certain routine practices and events. For a growing share of the American labor force, however, working shifts beyond the normal daylight hours—what we here call "shift work"—makes the lives of families difficult.

Existing research shows that both male and female shift workers express high levels of stress and a sense of conflict between the demands of work and family life. But shift work couples still maintain a traditional attitude to the meaning of marriage and the individual roles of husband and wife. They expressed a willingness to do "whatever it takes" to approximate their view of a proper marriage, including sacrificing sleep and doing conventional things at unconventional hours. For the majority of couples interviewed, even when wives worked outside their homes, a proper marriage is characterized by a very clear division of roles: husbands are "providers" whose major responsibility is to support the family; wives are "homemakers" who clean, cook, and care for husbands and children.

The women's definitions of a "good husband" are typified by the following wife's response:

I expect him to be a good provider, and be there when I need him, loyal about the same things as he would expect out of me, expect that I expect him to dominate over me. But in a manner of speaking, when it's time to be a man I expect him to stand up instead of sitting back expecting me to do everything.

To husbands, a good wife is someone who is:

Understanding of what I feel go through at work. I need that respect at work, I hope I get it at work, I want my wife to realize what I expect at work. I don't want her to give me a lot of shit when I come home from work because I don't know if this makes much sense.

These views seemed critical to maintain the families of the shift workers.

Despite______,shift work couples still hoped to maintain a stable life.

A．traditional beliefs about marriage

B．lack of control over time

C．a very clear division of roles

D．the demands of work

Some people try at home, with books and records or tapes; some use radio or television programmes; others go to evening classes.If they use the language only twice or three times a week, learning it will take a long time.A few people try to learn a language fast by studying for six or more hours a day.It is clearly easier to learn the language in the country

where it is spoken.However, most people cannot afford this, and for many it is not necessary.They need the language in order to do their work better.For example, scientists and doctors chiefly need to be able to read books and reports in the foreign language.Whether the language is learnt quickly or slowly, it is hard work.Machines and good books will help, but they cannot do the student's work for him.

36.The advertisements say it would be easy to().

A.speak your native language better

B.keep in mind any foreign language

C.learn a foreign language within several weeks

D.learn by heart a foreign language

37.Nowadays most people want to learn()according to the text.

A.about the country where a language is spoken

B.to speak a foreign language

C.to read essays in the foreign language

D.to write in the foreign language

38.Before the World War people usually learnt a foreign language in order to()

A.communicate with their foreign friends

B.read the foreign newspaper

C.read the literacy works of the country

D.work in that foreign country

39.If you only use the language twice or three times a week,().

A.it is easy to learn it well

B.it will take a long time to learn the foreign language

C.you will never learn the language well

D.perhaps you will learn harsh language

40.No matter how quickly or slowly you want to learn a foreign language, you need to ().

A.read books

B.read reports

C.visit the country

D.work hard

Some multimedia companies predict that, in a few years' time, production of newspapers and magazines will have been halved, for we will he turning to our computers to get the latest news. To publishers, this means the arrival of the e-book.

But is this the end of the book and the newspaper？ I doubt it. I do not think anything can replace the book. This is partly because, although some people believe that technology is capable of anything, it isn't yet! To begin with, the Internet is slow. Even though work is constantly being carried out to solve this problem, demand for the Internet is increasing too fast for scientists to keep up. What is more, it takes much longer for us to read on the computer. Research shows that we read 50% more quickly on paper than on a computer screen.

In addition, it seems that we like the feel of books and magazines-we like to put them in our bags or pockets and take them out on the bus or the train on the way to work. We like to sit and read in the park or on the beach. For many of us, the idea of Sunday morning without a cup of coffee and some newspapers is unimaginable.

We like to decorate our rooms with them, too .How many of us would exchange what we have now-a row of books in a bookcase, or a pile of magazines on the coffee table-for a row of little screens？

Nevertheless, by the time e-books have become as widely available as printed ones, it is likely that at least some of us will have changed our minds.

21 .According to some multimedia companies, production of newspapers and magazines .

A. will be reduced by half

B .has been reduced by half

C .will be increased by 50%

D .has been increased by 50%

22.According to the passage, people read .

A. as quickly on paper as on the computer

B .half as quickly on paper as on the computer

C .50% more quickly on the computer than on paper

D .50% more quickly on paper than on the computer

23 .The third paragraph is mainly related to .

A. technical problems

B.reading habits

C.functions of books

D.prices of books

24.How many reasons does the passage provide for books as against e-books？

A.2

B.3

C.4

D.5

25 .Judging by the passage, the author .

A.prefers books to e-books

B. likes e-books better than books

C. loves both books and e-books

D.welcomes the arrival of e-books