People always have communication with each other. In the past when they couldn't write, they used simple symbols to send their messages. Some groups of North American Indians were good at __________messages. For example, a small stone on top of a large one meant "This is the way." If there was another small stone on the right, it meant "Turn right." Some grass with a knot meant "Danger!" and so on.

In forests of Africa, it was __________to travel between villages. But drum could be heard from many kilometers away. So, some groups of Africans made their drums "__________" like people.

The Incas of South America used to send messages by tying knots with ropes. Messages have been found, but __________can understand what they mean. And the Egyptians used pictures as a kind of __________, but only a few people were __________ to understand them.

Today, we also use a lot of symbols. When we are in a car and we see a red light, we stop the car. When a mother says to her child, "Eat your cake!" the child eats the cake. Sometimes the red light and the words of the mother are symbols. And the __________ of course, is that the __________ way of communication between people is sound.

There are more than 3,000 languages in the world today. And about 13 of them are spoken by large groups of people. Languages of the world are both similar and different. They are similar because we can talk and write about the same things. They are different because we talk and write about these things with different __________.

There is no __________that we learn a second language in order to communicate with people who do not speak our language.

1.A.sending B.spreading C.publishing D.giving

2.A.difficult B.easy C.interesting D.boring

3.A.say B.speak C.tell D.whisper

4.A.anybody B.somebody C.everybody D.nobody

5.A.hearing B.thinking C.writing D.reading

6.A.learned B.taught C.made D.told

7.A.matter B.fact C.condition D.situation

8.A.important B.necessary C.basic D.first

9.A.symbols B.signs C.expressions D.words

10.A.doubt B.discussion C.chance D.choice

An old man went to live with his son, his daughter-in-law, and a four-year-old grandson. The old man's hands trembled(颤抖),his eyesight was very poor, and he couldn't walk steadily(平稳地).The family ate together nightly at the dinner table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating rather difficult. Rice often dropped on the floor.

The son and the daughter-in-law became angry with the old man,so they put a small table in the corner. There,the grandfather ate alone, while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner at the table. Since the grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was put in a wooden bowl.

The four-year-old son watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with a piece of wood on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?" The boy answered,"Oh,I am making a little bowl for you and mama to eat your food from when I grow up." The four-year-old son smiled and went back to work. The words struck the parents so that they were in silence. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken,both knew what must be done. That evening the man took his father's hand and gently led him back to the family table.

1.Why was the old man's food put in a wooden bowl?

A.Because the wooden bowl was light enough.

B.Because the old man had broken a few bowls.

C.Because there was only a wooden bowl left.

D.Because the son and the daughter-in-law became angry with the old man.

2.The underlined word "struck" in Paragraph 3 probably means ________ in Chinese.

A.使……生气 B.使……担心 C.使……害怕 D.使……震惊

3.Why did the man lead the old man back to the family table?

A.Because he realized his mistakes.

B.Because the old man didn't drop rice on the floor any more.

C.Because the old man's food was put in a wooden bowl.

D.Because a gentleman led him back to the family table.

Most people around the world are right-handed. This also seems to be true in history. In 1799, scientists studied works of art made at different times from 1500 BC to the 1950s. Most of the people shown in these works are right-handed, 'so the scientists guessed that right-handedness has always. been common through history. Today, only about 10% to 15% of the world's population is left-handed.

Why are there more right-handed people than left-handed ones? Scientists now know that a person's two hands each have their own jobs. For most people, the left hand is used to find things or hold things. The right hand is used to work with things. This is because of the different work of the two sides of the brain(大脑). The right side of the brain, which makes a person's hands and eyes work together, controls the left hand. The left side of the brain, which controls the right hand, is the centre for thinking and working out problems. These findings show that more artists should be left-handed, and studies have found that left-handedness is twice as common among artists as among people in other jobs.

No one really knows what makes a person become right-handed instead of left-handed.

Scientists have found that almost 40% of the people become left-handed because their main brain is damaged(损害) when they are born However, this doesn't happen to everyone, so scientists guess there must be another reason why people become left-handed. One idea is that people usually get right handed from their parents. If a person does not receive the gene(基因)for right-handedness, he/she may become either right-handed or left handed according to the chance(偶然性) and the people they work or live with.

Though right-handedness is more common than left-handedness, people no longer think left-handed people are strange or unusual. A long time ago, left-handed children were made to use their right hands like other children, but today they don't have to.

1.How many people in the world are left-handed now?

A.Less than one sixth B.More than a half.

C.About 40%. D.The passage doesn't tell us.

2.What is the left hand for most people used to do?

A.It's used to find or hold things.

B.It's used to work with things.

C.it's used to make a person's hands and eyes work together.

D.it's the centre for thinking and working our problems.

3.The best title for this passage is "_______"

A.Scientists' new inventions B.Left-handed people

C.Which hand D.Different brains, different hands

Duke Ellington is known as one of the most important composers of his time, and his work has been enjoyed for more than 80 years by music lovers all over the world. During his lifetime Ellington turned musical sounds into many compositions, mostly in the style known as jazz.

The Early Years

Duke Ellington was born in 1899 in Washington D.C. It wasn’t until Ellington was a teenager that his interest in music grew. He taught himself to play the piano by listening to local piano players. Sometime around 1916 Ellington began playing the piano at high school parties. Ellington realized that he enjoyed entertaining people with his music. He soon became a very popular musician playing at parties and other events in the Washington area. Young adults seemed especially to love the modern pieces he composed.

Success in New York

In 1923, when Ellington was almost 24 years old, he joined The Washingtonians, a five-piece group of musicians in Washington, and became the group’s leader in early 1924. In 1927 Ellington and his orchestra (管弦乐队) won an engagement (雇佣期) at Harlem’s famous Cotton Club. For the next three years, his orchestra played at the Cotton Club nearly every night.

The Influence of the Cotton Club

Working at the Cotton Club encouraged Ellington’s creativity. Since the shows changed every six months, he was challenged by the need to develop new material. He had to compose lots of music for the Cotton Club shows.

By 1928 the club began to cover the shows live on the radio. From the live shows, Ellington and his orchestra gained a national reputation (名声).

On the Road

As Ellington’s popularity increased, he realized that his orchestra could do well on concert tours. They left the Cotton Club in 1931 and toured America and Europe almost continually for the next 43 years. During his trip, Ellington made recordings and continued to compose music.

Duke Ellington played the piano, composed music, and led his famous orchestra for more than 50 years, until his death in 1974. Music lovers all over the world agree that his music will be enjoyed for many years to come.

1.What do we know about Ellington from the first two paragraphs?

A.He preferred young adults to elder audience.

B.He could sing as well as he played the piano.

C.He had a natural gift for composing music.

D.He learnt to play musical instruments from a very young age.

2.Which of the following can show us Ellington’s leadership ability?

A.Ellington was very popular at parties in the Washington area.

B.Ellington did live radio shows at the Cotton Club in Washington.

C.Ellington made the orchestra popular and successful for a long time.

D.Ellington continually developed new material and composed more music.

3.What can we infer (推断) from the passage?

A.Ellington loved traveling around the world.

B.Ellington could compose a large number of songs.

C.Ellington’s career became successful just in one night.

D.Ellington made a great difference to the world of music.

4.Which of the following shows the order in which the events happened in the passage?

a. Ellington joined a five-piece group of musicians in Washington.

b. Ellington’s orchestra played at the Cotton Club.

c. Ellington’s orchestra went on concert tours.

d. Ellington began playing the piano at high school parties.

A.d-a-b-c B.d-c-a-b C.a-d-b-c D.d-b-a-c

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