Throughout history, people have been interested in knowing how languages first began, but no one knows exactly where or how this happened. However, we do know a lot about languages, the languages of today and also the languages of earlier times. There are probably about 3,000 languages in the world today. Chinese is the language with the most speakers. English, Russian and Spanish are also spoken by many millions of people. On the other hand, some languages in the world have less than one hundred speakers.

There are several important families of languages in the world. For example, most of the languages of Europe are in one large family called Indo-European. The original (最初的) language of this family was spoken about 4,500 years ago. Many of the present day languages of Europe and India are modern forms of the language of 4,500 yeas ago.

Languages are always changing. The English of today is very different from the English of 500 years ago. In time some even died out completely. About 1,000 years ago, English was a little-known relative of German spoken on one of the borders of Europe.

If a language has a large number of speakers or if it is very old, there may be differences in the way it is spoken in different areas. That is, the language may have several dialects. Chinese is a good example of dialect differences. Chinese has been spoken for thousands of years by many millions of speakers. The differences between the dialects of Chinese are so great that speakers of Chinese from some parts of China can’t understand speakers from other parts.

The first paragraph mainly tells us that ____ .

       A. most people in the world speak Chinese

       B. there are thousands of languages in the world today

       C. man has much knowledge about languages

       D. some people know several languages

According to the passage, most European and Indian languages ____ .

       A. will soon die out completely    B. were once a relative of English

       C. are no longer spoken        D. come from the same family

According to the passage, ____ has the most speakers.

       A. Chinese      B. English      C. Spanish      D. German

According to the passage, ____ seems to have changed a lot.

       A. German     B. English      C. Spanish     D. Chinese

The underlined word dialect in the last paragraph probably means ____ .

       A. a special language spoken by Chinese

       B. the sign used by the Chinese people in a special area

       C. the difference between the old and today’s Chinese

      D. the form of a language used in one part of the country

As a palace, the Tower of London.was a great place to live.As a prison, it, wasn’t so nice ——especially since so many prisoners lost their heads.Today tourists can explore 5the Tower in the
United Kingdom.Here are some reasons why the Tower was and still is a cool place.
Ravens(渡鸦) are like superheroes.
Well, sort of.Legend says if the ravens that live on the Tower grounds ever leave, the Tower will fall apart.No one knows when the ravens first showed up, but Charles II took the legend so seriously that in the 1670s he gave an official order that six ravens be kept there all the time.Today
there are still always six.
You might have lived at a zoo.
In 1204, King John kept a collection of animals, including lions and elephants.About 50 years later, King Henry III received a polar bear.the bear was kept on a piece of rope so it could fish from the Thames River that flows by the Tower.
If you lived at the Tower today, your mom or dad might be in charge.
The 35 Yeoman Warders(伦敦塔卫士)and their families are among the few still allowed to live at the Tower.Established in 1509 a;? bodyguards! for the king, today they give tours and  manage the day-to-day details of the Tower.They’re called "beefeaters," possibly because their job once allowed them to eat beef from the king’s; table.
You need a secret password at night.
Called the "Word," the password changes every 24 hours and is a must-have to enter the Tower
after hours.It’s written on a piece of paper and delivered to the Yeoman on duty for, the night.
You could find buried gold.
In 1662, a goldsmith(金匠) named John Barfcstead supposedly hid more than $40,000 worth of stolen gold somewhere on.the Tower grounds.Many have searched for the gold, but it has never
been found.
【小题1】Charles II decided to keep six ravens in the Tower probably because ____,.         ;

A.he loved animals a lot
B.he believed ravens helped protect the Tower
C.he wanted to train the ravens to watch the prisoners
D.he thought the Tower was a cool place for the ravens to live
【小题2】According to the passage, the Yeoman Warders ______. 
A.have to part from their families to work at the Tower
B.are currently working as bodyguards for the king
C.sometimes serve as tour guides
D.are fond of eating beef
【小题3】Which of the following is TRUE about the Tower of London?   
A.King Henry III kept lions and elephants in it.
B.It stands on the bank of the Thames River.
C.Nobody is allowed to enter it at night.
D.It is also used as a prison nowadays.

D
To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains.But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against rain.Its first use was as a shade against the sun.
Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times.Probably the Chinese were the earliest to use it in the eleventh century BC.We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade.And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honor and authority.In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by royalty or by those in high offices.
In Europe, the Greeks were the earliest to use the umbrella as a sunshade.And the umbrella was allowed in common use in ancient Greece.But it is believed that the earliest persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against rain were the ancient Romans.
During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared.Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century.And again, it was considered a symbol of power and authority.In around 1680, the umbrella appeared in France and later on in England.
By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe.Umbrellas have not changed much in style during all this time, though they have become  much lighter in weight.It wasn’t until the twentieth century that women’s umbrellas began to be made in a whole variety of colors.
【小题1】The first use of umbrella was as ______________.

A.protection against rainB.shade against the sun
C.a symbol of power and authorityD.a symbol of honor and authority
【小题2】In Europe, the umbrella was first used against rain ___________.
A.in GreeceB.in RomeC.in EnglandD.in France
【小题3】From the text, we can infer that _________.
A.the umbrella changed much in style in the eighteenth century.
B.no one knows why the umbrella was used in very ancient times.
C.once ordinary people had no right to use umbrellas.
D.during the Middle Ages the umbrella was common in Europe.
【小题4】This passage talks mainly about ____________.
A.when and how the umbrella was invented.
B.why the umbrella was so popular in Europe.
C.the development of the umbrella.
D.the history and use of the umbrella.

No one knows yet the accurate number of lives which have been lost in this terrible fire .But reports suggest that it is more than one hundred .
A wall of flames fifty feet high and at least one hundred and fifty miles wide is now racing towards the forests and rich farmlands of southern Victoria . Towns less than one hundred miles from Melbourne will be in danger unless the wind changes . People are rushing excitedly into the streets . The police have warned them not to see the fire but many people are doing so .
The cause of the fire is unknown . No rain has fallen in this part of Australia for three months , and the hot , north-west wind from the great central desert is blowing at more than thirty miles an hour .
The firefighters are travelling to the fire by road , rail and air . But it is not easy to get there . Flames and fallen trees have cut off or blocked roads and railway lines . The thick smoke often prevents them from finding the air strips (飞机跑道).
It is said that the fire has brought the greater danger to the country since the Second World War .
【小题1】By the time the article was written , the fire        .

A.had just broken out B.had been put out
C.was spreading violentlyD.was coming to an end
【小题2】The writer wrote this article mainly to tell people        .
A.the fire was terrible and dangerous
B.it was impossible to put out the fire
C.more than one hundred people died of the fire
D.to join in the fight against the fire
【小题3】In the 4th paragraph , the writer suggested that        .
A.the fire would soon be controlled by the firefighters
B.it would be very difficult to put out the fire
C.the government was paying great attention to the fire
D.the fire had caused great losses and the airport was in ganger
【小题4】The underlined word “ accurate” in the first sentence has the same meaning as        .
A.recent B.whole C.rough D.exact

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网