Question

Sometimes it is difficult to talk to taxi drivers. They must give all their attention to the road as they work out the shortest way to the place where you are going. However, passengers from Wangfujing were in surprise when they took a taxi. The driver just would not stop talking - in English.

Organized by the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy, “Dare to Speak” examines if Chinese people will speak English in “real-life” situations.

Matthew Knowles, an acting student from South Carolina at Beijing Film Academy, acted the part as the “driver”. He collected six passengers on Saturday morning, most of whom were female white-collar （白领）workers.

“Of course they were surprised at first, wondering why I’m driving a taxi, and wondering whether this is a real taxi, but then most of them were pretty willing to speak,” he said. Knowles said he was also surprised by his “passengers”. “Apart from my first ‘passenger’, who could speak very little English, all the rest spoke English very well, and it was fun to communicate with them,” he said, adding that some “passengers” were quite talkative.

The “foreign taxi driver” project was just one of the “Dare to Speak” activities, which have been going on since the end of October. Other projects included a foreign store owner near a high school in Beijing, a cook in a Shanghai university canteen. They were testing the willingness of Chinese people, especially students and white-collar workers, to speak to foreigners in English.

Rong Xin, senior manager of IELTS （雅思） with the British Embassy, said they hoped to let IELTS takers in China know that communication is the ultimate goal of IELTS.

“We hope that more and more IELTS takers in China can realize the importance of communicating in English in real life, instead of just getting high test scores,” she said.

1.Why did Matthew Knowles drive a taxi?

A．He took part in the project “Dear to speak”

B．He played the role of a taxi driver in a film.

C．He enjoyed chatting with people in English.

D．He wanted to improve his Chinese while driving.

2.The Chinese may meet and talk to _______ in “Dear to speak” projects.

A．a white-collar worker B．a foreign store owner

C．a restaurant manager D．a high school student

3.The underlined word ultimate is closest in meaning to ________.

A．most difficult B．most common

C．most famous D．most important

4.The purpose of the project “Dear to Speak” is to _______ .

A．attract more foreigners to start business in China

B．draw Chinese people’s attention to IELT

C．remind language learners of the goal of learning

D．give more chances for English learners in China

Answer 1

1.A

2.B

3.D

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：本文主要介绍了一个由英国驻华大使馆的文化与教育部门所开展的活动：敢于说英语。该活动的目的时告诉人们学语言的目的就是去交流。

1.Organized by the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy, “Dare to Speak” examines if Chinese people will speak English in “real-life” situations.

Matthew Knowles, an acting student from South Carolina at Beijing Film Academy, acted the part as the “driver”.可知Matthew 开出租车是因为他参与了这项活动，扮演司机这角色。故选择A。

2.细节理解题。根据第五段的Other projects included a foreign store owner near a high school in Beijing,可知在北京一所高中旁的一个外国老板也参与了，也就是说中国人也有可能和他交流。故选择B。

3.词义猜测题。根据最后一段的内容可知，学习语言的最终目的是为了交流。以及最后一段的the importance of communicating in English in real life可知这里所说的是交流的重要性，也就是说交流是重要的。故选择D。

4.主旨大意题。根据第二段的“Dare to Speak” examines if Chinese people will speak English in “real-life” situations.以及最后一段的呼应，可知该活动的目的时提醒语言学习者学习语言的目的是运用到生活中去。故选择C。

考点：考查说明文阅读