题目内容
_____ to ten years in prison, the man lost all hope.
A. Be sentenced B. Sentencing C. To sentence D. Having been sentenced.
D
Here is some news of the future.
March 20, 2035
There was a lot of news around the life extension drugs that hit the market a decade ago. They didn't promise that you would like forever, but they gave you a chance to extend your life an extra five to ten years. Even though the life expectancy rate at birth has increased greatly, the life expectancy for seniors hasn't improved that much. Basically, you have a greater chance to become a senior, but you will not have a much longer lifespan, and this is where the anti-aging drugs intend to kick in. So, do the anti-aging drugs work? Well，it is too early to tell. But the sales so far are very good.
April 19, 2035
Of the total US population of 378 million, people over 65 years of age now make up 20% for the first time. The senior ratio of only 4.1% by year 1900, and 12.4% 30 years ago.
The number of people above 65 compared to those of what is considered working ages, between 15 and 64, is currently 33.7%. This is up from 18.5% since year 2005, which means that for every retired person there are now two workers, compared to four workers 30 years ago. The number of people above the age of 80 has grown to 23.8 million, making them 6.3% of the total population compared to 3.6% in 2005.
April 12, 2040
Although introduced in the market only five years ago, 10% of all hydrogen fuel now sold in the US is of the environmentally friendly Re-Hydro label, produced through eletrolysis(电解) based on a source of 100% renewable energy. Several producers have turned to producing Re-Hydro, mainly because of lower tax, which also keeps the price of Re-Hydro on the same level as regular hydrogen. Most analysts believe that Re-Hydro will be the dominating fuel in the future.
【小题1】According to News 1 we know that the life extension drugs ____.
| A．were first sold in the year 2025. |
| B．are made to make people live forever. |
| C．should be taken when people are young. |
| D．have greatly increased the life expectancy rate at birth. |
| A．people have no faith in them |
| B．people want to give them a try |
| C．they work very well for seniors |
| D．they have no effect on people’s health |
| A．Many Americans will find it hard to find a job. |
| B．It’s very hard for seniors to pass the age of 80. |
| C．The US population has been increasing rapidly since 2005. |
| D．The US population has been aging rapidly since 2005. |
| A．expensive | B．cheap | C．green | D．dangerous |
| A．Re-Hydro will be widely used in the future. |
| B．The government discourages the production of Re-Hydro. |
| C．Producers are not interested in producing Re-Hydro. |
| D．Re-Hydro is more expensive than regular hydrogen. |
According to US research, it can take up to ten years to become a near-native English speaker. Asian and Spanish students took between five and ten years to reach native speaker performance in English-only schools. Fluency obviously doesn’t happen overnight. But time can definitely make you a better speaker.
After testing his own memory, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered that humans forget most of what they learn in the first 20 minutes.
So cramming right before a speaking exam is not likely to be as effective as practicing regularly over time. The more you practice, the more familiar new words will become. In the classroom, studies have also shown that repeating oral tasks improves a speaker’s performance.
One of the best repetition exercises is the 4/3/2 technique. Speakers give the same talk to three different listeners with a progressive decrease in delivery time, starting at four minutes, then three, and finally two minutes. This exercise has been proven to help learners speak faster. It can also result in less hesitation and more grammatical accuracy. While time dose make a difference when it comes to speaking perfect English, it would not hurt to brush up on your other language skills.
Studies have also shown that reading can increase your speaking vocabulary. After one month of an extensive reading program, a 27-year-old student of French became more familiar with 65 percent of the new words.
Aside from choosing the right learning methods, having certain personality traits may also help. US linguistics expert Stephen Krashen believes those with high motivation, self-confidence and a low level of anxiety are better equipped for speaking success.
Krashen says students who don’t have these qualities are more likely to have a “mental block”. “Even if they understand the message, the input will not reach the part of the brain responsible for language acquisition,” he writes in his book Principles and Practice in second Language Acquisition.
【小题1】According to the passage, if you want to be a near-native speaker, you need _____.
| A．long-term speaking practice and much reading |
| B．speaking practice for ten years only |
| C．long-term speaking practice, much reading and certain qualities |
| D．cramming new words every day |
| A．you should speak to 3 different people |
| B．you should speak to 3 different people at 3 different times |
| C．it can prevent you from making grammar mistakes |
| D．it is really a good way to make you a better speaker |
| A．reading can enlarge your vocabulary for your speaking |
| B．reading can make you memorize just 65 percent of the new words |
| C．the 27-year-old student of French is very clever |
| D．in one month, you can improve your speaking ability |
| A．languages | B．spoken language |
| C．scientific research | D．teaching English |
Americans like to travel on their yearly holiday. Today, more and more travelers in the United States are spending nights at small house or inns(客栈)instead of hotels. They get a room for the night and the breakfast the next morning.
Rooms for the night in private(私人的)homes with breakfast have been popular with travelers in Europe for many years. In the past five to ten years, these bed-and-breakfast places have become popular in the United States. Many of these America’s bed-and-breakfast inns have only a few rooms; others are much larger. Some inns do not provide telephones or televisions in the rooms, others do.
Staying at a bed-and-breakfast inn is much different from staying at a hotel. Usually the cost is much less. Staying at an inn is almost like visiting someone’s home. The owners are glad to tell about the areas and the interesting places to visit. Many vacationers say that they enjoy the chance to meet local families.
【小题1】Americans take a holiday trip _________.
| A．all the year round | B．for years | C．every year | D．every other year |
| A．Some Americans like to stay at bed-and-breakfast homes instead of at hotels. |
| B．The bed-and-breakfast inns are private homes open to vacationers. |
| C．The bed-and-breakfast inn owners provide a morning meal for their visitors and a room for the night. |
| D．The bed-and-breakfast inns have been popular in America for a long time. |
| A．the travelers needn’t pay anything |
| B．the travelers don’t have to pay for the telephone or television |
| C．the travelers can meet and talk with the local people |
| D．the owners will show the travelers around the area |