Language is a major problem for the European Union(EU).The agreement or treaty (条约) which created the organization that eventually became the EU, the Treaty of Rome,stated that each country’s language must be treated equally.The original six countries had only three languages between them:French, German and Dutch . However, there are now 15 countries in the EU, with a total of 12 languages. EU documents must be translated into all these languages,and at official meetings, the speeches must be translated into all the languages by interpreters.

    All this translating is very expensive and time consuming . It is said that nearly half of all employees of the EU are engaged in translating documents and speeches, and nearly half of the EU’s administrative (管理方面的) costs are spent on this task.In the near future it is probable that several more countries, most of them having their own languages, will join the EU, thus making the situation even worse.

    The problem is not just cost:there are practical difficulties as well. With 12 languages,there are 132 possible “translation situations” that might be needed.It is often difficult to find people in the right place at the right time who can translate from (for example) Danish into Greek, or Dutch into Portuguese, at a high professional standard.

    In practice, the problem has been made less severe by the use of English in many contacts between EU officials,since almost all of them speak some English. However, any action to reduce the number of official languages (perhaps to four or five) would be a blow to the pride of the smaller countries. Another commonly suggested solution is to make English the official language for all EU business. However, this is strongly resisted by powerful member countries like France and Germany.

What’s the main purpose of this passage?

    A.To give a solution to a problem.

    B.To find out a problem and show how severe it is

    C.To criticize the European Union for inefficiency.

    D.To show that the problem cannot be solved.

According to the writer,the use of English in contacts among EU officials has _________.

    A.angered the officials who don’t speak English

    B.increased the number of official languages

    C.reduced the effect of the problem

    D.been supported by powerful member countries

The writer mentions “Danish into Greek” as an example of ________.

    A.a situation that might be difficult to deal with

    B.a situation that occurs at times

    C.one of the 12 situations that requires an interpreter

    D.languages easily being interpreted

The writer suggests that if the number of official languages were reduced, ________

    A.the EU would not know which official languages to choose

B.countries whose languages were not used officially would be unhappy

    C.only easy languages would be used officially   

    D.the smaller member countries would be pleased

Hank Viscardi was born without legs. He had—not legs but stumps(残肢) that could be fitted with a kind of special boots, People stared at him with cruel interest. Children laughed at him and called him ‘Ape Man’ (猿人) because his arms practically dragged on the ground.

    Hank went to school like other boys. His grades were good and he needed only eight years to finish his schooling instead of the usual twelve. After graduating from school, he worked his way through college. He swept floors, waited on table, or worked in one of the college offices. During all this busy life, he had been moving around on his stumps. But one day the doctor told him even the stumps were not going to last much longer. He would soon have to use a wheel chair.

   Hank felt himself get cold all over. However, the doctor said there was a chance that he could be fitted with artificial legs(假腿). Finally a leg maker was found and the day came when Hank stood up before the mirror. For the first time he saw himself as he has always wanted to be—a full five feet eight inches tall. By this time he was already 26 years old.

    Hank had to learn to use his new legs. Again and again he marched the length of the room , and marched back again. There were times when he fell down on the floor, but he pulled himself up and went back to the endless marching. He went out on the street. He climbed stairs and learned to dance. He built a boat and learned to sail it.

    When World War II came , he talked the Red Cross into giving him a job. He took the regular training. He marched and drilled along with the other soldiers. Few knew that he was legless. This was the true story of Hank Viscardi, a man without legs.

1.Children laughed at Hank and called him ‘Ape Man’ because ______.

A. he didn’t talk to them

B. he kept away from them

C. his arms touched the ground when he moved

D. he couldn’t use his arms

2.It can be inferred from the story that five feet eight inches tall is ______.

A. an average height for a fully grown person

B. too tall for an average person

C. too short for an average person

D. none of the above

3.When Hank marched and drilled along with the other soldiers, he ______.

A. did everything the other soldiers did

B. did nothing the other soldiers did

C. did some of the things the other soldiers did

D. took some special training

4.The writer suggests that Hank Viscardi _______.

A. had no friends

B. never saw himself as different from others

C. was very shy

D. was too proud to accept help from others

 

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 the 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 first to use it were the Chinese in the 11th 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. In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by those in high office.

In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. And the umbrella was in commonly used in ancient Greece. But it is believed that the first persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the 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 as a symbol of power. By 1680, the umbrella appeared in France and later 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.

1.According to this passage, the umbrella was probably first invented in ancient_______.

A.China            B.Egypt             C.Greece           D.Rome

2.Which of the following statements is not true about the umbrella?

A.No one exactly knows who the inventor of the umbrella was

B.The umbrella was first invented to be used as protection against the sun.

C.The umbrella changed much in style in the eighteenth century

D.In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade.

3.A strange feature of the umbrella’s use is that it was used as__________.

A.protection against rain                   B.a symbol of honor and power

C.a shade against the sun                   D.women’s decoration

4.In Europe, the umbrella was first used against the rain_______________.

A.during the Middle Ages                   B.in Rome           C.by the 18th     D.in Greece

5.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

 

What will man be like in the future — in 5,000 or even 50,000 years from now? We can only make guesses, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today, for man is slowly changing all the time.

Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is relatively a short period of time, so we may suppose that man will continue to grow taller. Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain’s capacity(容量). As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and finally we shall need our brains more and more, and finally we shall need larger ones! This is likely to bring a physical change too: the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger.

Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over long period of time it is likely that man’s eyes will grow stronger.

On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life.

But what about hair? This will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald.

Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at! This may well be true. All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us. He will still be a human being, with thoughts and motions similar to our own.

1.The passage mainly tells us that __________.

A.Man’s life will be different in the future

B.Future man will look quite different from us

C.Man is growing taller and uglier as time passes

D.Man’s organs’ functions will change

2.What serves as the evidence that man is changing?

A.Man has got stronger eyes now than he ever had.

B.Man’s hair is getting thinner and thinner.

C.Man’s arms and legs have become lighter and weaker.

D.Man has been growing taller over the past 500 years.

3.The change in man’s size of the forehead is probably because __________.

A.he makes use of only 20% of the brain’s capacity

B.his brain has grown larger over the past centuries

C.he will use his brain more and more as time goes on

D.the other 80% of his brain will grow in due time

4.Which of the following is TRUE about a human being in the future?

A.He is hairless because hair is no longer useful.

B.He has smaller eyes and wears better glasses.

C.His fingers grow weaker because he doesn’t have to make use of them.

D.He thinks and feels in a different way.

5.It is implied that __________.

A.human beings will become less attractive in the future

B.body organs will become poorer if they are not used often

C.human beings hope for a change in the future life

D.future life is always predictable

 

I found out one time that doing a favor for someone could get you into a lot of trouble. I was in the eighth grade at the time, and we were having a final test. During the test, the girl sitting next to me whispered something, but I didn’t understand. So I leaned over her way and found out that she was trying to ask me if I had an extra pen. She showed me that hers was out of ink and would not write. I happened to have an extra one, so I took it out of my pocket and put it on her desk.

Later, after the test papers had been turned in, the teacher asked me to stay in the room when all the other students were dismissed. As soon as we were alone she began to talk to me about what it meant to grow up; she talked about how important it was to stand on your own two feet and be responsible (负责任) for your own acts. For a long time, she talked about honesty and emphasized the fact that when people do something dishonest, they are really cheating themselves. She made me promise that I would think seriously about all the things she had said, and then she told me I could leave. I walked out of the room wondering why she had chosen to talk to me about all those things.

Later on, I found out that she thought I had cheated on the test. When she saw me lean over to talk to the girl next to me, it looked as if I was copying answers from the girl’s test paper. I tried to explain about the pen, but all she could say was it seemed very very strange to her that I hadn’t talked of anything about the pen the day she talked to me right after the test. Even if I tried to explain that I was just doing the girl a favor by letting her use my pen, I am sure she continued to believe that I had cheated on the test.

1.The story took place exactly ____ .

A.in the teacher’s office

B.in an exam room

C.in the school

D.in the language lab

2.The girl wanted to borrow a pen, because ____ .

A.she had not brought a pen with her

B.she had lost her own on her way to school

C.there was something wrong with her pen

D.her own had been taken away by someone

3.The teacher saw all this, so she asked the boy ____ .

A.to go on writing his paper

B.to stop whispering

C.to leave the room immediately

D.to stay behind after the exam

4.The thing(s) emphasized in the teacher’s talk was (were) ____ .

A.honesty

B.sense of duty

C.seriousness

D.all of the above

5.The boy knew everything ____ .

A.the moment he was asked to stay behind

B.when the teacher started talking about honesty

C.only some time later

D.when he was walking out of the room

 

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