These courses are aimed at students who wish to improve their speaking, listening, reading and writing skills and are offered at the following levels：
BEGINNERS
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Studying one of the above courses will enable you to use English more confidently and competently(胜任地) on a daily basis．
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Speaking, Listening ＆Pronunciation
This course builds on communicative confidence and competence and is aimed at students who wish to develop the important skills of speaking and listening．
Emphasis is also placed on pronunciation, with activities designed to meet the needs of students of different nationalities, who need to focus on different areas．
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(1)
What’s the passage mainly about?
[ ]
A．
It’s about an English course．
B．
How to improve students’ English．
C．
Improve your speaking, listening, reading and writing skills．
D．
Tell us an online English course．
(2)
What will you probably be able to do after the course?
[ ]
A．
Use English as fluently as a native English speaker．
Several years ago, my parents, my wife, my son and I ate at one of those restaurants where the menu is written on a blackboard．After a wonderful dinner, the waiter set the check in the middle of the table．That’s when it happened：my father did not reach for the check．
Conversation continued．Finally I realized that I should pick up the check!After hundreds of restaurant meals with my parents, after a lifetime of thinking of my father as the one with dollars, it had all changed．I reached for the check, and my view of myself suddenly changed．I was an adult．I was no longer a kid．
Some people mark off(区分)their lives in years, I measure mine in small events．I didn’t become a young man at a particular age, like 16, but rather when a kid who wandered in the streets called me “mister．” These events in my life are called “milestones”(里程碑)
There have been other milestones．The cops(policemen)of my youth always seemed big, even huge, and of course they were older than I was．Then one day they were suddenly realized that all the football players in the game I was watching were younger than I was．They were just big kids．With that milestone gone was the dream that someday, maybe I, too, could be a football player．Without ever having reached the hill, I was over it．
I never thought that I would fall asleep in front of the TV set as my father did．Now it’s what I do best．I never thought that I would go to the beach and not swim, yet I spent all of August at the shore and never once went into the ocean．I never thought that I would appreciate opera, but now the combination of voice and orchestra attract me．I never thought that I would prefer to stay home in the evenings, but now I find myself passing up parties．I used to think that people who watched birds were strange, but this summer I fond myself watching them, and maybe I’ll get a book on the subject．I feel a strong desire for a religious belief that I never thought I’d want, feel close to my ancestors(祖先)long gone, and echo my father in arguments with my son．I still lose…
One day I bought a house．One day－what a day!–I became a father, and not too long after that I picked up the check for my own father．I thought then it was a milestone for me．One day, when I was a little older, I realized it was one for him, too, another milestone．
(1)
The tone established in the passage is one of ________．
[ ]
A．
sad regret
B．
amusement
C．
happiness
D．
deep feeling
(2)
The author mentions the event in the restaurant because ________．
[ ]
A．
that was one of his milestone
B．
he paid the bill but he didn’t want to
C．
he became a father with dollars
D．
that was the last restaurant meal with his parents
(3)
“Then they were suddenly neither．” Suggests that ________．
[ ]
A．
suddenly they became older than I was
B．
suddenly I knew that they was neither bigger nor older than I was
C．
suddenly I realized that I made mistake
D．
suddenly I found myself no longer a kid
(4)
Which of the following best expresses the author’s thinking?
[ ]
A．
One day is worth two tomorrow
B．
To save time is to length life
C．
When an opportunity is lost, it never comes back to you
D．
Time and tide wait for no man
阅读理解：
Our boat floated on, between walls of forest too thick to allow us a view of the land we were passing through, though we knew from the map that our river must from time to time be passing through chains of hills which crossed the jungle plains．Nowhere did we find a place where we could have landed：where the jungle did not actually spread right down into the river, banks of soft mud prevented us going ashore．In any case, what would we have sailed by landing?The country was full of snakes and other dangerous creatures, and the jungle was so thick that one would be able to advance only slowly, cutting one’s way with knives the whole way．So we stayed in the boat, hoping we reached the sea, a friendly fisherman would pick us up and take us to civilization．
We lived on fish, caught with home-made net of string(we had no hooks), and fruits and nuts we could pick up out of the water．As we had no fire, we had to eat everything, including the fish, raw I had never tasted raw fish before, and I must say I did not much enjoy the experience; perhaps sea fish which do not live in the mud are less tasteless．After eating my raw fish, I lay back and dreamed of such things as fried chicken and rice, and ice-cream．In the never-ending damp heat of the jungle, ice-cream was a particularly frequent dream．
As for water, there was a choice：we could drink the muddy river water, or die of thirst．We drank the water．Men who had just escaped what had appeared to be certain death lose all worries about such small things as diseases caused by dirty water．In fact, none of us suffered from any illness as a result．
One day we passed another village, but fortunately nobody saw us．We did not wish to risk being taken prisoners a second time：we might not be so lucky to escape in a stolen boat again．
(1)
What they could see in the boat was only ________．
[ ]
A．
high wall
B．
villagers from time to time
C．
vast land
D．
heavy woods
(2)
They couldn’t land because ________．
[ ]
A．
the mud on the shore was too soft
B．
the forest was too thick to let them go through
C．
they could not find the mark on the map
D．
they could not find anyone to lead them out of the forest
(3)
The passage infers that the forest was ________．
[ ]
A．
rich of fruits and animals to be served as food
B．
not very thick as they could advance slowly by cutting the branches
C．
full of various dangerous beings
D．
full of ancient trees
(4)
The most proper title for this passage might be ________．
[ ]
A．
Escape
B．
Scenes of a River
C．
How to Survive on a boat
D．
A New Experience
阅读理解：
Our boat floated on, between walls of forest too thick to allow us a view of the land we were passing through, though we knew from the map that our river must from time to time be passing through chains of hills which crossed the jungle plains．Nowhere did we find a place where we could have landed：where the jungle did not actually spread right down into the river, banks of soft mud prevented us going ashore．In any case, what would we have sailed by landing?The country was full of snakes and other dangerous creatures, and the jungle was so thick that one would be able to advance only slowly, cutting one’s way with knives the whole way．So we stayed in the boat, hoping we reached the sea, a friendly fisherman would pick us up and take us to civilization．
We lived on fish, caught with home-made net of string(we had no hooks), and fruits and nuts we could pick up out of the water．As we had no fire, we had to eat everything, including the fish, raw I had never tasted raw fish before, and I must say I did not much enjoy the experience; perhaps sea fish which do not live in the mud are less tasteless．After eating my raw fish, I lay back and dreamed of such things as fried chicken and rice, and ice-cream．In the never-ending damp heat of the jungle, ice-cream was a particularly frequent dream．
As for water, there was a choice：we could drink the muddy river water, or die of thirst．We drank the water．Men who had just escaped what had appeared to be certain death lose all worries about such small things as diseases caused by dirty water．In fact, none of us suffered from any illness as a result．
One day we passed another village, but fortunately nobody saw us．We did not wish to risk being taken prisoners a second time：we might not be so lucky to escape in a stolen boat again．
(1)
What they could see in the boat was only ________．
[ ]
A．
high wall
B．
villagers from time to time
C．
vast land
D．
heavy woods
(2)
They couldn’t land because ________．
[ ]
A．
the mud on the shore was too soft
B．
the forest was too thick to let them go through
C．
they could not find the mark on the map
D．
they could not find anyone to lead them out of the forest．
(3)
The passage infers that the forest was ________．
[ ]
A．
rich of fruits and animals to be served as food
B．
not very thick as they could advance slowly by cutting the branches
C．
full of various dangerous beings
D．
full of ancient trees
(4)
The most proper title for this passage might be ________．
[ ]
A．
Escape
B．
Scenes of a River
C．
How to Survive on a boat
D．
A New Experience
阅读理解。
I’m seventeen．I had worked as a box boy at a supermarket in Los Angeles．People came to the counter and you put things in their bags for them and carried things to their cars．It was hard work．
While working, you wear a plate with your name on it．I once met someone I knew years ago．I remembered his name and said, “Mr．Castle, how are you?” We talked about this and that．As he left, he said, “It was nice talking to you, Brett．” I felt great, he remembered me．Then I looked down at my name plate．Oh no．He didn’t remember me at all, he just read the name plate．I wish I had put “Irving” down on my name plate．If he’d have said, “Oh yes, Irving, how could I forget you?” I’d have been ready for him．There’s nothing personal here．
The manager and everyone else who were a step above the box boys often shouted orders．One of these was：You couldn’t accept tips．Okay, I’m outside and I put the bags in the car．For a lot of people, the natural reaction is to take a quarter and give it to me．I’d say, “I’m sorry, I can’t．” They’d get angry．When you give someone a tip, you’re sort of being polite．You take a quarter and you put it in their hands and you expect them to say, “Oh, thanks a lot．” When you say, “I’m sorry, I can’t,” they feel a little put down．They say, “No one will know．” And they put it in your pocket．You say, “I really can’t．” It gets to a point where you almost have to hurt a person physically to prevent him from tipping you．It was not in agreement with the store’s belief in being friendly．Accepting tips was a friendly thing and made the customer feel good．I just couldn’t understand the strangeness of some people’s ideas．One lady actually put it in my pocket, got in the car, and drove away．I would have had to throw the quarter at her or eaten it or something．
I had decided that one year was enough．Some people needed the job to stay alive and fed．I guess I had the means and could afford to hate it and give it up．
(1)
What can be the best title for this text?
[ ]
A．
How Hard Life is for Box Boys
B．
Getting along with Customers
C．
Why I Gave up My Job
D．
The Art of Taking Tips
(2)
From the second paragraph, we can infer that _________．
[ ]
A．
the writer didn’t like the impersonal part of his job
B．
with a name plate, people can easily start talking
C．
Mr．Castle mistook Irving for Brett
D．
Irving was the writer’s real name
(3)
The box boy refused to accept tips because _________．
[ ]
A．
customers only gave small tips
B．
some customers had strange ideas about tipping
C．
the store forbade the box boys to take tips
D．
he didn’t want to fight with the customers
(4)
The underlined phrase “put down” in the third paragraph probably means _________．
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