While watching the Olympics the other night, I came across an unbelievable sight. It was not a gold medal, or a world record broken, but a show of courage.

The event was swimming and started with only three men on the blocks. For one reason or another, two of them false started, so they were disqualified. That left only one to compete. It would have been difficult enough, not having anyone to race against, even though the time on the clock is important.

I watched the man dive off the block and knew right away that something was wrong. I’m not an expert swimmer, but I can tell a good dive from a poor one, and this was not exactly medal quality. When he resurfaced, it was evident that the man was not out for gold – his arms were waving in an attempt at freestyle. The crowd started to laugh. Clearly this man was not a medal competitor.

I listened to the crowd begin to laugh at this poor man who was clearly having a hard time. Finally he made his turn to start back. It was pitiful. He made a few desperate strokes and you could tell he was worn out.

But in those few awful strokes, the crowd had changed.

No longer were they laughing, but beginning to cheer. Some even began to stand and shout “Come on, you can do it!” and he did.

A clear minute past the average swimmer, this young man finally finished his race. The crowd went wild. You would have thought that he had won the gold, and he should have. Even though he recorded one of the slowest times in Olympic history, this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors.

Just a short year ago, he had never even swum, let alone race. His country had been invited to Sydney.

From the passage we can learn that the young man         .

      A．made his turn to start back pitifully         B．was skillful in freestyle in the game

       C．swam faster than the average swimmer      D．was not capable enough to win the medal

The crowd changed their attitudes because          .

       A．they felt sorry for the young man        B．they were moved by the young man’s courage

       C．they wanted to show their sympathy     D．they meant to please the young man

What’s the best title for the passage?

       A．Compete for Gold!        B．Try again!   C．Break a Record!   D．Go for it!

A

Pronouncing words of a language is a skill. Every normal person is expert in the skill of pronouncing their own language; but few people are ever skilled at pronouncing foreign languages. Now there are many reasons for this, some obvious, some perhaps not so obvious. But I suggest that the reason why people in general do not speak foreign languages much better than they do their own language is that they fail to grasp the true nature of the problem of learning to pronounce, and never set about solving it in the right way. Far too many people fail to realize that pronouncing a foreign language is a skill-one that needs careful training of a special kind, and one that cannot be gained by just leaving it to take care of itself. I think even teachers of language, while recognizing the importance of a good accent, tend to neglect(忽略), in their practical teaching, the branch of study which has something to do with speaking the language. So the first point I want to make is that English pronunciation must be taught. The teacher should be prepared to devote some of the lesson time to this, and by his whole attitude(态度)to the subject should get the student to feel that here is a matter worthy of receiving close attention, thus when other aspects(方面)of English, such as grammar or spelling, are allowed for the moment, to take second place, there is something else.

Except for the question of time given to pronunciation, there are two other requirements for the teacher: the first, knowledge; the second, technique.

1. Why don't people speak a foreign language better than they speak they native language?

A. Because they can't grasp the nature of the problem of learning to pronounce.

B. Because they think pronouncing a foreign language is a impossible.

C. Because they never solve the problem in any way.

D. Because they pay more attention to pronunciation than anything else.

2. What is the passage mainly about?

A. Grammar should be paid no attention to.

B. Pronunciation is the most important aspect in learning a foreign language.

C. Spelling should not be taught in class.

D. Knowledge and technique are unnecessary in learning a foreign language.

A

A higher reading rate, with no loss of comprehension, will help you in other subjects as well as in English, and the general principles apply to any language. Naturally, you will not read every book at the same speed. You would expect to read a newspaper, for example, much more rapidly than a physics or economics textbook-but you can raise your average reading speed over the whole range of materials you wish to cover so that the percentage gained will be the same whatever kind of reading you are concerned with.

The reading passages which follow are all of an average level of difficulty for your stage of instruction. They are all about five hundred words long. They are about topics of general interest which do not require a great deal of specialized knowledge. Thus they fall between the kind of reading you might find in your textbooks and the much less demanding kind you will find in a newspaper or light novel. If you read this kind of English, with understanding at four hundred words per minute, you might skim (浏览) through a newspaper at perhaps 650-700, while with a difficult textbook you might drop to two hundred or two hundred and fifty.

Perhaps you would like to know what reading speeds are common among native English-speaking university students and how those speeds can be improved. Tests in Minnesota, USA, for example, have shown that students without special training can read English of average difficulty, for example, Tolstoy's War and Peace in translation, at speeds of between 240 and 250 words per minute with about seventy percent comprehension. Students in Minnesota claim that after twelve half-hour lessons, once a week, the reading speed can be increased, with no loss of comprehension, to around five hundred words per minute.

According to the passage, the purpose of effective reading with higher speed is most likely to help you ________.

A. only in your reading of a physics textbook

B. improve your understanding of an economics textbook

C. not only in your language study but also in other subjects

D. choose the suitable materials to read

Which of the following does not describe the types of reading materials mentioned in the second paragraph?

A. Those beyond one's reading comprehension.

B. Those concerned with common knowledge.

C. Those without much demand for specialized knowledge.

D. Those with the length of about five hundred words.

The average speed of untrained native speakers in the University of Minnesota is ________.

A. about 300 words per minute

B. about 245 words per minute

C. about 650-700 words per minute

D. about 500 words per minute

According to the passage, how fast can you expect to read after you have attended twelve half-hour lessons in the University of Minnesota?

A. You can increase your reading speed by three times.

B. No real increase in reading speed can be achieved.

C. Yon can increase your reading speed by four times.

D. You can double your reading speed.

While I studied at school, I felt great difficulty in learning my Latin translations. I was always very 　36　in using a dictionary, and 　37　it most difficult, while to other boys it seemed no 　38　.

　　I formed an alliance(盟友) with a boy in the Sixth Grade. He was very clever and 　39　read Latin as easily as English. My friend for his part was almost as 　40　troubled by the English essays he had to write for the headmaster as I was 　41　these Latin words. We agreed together that he should 　42　me my Latin translations and that I should do his essays. The arrangement 　43　wonderfully. The headmaster seemed quite 　44　with my work, and I had more time to myself in the morning. On the other hand, once a week 　45　I had to compose the essays of my friend. For several months no difficulty 　46　, but once we were nearly caught out.

　　One afternoon, the headmaster 　47　my friend to discuss one essay with him in a lively spirit. “I was interested in this 　48　you make here. I think you might have gone further. Tell me 　49　you had in your mind.” The headmaster continued in this 　50　for some time to fear of my friend. However, the headmaster, not wishing to 　51　an occasion of praise into 　52　of fault-finding, finally 　53　him go. He came back to me like a man who had had a very narrow 　54　and I made up my mind to make every effort to study my 　55　.

A. quick　　　　 B. slow　　　　　 C. hard　　　　　　　 D. good

A. made 　　　　B. got 　　　　　  C. found 　　　　　　 D. left

A. trouble　　　　B. difference　　   C. labor 　　　　　　  D. worry

A. might　　　　　B. would 　　　　C. should　　　　　　  D. could

A. very 　　　　　B. little　　　　   C. much　　　　　　　D. few

A. for　　　　　　 B. by　　　　　　C. in　　　　　　　　 D. to

A. change　　　　　B. take　　　　　 C. forgive　　　　　  D. tell

A. worked　　　　　B. tried　　　　  C. happened　　　　　 D. developed

A. angry　　　　　　B. satisfied　　   C. frightened　　　　  D. sad

A. or so　　　　　　B. or else　　　   C. as usual　　　　　  D. as far

A. became 　　　　 B. seemed　　　　 C. lay　　　　　　　 D. appeared

A. called　　　　　　B. taught　　　　 C. arranged　　　　　 D. sent

A. aim　　　　　　　B. goal　　　　　 C. point　　　　　 　 D. opinion

A. why　　　　　　　B. how 　　　　　C. which　　　　　　 D. what

A. excitement 　　    B. way 　　　　　C. meaning 　　　　　D. disappointment

A. turn 　　　　　　 B. leave 　　　　 C. grow　　　　　　　D. become

A. none　　　　　　　B. one 　　　　　C. either　　　　　　 D. some

A. ordered　　　　　　B. asked 　　　　C. took　　　　　　　D. let

A. surprise 　　　　   B. escape　　　　C. hope　　　　　　　D. chance

A. reading　　　　　　B. writing 　　　 C. translations　　　   D. essays

A story from the Bible tells of old Babylon, where the men decided to build a tower that would touch the sky．But God was unhappy, and he made them speak different languages．They couldn’t understand each other, so their dream never came true．

Yet the dream remains alive: if all men speak the same language, they can do anything．L．L．Zamenhof from Poland was among the men who pursue this dream．He developed Esperanto（世界语）between 1877 and 1885．

As the most successful man-made world language, it is spoken by over two million people around the world．Last month, the World Esperanto Congress（大会）, dealing with language rights, ended in Sweden．The 2004 conference will be held in Beijing．Most Esperanto speakers are in Central and Eastern Europe and in East Asia, particularly Chinese mainland．

Esperanto has two advantages．First, it’s easy．Each letter has exactly one sound and there are just 16 basic grammar rules．The second advantage is that it belongs to no one country．But Esperanto has only reached a small number of people compared with natural languages widely used around the world-such as English or Chinese．While these languages are deeply connected with their nations and cultures, Esperanto doesn’t have this background．

Will Esperanto really become a global language? It remains a question．

The writer tells us a story at the beginning to          ．

           A．explain why men have been making the effort to create a language shared by all

              B．explain why men now speak different languages

              C．show the relationship between man and God

              D．prove that language is very important

What does the underlined word “pursue” in the second paragraph mean?

              A．“Realize”．     B．“Work for”．   C．“Be against”． D．“Follow”．

What is the basic difference between Esperanto and English?

              A．More people speak English than Esperanto．

              B．Esperanto words are easier to spell．

              C．Esperanto has fewer grammar rules．

              D．Esperanto is not supported by any country or culture．

What does the story mainly talk about?

              A．Advantages and disadvantages of Esperanto．

              B．Men’s dream of sharing the same language．

              C．The most successful planned language-Esperanto．

              D．Comparison of Esperanto and other languages like English and Chinese．