The number of speakers of English in Shakespeare’s time is estimated(估计) to have been about five million. Today it is estimated that some 260 million people speak it as a native language, mainly in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In addition to the standard varieties of English found in these areas, there are a great many regional and social varieties of the language as well as various levels of usage that are employed both in its spoken and written forms.

In fact, it is impossible to estimate the number of people in the world who have acquired an adequate(足够的) working knowledge of English in addition to their own languages. The purpose for English learning and the situations in which such learning takes place are so varied that it is difficult to explain and still more difficult to judge what forms an adequate working knowledge for each situation.

The main reason for the widespread demand for English is its present-day importance as a world language. Besides serving the indefinite needs of its native speakers, English is a language in which some of important works in science, technology, and other fields are being produced, and not always by native speakers. It is widely used for such purposes as meteorological and airport communications, international conferences, and the spread of information over the radio and television networks of many nations. It is a language of wider communication for a number of developing countries, especially former British colonies. Many of these countries have multilingual populations and need a language for internal communication in such matters as government, commerce, industry, law and education as well as for international communication and for entrance to the scientific and technological developments in the West.

1.What would be the best title for this passage?

2.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

3.According to the passage, what is the main reason for the widespread use of English?

4.What forms an adequate working knowledge of English?

5.What type of developing countries would be most likely to use English?

6.C。细节题。根据文章最后一段倒数第2句可推知此题

Many people who work in London prefer to live outside it, and to go in to their offices or schools every day by train, car or bus, even though this means they have to get up early in the morning and reach home late in the evening. 

One advantage of living outside London is that houses are cheaper. Even a small flat in London without a garden costs quite a lot to rent. With the same money, one can get a little house in the country with a garden of one’s own. 

Then, in the country one can rest from the noise and hurry of the town. Even though one has to get up earlier and spend more time in trains or buses, one can sleep better at night and during weekends and on summer evenings, one can enjoy the fresh, clean air of the country. If one likes gardens, one can spend one’s free time digging, planting, watering and doing the hundred and one other jobs which are needed in a garden. Then, when the flowers and vegetables come up, one has the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature. 

Some people, however, take no interest in country things: for them, happiness lies in the town, with its cinemas and theatres, beautiful shops and busy streets, dance-halls and restaurants. Such people would feel that their life was not worth living if they had to live it outside London. An occasional walk in one of the parks and a fortnight’s (two weeks) visit to the sea every summer is all the country they want: the rest they are quite prepared to leave to those who are glad to get away from London every night. 

1.Which of the following statements is NOT true? 

2.One can use the same money for ________ to buy a little house with a garden in the country.

3.When the flowers and vegetables in the garden come up, those _______ have the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature. 

4.People who think happiness lies in the town would feel that _______ if they had to live it outside London. 

5.The underlined word rest in the last paragraph refers to ________.

6.C。推断题。根据其上文：这些人偶尔去公园散散步后去海边度两周假；本句接着说：其余的就留给那些每天晚上喜欢离开伦敦的人，那么，“其余的”显然指“其余的乡村”。从而可推知题

II. 阅读理解（Reading comprehension）（共20小题；选择题5小题，每小题1分；非选择题15小题，每小题2分，计35分）

A) 选择题：阅读下面的短文，根据文意从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C 和D）中，选出能回答所提问题或完成所给句子的最佳选项。(Read the following passage which is followed by five questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the passage.)

Mexic Past and Present

Hundreds of years ago, Native-American tribes lived in Mexico. The Aztecs built beautiful cities. They had a calendar (历法) and a written  language. However, the Spanish destroyed the Aztecs in 1521. For the next 300 years, Spain ruled over Mexico. That's why Mexicans speak Spanish.

Every September 16 the Mexican people hold a celebration in Mexico City, their country's capital. It is their Independence Day. On that date in 1821 they told Spain they would no longer be ruled.

Breaking free from Spain caused a war. When it was over, the Mexicans had their own government. They made their own laws.

Today America and Mexico are friends, but it wasn't always that way. President James Polk wanted America to reach from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. He tried to buy what is now the American southwest from Mexico. Mexico would not sell. So from 1846 to 1848 Mexico and America fought a war to ascertain where their borders would be. When the war ended, Mexico had lost a lot of land. Now the Rio Grande River forms the border between the two nations. America is on the north side of the river. Mexico is on the south side.

Mexico has mountains and a hot, dry climate. Crops can grow on only a small part of the land. Still, Mexicans grow much of the coffee, oranges, and sugar used in the US. Mexicans have influenced building styles in southwestern US and added words such as patio and canton to American English. Americans also enjoy eating many Mexican foods like burritos, tacos, tortillas, and tamales.

46. According to the passage, what happened second on a historical timeline?

A. Mexicans declared their independence from Spain.

B. The Spanish ruled Mexico.

C. The Aztecs lived in Mexico.

D. Americans fought a war with Mexico.

47. The passage says that President Polk wanted ________.

A. the US to expand its borders to the Pacific Ocean

B. Mexico to change its Independence Day to July 4th

C. Mexico to become one of the states of the Union

D. Americans to adopt the Mexican language

48. Another word for the underlined word “ascertain” is ________.

A. inspect      B. discover     C. change      D. determine

49. Mexicans have the following influences on America EXCEPT ________.

A. building styles         B. vocabulary

C. clothes                 D. food

50. Before the Aztecs were conquered, these Native Americans probably ________.

A. didn't speak Spanish     

B. couldn't read or write any language

C. didn't have tools          

D. didn't understand the concept of time

最近的一项调査显示，我国每年餐桌上浪费的食物髙达2000亿元,相当于2亿多人一年的口粮.近日，英语周报以Join in the “Clean Your Plate” Campaign为题向中学生征文。请根据提示,用英语写一篇短文应征

内容要点：

　　1、浪费的原因：①点太多菜；②不好吃；③显示自己慷慨。

　　2、浪费的后果：①浪费钱；②浪费资源；③成为垃圾，污染环境。

3、你的看法和措施。

注意：

1． 词数100左右；

2． 可以适当增加细节，以使用文连贯；

3． 开头语已您写好，不讲总词数。

　　参考词汇：慷慨 generous  资源resource   剩菜leftovers

Join in the “Clean Your Plate” Campaign

A survey indicates each year China wastes 200 billion Yuan worth of food, which is enough to feed over 200 million people.

英语有许多关于笑的习语，如Laughter is the best medicine; All smiles; Life is a mirror. If you smile to it, it will smile to you.

请你以“Learn to Smile”为题，根据下面所列的内容要点写一篇英语短文。

1．学会对自己微笑：生活中会有不愉快的事；微笑使你自信。

2．学会对他人微笑：微笑使人与人更亲近。

3．微笑是一种语言：人人都能懂。

注意：1．可以适当增加细节，以连贯行文；

2．120词左右。