One topic is rarely mentioned in all the talk of improving standards in our schools: the almost complete failure of foreign-language teaching. As a French graduate who has taught for more than twenty-five years, I believe I have some idea of why the failure is so total.  21  the faults already found out in the education system as a whole — such as child-centred learning, the “discovery” method, and the low expectations by teachers of pupils — there have been several serious  22  which have a direct effect on language teaching.

The first is the removal from the curriculum (课程) of the thorough teaching of English  23 . Pupils now do not know a verb from a noun, the subject of a sentence from its object, or the difference between the past, present, or future.

Another important error is mixed-ability teaching, or teaching in ability groups so  24  that the most able groups are  25  and are bored while the least able are lost and  26  bored. Strangely enough, few head teachers seem to be in favour of mixed-ability school football teams.

Progress depends on memory, and pupils start to forget immediately they stop having 27  lessons. This is why many people who attended French lessons at school, even those who got good grades, have  28  it a few years later. Because they never need it, they do not practice it.

Most American schools have accepted what is inevitable and  29  modern languages, even Spanish, from the curriculum. Perhaps it is time for Britain to do the same, and stop  30  resources on a subject which few pupils want or need.

21. A. Due to                 B. In addition to       C. Instead of            D. In spite of

22. A. errors                  B. situations             C. systems               D. methods

23. A. vocabulary           B. culture                C. grammar             D. literature

24. A. wide                    B. similar                C. separate               D. unique

25. A. kept out               B. turned down        C. held back            D. left behind

26. A. surprisingly          B. individually         C. equally                D. hardly

27. A. extra                   B. traditional           C. basic                   D. regular

28. A. needed                 B. forgotten             C. practised             D. left

29. A. restored               B. absorbed             C. prohibited           D. withdrawn

30. A. wasting                B. focusing              C. exploiting            D. sharing

As a human being you may have the choice of three basic attitudes towards life. You may treat life with the philosophy (哲学) of the vegetable, in which case your life will include being born, eating, drinking, sleeping, marrying, growing old and dying.

The second basic attitude is to look at life as if it were a business. A great many so-called successful men and women believe that life is a business. If you believe so, your first question of life, naturally, is " What do I get out of it? " " How much is this worth to me?" In a word, based on this attitude, happi??ness becomes a matter of successful competition. The great ma??jority of human beings today look at life as if it were a busi??ness.

The third attitude toward life is the way of the artist. Here the basic philosophy is "What can I put into it?". They value cooperation and contribution. This point of view has been proved by history; for history remembers best those who have contributed most richly to the interests of their fellow-men. The more we investigate(调查),the more we become certain that the artistic attitude is the only one which goes with human happiness.

5. From the passage we know people who take the second life attitude ________.

A. are mostly businessmen                 B. think of getting the interests (利益) first

C. find their happiness from hard work              D. take competition as their whole life

6. People who are best remembered by history are probably

A. those living on vegetables       B. successful men

C. artists                                    D. businessmen

7. We may infer from this passage that ________.

A. some people are living only on vegetables

B. the artistic attitude is accepted by most people

C. the writer prefers the third life attitude

D. artists do most for the society in order to be remembered longer than others

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Driving to a store after a busy day at work, I saw a man standing near the store holding a sign that said, “will work for food.” I knew at that moment that I was going into the store and   36  him something to eat.

As I   37  the car park, I saw in my car mirror a lady come out from a hairdresser’s and  38   the man. I thought she must be going to give him some  39  or something to help him out. In the store I was   40  to get the things I needed and also the chicken dinner and a soda that I wanted to give the man outside. I hurried out to my car and   41  that I was going to be able to hopefully help this man.

When I drove out of the car park, I couldn’t see the  42  . As I turned the corner I saw the man sitting in a  43  area away from the hairdresser’s and still  44  up the sign. I immediately  45  over and gave the man the dinner and soda and said“  46  this will get you through today.” He looked at me and said “Thank you so much！”As I got back into my car, I looked in the  47  and saw the man swallowing the dinner as if he hadn’t eaten for days.

I was so  48  that I was able to help him and at the same time I was so sad that the woman from the hairdresser’s,   49  ,had asked the man to   50  from her shop. It’s sad to say that  51   I live in a small city where homeless is not as  52  as in larger cities, people are uncomfortable with these people in  53  . All they need to do is lend a helping hand  54   and it could make a huge  55   in their lives.

A. cook            B. buy              C. pay              D. serve

A. turned into        B. got over         C. called at            D. pointed out

A. interview       B. comfort          C. blame                D. approach

A. example        B. space                C. money                D. comfort

A. preparing      B. hurrying         C. hesitating           D. planning

A. explained       B. wondered         C. agreed               D. felt

A. man            B. food             C. lady                 D. sign

A. different      B. strange          C. famous           D. comfortable.

A. making          B. holding          C. taking               D. building

A. turned          B. thought          C. pulled               D. looked

A. Hopefully      B. Finally          C. Luckily          D. Naturally

A. store          B. mirror               C. square               D. crowd

A. popular            B. anxious          C. pleased          D. patient

A. immediately    B. obviously            C. carefully            D. nervously

A. stop           B. suffer               C. move             D. change

A. whether         B. because          C. though               D. unless

A. poor           B. visible              C. selfish             D. happy

A. danger          B. action               C. need             D. moment

A. at times            B. at the time          C. at one time          D. at a time

A. difference     B. mistake          C. decision         D. living

I was parked in front of the mall wiping off my car. Coming my way from across the parking lot was  1  society would consider a bum(无业游民). From the  2  of him, he had no car, no home, no clean clothes, and no money. He sat down in front of the bus stop but didn’t look like he could have enough money to even  3  the bus. “That’s a very pretty car,” he said. He was  4  but he had a(n)  5  of dignity around him. I said, “thanks,” and  6  wiping off my car. He sat there  7  as I worked. The  8  beg for money never came. As the silence between us widened something inside said, “ask him if he needs any help.” I was  9  that he would say “yes”. “Do you need any help?” I asked. He answered in three  10  but profound(深远的) words that I shall never  11 . “Don’t we all?” he said.

I had been feeling high, successful and important  12  those three words  13  me like a shotgun. Don’t we all? I needed help. Maybe not for bus fare or a place to sleep, but I needed help. I  14  my wallet and gave him not only enough for bus fare, but enough to get a warm meal and  15  for the day. Those three little words still ring  16 . No matter how much you have, no matter how much you have  17 , you need help too. No matter how  18  you have, no matter how  19  you are with problems, even without money or a place to sleep, you can  20  help.

1. A. that              B. what             C. which            D. how  

2. A. expressions       B. manners          C. looks            D. attitudes 

3. A. ride              B. buy              C. drive            D. stop    

4. A. generous          B. disappointed     C. modern           D. ragged 

5. A. air               B. atmosphere       C. appearance       D. figure 

6. A. finished          B. stopped          C. continued        D. began 

7. A. quietly           B. casually         C. aimlessly        D. eagerly 

8. A. intenting         B. expected         C. boring           D. supposed 

9. A. afraid            B. glad             C. doubtful         D. sure

10. A. simple           B. complex          C. strange          D. rigid 

11. A. accept           B. forget           C. respond          D. choose  

12. A. unless           B. after            C. until            D. when  

13. A. fightened        B. moved            C. wounded          D. hit  

14. A. reached in       B. searched for     C. looked up       D. exposed to 

15. A. shelter          B. clothes          C. reward           D. blanket 

16. A. nice             B. ridiculous      C. true             D. proper 

17. A. submitted        B. devoted          C. applied          D. accomplished

18. A. few              B. many             C. little           D. enough 

19. A. loaded           B. puzzled          C. angry            D. unsatisfied 

20. A. receive          B. give             C. need             D. seek   

Imagine you’re at a party full of strangers. You’re nervous. Who are these people? How do you start a conversation? Fortunately, you’ve got a thing that sends out energy at tiny chips in everyone’s name tag (标签). The chips send back name, job, hobbies, and the time available for meeting-whatever. Making new friends becomes simple.

This hasn’t quite happened in real life. But the world is already experiencing a revolution using RFID technology.

An RFID tag with a tiny chip can be fixed in a product, under your pet’s skin, even under your own skin. Passive RFID tags have no energy source-batteries because they do not need it. The energy comes from the reader, a scanning device, that sends out energy (for example, radio waves) that starts up the tag immediately.

Such a tag carries information specific to that object, and the data can be updated. Already, RFID technology is used for recognizing each car or truck on the road and it might appear in your passport. Doctors can put a tiny chip under the skin that will help locate and obtain a patient’s medical records. At a nightclub in Paris or in New York the same chip gets you into the VIP section and pays for the bill with the wave of an arm.

Take a step back: 10 or 12 years ago, you would have heard about the coming age of computing. One example always seemed to surface: Your refrigerator would know when you needed to buy more milk. The concept was that computer chips could be put everywhere and send information in a smart network that would make ordinary life simpler.

RFID tags are a small part of this phenomenon. “The world is going to be a loosely coupled set of individual small devices, connected wirelessly,” predicts Dr. J. Reich. Human right supporters are nervous about the possibilities of such technology. It goes too far tracking school kids through RFID tags, they say. We imagine a world in which a beer company could find out not only when you bought a beer but also when you drank it. And how many beers. Accompanied by how many biscuits.

When Marconi invented radio, he thought it would be used for ship-to-shore communication. Not for pop music. Who knows how RFID and related technologies will be used in the future. Here’s a wild guess: Not for buying milk.

The article is intended to           .

A. warn people of the possible risks in adopting RFID technology

B. explain the benefits brought about by RFID technology

C. convince people of the uses of RFID technology

D. predict the applications of RFID technology

We know from the passage that with the help of RFID tags, people           .

A. will have no trouble getting data about others

B. will have more energy for conversation

C. will have more time to make friends

D. won’t feel shy at parties any longer

Passive RFID tags chiefly consist of           .

A. scanning devices              B. radio waves              C. batteries            D. chips

Why are some people worried about RFID technology?

A. Because children will be tracked by strangers.

B. Because market competition will become more fierce.

C. Because their private lives will be greatly affected.

D. Because customers will be forced to buy more products.

The last paragraph implies that RFID technology           .

A. will not be used for such matters as buying milk

B. will be widely used, including for buying milk

C. will be limited to communication uses

D. will probably be used for pop music