Two traveling angels(天使) stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the guest room. Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied: “Things aren’t always what they seem.”
The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor but very hospitable(好客的) farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had, the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night’s rest. When the sun came up the next morning, the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their only income, lay dead in the field.
The younger angel was very angry and asked the older angel, “How could this happen?” Why did you not watch out for the cow? The first man had everything, yet you watched over his house,” she accused. “The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you did not help.”
“Things aren’t always what they seem,” the older angel replied. “When we stayed in the basement, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so greedy and unwilling to share his good fortune, I asked God if I could seal(封口) the wall so he couldn’t find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I asked God if the angel could take the cow instead. Things aren’t always what they seem.”

1. 1.

   Why did the older angel repair the hole for the rich family?

   1. A.
      Because she didn’t like the greedy owner.
   2. B.
      Because she wanted to save the gold for the poor.
   3. C.
      Because the basement was too cold to stay in.
   4. D.
      Because she believed that one should always be ready to offer help.
2. 2.

   In paragraph two, “the pair” refers to_____________.

   1. A.
      The poor couple
   2. B.
      the rich couple
   3. C.
      the guests
   4. D.
      the angels
3. 3.

   The story tries to tell the reader that_________________.

   1. A.
      angels are always ready to help the poor
   2. B.
      sometimes things are not what they seem
   3. C.
      angels are always ready to help the rich
   4. D.
      the young should always learn from the old.

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 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．

A teddy bear from Cumbria is launching into space to raise cash for charity(慈善).

Terence, an experienced traveller who has been to Iraq, will be the guest of honour on aviation(航行) legend Burt Rutan’s Spaceship One when it flies above Earth. The mission takes off from California on September 29, and on his return the cuddly toy will be auctioned off(拍卖) in aid of the North Air Ambulance Appeal(北部空中救护服务中心).

Spaceship One is the world’s first private spacecraft, and is competing for a prestigious space travel prize. Chief executive of the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS), Graham Pickering, said “flying officer” Terence had been handed over to the RAF six months ago and staff had been receiving postcards from him ever since.

He said, “Terence was a fundraising idea that really took off. We have received pictures of him in a U2 craft, trying parachuting and even looking drunk and disorderly. When the RAF finally discharge him he will be a very rare bear indeed—we just hope he does not burn up on re-entry to Earth.”

GNAAS, which needs charitable donations of more than ￡2m a year, has three air ambulances(空中救护机).

Peter Bond, spokesman for the Royal Astronomical Society, said Terence’s safety was not guaranteed. He said, “This is a new and experimental craft and this will only be the second time it has flown. During its first voyage it developed technical problems but hopefully they have now been resolved.”

Since May, Terence has spent time with members of 100 Squadron(空军中队) based at RAF Leeming in Basra, Iraq, and at air shows with performing fighter planes.

Spaceship One will fly 100km (62 miles) above the Earth’s surface, just breaking through the planet’s atmosphere.

If it repeats the feat(技艺) inside two weeks, it will claim the $10m Ansari X-Prize set up to encourage the private space flight business.

Terence is ________.

A. a real bear living in England           B. an experienced astronaut

C. an air force officer                         D. a toy bear

We can infer that________.

A. after this space flight, Spaceship One will get the $10m Ansari X-Prize

B. it is dangerous for a spaceship to re-enter the earth atmosphere

C. Terence will be very safe on the flight

D. Spaceship One is just an ordinary plane

Which of the following is true of Spaceship One?

A. Spaceship One is the world’s first spacecraft.

B. The purpose of its flight is to collect money for the charity.

C. The purpose of its flight is to compete for a prestigious space travel prize.

D. Spaceship One has never flown.

Which of the following is the best title?

A. Teddy bear astronaut to lift off        B. Spaceship One to lift off

C. Space flight                                 D. The toy bear will be auctioned off

A newly-published study has shown that loneliness can spread from one person to another, like a disease.

Researchers used information from the Framingham Study, which began in 1948. The Framingham Study gathers information about physical and mental health, personal behavior and diet. At first, the study involved about 5,000 people in the American state of Massachusetts. Now, more than 12,000 individuals are taking part.

Information from the Framingham Study showed earlier that happiness can spread from person to person. So can behaviors like littering and the ability to stop smoking.

University of Chicago psychologist John Cacioppo led the recent study. He and other researchers attempted to show how often people felt lonely. They found that the feeling of loneliness spread through social groups.

Having a social connection with a lonely person increased the chances that another individual would feel lonely. In fact, a friend of a lonely person was 52% more likely to develop feelings of loneliness. A friend of that person was 25% more likely. The researchers say this shows that a person could indirectly be affected by someone’s loneliness.

The effect was strongest among friends. Neighbors were the second most affected group. The effect was weaker on husbands and wives, and brothers and sisters. The researchers also found that loneliness spread more easily among women than men.

The New York Times newspaper reports that, on average, people experience feelings of loneliness about 48 days a year. It also found that every additional friend can decrease loneliness by about five percent, or two and a half fewer lonely days.

Loneliness has been linked to health problems like depression and sleeping difficulties. The researchers believe that knowing the causes of loneliness could help in reducing it.

The study suggests that people can take steps to stop the spread of loneliness. They can do this by helping individuals they know who may be experiencing loneliness. The result can be helpful to the whole social group.

What is true about the Framingham Study?

A. It was only conducted in 1948.        B. It involves more than 12,000 participants.

C. It was led by John Cacioppo          D. It showed that any behavior could spread.

From the passage, we can learn that            .

A. the habit of littering doesn’t spread

B. a lonely person won’t have friends

C. everyone may be affected by others’ loneliness

D. lonely people don’t know the cause of their loneliness

Which statement about the spread of loneliness is true?

A. The spreading effect was the second strongest among friends.

B. No spreading effect was found on husbands and wives.

C. Women are more likely to be affected than men.

D. Brothers are more easily affected than neighbors.

If you make 10 more friends in a year, the days of your feeling loneliness will be reduced by            .

A. 48 days          B. 25 days      C. 20 days      D. 15 days

What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Actions should be taken to help lonely people.  B. People feel lonely for many reasons.

C. Ways to fight against loneliness.             D. Lonely people can affect others.