What is language for? Some people seem to think it’s for practicing grammar rules and learning lists of words — the longer the lists, the better. That’s wrong. Language is for the exchange (交流) of ideas and information. It’s meaningless knowing all about a language if you can’t use it freely. Many students I have met know hundreds of grammar rules, but they can ’t speak correctly or fluently(流利地). They are afraid of making mistakes. One shouldn’t be afraid of making mistakes when speaking a foreign language. Native speakers make mistakes and break rules, too. Bernard Shaw once wrote, “Foreigners often speak English too correctly.” But the mistakes that native speakers make are different from those that Chinese students make. They are English mistakes in the English language. And if enough native speakers break a rule, it is no longer a rule. What used to be wrong becomes right. People not only make history, but they make language. But people can only make its own language. It can’t make another people’s language. So Chinese students of English should pay attention to grammar, but they shouldn’t overdo it. They should put communication first.

1.Language is used to ________.

   A. express oneself                      B. practice grammar rules

   C. talk with foreigners only               D. learn lists of words

2. Generally, when an American or an Englishman speaks English, he ______.

   A. never makes mistakes                   B. often makes mistakes

   C. can’t avoid（避免）making mistakes      D. always makes mistakes

3.“Foreigners often speak English too correctly.” The sentence means that ______.

A. foreigners speak correct English.

B. foreigners speak incorrect English.

C. foreigners speak English according to the grammar rules.

D. foreigners never make mistakes when they speak English.

4.If too many native speakers break a rule, ______.

 A. what they will become right             B. they are against the law

 C. they should say sorry to others           D. they will become heroes

5.When we speak a foreign language, we should _____.

 A. speak in Chinese way                  B. speak by the rules

 C. speak to native speakers                D. not be afraid of making mistakes

                            B

　　What is language for? Some people seem to think it's for practicing grammar rules and learning lists of words—the longer the lists，the better. That's wrong. Language is for the exchange（交流）of ideas and information. It's meaningless knowing all about a language if you can't use it freely. Many students I have met know hundreds of grammar rules, but they can't speak correctly or fluently. They are afraid of making mistakes. One shouldn't be afraid of making mistakes when speaking a foreign language. Native speakers make mistakes and break rules, too. Bernard saw once wrote, "Foreigners often speak English too correctly." But the mistakes that native speakers make are different from those that Chinese students make. They're English mistakes in the English language. And if enough native speakers break a rule, it is no longer a rule. What used to be wrong becomes right. People not only make history, they make language. But a people can only make its own language. It can't make another people's language. So Chinese students of English should pay attention to grammar, but they shouldn't overdo（做过头）it. They should put communication first.　

1.Language is used to ________.

A. express oneself　　　        B. practice grammar rules

B. talk with foreigners only    D. learn lists of words

2.Generally, when an American or an Englishman speaks English, he ________.

A. never makes mistakes　　         B. often makes mistakes

C. can't avoid making mistakes      D. always makes mistakes

3."Foreigners often speak English too correctly. "This sentence means that ________.

A. foreigners speak correct English

B. foreigners speak incorrect English

C. foreigners speak English according to the grammar rules

D. foreigners never make mistakes when they speak English

4.If too many native speakers break a rule, ________.

A. what they use will become right  B. they are against the law

C. they should say sorry to others  D. they will become heroes

5.When we speak a foreign language, we should ________.

A. speak in Chinese way       B. speak by the rules

C. speak to native speakers   D. not be afraid of making mistakes

　　A．took off his shoes

　　B．not to wake up others

　　C．with light steps

　　D．be afraid of being heard

C

Perhaps you have a big test coming up and you are feeling nervous. You know you have got to do well. The pressure is on, so you may be losing sleep and the ability to concentrate. How can you deal with the stress, study effectively, and take the test with confidence? Maybe you should try meditation（沉思）.

When people think about meditation, many pictures of old men’s sitting cross-legged on remote mountaintops will appear in mind. People describing meditation frequently mention elements such as relaxation and “thinking about nothing”.

It is not necessary to travel to a mountaintop to enjoy the benefits of meditation because it is actually more about awareness than just relaxation. The secret of meditation is breathing.

To star meditating, find a place where you can sit or stand comfortably for a little while and concentrate. Close your eyes and start taking slow breaths. Focus on the air moving in and out of your body. If your mind starts to wander and you begin to think about something else, refocus your attention on your breathing.

Meditation has little to do with escaping problems or thinking about nothing. Instead, the breathing techniques help you calm down and think more clearly about your feelings. The issues on your mind unfold clearly, as if they were in slow motion.

This clarity（清晰）is called “mindfulness”. Being mindful means that you are aware of what you are thinking without becoming caught up in your thoughts. It takes practice, but with time, that big test will not scare you anymore. You will realize through meditation that fear is just a product of not being mindful.

64． What is the best way to reduce the pressure if one faces a big test?

A. To climb up to the top of a mountain for a rest.

B. To sit on the top of a mountain without thinking anything.

C. To sit or stand comfortable and begin to meditate.

D. To sit quietly with one’s legs crossed.

65． What should a person do if his mind begins to wander while meditating?

A. Stop meditating.

B. Concentrate on breathing again.

C. Involve himself in his thoughts.

D. Close eyes immediately.

66． From the passage we can learn that by practicing meditation we’ll__________.

A. not be stuck in our thoughts

B. pass the examinations easily

C. realize fear is a product of too much thought

D. never be afraid of big tests

67． From the passage we can know the writer’s purpose is to let the readers know__________

A. how to deal with the stress before a big test

B. what is meditation

C. how a big test scares the students

D. where is the best place to relax

Still waiting for little green men to make contact? Don't hold your breath.

A leading astronomer has concluded there probably aren't any aliens out there – meaning we are absolutely alone in the universe.

Even though there may be tens of thousands of other distant planets similar in size to Earth, the conditions on them are likely to be too hard to support life-forms such as ET.

Dr Howard Smith, a senior astrophysicist at Harvard University, believes there is very little hope of discovering aliens and, even if we did, it would be almost impossible to make contact.

So far astronomers have discovered a total of 500 planets in distant solar systems – known as extrasolar systems – although they believe billions of others exist.

But Dr Smith points out that many of these planets are either too close to the sun or too far away, meaning their surface temperatures are so bad that they could not support life. Others have unusual orbits which cause vast temperature variations, making it impossible for water to exist – the most important thing for life.

Dr Smith said, "We have found that most other planets and solar systems are wildly different from our own. It means it is highly unlikely there are any planets with intelligent life close enough for us to make contact." But his suggestions contradict other leading scientists who have claimed aliens almost certainly exist.

Only last month Professor Stephen Hawking said the fact that there are billions of galaxies out there made it reasonable to think there were other life-forms in the universe.

Researchers from the University of London have recently suggested that aliens could be living on as many as 40,000 other planets. But Dr Smith said: "Any hope of contact has to be limited to a relatively tiny space around the Earth, reaching maybe 1,250 light years out from our planet, where aliens might be able to pick up our signals or send us their own. But communicating would still take decades or centuries."

1.By saying ＂don’t hold your breath＂, the author advised the reader not to _____.

A．keep silent        B．give up           C．expect so         D．be afraid

2.Dr Smith concludes there probably aren’t any aliens because other planets _____.

A．are too far away from the earth

B．are different from the Earth in size

C．don’t have rich natural resources

D．don’t have a suitable living environment

3.Researchers from the University of London are mentioned to show that ______.

A．they have better explanations about aliens

B．aliens certainly exist on many planets

C．they disagree with Dr Smith’s suggestion

D．aliens can pick up signals from the earth

4.What’s the main idea of the text?

A．There must be other life forms in the universe.

B．We can communicate with aliens in decades.

C．The chances of finding aliens are slight.

D．Many other planets are quite different from the Earth.