阅读理解

　　Language learning begins with listening. Children are greatly different in the amount(数量) of listening they need before they start speaking, and children who start speaking late are often long listeners. Most children will “obey”(服从) spoken instructions some time before they can speak, though the word “obey” can hardly describe the cooperation(合作) shown by the children. Before they can speak, many children will also ask questions by gestures(手势) and by making noises.

　　It is agreed that babies enjoy making noises, and that during the first few months one or two special noises are used by them to show their happiness, pain, friendliness, and so on. But since these cannot be said to be a kind of communication, they can hardly be regarded as early forms of language. From about three months old they play with sounds for enjoyment, and by six months they are able to add new sounds to their store. This self-imitation(自我模仿) leads to deliberate(有意的) imitation of sounds made or words spoken to them by other people. The problem then arises is that can these imitations be considered as speech?

　　It is a problem we need not get our teeth into(全身心地做……). The meaning of a word depends on what a special person means by it in a special situation, and what a child means by a word will change as he gets more experience of the world.

　　Playful and meaningless imitation of what other people say continues after the child has begun to speak for himself. I wonder, however, whether anything is gained when parents try to use this ability to teach new sounds.

1．Before children start speaking, ________.

[　　]

A．they need equal amounts of listening

B．they need different amounts of listening

C．they can all cooperate with the adults(成年人) by obeying spoken instructions

D．they can't understand and obey the adults' spoken instructions

2．Children who start speaking late ________.

[　　]

A．may have problems with their hearing

B．probably do not hear enough language spoken around them

C．usually pay close attention to what they hear

D．often take a long time in leaning to listen properly

3．The problem that a baby's imitations can be considered as speech ________.

[　　]

A．is important because words have different meanings for different people

B．is not especially important because the changeover takes place gradually

C．is one that can never be properly understood because the meaning of words changes with age

D．is one that should be completely ignored because children's use of words is often meaningless

4．Baby's first noises are ________.

[　　]

A．a reflection(映射) of his moods(情绪) and feelings

B．an early form of language

C．a sign that he means to tell you something

D．an imitation of the speech of adults

5．From the last paragraph we know that ________.

[　　]

A．parents can never hope to teach their children new sounds

B．children no longer imitate people after they begin to speak for themselves

C．children who are good at imitating learn new sounds more quickly

D．even after they have learnt to speak children still enjoy imitating

I have had just about enough of being treated like a second-class citizen, simply because I happen to be that unfairly treated member of society --- a customer. The more I go into shops and hotels, banks and post offices, railway stations, airports and the like, the more I am convinced the things are being run solely to suit the firm, the system, or the union. There seems to be a deceptive (欺骗的) new motto for so-called “service” organizations --- Staff Before Service.
　　 How often, for example, have you queued for what seems like hours at the Post Office or the supermarket because there were not enough staff on duty to man all the service grilles or checkout counters? Surely in these days of high unemployment it must be possible to hire cashiers and counter staff. Yet supermarkets, hinting darkly at higher prices, claim that uncovering all their cash registers at any one time would increase operating costs. And the Post Office says we cannot expect all their service grilles to be occupied “at times when demand is low”.
　　  It is the same with hotels. Because waiters and kitchen staff must finish when it suits them, dining rooms close earlier or menu choice is cut short. As for us guests, we just have to put up with it. There is also the nonsense of so many friendly hotel night porters having been thrown out of their jobs in the interests of “efficiency” and replaced by coin-eating machines which offer everything from lager to laxatives (从贮藏啤酒到通便剂). Not to mention the tea-making kit in your room: a kettle with a mixed collection of tea bags, plastic milk boxes and lump sugar. Who wants to wake up to a raw teabag? I do not, especially when I am paying for “service”.
　　Can it be stopped, this worsening of service, this growing attitude that the customer is always a bore? I angrily hope so because it is happening, sadly, in all walks of life.
　　Our only hope is to hammer home our anger whenever and wherever we can and, if all else fails, bring back into practice that other, older slogan --- Take Our Deal Elsewhere.
【小题1】The writer feels that nowadays customers __________.

A．not having enough male staff on duty

B．difficulties in hiring more efficient staff

C．lack of cooperation between staff members

D．not providing enough staff on purpose to reduce budget

A．be patient when queuing before checkout counters

B．put up with the rude manners of the staff

C．try to control his temper when ill-treated

D．go to other places where good service is available

C

　　The villagers of Yaluma in Southern Mexico are some of the poorest people in the country. But now they have an extra source of income.They are being paid to grow and develop forests by the organization in charge of Formula One racing (一级方程式赛车),which pumps 5,500 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the air every year.The idea is that the forests being planted around Yaluma will absorb this amount. It will also provide people there with money while wiping out motor racing's environmental debt.

　　Projects like this go under the name of "carbon trading". The basic idea is that governments and companies can buy the right to pump CO2 into the air by investing in green projrvyd. They can buy so-called "carbon credits" from countries which have succeeded in reducing CO2 emissions(排放物).

　　Supporters of carbon trading say that it brings money and green technology to poorer countries.It also provides a new way of doing busingess and spreading prosperity. They point out that the process of globalization will give people everywhere the most possible choice of products and services. Carbon trading is just another way of bringing that about. It is a "win - win" situation.

　　Opponents argue that nature comes before lifestyle. CO2 emissions need to be reduced, not bought and sold. And they believe that the rich world should lead the way.People might be willing to change the way they live to help save the world, but not to help the rich countries keep a lifestyle that depends on pollution.

　　Supporters of carbon trading believe in unlimited growth.Opponents believe that nature sets limits to the choices we make on how to live.It is "don't do " against "can do". It is life against lifestyle.

　　It is believed that modern lives are about choice.For example,the world can choose to take the danger of global warming seriously.And the sooner we choose to do it, the more choices we have about what to do next and the more time we have to do it in. We can also choose to pay no attention to the danger of global warming to keep our lifestyles. Then one day nature may give us no choice at all,and maybe not much of a life,either.

　　64.Carbon trading is discussed in the text in order to show the importance of ______ .

　　　A.reducing pollution B.taking care of forests

　　　C.spreading prosperity D.choosing lifestyle or nature

　　65."Carbon credits" may be used to ______.

　　　A.get the right to pump CO2 into the air

　　　B.get the right to pump CO2 into poor countries

　　　C.learn about the way to reduce CO2 emissions

　　　D.improve the way to reduce CO2 emissions

　　66.We can infer from the text that in the "win - win" situation _____.

　　　A.rich countries perform their duty to help poor countries

　　　B.poor countries get what they need from rich countries

　　　C.both rich countries and poor countries get what they need

　　　D.rich countries learn from poor countries in reducing pollution

　　67.In the opinion of people who are against carbon trading,the rich countries should ____.

　　　A.guide poor countries in reducing CO2 emissions

　　　B.show by example how to reduce emissions

　　　C.offer more help to save the world

　　　D.improve their lifestyles to keep the world clean

22.—Boy, ____________

　—It is, looks like spring is coming soon.

　—Yeh, It'll just be a few more weeks.