Giving a speech before a large audience is a challenge that would worry anyone—but not Shen Wenjie.

    “The bigger the audience, the less nervous I am, ”he said. The 17-year-old Senior 2 student from Suzhou Middle School has every reason to be confident. Last Saturday he took first prize in the second“21st Century Cup”National High School English Competition, sponsored by China Daily and Suzhou Municipal People’s Government.

    Shen outshone 34 other contestants from all over China, winning a trip to the international English-speaking competition to be held in London in May 2004.

    He started learning English at the age of five and his interest in it grew through playing games. “Interest plays an important role in learning English. But effort is more important if you want to learn it well，”he said. After deciding to develop a British accent, he listened to tape after tape until he could talk like the native speakers.

    Films have also proved useful. He chooses an easy film, such as Harry Porter, and focuses on the dialogues—repeating them until he knows it by heart.

    “I take every chance to open my mouth and speak English, ”Shen said. He even talks to himself in English, imagining that he is explaining things to foreigners. When studying English newspapers, he tries to express the opinions in his own words and then compares them with the original stories.

    “I am very grateful to my current teacher, Deng Xiaojing, who has introduced English newspapers and magazines to us, ”he said. But reading newspapers is just one of many activities that have helped his public speaking skills.

     “A speech is a way of communicating with people so it is important that you put your personal feelings into it，”Shen said. “No matter how beautiful your pronunciation is, just reading out your speech will destroy it. ”

72. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A. Shen Wenjie was very nervous when he took part in the competition.

B. “The 21st Century Cup” National High School English Competition was sponsored by China Daily and CCTV.

C. There were 35 contestants from all over China to take part.

D. Shen was given some money for his victory.

73. Shen speaks English so well by means of the following except _______ .

A. listening to tape after tape until he could talk like the native speakers

B. seeing easy English films

C. practicing speaking English very often

D. doing English grammar only

74. Shen thinks that _______.

A. interest does good to learn English well

B. effort is less important than interest

C. writing in English as much as possible can make one master English

D. it is needless for one to put one’s feelings into it when one speaks English

75. We can infer from the passage that _______.

A. Shen is sure to fail in the international English-speaking competition to be held in London in May 2004

B. interest and effort are the key factors to learning English well

C. Shen owes his success to his parents

D. his interest in learning English comes from studies

I entered high school having read hundreds of books. But I was not a good reader. Merely bookish, I lacked a point of view when I read. Rather, I read in order to get a point of view. I searched books for good expressions and sayings, pieces of information, ideas, themes—anything to enrich my thought and make me feel educated. When one of my teachers suggested to his sleepy tenth-grade English class that a person could not have a "complicated idea" until he had read at least two thousand books, I heard the words without recognizing either its irony (嘲讽) or its very complicated truth. I merely determined to make a list of all the books I had ever read. Strict with myself, I included only once a title I might have read several times. (How, after all, could one read a book more than once?) And I included only those books over a hundred pages in length. (Could anything shorter be a book?)

There was yet another high school list I made. One day I came across a newspaper article about an English professor at a nearby state college. The article had a list of the "hundred most important books of Western Civilization." "More than anything else in my life," the professor told the reporter with finality , " these books have made me all that I am ." That was the kind of words I couldn’t ignore. I kept the list for the several months it took me to read all of the titles. Most books, of course, I hardly understood. While reading Plato's The Republic, for example, I needed to keep looking at the introduction of the book to remind myself what the text was about. However, with the special patience and superstition (迷信) of a schoolboy, I looked at every word of the text. And by the time I reached the last word, pleased, I persuaded myself that I had read The Republic, and seriously crossed Plato off my list.

1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The writer thought it was impossible for one to read two thousand books.

B. While at high school, the writer had plans for reading.

C. The writer only read books no more than 100 pages.

D. The writer thought the teacher was not being serious about the suggestion of reading.

2.The underlined phrase "with finality" most probably means ____________.

A. firmly        B. immediately                    C. simply       D. pleasantly

3.The writer's purpose in mentioning The Republic is to________.

A. explain why it was included in the list

B. describe why he seriously crossed it off the list

C. show that he read the books blindly though they were hard to understand

D. prove that he understood most of it because he had looked at every word

4.The writer provides two book lists to ________.

A. show how he developed his point of view

B. tell his reading experience at high school

C. introduce the two persons' reading methods

D. explain that he read many books at high school

Learning English is one of the few things I have been doing consistently over the past 16 years. Like most Chinese students, I started learning English because it was a compulsory (必修的) course in my middle school. More importantly, English was a central subject for the college entrance exam.

At that time , studying English was not a pleasant experience for me . There was no fun in the process of learning . The focus of our English education was getting a good mark in exams . And nobody told me that the real meaning of studying mother language was communication.

When I became a university student , I spent nearly half of my time on English . In fact , more than 90 percent of the job offer ads in Shanghai list “ proficiency (精通) as a main requirement.

How did I improve my English ? People told me that TOEFL was very helpful and useful. As a result, I took a TOEFL training course and studied like mad. After six months’ preparation, I took part in the exam and got a high score . Later on , I had a chance to further my study in Britain . I soon discovered that all of my past English learning had been futile (没用的) . When I first went shopping in a local supermarket , I really could not understand what the cashier was saying at all.

It was then that I realized I had totally missed the point . Instead of just passing exams , the main function of learning English or any other language is communication . What is more , lanuage does not exist independent of culture. Hence , mechanical memorization helps very little in communication. That’s why I was still unable to freely express myself after learning English for many years . By no means am I talented in any foreign language . I am still learing English . Why ?

First and foremost , my job requires me to use English everyday . Secondly , English helps me to have access to more information . Thirdly , as a bookworm , English gives me a chance to dive into the huge pool of inspiring English books . Last but not least , it is such a great experience to write in another language . Indeed , English has become part of my life .

How did the writer find English when he was a student?

A. He was interested in it .

B. He studied it because it was compulsory course.

C. He thought it funny to study English.

D. He often recited something when he studied English.

What is the purpose of studying English according to the writer’s idea ?

A. To get high marks in exams.

B. To prove that Englsih is very important.

C. Studying Eglish well can ehlp you get a good job.

D. To use English for communication with others.

According to the text , how is my English ?

A.I am good at English.

B.I can speak Englsih like natives.

C.I can master it but I can’t use it correctly.

D.I continued to study Englsih.

How can we master Englsih well ？

A.We need more mechanical memorization.

B.We should read and recite more books.

C.We should study Englsih as well as its culture and use it more .

D.We can study hard in classrooms and houses and get high marks in exams .

Learning English is one of the few things I have been doing consistently over the past 16 years. Like most Chinese students, I started learning English because it was a compulsory (必修的) course in my middle school. More importantly, English was a central subject for the college entrance exam.
At that time , studying English was not a pleasant experience for me . There was no fun in the process of learning . The focus of our English education was getting a good mark in exams . And nobody told me that the real meaning of studying mother language was communication.
When I became a university student , I spent nearly half of my time on English . In fact , more than 90 percent of the job offer ads in Shanghai list “ proficiency (精通) as a main requirement.
How did I improve my English ? People told me that TOEFL was very helpful and useful. As a result, I took a TOEFL training course and studied like mad. After six months’ preparation, I took part in the exam and got a high score . Later on , I had a chance to further my study in Britain . I soon discovered that all of my past English learning had been futile (没用的) . When I first went shopping in a local supermarket , I really could not understand what the cashier was saying at all.
It was then that I realized I had totally missed the point . Instead of just passing exams , the main function of learning English or any other language is communication . What is more , lanuage does not exist independent of culture. Hence , mechanical memorization helps very little in communication. That’s why I was still unable to freely express myself after learning English for many years . By no means am I talented in any foreign language . I am still learing English . Why ?
First and foremost , my job requires me to use English everyday . Secondly , English helps me to have access to more information . Thirdly , as a bookworm , English gives me a chance to dive into the huge pool of inspiring English books . Last but not least , it is such a great experience to write in another language . Indeed , English has become part of my life .

1. 1.

   How did the writer find English when he was a student?

   1. A.
      He was interested in it .
   2. B.
      He studied it because it was compulsory course.
   3. C.
      He thought it funny to study English.
   4. D.
      He often recited something when he studied English.
2. 2.

   What is the purpose of studying English according to the writer’s idea ?

   1. A.
      To get high marks in exams.
   2. B.
      To prove that Englsih is very important.
   3. C.
      Studying Eglish well can ehlp you get a good job.
   4. D.
      To use English for communication with others.
3. 3.

   According to the text , how is my English ?

   1. A.
      I am good at English.
   2. B.
      I can speak Englsih like natives.
   3. C.
      I can master it but I can’t use it correctly.
   4. D.
      I continued to study Englsih.
4. 4.

   How can we master Englsih well ？

   1. A.
      We need more mechanical memorization.
   2. B.
      We should read and recite more books.
   3. C.
      We should study Englsih as well as its culture and use it more .
   4. D.
      We can study hard in classrooms and houses and get high marks in exams .