Two years ago, Wendy Hasnip, 47, experienced a brain injury that left her speechless for two weeks. When she finally recovered, she found herself talking with what seemed to be a French accent. “I phoned a friend the other day, and she spent the first ten minutes laughing,” Hasnip said at the time. “While I have nothing against the French.”

Hasnip suffered from foreign accent syndrome (外国口音综合症), a rare condition in which people find themselves speaking their own language like someone from a foreign country. The condition usually occurs in people who have experienced a head injury or a stroke(中风) — a sudden loss of consciousness, sensation, or movement caused by a blocked or broken blood vessel (血管) in the brain.

The condition was first identified during the Second World War in a Norwegian woman whose head was injured during an attack by the German military. The woman recovered but was left with a German-sounding accent, to the horror of fellow villagers who avoided her after that.

Researchers have discovered that the combined effect of the damage to several parts of the brain makes victims lengthen certain syllables, mispronounce sounds, and change the normal

pitch (音高) of their voice. Those changes in speech add up to what sounds like a foreign accent.

Another researcher, a phonetician (语言学者), says victims of the syndrome don’t acquire a true foreign accent. Their strangely changed speech only resembles the foreign accent with which it has a few sounds in common.

When an English woman named Annie recently developed foreign accent syndrome after a stroke, she spoke with what seemed to be a Scottish accent. However, Annie’s Scottish coworkers said she didn’t sound at all like a Scot.

49. According to the passage, people          may have foreign accent syndrome.

A. whose parent has experienced a head injury

B. who have lived in a foreign country for a long time

C. who have lost their consciousness owing to a stroke

D. who have learned foreign language from their coworkers

50. All of the following are the causes of seeming foreign accent EXCEPT         .

A. a softer voice                          B. change in length of syllables

C. mispronounced sounds                  D. changed pitch of voice

51. If a person suffers foreign accent syndrome,           .

A. his coworkers will be afraid of him and avoid contacting with him

B. he has more chance of suffering stroke again

C. he will speak a fluent foreign language like native speakers

D. his speech only has a few sounds in common with the foreign accent

52. Writing this passage, the writer’s main purpose is to         .

A. introduce foreign accent syndrome and some related information

B. warn people not to be at the risk of experiencing a stroke

C. make it clear that foreign accent syndrome can be cured

D. tell a story of an injured woman during the Second World War

Two years ago, Wendy Hasnip, 47, experienced a brain injury that left her speechless for two weeks. When she finally recovered, she found herself talking with what seemed to be a French accent. “I phoned a friend the other day, and she spent the first ten minutes laughing,” Hasnip said at the time. “While I have nothing against the French.”

Hasnip suffered from foreign accent syndrome (外国口音综合症), a rare condition in which people find themselves speaking their own language like someone from a foreign country. The condition usually occurs in people who have experienced a head injury or a stroke(中风) — a sudden loss of consciousness, sensation, or movement caused by a blocked or broken blood vessel (血管) in the brain.

The condition was first identified during the Second World War in a Norwegian woman whose head was injured during an attack by the German military. The woman recovered but was left with a German-sounding accent, to the horror of fellow villagers who avoided her after that.

Researchers have discovered that the combined effect of the damage to several parts of the brain makes victims lengthen certain syllables, mispronounce sounds, and change the normal pitch (音高) of their voice. Those changes in speech add up to what sounds like a foreign accent.

Another researcher, a phonetician (语言学者), says victims of the syndrome don’t acquire a true foreign accent. Their strangely changed speech only resembles the foreign accent with which it has a few sounds in common.

When an English woman named Annie recently developed foreign accent syndrome after a stroke, she spoke with what seemed to be a Scottish accent. However, Annie’s Scottish coworkers said she didn’t sound at all like a Scot.

49. According to the passage, people          may have foreign accent syndrome.

A. whose parent has experienced a head injury

B. who have lived in a foreign country for a long time

C. who have lost their consciousness owing to a stroke

D. who have learned foreign language from their coworkers

50. All of the following are the causes of seeming foreign accent EXCEPT         .

A. a softer voice                    B. change in length of syllables

C. mispronounced sounds           D. changed pitch of voice

51. If a person suffers foreign accent syndrome,           .

A. his coworkers will be afraid of him and avoid contacting with him

B. he has more chance of suffering stroke again

C. he will speak a fluent foreign language like native speakers

D. his speech only has a few sounds in common with the foreign accent

52. Writing this passage, the writer’s main purpose is to         .

A. introduce foreign accent syndrome and some related information

B. warn people not to be at the risk of experiencing a stroke

C. make it clear that foreign accent syndrome can be cured

D. tell a story of an injured woman during the Second World War

III. Reading Comprehension 40%
Section A 30%
Directions：Read the following four passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.
A
Mr. Peter Johnson, aged twenty-three, battled for half an hour to escape from his trapped car yesterday when it landed upside down in three feet of water. Mr. Johnson took the only escape route—through the boot(行李箱).
Mr. Johnson’s car had finished up in a ditch(沟渠) at Romney Marsin, Kent after skidding on ice and hitting a bank. “Fortunately, the water began to come in only slowly,” Mr. Johnson said. “I couldn’t force the doors because they were jammed against the walls of the ditch and dared not open the windows because I knew water would come flooding in.”
Mr. Johnson, a sweet salesman of Sitting Home, Kent, first tried to attract the attention of other motorists by sounding the horn and hammering on the roof and boot. Then he began his struggle to escape. Later he said, “It was really a half penny that saved my life. It was the only coin I had in my pocket and I used it to unscrew the back seat to get into the boot.
It took ten minutes to unscrew the seat, and a further five minutes to clear the sweet samples from the boot. Then Mr. Johnson found a wrench and began to work on the boot lock. Fifteen minutes passed by. “It was the only chance I had. Finally it gave, but as soon as I moved the boot lid, the water and mud poured in. I forced the lid down into the mud and jumped out of the ditch.”
His hands and arms cut and bruised(擦伤), Mr. Johnson got to Beckett Farm nearby, where he was looked after by the farmer’s wife, Mrs. Lucy Bates. Huddled in a blanket, he said, “That thirty minutes seemed like hours.” Only the tips of the car wheels were visible, police said last night. The vehicle had sunk into two feet of mud at the bottom of the ditch.
41. What is the best title for this newspaper article?
A. The Story of Mr. Johnson, A Sweet Salesman
B. Car Boot Can Serve As The Best Escape Route
C. Driver Escapes Through Car Boot
D. The Driver Survived A Terrible Car Accident
42. Which of the following objects is the most important to Mr. Johnson?
A. The hammer.     B. The coin.  C.The screw.         D. The horn.
43. Which statement is true according to the passage?
A. Mr. Johnson’s car stood on its boot as it fell down.
B. Mr. Johnson could not escape from the door because it was full of sweet jam.
C. Mr. Johnson’s car accident was partly due to the slippery road.
D. Mr. Johnson struggled in the pouring mud as he unscrewed the back seat.
44. “Finally it gave” (Paragraph 4) means that _______. 
A. Luckily the door was torn away in the end
B. At last the hammer went broken
C. The lock came open after all his efforts
D. The chance was lost at the last minute
45. It may be inferred from the passage that _______. 
A. the ditch was along a quiet country road
B. the accident happened on a clear warm day
C. the police helped Mr. Johnson get out of the ditch
D. Mr. Johnson had a tender wife and was well attended

III. Reading Comprehension 40%

Section A 30%

Directions：Read the following four passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.

                                           A

Mr. Peter Johnson, aged twenty-three, battled for half an hour to escape from his trapped car yesterday when it landed upside down in three feet of water. Mr. Johnson took the only escape route—through the boot(行李箱).

Mr. Johnson’s car had finished up in a ditch(沟渠) at Romney Marsin, Kent after skidding on ice and hitting a bank. “Fortunately, the water began to come in only slowly,” Mr. Johnson said. “I couldn’t force the doors because they were jammed against the walls of the ditch and dared not open the windows because I knew water would come flooding in.”

Mr. Johnson, a sweet salesman of Sitting Home, Kent, first tried to attract the attention of other motorists by sounding the horn and hammering on the roof and boot. Then he began his struggle to escape. Later he said, “It was really a half penny that saved my life. It was the only coin I had in my pocket and I used it to unscrew the back seat to get into the boot.

It took ten minutes to unscrew the seat, and a further five minutes to clear the sweet samples from the boot. Then Mr. Johnson found a wrench and began to work on the boot lock. Fifteen minutes passed by. “It was the only chance I had. Finally it gave, but as soon as I moved the boot lid, the water and mud poured in. I forced the lid down into the mud and jumped out of the ditch.”

 His hands and arms cut and bruised(擦伤), Mr. Johnson got to Beckett Farm nearby, where he was looked after by the farmer’s wife, Mrs. Lucy Bates. Huddled in a blanket, he said, “That thirty minutes seemed like hours.” Only the tips of the car wheels were visible, police said last night. The vehicle had sunk into two feet of mud at the bottom of the ditch.

41. What is the best title for this newspaper article?

A. The Story of Mr. Johnson, A Sweet Salesman

B. Car Boot Can Serve As The Best Escape Route

C. Driver Escapes Through Car Boot

D. The Driver Survived A Terrible Car Accident

42. Which of the following objects is the most important to Mr. Johnson?

A. The hammer.     B. The coin.  C.The screw.        D. The horn.

43. Which statement is true according to the passage?

A. Mr. Johnson’s car stood on its boot as it fell down.

B. Mr. Johnson could not escape from the door because it was full of sweet jam.

C. Mr. Johnson’s car accident was partly due to the slippery road.

D. Mr. Johnson struggled in the pouring mud as he unscrewed the back seat.

44. “Finally it gave” (Paragraph 4) means that _______. 

A. Luckily the door was torn away in the end

B. At last the hammer went broken

C. The lock came open after all his efforts

D. The chance was lost at the last minute

45. It may be inferred from the passage that _______. 

A. the ditch was along a quiet country road

B. the accident happened on a clear warm day

C. the police helped Mr. Johnson get out of the ditch

D. Mr. Johnson had a tender wife and was well attended

-American office workers spend an average of 52 hours a week at their desks, according to a statistic survey. Some might argue that not all that time is spent working，but still all those hours in windowless offices with artificial light can have an influence.
A few green additions could have a large effect on worker happiness，according to the survey led by Tina Cade from Texas State University.
“We pretty much found out that if you had windows and plants or even if you just had plants in your office, you were more satisfied with your job,” Cade told LiveScience. “We thought it was important for offices because a lot of times people are looking for ways to keep employees happy and do all these expensive things like building a gym. Maybe for less investment they could put in a few plants in important places.”
The team surveyed 450 office workers in Texas and the Midwest，asking questions about job satisfaction and the work environments. When asked about their overall life quality,82 said they felt “content” or “very happy”. Only 69 percent of those who work with plants but without windows，and 60 percent of those who have windows but no plants, said they felt this way.
The group of people who work without plants or windows were  the most dissatisfied，with only 58 percent of them saying that overall they were “content” or “very happy”. While no one who works with plants，windows，or both reported they felt “miserable”, 0.8 percent of those who work in offices without either said they were “miserable”. “I was really surprised that having a plant in your office appeared to be more beneficial than having a window in your office,” Cade said. “Everybody says, ‘I need a window!’ but actually it seemed like a plant could be a suitable alternative.”
【小题1】What does the passage mainly tell us?