Language is a major problem for the European Union (EU). The agreement or treaty(条约) which created the organization that eventually became the EU, the Treaty of Rome, stated that each country's language must be treated equally. The original(原来的) six countries had only three languages between them: French, German and Dutch/Flemish. However, there are now 15 countries in the EU, with a total of 12 languages. EU documents must be translated into all these languages, and at official meetings the speeches must be translated into all the languages by interpreters.

      All this translating is very expensive and time-consuming (费时的). It is said that nearly half of all employees of the EU are engaged in translating documents and speeches, and nearly half of the EU's administrative(管理方面的) costs are spent on this task. In the near future it is probable that several more

countries, most of them having their own languages, will join the EU, thus making the situation even worse.

      The problem is not just cost; there are practical difficulties as well. With 12 languages, there are 132 possible "translation situations" that might be needed. It is often difficult to find people in the right place at the right time who can translate from (for example) Danish into Greek, or Dutch into Portuguese, at a high professional standard.

      In practice the problem has been made less severe by the use of English in many contacts between EU officials, since almost all of them speak some English. However, any move to reduce the number of official languages (perhaps to four or five) would be a blow to the pride of the smaller Countries. Another commonly suggested solution is to make English the official language for all EU business. However, this is strongly resisted by powerful member countries like France and Germany.

The organization that eventually became the EU       .

   A. was started by France and Germany      B. started with three countries

   C. was set up by the Treaty of Rome       D. included 132 languages

What's the main purpose of this passage?

   A. To give a solution to a problem.

   B. To find out a problem and show how severe it is.

   C. To criticize the European Union for inefficiency.

   D. To show that the problem cannot be solved.

According to the writer, the use of English in contacts among EU officials has       .

   A. angered the officials who don't speak English

   B. reduced the number of official languages

   C. reduced the effect of the problem

   D. been opposed by powerful member countries

The writer mentions "Danish into Greek" as an example of       .

   A. a situation that might be difficult to deal with

   B. a situation that occurs often

   C. one of the 12 situations that requires an interpreter

   D. languages easily being interpreted

The writer suggests that if the number of official languages was reduced  .

   A. the EU would not know which official languages to choose

   B. countries whose languages were not used officially would be unhappy

   C. only languages which are easy to translate would be used officially

   D. the smaller member countries would be pleased

Three-fifths of the cattle ________ sold abroad in the city.

1. A.
   has
2. B.
   has been
3. C.
   have
4. D.
   have been

对话填空（共10题，共10分）

P：Peter       J：Jimmy

Peter is talking with Jimmy about the just finished match between L.A Lakers and Miami Heats on Christmas Eve, in 2010

P: Hey, Jimmy, watched the game between Lakers and Heats?

J: Certainly. It was really an a_____ fantastic game. My Heats beat L.A.

P: Your Heats? I remembered you were a fan of the Cavaliers.

J: To be exact, a fan of Lebron James. Since James joined the Heats, I also changed my range, which is undoubtedly logical. By the way, which team do you p_____ will win the title of c_____ this season?

P: I think the Lakers will do

J：I don’t a_____ of you. I strongly believe the title must go to the Heats. As you can see, the present Heats possesses the super “BIG THREE”, James is good at scoring. Wade is an expert in penetration(带球突破) and Chris Bosh can d______ backboard(篮板)

P：Maybe you are right. But I am afraid you l_____ out the e______ element（因素） in winning a basketball game---- team work. After all, basketball is not an i_____ game.

J：Apart from the “BIG Three”, there are quantities of excellent bench players available such as Dampier, Arios Arroyo, Eddie House and so on. I see no reason why the Heats can’t p_____ the NBA

P: I still have a preference for the Lakes. Compared to the Heats, the Lakers has a more mature(成熟的) play. And as long as there is Kobe, there is victory. On the other hand, we should not forget that other teams are making rapid progress like the Thunder led by Kelvin Durant，the Celtics and the Magics. They all have the p____ to challenge our teams.

Elderly people who drink several cups of green tea a day are less likely to suffer from depression, probably due to a "feel good" chemical found in this type of tea, Japanese researchers said.

Several studies have    1  drinking green tea to lessening psychological problems and Kaijun Niu, of Tohoku University Graduate School, and colleagues found people    2   70 and older who drank four or more cups of green tea daily were 44 percent   3     likely to experience depression.

Green tea is widely   4    in many Asian countries,  5    China and Japan.

Niu's team   6     1,058 relatively healthy elderly men and women. About 34 percent of the men and 39 percent of the women had symptoms of    7  , according to the study that was   8      in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

A total of 488 participants said they    9    four or more cups of green tea a day, 284 said they downed two to three cups    10   and the rest reported having one or fewer cups daily.

According to the researchers, the    11    effect of drinking more    12    tea on alleviating symptoms of depression did not    13   after they factored in social and economic status, gender, diet, history of medical problems and       14 of antidepressants.

There was no   15    between consumption of black or oolong tea, or coffee, and   16     symptoms of depression.

A green tea component, the amino acid thiamine（硫胺素）, which is   17    to have a tranquilizing（镇静的）  18   on the brain, may  19  the "potentially beneficial effect" shown in the current study, Niu noted,   20   that more study is needed.

(    ) 1. A. linked                  B. taken        C. considered               D. regarded

(    ) 2. A. aging                      B. aged          C. years               D. age

(    ) 3. A. more               B. little          C. less                  D. much

(    ) 4. A. sold                 B. planted      C. spread               D. consumed

(    ) 5. A. including          B. concluding C. containing               D. considering

(    ) 6. A. looked for               B. checked     C. investigated      D. asked

(    ) 7. A. optimism          B. happiness   C. bitterness          D. depression

(    ) 8. A. published        B. come out   C. appeared           D. showed

(    ) 9. A. ate                   B. drank               C. swallowed               D. chewed

(    ) 10. A. weekly           B. daily          C. monthly           D. yearly

(    ) 11. A. apparent        B. light          C. huge               D. gentle

(    ) 12. A. black                     B. oolong      C. coffee              D. green

(    ) 13. A. fade                      B. disappear   C. run                  D. decease

(    ) 14. A. influence               B. effect               C. use                   D. result

(    ) 15. A. association      B. use            C. comparison       D. difference

(    ) 16. A. lower             B. increase     C. strengthen        D. cause

(    ) 17. A. assumed          B. thought     C. imaged              D. hoped

(    ) 18. A. effect             B. affect               C. effort                      D. outcome

(    ) 19. A. report             B. confirm     C. complete          D. explain

(    ) 20. A. adding            B. addressing        C. speaking           D. saying