As the English language has changed at a fast speed in this century, so has the use of the English language.

After the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was founded in 1927, the particular style of speech of the BBC announcers was recognized as Standard English or Received Pronunciation (RP) English. Now, most people still consider that the pronunciation and delivery of BBC announcers is the clearest and most understandable spoken English.

English has had a strong relationship with class and social position. However, since the Second World War there has been a clear change of the attitude towards speech snobbery（语言上的优越）, and marks of class distinction, such as styles of speech, have been gradually got rid of, especially by the younger generation.

As the need has arisen, new words have been invented or found from other languages and introduced into English. Similarly, old words and expressions have been put aside as their usefulness has become less or the fashions have passed．This also happens to styles and ways of speech which became fashionable at a particular time.

By the end of the 1960s it became clear that it was not necessary to speak Standard English or even correct grammar to become popular, successful and rich. The fashionable speech of the day was no longer the special right of a special class but rather a defiant（不服的）expression of classlessness.

The greatest single influence of the shaping of the English, language in modern times is the American English. Over the past 25 years the English, used by many people, particularly by those in the media, advertising and show business, has become more and more mid-Atlantic in style, delivery and accent.

In the 1970s, fashion favored careless pronunciation and a language full of jargon, slang and “in” words, much of which can’t be understood by the outside world．What is considered modern and fashionable in Britain today is often not the kind of English taught in schools and colleges.

1．Which of the following is NOT true?

       A．The use of the English language has not changed much in this century.

       B．the BBC announcers speak Standard English.

       C．English has no relationship with class and social position now.

       D．Young people don’t like the special right of a special class.

2．What does the author imply by saying “there is has been a clear change of the attitude towards speech snobbery (Para 3)?

       A．People all speak English like BBC announcers.

       B．There is a great change of the attitude about how English should be spoken.

     C．Some people still believe their way of speaking is much better than that of others.

      D．Most people don’t believe their way of speaking is much better than that of others.

3．According to the author, there was a trend in the US for the young people ____.

       A．to speak Standard English.                                                             

       B．to speak English without class distinction

       C．to speak English with class distinction   

       D．to speak English with grammar mistakes

4．It can be concluded from the passage that ____.

       A．Standard English is taught only in school and colleges

       B．the young English are defiant because they refuse to speak Standard English.

       C．the English language is not influenced by American English in the last 25 years

       D．there has been a great change in the English language in this century

Americans spend their free time in various ways．

America is a country of sports — of hunting, fishing and swimming, and of team sports like baseball and football．Millions of Americans watch their favorite sports on television．They also like to play in community orchestras （管弦乐队）, make their own films or recordings, go camping, visit museums，attend lectures, travel, garden, read, and join in hundreds of other activities．The people also enjoy building things for their homes, sewing their own clothes, even making their own photographs．They do these things for fun as well as for economy．

But as much as Americans enjoy their free time, the country is at the same time a “self-improvement” country．More than 25 million adults continue their education, chiefly by going to school in the evening, during their own free time, at their own expense．Added to the time spent on personal activities, Americans a1so devote a great amount of their time to the varied needs of their communities．Many hospitals, schools, libraries, museums, parks, community centers, and organizations that assist the poor depend on the many hours citizens devote to these activities, often without any pay．Why do they do it?

There are several answers．The idea of cooperating and sharing responsibility with one another for the benefit of all is as old as the country itself．

When the country was first founded in 1776, it was necessary for the settlers to work together to live．They had crossed dangerous seas and risked all they had in their struggle for political and religious freedom．There remains among many Americans a distrust of central government．People still prefer to do things themselves within their communities, rather than give the government more control．

Sometimes people offer their time because they wish to accomplish something for which no money is paid, to do something that will be of benefit to the entire community．It is true that some people use their leisure because they are truly interested in the work; or they are learning from the experience．

No matter what the reason is, hundreds of thousands of so-called leisure hours are put into hard, unpaid work on one or another community need．

1.This passage is mainly about ________．

       A．why America is a country of sports

       B．how Americans spend their free time

       C．why America is a “self-improvement” country

       D．how Americans are devoted to their community activities

2.The writer mentions the foundation of the country in order to indicate ________．

       A．the early history of America

       B．the American people’s determination to live

       C．the reason for Americans’ willingness to cooperate and share responsibility

       D．the American people’ s love for freedom

3.Which of the following best explains the meaning of the underlined word “leisure”?

       A．work time           B．energy                 C．effort                  D．spare time

4.What can we infer from the text?

       A．The first settlers left their hometown for political and religious reasons．

       B．Many Americans don’t trust the central government．

       C．American people enjoy building things for their homes just for fun．

       D．Americans continue their education at their own expense．

Americans Spend Their Free Time In Various Ways
America is a country of sports—of hunting，fishing and swimming，and of team sports like baseball and football．Millions of Americans watch their favorite sports on television．They also like to play in community orchestras(管弦乐队)，make their own films or recordings，go camping，visit museums，attend lectures，travel，garden，read，and join in hundreds of other activities．The people also enjoy building things for their homes，sewing their own clothes，even making their own photographs．They do these things for fun as well as for economy．
But as much as Americans enjoy their free time，the country is at the same time a“self-improvement” country．More than 25 million adults continue their education，chiefly by going to school in the evening， during their own free time，at their own expense．Added to the time spent on personal activities，Americans a1so devote a great amount of their time to the varied needs of their communities．Many hospitals，schools，libraries，museums，parks，community centers，and organizations that assist the poor depend on the many hours citizens devote to these activities，often without any pay. Why do they do it?
There are several answers．The idea of cooperating and sharing responsibility with one another for the benefit of all is as old as the country itself．
When the country was first founded in 1776，it was necessary for the settlers to work together to live．They had crossed dangerous seas and risked all they had in their struggle for political and religious freedom．There remains among many Americans a distrust of central government．People still prefer to do things themselves within their communities，rather than give the government more control．
Sometimes people offer their time because they wish to accomplish something for which no money is paid，to do something that will be of benefit to the entire community．It is true that some people use their leisure because they are truly interested in the work；or they are learning from the experience．
No matter what the reason is，hundreds of thousands of so-called leisure hours are put into hard，unpaid work on one or another community need．
【小题1】The writer mentions the foundation of the country in order to indicate ____．

Americans Spend Their Free Time In Various Ways

America is a country of sports—of hunting，fishing and swimming，and of team sports like baseball and football．Millions of Americans watch their favorite sports on television．They also like to play in community orchestras(管弦乐队)，make their own films or recordings，go camping，visit museums，attend lectures，travel，garden，read，and join in hundreds of other activities．The people also enjoy building things for their homes，sewing their own clothes，even making their own photographs．They do these things for fun as well as for economy．

But as much as Americans enjoy their free time，the country is at the same time a“self-improvement” country．More than 25 million adults continue their education，chiefly by going to school in the evening， during their own free time，at their own expense．Added to the time spent on personal activities，Americans a1so devote a great amount of their time to the varied needs of their communities．Many hospitals，schools，libraries，museums，parks，community centers，and organizations that assist the poor depend on the many hours citizens devote to these activities，often without any pay. Why do they do it?

There are several answers．The idea of cooperating and sharing responsibility with one another for the benefit of all is as old as the country itself．

When the country was first founded in 1776，it was necessary for the settlers to work together to live．They had crossed dangerous seas and risked all they had in their struggle for political and religious freedom．There remains among many Americans a distrust of central government．People still prefer to do things themselves within their communities，rather than give the government more control．

Sometimes people offer their time because they wish to accomplish something for which no money is paid，to do something that will be of benefit to the entire community．It is true that some people use their leisure because they are truly interested in the work；or they are learning from the experience．

No matter what the reason is，hundreds of thousands of so-called leisure hours are put into hard，unpaid work on one or another community need．

1.The writer mentions the foundation of the country in order to indicate ____．

2.Which of the following best explains the meaning of the underlined word “leisure”?

A．work time         B. spare time        C. energy      C. effort 

3.This passage is mainly about ________ ．

第二部分：阅读理解（共两节，满分30分）

第一节（共10小题，每小题2分，满分20分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Americans spend their free time in various ways．

America is a country of sports — of hunting, fishing and swimming, and of team sports like baseball and football．Millions of Americans watch their favorite sports on television．They also like to play in community orchestras （管弦乐队）, make their own films or recordings, go camping, visit museums，attend lectures, travel, garden, read, and join in hundreds of other activities．The people also enjoy building things for their homes, sewing their own clothes, even making their own photographs．They do these things for fun as well as for economy．

But as much as Americans enjoy their free time, the country is at the same time a “self-improvement” country．More than 25 million adults continue their education, chiefly by going to school in the evening, during their own free time, at their own expense．Added to the time spent on personal activities, Americans a1so devote a great amount of their time to the varied needs of their communities．Many hospitals, schools, libraries, museums, parks, community centers, and organizations that assist the poor depend on the many hours citizens devote to these activities, often without any pay．Why do they do it?

There are several answers．The idea of cooperating and sharing responsibility with one another for the benefit of all is as old as the country itself．

When the country was first founded in 1776, it was necessary for the settlers to work together to live．They had crossed dangerous seas and risked all they had in their struggle for political and religious freedom．There remains among many Americans a distrust of central government．People still prefer to do things themselves within their communities, rather than give the government more control．

Sometimes people offer their time because they wish to accomplish something for which no money is paid, to do something that will be of benefit to the entire community．It is true that some people use their leisure because they are truly interested in the work; or they are learning from the experience．

No matter what the reason is, hundreds of thousands of so-called leisure hours are put into hard, unpaid work on one or another community need．

1．This passage is mainly about ________．

       A．why America is a country of sports

       B．how Americans spend their free time

       C．why America is a “self-improvement” country

       D．how Americans are devoted to their community activities

2．The writer mentions the foundation of the country in order to indicate ________．

       A．the early history of America

       B．the American people’s determination to live

       C．the reason for Americans’ willingness to cooperate and share responsibility

       D．the American people’ s love for freedom

3．Which of the following best explains the meaning of the underlined word “leisure”?

       A．work time B．energy      C．effort       D．spare time

4．What can we infer from the text?

       A．The first settlers left their hometown for political and religious reasons．

       B．Many Americans don’t trust the central government．

       C．American people enjoy building things for their homes just for fun．

       D．Americans continue their education at their own expense．