C

The number of speakers of English in Shakespeare’s time is estimated (估计) to have been about five million. Today it is estimated that some 260 million people speak it as a native language, mainly in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In addition to the standard varieties of English found in these areas, there are a great many regional and social varieties of the language as well as various levels of usage that are employed both in its spoken and written forms.

In fact, it is impossible to estimate the number of people in the world who have acquired an adequate (足够的) working knowledge of English in addition to their own languages. The purpose for English learning and the situations in which such learning takes place are so varied that it is difficult to explain and still more difficult to judge what forms an adequate working knowledge for each situation.

The main reason for the widespread demand for English is its present-day importance as a world language. Besides serving the indefinite needs of its native speakers, English is a language in which some of important works in science, technology, and other fields are being produced, and not always by native speakers. It is widely used for such purposes as meteorological and airport communications, international conferences, and the spread of information over the radio and television networks of many nations. It is a language of wider communication for a number of developing countries, especially former British colonies. Many of these countries have multilingual populations and need a language for internal communication in such matters as government, commerce, industry, law and education as well as for international communication and for entrance to the scientific and technological developments in the West.

65. What would be the best title for this passage?

A. The Difficulties of Learning English                    B. International Communications

C. The Standard Varieties of English                      D. English as a World Language

66. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. Some 260 million people in the world have an adequate working knowledge of English.

B. There are some 260 million native speakers of English in the world.

C. It is almost impossible to estimate the number of people with an adequate working knowledge of English.

D. People learn English for a variety of reasons.

67. What forms an adequate working knowledge of English?

A. The ability to read a newspaper.

B. It is difficult to judge because it differs for each situation.

C. Being a multilingual.                                  

D. Being a native speaker.

68. What type of developing countries would be most likely to use English?

A. Those geographically close to the United States.

B. Those interested in the culture of the United States.

C. Former colonies of Great Britain.

D. Countries where international conferences are held.

C
The way people hold to the belief that a fun-filled, painfree life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever getting real happiness．If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness．But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness is connected with some pain．
As a result, many people avoid the very attempts（尝试）that are the source of true happiness They fear the pain brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment（承担的义务），self-improvement．
Ask a bachelor（单身汉）why he refuses marriages even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying, if he’s honest he will tell you afraid of making a commitment．For commitment is in fact painful．The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement．Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most unusual features．
Couples with baby children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three-day vacation．I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children．But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild．
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has noting to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations．It liberates（解放）time; now we can devote more hours to activities that can increase our happiness．It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless．And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all．
48．Raising children, in the author’s opinion, is________．
A．a duty we should have to perform      B．a thankless job
C．a source of pain that can’t be avoided    D．a rewarding task
49．To understand what true happiness is one must________．
A．have as much fun as possible during ones lifetime
       B．make every effort to free oneself from pain
C．put up with pain in all conditions
D．be able to tell happiness from fun
50．What is the writer trying to tell us?
A．One must know how to get happiness
B．Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain
C．It is important to make commitments
D．Pain usually leads to happiness

C

The publication of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" gladdens booksellers across China. The British and American editions were No. 1 and No. 3 respectively on the sales chart of the Beijing Xidan Book Building last week. The book's poster is highlighted and news about the book can often be heard on the radio.

Why is the book so attractive to children? With curious mood, the author got a copy of "Harry Potter". Originally, I wanted to glance over it and made some criticisms. But, out of expectation, the author has been deeply attracted by the magic world. On the other hand, one cannot help asking: where is  our own "Harry Potter"?

The Chinese nation has a history of 5,000 years, which cannot be regarded as short and its culture as not profound. With a vast market of youngsters, China did publish many books popular among children. However, why are the present works not as good as those imported?

There come two major reasons: Firstly, quite a number of children's books are of strong sense of teaching, and lack interest and entertainment. Children often have a feeling of being "educated". No wonder they don't like them. Secondly, children's reading materials involving "idiom stories" and "Chinese talents' stories", though always in different covers, are usually much the same or plagiarized. One knows the ending as early as in the beginning. In final analysis, the authors of the books seldom take children's requirements into consideration.

As a matter of fact, each child has his own wonderful imagination. They long to understand the world and nature. Similarly they have their own choices. They dislike similar stories, even if the stories are excellent. First-class reading for children should be very interesting, which contains knowledge and the essence of national culture, which are presented in children's language.

Market is a touchstone for products. The theory also holds true for cultural products. It is hoped that the authors of children's books can learn something from the good market of "Harry Potter" and write out more and better books loved by children.

64. The disadvantages of  our books are the following except_______.

A. they have little sense of interest and entertainment

B. many of  our books are of the same

C. the authors didn’t pay much attention to the children’s tastes.

D.  Our authors never know what 七彩教育网our children need.

65. The reason why the imported book is so popular is that _______.

A. it has no sense of teaching

B. it opens a wonderful world for children to explore

C. it is only written in children’s language

D. it is advertised more on TV or poster.

66. What’s the feeling of the writer when he finishes reading “Harry Potter”?

A. He is so angry that he wants to criticize the book

B. He is also attracted by the book

C. He is shocked by the book, meanwhile he is worried about  our books.

D. He can’t help looking for Harry Potter.

67. What does the writer mean by writing “where’s  our own Harry Potter”?

A. We are short of books for children

B. We Chinese must produce books as popular as “Harry Potter”.

C. Authors should write books in the same way as “Harry Potter”

D.  Our authors are hoped to make the market of  our books for children take off

C

       The way people hold to the belief that a fun-filled, painfree life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever getting real happiness．If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness．But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness is connected with some pain．

       As a result, many people avoid the very attempts（尝试）that are the source of true happiness They fear the pain brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment（承担的义务），self-improvement．

       Ask a bachelor（单身汉）why he refuses marriages even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying, if he’s honest he will tell you afraid of making a commitment．For commitment is in fact painful．The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement．Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most unusual features．

       Couples with baby children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three-day vacation．I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children．But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild．

       Understanding and accepting that true happiness has noting to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations．It liberates（解放）time; now we can devote more hours to activities that can increase our happiness．It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless．And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all．

48．Raising children, in the author’s opinion, is________．

       A．a duty we should have to perform       B．a thankless job

       C．a source of pain that can’t be avoided    D．a rewarding task

49．To understand what true happiness is one must________．

       A．have as much fun as possible during ones lifetime

       B．make every effort to free oneself from pain

       C．put up with pain in all conditions

       D．be able to tell happiness from fun

50．What is the writer trying to tell us?

       A．One must know how to get happiness

       B．Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain

       C．It is important to make commitments

       D．Pain usually leads to happiness

                                   C

The case for college has been accepted without question for more than a generation．

    All high school graduates ought to go, says conventional wisdom and statistical evidence, because college will help them earn more money, become “better” people, and learn to be more responsible citizens than those who don’t go．

    But college has never been able to work its magic for everyone．And now that close to half our high school graduates are attending, those who don’t fit the pattern are becoming more numerous, and more obvious．College graduates are selling shoes and driving taxis; college students interfere with each other’s experiments and write false letters of recommendation in the intense competition for admission to graduate school．Others find no stimulation in their studies, and drop out ------ often encouraged by college administrators．

Some observers say the fault is with the young people themselves ----- they are spoiled and they are expecting too much．But that is a condemnation of the students as a whole, and does not explain all campus unhappiness．Others blame the state of the world, and they are partly right．We’ve been told that young people have to go to college because our economy cannot absorb an army of untrained 18-year-olds．But disappointed graduates are learning that it can no longer absorb an army of trained 22-year-olds, either．

Some adventuresome educators and campus watchers have openly begun to suggest that college may not be the best, the proper, the only place for every young person after the completion of high school．

We_may_have_been_looking_at_all_those_surveysand_statistics_upside_down,_it_seems,_and_through_the_rosy_glow_of_our_own_remembered_college_experiences．Perhaps college does not make people intelligent, ambitious, happy, liberal, or quick to learn things ----- maybe it is just the other way round, and intelligent, ambitious, happy, liberal, quick-learning people are only the ones who have been attracted to college in the first place．And perhaps all those successful college graduates would have been successful whether they had gone to college or not．This is heresy （异端邪说） to those of us who have been brought up to believe that if little schooling is good, more has to be much better．But contrary evidence is beginning to mount up．

64．According to the passage all of the following statements are true EXCEPT______．

     A．about half of the high school graduates continue their studies at school

     B．college graduates are believed to be able to earn more money

     C．administrators often encourage college students to drop out

     D．more and more young people are found unfit for college

65．Which of the following is one of some observers’ opinions?

     A．The students expect so much that they are not satisfied with the hard college life．

    B．The economic situation is so discouraging that the youth have to attend college．

     C．College should improve because of so much campus unhappiness．

     D．Colleges provide more chances of good jobs than anywhere else．

66．What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 5 mean?

     A．Our college experience proves that those surveys are incorrect．

     B．The surveys may remind us of our beautiful college experiences．

     C．The surveys should all be re-examined according to our college experiences．

     D．Our college experiences may make us misunderstand the results of the surveys．

67．What is the main purpose of this passage?

     A．To argue against the idea that college is the best place for all young people．

     B．To put forward an idea that college should not be the first choice．

     C．To value young people’s further education in colleges．

     D．To persuade young people into working after the completion of high school．