—What’s your job, Henry?

—I’m a ________. I work late. I’m very busy when people come for dinner.

A. nurseB. reporterC. waiterD. teacher

The Vieira family moved to the United States in 1981. At that time, they decided to stop speaking Spanish at home and only communicate in English. This was because they were now living in an English-speaking country.

     Now the Vieira children are adults, and they sometimes travel to Spain to visit their family and friends. But they cannot communicate with them. Unfortunately this is common. When people move to new countries, they often leave their own customs and mother language behind. This is a mistake because there are many benefits to knowing more than one language.

     One advantage of speaking more than one language is that you can communicate directly with more people around the world. You do not have to depend on others to talk for you, so you’re more independent. People who know only one language must use others to help them communicate.

     Furthermore, speaking a second language also allows people to experience other cultures and customs more effectively. Local expressions, vocabulary, and even jokes can have a powerful effect on a person’s understanding of another culture. So, knowing more than one language increases your knowledge of other cultures.

     Finally, having more multi-language speakers improves relationships between countries. If people from different countries can communicate well, the world can become closer. Countries will then have more respect for each other and better understand each other’s problems.

     The benefits of knowing more than one language are clear. In fact, there are no disadvantages. It is very sad that many people don’t try to learn another language. It is even worse when people let themselves forget their mother language and become silenced.

1.What is the passage mainly about?

A. The benefits of learning other languages.

B. The reasons why people come to America.

C. The importance of learning English.

D. How to learn another language.

2.The passage begins with the experience of the Vieira family in order to_______.

A. discuss the need for teaching a new language

B. introduce the passage’s main characters to the readers

C. describe the advantages of moving to another country

D. show the problems of speaking only one language

3.The underlined phrase “multi-language speakers” (Paragraph 5) means “people who know ______.”

A. their mother language          B. a new language

C. more than one language        D. body language

4.According to the passage, if you can speak more than one language, you can____.

A. find a better job

B. make more friends

C. better understand history

D. communicate more independently

5.Based on the last paragraph, which of the following is the worst?

A. Not knowing another language.

B. Forgetting one’s mother language.

C. Refusing to learn another language.

D. Failing to communicate with others.

Making friend is a skill. Like most skills, it improves with practice. If you want to meet people and make friends, you must be willing（乐意） to take some action. You must first go where there are people. You won’t make friends staying home alone.
Join a club or group, talking with those who like the same things you do is much easier. Or join someone in some activity.
Many people are nervous when talking to new people. After all, meeting strangers means facing the unknown. And it’s human nature to feel a bit uncomfortable about the unknown.
Most of our fears about dealing with new people come from doubts about ourselves. We imagine other people are giving an opinion about us-finding us too tall or too short, too this or too that. But don’t forget that they must be feeling the same away. Try to accept(接受)yourself as you are, and try to put the other person at ease(不拘束). You’ll both feel more comfortable.
Try to keep self-confident(自信)even when you don’t feel that way when you enter a room full of strangers, such as a new classroom, walk tall(趾高气扬)and straight, look directly at other people and smile.
If you see someone you’d like to speak to, say something. Don’t wait for the other person to start a conversation.
Just meeting someone new does not mean that you will make friends with that person-friendship is based on each other’s liking and “give and take”. They take time and efforts to develop. And there are things that keep a new friendship from growing.
【小题1】If you want to meet people and make friends, what should you do?

The park is     a beautiful place that     many people come here every day.

A. so; such     B. such; so      C.such; such     D.so; so

In the tenth grade, I began volunteering at a vet hospital in order to get experience for what I thought would be my future job. As it turned out, the experience I got at the hospital taught me the opposite: my future was not in vet medicine. However, there is one particular Saturday morning that taught me something maybe more important.

The hospital was in the middle of one of the poorer sections of the city and we often had people come in who could just only pay for the most basic treatments. This Saturday a man and his young son, who was probably about 7 years old, walked in with a small cat in a cardboard box. I remember the cat had an eye infection (感染) but the man could not afford to pay for the cost of the medicine in addition to the exam. When he asked where the nearest the animal shelter（庇护所） was, his son cried and started to argue with his father. Out of the blue, an older woman who was sitting in the waiting room stood up, walked up to the counter, and told the man that she would pay for anything that he could not afford. The man thanked her and the son got to keep a healthy cat.

I had always thought it was the right thing to help out a needy person, but it was only seen on TV or in movies. The woman in the vet’s office taught me that these things do happen in real life, and should happen more often. When I am hesitant (犹豫) to help someone who is in need, I remember that woman, and have the courage to do it. Sometimes other people follow.

1.Why did the writer work at the vet hospital?

A．He thought he would work there in the future.

B．He wanted to get some skills of treating animals.

C．He wanted to get some money for his schooling.

D．He wanted to get some experience for his future work.

2.What is the most important according to the writer?

A．How to be a kind person who helps others.

B．The practical experience of the vet job.

C．How to deal with the owners of pets.

D．The knowledge of vet medicine.

3.What does the underlined phrase “out of the blue”?

A．Out of order.       B．All of a sudden .     C．Now and then.      D．First of all.

4.________ made the writer have the courage to help someone in need.

A．The officer        B．The boy           C．The woman        D．The father