Learning English for 2008 Beijing Olympics

Yang Zhenhua has been a taxi driver for years．He knows every comer of the city．His work usually wins him thanks except when he meets foreigners，for Yang doesn’t know any English．

“Now I study English in my free time，”said Yang in his 40s．He pulls an English textbook from the toolbox．“I study English to help with Beijing Olympics，”he said proudly．Yang is just one of the millions of common people in Beijing who started to learn English when Beijing became the host city of the 2008 Olympic Games．Learning and speaking is hot among the people of this 3,000 - year - old city．From schools to factories，men and women，old and young are studying their“ABC”．Books teaching useful expressions for everyday communication are the most popular．

Some people，such as taxi drivers，bus conductors and the policemen，are asked to learn basic English．Nearly 3,000 students from 50 universities in Beijing went to the streets last August as volunteers to teach English to the people of this city．They taught common and useful sentences， such as greetings and asking and answering simple questions．Official figures show that about 15% of Beijing citizens can speak English．It is said that it will rise to 70% or 80% during the following years．Besides，the government encourages the use of English in many places．The city underground railways give messages by radio in both English and Chinese．English，not Chinese， is used as the most important working language for the Olympic Committee．Nearly all the committee members can speak English freely．Many are good at the language．

1．Yang zhenhua can hardly win himself thanks from foreigners because       ．

A．he isn’t polite to them at all         B．he is a common taxi driver

C．he can’t speak English             D．he doesn’t know the city well

2．According to the passage，the English beginners in Beijing like to learn        best．

A．the letters A，B and C．            B．everyday English

C．English texts                      D．English news

3．Nearly 3,000 students from 50 universities in Beijing went to the streets last August to      ．

      A．practice their spoken English         B．show their love of Beijing

      C．tell people the importance of English   D．teach the Beijing citizens English

4．Which of the following is TRUE?

      A．All the people in Beijing are asked to speak English．

      B．Beijing citizens are encouraged to use as much English as possible．

      C．All the taxi drivers in Beijing must speak English．

      D．Beijingers study English to take part in the Beijing Olympics．

5．The passage is about                   ．

A．the importance of English

B．how to learn English well

C．the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games．

D．more and more people are learning English in Beijing．

　　Yang Zhenhua has been a taxi driver for years. He knows every corner of the city. His work usually wins him thanks except when he meets foreigners, for Yang Zhenhua does not know any English.

　　 “Now I study English in my free time,” said Yang in his 40s. He pulls an English textbook from the toolbox. “I study English to help with Beijing's Olympics,” he said proudly. Yang is just one of the millions of common people in Beijing who started to learn English when Beijing was decided to host the 2008 Olympic Games.

　　Learning and speaking English is “hot” among the people of this 3 000-year-old city. From schools to factories, men and women, old and young are studying their “ABC”. Books teaching useful expressions for everyday conununication (交际) are the most popular.

　　Some people, such as taxi drivers, bus conductors and the police, are asked to learn basic English. Nearly 3 000 students from 50 universities in Beijing reached the streets last August as volunteers to teach English to the people of this city. They taught common and useful sentences, such as greeting (打招呼) and asking and answering simple questions.

　　Official figures (数字) show that about 15% of Beijingers can speak English, more or less. It is said that it will rise to 70% or 80% during the following six years. Besides, the government encourages (鼓励) the use of English in many places. The city underground railways gives messages by radio in both English and Chinese.

　　English, not Chinese, is used as the most important working language for the Olympic development. In the Beijing 2008 Olympic Committee (委员会) , nearly all the committee members can speak English freely. Many are very good at the language.

(1) Yang Zhenhua can hardly win himself thanks from foreigners because ________.

[　　]

A．he isn't polite to them at all

B．he is a common taxi driver

C．he can't speak English

D．he doesn't know the city well

(2) According to the report, the English beginners in Beijing best like to learn ________.

[　　]

A．the letters A、B and C

B．everyday English

C．English texts

D．words and expressions

(3) Nearly 3 000 students from 50 universities in Beijing reached the streets last August to ________.

[　　]

A．practise their spoken English

B．show their love of English

C．tell people the importance of English

D．teach the Beijingers English

(4) Which of the following is true?

[　　]

A．All Beijingers are asked to speak English.

B．Beijingers are encouraged to use as much English as possible.

C．All the taxi drivers in Beijing must speak English.

D．Beijingers study English to be in the Beijing Olympics.

(5) The report is about ________.

[　　]

A．the importance of English

B．how to learn English well

C．the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

D．learning English is hot in Beijing

A)请阅读下面短文，根据短文内容从每小题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项                              

A

1 How much are the musical tickets for two children?

A. 16 pounds,      B, 35 pounds.      C. 30 pounds.      D. 40 pounds.

2When will the Teenage Drawing Competition be held?

A. On June 7th.                        B. On August 6th.

C. On September 20th.             D. On April 25th.

3 Where can you watch Adele's performance this Sunday afternoon?

A. At St. James' s Park.                 B. At Westfield Theater.

C. At Westfield Shopping Center.        D. At Cambridge Theater.

B

     When I crossed a small road on my first day in Kolkata, I was surprised because I heard a bell-not a horn (喇叭),  It was a tiny man pulling a rickshaw, He stopped and picked up two children from the front door of their house and pulled them to school. For many people, the rickshaw in Kolkata has many advantages, When the traffic is bad, rickshaws find a way through the traffic. If your miss your bus and there aren't any taxis, you can always find a rickshaw in Kolkata. Rickshaws are from your house to the market and waits for you. Then he loads (装载)all your things, drops you off outside your home and helps you unload, No other type of public transport offers this kind of service.

    From June to September, Kolkata gets heavy rain. Sometimes it rains for 48 hours without a break. In some parts of the city, the roads flood (水淹), and anything with an engine(发动机) is useless, But the rickshaw drivers never stop working, even with water all around them.

    But not everyone thinks rickshaws are a good thing. The local government want to ban rickshaws. They believe it is wrong for one man to pull another person when there is modern transport in the city. However, there is a problem with this plan. Many of the rickshaw drivers come from the countryside. The only job they can find in Kolkata is pulling a rickshaw, If the city bans rickshaws, these men won't have a job. So for the moment, the people of Kolkata still go by rickshaw.

   4What is the main idea of Paragraph 1?

    A. The rickshaw drivers carry things for local people in Kolkata.

    B. Parents need rickshaws for taking children to school in Kolkata.

    C. Rickshaws can find a way through the bad traffic in Kolkata.

    D. Rickshaws are very useful for the people' s daily life in Kolkata.

  5 What does the underlined word "ban" mean?

    A. make       B. increase     C. forbid      D. collect

  6What can we learn from the passage?

    A. The rickshaws in Kolkata have loud horns.

    B. The rickshaw is still a part of public transport in Kolkata.

    C. The local government offer many other jobs to the rickshaw driven.

D. The people in Kolkata are supposed to take rickshaws instead of cars.

                               C

     Nathan Sawaya's childhood was a lot of fun. He drew cartoons, wrote stories, and played with plastic toy bricks (积木). His grandparents bought his first set of toy bricks when he was five years old and he's been building with toy bricks ever since. He even took his building bricks to college with him! Instead of books and a computer, he had a model of Greenwich Village made of bricks on his desk.

     Nathan started as a lawyer but gave up His highly-paid (高薪的) job to become an artist that uses toys in his art. He uses toy bricks to build everything from the Statue of Liberty(自由女神像) to Superman! He has more than 1.5 million colored bricks in his working room in New York which he uses to make pieces of art. He started by building small models but then decided to do something big and created a self-portrait (自画像). It took him two days just to build the eyes.

     Nathan's work has appeared in museums around the world. Children love his art because it is made out of the same toys that they play with at home and adults love his work because it is fascinating. Since it began in2007, Nathan's exhibition "The Art of the Brick" has been very popular with museum visitors everywhere.

     "I'm proud that I took a dream I had as a child, to become an artist, and I have actually made a job out of it," says Nathan. "To do what you love in life is the most important thing."

   7What did Nathan put on his desk at college?

    A. The Statue of Liberty.

    B. Superman.

    C. His serf-portrait.

    D. A Greenwich Village modal.

  8Why did Nathan give up his job as a lawyer?

    A. Because he made little money out of a lawyer.

    B. Because he wanted to make toys for the children.

    C. Because he decided to become an artist of toy bricks.

    D. Because he was going to work in the museum instead.

  9What does the underlined word "it" in Paragraph 3 refer to?

    A. Nathan's work.                 B. Nathan's exhibition.

    C. Nathan's art.                   D. Nathan's self-portrait

   10 What would be the best title for the passage?

    A. The Brick Artist                B. The Brick Exhibition

C. Toy Bricks for Adults           D. The Artist's Childhood