A

Pronouncing words of a language is a skill. Every normal person is expert in the skill of pronouncing their own language; but few people are ever skilled at pronouncing foreign languages. Now there are many reasons for this, some obvious, some perhaps not so obvious. But I suggest that the reason why people in general do not speak foreign languages much better than they do their own language is that they fail to grasp the true nature of the problem of learning to pronounce, and never set about solving it in the right way. Far too many people fail to realize that pronouncing a foreign language is a skill-one that needs careful training of a special kind, and one that cannot be gained by just leaving it to take care of itself. I think even teachers of language, while recognizing the importance of a good accent, tend to neglect(忽略), in their practical teaching, the branch of study which has something to do with speaking the language. So the first point I want to make is that English pronunciation must be taught. The teacher should be prepared to devote some of the lesson time to this, and by his whole attitude(态度)to the subject should get the student to feel that here is a matter worthy of receiving close attention, thus when other aspects(方面)of English, such as grammar or spelling, are allowed for the moment, to take second place, there is something else.

Except for the question of time given to pronunciation, there are two other requirements for the teacher: the first, knowledge; the second, technique.

1. Why don't people speak a foreign language better than they speak they native language?

A. Because they can't grasp the nature of the problem of learning to pronounce.

B. Because they think pronouncing a foreign language is a impossible.

C. Because they never solve the problem in any way.

D. Because they pay more attention to pronunciation than anything else.

2. What is the passage mainly about?

A. Grammar should be paid no attention to.

B. Pronunciation is the most important aspect in learning a foreign language.

C. Spelling should not be taught in class.

D. Knowledge and technique are unnecessary in learning a foreign language.

A pill，code-named HT-0712，may make forgetfulness a thing of the past. It is being developed in the US and could go on sale within five years.

According to the newspaper The Sun，the wonder drug has been nicknamed “Mind Viagra”and has already been shown to boost the memory power of mice and flies. Next it will be tested on humans. This is just one of a number of drugs in a pharmaceutical (制药的) race to develop an increased memory pill. At least 12 US companies are believed to be working on similar projects.

Tim Tully，the founder of US drug company Helicon Therapeutics，who is in charge of the HT-0712 project，gave this practical example of its use for students：“If it takes two weeks to memorize a verse of Shakespeare，with one of these drugs you might be able to do it in two or three days. ”

“The memory drug business appears to be set to become a multi-million dollar industry，”experts say. This summer，100 Americans suffering mild memory loss will test HT-0712 in the first experiment on people.

“You don’t think better than you did before，you just get the facts in with less practice. There is a growing belief that memory and memory loss is just another treatable condition，”says Tully.

However，there is some doubt whether the drugs can really improve memory. In a study by the US’s Yale University Medical School，researchers suggested that the drug might affect other parts of the memory.

1.Which of the following can be most likely to replace the underlined word “boost” in the second paragraph?

A.Reduce.　　　 B.Increase.　　　　 C.Kill.　　　　　　 D.Harm.

2.What will happen to the students most probably if they take HT-0712?

A.They will grow taller.

B.They can memorize things easily.

C.They won’t suffer from illness.

D.They will choose whatever universities they like.

3.The future of HT-0712 can be said　　　　 according to experts.

A.dim　　　　　 B.uncertain　　　　 C.bright　　　　　　 D.worried

4.HT-0712 is a pill that　　　　 .

A.has bad effect on the health of mice and flies

B.has been experimented on dozens of animals

C.will be experimented on humans this summer

D.is certain to do no harm to human

5.The purpose of writing the passage is to　　　　 .

A.warn people the harm of HT-0712

B.introduce to people the advantages of HT-0712

C.tell people something about HT-0712

D.doubt whether it is worth developing HT-0712

D  
Every August on the island of Heimaey, young people often take a walk along the street throughout the night. Why their parents allow them to stay out ? The children of Heimaey are going to save young puffins ---- small black-and-white seabirds.
The cliffs（悬崖）above the town are home to a large group of puffins . The birds dig holes all around the cliffs . These holes are their homes. The young stay in the holes for about seven weeks. Then they begin to leave . Some move slowly on their undeveloped wings and feet down to the sea around Heimaey. There they swim, which they can do naturally , and learn to dive for fish . Others, however, may lose their way at night and find themselves in the town instead. On the ground, the young birds are in trouble. Because their wings are fully developed, they cannot take off quickly to sea and safety. The birds then become a good meal for cats and other animals .
For many years, islanders have help the young puffins. At night in late August, children carrying thick paper boxes and lights hurry out to catch puffins . They spend most of the night running after the birds. They put the birds they've caught into boxes and take good care of them .
The next morning the children take the puffins to the sea and set them free. The bird will live at sea until they are at least two years old. Then they will return to the cliffs to build homes of their own.
The children of Heimaey look forward to August !
16．Every August the children of Heimaey are allowed to stay out all night.    
A．to catch puffins and take them home  B．to save puffins from danger
C．to drive puffins away  D．to run after puffins for pleasure
17．The young puffins that lose their way are in the danger of ______.
A．being killed by hunters  B．knowing nothing about the sea
C．being eaten by animals  D．having no fish to eat
18．The children put the seabirds into boxes and ______.     
A．look after them carefully for several days, then set them free
B．set them free when they grow bigger and can take off to sea and safety
C．carry them to the sea right away to set them free
D．they don' t set them free until the next morning
19．The children look forward to August because ______.     
A．they enjoy playing the game of running after seabirds
B．it' s time for them to go out at night to save puffins
C．it' s time for them to catch seabirds
D．they like to stay out at night to catch puffins
20．According to the passage, which of the following is NOT TRUE?   
A．Once a year the children are allowed to stay out at night to have a good time .
B．The earlier home for the young puffins is in the cliffs, not in the sand of shores .
C．Young puffins make their way down to the sea when they are about seven weeks old.
D．The young birds that get to the sea will stay there for at least two years before they return to the cliffs .

A serious problem for today’s society is who should be responsible for our elderly(老年人) and how to improve their lives. It is not only a financial problem but also a question of the system we want for our society. I would like to suggest several possible solutions to this problem.
First, employers should take the responsibility for their retired employees. To make this possible, a percentage of profits should be set aside for this purpose. But when a company must take life-long responsibility for its employees, it may suffer from a commercial disadvantage due to higher employee costs.
Another way of solving the problem is to return the responsibility to the individual. This means each person must save during his working years to pay for his years of retirement. This does not seem a very fair model since some people have enough trouble paying for their daily life without trying to earn extra to cover their retirement years. This means the government might have to step in to care for the poor.
In addition, the government could take responsibility for the care of the elderly. This could be financed through government taxes to increase the level of pensions（养老金）. Furthermore, some in-situation should be created for senior citizens, which can help provide a comfortable life for them. Unfortunately, as the present situation in our country shows, this is not a truly viable answer. The government can seldom afford to care for the elderly, particularly when it is busy trying to care for the young.
One further solution is that the government or social organizations establish some working places especially for the elderly where they are independent.
To sum up, all these options（选择）have advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that some combination of these options may be needed to provide the care we hope to give to our elderly generations.
【小题1】What is the passage mainly about?

A serious problem for today's society is who should be responsible for our elderly and how to improve their lives. It is not only a financial problem but also a question of the system we want for our society. I would like to suggest several possible solutions to this problem.
First, employers should take the responsibility for their retired employees. To make this possible, a percentage of profits should be set aside for this purpose. But when a company must take life-long responsibility for its employees, it may suffer from a commercial disadvantage due to higher employee costs.
Another way of solving the problem is to return the responsibility to the individual. This means each person must save during his working years to pay for his years of retirement. This does not seem a very fair model since some people have enough trouble paying for their daily life without trying to earn extra to cover their retirement years. This means the government might have to step in to care for the poor.
In addition, the government could take responsibility for the care of the elderly. This could be financed through government taxes to increase the level of pensions. Furthermore, some institutions should be created for senior citizens, which can help provide a comfortable life for them. Unfortunately, as the present situation in our country shows, this is not a truly viable answer. The government can seldom afford to care for the elderly, particularly when it is busy trying to care for the young.
One further solution is that the government or social organizations establish some working places especially for the elderly where they are independent.
To sum up, all these options have advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that some combination of these options may be needed to provide the care we hope to give to our elderly generations.
【小题1】What is the passage mainly about?