The speaker, a teacher from a community college, addressed a sympathetic(赞同的) audience. Heads nodded in agreement when he said, “High school English teachers are not doing their jobs.” He described the inadequacies of his students, all high school graduates who can use language only at a grade 9 level. I was unable to determine from his answers to my questions how this grade 9 level had been established.

My topic is not standards nor its decline(降低). What the speaker was really saying is that he is no longer young; he has been teaching for sixteen years, and is able to think and speak like a mature adult.

　　My point is that the frequent complaint of one generation about the one immediately following it is inevitable. It is also human nature to look for the reasons for our dissatisfaction. Before English became a school subject in the late nineteenth century, it was difficult to find the target of the blame for language deficiencies (缺陷). But since then, English teachers have been under constant attack.

　　The complainers think they have hit upon an original idea. As their own command of the language improves, they notice that young people do not have this same ability. Unaware that their own ability has developed through the years, they assume the new generation of young people must be hopeless in this respect. To the eyes and ears of sensitive adults the language of the young always seems inadequate.

Since this concern about the decline and fall of the English language is not perceived(察觉) as a generational phenomenon but rather as something new and peculiar(特有的) to today’s          young people, it naturally follows that today’s English teachers cannot be doing their jobs. Otherwise, young people would not commit offenses against the language.

The speaker the author mentioned in the passage believed that _____.

A. the language of the younger generation is usually inferior(差的) to that of the older     

generation

B. the students had a poor command of English because they didn’t work hard enough

C. he was an excellent language teacher because he had been teaching English for sixteen  

years

D. English teachers should be held responsible for the students’ poor command of English

In the author’s opinion, the speaker ______.

A. gave a correct judgment of the English level of the students

B. had exaggerated(夸大) the language problems of the students

C. was right in saying that English teachers were not doing their jobs

D. could think and speak intelligently

The author’s attitude towards the speaker’s remarks is ______.

A. neutral                    B. positive                   C. critical             D. compromising

It can be concluded from the passage that ______.

A. it is justifiable(有理由的) to include English as a school subject

B. the author disagrees with the speaker over the standard of English at Grade 9 level

C. English language teaching is by no means an easy job

D. language improvement needs time and effort

In the passage the author argues that ______.

A. it is unfair to blame the English teachers for the language deficiencies of the students

B. young people would not commit offences against the language if the teachers did their 

jobs properly

C. to eliminate(消除) language deficiencies one must have sensitive eyes and ears

D. to improve the standard of English requires the effort of several generations

People always say that the earlier one learns a language, the ___1___ it is to do so, in theory it is that, ___2___, in my opinion, that refers to spoken language. Capability to practise some essential ___3___ of a language and read between the lines can only be trained through proper reading ways and hard work ___4___. So spending money to help ___5___ learn English may ___6___ with disappointment. It is likely that the more you ___7___, the more you are let down.
The daughter of one of my friends ___8___ English in primary school, ___9___ her foreign teacher’s blindness ___10___ psychology. She did not want to go on ___11___ English until middle school, ___12___ a college student studying in English slowly ___13___ her interest in the language.
It is better to have the child learn Chinese, than to have some difficulty ___14___ learning English for several years. Having been engaged in English education, ___15___ find that despite their excellent ___16___, many students have ___17___ command of English words and phrases. So I suggest that children ___18___ classical Chinese prose, rather than ___19___ them to learn English hurriedly. Otherwise, they may ___20___ the best time to improve the language ability of their mother tongue.(www.yygrammar.com)

In 1989 an 8.2 earthquake almost flattened America, killing over 30,000 people in less than four minutes. In the middle of complete damage and disorder, a father rushed to the school where his son was supposed to be,   36   that the building was   37  .

After the unforeseeable shock, he   38   the promise he had made to his son: “No matter   39  , I’ll always be there for you!” And tears began to   40   his eyes. As he looked at the pile of ruins , it looked hopeless, but he kept remembering his   41  to his son. He rushed there and started   42   through the ruins.

As he was digging, other helpless parents arrived,   43  : “It’s too late! They’re all dead!

  44  , face the reality, there’s nothing you can do!” To each parent he responded with   45  : “Are you going to help me now?” No one helped. And then he continued to dig for his son, stone by stone.

Courageously he went on alone because he needed to know   46  : “Is my boy   47   or is he dead?” He dug for 8 hours...12 hours...24 hours...36 hours...then, in   48  hour, he pulled back a large stone and heard his son’s   49  . He creamed his son’s name, “ARMAND!” He heard back, “Dad! It’s me, Dad! I told the other kids not to worry. I told them that if you were alive, you’d   50  me and   51  you saved me, they’d he saved. You promised, ‘No matter what happens, I’ll always be there for you!’ You did it, Dad!”

“What’s going on in there?” the father asked.

“There are 14 of us   52     53   33, Dad. We’re scared, hungry, thirsty and thankful you’re here.  When the building collapsed, it made   54  , and it saved us.”

“Come, out, boy!”

“No, Dad! Let the other kids out first,   55   I know you’ll get me! No matter what happens, I know you’ll always be there for me!”

A．only discovering                      B．only to discover      

            C．only realizing                        D．only to realize

A．as flat as a pancake                   B．as high as a mountain

            C．as strong as an ox                      D．as weak as a kitten

A．memorized    B．forgot               C．kept            D．remembered

A．what          B．what happen         C．which           D．who

A．fill            B．fill in               C．come           D．burst

A．picture        B．promise             C．present         D．encourage

A．digging        B．digging through       C．digging out      D．digging into

A．to say         B．said                C．and saying      D．saying

A．Come out      B．Come again          C．Come on       D．Come off

A．one word      B．one sound         C．one row        D．one line

A．for himself    B．of himself           C．by himself      D．to himself

A．live               B．living               C．alive            D．lively

A．38            B．the 38               C．38 th         D．the 38 th

A．sound         B．voice               C．noise           D．tone

A．will save       B．would save           C．save            D．would have saved

A．when          B．because             C．even if          D．thought

A．remained       B．missing             C．left            D．gone

A．for            B．behind              C．out of           D．over

A．a promise      B．space             C．room          D．a triangle

A．because        B．though              C．when           D．even though

“Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity,” said the American talk show host Oprah Winfrey. I’ve never watched her show, but when a self-made billionaire gives life advice it’s probably worth listening to.

Her point is that blind luck is very rare. You may have to be lucky to find a good job these days but that does not mean you should sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you. If you’re a Chinese, you may already be familiar with the tale of a farmer waiting by a tree stump(树桩) for a rabbit to run out and break its neck.

A book by the UK psychologist Richard Wiseman, called The Luck Factor, argues we can all make ourselves luckier. It’s not about going to a temple to burn some incense(香) hopes that the gods will give you good fortune; it’s practical advice you can follow each day.

Wiseman conducted an experiment as part of his studies. First he divided volunteers into two groups; those who said they were lucky in life and those who said they were not. He gave everyone a newspaper and asked them to look through it to count how many photographs it had inside. On average, the unlucky people took about two minutes to count the photographs while the lucky people took just seconds. Why? On the second page of the newspaper, a command, “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper,” was written in big letters. The unlucky people mostly did not spot the message.

It’s easy to compare this situation to a young person looking for jobs in a local paper. They might search so hard for one type of position that they miss an even better opportunity. People who are “lucky”, in fact, keep an open mind and don’t go through the same routine every day.

I first came to China in 2002 when it was considered a rather strange thing to do. Like many foreigners, my plan was to teach English for one year. Seven years later, and still here, I’ve had many great opportunities such as writing for newspapers and magazines. I did not dream these would have been possible. I’ve also never been sick, had an accident, got into a fight or had problems with the police. Coincidence? After reading about Professor Wiseman’s studies I think not.

As Wiseman advises, I usually trust my own judgment. Your friends and parents may give you advice based on rational thinking, but it’s important to consider how you feel about each choice you make. Your feeling acts as a warning for a potential problem.

Finally, try to turn bad luck into good. Even if you do fall down and break a leg, the time spent at home can be used wisely to study English.

1.Which of the following proverbs most agrees with the writer’s point?

  A. Make the best of a bad job.

B. Rome was not built in a day.

C. All is not gold that glitters.

D. A good heart conquers ill fortune.

2.What do you know about Oprah Winfrey?

  A. She became famous through her family background.

B. She was very lucky and seldom suffered setbacks in her life.

C. She is a British talk show host.

D. She became successful by her own effort.

3. The writer quoted the Chinese tale of a farmer in order to show __________.

  A. luck is in your own hand

B. bad luck can turn into good

C. you should not sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you

D. man can conquer nature