Pronouncing a language is a skill. Every normal person is expert in the skill of pronouncing his own language, but few people are even just a little skilled at pronouncing foreign languages. Now there are many reasons for this some obvious, some perhaps not so obvious. But I suggest that the important reason why people in general do not speak foreign languages very much better than they do is that fail to grasp the true nature of the problem of learning to pronounce, and as a result never set about dealing with it in the right way. Far too many people fail to realize that pronouncing a foreign language is skill, one that needs careful training of a special kind, and one that cannot be reached just leaving it to take care of itself. I think even teachers of language, while recognizing the importance of a good accent, tend to take no notice of, in their practical teaching, the branch of study concerned 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 his whole attitude to the subject should get the student to feel that here is matter worthy of receiving his close attention. So, there should be time when other aspects（方面）of English, such as grammar or spelling, are allowed for the moment to take second place.

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

　　It is important that the teacher should be in possession of the necessary information. This can generally be learned from books. It is possible to get from books some idea of the mechanics of speech, and of what we call general phonetic（语言）theory. It is also possible in this may to get a clear. mental picture of the relationship between the sounds of different languages, between the speech habits of English people and those, say, of your students. Unless the teacher has such a picture, any comments he may make on his students' pronunciation are unlikely to be of much use, and lesson time spent on pronunciation may well be time-wasted.

(1) According to the passage, ________ pronouncing foreign languages.

[　　]

A．few people are extremely good at

B．even modern people are not good at

C．only few people are somewhat good at

D．few people are at the average level in

(2) According to the author, pronunciation is a skill that can NOT be ________.

[　　]

(3) In the author's opinion, ________.

[　　]

A．grammar is less important than pronunciation

B．grammar and spelling should always make room for pronunciation

C．grammar and spelling are sometimes less important than pronunciation

D．grammar is more important than spelling

　　Pronouncing a language is a skill. Every normal person is expert in the skill of pronouncing his own language, but few people are even just a little skilled at pronouncing foreign languages. Now there are many reasons for this some obvious, some perhaps not so obvious. But I suggest that the important reason why people in general do not speak foreign languages very much better than they do is that fail to grasp the true nature of the problem of learning to pronounce, and as a result never set about dealing with it in the right way. Far too many people fail to realize that pronouncing a foreign language is skill, one that needs careful training of a special kind, and one that cannot be reached just leaving it to take care of itself. I think even teachers of language, while recognizing the importance of a good accent, tend to take no notice of, in their practical teaching, the branch of study concerned 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 his whole attitude to the subject should get the student to feel that here is matter worthy of receiving his close attention. So, there should be time when other aspects（方面）of English, such as grammar or spelling, are allowed for the moment to take second place.

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

　　It is important that the teacher should be in possession of the necessary information. This can generally be learned from books. It is possible to get from books some idea of the mechanics of speech, and of what we call general phonetic（语言）theory. It is also possible in this may to get a clear. mental picture of the relationship between the sounds of different languages, between the speech habits of English people and those, say, of your students. Unless the teacher has such a picture, any comments he may make on his students' pronunciation are unlikely to be of much use, and lesson time spent on pronunciation may well be time-wasted.

(1) According to the passage, ________ pronouncing foreign languages.

[　　]

A．few people are extremely good at

B．even modern people are not good at

C．only few people are somewhat good at

D．few people are at the average level in

(2) According to the author, pronunciation is a skill that can NOT be ________.

[　　]

(3) In the author's opinion, ________.

[　　]

A．grammar is less important than pronunciation

B．grammar and spelling should always make room for pronunciation

C．grammar and spelling are sometimes less important than pronunciation

D．grammar is more important than spelling

　　Then by chance, Darwin read a book by Malthus, an Englishman. The book was forty years old, and Malthus was already dead. But it suddenly pushed Darwin nearer to some answers. Malthus said,“The number of people in the world can grow very quickly. Just think, a man and his wife could have ten children. When these ten grow up, every one of them could have ten more children. So now we have a hundred children. Again, if every one of these has ten children, we will have a thousand children and this can continue. We will have more and more people.”

　　All this could happen. But did it? Malthus said,“No. It doesn't happen in the real world. The number of people remains almost the same. Why? The reason is this. We just can't grow food quickly enough. Soon there's not enough food. So some people can't eat. They die before they bring any more children into the world.”

　　These ideas came at just the right time for Darwin. He asked one more question: Which people will die before they have children? For Malthus, this was not an important question. But for Darwin, it was very important.

　　He asked,“Which people will have children? Why does this man have children, and why does that man not have any?”And soon of course he was thinking of the Galapagos finches（鸣鸟）again.

　　“The number of finches remains almost the same. So usually two birds must give us only two new birds. But a finch lays more than two eggs. Which two young birds will live, and give us more eggs? Which will not?”

　　The answer is some birds can't get enough food--they will die. But why can't they get enough? Why are some birds better than them? The birds in one family are not quite the same. Some are stronger, some are quicker, some are bigger, some have longer beaks, some have lighter bodies. The best birds will live.

　　And always an answer brought with a question: What is“best”? Darwin now, had his list of facts and questions, answers and ideas. Could he put them together and make a clear story? Could he explain the evolution（进化）of the finches?

　　He could and he did.

(1) What are the general differences between Darwin and Malthus according to the passage?

[　　]

A．Darwin thought of the evolution while Malthus considered the starvation.

B．Malthus believed that more food was needed for more people while Darwin found the answer to the problem of how to keep the“best one”.

C．Darwin concluded“the survival of the fittest”,while Malthus made it clear that the lack of food might prevent the increase of population.

D．Malthus felt it important for people to live better while Darwin supposed it more important for birds to have more young ones.

(2) What is Malthus'point of view about the problem of population?

A．It is natural for the population to increase without any plan.

B．It is unnecessary to make people have fewer children.

C．Some people could not have fewer children because of the lack of food.

D．The number of people would remain almost the same if the food conditions would not change.

(3) What was the result of Darwin's research?

[　　]

A．He wanted to find out why some birds can live better while some others cannot.

B．He only made an answer to the question“What is the best?”

C．He explained the evolution of the finches through his observation（观察）.

D．He discovered a lot more“Whys”than Malthus did.

(4) Which of the following is TRUE?

[　　]

A．Darwin developed his theory with the help of Malthus'.

B．Darwin agreed completely with Malthus.

C．Darwin held the same opinion that lack of food made people have fewer children.

D．Darwin used finches to do experiments before using people.

(5) From the passage we can find out the author ________.

[　　]

A．preferred talking about Darwin to Malthus

B．just gave some facts of scientists'research work without any comments（评论）

C．thought Malthus'book led Darwin to the scientific research of the birds

D．believed Darwin had done much more research work than Malthus ever did

　　Then by chance, Darwin read a book by Malthus, an Englishman. The book was forty years old, and Malthus was already dead. But it suddenly pushed Darwin nearer to some answers. Malthus said,“The number of people in the world can grow very quickly. Just think, a man and his wife could have ten children. When these ten grow up, every one of them could have ten more children. So now we have a hundred children. Again, if every one of these has ten children, we will have a thousand children and this can continue. We will have more and more people.”

　　All this could happen. But did it? Malthus said,“No. It doesn't happen in the real world. The number of people remains almost the same. Why? The reason is this. We just can't grow food quickly enough. Soon there's not enough food. So some people can't eat. They die before they bring any more children into the world.”

　　These ideas came at just the right time for Darwin. He asked one more question: Which people will die before they have children? For Malthus, this was not an important question. But for Darwin, it was very important.

　　He asked,“Which people will have children? Why does this man have children, and why does that man not have any?”And soon of course he was thinking of the Galapagos finches（鸣鸟）again.

　　“The number of finches remains almost the same. So usually two birds must give us only two new birds. But a finch lays more than two eggs. Which two young birds will live, and give us more eggs? Which will not?”

　　The answer is some birds can't get enough food--they will die. But why can't they get enough? Why are some birds better than them? The birds in one family are not quite the same. Some are stronger, some are quicker, some are bigger, some have longer beaks, some have lighter bodies. The best birds will live.

　　And always an answer brought with a question: What is“best”? Darwin now, had his list of facts and questions, answers and ideas. Could he put them together and make a clear story? Could he explain the evolution（进化）of the finches?

　　He could and he did.

(1) What are the general differences between Darwin and Malthus according to the passage?

[　　]

A．Darwin thought of the evolution while Malthus considered the starvation.

B．Malthus believed that more food was needed for more people while Darwin found the answer to the problem of how to keep the“best one”.

C．Darwin concluded“the survival of the fittest”,while Malthus made it clear that the lack of food might prevent the increase of population.

D．Malthus felt it important for people to live better while Darwin supposed it more important for birds to have more young ones.

(2) What is Malthus'point of view about the problem of population?

A．It is natural for the population to increase without any plan.

B．It is unnecessary to make people have fewer children.

C．Some people could not have fewer children because of the lack of food.

D．The number of people would remain almost the same if the food conditions would not change.

(3) What was the result of Darwin's research?

[　　]

A．He wanted to find out why some birds can live better while some others cannot.

B．He only made an answer to the question“What is the best?”

C．He explained the evolution of the finches through his observation（观察）.

D．He discovered a lot more“Whys”than Malthus did.

(4) Which of the following is TRUE?

[　　]

A．Darwin developed his theory with the help of Malthus'.

B．Darwin agreed completely with Malthus.

C．Darwin held the same opinion that lack of food made people have fewer children.

D．Darwin used finches to do experiments before using people.

(5) From the passage we can find out the author ________.

[　　]

A．preferred talking about Darwin to Malthus

B．just gave some facts of scientists'research work without any comments（评论）

C．thought Malthus'book led Darwin to the scientific research of the birds

D．believed Darwin had done much more research work than Malthus ever did

Most people say “yes” much more readily than “no”.

A friend is moving house this weekend and would like some help, and you agree. But, what you really wanted was a couple of quiet days relaxing at home. Or a roommate spends the entire weekends playing video games and wants to borrow your homework for “reference”. But, you’ve just finished it after taking a whole day to work hard.

Many people say “yes” to these kinds of requests. They tend not to consider their own interests and feelings, and are often angry with themselves afterwards .

Saying “no” requires courage and considerable practice, in fact, according to psychologists .

“Everyone wants to be liked,” says Gabriele Steinki, a German psychologist. “Saying ‘no’ risks losing the affection of the person asking the favor or even a job.”

The result is that many people say “yes” just for keeping the peace. But experts say this is regrettable . Anyone should have the right to say “no”.

In fact, rejecting (拒绝) a request can even help to strengthen a relationship because it expresses a true feeling.

But, for people Used to agreeing to every request, changing can be a long and uncomfortable learning process.

Most people believe that “If I say ‘no’, I'll lose the affection of the person. But the affection is important to me.” This way of thinking can be replaced by this: “If he only likes me because I always do what suits him , then the price of his affection is too high in the long term.”

Steinki says the key is talking to the other person to find a mutual (相互的) solution. “One heeds to present the situation from one’s own point of view, and to suggest how the situation can be dealt with to the advantage of both parties. The other person must have the feeling that his interests are being considered.”

When the refusal is not accepted, Steinki advises giving the reasons calmly again until the person gets the message .

56. Most people say “yes” much more readily than “no” because ________.

A. they don’t care about their own interests and feelings

B. they don’t know they will regret afterwards

C. they have already been used to saying “yes”

D. they care more about others’ affection

57. In the opinion of experts, _________ .

A. people need a lot of practice to say “no”

B. people should say “yes” to keep the peace

C. saying “no” means losing a job

D. people have the right to be liked

58.According to the writer, what should you do if you want to refuse the other person’s request?

A. Just say you can’t help him.

B. Say sorry to him.

C. Refuse him clearly.

D. Talk to the other person to find a mutual way.

59.According to the writer, what should you do if your refusal is not accepted?

A. Say yes to him.                              B. Repeat your reason for his acceptance（接受，认可）

C. Just go away                                  D. Say no to him

60. What is the best title of the passage?

A. You Need Courage To Say “No”   B. “Yes” More Than “No”

C Anyone Has The Right To Say “No” D. It’s Hard To Say “No”