The Fourth "21th Century Cup" National English Speaking Competition is to be held in Shanghai.

     Organizers: China Daily and Shanghai Broadcasting Network.

     Co-ordinater: China University English Speaking  Association  ( CUESA).

     Co-sponsors (联办单位): English Speaking Union (ESU), Lotus Software (China) Co. LtD.,Times Publishing Group of Singapore, Hilton Shanghai, Pearson Education, Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press.

     Date: March 26 ( Friday), 2011

     Place: Hilton Shanghai.

     Competition Format (形式): Each student will present a prepared speech on the given topic, followed by a three-minute off-hand speech and a three-minute question and answer period with the judges.

     Prepared speech period: six minutes.

     Q & A period: three minutes.

     Speech topic: People and Nature: In search of harmony (和谐）in a new age + your personal opinion. (Topics for the off hand speech will be given on the day of competition).

     Prizes: Besides books and certificates (证书), the top two winners will be offered scholarships to travel to the annual international English-speaking competition which will be held by the English Speaking Union in London in May, 2011. The third and fourth place winners will be offered a study trip to Singapore, sponsored by the Times Publishing Group. The fifth through 10th place winners will be offered cash prizes. All the competitors will receive certificates from the English Speaking Union and book prizes provided by Pearson Education and Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press. The teachers of the top winners will also receive a one-year membership to the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL).

1. The main purpose of this passage is ________________________ .

A. to invite you to take part in the competition

B. to tell you some information of the competition

       C. to help to improve your spoken English

    D. to show you how to win the competition

2. Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the Shanghai English Speaking Competition?

A. Where and when it will take place.                       B. Its program. 

C. What each winner will be offered.                          D. The number of its competitors.

3. Suppose you get the sixth place, you'll________________________ .

    A. travel to London for free.             B. become a one-year member of IATEFL

    C. get some money, some books and a certificate   D. get a chance to study in Singapore

4. An "off-hand speech" is________________________ .

A. a speech not longer than three minutes                B. a speech with a piece of paper in hand

C. a speech without preparation                                   D. a speech which is well prepared

Love, success, happiness, family and freedom——how important are these values to you? Here is one interview which explores the fundamental questions in life.
Question: Could you introduce yourself first?
Answer: My name is Misbah, 27 years old. I was born in a war-torn area. Right now I’m a web designer.
Q: What are your great memories?
A: My parents used to take us to hunt birds, climb trees, and play in the fields. For me it was like a holiday because we were going to have fun all day long. Those are my great memories.
Q: Does your childhood mean a lot to you?
A: Yes. As life was very hard, I used to work to help bring money in for the family. I spent my childhood working, with responsibilities beyond my age. However, it taught me to deal with problems all alone. I learnt to be independent.
Q: What changes would you like to make in your life?
A: If I could change something in my life, I’d change it so that my childhood could have taken place in another area. I would have loved to live with my family in freedom. Who cares whether we have much money, or whether we have a beautiful house? It doesn’t matter as long as I can live with my family and we are safe.
Q: How do you get along with your parents?
A: My parents supported me until I came of age. I want to give back what I’ve got. That’s our way. But I am working in another city. My only contact with my parents now is through the phone, but I hate using it. It filters(过滤)out your emotion and leaves your voice only. My deepest feelings should be passed through sight, hearing and touch.
【小题1】In Misbah’s childhood,         .

Love, success, happiness, family and freedom—how important are these values to you? Here is one interview which explores the fundamental questions in life.
Question: Could you introduce yourself first?
Answer: My name is Misbah, 27 years old. I was born in a war-torn area. Right now I’m a web designer.
Q: What are your great memories?
A: My parents used to take us to hunt birds, climb trees, and play in the fields. For me it was like a holiday because we were going to have fun all day long. Those are my great memories.
Q: Does your childhood mean a lot to you?
A: Yes. As life was very hard, I used to work to help bring money in for the family. I spent my childhood working, with responsibilities beyond my age. However, it taught me to deal with problems all alone. I learnt to be independent.
Q: What changes would you like to make in your life?
A: If I could change something in my life, I’d change it so that my childhood could have taken place in another area. I would have loved to live with my family in freedom. Who cares whether we have much money, or whether we have a beautiful house? It doesn’t matter as long as I can live with my family and we are safe.
Q: How do your get along with your parents?
A: My parents supported me until I came of age. I want to give back what I’ve got. That’s our way. But I am working in another city. My only contact with my parents now is through the phone, but I hate using it. It filters(过滤) out your emotion and leaves your voice only. My deepest feelings should be passed through sight, hearing and touch.
【小题1】In Misbah’s childhood,     .

CANYOUIMAGINEHOWHARDITWOULDBETOREADSENTENCESLIKETHIS? The ancient Greeks wrote this way. The lack of punctuation marks(标点符号) probably didn’t bother good readers, though. As they read, they just put pauses where they fit best. Also at this time, sentences switched directions. A sentence read from left to right. The next one read right to left, and then left to right again, etc.
The ancient Romans sometimes punctuated like this: They·put·a·point·between·each·word·in·a·sentence. The word punctuation actually comes from this idea and the Latin word punctum, which means a prick(刺).
When the 5^th century arrived, there were just two punctuation marks: spaces and points. The space separated words and while the points showed pauses in reading. Then in the 13^th century, a printer named Aldus Manutius tried to standardize punctuation. He always used a period for a complete stop at the end of a sentence. He used a slash (/) to indicate a short pause. Over time, that slash was shortened and curled, and it became the modern comma.
Since that time, other marks have enlarged the punctuation family. The exclamation mark comes form the Latin word xt. It was originally formed by putting an upper-case(大写字母) I on the lower-case xt. The Latin word xt means “exclamation of joy.” The question mark originally started out as the Latin word question, meaning question. Eventually, scholars put it at the end of a sentence to show a question. Over time, it became a symbol formed by putting a lower-case q on an o.
Punctuation is still changing today. New marks are coming into existence, and old punctuation marks are used in new ways. Take for example, the “interrobang.” This 1962 invention combines the question mark and exclamation mark for times when writers want both. For example, “She did what?” or “How much did you pay for that dress?” Obviously, the interrobang is not widely used or recognized – yet. But its invention shows that English is not yet finished with its punctuation.
【小题1】Which of the following is a comma?

A．The history of punctuation.

B．The introduction of punctuation.

C．The very beginning of punctuation.

D．The ancient Greek way of writing without punctuation.

The Fourth “21st Century Cup” National English Speaking Competition is to be held in Shanghai.
　　Organizers: China Daily and Shanghai Broadcasting Network.
　　Co-ordinater: China University English Speaking Association （CUESA）.
　　Co-sponsors（联办单位）: English Speaking Union （ESU）, Lotus Software （China）Co. Ltd., Times Publishing Group of Singapore, Hilton Shanghai, Pearson Education, Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press.
　　Date: March 26（Friday）, 1999.
　　Place: Hilton Shanghai.
　　Competition Format （形式）: Each student will present a prepared speech on the given topic, followed by a three -minute off - hand speech and a three - minute question and answer period with the judges.
　　Prepared speech period: six minutes.
　　Q & A period: three minutes.
　　Speech topic: People and Nature: In search of harmony （和谐）in a new age ＋ your personal opinion. （Topics for the off-hand speech will be given on the day of competition）.
　　Prizes: Besides books and certificates （证书）, the top two winners will be offered scholarships（奖学金） to travel to the annual international English -speaking competition which will be held by the English Speaking Union in London in May, 1999. The third and fourth place winners will be offered a study trip to Singapore, sponsored by the Times Publishing Group. The fifth through 10th place winners will be offered cash prizes. All the competitors will receive certificates from the English Speaking Union and book prizes provided by Pearson Education and Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press. The teachers of the top winners will also receive a one - year membership to the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language（IATEFL）
【小题1】The main purpose of this passage is ________.