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

Begin doing the work you love as soon as possible, even if you don’t get paid for it, or if you can only work at it  1  . Albert Einstein was  2  to get a job as a physics professor. He could have said to himself, “Well, I just don't have the work relative to  3  . I should give up on it and settle for something else.”  4  , he wrote the two most famous papers while  5  as a patent（专利）office worker. After the   6  , there was not any major  7  in the world that would not have wanted him to work for them.

   If you want to work as an artist and are  8  as a waiter, don’t think of yourself as a waiter who  9  one day to become an artist. That puts the  10  you love somewhere Off in the distant future. Rather, think yourself as  11  , supporting yourself by waiting tables and paint, or draw as much as you can. It is  12  to earn a living wage as a waiter working 24 hours a week. That  13  plenty of time to devote to training or developing your craft (手艺)  in the  14  hours.

   While seeking the work you love,   15  helps to expand your awareness into the universe of all possibilities. You don’t want to be  16  the ideas Of what you should do or what you have done before. Having opened  17  the possibilities, you can make a final  18  and select the work you love as your own.

   Doing the work you love  19  that you be equally comfortable with the imaginative and the

 20 . It requires the ability to dream big dreams and the ability to face and master all the little details that make dreams come true.

1．A．full-fime              B．hard                  C．easily                 D．part-time

2．A．unable                B．able                   C．unwilling            D．anxious

3．A．science               B．maths                 C．physics              D．money

5．A．employed             B．regarded             C．worked            D．recognized

6．A．inventions         B．discoveries          C．successes      D．papers

7．A．city                 B．factory              C．university           D．company

8．A．known            B．making a living     C．leading a life      D．chosen

9．A．thinks                B．imagines             C．hopes              D．decides

10．A．man               B．woman              C．person             D．work

11．A．an artist             B．a waiter              C．a waitress          D．a painter

12．A．impossible          B．possible              C．important           D．lucky

13．A．sends              B．spares               C．leaves              D．takes

14．A．on                 B．office                C．business            D．off

15．A．it                  B．which               C．that                D．this

16．A．interested in      B．devoted to           C．limited to         D．troubled by

17．A．no                 B．all                   C．few               D．both

18．A．decision            B．plan                 C．conclusion          D．judge

19．A．suggests            B．requires              C．insists             D．encourages

20．A．necessary        B．practical   C．careful          D．honest

“Down-to-earth” means someone or something that is honest, practical and easy to deal with. It is 36 to find someone who is down-to-earth. A person who is down-to-earth is easy to talk to 37 accepts other people as equals. A down-to-earth is just the 38 of someone who acts importantly and proudly.

Down-to-earth persons may be 39 members of society, of course. But they do not let their importance “go to their 40 ”. They do not 41 themselves to be better persons than others of less importance. Someone who is filled with his own importance and 42 , often without cause, is said to have “his nose in the air”. There is no way a person with his nose in the 43 can be down-to-earth. Americans use another expression that means almost the same 44 “down-to-earth”. The expression is “both-feet-on-the-ground”. Someone with both-feet-on-the-ground is a person 45 a good understanding of reality. He has what is called “ 46 sense”. He may have 47 , but he does not allow them to 48 his knowledge of what is real. The opposite kind of person is 49 who has his “head-in-the-clouds”．A man with his head in the clouds is a dreamer whose mind is not in the 50 world.

Sometimes 51 a dreamer can be brought back to earth. 52 words from a teacher can usually bring a day-dreaming student down-to-earth.

Usually, the person who is down-to-earth is very 53 to have both-feet-on-the-ground.

　 54 we have both our feet on-the-ground, or when we are down-to-earth, we act 55 and openly toward others．Our lives are like the ground below us, solid and strong.

36．A．common B．sad　 　 　　 C．pleasant 　　 D．surprising

37．A．but 　　　 　　 B．yet 　　 　　 C．and 　　 　　　 D．while

38．A．kind 　　 　　B．like 　　　 　　 C．example 　　 D．opposite

39．A．important 　　　 B．famous 　C．successful 　　　 D．necessary

40．A．nose 　　 　　B．heads 　 　C．minds 　　　 　　D．forehead

41．A．wish 　　 　 B．desire 　　 　　 C．expect 　　D．consider

42．A．proud 　 B．pride 　　 　　 C．famous 　　　 　　D．fame

43．A．air 　 B．sky 　　 C．tree　 　 　　D．cloud

44．A．like 　　　 　 B．as 　 　　　　 C．of 　　　 　　　 D．for

45．A．has 　　　 　 B．who 　　 C．is 　　　 D．with

46．A．usual 　　 B．ordinary 　　　 C．common 　　 　　D．daily

47．A．dreams B．fortunes 　　　 C．advantages 　D．luck

48．A．prevent 　 B．protect C．block　 　　 　　D．gain

49．A．one 　　　 　 B．those 　　 　　C．that 　　　 　　　 D．the one

50．A．reality 　 B．real 　　　 　　C．dreamful 　　 　　D．true

51．A．so 　 B．such 　　　 　 C．each 　　　 　　D．that

52．A．Sharp 　 B．No 　 C．All　 　　D．Bad

53．A．able　　 B．probable 　　　 C．likely 　　 　　D．possible

54．A．When 　 B．While 　 　 C．As 　 　　D．Since

55．A．kindly 　 B．directly C．friendly D．honestly

ETrees should only be pruned (修剪) when there is a good and clear reason for doing so and , he number of such reasons is small . Pruning involves the cutting away of overgrown and unwanted branches , and the inexperienced gardener can be encouraged by the thought that more damage results from doing it unnecessarily than from leaving the tree to grow in its own way .
First , pruning may be done to make sure that trees have  desired shape or size . The object may be to get a tree of the right height , and at the same time to help the growth of small side branches , which will thicken its appearance or give it a special shape . Secondly , pruning may be done to make the tree healthier . You may cut out diseased or dead wood , or branches that are rubbing against each other and thus cause wounds . The health of a tree may be encouraged by removing branches that are blocking up the center and so preventing the free movement of air .
One result of pruning is that an open wound is left on the tree and this provides an easy entry for disease , but it is a wound that will heal (愈合) . Often there is a race between the healing and the disease as to whether the tree will live or die , so that there is a period when the tree is at risk . It should be the aim of every gardener to reduce that risk of death as far as possible . It is important to make the area , which has been pruned , smooth and clan , for healing will be slowed down by roughness . You should allow the cut surface to dry for a few hours and then paint it with one of the materials available from garden shops produced especially for this purpose . Pruning is usually done in winter , for then you can see the shape of the tree clearly without interference (妨碍) from the leaves and also it is very unlikely that the cuts you make will bleed . If this does happen , it is , of course , impossible to paint them properly .

1. 1.

   Why should running be done ?
   

   1. A.
      To make the tree grow taller .              
   2. B.
      To improve the shape of the tree .
   3. C.
      to get rid of the small ranches .            
   4. D.
      To make the small branches thicker .
2. 2.

   Trees become unhealthy if the gardener         .
   

   1. A.
      To help a wound to dry .                     
   2. B.
      To cover a rough surface .
   3. C.
      damages some of the small side branches
   4. D.
      Allows too many branches to grow in the middle
3. 3.

   Why is a special material painted on the tree ?
   

   1. A.
      To help a wound to dry .                     
   2. B.
      to cover a rough surface .
   3. C.
      To make a wound smooth .                  
   4. D.
      To prevent disease entering a wound .
4. 4.

   A good gardener prunes a tree         .
   

   1. A.
      several times throughout the year        
   2. B.
      as quickly as possible
   3. C.
      occasionally when necessary                
   4. D.
      regularly every winter
5. 5.

   What was the author’s purpose when writing this passage ?
   

   1. A.
      To discuss different methods of pruning .
   2. B.
      To introduce some common knowledge of pruning .
   3. C.
      To explain how trees develop disease .
   4. D.
      To give practical instruction for pruning a tree .