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．

1．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

2．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

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

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

4．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

5．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

阅读理解

　　Although April did not bring us the rains we all hoped for, and although the Central Valley doesn’t generally experience the sound and lightning that can go with those rains, it’s still important for parents to be able to answer the youthful questions about thunder and lightning.

　　The reason there two wonders of nature are so difficult for many adults to explain to children is that they are not very well understood by adults themselves. For example, did you know that the lightning we see flashing down to the earth from a cloud is actually flashing up to a cloud from the earth? Our eyes trick us into thinking we see a downward motion when it’s actually the other way around. But then, if we believed only what we think and we see, we’d still insist that the sun rises in the morning and sets at night.

　　Most lightning flashes take place inside a cloud, and only a relative few can be seen jumping between two clouds or between earth and a cloud. But, with about 2,000 thunderstorms taking place above the earth every minute of the day and night , there’s enough activity to produce about 100 lightning strikes on earth every second.

　　Parents can use thunder and lightning to help their children learn about the world around them. When children understand that the light of the lightning flashing reaches their eyes almost at the same moment, but the sound of the thunder takes about 5 seconds to travel just one mile, they can begin to time the interval(间隔) between the flash and the crash to learn how close they were to the actual spark (闪光).

1．According to the author, in the area of the Central Valley, ________.

[　　]

A．rains usually come without thunder and lightning

B．it is usually dry in April

C．children pay no attention to the two natural wonders

D．parents are not interested in thunder and lightning

2．We believe that lightning is a downward motion because ________.

[　　]

A．we were taught so by our parents from our childhood

B．we are taken in by our sense of vision

C．it is a common natural sight

D．it is a truth proved by science

3．What is TRUE about lightning according to the passage?

[　　]

A．Only a small number of lightning flashes occur on earth.

B．Lightning travels 5 times faster than thunder.

C．Lightning flashes usually jump from one cloud to another.

D．There are far more lightning strikes occurring on earth than we can imagine.

4．The underlined word activity is most closely related to the word(s).

[　　]

A．cloud

B．lightning strikes

C．lightning flashes

D．thunderstorms

5．It can be concluded from the passage that ________.

[　　]

A．we should not believe what we see or hear

B．things moving downward are more noticeable

C．people often have wrong ideas about ordinary phenomena (现象)

D．adults are not as good as children in observing certain natural phenomena

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.
【小题1】 The speaker the author mentioned in the passage believed that _____.

Karen, grown up in a very traditional family in the western United States, maintained high moral（道德的）standards throughout her youth. In 1984, at the age of 23, she married Bill. They

were blessed with two children, a boy and a girl.

       By 1991 their love had deepened, and they were happy. Later that year, Bill developed a white spot on his tongue. He visited a doctor.

       One day shortly after that, Bill called Karen to sit beside him. He said with tears in his eyes that he loved her and wanted to live forever with her. The doctor suspected that he had been infected with HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS.

The family was tested, Bill and Karen’s results were positive. Bill had become infected before he met Karen then he passed the virus on to Karen. The children’s results were negative. Within three years. Bill was dead, “I don’t know how to express what it is like to watch the once handsome man you love and intend to live with forever dying slowly. I cried many nights. He died three months short of ten years of our marriage,” says Karen. Though a doctor told Karen that she would soon follow her husband into death, she is still alive. The infection has progressed to the early stages of AIDS.

Karen is hut one of about 30 million people now living with HIV/AIDS, a figure larger than the combined populations of Australia. Ireland and Paraguay. According to one UN report, Africa has 21 million of these victims. By the turn of the century that number could reach 40 million and the disease will bring on the greatest disaster in human history. Of the world’s sexually active adults aged 15 to 49. 1 in 100 has already been infected with HIV. Of these, only 1 in 10 realizes that he or she is infected. In some parts of Africa, 25 percent of the adults are infected.

Since the beginning of the spread of AIDS in1981, about 11.7 million people have died of it. It is roughly calculated that in 1997 alone, about 2.3 million people died of it. Nevertheless, there are fresh reasons for optimism in the battle against AIDS. During the past few years, there has been a drop in new AIDS cases in wealthy nations. In addition, promising drugs hold out hope of better health and longer life.

By telling the story of Karen , the author intends to             .

A．warn people against high risk behaviors

B．stress the importance of medical tests

C．express sympathy for AIDS victims

D．show the consequences of AIDS

The underlined part in Paragraph 1 most probably means “            ”.

A．were lucky in having

B．were asked to adopt

C．regretted having

D．gave birth to

Bill was suspected of being infected with HIV after            .

A．he got married to Karen

B．the family members were tested

C．Karen persuaded him to see the doctor

D．he found something wrong with his tongue

It can be concluded from the passage that            .

A．promising drugs will soon stop AIDS

B．the spread of AIDS could be controlled

C．it is hopeless to win the battle against AIDS

D．the death rate of AIDS patients has been reduced

Although April did not bring us the rains we all hoped for, and although the Central Valley doesn’t generally experience the sound and lightning that can go with those rains, it’s still important for parents to be able to answer the youthful questions about thunder and lightning.
The reason these two wonders of nature are so difficult for many adults to explain to children is that they are not very well understood by adults themselves. For example, did you know that the lightning we see flashing down to the earth from a cloud is actually flashing up to a cloud from the earth? Our eyes trick us into thinking we see a downward motion when it’s actually the other way around. But then, if we believed only what we think and we see, we’d still insist that the sun rises in the morning and sets at night.
Most lightning flashes take place inside a cloud, and only a relative few can be seen jumping between two clouds or between earth and a cloud. But, with about 2,000 thunderstorms taking place above the earth every minute of the day and night, there’s enough activity to produce about 100 lightning strikes on earth every second.
Parents can use thunder and lightning to help their children learn more about the world around them. When children understand that the light of the lightning flashing reaches their eyes almost at the same moment, but the sound of the thunder takes about 5 seconds to travel just one mile, they can begin to time the interval (间隔) between the flash and the crash to learn how lose they were to the actual spark (闪光).
【小题1】According to the author, in the area of the Central Valley____.