Among the four skills in learning English ,which of these is the “Odd-Man-Out”?The answer is speaking. The other three you can do alone on your own. But you can't really speak alone! Speaking to yourself can be “dangerous” because men in white coats may come and take you away!?

Where can you find people to speak English? And how can you practise speaking when you are alone??

At school if you pay to go to a language school ,you should use the chance to speak .If your teacher asks you to speak in pairs or groups with other students ,try to say as much as possible. Don't worry about your mistakes. Just speak!?

Conversation Clubs　Many cities around the world have conversation clubs where people can exchange one language for another .Look in your local newspaper to find a conversation club near you .They are usually free although some may charge a small entrance fee.?

Shopping　Even if you don't want to buy anything ,you can ask questions about products that interest you in a shop.“How much does this cost?” “Can I pay by cheque?” Often you can start a real conversation—and it costs you nothing!?

Cafe and Bars　There are often American, Britain, Irish and Australian bars in many large cities .If you can find one, you'll probably meet many people speaking English as a first or second language.?

Language is all around you　Everywhere you go, you find language .Shop names, street names ,advertisements ,notices ,and car numbers....When you walk down the street ,practise reading the words and numbers that you see .Say them to yourself .It's not exactly a conversation ,but it will help you to “think” in English .But don't speak too loud!?

Songs and Video　Repeat the words of an English-language song singing with the music until it becomes automatic. It's good practice for your memory and for the mouth muscles that you need for English.?

Above all ,speak as much as possible! Make as many mistakes as possible! When you know that you have made a mistake, you know that you have made progress!?

1.What does “Odd-Man-Out” probably mean according to the passage??

A.Someone or something appearing different from others.?

B.Someone or something standing out of the group.?

C.Someone or something arranged in pairs.?

D.Someone or something easily mistaken for another.?

2.What might happen if you speak to yourself loudly in public??

A.The police will take you away and punish you.?

B.The doctors will force you to stay in hospital.?

C.You will have to pay to escape being punished.?

D.You will be forbidden to be member of the club.?

3.Why does the writer say “Make as many mistakes as possible”?Because _______.

A.everyone will make mistakes in learning English?

B.everyone will meet people speaking English with some mistakes?

C.making mistakes is a must in making progress in learning English?

D.making mistakes can make one realize the importance of speaking?

4.According to the passage,which way is not likely to be accepted by English beginners?

A.Recite poems loudly along the riverside.?

B.Listen to some English pop songs and video.?

C.Find an Englishman to speak English with.?

D.Take to the TV showing programmes at home.?

 “But what if I break my arm again？”My five-year-old daughter asked,looking very　1　.I knew she　2　very much to learn to ride,but ever since she’d fallen off her bike and broken her arm,she’d been afraid.

“Oh,honey,”I said.“I don’t think you’ll break another arm.”“　3　I could,couldn’t I？”“You know,honey,”I said,“　4　everything you do comes with risks.You could get a broken arm in a car　5　and then be afraid to　6　ride in a car again.You could break your arm jumping a rope.You could break your arm at gym.Do you want to　7　going to gym？”“No,”she said.And with a determined spirit,she stood up and　8　to try again.

I spent the rest of the afternoon at the park watching a very　9　little girl overcome a fear,and　10　myself on being a useful single parent after a painful divorce(离婚)．

As we walked home,she asked me about a conversation she’d overheard me having with my　11　the night before.

“Grandma wanted you to find someone to　12　.”“What grandma wants is for someone to　13　my heart again.”“But Mom...”“You’re too young to　14　it,”I told her.“So I guess love isn’t like a broken arm.”she said. 　15　to answer,we walked the rest of the way in　16　.When I got home,I called my mother and　17　her for talking about this to my daughter.Then I did what I’d seen my brave little girl do that very afternoon.I agreed to　18　Steve.

Steve was the man for me.We　19　less than a year later.It turned out my mother and  daughter were　20　.

1．A.surprised             B．disappointed            C．sad                       D．puzzled

2．A.wanted                B．hated                     C．lost                       D．gained

3．A.And                   B．Or                        C．Instead                  D．But

4．A.Almost                B．Hardly                    C．Nearly                   D．Mostly

5．A.trade                    B．sale                        C．accident                  D．show

6．A.ever                    B．never                     C．even                     D．yet

7．A.start                    B．regret                     C．finish                     D．stop

8．A.offered                B．agreed                   C．had                       D．chose

9．A.shy                    B．weak                     C．brave                     D．gentle

10．A.congratulating     B．praising                   C．encouraging           D．celebrating

11．A.father                 B．mother                  C．sister                    D．brother

12．A.like                    B．know                     C．love                     D．teach

13．A.warm                B．feel                       C．buy                      D．break

14．A.understand         B．believe                    C．accept                  D．receive

15．A.Unable               B．Unwilling                C．Uncertain               D．Unhappy

16．A.excitement          B．sorrow                   C．silence                   D．surprise

17．A.punished            B．scolded                   C．thanked                 D．appreciated

18．A.hire                  B．meet                     C．fire                      D．invite

19．A.left                   B．married                   C．moved                  D．quarrelled

20．A.wrong              B．right                       C．clear                     D．clever

I followed his advice that I____my study plan.
　　 A. changed　　　　 B. would change　　　　 C. change　　 D. had changed

Yesterday, after telling my brother, Rhys, and me to stop playing like wild animals, Mom went to take a bath. We were having a pillow fight when 　36 one hit a vase. Mom 　37 the loud crash. Wasting no time, she came 　38 into the room. I was sure that she was going to shout at us, but instead she just knelt by the 39 and began to cry.

　 This made Rhys and me feel pretty 　40 . We went over and put our arms around her, and she explained to us why she was so upset. In the pieces 　41 a broken glass rose, one petal (花瓣)gone, which was given by Dad on their first wedding anniversary. Dad had said that if he ever forgot to bring flowers home 　42 an anniversary in the future, Mom was to look at that one. It was like their love—it would last a 　43 .

　 We began crying, and 　44 to glue it. But Mom said that wouldn’t really fix it. 　45 it had been broken, the 　46 of the “limited edition” had reduced. As Mom 　47 began to pick up the mess, we tried everything we could think of to　 48 her up, but even our best funny faces didn’t 　49 . Tears kept coming down her cheeks. Everything was picked up. Seeing Mom going back to the bath, I 　50 her and put both hands on her shoulders, saying, “All things can be 　51 ，Mom. The only thing that cannot be broken is our 　52 . It’s the only thing that can never be broken. ”

　 Mom hugged me very tightly and 　53 smiled. After dinner that night, Mom glued the petal back onto the rose. Then she softly said, “My rose is truly unique. Its tiny damage reminds me of 　54 more important：the realization that love 　55　 forever. ”

36. A. gradually　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. suddenly

C. surprisingly　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. immediately

37. A. caused　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. witnessed

C. heard　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. ignored

38. A. dressing　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. shouting

C. flying　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. crying

39. A. pieces　　　　　　　　 B. vase　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. pillow　　　　　　　 D. ground

40. A. disappointed　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. angry

C. awful　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. sensitive

41. A. grew　　　　　　　　 B. lay　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. stood　　　　　　　 D. existed

42. A. for　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. in　　　　　　　　　　 C. from　　　　　　　　 D. by

43. A. decade　　　　　　　 B. year　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. season　　　　　　　　　　 D. lifetime

44. A. offered　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. supported

C. pretended　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. agreed

45. A. Just as　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. In case

C. Now that　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. Even though

46. A. price　　　　　　　　　 B. wealth　　　　　　　 C. value　　　　　　　　 D. treasure

47. A. skillfully　　　　　　 B. hopefully　　　　　 C. kindly　　　　　　　 D. slowly

48. A. cheer　　　　　　　　 B. make　　　　　　　　 C. light　　　　　　　　 D. get

49. A. smile　　　　　　　　 B. work　　　　　　　　 C. show　　　　　　　 D. say

50. A. prevented　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. stopped

C. kept　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. followed

51. A. destroyed　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. mended

C. improved　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. broken

52. A. friendship　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　 B. honesty

C. love　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. happiness

53. A. finally　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. quickly

C. confidently　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. immediately

54. A. anything　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. something

C. nothing　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. everything

55. A. changes　　　　　　　　　　 B. appears　　　　　　　　　 C. lasts　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. keeps

The famous director of a big and expensive movie planned to film a beautiful sunset over the ocean，so that the audiences could see his hero and heroine in front of it at the end of the film as they said goodbye to each other forever.He sent his camera crew out one evening to film the sunset for him.

　 The next morning he said to the men,“Have you provided me with that sunset？”

　 “No，sir,”the men answered.

　 The director was angry.“Why not?” he asked.

　 “Well,sir,”one of the men answered,“we’re on the east coast here，and the sun sets in the west.We can get you a sunrise over the sea，if necessary，but not a sunset.”

　 “But I want a sunset!”the director shouted.“Go to the airport，take the next flight to the west coast，and get one.”

　 But then a young secretary had an idea.“Why don’t you photograph a sunrise，” she suggested，“and then play it backwards? Then it’ll look like a sunset.”

　 “That’s a very good idea！” the director said.Then he turned to the camera crew and said，“Tomorrow morning I want you to get me a beautiful sunrise over the sea.”

　 The camera crew went out early the next morning and filmed a bright sunrise over the beach in the middle of a beautiful bay.Then at nine o’clock they took it to the director.“Here it is，sir，” they said，and gave it to him.He was very pleased.

　 They all went into the studio.“All right，” the director explained，“now our hero and heroine are going to say goodbye.Run the film backwards so that we can see the sunset behind them.”

　 The “sunset” began，but after a quarter of a minute，the director suddenly put his face in his hands and shouted to the camera crew to stop.

　 The birds in the film were flying backwards，and the waves on the sea were going away from the beach.

1.One evening，the director sent his camera crew out 　　　.

　 A.to film a scene on the sea

　 B.to find an actor and an actress

　 C.to watch a beautiful sunset

　 D.to meet the audience

2.Why did the director want to send his crew to the west coast?

　 A.Because he changed his mind about getting a sunset.

　 B.Because he was angry with his crew.

　 C.Because he wanted to get a scene of sunset.

　 D.Because it was his secretary’s suggestion.

3.The director wanted to film a sunset over the ocean because 　　　　.

　 A.it went well with the separation of the hero and heroine

　 B.when they arrived at the beach it was already in the evening

　 C.it was more moving than a sunrise

　 D.the ocean looked more beautiful at sunset

4.After the “sunset” began，the director suddenly put his face in his hands 　　　　.

　 A.because he was moved to tears

　 B.as he saw everything in the film moving backwards

　 C.as the sunrise did not look as beautiful as he had imagined

　 D.because he was disappointed with the performance of the hero and heroine

5.Which of the following is NOT true?

　 A.The crew had to follow the secretary’s advice (忠告).

　 B.If you want to see a sunrise，the east coat is the place to go.

　 C.The camera crew wasn’t able to film the scene the first day.

　 D.The director ordered his crew to stop filming the “sunset”.