Many people believe that English is an easy language．Indeed, the author of a popular book on the history of English says that English “… has a grammar of great  1 ”． But if you have read the  2  articles in this series, it will be clear that I have a  3 opinion． My intention  4, not always so seriously, that English is in fact full of difficulties to the non-native speakers．The biggest book of English grammar contains 1800 pages and 5   3 kilos, which doesn’t necessarily prove that English grammar is  6 , but it  7 , undoubtedly, show that there is a lot of  8 !

So is English easy or not? Actually, English can be said to be difficult 9  we can point to many other languages that are  10．But English, like every language, is a hugely complex system  11  many aspects（方面）．It may be that some aspects of the language system are easier in English but  12  aspects are more difficult．For example, English spelling is more difficult than German spelling, but on the other hand adjectives are easier to use in English because they do not 13  their endings as they do in  14

And it seems that some languages are easier at the beginning but get 15  harder,    16  for other languages the opposite is true．I remember struggling terribly in my first few years of learning German to  17  terms with the interaction of articles（冠词）, case（格）and word order．However, once I had mastered this aspect of grammar,  18 else seemed very difficult in learning German．  19， I have the feeling that English gets more and more difficult  20  the learner advances．

1． A． difficulty               B． complexity            C． simplicity              D． difference

2． A． first few                B． few first                C． a few first          D． first a few

3． A． similar                   B． complex                C． public               D． different

4． A． has been to show   B． has been shown    C． has shown            D． shows

5． A． is weighed             B． are weighed           C． weighs                  D． weigh

6． A． easy                      B． difficult                 C． useful                   D． useless

7． A． did                        B． does                      C． has                       D． have

8． A． it                          B． them                     C． that                      D． those

9． A． only if                   B． if only                   C． even if                  D． as if

10． A． more difficult       B． more complex        C． easier                    D． closer

11． A．consisted of        B．being consisted of    C． consists of            D． consisting of

12． A． another                B． the other                C． others                   D． other

13． A． change                B． learn                     C． use                       D． spell

14． A． Germany          B． German             C． German language   D． the Germans

15． A． eventually            B． progressively         C． previously             D． finally

16． A． when                   B．as                           C． while                    D． since

17． A． come to               B． come up                C． come through        D． come into

18． A． anything              B． something             C． everything             D． nothing

19． A． On the other hand B．On the contrary      C． On average            D． On the whole

20． A． farther                 B． the farther             C． further             D． the further

Most parents, I suppose, have had the experience of reading a bedtime story to their children. And they must have   11   how difficult it is to write a   12   children’s book. Either the author has aimed too   13  , so that the children can’t follow what is in his (or more often, her) story,   14   the story seems to be talking to the readers.

The best children’s books are   15   very difficult nor very simple, and satisfy both the 16   who hears the story and the adult who   17   it. Unfortunately, there are in fact few books like this,   18   the problem of finding the right bedtime story is not   19   to solve. This may be why many of the books regarded as   20   of children’s literature(文学) were in fact written for   21  . “Alice in wonderland” is perhaps the most obvious of this.

Children, left for themselves, often   22   the worst possible interest in literature. Just leave a child in a bookshop or a   23   and he will more willingly choose the books written in an imaginative way, or have a look at most children’s comics(连环画), full of the stories and jokes which are the objections of teachers and right-thinking parents.

Perhaps we parents should stop   24   to brainwash children into accepting our taste in literature. After all children and adults are so   25   that we parents should not expect that they will enjoy the same books. So I suppose we’ll just have to compromise（妥协） over the bedtime story.

A. hoped         B. realized     C. told            D. said

A. short          B. long       C. bad            D. good

A. easy           B. short        C. high           D. difficult

A. and          B. but         C. or              D. so

A. both         B. neither      C. either                D. very

A. child               B. father       C. mother          D. teacher.

A. hears           B. buys         C. understands       D. reads

A. but           B. however     C. so              D. because

A. hard        B. easy         C. enough          D. fast

A. articles      B. work       C. arts            D. works

A. grown-ups    B. girls        C. boys           D. children

A. become      B. show       C. find           D. add

A. school       B. home        C. office           D. library

A. going        B. liking        C. trying         D. preferring

A. same         B. friendly     C. different        D. common

Most parents, I suppose, have had the experience of reading a bedtime story to their children. And they must have   11   how difficult it is to write a   12   children’s book. Either the author has aimed too   13  , so that the children can’t follow what is in his (or more often, her) story,   14   the story seems to be talking to the readers.

The best children’s books are   15   very difficult nor very simple, and satisfy both the 16   who hears the story and the adult who   17   it. Unfortunately, there are in fact few books like this,   18   the problem of finding the right bedtime story is not   19   to solve. This may be why many of the books regarded as   20   of children’s literature(文学) were in fact written for   21  . “Alice in wonderland” is perhaps the most obvious of this.

Children, left for themselves, often   22   the worst possible interest in literature. Just leave a child in a bookshop or a   23   and he will more willingly choose the books written in an imaginative way, or have a look at most children’s comics(连环画), full of the stories and jokes which are the objections of teachers and right-thinking parents.

Perhaps we parents should stop   24   to brainwash children into accepting our taste in literature. After all children and adults are so   25   that we parents should not expect that they will enjoy the same books. So I suppose we’ll just have to compromise（妥协） over the bedtime story.

1.A. hoped          B. realized       C. told             D. said

2.A. short            B. long        C. bad             D. good

3.A. easy             B. short          C. high            D. difficult

4.A. and           B. but           C. or                D. so

5.A. both         B. neither        C. either                  D. very

6.A. child         B. father         C. mother            D. teacher.

7.A. hears             B. buys            C. understands       D. reads

8.A. but            B. however       C. so                D. because

9.A. hard        B. easy          C. enough            D. fast

10.A. articles       B. work        C. arts             D. works

11.A. grown-ups     B. girls          C. boys            D. children

12.A. become      B. show         C. find             D. add

13.A. school        B. home          C. office              D. library

14.A. going         B. liking   C. trying           D. preferring

15.A. same         B. friendly        C. different         D. common

I was a reporter of an evening paper in London． One day I was asked to write a few articles on    1   in London． It was   2    that all my adventure started．I made a    3  that the best way of collecting    4     was that I would go deep into the realities of life． I used to be an actor, of course． I had   5    all the skills of make-up（化妆） and I could still make good use of them．Having finished all necessary     6   , I placed myself in one of the busiest streets．At home that night I was   7    to find that I had received more than a pound．

Well, you can imagine how   8   it was to settle down to work hard on the newspaper at two pounds a week, when I knew that I could    9    as much as that 10    a single day! I    11   my job as a reporter, though my    12   was hurt． My knowledge of   13   helped me a lot and my clever answers quickly made me almost a public character． All day and every day the money    14   into my cap and I usually received   15    two pounds in a day． In the end, I   16   take a large bright beautiful white   17    in the country and later to    18  ．Nobody had any idea   19   my money really came from． My dear wife only knew that I had   20   in London: that was all．

1． A． playing             B． shopping          C． publishing          D． begging

2． A． then                B． than                C． soon              D． when

3． A． promise             B． conclusion                 C． decision                   D． preparation

4． A． facts               B． news              C． money             D． problems

5． A． played             B． acted             C． learned            D． tried

6． A． equipment            B． conditions         C． experiments        D． preparation

7． A． excited               B． pleased            C． surprised           D． disappointed

8． A． interesting          B． successful        C． easy                      D． hard

9． A． make              B． spend            C． save                     D． care

10．A． on                B． in                C． at                 D． for

11．A． gave in            B． gave off           C． gave up           D． gave out

12．A． heart              B． future             C． feeling             D． pride

13．A．make-up             B． play              C．act                 D． work

14．A． ran                B． came             C． threw             D． poured

15．A． nearly             B． totally             C． at least             D． at most

16．A． was able to         B． could             C． had to             D． must

17．A． land               B． house             C． garden              D． car

18．A． move in            B． sell out            C． marry              D． engage

19．A． where              B． when             C． how               D． what

20．A． office              B． job               C． bank               D． business

完形填空

　　I was a reporter of an evening paper in London. One day I was 1 to write a few articles on 2 in London. It was 3 that all my adventures started. I made a 4 that the best way of collecting facts was that I would go deep into the 5 of life. 1 used to be an actor, of course. I had 6 all the skills of make-up and could 7 make good use of them. having finished all necessary preparations, I 8 myself in one of the busiest streets. At home that night I was 9 to find that I had received more than a pound.

　　Well, you can imagine how 10 it was to settle down to work hard on the newspaper at two pounds a week, when I knew that I could 11 as much as that in a single day! I 12 my job as a reporter, though my pride was hurt. My knowledge of make-up helped me 13 and my clever answers quickly made me almost a 14 character. All day and every day, the money 15 into my cap and I usually received 16 two pounds in a day. In the end, I 17 make a large bright beautiful white 18 in the country, and later to marry. Nobody had any idea where my money 19 came from. My dear wife only knew that I had 20 in London; that was all.