When one looks back upon the fifteen hundred years that are the life span of the English language, he should be able to notice a number of significant truths. The history of our language has always been a history of constant change—at times a slow, almost imperceptible change, at other times a violent collision between two languages. Our language has always been a living growing organism, it has never been static. Another significant truth that emerges from such a study is that language at all times has been the possession not of one class or group but of many. At one extreme it has been the property of the common, ignorant folk, who have used it in the daily business of their living, much as they have used their animals or the kitchen pots and pans.         At the other extreme it has been the treasure of those who have respected it as an instrument and a sign of civilization, and who have struggled by writing it down to give it some permanence, order, dignity, and if possible, a little beauty. 

As we consider our changing language, we should note here two developments that are of special and immediate importance to us. One is that since the time of the Anglo-Saxons there has been an almost complete reversal of the different devices for showing the relationship of words in a sentence. Anglo-Saxon (old English) was a language of many inflections. Modern English has few inflections. We must now depend largely on word order and function words to convey the meanings that the older language did by means of changes in the forms of words. Function words, you should understand, are words such as prepositions, conjunctions, and a few others that are used primarily to show relationships among other words. A few inflections, however, have survived. And when some word inflections come into conflict with word order, there may be trouble for the users of the language, as we shall see later when we turn our attention to such maters as WHO or WHOM and ME or I. The second fact we must consider is that as language itself changes, our attitudes toward language forms change also. The eighteenth century, for example, produced from various sources a tendency to fix the language into patterns not always set in and grew, until at the present time there is a strong tendency to restudy and re-evaluate language practices in terms of the ways in which people speak and write.

1．In contrast to the earlier linguists, at present, more and more attention is paid to_________.

A. the standardization of the language 

B. language practices in terms of current speech rather than standards or proper patterns 

C. the improvement of the language than its history 

D. the rules of the language usage 

2．From the study we know that language is ________.

A. a possession of upper class. 

B. a possession of lower class. 

C. a possession of the whole society. 

D. the only property of those who treasure it much. 

3．Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned in the passage? 

A. It is generally believed that the year 1500 can be set as the beginning of the Modern English.

B. Some other languages had great influence on the English language in its development. 

C. The English language has been and still in a state of relatively constant change. 

D. Many classes or groups have contributed to the development of the English language. 

4．The author of these paragraphs is probably a(an) _________. 

A. writer specially interested in English                   

B. person who pays much attention to people of lower classs          

C. teacher who teaches the English language             

D. expert in studying languages 

5．Which of the following can be best used as the title of the passage? 

A. The history of the English language. 

B. Our changing attitude towards the English language. 

C. Our changing language. 

D. Some characteristics of modern English.

Ⅲ．完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
Once there were two men, who lived in the same hospital room. One man’s bed was next to the room's only window. ___36__, the other man, since his illness was more  ___37__, had to spend all his time in bed. When the man in the bed by the window could  ___38__ up, he would tell his roommate all the things he could see ___39__ the window. He said the window ___40___ a park with a lovely ___41__. Ducks played on the __42___ while children sailed their model boats. Old trees grew and beautiful flowers were in bloom. What a fine ___43__! The man in the other bed would be  ___44__ by the beautiful colors of the world outside.
Days and weeks passed.
One morning, the day nurse found the man by the window had ___45__ peacefully in his sleep. She called the hospital attendants to take the body ___46__. As everything was done, the other man asked if he could be  ___47__ next to the window.  The nurse said OK and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him ___48__.
Slowly and painfully, he tried to take his _49___ look at the world outside. He thought he would be ___50__ to see it by himself. But to his surprise, he saw nothing but a white ___51__. The man asked the nurse ____52   his roommate ___53__  to him and said there were wonderful things outside this window. The nurse told him his roommate was blind and could not even ___54__  the wall.
She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to ___55__  you. He only hoped you could live in a colorful world and got better quickly. "
36. A. Unluckily      B. Happily        C. Surprisingly   D. Angrily
37. A. common       B. occasional      C. serious        D. light
38. A. stand          B. sit            C. jump         D. wake
39. A. across         B. above          C. behind       D. Outside
40. A. built          B. stood          C. faced         D. placed
41. A. hill           B. lake            C. house        D. tower
42. A. sand          B. grass           C. water         D. tree
43. A. look          B. sight            C. form         D. view
44. A. impressed     B. moved          C. reminded    D. disappointed
45. A. missed        B. died            C. come        D. passed
46. A. up           B. away           C. off           D. on
47. A. moved        B. forced          C. brought       D. lifted
48. A. alike          B. alone          C. aloud         D. alive
49. A. single         B. last            C. first          D. only
50. A. pleased        B. excited         C. crazy         D. sad
51. A. wall           B. picture         C. river        D. Window
52. A. when          B. why         C. how          D. Where
53. A. led           B. got            C. lied          D. left
54. A. hear          B. touch          C. see          D. describe
55. A. please        B. encourage       C. control       D. Advice

As the pace of life continues to increase, we are fast losing the art of relaxation. Once you are in the habit of rushing through life, being on the go from morning till night, it is hard to slow down. But relaxation is essential for a healthy mind and body.

Stress is a natural part of everyday life and there is no way to avoid it. In fact, it is not the bad thing it is often supposed to be. A certain amount of stress is vital to provide motivation and give purpose to life. It is only when the stress gets out of control that it can lead to poor performance and ill health．

The amount of stress a person can withstand depends very much on the individual. Some people are not afraid of stress, and such characters are obviously prime material for managerial responsibilities, others lose heart at the first sign of unusual difficulties. When exposed to stress, in whatever form, we react both chemically and physically. In fact we make choice between “flight or fight” and in more primitive days the choices made the difference between life or death. The crises we meet today are unlikely to be so extreme, but however little the stress, it involves the same response. It is when such a reaction lasts long, through continued exposure to stress, that health becomes endangered. Since we can't remove stress from our lives (it would be unwise to do so even if we could), we need to find ways to deal with it．

44.     People are finding less and less time for relaxing themselves because ________.

       A. they regard working as their greatest enjoyment
       B. they believe that work is superior to relaxation
       C. they are traveling fast all the time
       D. they are becoming busier with their work than ever before

45.     According to the author, the most important character for a good manager is his    

________.

       A. strong will to hold out stress                        

       B. knowing the art of relaxation

       C. high sense of responsibility                           

       D. having control over performance

46.     Which of the following statements is TRUE, according to the passage?

       A. We can find quite a few ways to avoid stress．

       B. Stress is always harmful to people's health

       C. It’s easy to change the habit of keeping oneself busy with work．

       D. Different people can bear different amount of stress．

47.     In the last sentence of the passage, “do so” refers to ________.

       A. “expose ourselves to stress”

       B. “find ways to deal with stress”

       C. “remove stress from our lives”

       D. “establish links between diseases and stress”

 B

About a year ago, I went to stay at a Detroit hotel. I didn’t want to carry too much money with me, so I asked the desk clerk to put a hundred- dollar bill in the safe for me.

 The next morning, however, the clerk said he knew nothing about my money. I didn’t have any proof that I had given the man the money. There was nothing I could do but go to the nearest lawyer.

  The lawyer advised me to return to the hotel with him and give another hundred-dollar bill to the clerk. This I did. An hour later, I went back to the desk and asked for my money. Since I had the lawyer as an eyewitness to the second hundred-dollar bill, the clerk could not say he knew nothing about it.

Another hour later, I put the second part of the lawyer’s plan into action. This time both the lawyer and I went to the hotel. I asked for the hundred-dollar bill once again, and when the clerk insisted he had already given it to me, I denied（否认）it. The lawyer said to him, “I saw this gentleman give you a hundred dollars. If you don’t hand it over immediately, I’ll be forced to call the police.”

 The clerk realized he had been tricked, so he gave me back the first hundred-dollar bill.

 “I don’t know how to thank you enough for getting my money back,” I said to the lawyer. And what you suppose he answered?

  He said, “Oh, don’t thank me. That will be a hundred dollars, please.”

60. The man went to a Detroit hotel one day to___________.

A. get his money back                      B. put a hundred-dollar bill in the safe

C. ask to be a desk clerk             D. stay for the night

61. The hotel clerk at last returned the first hundred-dollar bill to the man because _________.

A. he knew the lawyer’s plan very well  

B. he found the lawyer tricking him

C. he didn’t want to get into trouble with the police  

D. he wanted to give the man a surprise

62. Which of the following statements is true?

A. The man didn’t get his 200 dollars back.

B. The lawyer was happy that the man got both his bills back.

C. The lawyer asked for 100 dollars.

D. The man thanked the lawyer by paying him some money.

63．The man was _______.

A. wise             B. foolish          C. happy           D. sad

Since sometimes we can’t change the result that we are longing for , why can’t we change the attitude towards it by adjusting our thoughts and our moods to make us much happier?

One day a boy was walking home from school when he saw a large ,tempting (诱人的) apple on one of the branches of an apple tree hanging out over a tall fence. The boy wasn’t much of a fruit-eater ,___36___ a bar of chocolate if given the choice,__37__ ,as they say, the forbidden fruit can be tempting. Seeing the apple, the boy wanted it. The more he looked at it , the __38__he felt and the more he wanted that apple.

He stood on tiptoe(脚尖),__39__ as high as he could, but even at his tallest __40__ he was unable to touch it . He began to __41__up and down ,as high as he could, at the __42__of each jump stretching his arms to get the apple .Still it remained out of __43__.

Not giving up , he thought , if only he had something to __44__on. His school bag wouldn’t give enough height and he didn’t want to __45__the things inside, like his lunch box ,pencil case ,and Gameboy. Looking __46__, he hoped he might find an old box, a rock, or , __47__luck ,even a ladder, but it was a tidy neighbourhood and there was nothing he could see.

He had tried everything he could think to do.___48___seeing any other choices, he gave up and started to walk __49__.At first he felt angry and disappointed thinking about how hungry he had become from his __50__, and how he really wanted that apple. The more he __51__ like this ,the more unhappy he became.

  __52__, the boy of our story was a pretty smart boy, even if he couldn’t always get what he wanted. He started to say to himself , “This isn’t __53__. I don’t have the apple and I’m feeling miserable as well. There’s ___54___more I can do to get the apple ---that is unchangeable ---but we are supposed to be able to __55__ our feelings . If that’s the case, what can I do to feel better ?”

36．A. offering              B. receiving           C. preferring D. permitting

37.  A. then            B. so                     C. or                    D. but

38. A. sadder          B. angrier              C. tastier               D. hungrier

39. A. expanding      B. stretching          C. swinging          D. pulling

40.A. strength          B. length                C. range                D. height

41. A. jump         B. look                 C. walk                 D. glance

42. A. tip                B. stage                C. top                   D. level

43. A. hope             B. hand                 C. sight                 D. reach

44. A. put                      B. stand                C. get                   D. hold

45. A. break             B. shake                      C. take                 D. strike

46.A. up                 B. forward            C. down                      D. around

47. A. for                      B. with                 C. on                    D. of

48. A. After             B. Though            C. Without             D. Upon

49. A. back             B. away               C. up                    D. down

50. A. wishes          B. beliefs               C. efforts              D. goals

51. A. thought        B. imagined           C. tried                 D. claimed

52. A. Therefore      B. However           C. Moreover         D. Otherwise

53. A. skilful          B. cheerful            C. harmful            D. helpful

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

55. A. change          B. express             C. forget               D. describe