A few years ago, I took a sightseeing trip to Washington, D.C．Standing outside the Ronald Reagan Center, I heard a voice say, “Can you help me?” When I turned around, I saw an elderly blind woman with her hand extended．In a natural reflex （反应）, I reached into my pocket, pulled out all of my loose change and placed it on her hand without even looking at her．I was annoyed at being bothered by a beggar．But the blind woman smiled and said, “I don’t want your money．I just need help finding the post office.”

     In an instant, I realized what I had done．I judged another person simply for what I assumed she had to be．I hated what I saw in myself．This incident re-awakened my belief in humility(谦恭), even though I’d lost it for a moment．

     The thing I had forgotten about myself is that I am an immigrant．I left Honduras and arrived in the U.S．at the age of 15．I started my new life with two suitcases, my brother and sister, and a strong, serious-minded mother．Through the years, I have been a dishwasher, mechanic and pizza delivery driver among many other humble jobs, and eventually I became a network engineer.

     In my own life, I have experienced many open acts of prejudice (偏见)．I remember a time, at age 17 ----- I worked as a waiter, and I heard a father tell his little boy that if he did not do well in school, he would end up like me．I have also witnessed the same treatment of my family and friends, so I know what it’s like, and I should have known better．

     But now, living in my American middle-class lifestyle, it is too easy to forget my past, to forget who I am and where I have been, and to lose sight of where I want to be going．That blind woman on the streets of Washington, D.C., cured me of my blindness．She reminded me of my belief in humility and to always keep my eyes and heart open．By the way, I helped that lady to the post office．And in writing this essay, I hope to thank her for the priceless lesson．

We can learn from the first two paragraphs that __________ ．

       A．the author regretted his act of prejudice

       B．the blind woman needed the money badly

       C．the author was as poor as the blind woman

       D．the author was a native American

According to Paragraph 4, hearing the father’s words, the author was probably _____ ．

       A．rather hurt     B．very excited      C．deeply moved      D．greatly inspired

According to the passage, the author probably agrees that one should ________ ．

       A．be nice to the elderly and the disabled

       B．try to experience different kinds of life

       C．treat others equally with love and respect

       D．think about one’s past as often as possible

Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

       A．Learn from your past

       B．How my dream comes true

       C．A belief that will never change

       D．A priceless lesson in the street

A few years ago, when I was still in high school, I met a wonderful and warm teacher. At that time in my life, there were many changes to adjust to, apart from the usual teenage troubles. My parents had divorced, so my elder brother and I had chosen to stay with my dad. Due to the fact that he was keeping the house, we didn’t have to move.

During this time, my teacher took a special interest in me. Being my English teacher, she encouraged my mind to travel to creativity I had long given up. She brought me out of the shell I built.

She became my mother, my older sister, my friend and my teacher. The one thing she couldn’t do though was to make me more girly as growing up with only my dad and brother made me a real tomboy.

Sometimes, I would be really immature（不成熟的）, especially if she was scoring me less than others on purpose. She knew I could do better than what I was handing in and so pushed me to extend further than limits.

When I finished school and then after college I was about to leave my hometowns she gifted me a watch that every second, with my pulse, should remind me of the one person who will forever wait and love me without reservation.

Time has passed and our friendship is distant, but in my heart, soul and mind, she is the closest I ever got.

The writer and her elder brother chose to live with their father simply because _________.

A. their mother was expecting to have another baby

    B. they didn’t have to move out of their house

    C. they hated their mother remarried

    D. they had a closer relationship with their father

How did the writer get along with her studies before she met her English teacher?

    A. She was hopeless and had given up her studies.

    B. She was getting along well with her studies.

    C. She had some trouble with her studies.

    D. She lacked interest in creativity.

The writer behaved herself like a boy because ________.

    A. she needed the love of mother

    B. she wanted to learn from her father and brother

    C. she lived with only men all the time

    D. her English teacher didn’t care about her

What was the writer’s attitude to the watch given by the teacher?

    A. She considered it to be very useful.

    B. She valued it very much.

    C. She kept it very well.

D. She wanted to do something later in return for it.

If you ask people to name the one person who had the greatest effect on the English language,you will get answers like “Shakespeare”,“Samuel Johnson”and“Webster”,but none of these men had any effect at all compared to a man who didn't even speak English—William the Conqueror.

Before 1066,in the land we now call Great Britain lived peoples belonging to two major language groups.In the west?central region lived the Welsh,who spoke a Celtic language,and in the north lived the Scots,whose language,though not the same as Welsh, was also Celtic.In the rest of the country lived the Saxons,actually a mixture of Anglos,Saxons,and other Germanic and Nordic peoples,who spoke what we now call Anglo?Saxon(or Old English),a Germanic language.If this state of affairs had lasted,English today would be close to German.

But this state of affairs did not last.In 1066 the Normans led by William defeated the Saxons and began their rule over England.For about a century,French became the official language of England while Old English became the language of peasants. As a result,English words of politics and the law come from French rather than German.In some cases,modern English even shows a distinction (区别) between upper class  French and lower?class Anglo?Saxon in its words. We even have different words for some foods,meat in particular,depending on whether it is still out in the fields or at home ready to be cooked,which shows the fact that the Saxon peasants were doing the farming,while the upper?class Normans were doing most of the eating.

When Americans visit Europe for the first time,they usually find Germany more“foreign” than France because the German they see on signs and advertisements seems much more different from English than French does. Few realize that the English language is actually Germanic in its beginning and that the French influences are all the result of one man's ambition.

1.The two major languages spoken in what is now called Great Britain before 1066 were_________.

A.Welsh and Scottish         B.Nordic and Germanic

C.Celtic and Old English      D.Anglo Saxon and Germanic 

2.Which of the following groups of words are,by inference,rooted in French?

A.president,lawyer,beef      B.president,bread,water

C.bread,field,sheep          D.folk,field,cow 

3.Why does France appear less foreign than Germany to Americans on their first visit to Europe?

A.Most advertisements in France appear in English.

B.They know little of the history of the English language.

C.Many French words are similar to English ones.

D.They know French better than German. 

4.What is the subject discussed in the text?

A. The history of Great Britain.

B. The similarity between English and French.

C. The rule of England by William the Conqueror.

D. The French influences on the English language. 

If you are planning to study in the United States, you need to consider several factors. Everyone has different opinions about where the best places to live in also; the best places to live are not always home to the best schools. Finally, many schools specialize in different areas of study. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for example, is a great school for computer science and technology-based fields of study, However, if you want to study oceanography, your interests may be better served by attending school in a place that is on a coastline or near the ocean.

Now I am sure that you know which schools are considered the best in the country. So I will tell you about which states I believe are the best to live in.

California is a nice state. Northern California specifically has very good weather. Los Angeles in southern California is another story though. Life in LA is full of excitement and fast, and sometimes—dangerous. As for me, I enjoyed the history and culture. The weather is not as perfect as California, but it is still quite nice. My favorite area of America is the Mid-west. Middle America, I think, is home to the true American sense of values. In addition, there are many good universities there.  

Also, you need to think about your likes and dislikes and then research the various states. You like sunshine and hate snow? Then you probably won’t like the Midwest or even the Northeast. Open space, nature and peace and quiet? Then you should stay away from America’s larger cities. Are you interested in government? Then Washington D.C. is the only place for you. Whatever you decided put some thought into it. The place you live could be the difference between a great study abroad experience and a state of great suffering on earth.

From the first paragraph we can conclude that in the U.S.A. __________.

all colleges and universities lie in big cities

all colleges and universities lie in beautiful places

famous colleges and universities lie in nice places

famous colleges and universities may not lie in nice places

What should be considered first if you want to study in the U.S.A.?

A. The climate.       B. The scenery.        C. The study condition.       D. The living condition.

If you study in Middle America, you can probably _______.

find the best universities

feel the real character of the nation

meet the most famous professors there

face more difficulty

From the last paragraph of this passage we can get to know that ________.

Washington is the largest city in the U.S.A.

Washington is the political center of the U.S.A.

you can’t find sunshine in the Midwest

you can’t find any universities out of big cities in the U.S.A.

If you ask people to name one person who had the greatest effect on the English language, you will get answers like “Shakespeare,” “Samuel Johnson,” and “Webster,” but none of these men had any effect at all compared to a man who didn’t even speak English—William the Conqueror.

Before 1066, in the land we now call Great Britain lived peoples belonging to two major language groups. In the west-central region lived the Welsh, who spoke a Celtic language, and in the north lived the Scots, whose language, though not the same as Welsh, was also Celtic. In the rest of the country lived the Saxons, actually a mixture of Anglos, Saxons, and other Germanic and Nordic peoples, who spoke what we now call Anglo-Saxon (or Old English), a Germanic language. If this state of affairs had lasted, English today would be close to German.

But this state of affairs did not last. In 1066 the Normans led by William defeated the Saxons and began their rule over England. For about a century, French became the official language of England while Old English became the language of peasants. As a result, English words of politics and the law come from French rather than German. In some cases, modern English even shows a distinction (区别) between upper-class French and lower-class Anglo-Saxon in its words. We even have different words for some foods, meat in particular, depending on whether it is still out in the fields or at home ready to be cooked, which shows the fact that the Saxon peasants were doing the farming, while the upper-class Normans were doing most of the eating.

When Americans visit Europe for the first time, they usually find Germany more “foreign” than France because the German they see on signs and advertisements seems much more different from English than French does. Few realize that the English language is actually Germanic in its beginning and that the French influences are all the result of one man’s ambition.

The two major languages spoken in what is now called Great Britain before 1066 were

 ________.

A. Welsh and Scottish              B. Nordic and Germanic

C. Celtic and Old English            D. Anglo-Saxon and Germanic

Which of the following groups of words are, by inference, rooted in French?

A. president, lawyer, beef            B. president, bread, water

C. bread, field, sheep            D. folk, field, cow

Why does France appear less foreign than Germany to Americans on their first visit to

 Europe?

A. Most advertisements in France appear in English.

B. They know little of the history of the English language.

C. Many French words are similar to English ones.

D. They know French better than German.

What is the subject discussed in the text?

A. The history of Great Britain.   

B. The similarity between English and French.

C. The rule of England by William the Conqueror.     

D. The French influences on the English language.