In most languages，a greeting is usually followed by “small talk”．Small talk means the little things we talk about at the start of a conversation．In English-speaking countries people often make small talk about the weather：“Nice day, isn’t it?” “Terrible weather, isn’t it?” But there is something special about small talk．It must be about something which both people have the same opinion about．

    The purpose of small talk it to let both people agree on something．This makes meeting people easier and more comfortable．People usually agree about the weather, so it is a safe topic for small talk．But people often disagree about religion or politics，So there are not suitable topic for small talk in English．The topic for small talk also depends on where the conversation is taking place．At football matches，people make small talk about the game they are watching：“Great game，isn’t it? ” At the bus stops，people may talk about the transport system：“The bus service is terrible．isn’t it? ”

     Greetings and small talk ale an important part of conversation in any language．The way people great each other and the things they talk about，however, may be different from one language to another．This shows that there is much more to learn when we learn a language than just the vocabulary and grammar of the language．We also have to learn the social behavior of the people who speak it．

(    )1．Small talk is something we talk about to start with a conversation．

(    )2．The favorite topic of small talk is about the games．

(    )3．The passage suggests that when we learn a language we should know the culture about    the country．

(    )4．When we say “Great game，isn’t it” we in fact begin a small talk．

(    )5．What we learn from the passage is that small talk is an important part in a language．

    Here is a mark table(分数表)about the students’ English competition．Find some useful information to the following questions．

(    ) 1． ________ is the most humorous of all the four groups．

           A．Group One                     B．Group Two             C．Group Three

(    ) 2．Group Two is thought to have spoken as ________ as Group Four．

           A．clearly                          B．quickly                 C．freely

(    ) 3．Group Two did worst in ________．

           A．Answer correctly    B．Speak freely          C．Co-operate well

(    ) 4．In “Answer correctly”，Group Three got ________ more marks than Group One．

           A．4                                B．5                         C．9

(    ) 5．According to the table，which of the following is NOT true?

           A．Group Three is the winner of the competition．

            B．Group One did as well as Group Four in “Answer quickly”．

C．All groups did very well in “Speak loudly” of all the items．

阅读理解

    During the last ten years，our cities were full of cars，buses and trucks．They are very important in our daily life．With them people call go to any place．But now the streets are  completely crowded and it is very difficult to drive a car along them．Drivers must stop at hundreds of traffic lights．

What are our cities going to be like in ten or twenty years? Will many motorways be built across them? With big motorways(高速公路)cutting across them，full of noisy，dirty cars and trucks，our cities are going to be awful places．How can we solve the problem?

People can leave their cars at home and take the bus to go to work．It is a good way to improve the traffic problems．

    There are some good ideas to reduce the use of private cars．In 1971，for example，the authorities(官方) in Rome began an interesting experiment：passengers on the city buses did not have to pay for their tickets．

    In Stockholm(斯德哥尔摩) there was another experiment：people paid very little for a season ticket to travel on any bus，trolley bus，train or tram all over the city．In many cities now some streets are closed to vehicles(机动车) and pedestrians are safe there．In London there is another experiment：part of the street is for buses only．So the buses can travel fast．There are no cars or taxis in front of them．

    In China some roads are closed to the taxis in rush hours．Some people say it’s good for the transportation．but others say it’s not convenient for the passengers．

(    )1．What does the writer worry about in a big city?

           A．The number of traffic lights         B．The shortage of buses

           C．The traffic congestion (拥挤)

(    )2．What city once experimented on a completely free bus service?

           A．London         B．Stockholm      C．Rome

(    )3．What city once experimented on a very cheap bus service?

           A．London         B．Stockholm      C．Rome

(    )4．In many cities pedestrians arc much safer because ________ ．

A．no traffic is allowed in some streets

B．traffic is computer-controlled

           C．only one-way streets are open to traffic

(    )5．In Chinese，“pedestrian” means ________ ．

A．司机              B．行人             C．旅客

完型填空：

Mike Findlay has loved flying since he was small. When he was three years old, his dad took him to an air show. Mike loved the sounds of the planes, he  1  of becoming an airplane pilot someday. As Mike grew up, he learned as much as he could about flying. He wanted to go to flying school  2  university. He kept on asking his parents about it all the time. At that time, pilot training was very expensive. Mike's parents couldn't afford it. 
  Later Mike became a salesman. He hoped to get lots of money for flying school. He traveled around America for his factory. He liked to travel,   3  by plane. To save money, he usually stayed in cheap hotels.
  One morning, Mike  4  to Altanta. On the plane, after breakfast, he went to sleep. Some time later, he woke up. The two men beside him were talking in a  5  voice. When Mike heard the word "hijack (劫持)", he nearly jumped out of his seat, but he pretended (假装) he was still  6  . He listened when the two men talked. Mike quickly learned what was happening. They planned to hijack the plane to Cuba. This made Mike very  7 . He knew he had to stop them before they began their plan. Mike pretended to use the washroom. On the way he met a hostess (女乘务员) and told her about the coming  8  . A moment later, the passengers were told that there was something wrong with the plane. Soon the plane landed at the nearest airport. The two men received a surprise when they saw twenty police officers were 9  them at the airport. 
  Later Mike was given free flying training as a reward. Then he became a pilot and flew happily ever since. Now his story is well­10 in the United States.
(    )1. A. thought               B. heard             C. dreamed

(  　)2. A. as well as             B. such as            C. instead of
(  　)3. A. especially             B. widely            C. except 
(　  )4. A. flew                  B. drove             C. moved 
(　  )5. A. loud                  B. serious           C. low 
(  　)6. A. awake                B. asleep            C. quiet 
(　  )7. A. sad                   B. angry            C.careful 
(　  )8. A. danger               B. training           C. flying 
(  　)9. A. looking for            B. waiting for        C. asking for 
(　  )10. A. told                 B. know             C. written  

Which word stress is different?

        A. television          B.except              C.unhappy

           Timetable

        A.Half an hour        B.An hour             C.An hour and a half

  In the exam, the         you are, the        mistakes you’ll make.

        A.more careful, less   B.more carefully, more  C.more careful, fewer

 ---I think Miss Gao must be in the library. She said she would go there.

           ---No, she ___________ be there. I have just been there..

         A. can’t             B. mustn’t            C. wouldn’t

The world’s population is getting larger and larger, so scientists will have to ______ new ways to solve food problem.

         A. catch up with      B. keep up with        C. come up with        

 ---Do you know ___________ about China?  --- The people and the food.

         A. what Jim likes     B. how does Jim like   C. why does Jim like