As you are students of English, it’s very possible that you’ll be interested in England. That’s where the language was first spoken. But England is often called by other names. This often confuses people and I wonder if you know what these names mean. So, now I would like to tell you about this matter of names. I believe that you have heard people use the names—England, Britain or Great Britain. Let’s see what each of these names means.

If you look at a map of Europe, you’ll see a group of islands--one larger island off the northwest coast, one smaller and many tiny ones. These make up what is called the British Isles. The largest island of the British Isles is Britain. It is also called Great Britain. The smaller island is Ireland.

Britain is divided into three parts: Scotland, Wales and England. But sometimes the word “England” is used instead of “Britain”. Why so?

In ancient times, what is Britain now used to be three different countries. People in these different countries spoke different languages. Over many years the three countries became one. England is the largest and richest of the three and it has the most people. So the English people take it for granted that their own name stands for the whole island.

There’s another thing that confuses people: sometimes you may hear people say “the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”. That is the official name of the country. Northern Ireland is only one sixth of the island of Ireland. The rest of the island is an independent state, called the Republic of Ireland. So we have the names of “England”, “Britain”, “Great Britain”, and “the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”. Now do you know what each of them means?

1.English was first spoken in ____.

A.Britain            B.England           C.Great Britain       D.Ireland

2.According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

A.Wales is the richest of the three.

B.Scotland is the largest of the three.

C.Sometimes England is used instead of Britain.

D.Britain is the only name of the largest island of British Isles.

3.The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is _____.

A.part of Britain

B.part of British Isles

C.the official name of the whole country

D.the largest country of all mentioned in the passage

4.Which of the following is the best title?

A.Students of English

B.Different Names of England

C.Different Languages Spoken in England

D.The Republic of Ireland

 

In Europe, many people make friends between their countries through town twinning. Town or city twinning means two towns in different countries agree and decide to become “twins” with a sister city relationship.

The people find pen friends in the twin town. They exchange newspapers and stamps. The school teachers discuss teaching methods with the teachers in the twin town. Officials visit the twin town for celebrations. Ordinary people travel to the twin town, too, but not very often if it is far away.

Sometimes, schools even exchange their classes for two or three weeks! For example, German middle school students study for a while at the school in their twin town in Britain, staying with British families. A few months later, their British friends come to study in Germany.

Many British towns are so pleased with the results of the twinning that they set out to find more than one twin town!

Tonbridge, a small town in Kent, for example, has twin town in both Germany and France. Richmond near London has relationships with Germany, France and even a town in a Balkan(巴尔干半岛的) country!

Town twinning can help make friends. It helps students improve their language skills, and also helps people to understand the differences between nations.

1.Twin towns develop ______.

A.between European countries and China

B.in the English-speaking countries only

C.in the same country

D.between different countries

2.How many countries are mentioned in the passage?

A.4                B.5                C.6                D.7

3.One of the advantages of town twinning is _____.

A.to earn more money

B.to set up schools

C.to improve students’ language skills

D.to develop industry and agriculture

 

In choosing a friend, one should be very careful. A good friend can help you study. You can have fun together and make each other happy. Sometimes you will meet fair-weather friends, who will be with you as long as you have money or luck, but when you are down, they will run away. How do I know when I have found a good friend? I look for certain qualities (品质) of character, especially understanding, honesty and reliability (可靠).

Above all else, I look for understanding in a friend. A good friend tries to understand how another person is feeling. He is not quick to judge. Instead, he tries to learn from others. He puts himself in the other person’s place, and he tries to think of ways to be helpful. He is also a good listener.

At the same time, however, a good friend is honest. He does not look for faults (过错) in others. He notices their good points. In short, a friend will try to understand me and accept me.

Another quality of a friend is reliability. I can always depend on a good friend. If he tells me he will meet me somewhere at a certain time, I can be sure that he will be there. If I need a favor, he will do his best to help me. If I am in trouble, he will not run away from me.

There is a fourth quality that makes a friend special. A special friend is someone with whom we can have fun. We should enjoy our lives, and we would enjoy our friendship. That is why I especially like friends who are fun to be with. A good friend likes the same things I like. We share experience (经验) and learn from each other. A good friend has a good sense of humor, too. He likes to laugh with me. That is how we share in the joy of being friends. And I know that he is looking for the same quality in me.

When I meet someone who is reliable, honest, and understanding, I know I’ve found a friend!

1.If you have fair-weather friends, _____.

A.they will give you all that they have when you need help

B.you will be refused when you get into trouble

C.you will become rich

D.you can be sure that you get real friends

2.Good friends need to ______.

A.always point out each other’s mistakes

B.be helped with money

C.understand each other’s feelings

D.have money or luck.

3.This passage mainly discusses ________.

A.the qualities of a friend

B.where to choose friends

C.how to get along with friends

D.the importance of having a friend

 

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