阅读理解

　　In one way of thinking, failure is part of life．In another way, failure may be a way towards success．The “spider-story” is often told．Robert Bruce, leader of the Scots in the 13th century, was hiding in a cave from the English．He watched a spider spinning① a web．The spider tried to reach across a place in the rock．He tried six times．On the seventh time he made it and went on to spin his web．Bruce is said to have taken heart(鼓起勇气)and to have gone on to defeat the English．…Edison, the inventor of the light bulb②, made hundreds of models that failed before he found the right way to make one．Once he was asked why he kept on trying to make a new type of battery③ when he had failed so often．He replied, “Failure? I have no failures．Now I know 50 000 ways that won’t work．”?

　　So that? First, always think about your failure．What caused it? Were conditions right? Were you well prepared yourself? What can you change so things will go right next time?

　　Second, is the goal you’re trying to reach the right one? Try to do some thinking about what your real goals may be．Think about his question, “If I do succeed in this, what can I get from it?” This may help you prevent failure in things you shouldn’t be doing anyway④．

　　The third thing to bear in mind about failure is that it’s part of life．Learn to “live with yourself” even though you may have failed．Remember, “You can’t win them all．”

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　Our world is getting smaller and smaller．Miss Yamada, whose plane could cover eight hundred kilometers an hour, flew around the world in less than fifty hours．The newest planes could go 600 miles(one mile equals 1.609 kilometres)every sixty minutes, and we are now developing planes that are even faster．

　　But it used to take a lot longer to go around the world．Magellan’s men were the first to make the trip．It took them more than two years to do so by ship．

　　Magellan was from Portugal, but he sailed for the king of Spain．On September 20, 1519, he left Spain with five ships and 240 men．After passing the tip of South America, they reached the Pacific Ocean, on which they sailed more than one year．Very often they could not see a piece of land for months and they suffered greatly from the lack of food and fresh water．Many of them died of hunger and disease．They even had to live on sawdust(锯末)．Finally in April 1521, Magellan got to the Philippine Islands, where he was killed．His men fled and continued their voyage across the Indian Ocean．It was with the greatest difficulty that they passed the Cape of Good Hope．By the time they returned to Spain on December 21, 1521, seven out of every eight men had died．

　　Magellan’s voyage proved that men could sail around the world and that our earth is but a huge ball．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　When traveling abroad, it is wise to carry your money in traveler’s checks① because checks are protected against loss or theft．If your checks are lost or stolen, the issuing authority② will refund(赔偿)your money．

　　Not only are they safe, they are also convenient．They are available③ in different currencies(货币)and they can be cashed④ at most banks throughout the world．Most shops, hotels and restaurants also accept them．Traveler’ schecks are very easy to use．When you collect them, you sign each check once．The cashier enters the amount in your passport．When you cash, you sign each check again．The cashier will usually ask to see your passport again too．

　　To get traveler’s checks you usually go to your bank．They can be paid in cash or in other ways．Large amounts, however, must be ordered in advance．

　　For the safety and convenience of traveler’s checks, you are charged two commissions⑤ an insurance commission when you buy them and an encashment commission when you cash them．

　　It is suitable to make a note of the serial numbers of your checks．Keep this separate from your traveler’s checks．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　I have a rule for travel：never carry a map．I prefer to ask for directions(方向)．

　　Foreign visitors are often puzzled in Japan because most streets there don’t have names．In Japan, people use landmarks(地标)in their directions instead of street names．For example, the Japanese will say to travellers, “Go straight down to the corner．Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market．The post office is across from the bus stop．”

　　In the countryside of the Midwest American usually there are not many landmarks．There are no mountains, so the land is very flat．In many places there are no towns or buildings within(在……以内)miles．Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distance(距离)．In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “Go north two miles．Turn east, and then go another mile．”

　　People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map：they measure(测量)distance by means of time, not miles．“How far away is the post office?” you ask．“Oh,” they answer, “It’s about five minutes from here,” You say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don’t know．

　　People in Greece sometimes do not even try to give directions because visitors seldom understand the Greek language．Instead of giving you the direction, a Greek will often say, “Follow me．”Then he’ll lead(带领)you through the streets of the city to the post office．

　　Sometimes a person doesn’t know the answer to your question．What happens in this situation? A New Yorker might say, “Sorry, I have no idea．”But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers with “I don’t know．”People in Yucatan think that “I don’t know．”is impolite．They usually give an answer, often a wrong one．A visitor can get very, very lost in Yucatan!

　　One thing will help you everywhere－in Japan, in the United States, in Greece, in Mexico, or in any other place．You might not understand a person’s words, but maybe you can understand his body language．He or she will usually turn and then point in the correct direction．Go in that direction, and you may find the post office!

(1)

(2)

(3)

阅读理解

　　Americans think that travel is good for you．Some even think it can help solve① one of the country’s worst problems－crime(犯罪)．

　　Crime worries a lot of people．Every year, the number of crimes goes up and up．And many criminals(罪犯)are young．Most of them－85 percent are boys．They often come from sad homes, with only one parent or no parents at all．There are problems with alcohol② and drugs．

　　There are many young criminals in prison．But prisondoesn’t change them－60 to 70 percent will go back to crime when they come out of prison．

　　One man, Bob Burton, thought of a new idea．In the old days, young men had to live a difficult life on the road．They learned to be strong and brave, and to help their friends in time of danger．This helped them to grow into men．So Bob Burton started “Vision Quest”．

　　He takes young criminals on a long, long journey with horses and wagons③ 3000 miles through seven states．They are on the road for more than a year．

　　The young people on Vision Quest(boys and a few girls)all have bad problems．Most of them have already spent time in prison．This is their last chance．

　　It’s hard work on the road．The day starts before the sun comes up．The boys and girls have to feed the horses．Some of them have never loved anyone before．But they can love their horses．That love can help them to a new life．

　　Not all young people on Vision Quest will leave crime behind them．30 or 40 percent will one day be in prison again．But that’s a lot better than 60 or 70 percent．Bob Burton is right．Travel can be good for you．

　　Even today, Americans still say, “Go west, young men．”

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　English is fast becoming the language of science around the world, but what is its future among everyday speakers? One expert points out that the percentage(比率)of native English speakers is declining(降低)globally while the languages of other rapidly growing regions① are being spoken by increasing numbers of people．But English will continue to remain widespread and important．

　　However, British language scholar David Graddol says English will probably drop in dominance(主导)by the middle of this century to rank②, after Chinese, about equally with Arabic, Hindi, and Urdu．“The number of people speaking English as a first language continues to rise, but it isn’t rising nearly as fast as the numbers of many other languages around the world, simply because the main population group has been largely in the less developed countries where languages other than English have been spoken,” he says．

　　In a recent article in the journal Science, Mr．Graddol noted that three languages that are not near the top of the list of the most widely spoken now might be there soon．These are Bengali, Tamil, and Malay, spoken in south and southeast Asia．

　　David Crystal, the author of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, says about 1.5 billion of the world’s six billion people speak it as a second tongue compare③ to the 400 million native speakers．But another expert on the English language says Mr．Graddol underestimates(低估)the future of its dominance．“Nobody quite knows what’s going to happen because no language has been in this position before．But all the evidence(证据)suggests that the English language snowball is rolling down a hill and is getting faster,” he said．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　English is a language spoken all around the world．There are more than 42 countries where the majority① of the people speak English．Most native speakers of English are found in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Ireland and New Zealand．In total, for more than 375 million people, English is their mother tongue．An equal number of people learn English as a second language．These people will perhaps speak the language of their own country at home with their family, but the language of the government, schools, newspapers and TV is English．This situation is found in countries such as India, Pakistan, Nigeria and the Philippines．

　　However, the number of people who learn English as a foreign language is more than 750 million．Everywhere in the world, children go to school to learn English．Most people learn English for five or six years at high school．In China students learn English at school as a foreign language, except for those in Hong Kong, where many people speak English as a first or a second language．

　　In only fifty years, English has developed into the language most widely spoken and used in the world．English is the working language of most international organizations, international trade② and tourism③．Businessmen and tourists often come to China without being able to speak Chinese．Chinese businessmen, taxi drivers and students talk with them using English．English is also the language of global culture, such as popular music and the Internet．You can listen to English songs on the radio or use English to communicate with people around the world through the Internet．With so many people communicating in English every day, it will become more and more important to have a good knowledge of English．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　Every day we go to school and listen to teachers, and the teacher will ask us some questions．Sometimes, the classmates will ask your opinions of the work of the class．When you are telling others in the class what you have found out about these topics①, remember that they must be able to hear what you are saying．You are not taking part in a family conversation or having a chat with friends－you are in a situation② where a large group of people will remain silent, waiting to hear what you have to say．You must speak so that they can hear you loudly enough and clearly enough but without trying to shout or appearing to force③ yourself．

　　Remember, too, that it is the same if you are called to an interview④ whether it is with a professor of your school or a government official who might meet you．The person you are seeing will try to put you at your ease ordinary conversation but the situation is somewhat⑤ different from that of an ordinary conversation．You must take special care that you can be heard．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)