When we do not understand each other’s language, we can talk with the help of signs.

A Frenchman was once traveling in England . He could not speak English at all. One day he went into a restaurant and sat down at a table. When the waiter came, he opened his mouth, put his fingers in it and took them out again. He wanted to say “Bring me something to eat.”

The waiter soon brought him a cup of tea. The man moved his head from side to side. The waiter understood him and took the tea away. In a moment he came with a cup of coffee. But the man again refused (拒绝) it. He shook (摇) his head whenever the waiter brought him something to drink, for drinks are not food.

When the man was going away, another man came in. This man saw the waiter, and he put his hand on his stomach (胃). That was enough. In a few minutes there was a large plate of meat and vegetables on the table in front of him.

　　So, you see, we cannot understand the language of signs as well as we can understand the language of words.

1.According to the passage when people do not understand each other’s language, they can talk with the help of ___________.

2. A Frenchman signed to the waiter ___________.

3. The waiter brought the Frenchman ___________.

4. Another man saw the waiter, and put his hands on his stomach. He meant ___________.

5. From this story, we know ___________.

根据对话内容，从方框内的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，其中有两个为多余选项。

（Mary Hand—M；Chen Hui—C）

M: Help yourself to some chocolates. Chen Li brought them from Shanghai.

C: 　    1.    　  I can’t eat anything sweet. It’s my teeth.

M: I’m sorry to hear that.　    2.    　

C: I did. He told me that I have to have one tooth out and two filled. But I can’t find time for it.

M: 　    3.    　

C: But I’m busy now. I think I’ll go next week.

M: I’m afraid you’d better go right now. The sooner you do something about it, the better.

C: 　   4.   　 Can you please tell our head that I’ll be back by lunchtime?

M: 　  5.   　

C: Thank you very much. See you this afternoon.

M: See you.

A. If I were you, I’d take care of them right away.

B. You’d better not worry about yourself.

C. I agree with you.

D. Thanks.

E. With pleasure.

F. Here you are.

G. Did you see a dentist?

When you look up into the sky at night, have you ever felt that your eyes are playing tricks on (捉弄) you? It seems that the stars are moving all the time.

Actually, there is nothing wrong with your eyes. This twinkling effect is called scintillation (交光). Scintillation happens because of air movements in the earth’s atmosphere (大气). Light is “bent (弯曲的)” when it travels through different parts of the earth’s atmosphere. As the air in the earth’s atmosphere is moving all the time, the light from the stars looks as if it is moving too.

The same thing also happens to things on the ground. On a very hot and shiny day, if you look at the road, the image in the distance is not clear and things move slightly. You can also see the same effect if you drop a rock into water. The rock appears a little unclear under the moving water.

This twinkling effect causes a lot of problems for astronomers (天文学家) since they cannot observe the stars clearly. A telescope (望远镜) was sent into space so that the air movements in the atmosphere could be avoided (避免). It took a long time to build the space telescope but finally in 1990, a huge space telescope called the Hubble Space Telescope was successfully sent into space. Since then, astronomers have many important observations that have helped people understand space better.

根据短文内容，选择最佳选项。 （10分）

1.What happens to the light from the stars we see when the air in the earth’s atmosphere is moving?

A．It looks even brighter.

B．It looks as if it is bent.

C．It looks as if it is moving.

D．It looks like drops of rain.

2.Scintillation also happens on 　　　　 according to the passage.

A．rainy days                             B．shiny days

C．cloudy days                            D．windy days

3.What can you see when you drop a rock into the water?

A．The rock gets broken.

B．The rock becomes unclear.

C．The water becomes much polluted.

D．The water does not move anymore.

4.The underlined word “observe” means “　　　　”.

A．watch            B．listen             C．draw             D．explain

5.Why is scintillation a problem for astronomers?

A．The stars never stay still.

B．It makes the stars too dark to see.

C．It makes astronomers feel too hot to work.

D．Astronomers cannot observe the stars clearly.

－Can you see        ?

－No. Let’s go and have a look. Maybe we can help them.

A. what was happening there              B. what are they doing there

C. what are they talking there　         D. what is happening there

My summer hols wr CWOT. B4, we usd 2 go 2 NY 2C my bro, his CF & thr 3:-@ kids FTF ILNY, its gr8.
　　Can you understand this sentence? If you can't, don't feel too bad: neither could the middle school teacher in England who received this as homework. This is Netspeak: the language of computerized communication found on Internet or cellphones. To newcomers, it can look like a completely foreign language. So, what is the "translation" of the sentence above? My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend, and their three screaming kids face to face. I love New York; it's great.
　　Schoolteachers and parents say this new form of writing is harming（破坏）the English language. Increasing spelling and grammatical mistakes cxan be seen in students' writing. They fear the language could become corrupted（面目全非的）.
　　Everyone should just relax, say linguists（语言学家）. They believe Netspeak is in fact more of a good thing. David Crystal, from the University of Wales, argues that Netspeak and Internet create a new language use and the almost lost art of diary writing has been picked up again. Geoffrey Nunberg, from Stanford University, agrees. "People get better at writing by writing," he says, "Kids who are now doing text messaging, e-mail, and instant messages will write at least as well as, and possibly better than, their parents."
　　Linguist James Millroy says, for centuries, it is believed without exception that young people are harming the language. And you can bet your bottom dollar that when today's teenagers become tomorrow's parents, they too will think this way. Milroy argues that languages do not and cannot become "corrupted"; they simply change to meet the new needs.
　　However, Netspeakers do agree that it is important to teach young people how to speak and write Standard English. Cynthia McVey says, "I can understand Netspeak worries teachers and it's important that they get across to their pupils that text messaging is for fun, but that learning to write proper English is a must for their future."
　　Perhaps we should give teenagers a little more trust anyway. Erin, age 12, says, "I wouldn't use text language in my homework. Texting is just for fun"
　【小题1】What is the main purpose of the first paragraph?