【推荐1】American English began in the 17th century. At the beginning of the 17th century, the English language was brought to North America by colonists (殖民者) from England. They used the language spoken in England, that is, Elizabethan English, the language used by Shakespeare.

In order to exploit (开发) new resources in America, British colonists settled down there and from 1607 to 1732 set up thirteen colonies. In these thirteen areas, English was a common language used by all people. They continued to speak as they had done in England.

As time went by, the English language gradually changed on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Foreigners longing for wealth set foot on the coastal area to trade. The Americans adopted many words from foreign languages and invented lots of new words to meet their commercial (贸易的) needs.

Following American Independence, famous people like Thomas Jefferson, the president, began to consider that the country should have a language of its own. Noah Webster compiled (编纂) three elementary books on English. Later, he expressed the idea that as an independent nation, America should have a system of its own in language as well as in government. After the second half of the 19th century, many great writers such as Mark Twain helped the development of American English.

English in America has developed a character of its own, showing the life and the physical and social environment of the American people. Since the rise of the United States to a position of world importance, American English has been developing and changing. There is no doubt that American English will enrich the English language greatly. With the rapid development of modern mass media and the common needs of economic, cultural and political exchanges, American English will be more widely used in the world than British English.

1. What can we infer from paragraph 3?

A．People from the seaside were more willing to learn English.

B．The English language changed as a result of inner culture shock.

C．New words occurred in American English as a result of local invention.

D．International business contributed to the development of American English.

2. What do we know about American English according to the passage?

A．It came into being at the end of the 17th century.

B．It hardly makes contributions to the development of English.

C．Its development has a close relationship with American people’s life.

D．It has been more widely used than British English from the beginning.

3. What’s the best title for the passage?

A．The Difference between American English and British English.

B．The development of American English.

C．The Birth of American English.

D．Language and Business.

【推荐2】When my kids, ages 11 and 8, race through the back door after school, often the first thing out of their mouths is: “Mom! Can we play Prodigy?” After a quick thinking of how much screen time they’ve already had for the week and how much peace and quiet I need to finish my work, I accept. After all, Prodigy is a role-playing video game that encourages kids to practice math facts. It’s educational. Right?

Though video games are increasingly making their way into classrooms, scientists say the facts are lacking (缺乏) on whether they can actually improve learning.

Some of the first evidence (证据) that gaming may train the brain came from first-person shooter games. It was first found by C. Shawn Green, an undergraduate studying at the University of Rochester in New York. He gave his friends a test of visual (视觉的) attention, and their scores were amazing. He and his research adviser, Daphne Bavelier, thought there must have been a problem in the test. But when Bavelier took the test, her scores were normal. The difference was that Green’s friends had all been devoting more than 10 hours per week to Team Fortress Classic, a first-person shooter game.

In other studies, researchers found that gamers who trained on Tetris were better at moving two-dimensional (空间的) shapes than those who played a control game. Students who played two hours of All You Can E. T. improved their focus-shifting skills compared with students who played a word search game. Not surprisingly, the skills that games can improve are the ones that players end up practicing over and over during the course of play.

The next step is to figure out how these findings may translate to the classroom. Although this research is still developing, I’m sure about my own kids’ ever-increasing requests for screen time—especially when they beg to play games designed to help them master math.

1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?

A．To lead in the topic.

B．To explain what Prodigy is.

C．To introduce the author’s family.

D．To prove the importance of video games.

2. What does the underlined word “they” in the second paragraph refer to?

A．Video games.	B．Classrooms.
C．Scientists.	D．Facts.

3. Who did the best in the test of visual attention?

A．Mr. Green.	B．Mrs. Bavelier.
C．Green’s friends.	D．A graduate.

4. Why can those playing Tetris do well in turning two-dimensional shapes?

A．Tetris is only a control game.

B．They focus on shifting skills.

C．They practise the relative skills many times.

D．The skills needed are similar to those in word search games.