When learning new vocabulary, don’t just memorize a list of words. _______, try to make five sentences using each new word. Then use the new word as often as you can the first day you learn it. This way you will remember new words _______ longer.

Practicing sounds, you know, is difficult—the “th” sound for example. Choose words that _______ “th” and repeat (重复) them over and over until you are comfortable with them. Let’s try! This, that, those, them, think, thought, through, thin…

Read, read, read—in English, of course! Reading is one of _______ ways to increase your vocabulary and _______ your grammar in a natural and fun way. Be sure to choose topics or books you are interested in.

When someone _________ in English, listen to the main point. If you _______ a word you don’t understand, ignore(忽略) _________ and go on listening. If you stop and think about the word, you will miss _______ the person is saying.

Always remember—practice ________ perfect.1.

A．Instead of

B．Instead

C．But

2.

A．much

B．many

C．more

3.

A．end up with

B．begin

C．begin with

4.

A．the best

B．best

C．better

5.

A．encourage

B．change

C．improve

6.

A．talk

B．is talking

C．talked

7.

A．listen

B．listen to

C．hear

8.

A．it

B．them

C．one

9.

A．nothing else

B．everything else

C．everything other

10.

A．make

B．making

C．makes

Throughout history, people have been interested in knowing how language first began, but no one knows exactly where or how this happened. However, we do know a lot about languages, the language of today and also the languages of earlier times. There are probably about three thousand languages in the world today. Chinese is the language with the most speakers. English, Russian and Spanish are also spoken by millions of people. On the other hand, some languages in the world have less than one hundred speakers.

There are several important families of languages in the world. For example, most of the languages of Europe are in one large family called Indo-European. The original language of this family was spoken about 4,500 years ago. Many of the present-day languages of Europe and India are modern forms of the language of 4,500 years ago.

Languages are always changing. The English of today is very different from the English of 500 years ago. In time, some even die out completely. About 1,000 years ago, English was a little known relative of German spoken on one of the borders of Europe.

If a language has a number of speakers, or if it is very old, there may be differences in the way it is spoken in different areas. That is, the language may have several dialects. Chinese is a good example of dialect differences. Chinese has been spoken for thousands of years by many millions of people. The differences between the dialects of Chinese are so great that speakers of Chinese from some parts of China can’t understand speakers from other parts.

11. The first paragraph mainly tells us that_______.

A．most people in the world speak Chinese	B．there are thousands of languages in today’s world
C．man has much knowledge about languages	D．some people know several languages

12. Most European and Indian languages_______.

A．will soon die out completely	B．were once a relative of English
C．are no longer spoken	D．come from the same family of language.

13. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A．Chinese is the language with the most speakers.

B．English was a well-known relative of German spoken on one of the borders of Europe.

C．A language has many speakers, but there may be no differences in the way it is spoken in different areas.

D．Speakers of Chinese from some parts of China can understand speakers from other parts.

14. It is considered to be the most difficult thing for one to learn to speak Chinese because _______.

A．there are great differences between the dialects of Chinese

B．Chinese and many foreign languages are not of the same family

C．Chinese is a very old language

D．there are great differences between the old Chinese and the present-day Chinese

15. The underlined word “dialect” in the last paragraph means_______.

A．a special language spoken by Chinese

B．the sign used by Chinese people in a special area

C．the difference between the old and today’s Chinese

D．the form of a language used in one part of the country

Before you read this story, let’s take a look at a sentence in Chinese: “研表究明, 汉字序顺并不定一影阅响读。” Did you notice that some of the characters in this sentence are in the wrong order? You might not realize it, but your brain can read and understand most sentences, even when the words are in the wrong order.

Do you know why that happens?

When we’re first learning how to read, we read word by word. But after we become more experienced, we read in full phrases and even sentences. People can read five to six words at one time. Also, as experienced readers, we take the things we’re familiar(熟悉的) with for granted(把……当作理所当然). We don’t pay much attention to small details, such as the word order.

Therefore when we read the sentence at the beginning of this article, the content(内容) was familiar to us. So we read it in the way we think it should be, with all the words in the right order. This is like when we see a person with long hair—we usually think that the person is a girl without taking a closer look.

This can be also seen in many other languages, such as English. Read the following sentence: “This is bcuseae the huamn mind deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe.”

It is believed that humans remember the meanings of words mostly by their shape and layout, rather than the order or the letters. However, we cannot read scrambled(打乱的) sentences as quickly and efficiently as we read normal text.

16. Why does word order not affect experienced readers much?

A．Because they read sentences word by word.

B．Because they read in full phrases or sentences.

C．Because they are familiar with every word in most sentences.

D．Because they pay attention to the length of the sentences.

17. The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 4 refers to “________”.

A．the sentence

B．the phrase

C．this article

D．Chinese character

18. What is the main purpose of Paragraph 4?

A．To suggest that learners remember words letter by letter.

B．To give suggestions on how to remember the meanings of words.

C．To explain why people can understand scrambled sentences.

D．To stress that the order of the letters in a word is very important.

19. Which of the following is TRUE?

A．All readers read word by word.

B．Experienced readers can understand scrambled sentences.

C．We shouldn't pay attention to small details.

D．We can read scrambled sentences as quickly as we read normal text.

20. What would be the best title for the text?

A．Learn How to Read	B．Pay Attention to the Details
C．Read in Full Sentences	D．Scrambled Sentences

Different gestures (手势) mean different things in different countries. Sometimes a gesture that is polite in one country is not polite in another and should not be used.     26     . A gesture that many people do not understand is one that uses the thumb. Most westerners will sometimes show that they like something by holding out a closed hand with the thumb lifting in the air.     27     . Often, only one thumb is used, so it should be “the thumb up”.

The usual explanation (解释) for the origin of this gesture is not really correct. It says that in ancient Roman times, when people were pleased with the way a gladiator (角斗士) had fought,     28     . When they were not pleased, they gave the thumbs down. When a gladiator was given the thumbs up, the emperor allowed him to live.     29     , the emperor ordered him to be killed.

The truth is, however, it was translated into a wrong meaning by mistake. If people wanted to save the gladiator,     30     . If they wanted the gladiator to die, they pointed their thumbs straight at him.

A．When a gladiator was given the thumbs down

B．they put out their hands and hid their thumbs in their hands

C．This is called give someone or something “the thumb up”

D．they showed their thumbs up

E．Different meanings of gestures can also cause problems in understanding what another person is trying to say