In the modern world, being able to speak English is often a way to get power. However, this is not true for English speakers in Cameroon. To know why things are different in this African country, we need to go back one hundred years.
In 1919, Kamerun (the name of Cameroon at the time) was cut into two parts: one belonged to France, and the other belonged to the UK. In 1960, the French Cameroon became the Republic of Cameroun, and the UK’s part joined it in 1961. The new country changed its name to the Federal Republic of Cameroon. Although both French and English are Cameroon’s official languages, only around 20% of its people speak English. Also, the government has been in French speakers’ hands since the two parts became one country.
For a long time, Cameroon’s English speakers have felt they are not welcome in their own country. For example, it is very difficult for them to find jobs in the government, and they are often asked to speak French in business and at official events. They have become angry at the government and decided to fight for themselves. Since 2016, the English speakers have tried to build their own country. They said in a public meeting in October 2017, that they were not part of Cameroon any more and they were a new country, “Ambazonia”. When the police tried to stop the meeting, at least eight people were killed.
1. Which map is most likely the map of Cameroon in 1962?A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．It’s a small country in America. | B．Ambazonia is its another name. |
| C．French is used more in this country. | D．Most people there speak English. |
| A．how the two parts of Cameroon became one country |
| B．why English speakers in Cameroon have less power |
| C．how English speakers in Cameroon fight for themselves |
| D．why only 20% of the people in Cameroon speak English |
相似题推荐
A tree has roots. People have roots, too. If you get to the root of a problem, you will solve it. It’s the same thing with words. Dig deeply into a big, unfamiliar (不熟悉的) word and you will understand where it came from.
Prefix, Suffix & Root Words
As readers, especially those reading in a second language, we need to deal with the text as if we were detectives (侦探) looking for information to unlock the unknown. Like any good detective arriving on the crime scene, the first thing to do when meeting a new and difficult word is to judge (判断) the situation, to look at everything that is known and see if it helps us to understand what means.
As you know, prefixes (前缀) and suffixes (后缀) can be added to the beginning or end of words to change the meaning. Know them, and you will have the word building power. But root words are the key. Take time to learn a few of these, put them in your memory, and you will become a master word detective.
Let’s look at one common root word used in English. “Alter” from the Latin word means “other”. When you meet this root word, you know that the bigger word has something to do with “other”. Examine the word “alternate”. Can you find the Latin root in it?
| If you and your friend like to eat out. first you pay and the other pays the next-time. You are alternating paving. If you go to the movies on alternate Saturdays, you go on one Saturday, but not the other Saturday. If you have no alternative, you have no other choice. |
Learn as many root words as possible in the language you are studying. Then use your “rooting for words” skills. Like any new skill, practice and hard work are always paid back.
1. If Jim and Lily go to the movies, which one below is “alternating paying”?| A．They each pay half. | B．Jim pays every time. |
| C．They take turns to pay. | D．Their parents pay for them. |
| A．By giving a fact. | B．By taking an example. |
| C．By telling a story. | D．By having a discussion. |
| A．My brother is my senior by two years. | B．He was ill so he was absent from school. |
| C．A criminal was sentenced to death by law. | D．60 students were present at the sports meeting. |
(①=paragraph 1 ②=paragraph 2, …)
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．It is very important not to give up. |
| B．You need to review how to learn the language. |
| C．Keep practicing the five main parts of the language. |
| D．Remind yourself of your reasons for language learning. |
| E．Language learning should be enjoyable! |
Most people of the world do not bow(鞠躬) to each other, but Japanese people do. They often bow when they meet. Men bow to men and to women. Men and women may also bow to each other, but usually only if they do not know each other. The younger, or more junior person bows more deeply than the older, or more senior person. The Japanese also bow to say “thank you” for something, or to apologize for something.
Schoolchildren do not bow to each other. Schoolgirls say goodbye to each other by waving their hands and saying “bye bye”. Schoolboys may copy Westerners and pat each other on the back or make “high fives” with their hands.
Many types of hand gestures(手势) have special meanings. You may see Japanese people put their thumb and index finger together to form a circle. This circle represents(代表) a coin and this gesture is the sign for money. If the Japanese want to indicate(表明) “me” without using words, they point to themselves by putting a finger to their noses, but Westerners would point to their chests. All young Japanese children learn to make a “V” sign with their middle and index fingers when someone takes their photograph. In Japan, this sign means “peace”, but in England this sign means “victory”. To say “No”, “I don’t know” or “I don’t understand”, Japanese people wave their hands in front of their faces, so it may be difficult to understand exactly what someone means.
Nodding of the head may also be confusing. When Japanese people nod their heads, it does not mean they agree with what you are saying. It means that they understand what you are saying. You must also be careful not to misunderstand a smile. When the Japanese smile they may not be happy, in fact they may be embarrassed(尴尬的).
As in most countries in the world, Japanese people use a lot of body language. Some of it you will understand and some of it will be new or confusing to you.
1. Japanese people bow ________.| A．occasionally | B．sometimes | C．often | D．never |
| A．usually; when they know each other |
| B．always; when they first meet each other |
| C．usually; when they first meet each other |
| D．always; when they know each other |
| A．they need to blow their noses | B．there is a bad smell |
| C．they are lying | D．they are talking about themselves |
| A．“I am happy” | B．“I agree” | C．“I understand” | D．“I disagree” |
| A．international | B．Italian | C．childish | D．only used at home |
| A．don’t like using body language | B．don’t use much body language |
| C．only use Western body language | D．use a lot of body language |
【推荐1】Some people describe American society as a salad bowl while others think of it as a melting pot.
In a bowl of salad, all the ingredients are mixed together.
From this point of view, America is very much like a salad bowl where individual ethnic groups mix together, yet maintain their cultural uniqueness. People may work together during the day at similar jobs and in the same companies, but at night they may return to their ethnic groups where their own individual culture directs their way of life.
| A．Whether a salad bowl or a melting pot. |
| B．They never lose their shapes, colors or tastes. |
| C．This is why there is so much diversity within America. |
| D．Thus, one needs to abandon one’s culture to be considered “American”. |
| E．They serve to develop the various ethnic group to create a new American culture. |
| F．The other theory, which is also used to describe American society, is the melting pot. |
| G．Both are correct depending on one’s point of view. |
【推荐2】As we know, beer is important in German life. However, beer is not the only important thing in Germany.
Germany is a big country in the car making industry. Today, many top cars like Audi, BMW, Porsche and Mercedes Benz are from Germany.
Germany is also well known for its great poets and writers.
Germans love sports.The most popular sports in Germany are soccer, tennis, swimming and skiing. Germans are precise (严谨的). For example, a German would never cross the street when the lights are red. Many people in China and the UK will not notice the red light.
Germans are punctual and every minute is very important for them. For example, if a train is going to arrive at 3 p.m., and it is only one minute late, people will get very angry. On the other hand, Germans are very relaxed about time when meeting friends.
Germans get up early. They usually start work very early in the morning.
1. Which is very popular with Germans?| A．Coffee. | B．Beer. | C．Rice. | D．Pizza. |
| A．Germany’s sports | B．the biggest city in Germany |
| C．Germany’s car making industry | D．Germany’s great poets and writers |
| A．Germany is at the heart of Europe. | B．Germany is well known for its great poets. |
| C．Many people in China will not notice the red light. | D．A German would never cross the street when the lights are red. |
| A．准时的 | B．迟到的 | C．易怒的 | D．友好的 |
| A．Germans are hard-working | B．most Germans are poets and writers |
| C．basketball is the most popular sport in Germany | D．Germans are easy to get angry |
【推荐3】Bangladesh (孟加拉) is an agricultural country between India and Burma (缅甸). Storms from the Indian Ocean sweep across the country every year, and large areas of farming land are flooded (冲毁). The people are very poor.
Fewer than half of the country's children complete their primary education. When they are six or seven years old, many children leave school to work in the fields or at home. The rest of their “education” consists of looking after cattle, collecting firewood or doing household jobs.
Not long ago, an experimental school was opened near the capital, Dacca, to help poor children. There are only 120 children in the school, which has three classrooms. In each class, forty pupils are divided into four groups of ten. Each pupil is free to decide which group he or she wants to join.
The most able pupils do a great deal of the teaching. They act as group monitors. Their duty is to ensure that all pupils in their group understand and practise what the teacher has taught.
There are a number of unusual features in the Bangladesh school. Children do not move up a class automatically when they grow older. Each group is promoted (升级) only when EVERY pupil in it has succeeded in getting to the right standard. As a result, all members of a group work hard to help the less able pupils. Nobody is left behind.
Lessons are extremely practical and include work on farming, carpentry, health and running a home, as well as lessons on the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic. At school, pupils prepare for adult life by learning to carry out almost all the tasks which they will face when they grow older.
Children enjoy their lessons and the school is cheap to run. It is so successful that other schools in Bangladesh are beginning to imitate (模仿) its methods. Visitors are even coming from other agricultural countries to see if they can use a similar method.
1. According to the writer, which pupils will most probably become group monitors?| A．The oldest ones. | B．The fattest ones. |
| C．The tallest ones. | D．The most able ones. |
| A．Every member of a group works hard to move to a higher class. |
| B．At the end of each school year, all the pupils move to a higher class. |
| C．Children move to a higher class automatically when they grow older. |
| D．Each group will move to a higher class only if each pupil can get to the right standard. |
| A．Bangladesh is an industrial country |
| B．many people in Bangladesh work on farms |
| C．pupils hardly learn anything needed in adult life at school |
| D．most of the country's children complete their primary education |
| A．help people know more about Bangladesh |
| B．introduce Bangladesh's poor education |
| C．encourage pupils in Bangladesh to work hard |
| D．teach other schools in Bangladesh how to imitate the experimental school |
【推荐1】Some people surveyed taste the sweet, salty, and crunchy together with other tastes of food as they listen to different noises. It shows that louder noises reduced the reported sweetness or saltiness of food while increasing the measure of crunchiness(松脆).
It may go some way to explains why airline food is widely complained about by both the workers and passengers. Andy Woods, a researcher, said, "It's a general opinion that plane foods aren't fantastic, but I'm sure airlines do their best, so we wondered if there were other reasons. One thought was that perhaps the background noise may have an effect. NASA gives their space explorers very strong-tasting foods, because for some reason, they can't taste food that strongly again, it may have something to do with the background noise."
In a study, 48 people were fed sweet foods or salty ones, while listening to nothing or noise through earphones. Meanwhile they rated the foods. In noisier settings, foods were rated less salty or sweet than they were when it was silent, but were crunchier, "The evidence shows that if the background noise is loud, your attention might be drawn to that, away from the food," Dr. Woods said.
"We are still be an early stage of progressing and this is a too small study to really draw definitive(完整可靠的) conclusions from," Dr. Woods said, "but it suggests that restaurants could well adapt their choice of food for a given environment."
Also in the group's findings there is the suggestion that the overall satisfaction with the food is also related to the degree to which people like what they are hearing.
1. How does the food taste when it is eaten in a noisy environment?| A．Less salty but crunchier. |
| B．Sweeter and saltier. |
| C．Sweeter but less crunchy. |
| D．Less sweet and crunchy. |
| A．Foods become less tasty in space. |
| B．The explorers lose their sense of taste in space. |
| C．Loud noises in space may weaken the explorers' sense of taste. |
| D．The explorers need tastier foods to keep energetic in space. |
| A．the environment influences the food a restaurant sells |
| B．the researchers have made an effective conclusion |
| C．Music will weaken people's sense of taste while eating |
| D．Listening to nothing while eating is the best choice |
| A．The best dinner environment. |
| B．How to change plane foods. |
| C．Listening to music while eating. |
| D．Background noise affects the taste of foods. |
【推荐2】Last week a teenager in my community died in car accident after a drinks party. Can you give me some advice on how to talk to my sons about alcohol (酒). They’re 7 and 11.
—Dan
You’re a smart dad! The earlier you start to talk with your kids about alcohol, the better.
*Start talking about alcohol early.
Kids who try alcohol before 15 are four times more likely to develop alcoholism than those who begin after 20. When there’s an accident in your community, talk to your kids about it. “How terrible! It’s dangerous for kids to drink alcohol and it’s against the law (法律).”
*Give your kids facts.
“But why are adults allowed to drink? They meet with accidents, too!” your sons might say.
“You’re right, dear. That’s why nobody should drink and then drive. And even for adults, alcohol does change the brain, but that change is temporary. When kids try alcohol, it actually changes the way their brains develop, so the change is long-lasting.”
*Keep communication open.
They might say, “A lot of kids try alcohol. Why do I have to wait?”
You can reply, “Some kids around you might drink and naturally you are curious (好奇的) about it. You can always tell me and ask me anything you want. I don’t want you to drink now. When you are an adult, whether you drink is up to you. Right now, though, it is up to me to help you protect yourself.”
—Melinda
1. Which of the following is mentioned by Melinda?A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．暂时的 | B．不可逆的 | C．隐性的 | D．非正常的 |
| A．Parents have a strong influence on their kids. |
| B．Parents should talk with their kids about anything. |
| C．Teenagers cannot make their own decisions. |
| D．Teenagers should be kept away from alcohol. |
【推荐3】Because of the history of Hong Kong, the city is influenced by a blend(混合) of Eastern and Western cultures. As a result, the people in Hong Kong celebrate some traditional Chinese festivals as well as some important Western festivals.
Generally speaking, the people in Hong Kong do not work on Sundays. Besides, they legally(合法地) enjoy public holidays. There are altogether 17 days’ public holidays each year, on which days the workers of banks, educational institutions(机构), social institutions and government departments are free from work. Usually, those so-called “white-collar workers” are also given public holidays. Workers from the other industries, or so-called “blue-collar workers” only enjoy 12 days off per year, which are called statutory(法定的) labor or factory holidays. However, this is notabsolute. Some bosses of the blue-collar industries also give their workers 17 days off each year.
The 12 days’ statutory vacations include New Year’s Day, Chinese New Year(Spring Festival) and the two days following it, Qingming Festival, May Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day(香港特别行政区成立纪念日), the day following the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, National Day, Chongyang Festival, Christmas Day or Winter Solstice(冬至). The public vacations include the above statutory days off and another five days.
Some bosses may give their workers a day off on the Winter Solstice instead of Christmas Day, which is legally allowed. If any of these holidays falls on a Sunday or another holiday, the workers can have a day off on the following weekday.
1. The people in Hong Kong celebrate festivals from both China and western countries because of _________.| A．population | B．government | C．history |
| June | ||||||
| Sun. | Mon. | Tues. | Wed. | Thur. | Fri | Sat. |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| A．June 6. | B．June 10. | C．June 11. |
| A．温柔的 | B．忙碌的 | C．绝对的 |
| A．The workers of banks can enjoy 17 days’ public holidays in a year. |
| B．The people in Hong Kong usually have three days off during the Spring Festival. |
| C．Bosses in Hong Kong don’t allow their workers to have a day off on the Chinese Winter Solstice. |
| A．Holidays in Hong Kong. |
| B．The history of Hong Kong. |
| C．Lives of the people in Hong Kong. |
