1 . Endangered languages are languages that wouldn’t exist any longer, much like endangered species of plants or animals. Languages are considered to be endangered when parents are no longer teaching the language to their children and are not using it actively in everyday life. A language is considered to nearly disappear when it is spoken by only a few elderly native speakers.
The world faces enormous challenges in order to protect different kinds of languages. Of the more than 6,912 languages, half may be in danger of disappearing in the next several decades.
It is caused by many reasons: small numbers of speakers, the regular use of other languages, attitudes towards their languages, moving of the younger population, government policies, and languages used in education and so on. A language may lack important things such as a body of literature, and people who read and write it. A language may also lack prestige (声望) and support of its speakers.
The survival of a language is also threatened when speakers move to other areas where different languages are spoken, or when government policies improve the use of a specific language in school, official business and the media. These situations encourage people to learn the wider-known language and may cause them, especially the young, to stop using their mother tongue. Often those speaking lesser-known languages will choose to learn a more prestigious language with the hope of greater economic opportunities. Most of the world’s parents are teaching their children English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Russian or some other main languages instead of their own languages for social and economic reasons.
1. What’s the main idea of this passage?| A．Languages in the world. |
| B．Reasons why languages become endangered. |
| C．What an endangered language is. |
| D．Languages spoken by few speakers. |
| A．more than 6,912 | B．more than 3,456 | C．6,912 | D．less than 3,456 |
①=Paragraph1 ②=Paragraph2 ③=Paragraph3 ④=Paragraph4
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．forbid the speakers to move about |
| B．pass laws to protect the language |
| C．raise the salaries of the people who speak the language |
| D．teach the language to young children and encourage people to speak it often |
| A．many languages will be probably endangered in this century |
| B．government policies have a big effect on languages |
| C．the endangered language is a language that is spoken by a few people |
| D．languages are related to their speakers’ social and economic position |
2 . A long time ago, in a small house in Scotland, two friends lived together. Their names were John and Bobby.
John and Bobby were not
John and Bobby
Then John developed a(n)
Bobby stayed at the grave site the next day, and the day after another. For the next 14 years, Bobby never left the
| A．rich | B．lucky | C．beautiful | D．funny |
| A．and | B．or | C．but | D．so |
| A．lonely | B．alone | C．worried | D．separate |
| A．failed | B．competed | C．imagined | D．liked |
| A．work | B．rest | C．run | D．walk |
| A．sang | B．talked | C．sat | D．studied |
| A．hard | B．sad | C．easy | D．simple |
| A．serious | B．unhealthy | C．big | D．sick |
| A．put | B．escaped | C．stored | D．buried |
| A．friends | B．children | C．parents | D．brothers |
| A．got up | B．turned down | C．sat down | D．put up |
| A．garage | B．grave | C．home | D．town |
| A．cool | B．warm | C．wet | D．rainy |
| A．Luckily | B．Quickly | C．Finally | D．Interestingly |
| A．large | B．small | C．firm | D．weak |
3 . The Chinese name system has a long history. Today, there are over 700 different Chinese family names, but as few as twenty cover most of the Chinese family names. Most Chinese family names have only one character, but there are a few with two. Chinese family names are written first, something that often causes confusion among those from countries where the family name usually comes last.
Generally speaking, Chinese given names have one or two characters, and are written after the family names. When a baby was born, parents often give him/her a “milk name” or “little name” such as Xiaobao. The given name is then chosen somewhat later, but the parents may continue to use the nickname. Given names of males are linked with strength and firmness while females with beauty and flowers. Females sometimes have names that repeat a character.
Chinese personal names may also reflect periods of history. For example, many Chinese born during the Cultural Revolution have “revolutionary names”, such as “Guoqiang”, “Dongfeng”, or even “Wenge”!
Chinese married women usually keep their maiden names (娘家姓) as their family names, rather than use the names of their husband, and children usually use their fathers’ family name.
With a limited supply of family names, Chinese depend on using given names to introduce variety in naming. Almost any character with any meaning can be used. However, it is not considered appropriate (合适) to name a child after a famous person and highly impolite after an older member among the family or even distant relatives.
1. From the passage, we know that ________.| A．women should change their family names after getting married |
| B．children’s nicknames are not used when they grow up |
| C．people usually name their children after some famous people |
| D．Chinese family names usually have only one character |
| A．Chinese family names are written at the beginning before given names |
| B．Chinese family names are written at the end of the full names |
| C．there are so many Chinese people using the same family name |
| D．there are only 700 Chinese names for people to choose from |
| A．Some Chinese family names may have two characters. |
| B．Only a few characters could be used as given names. |
| C．Children don’t like their nicknames given by their parents. |
| D．Children can be named after their grand-parents' names. |
That’s when Jack arrived on the scene. He was different from any other guy I’d dated. He could sit for hours on the piano bench with my mother, discussing some composers. My brother Rick loudly announced that Jack wasn’t a turkey like the other guys I’d brought home. Jack passed my family’s test. But what about Dad’s?
Then came my mother’s birthday. The day he was supposed to drive, I got a call. “Don’t worry,” he said, “but I’ve been in an accident. I’m fine, but I need you to pick me up.”
When I got there, we rushed to a flower shop for something for Mom. “How about gardenias (栀子花)?” Jack said, pointing at a beautiful white corsage (胸花). The florist put the corsage in a box.
The entire ride, Jack was unusually quiet. “Are you all right?” I asked. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” he said. “I might be moving.” Moving? Then he added, “Moving in with you.” I nearly put the car on the sidewalk. “What?” I asked. “I think we should get married,” he said. He told me he’d planned his proposal in a fancy restaurant, but after the accident, he decided to do it right away. “Yes,” I whispered. We both sat dumbfounded, tears running down our cheeks. I’d never known such a tender moment. If only Dad were here to give his final approval.
“Oh, let’s just go inside.” Jack laughed. My mother opened the door. “Happy Birthday!” we shouted. Jack handed the box to her. She opened it up. Suddenly, her eyes were filled with tears. “Mom, what’s wrong?” I asked. “I’m sorry,” she said, wiping her eyes. “This is only the second gardenia corsage I’ve ever received. I was given one years ago, long before you kids were born.” “From who?” I asked. “Your father,” Mom said. “He gave me one right before we were engaged.” My eyes locked on Jack’s as I blinked away (眨掉) tears. Dad’s test? I knew Jack had passed.
1. According to the text, we know the writer’s father was __________.| A．interested in observing things around |
| B．good at judging one’s character |
| C．strict with her boyfriend |
| D．fond of challenges |
| A．Jack got the family’s approval except Dad’s. |
| B．Jack was different from any other boy. |
| C．Jack was getting on well with Mother. |
| D．Jack knew a lot about piano. |
| A．piece of advice | B．wedding ceremony |
| C．celebration of birthday | D．offer of marriage |
| A．pleased | B．worried |
| C．surprised | D．disappointed |
| A．The gift was the same as the one her husband gave her. |
| B．She had never received such a beautiful gift. |
| C．Her daughter found her life partner at last. |
| D．The gardenia corsage was too expensive. |
It is hard for me to accept that many of my wonderful neighbors are growing old and won’t be around much longer. I have fond memories of the couple across the street, who sat together on their porch swing almost every evening, the widow next door who yelled at my brother and me for being too loud, and the crazy old man in a black suit who drove an old car. In contrast to those people, the people I see today are very old neighbors who have seen better days. The man in the black suit says he wants to die, and another neighbor just sold his house and moved into a nursing home. The lady who used to yell at us is too tired to bother any more, and the couple across the street rarely go out to their front porch these days. It is difficult to watch these precious people as they near the end of their lives because at once I thought they would live forever.
The “comings and goings” of the younger generation of my street are now mostly “goings” as friends and peers move on. Once upon a time, my life and the lives of my peers revolved around home. The boundary of our world was the gutter at the end of the street. We got pleasure from playing night games or from a breathtaking ride on a tricycle. Things are different now, as my friends become adults and move on. Children who rode tricycles now drive cars. The kids who once played with me now have new interests and values as they go their separate ways. Some have gone away to college like me, a few got married, two went into the army, and one went to prison. Watching all these people grow up and go away makes me long for the good old days.
Perhaps the biggest change on my street is the fact that the city is going to turn my precious hill into several lots for new homes. For sixteen years, the view out of my kitchen window has been a view of that hill. The hill was a fundamental part of my childhood life; it was the hub of social activity for the children of my street. We spent hours there building forts, sledding, and playing tag. The view out of my kitchen window now is very different; it is one of tractors and dump trucks tearing up the hill. When the hill goes, the neighborhood will not be the same. It is a piece of my childhood. It is a visual reminder of being a kid. Without the hill, my street will be just another pea in the pod.
There was a time when my street was my world, and I thought my world would never change. But something happened. People grow up, and people grow old. Places changes, and with the change comes the heartache of knowing I can never go back to the times I loved. In a year or so, I will be gone just like many of my neighbors. I will always look back to my years as a child, but the place I remember will not be the silent street whose peace is interrupted by the sounds of construction. It will be the happy, noisy, somewhat strange, but wonderful street I knew as a child.
1. The writer calls up the memory of the street _____________.
| A．every year when autumn comes |
| B．in the afternoon every day |
| C．every time he walks along his street |
| D．now that he is an old man |
| A．many of his good neighbors are growing old |
| B．the lady next door who used to yell at him and his brother is now a widow |
| C．the life of his neighbors has become very boring |
| D．the man in his black suit even wanted to end his own life |
| A．continue to consider home to be the center of their lives |
| B．leave the neighborhood they grew up in |
| C．still enjoy playing card games in the evenings |
| D．develop new interests and have new dreams |
| A．removing the hill to make way for residential development |
| B．the building of new homes behind his kitchen window |
| C．the fact that there are much fewer people around than in the past |
| D．the change in his childhood friends' attitude towards their neighborhood |
| A．his street will be very noisy and dirty |
| B．his street will soon be crowded with people |
| C．his street will have some new attractions |
| D．his street will be no different from any other street |
| A．The Past of My Street will Live Forever |
| B．Unforgettable People and Things of My Street |
| C．Memory Street Isn’t What It Used to Be |
| D．The Big Changes of My Street |
6 . This could be the perfect gift for the partner, who embarrasses you on the dance floor. Smart socks, which can teach to dance, may be the answer for anyone with two left feet.
The socks have been developed as a running tool to help runners improve their skills. Thanks to the socks, users can accurately record not only how far and fast they run but also how well. I means the user maximizes their performance, and reduces damage to body and prevents hurt. The hi-tech socks are made of special fibers that watch the movements of your feet. They look, feel and can be washed like normal clothes.
Sensors（传感器）record each movement and send it by an ankle transmitter（脚踝发射器）to a smart phone. Then a "virtual coach" application shows the information and can tell the user what they are doing wrong, and help to improve skill in any task with feet.
The socks should be useful to athletes and weekend joggers. "People think running is so easy and of course everybody can do it but not necessarily safely and well." Dr. Davide Vigano said. A recent study showed that between 60 and 80 percent of runners got hurt per year. This is pretty much more than any other human activity. Researchers say the technology can also be developed to teach people how to dance, play sports such as golf, or even to help to teach women to walk better in high heels.
Mr. Vigano said, "People could all benefit from the idea. We have had interest from all sorts of sports, like skiing, football, cycling and golf. Anything where you have to use your feet can use it. It could even be put in high heels to help women walk in them safely."
Socks are just the start, and the technology could be used in gloves, hats and boots. The socks, anklet and software package, are expected to be sold for around £ 120, which will go on sale in March.
1. What does the underlined part "anyone with two left feet" refer to?| A．People who are disabled. | B．People who are interested in dancing. |
| C．People who are not good at dancing. | D．People who invented the socks. |
| A．They feel much softer than normal clothes. | B．They can monitor the movement of feet. |
| C．They are expensive to produce. | D．They act as a smart phone for users. |
| A．everyone can make good use of the smart socks |
| B．users can run as fast as they like with the socks |
| C．60 to 80 percent of runners would like to buy the smart socks |
| D．no runners will get hurt, thanks to the socks |
Biggs was sent to Wandsworth Prison, a maximum security jail. It had one very high wall to keep the prisoners in, and some guards to watch them. One afternoon in July 1965, Biggs was in the prison yard. He had been in jail for just fifteen months. A tall van（货车） stopped outside the jail, and a ladder was placed against the wall. Then a rope ladder was thrown over the wall into the prison yard. Biggs climbed up the rope ladder, jumped down into the van and escaped!
From that time on, Biggs lived on the run. After hiding in France, Spain and Australia, he finally settled in Brazil in 1970. He was a celebrity（名人） criminal. He appeared in rock videos and movies, and he sold souvenirs to tourists who came to see him. But he missed his home in Britain and, at the age of seventy-one, decided to go home. He was met at the airport by family, friends—and police.
1. Ronnie Biggs was sentenced to thirty years in jail because ________.
2. What kind of prison was Ronnie Biggs in?
3. The main idea of Paragraph 2 is ________.
4. How many countries had Ronnie Biggs been to after he escaped from Britain?
5. When was Ronnie Biggs born?
A CNN Reporter at the scene states that there is no evidence that a 757 hit the Pentagon.
What hit the Pentagon? A Boeing 757 loaded with passengers and fuel right? Who was on Flight 757? According to the Flight Information there were No Arabs on it. That makes me wonder if Flight 757 actually existed at all.
From the pictures and the videos, people can find that there are several doubtful points that need to be taken into consideration, for example the marker line on the grass in the satellite and ground pictures, the different colors of the smoke, the hole which the plane impacted, and the standing pylons (架线塔).
Also, from the comparison of the different pictures, people can find some other strange points. For example, the gear (齿轮) is not the matching one. The wreckage of the plane is not the one from the American Airlines. The glass on the pavement of the pole is another doubtful point. The last thing that need considering is about the collapse. One of the gif video shows the plane impacting the Pentagon. The only problem with this video footage is that it has been altered (改变) and can not be fully trusted.
These crash photos and videos shown here clearly have been doctored (篡改) and don't even match the physics of what happened. So where is the real video? It leaves me many questions. Is this a missile? It is a real enigma.
1. Where can you possibly read this article?
| A．In a newspaper. | B．In a book. | C．On a website. | D．In a magazine. |
| A．given in | B．surrendered | C．given away | D．produced |
| A．the colors of the smoke |
| B．the model of the plane |
| C．the standing pylons |
| D．the marker line on the grass |
| A．Positive. | B．Neutral. | C．Skeptical. | D．Negative. |
The 16-year-old boy works for a small firm in Liverpool, where the problem of most young people of his age is finding a job. David’s firm puts two new games on the home market each month.
But David’s biggest headache is what to do with his money. In spite of his salary, made by inventing new programs within a quite short period of time, the bonus payments and profit-sharing (奖金和分红), he cannot drive a car, get some money from a bank to buy a house, or get credit cards.
He lives with his parents in their house in Liverpool, where his father is a bus driver. His firm has to pay ￡150 a month in taxi fares to get him the five miles to work and back every day because David cannot drive.
David got his job with the firm a year after leaving school with six 0-levels and working for a time in a computer shop. “I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs,” he said.
“I suppose 35,000 pounds sounds a lot but actually that’s not good enough. I hope it will come to more than that this year.” He spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother 20 pounds a week. But most of his spare time is spent working.
“Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school,” he said. “But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time. I know what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway.”
David added, “I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement (退休) is a possibility. You never know when the market might disappear.”
1. Why is David different from other young people of his age?
| A．He earns a very high salary. | B．He has not a job. |
| C．He does not go out much. | D．He lives at home with his parents. |
| A．making the banks treat him as a grown-up | B．inventing computer games |
| C．spending his salary | D．learning to drive |
| A．he had worked in a computer shop | B．he had written some computer programs |
| C．he worked very hard | D．he had learned to use computers at school |
| A．he did not enjoy school |
| B．he wanted to work with computers and staying at school did not help him |
| C．he was afraid of getting too old to start computing |
| D．he wanted to earn a lot of money |
| A．One has to be young to write computer programs. |
| B．He wants to stop working when he is a millionaire. |
| C．He thinks computer games might not always sell so well. |
| D．He thinks his firm might go bad. |
Martin Doherty, a psychologist at the University of Stirling in Scotland, led the team of scientists. In this experiment, Doherty and his team tested the perception(观察力) of some people, using pictures of some orange circles. The researchers showed the same pictures to two groups of people. The first group included 151 children aged 4 to 10, and the second group included 24 adults aged 18 to 25.
The first group of pictures showed two circles alone on a white background. One of the circles was larger than the other, and these people were asked to identify the larger one. Four-year-olds identified the correct circle 79 percent of the time. Adults identified the correct circle 95 percent of the time.
Next, both groups were shown a picture where the orange circles, again of different sizes, were surrounded by gray circles. Here’s where the trick lies in. In some of the pictures, the smaller orange circle was surrounded by even smaller gray circles — making the orange circle appear larger than the other orange circle, which was the real larger one. And the larger orange circle was surrounded by even bigger gray circles — so it appeared to be smaller than the real smaller orange circle.
When young children aged 4 to 6 looked at these tricky pictures, they weren’t fooled—they were still able to find the bigger circle with roughly the same accuracy as before. Older children and adults, on the other hand, did not do as well. Older children often identified the smaller circle as the larger one, and adults got it wrong most of the time.
As children get older, Doherty said, their brains may develop the ability to identify visual context. In other words, they will begin to process the whole picture at once: the tricky gray circles, as well as the orange circle in the middle. As a result, they’re more likely to fall for this kind of visual trick.
1. Doherty and his team of scientists did an experiment to evaluate .
| A．children’s and adults’ eye-sight |
| B．people’s ability to see accurately |
| C．children’s and adults’ brains |
| D．the influence of people’s age |
| A．children at 6 got it wrong 79 % of the time with no gray ones around |
| B．only adults over 18 got it right 95% of the time with gray ones around |
| C．children at 4 got it right about 79 % of the time with gray ones around |
| D．adults got it right most of the time with gray ones around |
| A．a smaller orange circle appears bigger on a white background |
| B．an orange circle appears bigger than a gray one of the same size |
| C．a circle surrounded by other circles looks bigger than its real size |
| D．a circle surrounded by bigger ones looks smaller than its real size |
| A．4 | B．6 | C．10 | D．18 |
| A．Because they are smarter than older children and adults. |
| B．Because older people are influenced by their experience. |
| C．Because people’s eyes become weaker as they grow older. |
| D．Because their brain can hardly notice related things together. |
