1 . The British love word-play and they’re enthusiastic about defending the use of their language. In recent years, books about the grammar, pronunciation and punctuation (标点) of English have been written by the dozen, and sold extremely well, reflecting people’s love of the English language. People want to defend the “correct” use of their language, but also to preserve its ability to evolve along with society. Lynne Truss’s book Eats, Shoots & Leaves is an excellent example of these two opposite ideas. Its title shows the way that punctuation can change meaning in a sentence. “Eats shoots and leaves” is a perfectly normal description of a panda’s diet: he eats the shoots and leaves of bamboo trees. But the position of the comma (逗号) turns those nouns into verbs, and makes up a ridiculous little story: the panda eats (his dinner), he shoots (a gun), and he leaves (the building). It’s a silly joke, but it shows how changing something as simple as a comma can change the entire meaning of a sentence.

Published in 2003, Eats, Shoots & Leaves was an unexpectedly huge success. It is easy to assume the typical reader of this kind of book as the humourless type. However, the book has sold thousands and thousands of copies — it must be appealing to a wide range of people. The book’s winning secret is this: it makes some serious points about language and punctuation, but also has a light-hearted dimension, and uses stories and jokes to show its points. It has invited some tough criticism, too, especially from the US. On a broader range, Eats, Shoots & Leaves has opened up a lot of public debate on Truss’s ideas. Whether they agree with her or not, punctuation and grammar has become a popular topic to discuss.

In every generation there will be people who think that the standard of language is in decline, and who are more than happy to write to the newspapers to express their concern and opinions. Truss’s book also appeals to those who think that texting and blogging is lowering the standard of literacy. Whether the standard of the English language is decreasing, or simply evolving into new forms, the success of Eats, Shoots & Leaves proves that this is a subject that many English speakers find interesting and important.

1. The title of the book Eats, Shoots & Leaves is a joke which shows ________.

A．a funny feeling	B．a trend in writing
C．a fact about animals	D．a grammatical point

2. The book has been successful because ________.

A．it causes concern for proper use of language in a fun way

B．it shows the British like to teach English to other people

C．it solves a serious English language problem

D．it presents the new research on English

3. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．The English language was better in the past.

B．The English language is being improved by technology.

C．There is often dissatisfaction with the standard of English.

D．There have always been debates on the use of punctuation.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．The Problem Punctuation Created	B．The Difference a Comma Made
C．Public Debate about Language Standards	D．Proper Understanding of Silly Jokes

2 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写一个适当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

A 90-year-old has been awarded “Woman Of The Year” for     1     (be) Britain’s oldest full-time employee — still working 40 hours a week. Now Irene Astbury works from 9 am to 5 pm daily at the pet shop in Macclesfield,     2     she opened with her late husband Les. Her years of hard work have     3     (final) been acknowledged after a customer nominated (提名) her to be Cheshire’s Woman Of The Year.

3 . 随着年龄的增长，回家和家人在一起是最重要的部分。(汉译英)

4 . 当比赛期间拍照时，请关闭闪光灯。(汉译英)

5 . 我们吃什么并不是最重要的。重要的是和谁一起吃。(汉译英)

6 . 烟花在城市上空燃放，突然照亮了夜空。(汉译英)

7 . 全体观众被提醒关闭手机或将其调至静音状态。(汉译英)

8 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文或句子内容填空. 在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个恰当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空.

The colour was rushing to his cheeks, and his eyes were wide open,     1     (shine) with joy, and in the centre of each eye, right in the very centre, in the black pupil, a little spark of wild excitement     2     (dance) slowly. Then the old man took a deep breath, and suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, an explosion seemed to take place inside him. He threw up his arms and yelled ‘Yippeeeeeeee!’ And at the same time, his long     3     (bone) body rose up out of the bed and his bowl of soup went flying into the face of Grandma Josephine, and in one fantastic leap, this old fellow of ninety-six and a half, who     4     (be) in bed these last twenty years, jumped on to the floor and started doing a dance of victory in his pajamas.

9 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文或句子内容填空. 在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个恰当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空.

I’m part of an android football team. About once a year we     1     (allow) to get together to play a game of football. I’m as big as a human. In fact, I look like one too. On the football team I’m in charge of shooting     2    I must run very fast. My computer chips help me to move and think like a human. For example, I have learned to send signals     3     my teammates in computer language to give me the ball when I am open and have a good shot for a goal.

10 . 阅读下面短文，根据题目要求用英文回答问题。

How to Stop Overthinking

We all have times when we worry, whether it’s about work, health, family, relationships or a host of other reasons. But is there a point when you may think and worry too much?

Overthinking is an unhealthy habit that typically causes more stress by focusing on the negative instead of coming up with logical solutions. For example, we may start worrying about a specific situation at work, which leads to worrying about money or losing jobs.

But why do we tend to overthink? This is often due to cognitive errors, which are basically errors in logical thinking, such as all-or-nothing thinking and overgeneralisation. Although overthinking is hard to break, Natacha Duke, a registered psychotherapist, outlines strategies that can help.

“Healthy distraction can be useful,” says Duke. Activities like reading and taking a walk can help keep our stress levels down. They can reduce our baseline level of anxiety and make us less likely to overthink.

Duke adds, “Keeping a daily journal can help us actively manage stress before our feelings expand out of control.” As we practise journaling our emotions and thoughts, it becomes easier to identify when we’re starting to worry. Stopping worrying early will ultimately help us feel better and stay focused on what matters most to us.

Some people constantly think about questions like “What if I lose my job?” or “What if I get sick?” While having these thoughts is normal, it becomes a problem when we focus only on the worst-case situation. “For every ‘what if’ worry, change this to an ‘if then’ statement where you come up with ideas to deal with the worry or the worst-case situation,” says Duke. “Focus on having a concrete plan in place.”

So, face the problems, then challenge and reframe them. Finally, we will develop effective ways to cope with overthinking.

1. What is overthinking?
________________
2. What causes overthinking?
________________
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
A man can stop overthinking if he changes “what if” questions to “if then” statements, because it helps him focus on the worst-case situation.
________________
4. Besides the suggestions mentioned in the passage, what other advice will you give to a person who is always overthinking?
________________