1 . 阅读下面短文并回答问题。

Can you speak more than one language? Being able to communicate with people in another language is a great way to make friends and feel more confident.

Language is the way we communicate with each other. It includes speaking, writing and using hand and face movements, known as sign language. Unlike countries, languages have no borders (边界) and can connect people around the world.

Speaking another language helps you talk to people you may, not understand, and makes you feel more connected to them. A girl from Hungary, Havana, who is aged 12, says speaking Hungarian as well as English means she can talk to her friends from England. This makes her feel closer to her British friends because they’re able to share their interests. Learning another language can also help you gain confidence—for example, by being able to chat to local people when you travel. Studies show that being able to speak two languages also exercises the brain and makes you better at concentrating on more than one thing at a time.

Alex Rawlings is a language teacher and writer who speaks more than 15 languages. He finds it’s easier to learn words that he can see or hear, rather than from a list. “For example, the words of a song are more memorable because they rhyme (押韵) and are sung,” he says. It’s also important to understand why you learn a language. Rawlings recommends writing down reasons why you want to learn the language and keep reminding yourself of them. “I’ve met lots of friends through my languages,” says Rawlings. “The more you learn, the easier it gets.”

1. What is the difference between countries and languages?
____________________________________________________
2. What makes Havana feel closer to her friends from England?
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3. Rawlings says, “The more you learn, the easier it gets.” Do you agree? Why or why not? (In about 40 words)
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2 . 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

3 . The older you get, the more difficult it is to learn a new language. But no one knows exactly what the cutoff point is—at what age it becomes harder. In one of the largest studies, researchers from Boston-based universities found that children are good at learning a second language up until the age of 18, about 10 years later than earlier thought. But the study also showed that it is best to start by age 10 if you want to achieve the grammatical fluency of a native speaker.

To solve this problem, the research team collected data on a person’s age, language level and time studying English. They created a short online grammar quiz called “Which English?” that tested noun-verb agreement, pronouns, prepositions and relative clauses, among other linguistic elements. They wanted to find out when the “critical period” for achieving the highest levels of grammatical fluency ends.

Based on people’s grammar scores and information about their learning of English, the researchers developed models to find out how long it takes to become fluent in a language and the best age to start learning. They concluded that the ability to learn a new language, at least grammatically, is strongest until the age of 18. To become completely fluent, however, learning should start before the age of 10.

There are three main ideas as to why language-learning ability falls at 18: social changes, interference (干扰) from one’s primary language and continuing brain development. At 18, kids typically graduate from high school and start college or enter the work force full-time. Once they do, they may no longer have the time, opportunity to study a second language. Or it is possible that after one masters a first language, its rules interfere with the ability to learn a second language. Finally, changes in the brain that continue during the late teens and early 20s may somehow make learning harder.

This is not to say that we cannot learn a new language if we are over 20. There are many examples of people who pick up a language later in life.

Although the study was conducted only in English, the researchers believe the findings will transfer to other languages and they are developing similar tests for Spanish and Mandarin.

1. In Paragraph 2, “this problem” refers to ______.

A．at what age people can do the quiz

B．how people improve their language skills

C．why people find it hard to master grammar rules

D．in what period people can learn a new language well

2. Why does people’s language-learning ability fall at 18?

A．Because they have no good learning environment.

B．Because they are busy developing other life skills.

C．Because they needn’t improve the language ability.

D．Because they focus more on their primary language.

3. Why does the author write the passage?

A．To explain a finding.	B．To provide a solution.
C．To lead a discussion.	D．To support an opinion.

4 . 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1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。

Language Days at the United Nations seek    1    (celebrate) cultural diversity and promote equal usage of the official languages. There are six days for each of the six official languages.

The Chinese language is one of the six official languages chosen by the United Nations, and UN Chinese Language Day    2    (hold) on April 20 every year. The date was selected from Guyu,    3    is the 6th of 24 solar terms in the traditional Chinese calendar.

5 . 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1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。

Body language is a type of nonverbal communication in which physical behaviors are used to express the information. The interpretations may vary from country to country, or culture to culture.     1     （learn）how to read body language is necessary for you because it     2     （reveal）what a person is really feeling or thinking. For instance, people often blink (眨眼)more rapidly when they are feeling     3     （depress）or uncomfortable. When the mouth is slightly turned up, it might mean that the person is feeling happy or optimistic.

6 . 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1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。

Just like spoken language, body language varies from culture to culture. The gesture for “OK” has different     1     (meaning) in different cultures. In Japan, someone who witnesses another person employing the gesture might think it means money. In France, a person encountering an identical gesture may interpret it as meaning zero. However, you should avoid     2    (make) this gesture in Brazil and Germany, as it     3     (consider) impolite.