1 . Building language skills doesn’t happen overnight, especially if you want to become a fluent speaker. However, there are some important tips and tricks that work for every learner.
1. Engage yourself in a languageEngagement is arguably the most effective way to learn a language. You should surround yourself with the language and listen to it as much as you can. Just try to speak the language in different situations, even if it’s not necessary.
If you’re learning a language, you should make sure that it’s based on natural dialogues and real-world situations. Contextual learning will help you guess the meaning from the context.
Grammar is the foundation of every language and a system of rules that allow us to structure sentences. But people are often afraid of it or they find it dreadfully boring.
As you can see, there are many ways to practice the language efficiently.
| A．Learn language rules systematically. |
| B．Don’t skip grammar — but do it differently. |
| C．You just need to find a method that works for you and keep at it. |
| D．For instance, if you’re making dinner, you can try to name each cuisine. |
| E．This is a great way to learn from locals while integrating in a new country. |
| F．It will also allow you to apply your knowledge and get valuable cultural insights. |
| G．Learning it doesn’t have to involve memorizing a bunch of rules from a textbook. |
1.说明理由；
2.提出建议。
注意：1.写作词数应为80个左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Dear Alex,
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Yours,
Li Hua
3 . Wouldn’t it be wonderful to travel to a foreign country without having to worry about the headache of communicating in a different language?
In a recent Wall Street Journal article, technology policy expert Alec Ross argued that, within ten years or so, we would be able to communicate with one another through small earpieces with built-in microphones. That’s because technological progress is extremely fast. It’s only a matter of time. Such is the belief among certain parents that the technology is imminent and they’re wondering if their kids should learn a second language.
It’s true that an increase in the quantity and accuracy of the data loaded into computers will make them cleverer at translating “Noes Bueno dormer mucho” into “It’s not good to sleep too much”. Replacing a word with its equivalent (对等词) in the target language is actually the easy part of a translator’s job. But even this seems to be a difficult job for computers.
It’s so hard for computers because translation doesn’t — or shouldn’t — involve simply translating words, sentences or paragraphs. Rather, it’s about translating meaning. And in order to infer meaning from a specific expression, people need to understand a lot of information all at once. Think about all the related clues that help us understand what someone is trying to say: volume, gesture, situations, and even your culture. All are likely to convey as much meaning as the words you use.
Therefore, we should doubt a machine that can’t understand our world like we do. If people from different cultures can upset each other without realizing it, how can we expect a machine to do better? Unless engineers actually find a way to breathe a soul into a computer, undoubtedly when it comes to conveying and interpreting meaning using a natural language, a machine will never fully take our place.
1. What does the underlined word “imminent” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Ready. | B．Confusing. | C．Unpractical. | D．Coming. |
| A．The real meaning of words can vary. |
| B．Their data is not rich enough. |
| C．Their accuracy needs big improvement. |
| D．A man’s soul hasn’t been breathed in them. |
| A．Proper translation can be difficult for computers. |
| B．Slight differences doesn’t matter in translation. |
| C．Machines will translate our world properly. |
| D．Cultures need more attention than words used. |
| A．An Expert’s Prediction. | B．Travel without Headache. |
| C．The Pleasure of Translation. | D．Will the Language Barrier (障碍) Actually Fall? |
要点要求：
1. 养成良好英语学习习惯的必要性；
2. 介绍你认为好的英语学习习惯。(至少两点)
注意：词数100左右
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5 . People often ask which is the most difficult language to learn, and it is not easy to answer because there are many factors to take into consideration. Firstly, in a first language the differences are unimportant as people learn their native language naturally, so the question of how hard a language is to learn is only related to learning a second language.
A native speaker of Spanish, for example, will find Portuguese (葡萄牙语) much easier to learn than a native speaker of Chinese, because Portuguese is very similar to Spanish, while Chinese is very different. The greater the differences between a second language and one’s first language, the harder it will be for most people to learn a second language. Many people answer that Chinese is the hardest language to learn, possibly influenced by the thought of learning the Chinese writing system, and the pronunciation of Chinese does appear to be very difficult for many foreign learners. However, for Japanese speakers, who already use Chinese characters in their own language, learning writing will be less difficult than for speakers of languages using the Roman alphabet (字母表).
Some people seem to learn languages readily, while others find it very difficult. Teachers and the environment in which the language is learned also play an important role, as well as each learner’s purpose of learning. If people learn a language because they need to use it in their work, they often learn it faster than people studying a language that has no direct use in their day-to-day life.
No language is easy to learn well, though languages which are related to our first language are easier. Learning a completely different writing system is a huge challenge, but that does not necessarily make a language more difficult than another. In the end, it is impossible to say that there is one language that is the most difficult language in the world.
1. What is the main idea of paragraph 2?| A．Portuguese and Chinese are very different. |
| B．Chinese is harder to learn than Portuguese. |
| C．Portuguese is very easy for foreigners to learn. |
| D．One’s first language can affect learning a second language. |
| A．Its writing system is strange. | B．Its pronunciation is old-fashioned. |
| C．Its characters are difficult to understand. | D．It has many differences from other languages. |
| A．Carefully. | B．Easily. | C．Freely. | D．Slowly. |
6 . While many of us may have been away somewhere nice last summer, few would say that we’ve “summered.” “Summer” is clearly a noun, more precisely, a verbed noun.
Way back in our childhood, we all learned the difference between a noun and a verb. With such a tidy definition, it was easy to spot the difference. Not so in adulthood, where we are expected to “foot” bills, “chair” committees, and “dialogue” with political opponents. Chances are that you didn’t feel uncomfortable about the sight of those verbed nouns.
“The verbing of nouns is as old as the English language,” says Patricia O’Conner, a former editor at The New York Times Book Review. Experts estimate that 20 percent of all English verbs were originally nouns. And the phenomenon seems to be snowballing. Since 1900, about 40 percent of all new verbs have come from nouns.
Even though conversion (转化) is quite universal, plenty of grammarians object to the practice. Some most leading experts, William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, in The Elements of Style—the Bible for the use of American English—have this to say: “Many nouns lately have been pressed into service as verbs. Not all are bad, but all are questionable.” The Chicago Manual of Style takes a similar standpoint, advising writers to use verbs with great care.
“Sometimes people object to a new verb because they resist what is unfamiliar to them,” says O’Conner. That’s why we’re comfortable “hosting” a party, but we might feel upset by the thought of “medaling” in sports. So are there any rules for verbing? Benjamin Dreyer, copy chief at Random House, doesn’t offer a rule, but suggests that people think twice about “verbifying” a noun if it’s easily replaceable by an already existing popular verb. Make sure it’s descriptive but not silly-sounding, he says.
In the end, however, style is subjective. Easy conversion of nouns to verbs has been part of English grammar for centuries; it is one of the processes that make English “English”. Not every coined word passes into general use, but as for trying to end verbing altogether, forget it.
1. What can we learn about the verbing of nouns?| A．It hasn’t recently been opposed by many grammarians. |
| B．It is more commonly accepted by children than adults. |
| C．It hasn’t been a rare phenomenon in the past century. |
| D．It can be easily replaced by existing verbs in practice. |
| A．Cautious | B．Objective. |
| C．Optimistic. | D．Unconcerned. |
| A．Predictable. | B．Practicable. |
| C．Approaching. | D．Impossible. |
| A．Are 40 Percent of all new verbs from nouns? |
| B．Are Summering and Medaling Annoying? |
| C．Are You Comfortable about a New Verb? |
| D．Are There Any Rules for Verbing? |
7 . TOEFL and IELTS have been the main choices for English ability testing in higher education admissions (录取) for international students until now. In recent years, several companies have developed new English language tests that are low-cost and easy to use.
Duolingo set up its own test of English language ability. Jennifer Dewar works as an official (行政人员) at Washington University, which is one of the hundreds of universities in and outside the U.S. that now take the test results for international admissions. Duolingo created the test to make higher education available to more people worldwide.
The TOEFL and the IELTS cost between about $180 and $240. They are only given in several centers around the world. Some test-takers have to travel to take the tests, adding to the costs. However, Duolingo offers its test entirely over the Internet for $49. All test-takers need is a computer with a microphone, listening device and self-facing camera.
David Payne is a president for Educational Testing Service, which runs the TOEFL test. He agrees that improving availability of higher education is important. But he says general English knowledge isn’t the only thing universities require. Universities need to know how successful a student will be in using the level of academic (学术的) English that their teachers will expect of them. But Duolingo may fail to show that. Payne said, “The tests for the academic market should provide the value that’s necessary for making an important decision. And saving money doesn’t seem worth it.”
In a word, universities have to do their research to decide if any new tests work as well as traditional ones in their cases. It really comes down to a question for the universities about what’s available, what the products show, and if they’re satisfied with their choices. In general, having choices is important.
1. What do we know about the Duolingo test?| A．It could be taken anytime. | B．It requires little of test takers. |
| C．It makes English learning much easier. | D．It is accepted by many U.S. universities. |
| A．To show Duolingo is popular. | B．To show Duolingo’s advantages. |
| C．To show us how to take a Duolingo test. | D．To show TOEFL and the IELTS are difficult. |
| A．Students’ ability to use academic English. | B．Students’ grades of different tests. |
| C．The general English knowledge. | D．The ability to make a decision. |
| A．Consider new tests first. | B．Create more test choices. |
| C．Choose tests after careful research. | D．Use both TOEFL and Duolingo tests. |
The main reason
9 . It is very challenging when it comes to trying to master the English language. However, there are some things you can do to improve your English learning. The following books are an excellent way for people trying to learn English or get better at it.
Oxford Picture Dictionary
This is a great book for those who like to learn things visually. You can use the pictures to learn many new words each day. There is also a bilingual version for those who want to learn using their own native language.
Word Power Made Easy
This useful dictionary provides one of the best ways to learn over 1, 000 of the words which are most commonly used in English. The book has many interesting activities and games, and gives tips on avoiding spelling errors.
NTC Vocabulary Builders
Students who are more advanced in the English language will greatly like NTC Vocabulary Builders. If you want to build your English vocabulary, then this book is a good choice.
English Vocabulary in Use Series
This is one of the best-selling books by Cambridge University Press. The book is good for students of the English language of all levels who want to have a wider vocabulary. You can choose to learn British English or American English.
Improving your English is one of the best ways to make sure that you will do great in life. It can open many doors for you. For those who are not native English speakers, these books will come in handy. With hard work, anyone can be a master of the English language.
1. Which book provides ways to help you make fewer mistakes in spelling?| A．Oxford Picture Dictionary | B．Word Power Made Easy |
| C．NTC Vocabulary Builders | D．English Vocabulary in Use Series |
| A．It is designed for language beginners. |
| B．It offers advice on language learning. |
| C．It provides many pictures to help learn language. |
| D．It gives learners a lot of interesting daily tasks. |
| A．They only provide English versions. | B．They are all for beginners. |
| C．They help you to do great in life. | D．They help to learn vocabulary. |
1. How many languages are there in the world now?
| A．Around 7,000. | B．Around 3,500. | C．Around 2,000. |
| A．Children will stop learning any new languages. |
| B．Everyone will start speaking the same language. |
| C．About half of the world’s existing languages will disappear. |
| A．To record what the languages really sound like. |
| B．To teach the languages to people from other cultures. |
| C．To help promote communication among people. |
| A．They are precious and worth protecting. |
| B．They are dying out because of technology. |
| C．They are not meant to be passed down to children. |
