1 . Canada is one of the few nations in the world to have two official languages: English and French. There are 10 provinces in the country, but only one of these—Quebec is known as “French Canada”. This is because it was founded by French explorers while British adventurers discovered the rest.

Canada left the British Empire(帝国) in 1867 to become an independent country, and English and French have been recognized as the official languages ever since.

Most people speak English as their first language and the two national television networks broadcast in English throughout the country. Apart from in Quebec and a few places on the east coast, French television is rare.

The same goes for traffic signs and menus, for example, outside of Quebec, there are only a few places where you’ll see traffic signs in French. In restaurants, it’s almost impossible to find French on the menu unless you are in the heartland(中心地带) of French Canada. However, all products sold in Canada must, by law, have labels(标签) and instructions in both languages.

In Canada’s English-speaking provinces, official bilingualism means that students can choose to complete a special French language course. Under this program, they are taught most of their subjects in French. If a student begins the course in kindergarten(幼儿园) or Grade One, it is likely that all his lessons will be in French. But if he starts at junior high school, 25 percent of the teaching will continue to be in English.

1. Which country controlled Canada before its independence?

A．France.

B．America.

C．The British Empire.

D．Germany.

2. Where can you watch French television programs?

A．In Quebec and a few other places.	B．Only in Quebec.
C．From the two national television networks.	D．All over Canada.

3. What does the underlined word “bilingualism” in the fifth paragraph mean?

A．外语教育

B．双语教育

C．母语教育

D．语言教育

4. What do we know about the education in Canada’s English-speaking provinces?

A．Only English courses are offered.

B．Most of the courses in junior high schools are taught in English.

C．The courses in primary schools are all taught in English.

D．If you choose a special French language course in kindergarten, all of the lessons will be taught in French.

2 . The name England comes from the words “Angle land”. The Angles were people who came from northern Germany in the 5th and 6th centuries, after the Romans had left. The French name for England is Angleterre, which also means “Angle land”. There were also invasions (侵略) of southern England by Saxons and Jutes (people from another part of northern Germany). English people are sometimes called Anglo－Saxons. The Celts who used to live in this area were forced to move back into Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall and into Western France (the area known as Brittany).

England at first became a series of kingdoms, the strongest of which was Wessex (the name comes from West－Saxon). The names of many of the areas in England come from this period—for example, the name Sussex comes from South－Saxon, Essex from East－Saxon, and East Anglia from East－Angle. The Vikings then came from Denmark, and later the Normans invaded from France. Eventually England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland were united, forming the United Kingdom.

The English language is the main language spoken throughout England, although there are many different accents. It can be difficult to know how to spell or to pronounce some English words, because the language has been influenced by Latin and Greek (languages used at the time of the Romans, and used in religion and education until recent times), German (the language of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes), French(the language of the Normans), Gaelic/Scots (Celtic languages) and Danish (the language of the Vikings).

There are now many people throughout the United Kingdom who speak a foreign language either as their first or second language, mainly due to immigration (移民) from Europe or the Commonwealth (countries which used to be part of the British Empire).

1. What's the first paragraph mainly about?

A．The origin of the name England.

B．The Celts used to live in England but left for some reason.

C．Southern England once was attacked by Saxons and Jutes.

D．Angles and Saxons came from different parts of northern Germany.

2. In the history of England, ________ once was the strongest kingdom.

A．Sussex	B．Wessex
C．Essex	D．East Anglia

3. What can we learn from the third paragraph?

A．English words are hard to spell and to pronounce.

B．England had been invaded by most of the countries of Europe.

C．The English language was influenced by several foreign languages.

D．It's hard for people who have different English accents to communicate.

4. Why do many people in the UK speak a foreign language nowadays?

A．Because they are required to learn a foreign language at school.

B．Because they plan to live outside the UK in the future.

C．Because they have moved from other countries.

D．Because they have worked in other countries.

3 . The Double Seventh Festival, also known as the Qixi Festival, is a traditional Chinese festival. Here is a beautiful story _______ it.

Long，long ago, there was a young man named Niulang(Cowherd), One day, he_______a   beautiful girl- Zhinu( Weaver girl)， the Goddess s seventh daughter. She had just run away from the_______ heaven(天国) to look for fun on Earth. Zhini soon_______Niulang, and they got married without telling the Goddess. Niulang worked in the field and Zhinu wove(织布) at home. They_______a happy life and gave birth to a boy and a girl. Unluckily, the Goddess soon found out the fact and_______ Zhinii to return to heaven. After Zhini left， Niulang was _______upset. With the help of his magic cow,Niulang flew to heaven with his children to look for his wife. The Goddess discovered this and was very_______Taking out her hairpin(发簪), the Goddess created a wide river in the sky to separate(分开) the two_______. From then on, Niulang and Zhini had to live________ on the two sides of the river. However,their true love________ all the magpies(喜鹊) in the world, ________once a year tens of thousands of   magpies would fly up to heaven to make a bridge- the bridge of magpies for the couple to meet each other. At last, the Goddess allowed ________ to meet each   other on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month. That's________the Double Seventh Festival started. Today,   it is a great________for Chinese young people to express their love.

1.

A．through

B．behind

C．with

D．after

2.

A．met

B．told

C．thanked

D．missed

3.

A．boring

B．interesting

C．same

D．different

4.

A．looked forward to

B．parted with

C．turned down

D．fell in love with

5.

A．knew

B．lived

C．stayed

D．gave

6.

A．promised

B．waited

C．ordered

D．helped

7.

A．yet

B．ever

C．quite .

D．still

8.

A．angry

B．sorry

C．excited

D．satisfied

9.

A．friends

B．lovers .

C．parents

D．children

10.

A．back

B．away

C．halfway

D．apart

11.

A．surprised

B．changed

C．touched

D．protected

12.

A．so

B．but

C．though

D．because

13.

A．him

B．her

C．us

D．them

14.

A．how

B．when

C．what

D．where

15.

A．day

B．way

C．lesson

D．habit

4 . The idea that history is an outdated course of study that will lead to limited career options has spread.     1     It is a wonderful way to prepare for a successful future. Here are a few reasons why it’s important that today’s students continue to learn about the past.

Understanding where people come from is key in understanding who we are.     2     It’s deeply influenced the world and its citizens. For this reason, it’s important to understand history in order to understand why people are the way that they are.

    3     Through history classes, you can experience a change in the way you think. You’ll look at things from a new angle, as you understand the world in a new way. In the end, this change can improve your ability to assess and understand situations, make educated decisions, and learn how to weigh the consequences linked with each choice before you.

Learning from the past prevents future mistakes.     4     From wars to fashion to political trends, historians are often able to make predictions about the future based upon the past. By having a firm grasp on what happened in the past, today’s generation can better prepare for a brighter future by making the right decisions — instead of repeating old mistakes.

    5     The idea that a degree in history can’t lead to a good career is untrue. In fact, students who graduate with degrees in history can become lawyers, business owners, foundation leaders, and non-profit leaders. Besides, history degrees can lead to working as an educator, a leader in a historical organization, a writer, an editor, a journalist, or a producer of multimedia materials.

A．You will understand the world much better.

B．History degrees can lead to well-paying careers.

C．Many people don’t know well about themselves.

D．Learning history can change how you think.

E．But the truth is that studying history is still important.

F．The idea that history repeats itself is rooted in truth.

G．History has shaped cultures, attitudes, and social structures.

5 . To an outsider，any culture can seem confusing.And the UK's got a thing or two that raises a few eyebrows.However，understand the why and things might be less puzzling.    1    .

In a world where 61％of nations drive on the right，Brits drive on the left.Why? Most people think it goes back to Medieval，maybe even Roman times.    2     when you remember that right-handed people wear a sword on their left hip.Travelling on the left allowed you to   keep your weapon arm toward your opponent，who would be on your right.This practice continued until the 18th century when a law was passed requiring all traffic crossing London Bridge to keep to the left.

Visitors to the UK that have just washed their hands in an old-fashioned sink might be wondering why one tap is only for hot water，the other cold.    3    .So，why this oddity? It relates to a time when hot and cold water were kept separate to prevent pollution.Drinkable cold water came from a mains supply，but hot water came from attic tanks and was not considered suitable for consumption.So they were kept apart.

Millions of people drink tea worldwide，but the odd Brits put milk in theirs.Why? This mysterious practice relates to the quality of china cup used in the 18th century when tea was first imposed.For the majority of Brits，the cups available couldn’t stand the heat of the boiling water and would break，so milk was added first.    4    .And this practical tweak soon became a national habit.

    5    .As you can see，these odd Brits have perfectly clear reasons for left-hand driving，two-tap sinks and tea with milk.Even if they still seem strange，at least now you’re in the know.

A．This makes it difficult to improve

B．There is a method to the madness

C．This unusual behavior makes sense

D．You can know the origins of the practices

E．Either can make washing very uncomfortable

F．This cooled the cup enough to resist the boiling water

G．Here are the reasons for three of Britain’s more puzzling practices

6 . The Parthenon(帕特农神庙) in Athens is a building with a long and complex(复杂的) history. Built nearly 2,500 years ago as a temple celebrating the Greek goddess Athena, it was for thousands of years the church of the Virgin Mary of the Athenians, then a mosque (清真寺), and finally a ruin. The building was changed and the sculptures(塑像) much damaged over the centuries. By 1800 only about half of the original sculptural decoration remained.
Between 1801 and 1805, Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire(奥斯曼帝国), which controlled Athens, acting with the full knowledge and permission of the Ottoman authorities，removed about half of the remaining sculptures from the fallen ruins and from the building itself. Lord Elgin loved Greek history and transported the sculptures back to Britain. The arrival of the sculptures in London had a huge effect on the European public, greatly increasing interest in ancient Greek culture and influencing contemporary artistic trends. These sculptures were gained from Lord Elgin by the British Museum in 1816 and since then they have all been on show to the public, free of charge.
Since the early 1980s, however, the Greek government has argued for the return of all the Parthenon sculptures in the British Museum. They have also challenged the British Museum Board of Trustees’ legal title to the sculptures.
The British Museum, however, insists that it exists to tell the story of cultural achievement throughout the world, from the dawn of human history over two million years ago until the present day. The museum considers itself an important resource for the world: the breadth and depth of its collection allows the world public to re-examine cultural identities and explore the complex network of interconnected world cultures.
It also says that, within the context of this unparalleled collection, the Parthenon sculptures are an important representation of ancient Athenian civilization. Each year millions of visitors admire the artistry of the sculptures and gain insights on how ancient Greece influenced — and was influenced by — the other civilizations that it came across.
1. For most of its history people went to the Parthenon to ________.

A．admire the goddess Athena

B．pray to their god

C．search for sculptures

D．learn about its complex history

2. What can we infer from the passage?

A．The sculptures introduced ancient Greek culture to the west.

B．Ancient Greek culture has greatly influenced world culture.

C．The British Museum has made much money from the Parthenon sculptures.

D．The British Museum is the most suitable place for protecting these sculptures.

3. What can we learn about Lord Elgin from the passage?

A．He is greatly admired in Greece.

B．He worked for the Ottoman Empire.

C．He saved the Parthenon sculptures from being destroyed.

D．He had a deep interest in Greek culture.

4. The author’s main purpose in writing this passage is to tell________.

A．the history of the Parthenon and its sculptures

B．what people can see in the British Museum

C．why the British Museum refuses to return the sculptures

D．the influence of Greece on British culture

7 . Valentine’s Day has its origins in the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalia, a yearly festival held on Feb. 15 to help keep dangerous wolves away from townspeople and their crops. On the eve of the festival, Feb. 14, the young women of the town would write their names on small pieces of paper, put them in a jar, and every young man would pick out a name at random. The pair would then be partners for the rest of the festival.
It was 270 B.C. when St. Valentine stood up for love, after Roman Emperor Claudius II forbade Roman soldiers to get engaged or married, believing that married men would rather stay at home than go to war. The priest named Valentine, in defiance (对抗) of Claudius’ orders, secretly married young couples, and on Feb. 14, was punished for his “crime”, thereby becoming the patron saint (守护神) of lovers.
Besides this story, there are some old beliefs about this day:
During the Middle Ages, Europeans believed that birds chose their mates each year on Feb. 14.
Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin fly overhead on Valentine’s Day, it meant she would marry a sailor; if she saw a sparrow, she’d marry a millionaire.
If you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will know how many children you will have.
And some charming Valentine’s Day Customs.
In Wales, wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on Feb. 14.
Heart, keys and keyholes were favorite decorations, which meant “you unlock my heart!”
In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They’d wear these names on their sleeves for one week—hence the term “to wear your heart on your sleeve”.
1. According to the story, Valentine was originally the name of a ________.

A．lover	B．priest
C．ruler	D．feast

2. The Roman emperor forbade soldiers to get married because he thought________ .

A．married soldiers are not loyal to the country

B．married soldiers are less willing to fight

C．there was no time for soldiers to get married

D．marriage is a crime

3. Why was the priest punished?

A．He didn’t join the army.

B．He helped people escape from being sent to the battle field.

C．He married couples despite the prohibition from the ruler.

D．He openly defied the ruler’s order to end his marriage.

4. Which of the following statement is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Feb. 14 and 15 were originally a time for keeping wolves.

B．People used to believe that birds chose mates on Valentine’s Day.

C．People believed that the birds they saw on Valentine’s Day predicted what kind of person they would marry.

D．The Welsh used to give out wooden spoons on Feb.14.

5. If you wear your heart on your sleeve, you _________________.

A．openly express your feelings or emotions to others.

B．hardly take your feelings or emotions very seriously.

C．officially announce that you have been married

D．proudly show your choice of sleeve pattern

8 . Mathematical ability and musical ability may not seem on the surface to be connected, but people who have researched the subject -- and studied the brain—say that they are. Three quarters of the bright but speech-delayed children in the group I studied had a close relative who was an engineer, mathematician or scientist, and four fifths had a close relative who played a musical instrument. The children themselves usually took readily to math and other analytical subjects and to music.

Black, white and Asian children in this group show the same patterns. However, it is clear that blacks have been greatly overrepresented in the development of American popular music and greatly underrepresented in such fields as mathematics, science and engineering.

If the abilities required in analytical fields and in music are so closely related, how can there be this great discrepancy? One reason is that the development of mathematical and other such abilities requires years of formal schooling, while certain musical talents can be developed with little or no formal training, as has happened with a number of well-known black musicians.

It is precisely in those kinds of music where one can acquire great skill without formal training that blacks have excelled popular music rather than classical music, piano rather than violin, blues rather than opera. This is readily understandable, given that most blacks, for most of American history, have not had either the money or the leisure for long years of formal study in music.

Blacks have not merely held their own in American popular music. They have played a large role in the development of jazz, both traditional and modern. A long string of names comes to mind—W.C. Handy, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker…and so on.

None of this presupposes(假设，意味着) any special innate（先天的）ability of blacks in music. On the contrary, it is perfectly consistent with blacks having no more such inborn ability than anyone else, but being limited to being able to express such ability in narrower channels than others who have had the money, the time and the formal education to spread out over a wider range of music, as well as into mathematics, science and engineering.

1. what is the main idea of the first paragraph?

A．Mathematical ability and musical ability are connected.

B．Mathematical ability has more to do with the brain than musical ability.

C．More people are good at music than math.

D．More research should be done into the relationship between mathematical ability and math ability.

2. The word “discrepancy” (Para. 3) most probably means ____.

A．difference

B．excellence

C．inborn ability

D．inability

3. What can be inferred about opera?

A．It requires formal training.

B．It is often enjoyed by those with strong analytical ability.

C．It is disliked by blacks.

D．It is more difficult to learn than classical music.

4. Which of the following statements is true according to the last paragraph?

A．Blacks have special innate ability in music.

B．Unlike others, blacks do not have innate ability in music.

C．Jazz is one of the narrow channels through which blacks express their ability in music.

D．Those who have money and time choose mathematics over music.

5. which of the following questions does the passage mainly concern?

A．Are musical ability and mathematical ability connected?

B．Why have blacks been greatly over represented in the development of American popular misic?

C．What kinds of music require formal training?

D．What are the contributions made by black musicians?