1 . New England is the six northeastern states of the United States：Maine，New Hampshire，Vermont，Massachusetts，Rhode Island，and Connecticut. The six states were among the first colonies (殖民地) in America. The colonies were ruled by England，and this is how the area became known as New England. After the Revolutionary (革命的) War the colonies became states.
Many things are similar in the six New England states. For example，there are many stone walls, fishing villages and forests in these states. The houses and buildings are similar，too. People cut down trees from the forests to make space for their farms and villages.
They then used wood from the trees and stones from the field to build houses，schools, and churches. Even today, most of the houses in New England are made of wood.
There are big cities in New England，but there are also small cities and farms，especially in the northern part.There is much industry and business and New England is one of the most populous (人口稠密的) parts of the United States.It has many busy seaports on its long coast.There are always many tourists who enjoy the beautiful lakes，beaches，and mountains and who visit the historical places.
1. Why are the six states called New England?| A．They are now ruled by England. | B．They were once colonies of England. |
| C．There were people from England. | D．The states were near England. |
| A．Stones and trees. | B．Rocks and wood. |
| C．Stones and wood. | D．Stones and forests. |
| A．There are six states in New England. |
| B．The states became known as New England after the Revolutionary War. |
| C．Many tourists come and enjoy themselves. |
| D．The six states have many similar things. |
2 . These days when someone says a computer has a bug in it, usually they mean that there's a problem with one of its programs. Maybe your computer has crashed when you are in the middle of a game, or you get an error message when you try to go to a website.
But back in the early days of computers, a woman named Grace Hopper was part of the tear that discovered the very first computer bug.
Hopper was a mathematician. She'd been hired by the navy to help program the new Mark II computer. The Mark Ⅱ’s job was to quickly solve the math problems ships and airplanes used to find in their way. The MarkⅡ worked by reading instructions from a long strip of paper with holes in it. The computer translated the patterns of holes into the math problems it was supposed to solve.
One afternoon in 1947 Hopper and her team were running a program. But the computer wasn’t giving them the right results. What could be wrong? They finally ended up taking the Mark II apart, looking for problems. What did they find?
It was a dead moth(蛀虫)! The moth was blocking some of the holes on the paper strip—no wonder the computer didn't know what to do.
Hopper knew that the term "bug" had been used before when there were problems with machines. But this was the first time a computer had ever had one. She thought it was funny that it was a real bug. Some people think Hopper was the first person to use the word "debug" to mean “get rid of the problems in a computer”.
Her team kept a logbook of everything they did. They taped the moth onto the page for that day. The logbook, moth and all, is now in the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington D.C.
Grace Hopper worked with computers her whole life. She was the first person to write a word-based computer language. This makes it easier for people to tell computers what to do. Some people called her "Grandma COBOL" after one of the computer languages she helped develop. But to most she was just “Amazing Grace”.
1. What's the writer's purpose in writing paragraph 1?| A．To tell us the main idea of the passage. |
| B．To arouse the readers' interest to read on. |
| C．To show the structure of the passage. |
| D．To give a description of what a bug is. |
| A．She was the first expert to use the term “bug”. |
| B．She was an astronomer to help work on the Mark II. |
| C．She devoted all her life to work related to computers. |
| D．She kept a record of all the computers on the Mark II. |
| A．The history of bug. | B．The discovery of the first bug. |
| C．Grace Hopper and her bug. | D．Grace Hopper and the Mark II. |
3 . There was a time in the 1960’s and 1970’s when some people believed that coffee would replace tea as Britain’s favourite drink, but that did not happen, and today, tea remains Britain’s favourite drink.
To say that the British are fond of tea is something of an understatement. From the Royal(皇室的) Family down to the homeless and the out-of-work, tea is more than just a pleasure. It is an important part of life!
The popularity of tea in the United Kingdom has a long history. It was in 1657 that Thomas Garway, the owner of a coffee house, sold the first tea in London. The drink soon became popular as another choice besides coffee.
In those days, however, tea was not something for anyone. For a century and a half, it remained an expensive drink. Many bosses served a cup of it to their workers in the middle of the morning, thus inventing a lasting British tradition, the “tea break”. But as a social drink outside the workplace, tea was served for the nobility(贵族) and for the growing middle classes. Among those who had the money for tea, it became very popular as a drink to be enjoyed in cafés and “tea gardens”.
It was the 7th Duchess of Bedford who, in around 1800, started the popular “afternoon tea”, which took place at about four o'clock. At about the same time, the Earl of Sandwich popularized a new way of eating bread with something (e. g. jam) between them, and before long, a small meal at the end of the afternoon with tea and sandwiches had become part of a way of life.
As tea became much cheaper during the nineteenth century, its popularity spread right through British society. In working-class households, it was served with the main meal of the day, eaten when workers returned home after a day’s labour. This meal has become known as “high tea”.
Today, tea can be drunk at any time of day. Most people in Britain drink tea for breakfast. The mid-morning “tea break”is an institution in British offices and factories. Later in the day, “afternoon tea” is still a way of life in the south of England and among the middle classes, while “high tea”has remained a tradition in the north of Britain.
1. Who played an important part in the beginning of tea time in England?| A．Thomas Garway. | B．The Royal Family. |
| C．The Earl of Sandwich. | D．The Duchess of Bedford. |
| A．The “tea break” kept the workers from being sleepy after lunch. |
| B．Workers could enjoy a cup of tea in “tea gardens”at their workplace. |
| C．“High tea”was usually served with the main meal for the middle classes. |
| D．The “afternoon tea” together with sandwiches became popular in around 1800. |
| A．The Popularity of Tea | B．Tea and the British |
| C．Tea and the Middle Class | D．The History of Tea |
4 . People from Britain and Ireland first came to live in Australia in 1788. They brought different dialects(方言) of English with them. These different kinds of English began to mix and change. The newcomers soon began to speak wi)th their own typical accent(口音) and vocabulary. More and more people came to Australia during the Gold Rush in the 19th and 20th centuries. Some came from Britain and Ireland; others came from non-English speaking countries. Australian English continued to grow and change.
Australian English has also been influenced by American English. During the Second World War, there were many American soldiers staying in Australia. More importantly, American television shows and music have been popular in Australia since the 1950s.
Australians use many words that other English speakers do not use. The famous Australian greeting, for example, is G'day! A native forest is called the bush and central Australia is called the outback. Many words were brought to Australia from Britain and Ireland. For example, mate means "friend",and it is still used in Britain. Some of these words have changed in meaning. Some words have come from Australian original languages, many of which are names for animals, plants and places, like dingo and kangaroo.
Australian spelling comes from British spelling. In words like organise and realise, -ise is the expected and taught spelling method. In words like colour, favourite, -our is the normal, but nouns such as the Labor Party and Victor Harbor are spelled with -or. Program, on the other hand, is more common than programme.
There are also differences in the definition(定义) of words Australians use in different parts of the country. For example, football means "rugby" in New South Wales and Queensland, but "Australian rules football" in everywhere else in Australia. In New South Wales, a swimming costume is called a cossie or swimmers, while in Queensland it is called togs and bathers in Victoria.
1. According to the passage, which of the following is spoken only by Australians?| A．Mate. | B．Outback. |
| C．Program. | D．Rugby. |
| A．The same word might have different meanings in different parts of Australia. |
| B．There are different expressions about sports in Australia. |
| C．Australian rules football is the most popular sport in Australia. |
| D．Australians are fond of sports and games. |
| A．The History of Australia. |
| B．The Development of Australian English |
| C．The Birth of Australian English |
| D．Different Kinds of English Across the World |
