C
The number of speakers of English in Shakespeare’s time is estimated (估计) to have been about five million. Today it is estimated that some 260 million people speak it as a native language, mainly in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In addition to the standard varieties of English found in these areas, there are a great many regional and social varieties of the language as well as various levels of usage that are employed both in its spoken and written forms.
In fact, it is impossible to estimate the number of people in the world who have acquired an adequate (足够的) working knowledge of English in addition to their own languages. The purpose for English learning and the situations in which such learning takes place are so varied that it is difficult to explain and still more difficult to judge what forms an adequate working knowledge for each situation.
The main reason for the widespread demand for English is its present-day importance as a world language. Besides serving the indefinite needs of its native speakers, English is a language in which some of important works in science, technology, and other fields are being produced, and not always by native speakers. It is widely used for such purposes as meteorological and airport communications, international conferences, and the spread of information over the radio and television networks of many nations. It is a language of wider communication for a number of developing countries, especially former British colonies. Many of these countries have multilingual populations and need a language for internal communication in such matters as government, commerce, industry, law and education as well as for international communication and for entrance to the scientific and technological developments in the West.
65. What would be the best title for this passage?
A. The Difficulties of Learning English B. International Communications
C. The Standard Varieties of English D. English as a World Language
66. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Some 260 million people in the world have an adequate working knowledge of English.
B. There are some 260 million native speakers of English in the world.
C. It is almost impossible to estimate the number of people with an adequate working knowledge of English.
D. People learn English for a variety of reasons.
67. What forms an adequate working knowledge of English?
A. The ability to read a newspaper.
B. It is difficult to judge because it differs for each situation.
C. Being a multilingual.
D. Being a native speaker.
68. What type of developing countries would be most likely to use English?
A. Those geographically close to the United States.
B. Those interested in the culture of the United States.
C. Former colonies of Great Britain.
D. Countries where international conferences are held.
Ⅲ阅读 (共两节，满分40分)
第一节阅读理解 (共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
I took the bus to work for many years. No one knew each other; the passengers all sat there sleepily in the morning. The bus was cheerless and silent.
One of the passengers was a small grey man who took the bus to the center for senior citizens every morning. No one ever paid very much attention to him. One July morning he said good morning to the driver and smiled. The driver nodded guardedly. The rest of us were silent.
The next day, the old man boarded with a big smile and said in a loud voice: "A very good morning to you all!” Some of us looked up, amazed, and murmured “good morning” in reply.
The following weeks, our friend was dressed in a nice old suit and tie. The thin hair had been carefully combed. He said good morning to us every day and we gradually began to nod and talk to each other.
One morning he even had a bunch of wild flowers in his hand. The driver turned around smilingly and asked: “Have you got yourself a girlfriend, Charlie?” We never got to know if his name really was “Charlie”, but he nodded shyly and said yes. The other passengers whistled and clapped at him. Charlie waved the flowers before he sat down on his seat.
Every morning after that Charlie always brought flowers. Some passengers also brought flowers for him. The bus became a happy place.
Then, one morning, as autumn was closing in, Charlie wasn’t waiting at his usual stop. When he wasn’t there the next day and the day after that, we started wondering if he was sick or hopefully-on holiday somewhere. When we came nearer to the center for senior citizens, one of the passengers even asked the driver to wait.
We all held our breaths when he went to the door. The old gentleman was fine, but one of his close friends had died over the weekend. How silent we were the rest of the way to work.
The next Monday Charlie was waiting at the stop, and without a tie. Inside the bus was silent.
1. The story is mainly developed by ___________.
A. time B. logic C. comparison D. cause and result
2. Greeted with “good morning” from the old man, people aboard the bus at first ___________.
A. felt tired and sleepy and didn’t want to talk
B. greeted him back loudly and politely
C. guarded against the conversation from strangers
D. felt surprised and became angry with him
3. When the passengers found the old man was not waiting at the bus stop as usual, they did NOT ___________.
A. buy flowers and wait for him to come
B. feel anxious and worried about him
C. miss him and expect to see him
D. hope he was going on holiday rather than falling ill
4. It can be inferred from the text that ___________.
A. the driver didn’t like the old man at first
B. people usually wear a tie when they are happy
C. passengers brought flowers to express gratitude to the old man
D. the old man had a great influence on the passengers’ emotion
5. The purpose of the passage is to ___________.
A. introduce the old gentleman and praise his good deeds
B. persuade us to become friendly and considerate to people around
C. tell us to keep silent when somebody passes away
D. criticize those who remain silent when they are greeted
As Joe and Michael were heading towards the Drivers License place, Michael, who was behind the wheel, froze as he heard the voice on the radio saying that a man had been murdered by a bullet that had came from the sky. He immediately drove off and went to a secret place. Later on that day, after thinking that the shot they had fired possibly wasn’t the shot that killed Mr Ward, they headed back to the Drivers License place where Michael failed the driver’s test because he could not think straight. For the next two months, Michael and Joe hid the secret that the bullet had actually shot Mr Ward.
During this time, Jenna Ward started to realize life without her father. While Jenna mourned the death of her father, a strange boy started to appear at the front steps of the church across the street from her house. After many nights of watching this boy, she finally recognized that it was Michael who was sitting on the steps every night.
After months of finding out where the shot came, the police were able to narrow the search area down to within a four-block area. Among these four blocks were Michael’s house and Joe’s house. When the police arrived at Michael’s house, his dad mentioned the gun that Michael had received from his grandpa at his birthday party. Michael, trying to be sly, told the cops that Joe had borrowed the gun. Upon this, Joe said that the gun had been stolen out of his car along with his CD player. After the police were gone, Michael met Joe at a special spot and told Joe the gun was under the wood pile in his backyard.
One day, when Michael thought the police would not come back, he came home to find the police searching his backyard with metal detectors. When the Sergeant(警官) went into the woods behind the house, he came out with a bullet that Joe and he had shot off on his birthday. The bullet matched the one that they had recovered from Mr. Ward, but without the gun, the police could not place Michael as the killer.
With the pressure mounting, Michael finally broke down and realized he had to give up. On a Saturday morning, he went to Jenna’s house to confess to her and her mother and then turned himself in.
1. It can be inferred from the story that Michael and Joe _____.
A. shot and killed Mr Ward by accident
B. shot and killed Mr Ward deliberately
C. fired a bullet that killed Ward from the sky
D. were experienced professional murders
2. Michael and Joe drove to the Drivers License place ______.
A. to find out whether Mr Ward was dead
B. to find a secret place to hide themselves
C. to take the driver’s licence test
D. to have their car wheel repaired
3. Why did Michael sit on the steps of the church every night?
A. He was monitoring Jenna’s whereabouts (行踪)
B. He was probably feeling upset and guilty.
C. He wanted to make sure that Ward was dead.
D. He wanted to show sympathy for the Ward’s.
4. From the passage we can learn that _____.
A. Michael lent the gun to Joe at his birthday party
B. the gun together with a CD player was stolen from Joe’s car
C. Michael hid the gun under the wood pile in his backyard
D. the Sergeant discovered the bullet in the wood pile
5. The underlined phrase “turned himself in” in the last paragraph means _____.
A. returned home B. went into the room
C. fled into the woods D. delivered himself to the police
Poverty is not first thing that comes to mind when you think of Japan. After all, there are no children begging on the streets in major cities here. You do not often see Japanese citizens publicly letting out their complaints over the country’s economic decline. But senior government researcher Aya Abe says Japan has the fourth-highest rate of child poverty among developed countries.
She says she sees that poverty in schools where students admit to only bathing once a week. Some cannot afford to buy pencils for class.
“They may not be on the streets begging or they may not be turning into criminals, but it’s there. It’s just that we have to open our eyes and see,” Abe said.
Abe owes the increase in child poverty to the country’s changing demographics(人口统计), struggling economy and high social security premiums(保险费). She says fewer people live in three-generation households, where the parents and grandparents work. The number of single mothers has increased. The salary for young fathers has declined with the economic downturn. Social security premiums have increased in the last 20 years, putting families on the threshold of poverty.
Abe says studies conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD ) point to rising poverty in Japan before the global economic crises in 2008. But the Japanese government and public refused to acknowledge it until then - in part, because of the shame associated with poverty.
“It was, what should I say, very unpopular for Japanese media to say anything about Japanese poverty,” said Abe. “Even though OECD announced it and OECD Japan announced it in Japanese, it didn’t make it into the articles.”
Abe says new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has taken one important step to help alleviate (减缓) the problem. Next year, his Democratic Party of Japan plans to double monthly child care allowances given to families.
But Abe wants the government to expand its financial help even more. She wants it to simplify the process to apply for public assistance and provide educational grants for students struggling to pay for tuition at high schools and colleges. The country now only offers loans.
Abe says the government must act quickly because she says the problem will only get worse in the next few years.
1. The passage is intended to _________.
A. report the result of the studies conducted by OECD
B. tell us about the increase in Japanese child poverty
C. prove that Japan is no longer a developed country
D. introduce Aya Abe, a senior government researcher
2. It seems to be hard to associate Japan with poverty because _______.
A. no children are seen begging in the streets of main cities in Japan
B. its citizens never complain about the country’s economic decline
C. it is one of the few wealthiest countries in the world
D. its government and public refused to acknowledge it
3. According to Abe, several things contribute to the rising child poverty except________.
A. high social security premiums
B. the increase of the number of single mothers
C. the decrease of the salary for young fathers
D. the expansion of three-generation households
4. Why was it unpopular for Japanese media to say anything about Japanese poverty?
A.The Japanese public didn’t think it true.
B. It was forbidden by the Japanese government.
C. The Japanese public regarded it shameful to be poor.
D. OECD Japan had already announced it in Japanese.
5. What of the following is NOT the author’s suggestion for alleviating this problem?
A. Doubling monthly child care allowances given to families.
B. Expanding government’s financial help even more.
C. Providing educational grants for poor students.
D. Simplifying the process to apply for public assistance
（7）阅读理解
For many of us, printed books are satisfying in ways beyond the words they contain. Billions of printed books have been published, read and saved in the 600 years since movable type was invented, so why mess with a good things?
Sony Electronics is doing just that, betting that readers will be won over by the convenience of readability of its new electronic book devices. Sony's reader, the PRS-505, can hold 160 books in its fixed memory, enough to line the shelves on a good-sized wall in the average American home. The $299 device is about the size of a paperback book, but a half-inch thick and weighs less than a pound.
The Sony book reader is revolutionary not only in its storage capacity. The font（字体） is highly readable and adjustable by size. Unlike laptop computers, you can put the Sony in your purse, read it in direct sunlight and even bookmark the pages. And you can connect it to your PC to download books.
Surprisingly, though the reader has liberated the book from paper, electronic books aren't always a bargain. For example, David Baldacci's "Stone Cold" download retails（零售） for $15.19 at the Sony site, while Amazon（卓越网） will deliver a hard copy to your mailbox for $16.19.
The Sony reader also lets you store and play or display music. So what's not to like about the Sony? Well, for many bibliophiles, a lot. Book lovers like to have, hold and keep their volumes, which don't need charging. You can write notes in the margins, and enjoy the ambience they provide on your book shelves.
The need for electronic reading devices is likely to grow as more people worried about the billions of tons of paper used for printed material. Many believe the time will come when devices like the Sony reader are as common as printed newspapers and magazines today.
1．What would be the best title for the passage?
A. The age of the electronic book reader is coming
B. Printed books are out of date
C. The Sony reader meets many readers’ needs
D. The revolution in book readers
2．According to the passage, the Sony book reader _________.
A. is as light as a laptop computer
B. can hold more than 200 books
C. is convenient to carry around
D. cannot be connected to a PC
3．What is the author’s point when he mentions “Stone Cold”?
A. Amazon’s printed books are very cheap
B. “Stone Cold” can be got from the Sony site and Amazon
C. The Sony book reader is not very cheap to use
D. The Sony book reader can benefit its buyers a lot
4．The underlined word “bibliophiles” in Paragraph 5 refers to “__________”.
A. music lovers B. book lovers
C. electronic reading devices D. Sony readers
5．According to the author, what’s the future for the electronic reading devices?
A. They’ll replace printed newspapers and magazines
B. They’ll still be more expensive than printed newspapers
C. They’ll become a must in people’s daily life
D. They’ll become more popular as time goes on
（6）阅读理解
It is time for students to sell such things as chocolate bars and greeting cards to raise money for their school, class or club. It is inevitable that they will knock on your door and you will easily hand ever your cash for overpriced items that you really do not want. That is okay, though, because there are many reasons why children should be allowed to raise money for their schools and clubs.
Fundraising(自筹资金) is a great way to help children learn social skills. It is not easy to go up to a complete stranger and ask them for their money. They have to nicely ask for help, show the interested buyer what they have to offer and explain how it will help them in school. If someone refuses to buy an item, that child has to take the failure in stride（从容处理）, and that is a learning lesson as well.
Students can learn how to deal with money by fundraising. Of course, it might seem safer for us to take charge of our children’s earnings from their fundraising before it is turned in to the school. However, by making them keep track of it, count it, and make sure everyone pays the right amount, they are learning an important lesson. Dealing with money is important to know about when they are older.
Fundraising helps improve their schools. It is the child’s school. They have to learn there and grow there. Why not let them help in making it a better place? When one of our local schools lacked funding for sports, the students and parents joined hands to raise that money needed. When they succeeded, they felt they accomplished something important.
Fundraising allows for more life experiences for the child. Most fundraising is done for individual classes and clubs. The raised money is used towards things like parties, trips. The children receive the rewards for their hard work at raising the money. Without fundraising, these field trips and special school memories would be missed.
In a word, fundraising helps children a lot in many ways.
1. We can infer that the author is probably a .
A. manager B. student C. parent D. officer
2. What is the main idea of this passage?
A. Children should be allowed to fundraise.
B. Fundraising is good for both families and children.
C. Children should learn to deal with money.
D. Children should be taught how to fundraise.
3. Which of the following is not the benefits of fundraising by students?
A. It’s a good way to gain social skills for students.
B. Students can master the skills in financing through it.
C. It can help students get high mark at school.
D. It gives students many valuable life experiences.
4. The author thinks that fundraising .
A. adds to the family’s burden B. wastes the learning time
C. cultivates the children’s character D. builds up the children’s bodies
5. Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
CP: Central point P: Point Sp: Sub-point(次要点) C: Conclusion
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