The other day I heard a few local musicians talking, "I hate all the pianos in this town and I hate that rubbish they play on the radio. They cannot even understand rhythm (韵律).""Nobody wants to pay musicians anything. I’m sick of all the people who want you to play without paying you.” One younger musician said, "There are a couple of clubs who want me to play for a few nights a month, and I’m trying to find other places to play. I’m also planning to join in several summer festivals this year." I really liked what the younger musician said so I made friends with him.
Attitudes are important. Whether they’re positive or negative (消极的), they’re all rubbing off on you. If you’re around people who are always complaining(抱怨) or blaming (责备) others, it is possible that you will start doing the same as well. If you spend lots of time with people who don’t support your dreams, it is time to take a look at the people you call "friends".
There is an easy exercise you can try. Make a list of the people who you often stay with, and simply stop spending time with the negative people on your list. Set a new standard for yourself and don’t become friends with people who fall below that standard. The choice is always yours to make. Of course, this exercise is entirely different from making friends only for the good of oneself. We really should try to help and spend time with those who are working towards a goal or dream.The musicians’ conversation at the beginning is to show that ______.
| A．musicians’ living conditions are not good |
| B．people in that town have poor taste in music |
| C．different people have different attitudes |
| D．young people are more likely to succeed |
The underlined part "they’re rubbing off on you" in Paragraph 2 means ______.
| A．they’ll push you ahead | B．they’ll have an influence on you |
| C．they’ll keep you from moving on | D．they’ll help you realize your dreams |
Why did the author want to make friends with the younger musician?
| A．He is more active than the others. |
| B．He can earn more than the others. |
| C．He has more things to do than the others. |
| D．His attitude is more positive than the others. |
By doing the exercise mentioned in Paragraph 3, you can ______.
| A．make the right kind of friends |
| B．improve your ability to make friends |
| C．develop a better relationship with your friends |
| D．make some new friends with the same interests as you |
We can get the following information from the passage EXCEPT ______.
| A．the younger musician is a positive person and would be a good friend |
| B．one will start complaining if one spends too much time with negative people |
| C．the exercise can help you keep close to really helpful friends |
| D．one should avoid making friends with people who have lots of difficulties |
Many a young person tells me he wants to be a writer. I always encourage such people, but I also explain that there’s a big difference between “ being a writer” and “ writing”. In most cases these individuals are dreaming of wealth and fame, not the long hours alone at a computer. “You’ve got to want to write,” I say to them, “not want to be a writer.”
The reality is that writing is a lonely, private and poor paying affair. For every writer kissed by fortune there are thousands more whose longing is never rewarded. When I left a 20-year career in the US Coast Guard to become a free writer, I had no promise at all. What I did have was a friend who found me my room in a New York apartment building. It didn’t even matter that it was cold and had no bathroom. I immediately bought a used computer and felt a real writer.
After a year or so, however, I still hadn’t gotten a break and began to doubt myself. It was so hard to sell a story that barely made enough to eat. But I know I wanted to write. I had dreamed about it for years. I wasn’t going to be one of those people who die wondering. What if? I would keep putting my dream to the test--- even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure. This is the Shadowland of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there.The passage is meant to _______.
| A．warn young people of the hardships that a successful writer has to experience |
| B．advise young people to give up their idea of becoming a professional writer |
| C．show young people it’s unrealistic for a writer to be after wealth and fame |
| D．encourage young people to be after a writer career |
What can be concluded from the passage?
| A．Real writers often find their work interesting and rewarding |
| B．Writer’s success depends on luck rather than on effort |
| C．Famous writers usually live in poverty and isolation（隔离） |
| D．The chances for a writer to become successful are small |
Why did the author begin to doubt himself after the first year of his writing career?
| A．He wasn’t able to produce a single book |
| B．He hadn’t seen a change for the better |
| C．He wasn’t able to have a rest for a whole year |
| D．He found his dream would never come true |
“Shadowland” in the last sentence refers to _____.
| A．thewonderlandonoftendreamsabout |
| B．thebrightfuturethatoneislookingforwardto |
| C．thestateofuncertaintybeforeone’sfinalgoalisreached |
| D．aworldthatexistsonlyinone’simagination |
Speaking in any language is all about imitating (模仿) other people. You want to be able to speak like native speakers do. Before you can form your own correct sentences, you first need to see lots of similar ones in the language you are learning.
When you speak in your native language, you don't have to think about the grammar or the words you use. Correct sentences just come to you. In fact, your brain uses sentences you've already seen or heard. If you want to speak a foreign language fluently, you have to learn it the way you learned your native language--- by massive(大量的) input.
Reading and listening will help you develop language intuition(直觉). It's all about putting lots of correct sentences in your head. Then your brain can imitate them, producing similar sentences to express the meaning you want. When you read and listen a lot, paying attention to useful vocabulary, you will soon start to use new words and phrases in your speaking and writing, and you will develop language intuition. You will start to feel what sounds good and what sounds bad --- just as you do in your native language.
It may seem like you need more time to learn a language by reading and listening, as opposed （相反的）to learning based on grammar rules. For example, to get a good feeling for the use of articles in English you need to read lots of sentences, analyzing them closely. Wouldn't it be easier to read a unit on articles in a grammar book? Well, the problem is that it takes lots of time to build a sentence when you have to think of grammar rules. When you talk to someone, you don't have time for that. The input-based approach may seem to be more demanding, but it's the only way to achieve fluency.According to the passage, if you want to speak a foreign language like a native speaker, you must_________.
| A．learn grammar very well |
| B．input many sentences in your head |
| C．read many books in the foreign language |
| D．write many compositions |
Which of the following sentences can explain the meaning of language intuition?
| A．Ability to understand a foreign language |
| B．Ability to use a foreign language without thinking about it |
| C．Ability to speak a foreign language |
| D．Ability to imitate a native speaker |
In the author’s view, what plays an important role in developing language intuition?
| A．Listening and Reading |
| B．Writing and Listening |
| C．Reading and Translating |
| D．Listening and Translating |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．You can speak your native language without think about grammar |
| B．Before you can speak your native you must hear millions of sentences |
| C．The input-based approach is the only way to speak a language fluently |
| D．Grammar is no use at all |
Americans like to travel on their yearly holiday.Today，more and more travelers in the United States are spending nights at small houses or inns （客栈） instead of hotels.They get a room for the night and the breakfast the next morning.
Rooms for the night in private homes with breakfast have been popular with travelers in Europe for many years.In the past five to ten years，these bed-and-breakfast places have become popular in the United States.Many of these America’s bed-and-breakfast inns have only a few rooms,others are much larger.Some inns do not provide telephones or televisions in the rooms，others do.
Staying at a bed-and-breakfast inn is much different from staying at a hotel.Usually the cost is much less.Staying at an inn is almost like visiting someone’s home.The owners are glad to tell about the areas and the interesting places to visit.Many vacationers say that they enjoy the chance to meet local families.68.Americans take a holiday trip _____.
| A．all the year round | B．for years |
| C．every year | D．every other year |
69.Staying at the bed-and-breakfast inns,_______.
| A．the travelers needn’t pay anything |
| B．the travelers don’t have to pay for the telephone or television |
| C．the travelers can meet and talk with the local people |
| D．the owners will show the travelers around the area |
70. Which if TRUE according to the passage?
| A．European and American vacationers like staying at bed-and-breakfast inns. |
| B．All Ameicans enjoy traveling |
| C．These bed-and-breakfast inns are all old historic buildings |
| D．Staying at a bed-and-breakfast inns is just like at the traveler’s home |
The smallest animal with a backbone（脊椎） known to science, a fish from the carp family, has been discovered in the peat swamps （沼泽）of Indonesia. Mature（成熟的）females of the fish species （种类）Paedocypris reach just 7.9mm in length.
The species was discovered in the highly acidic (酸性的) peat swamps of the Indonesian island of Sumatra by a team led by Ralf Britz, a zoologist at the Natural History Museum in London.
“This is one of the strangest fish that I’ve seen in my whole career,” Dr Britz said. “It’s tiny, and it lives in acid. I hope that we’ll have time to find out more about them before their habitat disappears completely.”
The species lives in dark tea-colored swamp waters, which are 100 times more acidic than rainwater. Although these swamps were once thought to be inhabited by very few animals, recent research has shown that they are home to a highly different range of species that occur nowhere else.
The peat swamps were damaged by forest fires in 1997, and are also threatened by agriculture. The scientists behind the discovery said that several populations of Paedocypris had already been lost.
“Many of the peat swamps we surveyed（调查）throughout South-East Asia no longer exist,” Dr Britz said. “Populations of all the miniature（微型的）fish of peat swamps have decreased or disappeared.”
Details of the discovery are published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B.64.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．The Strangest Fish |
| B．Acidic Peat Swamps |
| C．Strange Species |
| D．The Smallest Backbone Animal |
65.Where does the smallest backbone animal live?
| A．It lives in highly acidic rainwater. |
| B．The species lives in the acidic waters of dark tea-coloured swamps. |
| C．It was put in the Natural History Museum in London. |
| D．Its habitat disappears completely. |
66.According to the passage, the forest fires in 1997 have led to the fact that______.
| A．many places where these animals lived have been damaged |
| B．the population of the specieshas increased |
| C．there are many animals in the acidic peat swamps today |
| D．agriculture doesn’t affect the living space of these animals |
67.Dr Britz’s words imply______.
| A．the habitat will be more after a period of time |
| B．many peat swamps that they surveyed have already survived |
| C．he wants to find more miniature fishes before their habitat disappears |
| D．he wants to have further research |
B
60.You will pay _______ if you want to stay in the English club for half a year.
| A．300 yuan | B．600 yuan | C．1200 yuan | D．2400 yuan |
61.You can visit Ocean Museum ______.
| A．on Saturday | B．on Wednesday | C．on Monday | D．anytime |
62.One can get free examinations in Health Centre if he is _______.
| A．9 | B．17 | C．67 | D．73 |
63.If you are interested in the life of fish, you should go to ______.
| A．Health Centre | B．Ocean Museum |
| C．Sunny English Club | D．16 Yong Le Street |
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