Many people have tried to simplify the spelling of English words. Unlike other languages , English sometimes spells the same sounds in very different ways . For example , there is “light “but” white”, ”loan ”but “phone” ,and there are at least seven different ways of pronouncing “ough”: ”though”, ”through “,”bough”. “cough” ”enough “, “ought” and “thorough “.
The American President Theodore Roosevelt almost succeeded in simplifying English spelling .In 1906, Andrew Carnegie started the Simplified Spelling Board .He was one of the richest men in the United States of America .The board’s plan was to make the spelling of words nearer to the way they sound .For example , the word “though” would be spelt “tho” and “through “would become “thru”. Other people on the board were Melvil Dewey , the head of the New York libraries , and Professor Brander Matthews of Columbia University 。They explained their idea to President Roosevelt , who thought that it was indeed logical .He immediately asked the government printer to sue simplified spelling in all government letters .
But people didn’t like the change, even if it made life easier. So the new simpler spelling was not popular. More importantly, when the American politicians (政客) discussed the plan, they did not like it either.
Because Roosevelt did not want to have any problems with the politicians, he changed his mind and told the printer to go back to the old way of spelling.
Since then no one in any government has dared to simplify English spelling. However,people do simplify some words, mainly in advertisements. For example, we often see “tonite” instead of “tonight” and “thru” instead of “through”．Many people have tried to simplify English spelling because________.
| A．English words are too long to remember |
| B．there are many mistakes in English words |
| C．lots of words are spelt in many different ways |
| D．sometimes the same sounds have different spellings. |
Who is NOT a member of the Simplified Spelling Board?
| A．Andrew Carnegie. |
| B．Melvil Dewey. |
| C．Theodore Roosevelt. |
| D．Brander Matthews. |
What was Theodore Roosevelt’s attitude towards simplified spelling?
| A．Worried. |
| B．Supportive. |
| C．Uncertain. |
| D．Doubtful. |
According to the passage, simplified spelling________.
| A．was welcomed by the US politicians |
| B．changed the way the words sound |
| C．has been used widely for over a century |
| D．was first used in US government letters. |
共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
How can we all get more laughter into our lives? Here is what the experts suggest:
51 . Nancy Alguire, a teacher in Clifton Park, N. Y., was once painfully shy and had a hard time laughing. Then she married a circus clown (小丑). “I became interested in the clowns,” she recalls “One day I put on a costume and paint my face. That afternoon my whole life changed. I learned to laugh and enjoy life in a way I had never done before.” 52 To this day, she still makes it a rule to be with people who enjoy life and laughing.
53 It doesn’t take you too much time and can be easy. Collect favorite cartoons and jokes. Also, keep a paper for writing down humor you find in everyday life. “Good ideas come and go fast, you have to capture them quickly or they are gone,” says Virginia Tooper.
Laugh when you need it most. “ 54 ” says comedian Bill Cosby. “And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might by, you can survive it,” he insists.
Gray Alan, a sociology professor at the University of Minnesota, claims that laughter is a skill we can all gain – because it comes naturally. 55 . Just remember: we are just here for a period, so get a few laughs.
| A．You can soften the worst blows through humor. |
| B．Mix with people who laugh. |
| C．Practise the art of laughing. |
| D．Keep a laughter file. |
E．He who laughs last laughs best.
F．But it’s also something that has to be developed.
G．People’s joy can affect those around them.
Avatar
Venue: Orient Pioneer Theater
Date: January 2
Price (￥): 150/180/240/300
Tel: 400 – 810 – 3721
Additional Information:
The film is directed by James Cameron. In the future, Jake, a paraplegic war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, which is inhabited by the Na’vi, a humanoid race with its own language and culture. Those from Earth find themselves at odds with each other and the local culture. The fierce war unfolded …
Farewell My Concubine
Venue: National Centre for the Performing Arts
Date: January 2
Price (￥): 50/80/100/300
Tel: 400 – 810 – 8271
Additional Information:
Peking Opera tells the story of XiangYu (232BC – 202BC), the self – styled Hegemon – king of Western Chu (modern provinces of Hubei, Huan, Jiangxi, Anhui and Jiangsu) who battled to unify China with LiuBang, the final founder of the powerful Han Dynasty.
Guo Degang Cross Talk Show
Venue: Cultural Palace of Nationalities
Date : January 24 – 25
Price (￥): 100/200/300/500
Tel: 400 – 610 – 2270
Additional Information:
Guo Degang is a famous Chinese cross talk actor.
Confucius
Venue : Today Art Theater
Date : January 20
Price (￥): 100/120/150/180
Tel: 400 – 610 – 3721
Additional Information:
The film is about Confucius, who was a Chinese thinker and philosopher. His teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese though and life.
40．If you want to appreciate the Chinese traditional opera, you can call
A．Tel: 400 – 810 – 3721 B．Tel: 400 – 810 – 8271
C．Tel: 400 – 610 – 2270 D．Tel: 400 – 610 – 3721
41．What can we learn from four posters?
A．Avatar, directed by James Cameron, is a sci – fi movie.
B．Confucius can be seen in Oriental Pioneer Theatre.
C．You can enjoy Guo Degang’s cross talk on Jan. 20.
D．Xiang Yu finally founded the powerful Han Dynasty.
42．The underlined phrases “at odds” probably means
A．in harmony B．in disagreement C．in touch D．in common
Chen Yurong, 55, an average woman in Wuhan, Hubei province, who was diagnosed with a fatty liver (肝), walked 10 kilometers a day for seven months, despite wind an rain, so she could donate part of a healthy liver to her son. After wearing out four pairs of shoes and losing eight kilograms, her fatty liver condition disappeared. One doctor called it a “miracle” (奇迹).
|
Hear 31 – year – old son, Ye Haibin suffered from severe Wilson’s disease, a rare disorder that causes body to keep copper. Doctors said only a liver transplant could lengthen his life. Despite her age and the knowledge that about one in 1,000 liver donators die after the transplant, Chen said she did not hesitate to donate part of her liver.
“In order to give my young granddaughter a complete family, I’dlike to do everything to save my son, including doing exercise and
eating less”, Chen said.
The transplant was performed on November 3,2009. The surgery
lasted more than 14 hours and saved her son from life threatening
liver disease. State – owned CCTV broadcast the transplant live and
she has been widely praised in China.
However, the 55 – year – old mother said she never expected
such attention, which did bring her hope and help from many others
– even stingers. Despite giving up part of her liver, Chen, like before,
gets up at 6 am to help her son wash and take his medicine. Moved
by Chen Yurong’s love for her son and her determination and effort, the hospital paid the entire medical bill, which would have added up to 600,000 yuan (US$ 85,715).
The great mother, Chen Yurong was honored as the most touching figure in China for 2009.
36．What can we learn about Chen Yurong according to the passage?
A．She together with her son lives a poor life.
B．She herself is in good health all the time.
C．She is willing to do everything for her son.
D．She wants to win other’s attention and praise.
37．Which of the following can best describe Chen Yurong’s behavior?
A．generous B．aggressive C．reasonable D．awesome
38．Which of the following statements is Not true according to the passage?
A．Chen Yurong took exercise and ate less to keep slim.
B．Many people and organizations have helped the family.
C．Liver donators might lose their lives after the transplant.
D．Chen Yurong and her son have been through the hardest time.
39．What would be the best title for the passage?
A．A lucky son B．A successful operation
C．A miracle D．A great Mother
C
When it comes to friends, I desire those who will share my happiness, who possess wings of their own and who will fly with me. I seek friends whose qualities illuminate（照亮）me and train me up for love. It is for these people that I reserve the glowing hours, too good not to share.
When I was in the eighth grade, I had a friend. We were shy and “too serious” about our studies when it was becoming fashionable with our classmates to learn acceptable social behaviors. We said little at school, but she would come to my house and we would sit down with pencils and paper, and one of us would say:“Let’s start with a train whistle today.” We would sit quietly together and write separate poems or stories
that grew out of a train whistle. Then we would read them aloud. At the end of that school year, we, too, were changing into social creatures and the stories and poems stopped.
When I lived for a time in London, I had a friend, He was in despair(失望)and I was in despair. But our friendship was based on the idea in each of us that we would be sorry later if we did not explore this great city because we had felt bad at the time. We met every Sunday for five weeks and found many excellent things. We walked until our despairs disappeared and then we parted. We gave London to each other.
For almost four years I have had remarkable friend whose imagination illuminates mine. We write long letters in which we often discover our strangest selves. Each of us appears, sometimes in a funny way, in the other’s dreams. She and I agree that, at certain times, we seem to be parts of the same mind. In my most interesting moments, I often think:“Yes, I must tell….”We have never met.
It is such comforting companions I wish to keep. One bright hour with their kind is worth more to me than the lifetime services of a psychologist（心理学家），who will only fill up the healing（愈合的）silence necessary to those darkest moments in which I would rather be my own best friend.
69. In the eighth grade, what the author did before developing proper social behavior was to ______.
A. become serious about her study
B. go to her friend’s house regularly
C. learn from her classmates at school
D. share poems and stories with her friend
70. In Paragraph 3, “We gave London to each other” probably means ______.
A. our exploration of London was a memorable gift to both of us
B. we were unwilling to tear ourselves away from London
C. our unpleasant feeling about London disappeared
D. we parted with each other in London
71. According to Paragraph 4, the author and her friend _______.
A. call each other regularly
B. have similar personalities
C. enjoy writing to each other
D. dream of meeting each other
72. In the darkest moments, the author would prefer to ______.
A.need professional help B. be left alone
C. stay with her best friend D. break the silence
B
More than 10 years ago, it was difficult to buy a tasty pineapple. The fruits that made it to the UK were green on the outside and, more often than not, hard with an unpleasant taste within. Then in 1996, the Del Monte Gold pineapple produced in Hawaii first hit our shelves.
The new type of pineapple looked more yellowy-gold than green. It was slightly softer on the outside and had a lot of juice inside. But the most important thing about this new type of pineapple was that it was twice as sweet as the hit-and-miss pineapples we had known. In no time, the Del Monte Gold took the market by storm, rapidly becoming the world’s best-selling pineapple variety, and delivering natural levels of sweetness in the mouth, up until then only found in tinned pineapple.
In nutrition(营养) it was all good news too. This nice-tasting pineapple contained four times more vitamin C(维生素C) than the old green variety. Nutritionists said that it was not only full of vitamins, but also good against some diseases. People were understandably eager to be able to buy this wonderful fruit. The new type of pineapple was selling fast, and the Del Monte Gold pineapple rapidly became a fixture in the shopping basket of the healthy eater.
Seeing the growing market for its winning pineapple, Del Monte tried to keep the market to itself. But other fruit companies 
developed similar pineapples. Del Monte turned to law for help, but failed. Those companies argued successfully that Del Monte’s attempts to keep the golden pineapple for itself were just a way to knock them out of the market.
65. We learn from the text that the new type of pineapple is ______.
A. green outside and sweet inside
B. good-looking outside and soft inside
C. yellowy-gold outside and hard inside
D. a little soft outside and sweet inside
66. Why was the new type of pineapple selling well?
A. It was rich in nutrition and tasted nice. B. It was less sweet and good for health.
C. It was developed by Del Monte. D. It was used as medicine.
67. The underlined word “fixture” in Paragraph 3 probably refers to something ______.
A. that people enjoy eating B. that is always present
C. that is difficult to get D. that people use as a gift
68. We learn from the last paragraph that Del Monte ______.
A. allowed other companies to develop pineapples
B. succeeded in keeping the pineapple for itself
C. tried hard to control the pineapple market
D. planned to help the other companies
粤公网安备 44130202000953号