A student is learning to speak British English. He wonders: Can I communicate with Americans? Can they understand me? Learners of English often ask: What are the differences between British English and American English? How important are these differences?
Certainly! There are some differences between British and American English. There are a few differences in grammar. For example, speakers of British English say “in hospital” and “have a pen?” Americans say “in the hospital!” and “Do you have a pen?”. Pronunciation is sometimes different. Americans usually sound theirs in words like “bird” and “hurt”. Speakers of British English do not sound theirs in these words. There are differences between British English and American English in spelling and vocabulary. For example, “colour” and “honour” are British English, “color” and “honor” are American.
These differences in grammar, pronunciation, spelling, and vocabulary are not important, however. For the most part, British and American English are the same language.According to the passage, a student who is learning to speak American English might be afraid that___.
| A．British English cannot understand him |
| B．American people cannot understand him |
| C．the grammar is too hard for him |
| D．the spelling is too hard for him |
American English and British English are different in ________.
| A．spelling | B．pronunciation |
| C．grammar | D．all of the above |
What is not mentioned (提及) in the passage?
| A．Whether there are differences between British English and American English. |
| B．Whether British and American English are one language or two. |
| C．How the differences between British English and American English came about. |
| D．How important the differences are. |
Most ________ say “ Do you have a watch?”
| A．British people | B．Americans | C．children | D．teachers |
According to this passage, British people and Americans have ________ difficulty in understanding each other.
| A．little | B．much | C．some | D．great |
A cat is recovering in California after surviving a 6，500-mile journey across the Pacific stowed inside a Chinese shipping container without food or water. Staff and volunteers have named it"Ni Hao"，which is Chinese for "hello".
It was discovered breathing shallowly after a two-week trip across the Pacific Ocean. The cat was seriously suffering from loss of water and starvation when the container was opened in California last week, but was said to be doing well after being sent to the Car-son Animal Care Center in Los Angeles. At first it was too weak to stand, but finally took its first step. Then it ate a good meal and slept soundly. The cat woke up Thursday morning, physically in a better condition than 24 hours ago.
"Ni Hao greeted the medical team with its first meow this morning and is attempting to stand，" said Marcia Mayeda, head of the Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control. Aaron Reyes, director of the Department, added ： " We finally got to hear its voice. It sounds like a single-engine plane. "
Ni Hao is expected to be observed for 60 days but afterwards animal workers will look forward to providing it with a good shelter. "It's much better for it to recover in a home environment，" Mr Reyes said. "It's just like a human being in a hospital so we're ho-ping to move it. " He added ： " Little by little we're getting there. We're hoping that under the treatment and with rest, it'll be able to recover quickly. "
It was not immediately clear how the cat got into the container. The underlined word "stowed" in Paragraph 1 probably means "__________"
| A．packed |
| B．driven |
| C．raised |
| D．hidden |
The container to California started on its journey __________.
| A．60 days ago |
| B．one month ago |
| C．2 weeks ago |
| D．24 hours ago |
The cat is likely to be taken care of by __________ in the future.
| A．a medical team |
| B．animal workers |
| C．a caring family |
| D．an animal shelter |
Sunday is more like Monday than it used to be. Places of business that used to keep daytime" business hours" are now open late into the night. And on the Internet, the hour of the day and the day of the week have become irrelevant（不相关的）. A half century ago in the United States, most people experienced strong and precise dividing lines between days of rest and days of work, school time and summer time. Today the boundaries still exist, but they seem not clear.
The law in almost all states used to require stores to close on Sunday; in most, it no longer does. It used to keep the schools open in all seasons except summer; in most, it still does. And whether the work week should strengthen its legal limits, or whether it should become more "flexible"，is often debated. How should we, as a society, organize our time? Should we go even further in relaxing the boundaries of time until we live in a world in which every minute is much like every other?
These are not easy questions even to ask. Part of the difficulty is that we rarely recognize the" law of time" even when we meet it face to face. We know as children that we have to attend school a certain number of hours, a certain number of days, a certain number of years-but unless we meet the truant officer（学监），we may well think that we should go to school due to social custom and parents' demand rather than to the law. As adults we are familiar with" extra pay for overtime working"，but less familiar with the fact that what constitutes（构成）"overtime" is a matter of legal definition. When we turn the clock forward to start daylight-saving time, have we ever thought to ourselves： Here is the law in action? As we shall see, there is a lot of law that has great influence on how we organize and use time： compulsory education law, overtime law, and daylight-saving law-as well as law about Sunday closing, holidays, being late to work, time zones, and so on. Once we begin to look for it, we will have no trouble finding a law of time to examine and assess. By saying" Sunday is more like Monday than it used to be"，the writer means that __________.
| A．work time is equal to rest time |
| B．many people have a day off on Monday |
| C．it is hard for people to decide when to rest |
| D．the line between work time and rest time is unclear |
The author raises the questions in Paragraph 2 to introduce the fact that people __________.
| A．fail to make full use of their time |
| B．enjoy working overtime for extra pay |
| C．are unaware of the law of time |
| D．welcome flexible working hours |
According to the passage, most children tend to believe that they go to school because they __________.
| A．need to acquire knowledge |
| B．have to obey their parents |
| C．need to find companions |
| D．have to observe the law |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Our life is governed by the law of time. |
| B．How to organize time is not worth debating. |
| C．New ways of using time change our society. |
| D．Our time schedule is decided by social customs. |
You know how wonderful you are, and you know that others know how wonderful you are, but what do you do when admiration crosses over the line into jealousy? For most teens there will come a day when you realize that one of your friends is jealous and that this jealousy is hurting your friendship. When this happens it can seem like there is nothing that you can do, but the good news is that there is. Don't let jealousy spoil your relationships. Tackle it head-on and you might be back to normal much sooner than you think.
It can be hard to walk up to friends and ask them what the problem is, but if you want to save your friendship you'll have to do just that. Don't approach them and ask why they are jealous of you（unless of course you want to appear totally conceited）. Just take some time alone with them and let them know that you've been feeling like there's been something coming between you. If they refuse to respond, then use the opportunity to explain how you have been feeling. Chances are that something you say will strike a nerve and your friend will open up as well.
When you figure out what is annoying your friend, ask him or her what （s） he thinks would make the situation better. If, for example，（s） he says that （s） he feels like （s） he doesn't get to spend any time with you because of your being off with your new friends from the swimming team then maybe you could invite him or her along the next time or block off one day a week for just the two of you. Remember, though, that whatever solution you decide on should be a compromise. Don't limit your own talents or opportunities simply because your friend is unhappy. Try instead to include him or her in your new life and see how that works out.
Even the best friendships can be tinged by jealousy. This destructive emotion is rarely productive and can turn best friends into worst enemies. Before taking extreme action, chat with your jealous friend to see if the two of you can work out a compromise. If you can't, be prepared to know exactly how far you will go to keep your friend and how far you won't. According to the author, the jealousy emotion is __________.
| A．normal |
| B．productive |
| C．destructive |
| D．extreme |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a way to confront your friend when jealousy happens?
| A．Walking up to him/her and asking him/her why he/she is jealous of you. |
| B．Walking up to him/her and asking him/her what the problem is. |
| C．Spending some time with him/her and letting him/her know how you feel. |
| D．Spending some time with him/her and letting him/her know you think there's something between you. |
The purpose of the passage is __________.
| A．to explain what causes jealousy |
| B．to offer some advice on making friends |
| C．to introduce the way to cope with a jealous friend |
| D．to explain how destructive the jealousy emotion is |
Having a husband means an extra seven hours of housework each week for women, according to a new study. For men, getting married saves an hour of housework a week. "It's a well-known pat-tern，"said lead researcher Frank Stafford at University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research. " Men usually work more outside the home, while women take on more of the housework. "
He points out that differences among households （家庭）exist. But in general, marriage means more housework for women and less for men. " And the situation gets worse for women when they have children，" Stafford said.
Overall, times are changing in the American home. In 1976，women busied themselves with 26 weekly hours of sweeping and dusting work, compared with 17 hours in 2005. Men are taking on more housework, more than doubling their housework hours from 6in 1976 to 13 in 2005.
Single women in their 20s and 30s did the least housework, about 12 weekly hours, while married women in their 60s and 70s did the most-about 21 hours a week.
Men showed a somewhat different pattern, with older men picking up the broom more often than younger men. Single men worked the hardest around the house, more than that of all other age groups of married men. Having children increases housework even further. With more than three children, for example, wives took on more of the extra work, clocking about 28 hours a week compared with husbands' 10 hours. According to the "well-known pattern" in Paragraph 1，a married man __________.
| A．takes on heavier work |
| B．does more housework |
| C．is the main breadwinner |
| D．is the master of the house |
How many hours of housework did men do every week in the 1970s?
| A．About 28. |
| B．About 26. |
| C．About 13. |
| D．About 6. |
What kind of man is doing most housework according to the text?
| A．An unmarried man. |
| B．An older married man. |
| C．A younger married man. |
| D．A married man with children. |
What can we conclude from Stafford's research?
| A．Marriage gives men more freedom. |
| B．Marriage has effects on job choices. |
| C．Housework sharing changes over time. |
| D．Having children means doubled housework. |
Tens of thousands of theatre tickets will be given away to young people next year as part of a government campaign to inspire a life-long love for theatre.
The plan to offer free seats to people aged between 18 to 26-funded with £2. 5 million of taxpayers' money-was announced yesterday by Andy Burnham, the Culture Secretary. It received a cautious welcome from some in the arts world, who expressed concern that the tickets may not reach the most underprivileged.
The plan comes as West End theatres are enjoying record audiences, thanks largely to musicals teaming up with television talent shows. Attendances reached 13. 6 million in 2007，up 10 percent on2006，itself a record year. Total sales were up 18 percent on 2006 to almost £470 million.
One theatre source criticized the Government's priorities （优先考虑的事）in funding free tickets when pensioners were struggling to buy food and fuel, saying ： " I don't know why the Government's wasting money on this. The Young Vic, as The Times reported today, offers excellent performances at cheap prices. "
There was praise for the Government's plan from Dominic Cooke of the Royal Court Theatre, who said ：" I support any move to get young people into theatre, and especially one that aims to do it all over England, not just in London. "
Ninety-five publicly funded theatres could apply for funding under the two-year plan. In return, they will offer free tickets on at least one day each week to 18 to 26-year-olds, first-come, first-served. It is likely to be on Mondays, traditionally a quiet night for the theatre.
Mr. Burnham said ： " A young person attending the theatre can find it an exciting experience, and be inspired to explore a new world. But sometimes people miss out on it because they fear it's ‘not for them'. It's time to change this perception. "
Jeremy Hunt, the Shadow Culture Secretary, said ： "The real is-sue is not getting enthusiastic children into the theatre, but improving arts education so that more young people want to go in the first place. For too many children theatres are a no-go area. "
Critics of the plan argued that __________.
| A．the theatres would be overcrowded |
| B．it would be a waste of money |
| C．pensioners wouldn't get free tickets |
| D．the government wouldn't be able to afford it |
According to the supporters, the plan should __________.
| A．benefit the television industry |
| B．focus on producing better plays |
| C．help increase the sales of tickets |
| D．involve all the young people in England |
Which of the following is TRUE about the plan?
| A．Ninety-five theatres have received funding. |
| B．Everyone will get at least one free ticket. |
| C．It may not benefit all the young people. |
| D．Free tickets are offered once every day. |
We can infer from the passage that in England __________.
| A．many plays are not for young people |
| B．many young people don't like theatre |
| C．people know little about the plan |
| D．children used to receive good arts education |
According to the passage, the issue to offer free tickets to young people seems __________.
| A．controversial |
| B．inspiring |
| C．exciting |
| D．unreasonable |
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