Many students of English think that learning a new language is very difficult．Now think how difficult it is to learn English when your brain is only the size of a bird’s brain!That is what some birds can do．

　　Many different kinds of birds can copy the sounds of language．African gray parrots are the birds best known for this．

　　Every December in London, the National Cage and Aviary Bird Show tries to find the best “talking” bird in the world．One bird named Prudle stood out among the “talking birds”．She won this prize for 12 years in a row from 1965 to 1976．

　　Prudle was taken from her nest in Uganda in 1958．She was sold to Iris Frost in Seaford, England．Prudle knew almost 800 words in English．

　　Prudle was also the oldest bird in the world that lived in a cage．Ms．Frost took care of the bird until Prudle died in l994．Prudle was 35 years old．

　　A different kind of bird, not a parrot, named Puck was tested in 1993．It turned out that Puck knew more English words than Prudle knew．Puck knew more than1,700 words．

　　If a bird can do it, anybody can do it．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

　　San Francisco is an American city．It is in the west of the United States．Many people like San Francisco because it is very beautiful．The Golden Gate Bridge is a beautiful place to visit．Every day, thousands of people come to visit the bridge and enjoy its view．

　　There are a lot of hills in San Francisco．The lovely hills make the city a lovely place．Many people walk up and down the hills．And some visitors also like to drive around the city．In this way, they can see more views．Some visitors like to take cable cars, and they can get a better view of the city．

　　People in San Francisco know Chinatown very well．They like Chinatown．Every day, many people come to visit Chinatown．Some of them come to eat delicious Chinese food, and others come to buy Chinese handicrafts．You can buy good things from China in Chinatown．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Rita Smith is a cook in a restaurant．She likes her job very much．She tells us, “I get up at 5∶30 a. m., put on my clothes, and then drive to work．The restaurant opens at 6∶30 a. m．We serve breakfast from 7∶00 a. m．to 10∶00 a. m．and lunch from 10∶00 a. m．to 2∶00 p. m．I go home at 4∶00 p. m．I go to bed around 9∶00 p. m．And I hope nobody calls me after I go to bed．I don’t work on Saturdays or Sundays．I only work on weekdays．”

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

　　Mr．King goes to a dinner party．He is wearing old clothes．He comes into the room．But people in the room don’t look at him．They don’t ask him to sit down．

　　Mr．King goes home and puts on his good clothes．He goes back to the party．Everyone in the room stands up and smiles at him．They give him the best food to eat．

　　Mr．King takes off his coat, puts food in it and says, “Eat, coat!”

　　The other people ask, “ What are you doing?”

　　He answers, “I am asking my coat to eat the food．When I am wearing my old clothes, you don’t look at me and don’t ask me to sit down．And then I’m in these clothes, you give me the best food．Now I see, you give the food for my clothes not for me!”

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

Fancy Guppy is called “peacock fish” in Chinese, they have a big variety(品种), the cheapest ones are about 15 yuan for a pair, but expensive ones can be up to 80-100 yuan each．Fancy Guppies are called Peacock fish because they have big beautiful tails, just like peacocks’．Peacock fish aren’t arrogant as peacocks, they are tender and shy．When you come near the tank, they will hide right away．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

Reading comprehension．

　　Oscars are like pigs in the tropical(热带的)fish world, they never stop eating and they are not picky on food．In Chinese they are called “map fish”, because the patterns(图案)they have on their body look exactly like maps．It’s very interesting the way Oscars sleep．Other fish just “standing” in the water and don’t move at all, but Oscars lie flat on the bottom, making you think that they are dead!

　　Also Oscars are the smartest fish, they can recognize(认出)their masters(主人)!When strangers come over near the tank, they won’t even take a look, but when their masters come, they will swim over and “dancing” in front of them!

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

Read the following passage and then circle the correct answer to each question．

　　Eileen Rogers is my best friend．We’re both from Chicago, but now I live in San Francisco and Eileen lives in Atlanta．We don’t see each other very often, but we’re in touch all the time．I often write to Eileen and tell her about all the things that are happening at the Ajax Company．I’m the office manager there．And she often writes to me about her work at the Valley Hospital．She’s a doctor there．

　　We talk on the telephone once a week, either on Saturday or Sunday morning．There are also other ways we communicate with each other．Sometimes I call her on her car phone, or she faxes me on my fax machine．And when I have something very important to tell her, I sometimes beep her on her beeper．

　　We’re really lucky．In this new age of communication, there are so many ways we can keep in touch with each other．We live in different cities on different coast, but we’re in touch all the time．

　　How often?

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　One day as a teacher was walking into the classroom, he heard a low voice,“Here is the teacher．I’m sure the unfair fellow is going to talk about putting in commas．”It was Billy’s voice．He was talking with the boy next to him．

　　The teacher didn’t get angry．He said nothing about it, but began to talk about putting in commas．And then he wrote on the blackboard the sentence,“Billy says the teacher is an unfair fellow．”

　　The class laughed and Billy’s face turned red．

　　“Now,”said the teacher,“I’ll show you how important commas are．”

　　He put two commas into the sentence and then read,“Billy,”says the teacher, is an unfair fellow．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　Eric Wilson, the reporter from Lifestyle Magazine, interviews two persons on how they spend their day．Read what they say and answer some questions．

　　My name’s Stella．I usually leave at around eight fifteen．It takes me around forty minutes, and we start at nine－sharp．I take a coffee break at eleven, and then have my lunch at one o’clock．Pretty much the same hours as most people, I guess．I generally get home around six o’clock, have a snack, and then watch the news on TV at seven．I eat around eight, watch more TV or read a book, and try to be in bed by ten．Pretty boring, really, but that’s life．

　　My name’s Sophie．You ask my daily routine---that’s kind of a strange thing to ask．Still, if you really want to know…I get up around eleven thirty, and I hang out and read the paper and drink some tea．Then I go to the gym around twelve thirty, till about one fifteen, I guess．Well, then I might do some shopping or visit a friend．I usually have something to eat around three thirty, and I leave home at six thirty, and get to work around seven．I work until eleven．I’m usually home by eleven thirty．I have a meal, watch TV or a video, and try and be in bed by one o’clock．Unusual, maybe, but I like it．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

阅读理解

　　Tom is a good student．But he has a shortcoming(缺点)．He is often late for school．Classes begin at eight o’clock．He’s often five minutes later．

　　It’s seven thirty now, but he is still in bed．

　　Tom, Tom!It’s time to get up．Mother cries．

　　What’s the time, Mum?Tom asks,“It’s seven thirty．You’re late．Today you can go to school with your father．He can take you there in his car．”“Mum, don’t worry．”Says Tom．”It’s Sunday today．We don’t go to school．”“Oh, sorry．”Mother says and Tom laughs(笑)．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)