US First Lady Michelle Obama, along with her mother and two daughters, made their first trip to China from March 20-26. They went to Beijing, Xi’an and Chengdu.

In a speech at Peking University, Mrs Obama encouraged students to study abroad.

“It’s not enough to get good grades in school,” she said in the speech. “It is better to travel 10,000 miles than to read 10,000 books. The experiences in other countries help make our life successful. By learning each other’s languages and by showing such curiosity
(好奇) and respect (尊重) for each other’s cultures, you are building bridges of understanding and bonds of friendship,” she said. The US is the top destination (目的地) for Chinese students. More than 200,000 Chinese students are now studying in the US. In 2009, US President Barack Obama announced (宣布) his goal of sending 100,000 students to China. Since then, more than 68,000 US students have come to China. What’s more, many kids in the US are now studying Chinese. “Learning Chinese is a cool thing in school. It is good for our future,” said Mason Grabowski, 14, a student from Chicago. “It is a hard language, but it is never too early to start learning it.”

根据材料内容选择最佳答案，并将其标号填入题前括号内。

(   )1. In March, 　　　　 members of the Obama family visited China.

         A. three               B. four           C. five          D. six

(   )2. In her speech at Peking University, Michelle Obama encouraged students to 　　　　.

         A. get good grades at school

         B. study in America

         C. study in other countries

         D. learn a foreign language

(   )3. Over 　　　　 US students have studied in China since 2009.

         A. two hundred thousand

         B. one hundred thousand

         C. sixty-eight thousand

         D. ten thousand

(   )4. The underlined word “goal” means “　　　　” in Chinese.

         A. 目标                 B. 进球       C. 梦想        D. 麻烦

(   )5. We can learn that 　　　　 from the passage.

      A. Michelle Obama visited four cities in China

         B. President Obama hopes his daughters can build bridges of understanding by studying abroad

         C. Mason Grabowski thinks it’s too early for her to learn Chinese

         D. the US is the most popular destination for Chinese students

 “It is never too late and you are never too old to start something new!” says Englishtown student Ellen Rema. Ellen began to learn English at the age of fifty, and in just a few years, she has made great progress!

Ellen chose to study on Englishtown because no evening classes were offered in the German countryside where she lives. On Englishtown, she has conversation classes online and speaks with native English-speaking teachers.

“Englishtown is a wonderful place for study,” she says. Ellen began with the first level (水平) of Englishtown and quickly progressed. “I spent hours and hours studying,” she said. “Maybe I wanted too much in a short time. I finished all my courses after 2 years, but I still had grammar difficulties.”

Instead of giving up, she chose to continue. After another two years on Englishtown, she’s still studying in the online classroom. “Studying online is never boring, but you need practice, practice, practice!”

Ellen says studying English isn’t all about hard work. It should also be fun. “I really like the online conversation classrooms,” she says. “I have learned so much about other cultures and traditions.”

Ellen has been able to put her English to use by visiting England five times! “I’m very thankful to Englishtown because my life has improved because of it,” Ellen says.

(   ) 1. Ellen started to learn English 　　　　.

       A. 50 years ago                 

         B. in a city of Germany

      C. when she was a high school student    

         D. when she was 50 years old

(   ) 2. Why did Ellen study English on Englishtown?

         A. She had no free time during the day. 

         B. She lived far away from school.

      C. There were no evening classes near her home. 

         D. Englishtown was a famous website to learn English.

(   ) 3. Ellen had trouble learning 　　　　.

       A. pronunciation   B. grammar        

         C. writing                              D. listening

(   ) 4. How long has Ellen learned English?

       A. For 2 years.        B. For 4 years.   

         C. For 6 years.        D. For 15 years.

(   ) 5. What’s the main idea of this passage?

      A. You are never too old to learn something new.

      B. Englishtown is a good place to visit.

      C. The courses are good on Englishtown.

      D. Studying English is not boring at all.

阅读理解

Are you learning English and do you need help with grammar? Do you want to learn new vocabulary or slang (俚语)? Well, you can find help online with these top 5 free English as a Second Language websites.

1. Dave’s ESL Cafe

This is a complete website that can help you learn and practice English. You can read many stories and do a lot of exercises to test yourself. You can also post questions and answers onto the help center.

2. About.com

You can get free English courses from About.com and you’ll get regular e-mails that will help you learn English.

3. The Classroom by Voice of America

You can watch videos and listen to news stories to improve your listening and vocabulary skills. You can also hear English words and their meanings.

4. Heinle’s Newbury House Dictionary of American English

Do you need to find the definition of a word? Use this online dictionary to find simple and clear definitions, as well as example sentences and idioms (习语). You can also find different cultural facts.

5. Personal English Portal (门户网站) on YouTube

You can watch this series of videos on YouTube to develop your listening skills. You can also do a search for “learn English” on YouTube to find other videos. This is a good way to practice English and have fun.

根据短文内容，选择最佳选项。

(   )1. If you want to do English exercises and test yourself, you can go to 　　　　.

     A. About.com       

       B. YouTube

       C. Dave’s ESL Cafe      

       D. the Classroom by Voice of America 

(   )2. You can 　　　　 at the help center on the website Dave’s ESL Cafe.

       A. watch videos and pictures    

       B. listen to news and music        

       C. watch movies and matches

       D. read questions and answers 

(   )3. About.com often sends e-mails to its visitors to help them 　　　　.

     A. get relaxed  

      B. have fun

       C. become famous

       D. learn English

(   )4. The underlined word “definition” means “　　　　” in Chinese.

    A. 来源        B. 释义          C. 意图        D. 背景

(   )5. From Heinle’s Newbury House Dictionary of American English, you can find 　　　　.

     A. cultural information  

       B. online libraries

     C. interesting news

       D. many storybooks

完形填空

先通读短文，掌握其大意，然后从A、 B、 C、 D四个选项中选出一个可以填入相应空白处的最佳答案，并将其标号填入题前括号内。

Many of you have been “bilingual talents (双语人才)” for years. We are not talking 1 English, but your local dialect (方言) and Putonghua.

Zhang Yaoyi, 14, from Shanghai, is such a talent. “ 2 kindergarten time, I’ve spoken Shanghai dialect at home, but Putonghua in school,” she said.

China encourages the 3 of Putonghua in classrooms. And students find it natural to speak Putonghua even during class breaks.

A 4 in 2011 showed that only 60 percent of Shanghai students could fully understand their local dialect. Many people are 5 . “The local culture is dying if a dialect is no longer 6 ,” said a famous teacher. “The most vivid (生动的) words and expressions are all 7 of dialects,” he added. Zhang Yaoyi 8 it. She finds it strange to use Putonghua for some words.

Some cities have taken action to 9 dialects now. Since 2008, some primary schools in Guangzhou have asked students to speak the Guangdong dialect one day a week. Starting from this year, 20 Shanghai kindergartens encourage children to speak their dialect during breaks.

10 , protecting dialects doesn’t mean saying No to Putonghua. Dialects are just part of a multi-cultural (多元文化的) society.

( )1. A. to B. about C. with D. down

( )2. A. From B. Before C. At D. Since

( )3. A. ability B. life C. use D. death

( )4. A. report B. review C. poem D. decision

( )5. A. surprised B. worried C. pleased D. excited

( )6. A. boring B. difficult C. possible D. popular

( )7. A. born B. talked C. heard D. thought

( )8. A. finds out B. forgets about

C. agrees with D. learns about

( )9. A. provide B. save C. cause D. stop

( )10. A. Also B. Then C. However D. Later

— I wonder if I can learn English well.

       — 　　　　. All things are difficult before they are easy.

         A. I am afraid so                  B. You’re slow

         C. It takes time                   D. It’s a piece of cake

Physics 　　　　 much easier for me since Mrs. Yang began to teach us.

         A. have been                        B. has been

         C. was                              D. were

— I haven’t got a partner 　　　　.

— Maybe you can ask John for help.

A. work with B. to work

C. working with D. to work with

— What did Tina say?

       — Sorry, I didn’t 　　　　 what she said.

      A. pay attention to                 B. get on with  

         C. hold on to                       D. look forward to

When you come across new words in reading, it is not a good idea to 　　　　 in a dictionary at once.

         A. make up them                   B. look up them    

         C. make them up                D. look them up

— Why not listen to BBC news to improve your listening skills?

       — It’s 　　　　 difficult for me 　　　　 follow.

      A. too; to                B. so; that          C. such; that   D. so; too