In my opinion, what he told us just now about the affair simply doesn’t make any_______.

A. idea        B. Meaning    C. sense       D. point

Children’s brains can’t develop properly_______ they lack protein(蛋白质).

 A. when  B. since  C. because  D. unless

_______ different life today is ________ what it was 30 years ago.

 A. How; from  B. What a; from  C. What; from  D. How; with

Every object tells a story. Even the most ordinary objects can present to us powerful images. Sometimes it is the ordinary nature of these objects that actually makes them so extraordinary. Such is the case with an old leather shoe in a museum in Alaska. At first glance it does not look like much. It is a woman’s shoe of a style popular in the 1890s. But what is unique(独特的) about this shoe is where it was found. It was discovered on the Checkout Pass, the famous trail used by the people seeking gold in Alaska. Who it belonged to or why it was left there is not known. Was it perhaps dropped by accident as the woman climbed up the 1500 stairs carved outface? Or did she throw away goods that she didn’t need in order to travel lighter?

Over 100, 000 people with “gold fever” made this trip hoping to become millionaires. Few of them understood that on their way they would have to cross a harsh wildness. Unprepared for such a dangerous journey, many died of starvation and exposure to the cold weather.

The Canadian government finally started requiring the gold seekers to bring one ton of supplies with them. This was thought to be enough for a person to survive for one year. They would carry their supplies in backpacks(背包) each weighing up to fifty pounds; it usually took at least 40 trips to get everything to the top and over the pass. Whoever dropped the shoe must have been a brave and determined woman. Perhaps she was successful and made it to Alaska. Perhaps she had to turn back in defeat. No one will ever know for sure, but what we do know is that she took part in one of the greatest adventures in the 19th century.

1. The ordinary woman’s leather shoe is considered unusual because _______. 

A. it was an important clue to life in the past B. it was found on a famous trail

C. it at one time belonged to a VIP             D. it was a fashionable shoe at that time

2. According to this passage, many people who went to Alaska _______. 

A. eventually became millionaires              B. brought with them many shoes

C. had conflicts with the Eskimos               D. were not properly equipped

3. The Canadian government made gold seekers bring one year’s supplies with them so that _______.

A. they would not die of hunger and cold

B. the army would have enough food for fighting a war

C. they would change these goods with the Eskimos

D. the supplies would make Alaska rich

4. No matter what happened to the woman who owned the shoe, _______. 

A. she must have lived a happy life

B. she certainly dropped the shoe on purpose

C. her adventurous spirit is definitely admired

D. her other shoes were equally fashionable

Language learning begins with listening. Children are greatly different in the amount of listening they do before they start speaking, and later starters are often long listeners. Most children will “obey” spoken instructions some time before they can speak, though the word “obey” is hardly accurate as a description of the eager and delighted cooperation usually shown by the children. Before they can speak, many children will also ask questions by gesture and by making questioning noises.

Any attempt to study the development from the noises babies make to their first spoken words leads to considerable difficulties. It is agreed that they enjoy making noises, and that during the first few months one or two noises sort themselves as particularly expressive as delight, pain, friendliness, and so on. But since these can’t be said to show the baby’s intention to communicate, they can hardly be regarded as early forms of language. It is agreed, too, that from about three months they play with sounds for enjoyment, and that by six months they are able to add new words to their store. This self-imitation(模仿) leads on to deliberate(有意的) imitation of sounds made or words spoken to them by other people. The problem then arises as to the point at which one can say that these imitations can be considered as speech.

It is a problem we need to get our teeth into. The meaning of a word depends on what a particular person means by it in a particular situation; and it is clear that what a child means by a word will change as he gains more experience of the world. Thus the use, at seven months, of “mama” as a greeting for his mother cannot be dismissed as a meaning-less sound simply because he also uses it at another time for his father, his dog, or anything else he likes. Playful and meaningless imitation of what other people say continues after the child has begun to speak for himself. I doubt, however, whether anything is gained when parents take advantage of this ability in an attempt to teach new sounds.

1. Before children start speaking _______.

A. they need equal amount of listening

B. they need different amounts of listening

C. they are all eager to cooperate with the adults by obey spoken instructions

D. they can’t understand and obey the adult’s oral instructions

2. Children who start speaking late _______.

A. may have problems with their listening

B. probably do not hear enough language spoken around them

C. usually pay close attention to what they hear

D. often take a long time in learning to listen properly

3. A baby’s first noises are _______.

A. an expression of his moods and feelings

B. an early form of language

C. a sign that he means to tell you something

D. an imitation of the speech of adults

4. The problem of deciding at what point a baby’ imitations can be considered as speech _______.

A. is important because words have different meanings for different people

B. is not especially important because the changeover takes place gradually

C. is one that should be properly understood because the meaning of words changes with age

D. is one that should be completely ignored(忽略) because children’s use of words is of-ten meaningless

5. The speaker implies _______.

A. parents can never hope to teach their children new sounds

B. children no longer imitate people after they begin to speak

C. children who are good at imitating learn new words more quickly

D. even after they have learnt to speak, children still enjoy imitating

I wonder why he hasn't __ any of my letters for such a long time.

A. replied   B. replied to   C. answer for   D.asked

I _____ in New York for two years, but I’ve never regretted my final decision to move back to China.

A. was working   B. have worked   C. worked     D. had worked

—Hi, Terry, can I use your computer for a while this afternoon?

—Sorry.________

A. It’s repaired                        B. It has been repaired

C. It's being repaired                    D. It had been repaired

—Have you known Dr. Jackson for a long time?

—Yes, since she________ the Chinese Society.

A. has joined          B. joins                         C. had joined                 D. joined

To face the music

Like every language, American English is full of special expressions, phrases that come from the day-to-day life of the people and develop in their own way. Our expression today is “to face the music”.

When someone says, “well, I guess I’ll have to face the music,” it does not mean he’s planning to go to the concert. It is something far less pleasant, like being called in by your boss to explain why you did this and did that, and why you didn’t do this or that. Sour music indeed, but it has to be faced. At sometime or another, every one of us has had to face the music, especially as children. We can all remember father’s angry voice, “I want to talk to you.” and only because we did not obey him. What an unpleasant business it was!

The phrase “to face the music” is familiar to every American, young and old. It is at least 100 years old. And where did this expression come from? The first explanation comes from the American novelist, James Fenimore Looper. He said, in 1851, that the expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings to go on the stage. When they got their cue to go on, they often said, “Well, it’s time to face the music.” And that was exactly what they did — facing the orchestra which was just below them. And an actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved on to the stage in front of an audience that might be friendly or perhaps hostile, especially if he forgot his lines. But he had to go out. If he did not, there would be no play. So the expression “to face the music” come to mean “having to go through something, no matter how unpleasant the experience might be, because you knew you had no choice.”

Other explanations about the expression go back to the army. When the men faced an inspection by their leader, the soldiers would be worried about how well they looked. Was their equipment clean, shinny enough to pass the inspection? Still the men had to go out and face the music of the band as well as the inspection. What else could they do? 

Another army explanation is more closely related to the idea of facing the results and accepting the responsibility for something that should not have been done. As, for example when a man is forced out of the army because he did something terrible, he is dishonored. The band does not play. Only the drums tap a sad, slow beat. The soldier is forced to leave, facing such music as it is and facing the back of his horse.

1. How many ways does the phrase “to face the music” comes from?

A. 1        B. 2        C. 3       D. 4

2. What’s the meaning of “to face the music?”

A. To face something far less pleasant.

B. To face the stage.

C. To face the back of one’s horse.

D. To face one’s leader.

3. Which of the following is a situation of facing the music?

A. When we are playing basketball.  

B. When we are making a speech.

C. When we are having a party.

D. When we are talking with somebody. 

4. The underlined word “hostile” means _______. 

A. unfriendly               B. dislike        C. unkind                     D. unnecessary