English is better than ________.

A. any language                       B. any languages

 C. any other language                D. all languages

 English is better than ________.

阅读理解

　　Who taught you to speak English? Your parents, while you were a young child Your teachers at school? Perhaps even the BBC as a grown－up. Whoever it was, somehow you have developed an understanding of what is rapidly becoming a truly global language.

　　There are now about 376 million people who speak English as their first language, and about the same number who have learnt it in addition to their mother tongue. There are said to be one billion people learning English now and about 80% of the information on the Internet is in English.

　　Is this a good thing, or a bad thing? Should we celebrate the fact that more and more of us can communicate, using a common language, across countries and cultures(文化)? Or should we worry about the dangers of “mono－culturalism”, a world in which we all speak the same language, eat the same food and listen to the same music?

　　Does it matter if an increasing number of people speak the same language? On the contrary (相反), I would have thought－although I have never accepted the argument that if only we all understood each other better, there would be fewer wars. Ask the people Of India (where many of them speak at least some English) and Pakistan (the same situation with India)…

　　If we all speak English, will we then all start eating McDonalds burgers? Surely not. If English becomes more dominant(占主导地位的), it will kill other languages? I doubt it. When I travel in Africa or Asia, I am always surprised by how many people can speak not only their own language but often one or more other related languages, as well as English and perhaps some French or German as well.

　　When we discussed this on Talking Point a couple of years ago, we received a wonderfully poetic e－mail from a listener in Ireland. “The English language is a beautiful language. Maybe it's like a rose,” he said. “But who would ever want their garden just full of roses?”

　　Well, I love roses, and I think they make a beautiful addition to any garden. But the way I see it, just by planting a few roses, you don't necessarily need to pull out everything else. If more and more people want to plant English roses, that's fine by me.

1．By saying “Ask the people of India… and Pakistan” (in Paragraph 4), the author is trying to show that ________.

[　　]

A．speaking the same language doesn't necessarily bring peace

B．wars can destroy the relationship between two countries

C．English doesn't kill other languages

D．English is widely used in the world

2．What does “garden” in the last two paragraphs stand for?

[　　]

3．The author would probably agree that ________.

[　　]

A．it's very hard to plant many kinds of flowers in a garden

B．it's good for people from other countries to learn English

C．more and more people like to plant roses in their gardens

D．English is easier to learn than other languages

4．This passage is mainly about ________.

[　　]

A．why English has become a global language

B．how many people in the world speak English

C．how people in the world learn English as a foreign language

D．whether we need to worry about English being a world language

People often use gestures to express our feelings, but the problem is that the gestures can be understood in different ways.
It is true that a smile means the same thing in any language.  So does laughter or crying.  Fear is another emotion(情感) that is shown in much the same way all over the world.  In Chinese and in English literature, a phrase like “he went pale and began to tremble” suggests that the man is either very afraid or he has just got a very big shock. 
However, “he opened his eyes wide” is used to suggest anger in Chinese whereas in English it means surprise. In Chinese, surprise can be described in a phrase like “they stretched out their tongues!” “Stretching out your tongue” in English is an insulting(侮辱的, 无礼的)gesture or expresses strong dislike.
Even in the same culture, people differ in their ability to understand and express feelings.  Experiments in America have shown that women are usually better than men at recognizing fear,  anger,  love and happiness on people’s faces. Other studies show that older people usually find it easier to understand body language than younger people do.
【小题1】Which of the following is TRUE according to the text? 

People often use gestures to express our feelings, but the problem is that the gestures can be understood in different ways.
It is true that a smile means the same thing in any language.  So does laughter or crying.  Fear is another emotion(情感) that is shown in much the same way all over the world.  In Chinese and in English literature, a phrase like “he went pale and began to tremble” suggests that the man is either very afraid or he has just got a very big shock. 
However, “he opened his eyes wide” is used to suggest anger in Chinese whereas in English it means surprise. In Chinese, surprise can be described in a phrase like “they stretched out their tongues!” “Stretching out your tongue” in English is an insulting(侮辱的, 无礼的)gesture or expresses strong dislike.
Even in the same culture, people differ in their ability to understand and express feelings.  Experiments in America have shown that women are usually better than men at recognizing fear,  anger,  love and happiness on people’s faces. Other studies show that older people usually find it easier to understand body language than younger people do.

1. 1.

   Which of the following is TRUE according to the text? 

   1. A.
      We can easily understand what people’s gestures mean.
   2. B.
      It is difficult to tell what people’s gestures really mean sometimes.
   3. C.
      Gestures can be understood by most people but words are not.
   4. D.
      Words can be better understood by older people.
2. 2.

   People’s facial expressions may be misunderstood in different cultures because ______ .

   1. A.
      people from different cultures have different meanings about some facial expressions
   2. B.
      people speaking different languages have different facial expressions
   3. C.
      people of different ages may have different interpretations (解释)
   4. D.
      people of different sexes may understand a gesture differently
3. 3.

   From the passage,  we can conclude(得出结论) that ______ .

   1. A.
      words are often more difficult to understand than gestures
   2. B.
      gestures can be more effectively used than words to express feelings
   3. C.
      gestures can be used to express feelings
   4. D.
      gestures are used as frequently as words to express feelings
4. 4.

   The best title for this passage can be ______ .

   1. A.
      Gestures
   2. B.
      Feelings
   3. C.
      Culture and Understanding
   4. D.
      Gestures and Feelings