Switzerland is the best place to be born in the world in 2013，and the US is just 16th. A new study made by the Economist Intelligence Unit says American babies will have a dimmer（暗淡）future than those born in Hong Kong，Ireland and even Canada. The EIU，a sister company of The Economist，tried to measure how well countries will provide the best opportunities for a healthy，safe and prosperous life in years to come.

　 People born in Switzerland will tend to be the happiest and have the best quality of life in terms of wealth，health and trust in public institutions，according to the analysis. The Scandinavian countries of Norway，Sweden and Denmark also all make the top five in a‘quality-of-lif e’index(指数）where it is best to be born next year.

　 One of the most important factors is being rich，but other factors come into play including crime，trust in public institutions and the health of family life. In total，the index takes into account 11 factors. These include fixed factors such as geography，others that change slowly over time such as demography (人口学) social and cultural characteristics, and the state of the world economy. The index also looks at income per head in 2030，which is roughly when children born in 2013 will reach adulthood. Small economies take up the top 10 countries，with

Australia coming second and New Zealand and the Netherlands not too far behind.

　 Half of the top 10 countries are European，but only one，the Netherlands，is from the eurozone. The crisis-ridden south of Europe，including Greece，Portugal and Spain，falls behind despite the advantage of a favourable climate. Interestingly，the largest European economies-Germany，France and Britain-do not do particularly well. Nigeria has the unenviable(不值得羡慕的)title of being the worst country for a baby to enter the world in 2013.

56．According to the passage，the happiest people live in　　　 ·

　 A. Denmark B. Switzerland C. Germany D. Nigeria

57．The factors of telling the best place to be born don’t include　　　 ．

　 A. economy B. geography

　 C. trust in public institutions D. pollution

58．Which of the following is TRUE according to the text？

　 A. The Economist Intelligence Unit is a company.

　 B. The Economist attempted to measure the best place to live.

　 C. The Scandinavian countries are hardly at the top of the list.

　 D. Half of the top 10 countries are from the eurozone.

59．The purpose of the text is to show people　　　 ．

　 A. the best place to be born in 2013

　 B. a new study made by the EIU

　 C. the worst country to be born in 2013

　 D. the factors of measuring the best place to be born

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

In ancient times the most important examinations were spoken, not 　 1　 . In the 　 2　 of ancient Greece and Rome, testing usually　　3 　 saying poetry aloud or giving speeches.

In the European universities of the Middle Ages, students who were 　 4　 for advanced degrees had to　　5　 questions in their field of study with people who had made a special study of the subject. This　 6　 exists today as part of the process of,　　7 　 candidates (应试者) for the doctor's degree.

Generally,　　8　 , modern examinations are written. The written examination,　　9　 all students are tested on the same questions, was probably　　10　 until the nineteenth century. Perhaps it came into existence with the great 　 11　 in population and the development of modern industry. A room full of candidates for a state examination,　 12 　 exactly by electric clocks and carefully watched over by managers, is similar to a group of　 13　 at an automobile factory. Certainly, during examinations teachers and students are　 14　 to act like machines.

One type of test is sometimes　　15　 an "objective test". It is intended to deal with facts, not　　16　 opinions. To　 17 　 an objective test the teacher writes a series of questions, each of which has　　18　 one correct answer. Along with each question the teacher writes the correct answer and also three statements that　　19　 answers to students who have not learned the material　　20　 .

1. A. writing B. speaking C. written D. listening

2. A. governments B. schools C. homes D. offices

3. A. considered B. enjoyed C. suggested D. included

4. A. working B. teaching C. looking D. waiting

5. A. raise B. answer C. talk D. discuss

6. A. work B. university C. custom D. question

7. A. asking B. producing C. testing D. hiring

8. A. but B. however C. though D. still

9. A. where B. that C. when D. which

10. A. known B. not known C. worked out D. not worked out

11. A. progress B. development C. decrease D. increase

12. A. timed B. measured C. controlled D. required

13. A. machines B. cars C. workers D. students

14. A. willing B. expected C. hoped D. imagined

15. A. made B. given C. treated D. called

16. A. own B. social C. personal D. true

17. A. make sure B. make out C. make use of D. make up

18. A. nearly B. at least C. only D. more than

19. A. are B. look like C. give D. look as if

20. A. properly B. happy C. ago D. easily

　The Fourth "21th Century Cup" National English Speaking Competition is to be held in Shanghai.

　　Organizers: China Daily and Shanghai Broadcasting Network.

　　Co-ordinater: China University English Speaking Association （CUESA）.

　　Co-sponsors （联办单位）: English Speaking Union （ESU）, Lotus Software （China）Co. Ltd. , Times Publishing Group of Singapore, Hilton Shanghai, Pearson Education, Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press.

　　Date: March 26 （ Friday）, 1999.

　　Place: Hilton Shanghai.

　　Competition Format （形式） : Each student will present a prepared speech on the given topic, followed by a three -minute off - hand speech and a three - minute question and answer period with the judges.

　　Prepared speech period: six minutes.

　　Q & A period: three minutes.

　　Speech topic: People and Nature: In search of harmony （和谐）in a new age ＋ your personal opinion. （Topice for the off hand speech will be given on the day of competition）.

　　Prizes: Besides books and certificates （证书）, the top two winners will be offered scholarships（奖学金） to travel to the annual international English -speaking competition which will be held by the English Speaking Union in London in May, 1999. The third and fourth place winners will be offered a study trip to Singapore, sponsored by the Times Publishing Group. The fifth through 10th place winners will be offered cash prizes. All the competitors will receive certificates from the English Speaking Union and book prizes provided by Pearson Education and Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press. The teachers of the top winners will also receive a one - year membership to the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language（IATEFL）

　The main purpose of this passage is ________.

　　A. to invite you to take part in the competition

　　B. to tell you some information of the competition

　　C. to help to improve your spoken English

　　D. to show you how to win the competition

　　Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the Shanghai English Speaking Competition?________.

　　A. Where and when it will take place.

　　B. Its program.

　　C. What each winner will be offered.

　　D. The number of its competitors.

　　Suppose you get the sixth place, you'll________ .

　　A. travel to London for free.

　　B. become a one - year member of IATEFL

　　C. get some money , some books and a certificate

　　D. get a chance to study in Singapore

　An "off- hand speech"is________.

　　A. a speech not longer than three minutes

　　B. a speech without preparation

　　C. a speech with a piece of paper in hand

　　D. a speech which is well prepared

The Queen’s English is now sounding less upper-class, a scientific study of the Queen’s Christmas broadcasts has found. Researchers have studied each of her messages to the Commonwealth countries since 1952 to find out the change in her pronunciation from the noble Upper Received to the Standard Received.
Jonathan Harrington, a professor at Germany’s University of Munich, wanted to discover whether accent changes recorded over the past half century would take place within one person. “As far as I know, there just is nobody else for whom there is this sort of broadcast records,” he said.
He said the noble way of pronouncing vowels (元音) had gradually lost ground as the noble upper-class accent over the past years. “Her accent sounds slightly less noble than it did 50 years ago. But these are very, very small and slow changes that we don’t notice from year to year.”
“We may be able to relate it to changes in the social classes,” he told The Daily Telegraph, a British newspaper. “In 1952 she would have been heard saying ‘thet men in the bleck het’. Now it would be ‘that man in the black hat’. Similarly, she would have spoken of ‘the citay’ and ‘dutay’, rather than ‘citee’ and ‘dutee’, and ‘hame’ rather than ‘home’. In the 1950s she would have been ‘lorst’, but by the 1970s ‘lost’.”
The Queen’s broadcast is a personal message to the Commonwealth countries. Each  Christmas, the 10-minute broadcast is put on TV at 3 pm in Britain as many families are recovering from their traditional turkey lunch (传统火鸡午餐).
The results were published (发表) in the Journal of Phonetics.
【小题1】What is the text mainly about?

A．The relationship between accents and social classes.

B．The Queen’s Christmas speeches on TV.

C．The changes in a person’s accent.

D．The recent development of the English language.

【小题2】The Queen’s broadcasts were chosen for the study mainly because ______.

A．she has been Queen for many years

B．she has a less upper-class accent now

C．her speeches are familiar to many people

D．her speeches have been recorded for 50 years

【小题3】Which of the following is an example of a less noble accent in English?

A．“dutay”

B．“citee”

C．“hame”

D．“lorst”

【小题4】We may infer from the text that the Journal of Phonetics is a magazine on ______.

A．speech sounds	B．Christmas customs
C．TV broadcasting	D．personal messages