Students who say they never or hardly ever used dictionaries often speak English well but usually write poorly, because they make many mistakes.

The students who use dictionaries most do not learn especially well either. The ones who look up every new word do not read fast. Therefore they do not have time to read much. Those who use small two-language dictionaries have the worst problems. Their dictionaries often give only one or two words as translations of English. But one English word often has many translations in a foreign language and one foreign word has many translations in English.

The most successful students are those who use large college edition dictionaries with about 100,000 words but do not use them too often. When they are reading, these students first try to get the general idea and understand new words from the context. Then they reread and use the dictionary to look up only key words that they still do not understand. They use dictionaries more for writing. If they are not sure how to spell a word, or divide it into syllables, they always use a dictionary. Also, if they think a noun might have an unusual plural form, they check these in a dictionary.

The writer thinks that        .

  A. choose a good dictionary, and you’ll be successful in learning English

B. dictionaries are not necessary to the students who learn English.

C. it is very important for students to use good dictionaries properly

D. using dictionaries very often can’t help to improve writing

According to the passage, which of the following is wrong?

A. Dictionaries have little effect on learning to speak English.

B. Whatever new words you meet while reading, never use dictionaries.

C. Small two-language dictionaries have serious disadvantages.

D. Reading something for the first time, you’d better not use dictionaries.

This passage mainly tells us 　　　　　　．       .

A. that students shouldn’t use small two-language dictionaries

B. what were the defects of small two-language dictionaries

C. why students should use large college edition dictionaries

D. what dictionary students should choose and how to use it

Which is not mentioned in this passage?

A. How to make good use of a dictionary.

B. When to use a dictionary.

C. How to improve spoken English.

D. How to practise reading fast.

短文改错

The rise of multinational corporations （跨国公司）, global marketing, new communications technologies, and shrinking cultural differences have led to an unparalleled increase in global public relations or PR．
　　Surprisingly, since modern PR was largely an American invention, America’s relations is being threatened by PR efforts in other countries. Ten years ago, for example, the world’s top five public relations agencies were American-owned． In 1991, only one was． The British in particular are becoming more sophisticated and creative． A recent survey found that more than half of all British companies include PR as part of their corporate （公司的） planning activities, compared to about one-third of U.S. companies．It may not be long before London replaces New York as the capital of PR．
　　Why is America lagging behind in the global PR race? Firstly, Americans as a whole tend to be fairly provincial and take more of an interest in local affairs． Knowledge of world geography, for example, has never been strong in this country． Secondly, Americans lag behind their European and Asian counterparts （相对应的人） in knowing a second language． Less than 5 percent of Burson—Marshall’s U．S．employees know two languages． Ogilvy and Mather have about the same percentage． Conversely, some European firms have half or more of their employees fluent in a second language． Finally, people involved in PR abroad tend to keep a closer eye on international affairs． In the financial PR area, for instance, most Americans read the Wall Street Journal． Overseas, their counterparts read the Journal as well as the Financial Times of London and The Economist, publications not often read in this country．
Perhaps the PR industry might take a lesson from Ted Turner of CNN （Cable News Network）． Turner recently announced that the word “foreign” would no longer be used on CNN news
broadcasts. According to Turner, global communications have made the nations of the world so interdependent that there is no longer any such thing as foreign．
【小题1】Compared with the American PR personnel, what is/are an advantage (s) of the non-Americans involved in PR?
A． They tend to be more internationally minded
B． They speak more and better foreign languages．
C． They usually pay more attention to global financial situation．
D． Both A and B．
【小题2】What is the immediate cause of the downfall of America’s public relations?

A．The number of US public relations agencies had greatly decreased by 1991．

B．Other countries have increased their efforts in public relations．

C．On the global scale, cultural differences have significantly shrunk．

D．The British companies are becoming especially sophisticated and creative in public relations．

【小题3】It could be inferred that the author of the passage is______．

A．an American

B．a Briton

C．Ted Turner

D．an Asian

【小题4】The underlined word “provincial” in paragraph 3 could possibly mean “      ”．

A．strict in thinking	B．like people from rural areas
C．limited in outlook	D．interested in geographical knowledge

BTB BUS COMPANY

The BTB BUS Company serves all parts of the city, and also provides an extensive service to nearby towns and villages.

BTB CITY BUSES are usually orange, and operate from 06∶30. There are four kinds of tickets you can use:

Tourist Ranger is the ideal(理想的) ticket for tourists and visitors to the city. The tickets are valid(有效的) for 2, 3 or 5 days, and can be used on all city buses. They cost ￡4, ￡5.5 and ￡7.50.

Monthly Season — Going to work by bus? This is the one for you! For only ￡26.5 you have the freedom of the city for a whole calendar month.

Bus Card — lasts for one day. For ￡2.50 you can travel anywhere on the bus system for one day — but you must clip your card in the machine every time you board a bus.

Single Journey — 50p, valid for just one journey. Clip the ticket when you get on the bus. Books of ten tickets also available(可获得的).

　　These tickets are only valid on BTB City Buses. They are available from post offices, tobacconists and BTB offices. TICKETS CANNOT BE PURCHASED ON THE BUSES.

BTB COUNTRY BUSES (which are usually blue) serve the towns of Conby, Rashville and Grill as well as numerous villages in the area. Services run from 07∶00 to 21∶30.

Tickets are bought on the bus. The minimum fare is 75p, increasing with distance. Buses depart from the main railway station and Coshley Square.

　　A MAP of the routes for both City and Country buses can be obtained (price 20p) from the BTB offices at the main railway station or 27 Part Square. Timetables for both services can be found at the bus stop.

9. If you are staying in the city for two days and want to see the city as much as possible, which ticket is the best for you?

A. Tourist Ranger.                              B. Monthly Season.

C. Bus Card.                                      D. Single Journey.

10.Which of the following statements is not true?

A. Bus Card is the best ticket if you want to show your friend around on a Saturday.

B. Tickets for the BTB blue buses can be purchased on the buses.

C. You can buy tickets for the orange BTB buses from post offices, tobacconists, BTB offices or on the buses.

D. The four kinds of tickets are valid on BTB orange buses.

11.To catch a bus to Rashville, you should probably go to______.

A. the towns of Conby          B. Coshley Square         C. Grill          D. BTB offices

Q:

I’d like to know about fluency．What can I do to feel better when I’m talking to other people? Do you have some ways to learn it faster? Please help me!　　　—Roberto in Brazil

A:

Roberto wants to know how to become more fluent in English, and this is something you want to be able to do “fast”．

First, if you get to meet English speakers much, the important rule is to listen not just to native speakers of English, but also to very good users of English．If you don’t, then listen to the radio, TV or films in English．

The next step is to notice what it is that speakers of English do, which makes them sound fluent．The first trick(诀窍) is to probably have confidence．Some people think they might make mistakes．Don’t worry about that．Your listeners will usually try hard to understand you — a few grammar mistakes aren’t going to worry them．

What you do need to worry about is pronunciation, especially stress(重音)．When you learn a new word or expression, learn it with its stress．Notice how a native speaker says it or look it up in a dictionary．

Another good thing that speakers of English do is to have a few tricks up their sleeves(袖子) for when they need to give themselves thinking time．Sometimes they use “filler sounds” like er, um and so on．

It is also useful to know how to bring other speakers into your conversation so that you keep them interested － and this is often done by asking questions like “What do you think?” “How do you feel about this?” and so on．

So, to become a fluent speaker, you’ll need to put into practice all these kinds of things．And there’s the key: practise, practise, practise．　　　　　　　　　　　　　－Susan Fearn

56．Susan first encourages English learners to       ．

A．meet English speakers     B．listen to very good speakers

C．talk to English speakers   D．buy a radio or a TV set

57．When mentioning pronunciation, Susan pays special attention to    ．

A．stress B．expressions      C．dictionaries      D．words

58．What do the underlined words “to have a few tricks up their sleeves” probably mean?

A．To wear a lot of clothes．                   

B．To have a secret plan or idea．

C．To hide some tricks into their sleeves． 

D．To have sleeves covering their whole arms．

59．What do we know from the passage?

A．One can only learn stress from dictionaries．

B．Grammar mistakes worry one’s listeners a lot．

C．Asking questions can make one’s conversation attractive．

D．One can become fluent if one practises one of the suggestions．