Egypt: Bridging the Gap between School English and Real English
Teaching English in Egypt in general and in my town Damietta in particular, is mainly directed towards helping students to pass their final exams. Unfortunately, most teachers do not adopt a long -term approach that guarantees that their students will be able to use English outside the classroom. So students only concentrate on one skill which is writing. Thus their listening and speaking skills are disabled. What is important to them is to pass the exam which is primarily based on writing .Teachers are not only concentrated with providing their students with questions that are similar to those of the final exam, particularly General Secondary Education Certificate (GSEC) Examination, so students spend most of their time answering typical exam questions.
Most students' scores are high; a lot of students get full marks. However, few students are able to communicate in English because their role plays. As a result, a lot of students complain that they are unable to understand and talk fluently with native speakers of English.
To enable students to communicate freely and spontaneously(自然地) in English, I bring features of real communication into language practice, I always ask students about their own experiences, and suggest groups of students practice what they have learned outside the classroom. This helps lower-achieving students absorb language. Furthermore, role play is a very effective way to improve speaking skills particularly if it is connected to the experience of the students.
【小题1】Who probably write this passage?

Today, roller skating is easy and fun．But a long time ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, the idea of skating didn’t exist. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making musical instruments. In his spare time he liked to play the violin. Joseph

. People called him a dreamer.

One day Merlin received an invitation to attend a fancy dress ball. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand entrance at the party. He had an idea. He thought he would get a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.

Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin.

On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was astonished to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror, breaking to pieces. Nobody forgot Merlin’s grand entrance for a long time!

1.                                                                                                     The text is mainly about ________.

2.          People thought Merlin was a dreamer because he _________.

3.          Merlin put wheels under his shoes in order to ________ .

4.          What is the main point the writer is trying to make in the last paragraph?

5.          The idea of skating______

Mark and his brother Jason both were looking at the shining new computer enviously, Jason was determined not to go against their father's wishes but Mark was more adventurous than his brother. He loved experimenting and his aim was to become a scientist like his father.
“Dad will be really mad if he finds out you've been playing with his new computer.” Jason said, “He told us not to touch it.”
“He won’t find out,” Mark said. “I'll just have a quick look and shut it down.”
Mark had been scolded before for touching his father's equipment. But his curiosity was difficult to control and this new computer really puzzled him.
It was a strange-looking machine — one his dad had brought home from the laboratory where he worked. “It’s an experimental model," his father had explained, “so don’t touch it under any circumstances.” But his father's warning only made Mark more curious. Without any further thought, Mark turned on the power switch. The computer burst into life and seconds later, the screen turned into colors, shifting and changing and then two big white words appeared in the centre of the screen: “SPACE TRANSPORTER.” “Yes!” Mark cried excitedly, “It's a computer game. I knew it! Dad's only been pretending to work. He's really been playing games instead.”A new message appeared on the screen: “
ENTER NAMES
VOYAGER 1:…
VOYAGER 2:…
Mark's fingers flew across the keyboard as he typed in both of their names.
“INPUT ACCEPTED. START TRANSPORT PROGRAM. AUTO-RETRIEVE INITIATED( 自动回收程序已启动).”The screen turned even brighter and a noise suddenly rose in volume. “I think we'd better shut it off, Mark,” Jason yelled, reaching for the power switch. He was really frightened.But his hand never reached the switch. A single beam of dazzling white light burst out of the computer screen, wrapping the boys in its glow(光芒) , until they themselves seemed to be glowing. Then it died down just as suddenly as it had burst into life. And the boys were no longer there. On the screen, the letters changed.
“TRANSPORT SUCCESSFUL. DESTINATION ( 目的地)：MARS.  RETRIEVE DATE: 2025.”
【小题1】Why did Mark touch the computer against his father's warning?

Jack Benny was one of the most famous names in show business.He was born in Chicago，Illinois，on February 14th,1894.His parents，Meyer and Emma Kubelsky，were religious Jews.They had moved to the United States from Eastern Europe.Benny was a quiet boy.For much of the time，his parents were busy working in his father’s store.As a child，Benny learned to play the violin.After finishing his school，he joined the Navy.He continued using his violin to perform for sailors.In one show he was chosen more for his funny jokes than for his skill with the violin.That experience made him believe that his future job was a comedian.

Benny developed a show personality that had all the qualities people dislike.He was known for being so stingy—he refused to spend any money unless forced to do so.On his shows Benny often spoke of his appearance，especially his baby blue eyes.As he grew older，he always claimed to be 39 years old.Benny rarely made jokes that hurt other people.Instead，he would let the other actors on the show tell jokes about him.

In real life，he was very giving and he was a person people liked having as their employer.Benny entered the new media of television in 1950.Five years later，he dropped his radio programme to spend more time developing his television show.At first his appearances on television were rare.By 1960 the Benny Show was a weekly television programme.It continued until 1965.Benny appeared in about twenty films during his life.A few became popular.But most were not.In 1963 Benny returned to Broadway for the first time since 1931.

Benny received many awards during his lifetime.Perhaps the one honour that pleased him most was that his hometown of Waukeegan named a school for him.This was a special honour for a man who had never finished high school.

Benny continued to perform.He died of cancer in 1974.At his funeral his friend Bob Hope said，“Jack Benny was stingy to the end.He gave us only eighty years.”

1.Benny was determined to be a comedian after he ______.

A．left high school

B．joined the Navy

C．performed in a show for the sailors

D．left the Navy for Broadway

2.The underlined word “stingy” in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by “________”．

A．clever? B．mean

C．outgoing? D．hard?working

3. According to the text，on Benny’s shows，he ________.

A．developed a good personality

B．played the violin skillfully

C．often referred to his appearance

D．said funny things that hurt others

4. Which of the following statements is TRUE about Benny?

A．He did a good job in show business.

B．His first appearance on TV was very successful.

C．Most of his films became well?known to Americans.

D．He treated all his awards as nothing.

I ran across an old photo of him the other day, thinking of some old things. He’s been dead for 25 years. His name was Rex.

1_____ was his favorite recreation(娱乐). He had so much 2_____ in the water as any person I have known. You didn’t have to throw a stick in the water to 3_____ him to go in. Of course, he would bring back a stick to you if you 4 _____ throw one in.

That 5 ____ me of that night, 6_____ he brought back a small box that he found somewhere--- how 7_____ nobody ever knew. Since it was Rex, it 8_____ easily have been half  a race. The box wasn’t a god one. It was just a 9______ old piece that somebody 10______. Still it was something he wanted, probably 11_____ there was some difficulty in transportation（运输）. And that he thought could test his courage. We first knew about his achievement when, deep in the night, we 12 _____ him trying to get the box up onto the porch(门 厅). It sounded 13_____ two or three people were trying to tear the house 14 _____. We came downstairs and turned on the 15_____ light. Rex was on the top step trying to pull the thing up, but it had 16_____somehow. And he was just holding his own(坚持着). I suppose he would have held his own 17_____ dawn if we hadn’t helped him. The next day we carried the box miles away and threw it out. If we had thrown it out in a 18____ place, he would have brought it home again, as a small token(象征)of his strength in such matters. 19____, he had been taught to carry heavy wooden objects about and he was 20_____ of his skill.

1.A.Fighting         B. Swimming       C. Barking         D. Running

2.A.fun             B. trouble           C. danger         D. difficulty

3.A.stop            B. make             C. get            D. have

4.A.will             B. do               C. did            D. would

5.A.reminds          B. warns           C. tells            D. suggests

6.A.which           B. while            C. as             D. when

7.A.Far             B. long             C. old            D. heavy

8.A.could           B. can             C. should          D. would

9.A.priceless        B. worthless         C. valuable         D. important

10.A.kept           B. forgot           C. deserted（遗弃） D. remained

11.A.because        B. only if          C. even if           D. in case

12.A.saw           B. heard           C. watched          D. caught

13.A.like           B. that             C. as if             D. at least

14.A.up            B. in              C. away             D. down

15.A.hall           B. kitchen           C. bedroom         D. porch

16.A.rolled         B. stopped           C. caught           D. broken

17.A. at           B. before             C. till              D. during

18.A.distant        B. nearby            C. silent            D. busy

19.A.In all          B. As a result        C. At last           D. After all

A.proud         B. tired             C. ashamed          D. doubtful