A rabbit is running into its hole. You may ask, “What happened?”
Well, when a rabbit sees something dangerous, it runs away. Its tail moves up and down as it runs. When other rabbits see this tail moving up and down, they run too. They know that there is danger. The rabbit has told them something without making a sound. It has given them a signal.
Many other animals use this kind of language. When a bee found some food, it goes back to his home. It cannot tell the other bees where the food is by speaking to them, but it does a little dance in the air. This tells the bees where the food is.
Some animals say things by making sounds. A dog barks, for example, when a stranger
comes near. A cat purrs (发出呼噜呼噜的声音)when pleased. Some birds make several different sounds, each with its own meaning.
But human beings have something that no animals have –-- a large number of words about things, actions, feelings or ideas. We are able to give each other information, to tell or inform other people what is in our mind or how we feel. By writing words down we can remind ourselves of the things what have happened, or send messages to people far away. No animals can do this. No animals has the wonderful power of language.
No one knows how man learned to make words. Somehow he learned to make them. As centuries went by, he made more and more new words. This is what we mean by language.  People living in different countries made different kinds of words. Today there are about fifteen hundred different languages in the world. A very large English dictionary, for example,  contains four or five hundred thousand words. But we do not know all these. The words we know are called vocabulary. We should try to make our vocabulary larger. Read as many books as possible. When we meet a new word, look it up in the dictionary. A dictionary is the Most useful book.
【小题1】 When a rabbit gives the other rabbits a signal of danger, it _______.

No one knows how man learned to make words. Perhaps he began by making sounds like those made by animals. Perhaps he grunted like a pig when he lifted something heavy. Perhaps he made sounds like those he heard all round him—water splashing, bees humming, a stone falling to the ground. Somehow he learned to make words. As the centuries went by, he made more and more new words. This is what we mean by language.

People living in different countries made different kinds of words. Today there are about fifteen hundred different languages in the world. Each contains four or five hundred thousand words. But we do not need all these. Only a few thousand words are used in everyday life. The words you know are called your vocabulary. You should try to make your vocabulary larger. Read as many books as you can. There are plenty of books written in easy language. Your dictionary is your most useful book.

1. What do we mean by language?

A. Sounds made by man.???????

B. All the words made by man.

C. Different kinds of sound.?????

D. The way man learns.

2. Form the passage we know that long long ago________.

A. no one learned how to make sounds or words

B. animals taught man to learn the language

C. man learned the language by lifting heavy things, falling to the ground,and so on

D. man followed a lot of things in nature to make sounds and words

3. What is the number of languages spoken in the world today?

A. 500. ????????????? ????????????? B. 5,000.????????????? ????????????? C. 1,500.????????????? ????????????? D. 15,000.

4.In which sentence can the word "contain(s)" be put so that it is a right one?

A. I________ several dictionaries. ????????????? B. Sea water________ salt.

C. A dog _______ four legs.????? ????????????? D. Mr. Smith _____ glasses on his nose.

5. Which of the followings is the best if we want to make our vocabulary larger?

A. To read more books.????????????? ????????????? ???

B. To use the words in everyday life.

C. To use the words in class.????? ?????????????

D. To write the words.

亲爱的同学们，自从你踏进中学以来，学校的巨变是否让你耳目一新？请以My New School为题，写出你所看到的新学校。字数为80字左右（8-10句）。

要点：

1、我们学校是一所老学校。

2、我们的学校不大，有一个足球场，一个篮球场，两座大楼。大楼里有34间教室、一个电脑室、一个图书室、五个教师办公室。还有一个餐厅。

3、我们学校很美，有树、有花，还有草。

4、我们学校的学生好，讲礼貌又乐于助人。

5、我爱我的学校。

My  New  School

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