Water, it’s a problem for the whole world. A bottle (瓶) of water may not seem like much to us, 21　 it can help the people who live in drought-hit (遭受旱灾的) areas in China.
　　In the past few months, many places in southwest China have 22　 a serious drought. There has been very little 23 since last autumn. More than 20 million people are 24　 trouble finding safe drinking water.
　　After learning about the drought, many people around the country helped by 25　 away water, money and other resources (资源) to the people there.
　　Last week, the Young Pioneers and the Communist Youth League in China called on (号召) each student to give one bottle of water to the drought-hit area. In Xi’an, 900 students bought over 1000 bottles of water　　　 26　　 their pocket money. They also wrote their 27　 on the bottles. “I hope you get more rain there. I hope you are happy.”
　　A bottle of water isn’t much, but thousands of bottles will be very 28　 . The serious drought has also made students 29　 the importance of saving water. One student said, “I have decided to take a shower twice a week 30　 every day to save water.”
( )21. A. unless　　 B. and　　　　 C. but　 D. because
( )22. A. bought　　 B. experienced　 C. studied　 D. missed
( )23. A. rain　　　 B. wind　　 C. snow　　 D. sunshine
( )24. A. causing　 B. making　 C. having　 D. bringing
( )25. A. drinking　 B. giving　 C. getting　 D. collecting
( )26. A. By　 B. in　 C. for　 D. With

( )27. A. plans　 B. notes　 C. wishes　 D. dates
( )28. A. relaxing　 B. beautiful　 C. boring　 D. helpful

( )29. A. think　 B. realize　 C. miss　 D. regard
( )30. A. instead　 B. instead of　 C. except　 D. because of

My teachers suggested that I see a speech specialist (专家) in school.
I never really gave much thought to my speech. If other people understood what I was saying, then that was good enough. I didn’t mind repeating myself many times.
Before testing me, the speech specialist asked me what I thought of having good speech. I told her I thought it was not important.
“Well, when you are in an interview for a job, and they don’t know what you are saying, what are they going to say to you? Nice meeting you, bye,” she said.
Maybe good speech was important. I took part in 20-minute classes each week with the specialist.
After she tested me, she told me that I spoke too fast, and didn’t give enough eye contact (眼神交流). I learned that when I made eye contact with someone, it meant that I was talking to that person, and I could also see what he or she thought about what I was saying.
When my first speech class started, I found that I had been speaking too fast to be understood. Every time I spoke too fast, the specialist stopped me and told me to start again. At first, I got stopped after almost every other sentence. After a while, I felt my speech slow down. I wasn’t sure if people could understand me better, but my friends stopped asking me to repeat myself.
Speech is an important skill to have. If you do have good speech, that’s a good thing, but if you don’t have it, it is never too late to improve.
【小题1】The article is probably taken from       .

My teachers suggested that I see a speech specialist (专家) in school.
I never really gave much thought to my speech. If other people understood what I was saying, then that was good enough. I didn’t mind repeating myself many times.
Before testing me, the speech specialist asked me what I thought of having good speech. I told her I thought it was not important.
“Well, when you are in an interview for a job, and they don’t know what you are saying, what are they going to say to you? Nice meeting you, bye,” she said.
Maybe good speech was important. I took part in 20-minute classes each week with the specialist.
After she tested me, she told me that I spoke too fast, and didn’t give enough eye contact (眼神交流). I learned that when I made eye contact with someone, it meant that I was talking to that person, and I could also see what he or she thought about what I was saying.
When my first speech class started, I found that I had been speaking too fast to be understood. Every time I spoke too fast, the specialist stopped me and told me to start again. At first, I got stopped after almost every other sentence. After a while, I felt my speech slow down. I wasn’t sure if people could understand me better, but my friends stopped asking me to repeat myself.
Speech is an important skill to have. If you do have good speech, that’s a good thing, but if you don’t have it, it is never too late to improve

1. 1.

   The article is probably taken from       

   1. A.
      a newspaper
   2. B.
      an advertisement
   3. C.
      a detective story
   4. D.
      a science book
2. 2.

   What did the writer think of having good speech before the classes?

   1. A.
      It was very useful
   2. B.
      It was nothing important
   3. C.
      It was impossible
   4. D.
      It was good for interviewing
3. 3.

   What were the writer’s problems when he was speaking?
   a. He spoke too quickly.
   b. He never stopped once he started talking.
   c. He seldom kept eye contact with people.
   d. He didn’t give others time to ask questions

   1. A.
      a, b
   2. B.
      b, c
   3. C.
      a, c
   4. D.
      b, d
4. 4.

   From the sentence “but my friends stopped asking me to repeat myself,” we know that _____

   1. A.
      the writer’s friends couldn’t understand him
   2. B.
      the writer still couldn’t make eye contact
   3. C.
      the writer improved a lot
   4. D.
      the writer didn’t slow down
5. 5.

   Through the passage, the writer wants to tell us that _____

   1. A.
      seeing a speech specialist is necessary
   2. B.
      speech is an important skill to have
   3. C.
      good speech can help you make friends
   4. D.
      good speech gets good affect