It is easier to start to learn a new language than to become good at it. I’ve started to learn many new languages, such as French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Afrikaans (南非荷兰语), and so on. I can’t speak them yet, but I’ve started picking up a few words and phrases that help me when I’m visiting. Most importantly, I’ve had fun doing this.
I’ve started to learn Italian, but I haven’t learned any Italian grammar, and when I visit Italy I’m not able to speak Italian correctly. My aim is just to communicate at a very basic level when I visit a country, to make an effort, and to show appreciation of the language and culture. I’m not trying to talk about politics or explain my views on life. I pick key or useful words and phrases that I want to learn. For example, as a visitor to another country, the key words in a foreign language are the words which will be of the most use to you and which you will use most often. These key words and phrases will vary from visitor to visitor, depending on the purpose of their trip.
It is worth remembering that it is easier to start a task than to finish it, and the same goes for learning a new language. The better you are at it, the slower your rate of progress will be, as you have to learn grammar, words and so on. If you are only trying to learn a few foreign words and phrases, you will make faster progress, have more fun, and won’t have to spend too much time on any given language.

1. 1.

   From the second paragraph, we can infer that ______.

   1. A.
      the writer is good at Italian, although it is rather difficult
   2. B.
      the writer doesn’t like learning Italian because it is no fun
   3. C.
      discussing politics or explaining one’s view requires an advanced language level
   4. D.
      it is great fun to communicate with the local people in another country
2. 2.

   Which of the following does the writer prefer to learn?

   1. A.
      Sentence structure.        
   2. B.
      Important words and phrases.
   3. C.
      Complicated sentences.       
   4. D.
      Grammar.
3. 3.

   You can make faster progress ______.

   1. A.
      if your language level is advanced 
   2. B.
      if you only try to learn some basic words
   3. C.
      once you speak the language well 
   4. D.
      once you have mastered several other languages
4. 4.

   Which of the following would be the best title of this passage?

   1. A.
      Starting Learning a New Language Is Easier than Becoming Good at It
   2. B.
      How to Visit a Foreign Country
   3. C.
      The Importance of Learning a Foreign Language
   4. D.
      Why You Should Learn Several Foreign Languages

第三部分阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，共30分）
(A)
It is easier to start to learn a new language than to become good at it. I’ve started to learn many new languages, such as French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Afrikaans (南非荷兰语), and so on. I can’t speak them yet, but I’ve started picking up a few words and phrases that help me when I’m visiting. Most importantly, I’ve had fun doing this.
I’ve started to learn Italian, but I haven’t learned any Italian grammar, and when I visit Italy I’m not able to speak Italian correctly. My aim is just to communicate at a very basic level when I visit a country, to make an effort, and to show appreciation of the language and culture. I’m not trying to talk about politics or explain my views on life. I pick key or useful words and phrases that I want to learn. For example, as a visitor to another country, the key words in a foreign language are the words which will be of the most use to you and which you will use most often. These key words and phrases will vary from visitor to visitor, depending on the purpose of their trip.
It is worth remembering that it is easier to start a task than to finish it, and the same goes for learning a new language. The better you are at it, the slower your rate of progress will be, as you have to learn grammar, words and so on. If you are only trying to learn a few foreign words and phrases, you will make faster progress, have more fun, and won’t have to spend too much time on any given language.
61. From the second paragraph, we can infer that ______.
A. the writer is good at Italian, although it is rather difficult
B. the writer doesn’t like learning Italian because it is no fun
C. discussing politics or explaining one’s view requires an advanced language level
D. it is great fun to communicate with the local people in another country
62. Which of the following does the writer prefer to learn?
A. Sentence structure.        B. Important words and phrases.
C. Complicated sentences.        D. Grammar.
63. You can make faster progress ______.
A. if your language level is advanced  B. if you only try to learn some basic words
C. once you speak the language well 
D. once you have mastered several other languages
64. Which of the following would be the best title of this passage?
A. Starting Learning a New Language Is Easier than Becoming Good at It
B. How to Visit a Foreign Country
C. The Importance of Learning a Foreign Language
D. Why You Should Learn Several Foreign Languages

第三部分 阅读理解 （共15小题；每小题2分，共30分）

(A)

It is easier to start to learn a new language than to become good at it. I’ve started to learn many new languages, such as French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Afrikaans (南非荷兰语), and so on. I can’t speak them yet, but I’ve started picking up a few words and phrases that help me when I’m visiting. Most importantly, I’ve had fun doing this.

I’ve started to learn Italian, but I haven’t learned any Italian grammar, and when I visit Italy I’m not able to speak Italian correctly. My aim is just to communicate at a very basic level when I visit a country, to make an effort, and to show appreciation of the language and culture. I’m not trying to talk about politics or explain my views on life. I pick key or useful words and phrases that I want to learn. For example, as a visitor to another country, the key words in a foreign language are the words which will be of the most use to you and which you will use most often. These key words and phrases will vary from visitor to visitor, depending on the purpose of their trip.

It is worth remembering that it is easier to start a task than to finish it, and the same goes for learning a new language. The better you are at it, the slower your rate of progress will be, as you have to learn grammar, words and so on. If you are only trying to learn a few foreign words and phrases, you will make faster progress, have more fun, and won’t have to spend too much time on any given language.

61. From the second paragraph, we can infer that ______.

A. the writer is good at Italian, although it is rather difficult

B. the writer doesn’t like learning Italian because it is no fun

C. discussing politics or explaining one’s view requires an advanced language level

D. it is great fun to communicate with the local people in another country

62. Which of the following does the writer prefer to learn?

A. Sentence structure.         B. Important words and phrases.

C. Complicated sentences.   D. Grammar.

63. You can make faster progress ______.

A. if your language level is advanced  B. if you only try to learn some basic words

C. once you speak the language well 

D. once you have mastered several other languages

64. Which of the following would be the best title of this passage?

A. Starting Learning a New Language Is Easier than Becoming Good at It

B. How to Visit a Foreign Country

C. The Importance of Learning a Foreign Language

D. Why You Should Learn Several Foreign Languages

There are now about 376 million people who speak English as their first language, and also about 376 million people who have learnt it in addition to their mother tongue. It is said that one million people learning English now and about 80% of the information on the Internet is in English.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Should we celebrate the fact that more and more of us can communicate, using a common language, across countries and cultures? Or should we worry about the dangers of “monoculturalism”, a world in which we all speak the same language, eat the same food and listen to the same music?

Does it matter if an increasing number of people speaking the same language? Not necessarily. I have never agreed that if only we all understood each other better, there would be fewer wars. Ask the people of India, where many of them speak at least some English, and Pakistan, the same situation with India…

If we all speak English, will we then all start eating McDonald’s burgers? Surely not. If English becomes more dominant (占优势的), will it kill other languages? I doubt it. When I travel in Africa and Asia, I am always surprised by how many people can speak not only their own languages but often one or more other related languages, as well as English and perhaps French or German as well.

When we discussed this on Talking Point a couple of years ago, we received a wonderfully poetic有诗意的）e-mail from a listener in Ireland. “The English language is a beautiful language. Maybe it’s like a rose,” he said. “But who would ever want his garden just full of roses?”

Well, I love roses and I think they make a beautiful addition to any garden. But the way I see it, just by planting a few roses, you don’t necessarily need to pull out everything else. If more and more people want to plant English roses, that will be fine.

63. By saying “Ask the people of India…and Pakistan” (in paragraph 3), the author is trying to show that___.

A. speaking the same language doesn’t necessarily bring peace.

B. wars can destroy the relationship between two countries.

C. English doesn’t kill other languages

D. English is widely used in the world

64. What does “rose” in the last paragraph stand for?

A. The world.　　 B. A kind of flower.　　 C. A language.　 D. The earth.

65. The author would probably agree that___.

A. it’s very hard to plant many kinds of flowers in a garden.

B. it’s all right for people from other countries to learn English.

C. more and more people like to plant roses in their gardens.

D. English is easier to learn than other languages.

66. This passage is mainly about ___.

A. why English has become a global language.

B. how many people in the world speak English

C. how people in the world learn English as a foreign language.

D. whether we need to worry about English being a world language.