President Barack Obama's speeches are proving a best-seller in Japan -- as an aid to learning English. An English-language textbook, "The Speeches of Barack Obama," has sold more than 400,000 copies in two months, a big hit in a country where few hit novels sell more than a million copies a year.

　　Japanese have a fervor for learning English and many bookstores have a corner dedicated (专门用于) to dozens of journals in the language, many of them now featuring the new U.S. leader's face.

"Speeches by presidents and presidential candidates(候选人) are excellent as listening tools to learn English. Obama's are especially so. His speeches are so moving, and he also uses words such as 'yes, we can,' 'change' and 'hope' that even Japanese people can memorize," said Yuzo Yamamoto of Asahi Press, which produced the best-selling text book.

　　Speeches by George W. Bush and former nominee(提名) John Kerry's four years ago did not have the same interest, however, and nor do those made by Japanese politicians. “We have to turn to a foreign president for someone in whom to place our hopes”, Yamamoto said.

　　The 95-page paperback features Obama's speeches in English from the 2004 Democratic National Convention and during the Democratic Party primaries(初选), in which he defeated Hillary Clinton. They are accompanied by Japanese translations.

　　The 1,050 yen ($12) book, which includes a CD of the speeches, tops the bestseller list on bookseller Amazon's Japanese Website, http://www.amazon.co.jp/. He said lawmakers from Japan's main opposition Democratic Party had bought the book to study Obama's speeches.

　　Following Obama's inauguration(就职典礼), Asahi Press plans to issue a sequel(续集) that includes his inaugural address, as well as President John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural speech. It will also feature a reading of President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address of 1863.

64. Speeches by presidents and presidential candidates are excellent as listening tools to learn English because ________.

the speakers are all great

B. the speakers have high speech skills

C. the language is full of humor

D. the contents are good and the words are easy to catch

Why do Japanese place their hopes in a foreign president?

A. Because they don’t have politicians who have such a positive influence.

B. Because they have the same attitude as the foreign presidents.

C. Because they have never made a political speech.

D. Because they hope to have a foreigner as their leader.

Which is true about “The Speeches of Barack Obama”?

A. It contains all Obama’s speeches .

B. It has 1,050 pages with a CD.

C. It includes his inaugural address.

D. It is an especially popular book in Japan.

Which of the following can best describe the main idea of the passage?

A. Japan speaks highly of Obama president .

B. Japan learns English from Obama speeches textbook .

C. Obama gains his fame from his election speeches.

D. Obama gives Japanese speeches on how to learn English.

In Taiwan, “motorpool “ is commonly known as a place for the maintenance(维修) of official business and government cars. In ­___36___ it is a place for vehicle maintenance.

More than ten years ago, I came to America on business and I __37__advantage of the chance to visit my friend. My friend drove a car to ___38__ me at the airport, and took me to his home__39    the airport. My friend drove his car into the innermost lane, ___40__ had a sign ‘carpool only’ I wondered what “carpool” meant. I wondered ___41____he was going to a motorpool. So I thought myself ____42__ in asking:” Is there anything wrong with the car?” “Nothing.____43___?” said he. “Well then, why are you going to a carpool?” I responded. My friend couldn’t help ___44__ and told me that “ carpool” ___45___to the lane that only the cars with two or more passengers can ____46___. I felt rather embarrassed __47__ that.

After dinner, my friend’s neighbor 　４８　 to ask whether he could carpool the next day. “ ４９ ”, my friend said, “ I will accompany my friend to go shopping tomorrow.” I was puzzled again, 　５０ why he could not “ carpool” with him since we had “ carpooled”　５１.  My friend explained to me again that the “ carpool” with him that ____５2____ used meant they in turn drove the car to work so as to save 　５3　　. The first” carpool” is a noun; ____５4___ the second “carpool” is a verb. It is really difficult for 　　５５　in America to understand it in a short time.

1.                A．common        B．time           C．general   D．short

 

2.                A．took           B．had            C．used D．found

 

3.                A．see            B．take           C．meet D．accept

 

4.                A．In             B．Out of          C．Inside    D．From

 

5.                A．where         B．which          C．it    D．there

 

6.                A．what           B．whether        C．which    D．when

 

7.                A．puzzled         B．foolish          C．interested D．clever

 

8.                A．which          B．why            C．where    D．what

 

9.                A．laughing        B．shouting        C．stopping  D．saying

 

10.               A．means         B．refers          C．is    D．comes

 

11.               A．pass through    B．go over         C．drive in   D．sit in

 

12.               A．in saying        B．for doing       C．on hearing D．at listening to

 

13.               A．went out       B．came over      C．arrived    D．got off

 

14.               A．Yes            B．I’m afraid      C．Sure . D．No

 

15.               A．wondering      B．saying          C．suggesting D．hesitating

 

16.               A．yesterday       B．tomorrow       C．the last day D．today

 

17.               A．his neighbor     B．his friend       C．he.   D．I

 

18.               A．time           B．money         C．energy    D．pollution’

 

19.               A．and           B．while .         C．so    D．or

 

20.               A．newcomer      B．people         C．Chinese   D．those

 

 

Most 23-year-olds have not done enough in life to be worthy of having their own documentary（纪录片）
　　Most 23-year-olds aren't LeBron James.
　　The NBA superstar, who recently won gold at the Beijing Olympics, has just released More Than a Game. It is a documentary that follows his rise to stardom (明星地位) and how he and four childhood friends overcame long odds to win a national championship in high school.
　　Combining footage (镜头) taken during James' career at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio, US, along with one-on-one interviews by writer/director Kris Belman, home videos, and personal family photographs, the film is about much more than basketball. At its core (核心) is a story of friendship, loyalty and love.
　　"We set out with a goal as kids and we wanted to accomplish that someway, somehow by using basketball as a tool, not knowing that it was going to create other opportunities for us," James said. "We didn't know it was going to create a brotherhood and trust. We grew from kids into young men."
　　While James is the star, his former teammates, Dru Joyce III, Sian Cotton, Willie McGee and Romeo Travis, play a major role in the film.
　　Their journey began together as 8-year-old boys, winds through years traveling all over America playing in basketball tournaments and finishes in their senior season at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.
　　At the time, Belman was a college film student. He set out to film James and his friends' season as his final school project, a 10-minute documentary. But after gaining the trust of the players and coach Dru Joyce, Belman spent two months filming and eventually teamed with producer Harvey Mason Jr to the full-length feature.
　　James hopes the film will inspire youngsters (年轻人).
　　"We set out with a goal when we were eight and we accomplished it when we were 18," he said. "It's a great story and I wanted to get it out to kids that have a dream, that they should continue to go after it, believe in it and live it if they want to accomplish something."
【小题1】LeBron James achieved his goal set at 8 when        .

A．he won a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics

B．He won a national championship in high school

C．he became a collage student

D．he was interviewed by Kris Belman

【小题2】Which of the following is unlikely to be included in the description of James?

A．Friendly.

B．Faithful.

C．Hardworking.

D．Self-centered.

【小题3】More Than a Game is          .

A．James’ favorite story about his childhood

B．a documentary filmed by James’ classmate

C．a film made by Belman

D．an article a bout James’ high school life

【小题4】We can learn from the passage that More Than a Game is       .

A．inspiring

B．dull

C．puzzling

D．imaginary

阅读理解　　 

　　Some people do not like anything to be out of place, they are never late for work; they return their books to the library on time; they remember people's birthday and they pay their bills as soon as they arrive. Mr Dodds is such a person.

　　Mr Dodds works in a bank, and lives alone. The only family he has were in the next town: his sister lives there with her husband, and her son, Mark. Mr Dodds does not see his sister, or his family, from one year to the next, but he sends them Christmas cards, and he has not forgotten one of Mark's seventeen birthdays. Last week Mr Dodds had quite a surprise. He drove home from the bank at the usual time and drove neither too slowly nor too fast; he parked his car where he always parked it, out of the way of other cars, and he went inside to make his evening meal. At once, there was a knock at the door. Mr Dodds opened the door to find a policeman standing at the door.

　　

　　“What have I done wrong?”Mr Dodds asked himself.“Have I driven on the wrong side of the road? Has there been some trouble at the bank? Have I forgotten to pay an important bill?”

　　

　　“Hello, Uncle”said the policeman,“My name's Mark.”

　　

1．Mr Dodds sees his sister ________.

　　

[　　]

　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　

A．very little	B．only at Christmas time
C．only at the end of the year	D．on Mark's birthday every year

　　 　　 　　 　　

2．Mr Dodds ________.

　　

[　　]

　　

A．has forgotten more than one Mark's birthday

　　

B．has not sent Mark anything on his seventeenth birthday

　　

C．always sends a Christmas card on Mark's birthday

　　

D．always sends Mark something on his birthday

　　

3．When he heard a knock at the door, he was ________.

　　

[　　]

　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　

A．cooking a meal	B．parking his car
C．at the door	D．just beginning to cook a meal

　　 　　 　　 　　

4．Mr Dodds was surprised that ________.

　　

[　　]

　　

A．a policeman visited him

　　

B．Mark came to see him

　　

C．he had forgotten Mark's birthday

　　

D．someone was knocking at the door

　　

5．Which of the following best describes the writer's attitude towards Mr Dodds? ________.

　　

[　　]

　　

A．Mr Dodds always insists on his opinion

　　

B．Mr Dodds is not strict in his work

　　

C．Mr Dodds never makes a mistake

　　

D．Mr Dodds does not care about others