The number of speakers of English in Shakespeare’s time is estimated(估计) to have been about five million. Today it is estimated that some 260 million people speak it as a native language, mainly in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In addition to the standard varieties of English found in these areas, there are a great many regional and social varieties of the language as well as various levels of usage that are employed both in its spoken and written forms.

In fact, it is impossible to estimate the number of people in the world who have acquired an adequate(足够的) working knowledge of English in addition to their own languages. The purpose for English learning and the situations in which such learning takes place are so varied that it is difficult to explain and still more difficult to judge what forms an adequate working knowledge for each situation.

The main reason for the widespread demand for English is its present-day importance as a world language. Besides serving the indefinite needs of its native speakers, English is a language in which some of important works in science, technology, and other fields are being produced, and not always by native speakers. It is widely used for such purposes as meteorological and airport communications, international conferences, and the spread of information over the radio and television networks of many nations. It is a language of wider communication for a number of developing countries, especially former British colonies. Many of these countries have multilingual populations and need a language for internal communication in such matters as government, commerce, industry, law and education as well as for international communication and for entrance to the scientific and technological developments in the West.

1.What would be the best title for this passage?

A．The Difficulties of Learning English	B．International Communications
C．The Standard Varieties of English	D．English as a World Language

2.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．Some 260 million people in the world have an adequate working knowledge of English.

B．There are some 260 million native speakers of English in the world.

C．It is almost impossible to estimate the number of people with an adequate working knowledge of English.

D．People learn English for a variety of reasons.

3.According to the passage, what is the main reason for the widespread use of English?

A．It was popular during Shakespeare’s time.	B．It is used in former British colonies.
C．It serves the needs of its native speakers.
D．It is a world language that is used for international communication.

4.What forms an adequate working knowledge of English?

A．The ability to read a newspaper.
B．It is difficult to judge because it differs for each situation.
C．Being able to speak several languages.	D．Being a native speaker.

5.What type of developing countries would be most likely to use English?

A．Those geographically close to the United States.

B．Those interested in the culture of the United States.

C．Former colonies of Great Britain.

D．Countries where international conferences are held.

6.C。细节题。根据文章最后一段倒数第2句可推知此题

 

Driver Wanted Drive for busy restaurant some evening and weekend work All meals are free Ring 33335678	House for Sale ￥150, 000, built in 1995 The house with 3 bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room, a kitchen and a breakfast room. It’s on the south side of the city
Yingbin Supermarket, the biggest shopping centre in our city will open on July 8, 2005. Everybody with today’s Tianjin Daily will get a small present that day. You are welcome. Tel: 27984321 Add: No.6 Huanghe Road Tianjin Daily June 1, 2005	Rose’s Special Concert Time: 2 p.m., July 3, Saturday Place: People’s Statium Ticket Price: RMB: 150 yuan for adults; 70 Yuan for students June 25, 2005

1.If you work as a driver in the restaurant, you may ______.

A．never pay for meals	B．pay a little for meals
C．work on weekends	D．work in the afternoon

2.If you buy the house, you ______.

A．may pay more than ￥150, 000 for it	B．must have breakfast in the kitchen
C．have to take a bath in the public bathroom	D．may live on the south side of the city

3.Any customer with a Tianjin Daily of June 1, 2005 will get a small present from ______.

A．every supermarket	B．Huanghe Road
C．Tianjin Daily	D．Yingbin Supermarket

4.If two adults and two students want to go to the concert, the tickets will cost RMB______.

A．220 yuan

B．440 yuan

C．270 yuan

D．370 yuan

5.D 细节题。

Many people who work in London prefer to live outside it, and to go in to their offices or schools every day by train, car or bus, even though this means they have to get up early in the morning and reach home late in the evening. 

One advantage of living outside London is that houses are cheaper. Even a small flat in London without a garden costs quite a lot to rent. With the same money, one can get a little house in the country with a garden of one’s own. 

Then, in the country one can rest from the noise and hurry of the town. Even though one has to get up earlier and spend more time in trains or buses, one can sleep better at night and during weekends and on summer evenings, one can enjoy the fresh, clean air of the country. If one likes gardens, one can spend one’s free time digging, planting, watering and doing the hundred and one other jobs which are needed in a garden. Then, when the flowers and vegetables come up, one has the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature. 

Some people, however, take no interest in country things: for them, happiness lies in the town, with its cinemas and theatres, beautiful shops and busy streets, dance-halls and restaurants. Such people would feel that their life was not worth living if they had to live it outside London. An occasional walk in one of the parks and a fortnight’s (two weeks) visit to the sea every summer is all the country they want: the rest they are quite prepared to leave to those who are glad to get away from London every night. 

1.Which of the following statements is NOT true? 

A．People who like country things prefer to live outside the city.

B．People who work in London prefer to live in the country.

C．Because of certain disadvantages of living outside London, some people who work in London prefer to live inside London.

D．Because of certain advantages of living outside London, many people who work in London prefer to live outside London.

2.One can use the same money for ________ to buy a little house with a garden in the country.

A．getting a small flat with a garden	B．having a small flat with a garden
C．renting a small flat without a garden	D．buying a small flat without a garden

3.When the flowers and vegetables in the garden come up, those _______ have the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature. 

A．who live in the country

B．who have spent time working in the garden

C．who have a garden of their own

D．who have been digging, planting and watering

4.People who think happiness lies in the town would feel that _______ if they had to live it outside London. 

A．their life was meaningless	B．their life was invaluable
C．they didn’t deserve a happy life	D．they were not worthy of their happy life

5.The underlined word rest in the last paragraph refers to ________.

A．the rest time	B．the rest people
C．the rest of the country	D．the rest of the parks and of the sea

6.C。推断题。根据其上文：这些人偶尔去公园散散步后去海边度两周假；本句接着说：其余的就留给那些每天晚上喜欢离开伦敦的人，那么，“其余的”显然指“其余的乡村”。从而可推知题

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

One day a few years ago we had an uninvited guest—a sparrow.  36  the little bird had flown into our open garage. Then I  37  the bird before I saw it.

“What’s that?”I asked when I first heard the sound.

“It’s coming from the  38  .”my wife, Anita, said. “Maybe it’s one of the little  39  .”

I looked into the garage. No children at all. But there was that sound again, coming from right up there. And that’s  40   I saw the sparrow. It was flying  41  just inches below the ceiling. It was clearly  42  to get out, but couldn’t see the way out was not up, but  43  and and out through the garage door. So the bird continued flapping its wings and bumping its little head 44  the ceiling.

I tried to terrify it out, but only succeeded in driving it into the  45  open space between the door and the ceiling. Then I tried to show the bird how to fly down a few feet  46   it could get outside, but that only seemed to  47  it more.

“Why don’t we just leave for a few minutes,” Anita  48  .“I’m sure he’ll figure it out eventually.”

We went back into the house, where we  49  to hear the ongoing struggle between the sparrow and the ceiling. Then suddenly, it was  50  and our uninvited guest was gone.

I’ve  51  that little sparrow through the years, and I’ve decided that birds are not different much from people. We think we were  52  to fly ever upward, and we don’t even consider the  53  that something good might happen if we just fly down a little bit. Once we figure out that we can make  54  without banging（碰）our heads against ceilings, we can usually save ourselves much  55  .

36.A. Still              B. Somehow          C. Instead              D. Perhaps

【答案】B

【解析】不知怎么的，这只小鸟飞进了我们开着的车库。B.不知怎么的。

37.A. heard            B. caught               C. searched           D. observed

【答案】A

【解析】根据下文when I first heard the sound， 可知本句的意思是“未见其鸟，先闻其鸣”。

38.A. house           B. backyard           C. garage               D. basement

【答案】C

【解析】根据36题所在的句子可知， 小鸟进入了garage,所以声音应该从garage传来。

39.A. birds            B. guests               C. cats                  D. kids

【答案】D

【解析】根据下文no children at all.可知, 作者的妻子认为是期中一个孩子

40.A. when            B. how                  C. why                  D. whether

【答案】A

【解析】when引导表语从句。“就在那时我看到了那只麻雀。”

41.A. quickly         B. anxiously           C. cautiously          D. slowly

【答案】B

【解析】anxiously不安的，焦虑的。因为被困，所以很焦虑。

42. A. deciding       B. hesitating           C. trying                D. choosing

【答案】C

【解析】try to get out努力要出去。

43. A. up               B. backward          C. forward            D. down

【答案】D

【解析】但是它看不到出去的路不在上方，而在下方。

44. A. against         B. off                    C. along                D. into

【答案】A

【解析】bump its little head against the ceiling 小脑袋撞击天花板

45. A. free             B. small                 C. wide                 D. dark

【答案】B

【解析】门和天花板之间的空间很小。

46. A. in case         B. even if               C. as though          D. so that

【答案】D

【解析】so that 引导目的状语从句。

47. A. puzzle          B. confuse             C. frighten             D. disturb

【答案】C

【解析】但是这样似乎使它更害怕。Frighten sb使某人害怕， 吓唬某人

48. A. suggested     B. explained           C. insisted             D. demanded

【答案】A

【解析】why don’t sb do 是表示建议的用语。 所以选择A。

49. A. attempted     B. continued          C. refused             D. failed

【答案】B

【解析】continue to do sth继续干某事

50. A. fierce           B. empty               C. safe                  D. silent

【答案】D

【解析】根据下文our uninvited guest was gone， 所以没有声音了，很安静

51.A. looked after   B. worried about    C. thought about    D. brought up

【答案】C

【解析】Ａ．照看　Ｂ．担心 Ｃ．思考  Ｄ． 提出。下文题到“鸟和人没有什么不同”，所以作者是在思考。

52. A. forced         B. determined         C. born                 D. urged

【答案】C

【解析】be born to do 天生就是干某事的。 “我们认为我们天生就是往上飞的”

53. A. idea             B. possibility          C. challenge           D. problem

【答案】B

【解析】我们甚至没有考虑这种可能性，如果我们飞的低一些，好事也可能会发生。

54. A. progress      B. peace                C. decisions           D. efforts

【答案】A

【解析】make progress取得进步

55. A. panic           B. pressure            C. loss                  D. trouble

【答案】D

【解析】save some trouble 省去很多麻烦。

Dear Customers,
I love slipping (滑落) into a comfortable chair for a long read—as I relax into the chair, I also relax into the author’s words, stories and ideas. The physical book is so elegant that it disappears into the background, and what remains is the author’s world.
Today, we at Amazon are excited to announce Mindle, a wireless, portable reading device with instant access to more than 90,000 books, magazines and newspapers.
We’ve been working on Mindle for more than three years. Our top design objective was for Mindle to disappear in your hands—to get out of the way—so you can enjoy your reading. We also wanted to go beyond the physical book. Mindle is wireless, so whether you’re lying in bed or riding a train, you can think of a book, and have it in less than 60 seconds. No computer is needed—you do your reading directly from the device.
We chose the same wireless technology used in advanced mobile phones. But unlike mobile phones, there are no monthly wireless bills, no service or data plans, and no yearly contracts. There is no software to install (安装，设置)。 We want you to get lost in your reading and not in the technology.
Mindle uses a new kind of display called electronic paper. Sharp and natural with no strong light, reading on Mindle is nothing like reading from a computer screen. Mindle weighs only 10.3 ounces—less than paperback—but can carry two hundred books.
Enjoy learning about Mindle and many thanks!
Jeff Bezos Founder & CEO
【小题1】This passage most probably is a(n)________.

A．advertisement

B．news story

C．lab report

D．letter of thanks

【小题2】From the passage we learn that Mindle is a device which ________.

A．has neither wires nor weight

B．is operated by a computer

C．disappears while you read

D．can find a book within one minute

【小题3】With the device, the reader is able to ________.

A．enjoy reading when driving a car

B．improve reading skills

C．gain access to free software

D．get rid of heavy books made of paper

【小题4】Different from mobile phones, Mindle________.

A．has a much more friendly screen

B．can work in the absence of electricity

C．doesn’t involve regular bills

D．is wireless and can be used anywhere.