My summer hols wr CWOT. B4, we usd 2 go 2 NY 2C my bro, his CF & thr 3:-@ kids FTF ILNY, its gr8.

　　Can you understand this sentence? If you can't, don't feel too bad: neither could the middle school teacher in England who received this as homework. This is Netspeak: the language of computerized communication found on Internet or cellphones. To newcomers, it can look like a completely foreign language. So, what is the "translation" of the sentence above? My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend, and their three screaming kids face to face. I love New York; it's great.

　　Schoolteachers and parents say this new form of writing is harming（破坏）the English language. Increasing spelling and grammatical mistakes cxan be seen in students' writing. They fear the language could become corrupted（面目全非的）.

　　Everyone should just relax, say linguists（语言学家）. They believe Netspeak is in fact more of a good thing. David Crystal, from the University of Wales, argues that Netspeak and Internet create a new language use and the almost lost art of diary writing has been picked up again. Geoffrey Nunberg, from Stanford University, agrees. "People get better at writing by writing," he says, "Kids who are now doing text messaging, e-mail, and instant messages will write at least as well as, and possibly better than, their parents."

　　Linguist James Millroy says, for centuries, it is believed without exception that young people are harming the language. And you can bet your bottom dollar that when today's teenagers become tomorrow's parents, they too will think this way. Milroy argues that languages do not and cannot become "corrupted"; they simply change to meet the new needs.

　　However, Netspeakers do agree that it is important to teach young people how to speak and write Standard English. Cynthia McVey says, "I can understand Netspeak worries teachers and it's important that they get across to their pupils that text messaging is for fun, but that learning to write proper English is a must for their future."

　　Perhaps we should give teenagers a little more trust anyway. Erin, age 12, says, "I wouldn't use text language in my homework. Texting is just for fun"

　1.What is the main purpose of the first paragraph?

　　A. To give an example of a foreign language.

　　B. To show an example of creative methods.

　　C. To express worries about using Netspeak.

　　D. To lead in the topic of Netspeak.

　2.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

　　A. Cynthia McVey points out teenagers can deal with Netspeak properly.

　　B. Geoffrey Nunberg believes Netspeakers can write Standard English.

　　C. David Crystal thinks Netspeak helps develop the habit of writing.

　　D. James Milroy says that language is changing and improving.

　　3.The expression "bet your bottom dollar" in Paragraph 5 means ______.

　　A. be fairly sure          B. be greatly surprised

　　C. think it a pity          D. find it interesting

　　4. What can be the best title for the passage?

　　A. Netspeak: A Widely-Used Language on Internet

　　B. Is Netspeak Harming the English Language?

　　C. Is Netspeak Helpful in Language Learning?

　　D. Netspeak: Advantages and Disadvantages

 

完形填空

　　No one knows how man learned to make words. Perhaps he began by making sounds 1 those made by animals. Perhaps he grunted (发出呼噜声) like a pig 2 he lifted something heavy. Perhaps he made sounds like those he heard all round 3 --water splashing (飞溅), bees humming (嗡嗡作响声), a stone falling to the ground. Somehow he learned 4 words. As the centuries went by, he made 5 new words. This is what we mean by language.

　　People living in 6 countries made different kinds of words. Today there are about fifteen 7 different languages in the world. Each contains four or five hundred thousand words, 8 we do not need all these. Only a few thousand words 9 in everyday life.

　　The words you know are called your vocabulary. You should try to make your vocabulary bigger. Read as 10 books as you can. There are plenty of books written in easy language. Your dictionary is your most useful book.

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　　We each have memory. That's why we can still remember things after a long time. Some people have very good memories and they can easily learn many things by heart, but some people can only remember things when they say or do them again. Many of the great men of the world have got surprising memories.

　　A good memory is a good help in learning a language. Everybody learns his mother language when he is a small child. He hears the sounds, remembers them and he learns to speak. Some children are living with their parents in foreign countries. They can learn two languages as easily as one because they hear, remember and speak two lanuages every day. In school it is not so easy to learn a foreign language because the pupils have so little time for it, and they are busy with other subjects, too.

　　But your memory will become better and better when you do more and more exercises.

(1) Some people can easily learn many things by heart because ________.

[　　]

A．they always sleep well	B．they often eat good food
C．they read a lot of books	D．they have very good memories

(2) Everybody learns his mother language ________.

[　　]

A．at the age of six	B．when he is a small child
C．after he goes to school	D．when he can read and write

(3) Before a child can speak, he must ________.

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A．read and write	B．make sentences
C．hear and remember the sounds	D．think hard

(4) In school the pupils can't learn a foreign language well because ________.

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A．they have no good memories

B．they have not recorderd

C．they have too much time for it

D．they are busy with other subjects

(5) Your memory will become better and better ________.

[　　]

A．if you have plenty of good food

B．if you do more and more exercises

C．if you do morning exercises every day

D．if you get up early

　　Only a hundred years ago, people seldom traveled far out of their birthplace. Books were very expensive and there were few national（国家的）newspapers and no radio or TV. In fact, most people spent their time talking and listening. And only a little reading and writing went on and many people were unable to read and write. For this reason, native dialects（方言）grew up and people spoke as their parents and grandparents did. A Cornwall woman who traveled just as far as London would find that people spoke a complete different language.

　　Sometimes it is hard to take in just how much things have changed. You always have books around, read magazines and newspapers, have different TV or radio programs. You and everyone around you, often travel not just in British islands but all of the world. Modern science has changed our life and distances（距离）have been made shorter. It might have taken a Cornwall woman three days to travel to London. Now it takes less than two hours by air, less than four by train and less than six by road.

　　The result of this is that the language we use is becoming more national and the dialect are dying out. Writing, printing（印刷）and broadcasting（广播）have speeded up this change as one dialect has come to be used by more and more people. This is the dialect called Standard（标准的）English which was first used outside London in the south and east Midlands.

(1) From the passage we know that a century ago __________.

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A．people wouldn't like to leave their birthplace

B．there were neither books nor newspapers

C．most people couldn't read and write

D．people learned to read and write from their family members

(2) If a Cornwall woman went to London a hundred years ago, she would find _________.

[　　]

A．London was not far from her birthplace

B．London was a strange city

C．she could easily understand London people

D．she could hardly understand London people

(3) Things have changed so much that people are not _____________ any more.

[　　]

A．watching TV and listening to the radio

B．reading books and magazines

C．traveling just within the British islands

D．traveling over tile world

(4) English is becoming more national because ________ .

[　　]

A．distances have been made shorter by modern science

B．it takes a Cornwall woman less time to travel to London

C．the capital of England has been moved to a place near Cornwall

D．people mustn't speak dialect in England

(5) Today Standard English is __________.

[　　]

A．dying out slowly

B．used by more and more people

C．used in east Midlands only

D．used by London people only