One is not born able to speak a language．One is born able to make a noise．I have heard babies cry in America and in China．I can't tell any difference．But when I hear someone from America speak English and hear someone speak Chinese, I can tell you there are a lot of differences．

   I believe a common problem with Chinese students’ learning English is that they were not taught to think in English．They have an idea spoken in English and want to translate the idea into Chinese, Then they think in Chinese of the proper reply and translate it into English．After a long period of speaking the language, one begins to think in the foreign language naturally．You will learn faster if you begin to think in English at the very beginning of your study．Many students ask me: What can I do to improve my spoken English?

    My reply is: The more English you speak, the better English you will speak．There are many things you can do to improve your spoken English．Of course, the best way is to live where English is spoken as a language of the country．

1.The cries of American and Chinese babies are ________．

A．different B．the same   C．not like each other    D．like each other

2.The underlined sentence ( in Paragraph 2 ) means that ________．

A．some teachers didn't teach students to think in English

B．teachers never gave the students the way of learning English

C．students didn't remember the way teachers taught them

D．teachers didn't want their students to think in English

3.The underlined word “they” ( in Paragraph 2 ) refers to “________”．

A．Chinese students                                                    B．English students       

C．Chinese teachers                                                    D．English teachers

4.According to the article, which of the following is TRUE?

A．You must think in English all the time．

B．If you translate a sentence into Chinese, you should think about the meaning of the sentence in Chinese carefully first．

C．After speaking English for a long time, you may probably think in English naturally．

D．The best way of learning English is to live in America．

 

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第二节：语法填空(共10小题，每小题l．5分，满分l5分)

阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中的词语的适当形式填空。

Long before, there was a large mountainside, where rested an eagle's nest with four large eagle eggs. One day   31    earthquake rocked the mountain, causing one of the eggs to roll down the mountain to a chicken farm   32    (locate) in the valley below. The chickens were kind enough to care for the eagle's egg, and an old hen volunteered to nurture (哺育) and raise the large egg.

One day, the egg hatched and a beautiful eagle was born. Sadly,  33   , the eagle was raised to be a chicken. Soon, the eagle believed he was nothing more   34   a chicken. The eagle loved his present family, but his spirit cried out   35    more. While playing on the farm one day, the eagle happened to notice a group of mighty eagles soaring in the skies. "Oh," the eagle cried, "I wish I could soar like those birds."

The chickens roared with   36   (laugh), “You cannot soar with those birds. You are a chicken and chickens do not soar."

The eagle continued staring at his real family up above,   37   (dream) that he could be with them. Each time the eagle would let his dreams   38   (know), he was told it couldn't be done. That is   39    the eagle learned to believe. The eagle, after time, stopped dreaming and continued to live like a chicken. Finally, after a long life as a chicken, the eagle passed away.

You become what you believe you are. So, if you ever dream of becoming an eagle, follow   40    dreams... not the words of a chicken.

 

Joy in the journey

If you have ever been discouraged because of failure, please read on. For often, achieving what you set out to do is not the important thing. Let me explain.

    Two brothers decided to dig a deep hole behind their house. As they were working, a couple of older boys stopped by to      . “What are you doing?” asked one of the visitors. “We plan to dig a hole all the way through the      !” one of the brothers volunteered      .

    The older boys began to      , telling the younger ones that digging a hole all the way through the earth was      . After a long silence, one of the         picked up a jar full of spiders, worms and many other kinds of insects. He       the lid and showed the wonderful       to the scoffing（嘲笑的）visitors. Then he said quietly and      , “Even if we don’t dig all the way through the earth, look at what we have found       the way!”

    Their goal was far too ambitious, but it did cause them to dig. And that is       a goal is for — to cause us to move in the       we have chosen, in other words, to keep us      ! But not every goal will be fully      . Not every job will end      . Not every hope will come to pass. Not every love will last. Not every dream will be      . But when you fall       of your aim, perhaps you can say, “Yes, but look at what I found along the way! Look at the wonderful things       my life because I tried to do something!” It is in the digging       life is lived. And I believe it is the joy in the journey, in the end, that truly      .

1.A. rest             B. work        C. watch          D. laugh

2.A. house           B. earth        C. wall          D. road

3.A. calmly          B. patiently      C. excitedly              D. impatiently

4.A. laugh           B. think        C. stare                   D. smile

5.A. important       B. difficult       C. impossible        D. interesting

6.A. passers-by       B. watchers    C. visitors                D. diggers

7.A. moved           B. removed  C. broke          D. pushed

8.A. contents         B. scenes     C. pictures                D. jars

9.A. properly         B. confidently          C. carefully        D. happily

10.A. in               B. along               C. to                 D. out

11.A. what            B. how                    C. where              D. which

12.A. way             B. direction    C. life                D. sight

13.A. thinking         B. moving        C. digging           D. living

14.A. made            B. prepared            C. kicked                D. achieved

15.A. hopelessly        B. pleasantly            C. surprisingly      D. successfully

16.A. come true        B. realized              C. made              D. treasured

17.A. short             B. lost          C. out                D. behind

18.A. breaking into     B. turning to            C. coming into       D. holding to

19.A. when            B. where         C. which                D. that

20.A. matters          B. happens      C. appears           D. exists

 

Every day Shairley tries to make at least one person she knows happy. For years she has become addicted to this and she can’t pass a day without making someone happy.

This started when she was 11 years old. That year, she wanted to travel to see her best friend. After she saved all the money needed, she packed her bags and went to the airport. By the time she got to pay for her ticket,she realised that her purse had been stolen.

She went to the restroom and cried. While she was in the restroom stall and totally at a loss what to do, someone knocked on the door. “Leave me alone” was the sentence she said over and over again after hearing the repeated knocking. After a long time, she opened the door and went out only to find an envelope at her feet. She opened the envelope and found a letter. It said,

 “Dear child, you locked yourself inside and avoided facing the people who were outside and you might miss this letter. Reading it now means that after all you decided to face the outside world again. Never lock yourself in for any reason ! Never lose hope ! Never forget to trust yourself. Be a reason for other people’s smiles, sow hope in their hearts and you will gain your happiness in your own heart.”

 She folded the letter to put it in the envelope only to discover that inside were a window seat ticket and double the money she needed. So she traveled and told the story to everyone she met. She said.“ From that day on ,I took it as my task, half for me and half for someone’s happiness.”

Shirley found that her money had been stolen         .

A. when she was heading for the airport

B. when she was buying a ticket

C. after she packed her bags

D. when she went to the restroom

Why didn’t Shirley open the door of the stall when she heard the knocking?

A. Because she was disappointed and at a loss.

B. Because she was afraid of the person outside.

C. Because she wanted to keep calm by being alone.

D. Because she was crying and didn’t hear the knocking.

What did Shireley learn from the letter?

A. A letter is powerful enough to make one smile.

B. Face the outside world and never lose hope.

C. She should always notice who is outside her door.

D. She should try to make herself happy first and then others.

We can learn that after reading the letter, Shirley was          

A. interested     B. disappointed     C. ashamed    D. encouraged 

In cities with rent control, the city government sets the maximum rent that a landlord can charge for an apartment. Supporters of rent control argue that it protects people who are living in apartments. Their rent cannot increase; therefore, they are not in danger of losing their homes. However, the critics say that after a long time, rent control may have negative effects. Landlords know that they cannot increase their profits. Therefore, they invest in other businesses where they can increase their profits. They do not invest in new buildings which would also be rent-controlled. As a result, new apartments are not built. Many people who need apartments cannot find any. According to the critics, the end result of rent control is a shortage of apartments in the city.

Some theorists argue that the minimum wage law can cause problems in the same way. The federal government sets the minimum that an employer must pay workers. The minimum helps people who generally look for unskilled, low-paying jobs. However, if the minimum is high, employers may hire fewer workers. They will replace workers with machinery. The price, which is the wage that employers must pay, increases. Therefore, other things being equal, the number of workers that employers want decreases. Thus, critics claim, an increase in the minimum wage may cause unemployment. Some poor people may find themselves without jobs instead of with jobs at the minimum wage.

Supporters of the minimum wage say that it helps people keep their dignity. Because of the law, workers cannot sell their services for less than the minimum. Furthermore, employers cannot force workers to accept jobs at unfair wages.

Economic theory predicts the results of economic decisions such as decisions about farm production, rent control, and the minimum wage. The predictions may be correct only if “other things are equal”. Economists do not agree on some of the predictions. They also do not agree on the value of different decisions. Some economists support a particular decision while others criticize it. Economists do agree, however, that there are no simple answers to economic questions.

[来源:ZXXK]

1.There is the possibility that setting maximum rent may      .

a. cause a shortage of apartments

b. worry those who rent apartments as homes

c. increase the profits of landlords

d. encourage landlords to invest in building apartment

2.According to the critics, rent control        .[来源:学§科§网Z§X§X§K]

a. will always benefit those who rent apartments

b. is unnecessary

c. will bring negative effects in the long run

d. is necessary under all circumstances

3.The problem of unemployment will arise        . [来源:Zxxk.Com]

a. if the minimum wage is set too high

b. if the minimum wage is set too low

c. if the workers are unskilled

d. if the maximum wage is set[来源:]

4.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

a. The results of economic decisions can not always be predicted.

b. Minimum wage can not always protect employees.

c. Economic theory can predict the results of economic decisions if other factors are not changing.

d. Economic decisions should not be based on economic theory.