English is the most widely used language in the history of our planet. One in every seven human beings can speak it. More than half of the world’s books and three quarters of international mail are in English. Of all languages, English has the largest vocabulary — perhaps as many as two million words.

However, let’s face it: English is a crazy language. There is no egg in an eggplant, neither pine nor apple in a pineapple and no ham in a hamburger. Sweet-meats are candy, while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat.

We take English for granted. But when we explore its paradoxes (探讨它的矛盾), we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square,  public bathrooms have no baths in them.

And why is it that a writer writes, but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce, and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldn’t the plural of booth be beeth? One goose, two geese — so one moose, two meese?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell the next?

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects (反映) the creativity of human beings. That’s why, when stars are out, they are visible (能看见的); but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it; but when I wind up this essay, I end it.

1. According to the passage ______.

A. sweet-meats and sweetbreads are different things

B. there should be egg in an eggplant

C. pineapples are the apples on the pine tree

D. boxing rings should be round

2. Which of the following is the correct plural?

A. Beeth.        B. Geese.         C. Meese.        D. Tooth.

3. Which of the following includes two items which have the similar meaning?

A. A wise man and a wise guy.    B. Overlook and oversee.  

C. Quite a lot and quite a few.     D. Hot as hell and cold as hell.

4. The underlined words “wind up” in the last paragraph probably mean “______”.

A. blow        B. roll up         C. get hurt        D. finish

5. Through the many paradoxes in the English language, the writer wants to show that human beings are ______.

A. clever      B. crazy        C. lazy         D. dull

My wife ______the night shift when my plane ______. That’s why no one is to meet me at the airport today.

A．is working; is arriving                    B．was working; arrived

C．will have worked; has arrived              D．will be working; arrives

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写得以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加，删除或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（），并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线（）划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不记分。

Dear Mr Anderson,

I’m not sure whether you can remember me,and we met in Bethany last

year．It was at your daughter wedding．You and me had a pleasant talk and I

told you a little about my job as reporter for the New York Times．At that

time I do like to stay in New York,but now I’d like to get a job back in my

town．My problem is that have been away for a longer time that I have not

some job contacts（关系） in Bethany．That’s why I’m writing for you ．I

would appreciate if you could put me in touch with anyone who could help

me and advise me．

The twin towns of LAUFEN/OBERNDORF

Laufen owes its former economical and cultural significance to the river Salzach,which forms a peninsula with its sharp curves（弯） there.

Laufen’s economic boom began with the salt trade and the shipping on the river.The salt—mainly coming from Hallein and Bad Reichenhall—was loaded onto bigger ships downstream,which made Laufen one of the most important ports of shipment for salt in Salzburg and Bavaria.

The archbishop（大教主） of Salzburg had given special privileges to the people who were involved in the shipping of salt on the river Salzach.

The Napoleonic Wars brought occupation and serious disturbances.They brought the sudden end to the independent state of the Duke—Archbishop of Salzburg.The end of the 18th century brought a decrease in shipping because of the general economic situation.On the 1st May 1816 Salzburg definitively became a part of Austria （Munich agreement） that’s why the Salzach became the border between Bavaria and Austria.Laufen’s suburbs Oberndorf and Altach were divided up.The number of inhabitants fell from 1392 to 809.Even the re－unification of the two towns’shipsmen’s guilds（行会） and the reorganization of 1928 could not prevent the decline of shipping which finally came to an end in the late 19th century.

________played an important role in Laufen’s economy and culture life.

A.Salt                          B.Shipment                  C.Guilds                       D.Theriver Salzach

The underlined word“boom”probably means________.

A.pleasant sounds          B.sudden increase          C.sudden decrease         D.trade

The main idea of this passage is mainly about ________.

A.how the economy declined in Laufen

B.the effects of The Napoleonic Wars

C.how the twin towns of LAUFEN and OBERNDORF came into being

D.the history of Salzburg

Nowadays more and more people are trapped in too busy work to relax themselves. We have no time to tell a bed-time story to our children, or enjoy a nice dinner with our family, or take a break to think about how we live the precious life, or even meet friends. All we notice is that the distinctions that used to guide and steady us ------ between Sunday and Monday, public and private, here and there ------ are gone. We have more ways to communicate, but less and less to say. Partly because we’re so busy communicating.

Maybe that’s why more and more people I know, even if they have no religious commitment, seem to be turning to yoga, or meditation, or tai chi. Some friends of mine try to go on long walks every Sunday, or to “forget” their cell phones at home. A series of tests in recent years has shown that after spending time in quiet rural settings, subjects “exhibit greater attentiveness, stronger memory and generally improved cognition. Their brains become both calmer and sharper.” More than that, empathy, as well as deep thought, depends on neural processes that are “inherently slow. ” The very ones our high-speed lives have little time for.

In my own case, I turn to eccentric and often extreme measures to try to keep my sanity and ensure that I have time to do nothing at all. I’ve not yet used a cell phone and I’ve never Tweeted or entered Face book. I try not to go online till my day’s writing is finished, and I moved from Manhattan to rural Japan.

None of this is a matter of principle or asceticism (苦行主义): it’s just pure selfishness. Nothing makes me feel better-----calmer, clearer and happier----than being in one place, absorbed in a book, a conversation, a piece of music. It’s actually something deeper than mere happiness: it’s joy, which the monk David Steindl-Rast describes as “that kind of happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens.” That is the highest of the highest we have been longing for----The Joy of Quiet.

1.The writer sometimes doesn’t do anything because ________.

A．he is out of work .                       B．whatever he does make no sense

C．he is worried about his writing.             D．he can enjoy himself in his leisure time.

2.When the writer uses the word “forget” , his real meaning is _______.

A．Somebody really forgets his cell phone at home.

B．Somebody thinks cell phone is not a suitable means of communication.

C．Somebody hates modern techniques such as the cell phone.

D．Somebody leaves his cell phone at home on purpose.

3.Which of the following is right?

A．It is better to go back to the ancient times since we are so busy now.

B．The writer is unwilling to help others since he is selfish.

C．Slowing down to find time and space to think and enjoy oneself is urgent.

D．We have more to say because we have more ways to communicate.

4.What does the underlined word mean?

A．difference         B．sameness          C．simplicity          D．complication

5.What is the main idea of the article?

A．The importance of spending time in quiet.

B．We can do some sports such as yoga to relax.

C．Principle or asceticism is important in one’s life.

D．The more we communicate, the more we will be closer.