There are about fifteen hundred languages in the world.

But ___1___ a few of them are very ___2___. English is one of these. Many, many people use it, not only in England and the U. S. A, but in other parts of the world. About 200, 000, 000 speak it as their own language. It is difficult to say how many people are learning it as a ___3___ language. Many millions are ___4___ to do so.

Is it easy or difficult to learn English? Different people may have different ___5___. Have you ever ___6___ the ads of this kind in the newspapers or magazines?

“Learn English in six month, or your ___7___ back ...” “Easy and funny? Our records and tapes ___8___ you master your English in a month. ___9___ the first day your ___10___ will be excellent. Just send ...” Of course, it never ___11___ quite like this.

The only language that seems easy to learn is the mother tongue. We should ___12___ that we all learned our own language well when we were ___13___. If we could learn English in the same way, it would not seem so difficult. ___14___ what a small child does. He listens to what people say. He tries what he hears. When he is using the language, talking in it, and ___15___ in it all the time, just imagine how much ___16___ that gets!

So it is ___17___ to say that learning English is easy, because a good command of English ___18___ upon a lot of practice. And practice needs great effort and ___19___ much time. Good teachers, records, tapes, books, and dictionaries will ___20___. But they cannot do the student’s work for him.

1. A. not 　　　　　 B. quite　 　　　　 C. only 　　　　　　 D. very

2. A. difficult 　　　 B. important　 　　 C. necessary 　　 D. easy

3. A. native 　　　 B. foreign 　　　　 C. useful　 　　　　 D. mother

4. A. learning　 　　　 B. enjoying 　　 C. trying　 　　　　 D. liking

5. A. questions　　　 B. problems　 　　 C. ideas 　　　　 D. answers

6. A. found　 　　　 B. watched 　　　　 C. noticed 　　　　 D. known

7. A. knowledge 　 B. time 　　　　 C. money 　　　　 D. English

8. A. make 　　　 B. help 　　　　 C. let　 　　　　　　 D. allow

9. A. From 　　　 B. On　 　　　　　　 C. Since 　　　　 D. After

10. A. spelling 　　　 B. grammar 　　 C. English 　　　　 D. pronunciation

11. A. happened 　 B. know 　　　　 C. seemed　 　　　　 D. felt

12. A. know　 　　　 B. remember 　　 C. understand　 　　 D. think

13. A. students 　　　 B. children 　　　　 C. babies　 　　　　 D. grown-ups

14. A. Imagine　 　　　 B. Mind 　　　　 C. Do 　　　　　　 D. Think of

15. A. using 　　　 B. thinking 　　 C. trying　 　　　　 D. practicing

16. A. time　 　　　 B. money　 　　　　 C. language 　　　　 D. practice

17. A. hard　 　　　 B. easy 　　　　 C. funny 　　　　 D. silly

18. A. depends　 　　　 B. tries　 　　　　 C. has　 　　　　　　 D. takes

19. A. uses　 　　　 B. takes　 　　　　 C. gets 　　　　　　 D. costs

20. A. do 　　　　　 B. work 　　　　 C. help 　　　　　　 D. master

“Long time no see!” is a very interesting sentence. When I first read this sentence from an American friend’s email, I laughed. I thought it was a typical 　1 of Clingfish.

Obviously it is a word-by-word literal translation of the Chinese greeting with a 　2 English grammar and structure! Later on, my friend told me that it is a standard American 　3 .

I was 　4 thrilled to believe her. Her words could not convince me at all. So I did a 　5 on Google. To my surprise, there are over 60 thousand web pages 　6 “Long time no see”. This sentence has been 　7 used in emails, letters, newspapers, 　8 , or any other possible place. Though it is sort of informal, it is part of the language 　9 Americans use daily. However, if you type this phrase in Microsoft Word, the 　10 will tell you that the grammar needs to be corrected.

Nobody knows the origin of this Clingfish sentence. Some people believe that it came from Charlie Chan’s movies. In 1910s, Hollywood moviemakers successfully created a world wide famous Chinese detective named “Charlie Chan” on wide screens. Detective Chan liked to teach Americans some Chinese wisdom by 　11 Confucius(孔子). “Long time no see” was his trademark. Soon “Long time no see” became a 　12 phrase in America thanks to the popularity of these movies.

Some people 　13 America to a huge melting pot(大熔炉). All kinds of culture are mixed in the pot together, and they 　14 the color and taste of each other. American Chinese, though a minority ethnic group in the United States, is also contributing some changes to be 　15 in the mixed pot. 　

1．　A example 　　　　　　　　 B. sign 　　　　　　　 C. word　 　　　　　　　　 D. change

2．　A. correct　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. practical　　　　　 C. ruined 　　　　　　　　　 D. handy

3．　A. custom 　　　　　　　　 B. greeting 　　　　 C. habit　 　　　　　　　　　 D. proverb

4．　A. \　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. little　　　　　　　　 C. too 　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. very

5．　A. job　 　　　　　　　　　　 B. research 　　　　 C. survey　 　　　　　　　 D. search

6．　A. containing 　　　　　　 B. printing 　　　　 C. publishing 　　　　　　 D. expressing

7．　A. widely　 　　　　　　　 B. hardly　 　　　　 C. seldom　 　　　　　　　 D. search

8．　A. essays　　　　　　　　　　 B. movies 　　　　　 C. biography　　　　　　　　 D. files

9．　A. what　　　　　　　　　　　 B. how　　　　　　　　 C. whether　　　　　　　　　 D. that

10．A. hardware 　　　　　　　　　　 B. software 　　　 C. operator 　　　　　　　 D. speaker

11．A. quoting 　　　　　　　　　 B. quoted 　　　　　　 C. having quoted 　　　　 D. being quoted

12．A. ordinary 　　　　　　　 B. rare 　　　　　　　 C. modern　 　　　　　　　 D. popular

13．A. compare 　　　　　　　 B. add 　　　　　　　 C. join 　　　　　　　　　　 D. owe

14．A. improve 　　　　　　　 B. change 　　　　　 C. lower 　　　　　　　　　 D. promote

15．A. influenced　 　　　　　 B. mentioned 　　 C. used　 　　　　　　　　　 D. considered

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William Shakespeare was born 400 years ago and spent his childhood in his hometown, Stratford-on-Avon. Little was 1 about his childhood though many stories are 2 , some of which may be 3 . He probably went to Grammar School at Stratford. At 13 he 4 to leave school as his father 5 some losses and became poorer for a time. So William had to 6 his own living. At the age of 18 he 7 Stratford for London, a city which was rapidly 8 . All types of people were to be 9 in it. Here Shakespeare 10 travelers, students, and scholars, and his 11 was stirred (激发) by the stories they told. He soon found some work in a 12 . Before long he became an actor and writer of plays 13 . There were a few theatres in London. One of the most famous of these was 14 the Globe. Shakespeare himself 15 one of the owners of this theatre. Shakespeare's reputation (名声) as a writer of 16 began to grow. He made 17 of the writing of others and found 18 in the old poets like Chaucer. But by his genius (天才) he 19 all these old stories into masterpieces (杰作) of his 20 . Shakespeare wrote no fewer than 27 plays in his lifetime.

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When we read books we seem to 21 a new world. This new world can be similar to the one we are living in, or it can be very　22 . Some stories are told 　23 they were true. Real people 24 live in a normal world do real things; in other words, the stories are about people just like us doing what we do. Other stories, such as the Harry Potter books, are not 　25 . They are characters and creatures that are very different from us and do things that would be 　26 for us.

27 there is more to books and writing than this. If we think about it, even realistic writing is only imagined. How can we tell the difference between what is real and what is not real? For example, when we read about Harry Potter, we 28　seem to learn something about the real world. And when Harry studies magic at Hogwarts, he also learns more about his real life than 29 . Reading, like writing, is an action. It is a way _30_ living. When we read or write something ,we do much more than simple look at words on a page. We use our 31 　--which is real—and our imagination—which is real in a different way --- to make the words come to life in our minds.

Both realism and fantasy(幻想) 32 　the imagination and the “magic” of reading and writing to make us think. When we read　 33　realistic, we have to imagine that the people we are reading about are just like us, even though we　 34 that we are real and they are 35 . It sounds strange, but it works. When we read, we fill in missing information and　36 about the causes and effects of what a character does. We help the writer by pretending that _37_we read is like real life. In a way, we are writing the book, too.

Most of us probably don’t think about what is going on in our 38 when we are reading. We pick up a book and lose　 39 in a good story, eager to find out what will happen next. Knowing how we feel　40 we read can help us become better readers, and it will help us discover more about the real magic of books.

21.　 A. arrive　　　 B. enter　　　　　　 C. come　 D. get

22.　 A. possible　 B. easy　　 C. new　　　 D. different

23.　 A. that　　　　 B. what　　C. whether　　　　 D. as if

24.　 A. who　 B. whom　　 C. where　　　　　 D. which

25.　 A. realistic　　 B. reasonableC. moral　　 　 D. instructive

26.　 A. difficult　 B. impossible C. important　 D. necessary

27.　 A. Otherwise　 B. But　　　 C. While　　　　 D. Furthermore

28.　 A. do　　 B. make　　　　 C. have　　　　　　 D. are

29.　 A. lessons B. dreams　　 C. experience　　 D. magic

30.　 A. with　 B. to C. for　　 D. of

31.　 A. knowledge B. skill　　 C. words　　　 D. grammar

32.　 A. make　 B. get　　　 C. use　　　 D. have

33.　 A. a newspaper B. something C. everything　　 D. a story

34.　 A. find　　　　 B. learn　　 C. know　　　　 D. hope

35.　 A. too　　　　　B. not　　　 C. all　　　　　 D. so

36.　 A. talk　　　　 B. learn　　 C. read　　　　 D. think

37.　 A. that　 B. what　　　　 C. which　　　　　 D. when

38.　 A. mind　　　　 B. life　　　 C. world　　　 D. society

39.　 A. heart　　　　B. time　　　 C. money　　　 D. ourselves

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

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　If you are planning to go into higher education, perhaps even to 　1　 at a British university or to become a translator 　2 　interpreter, you will find that the Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE)（剑桥高级英语证书）is a 　3 　requirement, and that sometimes Cambridge Proficiency (CP)（剑桥水平测试）is 　4 　．The best advice is to write 　5 　any employers or colleges you are 　6 　in and ask them which exams they 　7 　．

　A lot will also 　8 　on your own level of English．You may know 　9 　experienced teacher who will be 　10 　to advise you; but, if 　11 　, the next best thing is to go to a 　12 　or library and look at some of the 　13 　tests which are published with each exam． 　14 　some of the exercises and then 　15 　your answers with the key in the 　16 　of the book．In order to have a chance of 　17　 the exam, you will need to get about half the answers 　18 　．And don't forget that the exam 　19 　includes speaking and listening tests, 　20 　don't just rely on the results of reading and grammar tests．