A language never stands still. It is always changing and developing. These changes are rapid in primitive societies, but slow in advanced ones, because the invention

and printing and the spread of education have fixed a traditional usage. The only important change that English has undergone since the first of the 16th century is a large increase in its vocabulary. It is interesting to trace the different way in which new words are invented. Let us take just two English words and see how they were made, sandwich and television.

   Sandwich, which is now no longer are entirely English words, but also international, comes from the Earl of Sandwich (died in 1792) who invented the particular form of quick meal so that he could go on gambling all through the night without stopping for dinner. Many names of things are in fact taken from the name of the first inventors, for example, the electrical terms Watt and Volt.

    Television is one of many new scientific words which re invented from old Greek and Latin word. “Tele” is Greek, meaning “far”, while “vision” comes from the Latin verb, meaning “to see”.

1. “Stands” in the first sentence means___________.

   A. be in a certain condition　　　　　　　　  　　   B. not sit

   C. remain without change　　　　　　　　    D. rise to the feet

2. What do you think Volt was? It referred to_________.

   A. a player　　　　  B. a physicist　　　　 C. a writer　　 D. a nurse

3. The invention of sandwich has something to do with__________.

   A. work　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　      B. study

   C. gambling　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. journey

4. English has undergone an important change in its vocabulary for almost _______centuries.

   A. five　　　　    B. four　　　　   C. three　　　　   D. six

5. The language cannot develop rapidly in advanced societies because_______.

   A. the societies have stopped changing

   B. the printing has been invented

   C. the education has spread

   D. both B and C

 

Pigs are always considered dirty animals because they roll in mud．But in fact they prefer  being quite clean．They cover themselves with mud to help stay cool．During cooler weather,  they prefer to stay clean．So do elephants,who also cover themselves in dust or mud to keep cool． When they find a place with clean water they will take a bath，using their long noses to give  themselves—or each other—a nice shower
Some animals use dust to get clean．Chinchillas (南美洲栗鼠) have very fine fur． They don`t like to take water baths because water is not warm enough for them．So, instead, they roll  around in fine dust．The dust helps to keep their fur and skin dry．This protects them from disease
Usually, a small bird is a light meal for a crocodile．But when a crocodile wants its teeth  cleaned．it lies on the ground with its mouth open．The crocodile bird goes in and picks out any  parasites(寄生虫)between the crocodile`s teeth or under its tongue．The crocodile gets its mouth cleaned，and the crocodile bird gets dinner．
You wouldn`t think fish would need baths．But some undersea parasites live under the  fish`s skin．“Cleaner”fish，like the wrasse(隆头鱼)，help take them away．The wrasse stands on its head and dances to signal a big fish that it is ready to go into the cleaning business．The big fish will stop moving and open its mouth wide so the wrasse can swim inside and pick out  parasites and bits of food．
【小题1】The passage is mainly about how animals         ．

A．stay clean	B．help each other
C．get their food	D．Take baths

【小题2】What can we learn from the first paragraph about pigs?

A．They can help each other take baths．

B．They are dirtier during cooler weather．

C．They prefer taking baths to rolling in mud．

D．They like to stay cool and clean．

【小题3】Chinchillas use dust to get clean for the following reasons EXCEPT that         ．

A． dust can dry their fur and skin

B．They are not good at swimming

C．Water is too cold for them

D．Dust is good for their health

【小题4】From Paragraphs 3 and 4，we earl know that         ．

A．some animals can get clean from others`help

B．Most animals are friendly to each other

C．small animals couldn`t get food from big ones

D．All of the animals prefer to stay clean

【小题5】We can infer from the last paragraph that the wrasse

A．is often eaten by other fish

B．1ikes under other fish`s skin

C．is a small kind of fish

D．1ikes taking baths

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。  

“Cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, and fills it with a steady perpetual（永久的）serenity（平静）．’’—Joseph Addison

       Annually my husband’s family has a reunion．At one of the recent 25 ，the weather was cloudy, and more rain was  26  ．The family members who arrived early were  27 about the possibility of rain and the  28  it would have on attendance．

       It did rain，but as it started，a car  29  and out of the passenger side suddenly appeared Uncle Earl，  30  by the family, who is 96 years old and has been  31  for many years．Just the arrival of Uncle Earl immediately  32  the spirits of the group．

       Ever cheerful and optimistic，Uncle Earl  33  to amaze the family．One by one he 34  each member, held their hands，gave them a piece of candy and made them laugh

         35  l stood back，1 watched how his behavior and  36  brought a smile to everyone’s face He didn’t spend time telling everyone about his illness as others were doing．I  37  that it was his choice to be of good cheer and not focus on the  38  aspects of his life．By doing so, each family member had to respond in the same  39  ．

       Just before we began to feast on the wonderful  40  ，Earl stood up and spoke to the group for a few minutes．He asked everyone to take a lighthearted approach to  41  happened. He said he had prayed for us all to arrive and to return home  42  ，so we need not worry about the rain．Then he gave us all his blessing．I know I felt  43  to be with him.

       What is happening in your life  44  ？Are you taking a cheerful approach to your day? Be of good cheer! Like Uncle Earl!

A．moments       B．reunions   C．meals       D．discussions

A．informed       B．argued      C．predicted  D．demanded

A．happy    B．excited     C．interested  D．concerned

A．danger   B．significance      C．effect       D．consequence

A．pulled up      B．drove off  C．pushed in        D．sped up

A．told       B．called       C．known      D．recognized

A．homeless       B．blind C．silent D．lost

A．changed B．reacted     C．bothered   D．showed

A．continues      B．refuses      C．plans D．tends

A．scratched     B．admired    C．scolded     D．addressed

A．Although     B．As     C．Once D．If

A．cheerfulness B．thankfulness     C．pessimism D．complaint

A．realized       B．explained  C．decided     D．urged

A．violent B．positive    C．meaningful      D．negative

A．order   B．place C．manner     D．direction

A．min     B．food  C．life    D．car

A．whatever     B．whichever C．however   D．wherever

A．early    B．slowly      C．quickly     D．safely

A．beaten  B．disappointed     C．blessed     D．surprised

A．at times       B．in time     C．right now  D．from now

The fictional Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan was the subject of popular books and movies for many decades. In recent years, however, the character has been criticized as an ill image of Asian-Americans.

Yunte Huang, an English professor at the University of California, says that’s not the case. He has been exploring the character and real-life policeman who inspired him.

Charlie Chan has been a familiar character to readers and film-goers, beginning in the 1920s. The detective solved crimes around the world in more than 40 films through the 1940s, and with the invention of television, found a new audience in the 1950s and 1960s.

Huang discovered Charlie Chan through books by American author Earl Derr Biggers, who created the character.

“One day, I happened to find two Charlie Chan novels. At that point I thought I knew that he was a negative character against Asians, but when I read the book,” he says, “I was immediately attracted. Ever since then, I’ve been a fan of Charlie Chan.”

As a fan of the books and films, Huang was surprised to learn that Charlie Chan was based on a real detective named Chang Apana, who was born to Chinese parents in Hawaii around 1871. Apana worked as a cowboy, and joined the Honolulu police force in 1898.

“He almost immediately became a local legend because as a former cowboy,” says Huang, “he would walk the most dangerous areas in Chinatown carrying a bullwhip（皮鞭）instead of a gun. He didn’t need that.”

Although some say the image of Charlie Chan, with his broken English, is embarrassing for Asian-Americans, Huang believes Chan’s broken English and unusual ancient sayings were part of his charm（魅力）.

“Let me just quote（引用）a few – ‘Actions speak louder than French,’ or ‘Mind like parachute (降落伞). Only function when open.’ Charlie Chan always owes these instructive sayings to Confucius’ eastern wisdom.

For Huang, the fictional Charlie Chan is highly entertaining, while the real-life policeman, Chang Apana, is a Chinese-American success, whose story is worth telling.

1.The passage mainly talks about ______________.

A．how Yunte Huang discovered Charlie Chan

B．how Charlie Chan became famous in the US

C．what Yunte Huang thought of Charlie Chan

D．how a cowboy became a famous detective

2.According to the passage, we know that Charlie Chan __________.

A．was a character in books and movies based on a real detective

B．was a famous actor starring in movies beginning from the 1920s

C．was a famous detective solving crimes all over the world

D．was a Chinese immigrant who became a local legend

3.Chang Apana didn’t need a gun as a weapon because__________.

A．he had his personal charm

B．he liked being a cowboy

C．he was not a true policeman

D．a bullwhip was more useful

4.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A．American author Earl Derr Biggers gave an ill picture of Asian-Americans

B．Yunte Huang believes Charlie Chan represents Asian wisdom in some way

C．Chan’s story was more popular with TV audience than readers and film-goers

D．Charlie Chan became an ill image of Asian-Americans when it first appeared.

 

Pigs are always considered dirty animals because they roll in mud．But in fact they prefer  being quite clean．They cover themselves with mud to help stay cool．During cooler weather,  they prefer to stay clean．So do elephants,who also cover themselves in dust or mud to keep cool．When they find a place with clean water they will take a bath，using their long noses to give  themselves—or each other—a nice shower
Some animals use dust to get clean．Chinchillas (南美洲栗鼠) have very fine fur． They don`t like to take water baths because water is not warm enough for them．So, instead, they roll  around in fine dust．The dust helps to keep their fur and skin dry．This protects them from disease
Usually, a small bird is a light meal for a crocodile．But when a crocodile wants its teeth  cleaned．it lies on the ground with its mouth open．The crocodile bird goes in and picks out any  parasites(寄生虫)between the crocodile`s teeth or under its tongue．The crocodile gets its mouth cleaned，and the crocodile bird gets dinner．
You wouldn`t think fish would need baths．But some undersea parasites live under the  fish`s skin．“Cleaner”fish，like the wrasse(隆头鱼)，help take them away．The wrasse stands on its head and dances to signal a big fish that it is ready to go into the cleaning business．The big fish will stop moving and open its mouth wide so the wrasse can swim inside and pick out  parasites and bits of food．
【小题1】The passage is mainly about how animals         ．

A．stay clean

B．help each other

C．get their food

D．Take baths

【小题2】What can we learn from the first paragraph about pigs?

A．They can help each other take baths．

B．They are dirtier during cooler weather．

C．They prefer taking baths to rolling in mud．

D．They like to stay cool and clean．

【小题3】Chinchillas use dust to get clean for the following reasons EXCEPT that         ．

A． dust can dry their fur and skin

B．They are not good at swimming

C．Water is too cold for them

D．Dust is good for their health

【小题4】From Paragraphs 3 and 4，we earl know that         ．

A．some animals can get clean from others`help

B．Most animals are friendly to each other

C．small animals couldn`t get food from big ones

D．All of the animals prefer to stay clean

【小题5】We can infer from the last paragraph that the wrasse

A．is often eaten by other fish

B．1ikes under other fish`s skin

C．is a small kind of fish

D．1ikes taking baths