When someone says, "Well, I guess I’ll have to go to face the music", it does not mean he is planning to go to a concert. It is something far less pleasant, like being called in by your boss to explain why you did this or that, and why you did not do this or that. Sour（剌耳的; 拙劣的）music, indeed, but it has to be faced.

The phrase “to face the music” is familiar to every American, young and old. It is at least 100 years old. Where did the expression come from?

The first information comes from the American writer James Fennimore Cooper. He said in 1851 that the expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings to go on stage. After they got their cue（提示，暗示） to go on, they often said, "It’s time to go to face the music." And that is exactly what they did--- face the orchestra (管弦乐队) which was just below the stage.

An actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved on to the stage in front of the audience that might be friendly or perhaps unfriendly especially if he forgot his lines. But he had to go out. So, “to face the music" came to mean having to go through something, no matter how unpleasant the experience might be, because you knew you had no choice.

The other explanation comes from the army. Men had to face inspection(视 察)by their leader. The soldiers worried about how well they looked. Was their equipment clean--shiny enough to pass inspection? Still, the men had to go out, and face the music of the band, as well as the inspection. What else could they do?

According to the passage, the word “music" means________.

A．your boss’s criticism(批评)              B．your leader’s inspection

C．something unpleasant to be experienced    D．sour pop music

The phrase ‘to face the music" was first used by _______.

A．all the Americans       B．the American writer James Fennimore cooper

C．some American actors   D．the American orchestra

An actor might feel frightened or nervous when going on stage. One of the reasons is that ______.

A．his performance was not good at all

B．he might not remember what he should say on stage

C．he had to face the unfriendly audience

D．most of the audience might be his friends

to face the music" is also used to mean that soldiers were not willing _______.

A．to be examined about their equipment    B．to be found weak

C．to show themselves up in public         D．to be inspected by their leader

The passage is mainly about_______.

A．the meaning of the phrase ‘to face the music"  B．how to deal with something unpleasant

C．how to learn English phrase                D．how to go through difficulty

One topic is rarely mentioned in all the talk of improving standards in our schools: the almost complete failure of foreign-language teaching. As a French graduate who has taught for more than twenty-five years, I believe I have some idea of why the failure is so total.  21  the faults already found out in the education system as a whole — such as child-centred learning, the “discovery” method, and the low expectations by teachers of pupils — there have been several serious  22  which have a direct effect on language teaching.

The first is the removal from the curriculum (课程) of the thorough teaching of English  23 . Pupils now do not know a verb from a noun, the subject of a sentence from its object, or the difference between the past, present, or future.

Another important error is mixed-ability teaching, or teaching in ability groups so  24  that the most able groups are  25  and are bored while the least able are lost and  26  bored. Strangely enough, few head teachers seem to be in favour of mixed-ability school football teams.

Progress depends on memory, and pupils start to forget immediately they stop having 27  lessons. This is why many people who attended French lessons at school, even those who got good grades, have  28  it a few years later. Because they never need it, they do not practice it.

Most American schools have accepted what is inevitable and  29  modern languages, even Spanish, from the curriculum. Perhaps it is time for Britain to do the same, and stop  30  resources on a subject which few pupils want or need.

21. A. Due to                 B. In addition to       C. Instead of            D. In spite of

22. A. errors                  B. situations             C. systems               D. methods

23. A. vocabulary           B. culture                C. grammar             D. literature

24. A. wide                    B. similar                C. separate               D. unique

25. A. kept out               B. turned down        C. held back            D. left behind

26. A. surprisingly          B. individually         C. equally                D. hardly

27. A. extra                   B. traditional           C. basic                   D. regular

28. A. needed                 B. forgotten             C. practised             D. left

29. A. restored               B. absorbed             C. prohibited           D. withdrawn

30. A. wasting                B. focusing              C. exploiting            D. sharing

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As American friend of mine who was high up in a big corporation had worked out a way of heading a good of e-mails before most of us bad, even heard of the concept. If any information he was sent was vital enough, his back of response would ensure the sender rang him up , if the sender wasn’t important enough to have his private numbers the communication couldn’t be that important, my friend is now even more senior in the same company so the strategy must work.

Almost every week now there seems to be a report suggesting that we are all being driven crazy by the bother of e-mail. He this is the case, it’s only because we haven’t developed an appropriate in dealing with it.

________ Firstly. You junk nothing with an exclamation mark on a string of capital letters, or from my address, you don’t recognize on feel confident about.

Secondly, e-mail don’t and have to be answered. Because e-mail is so easy, there’s a tendency for correspondence to carry on for ever, but it is permissible to stop an endless discussion or to accept a point of information sent by a colleague without acknowledging it.

Thirdly, a reply e-mail thoughts have to be the same length as the original. We all have e-mail pals who send long, chatty e-mails, which are nice to receive, but who then expect an equally long reply. The chart of e-mail can consist in the simple, incomplete sentence, totally regardless of the of the bread of the letter meat by post. You are perfectly within the bounds of politeness in responding to a marathon e-mail with a better reply.

Which sentence in the passage to the closest in meaning to the following one?

The possible existence of annoyance results from our inability to sort out e-mails.

Fill in the blank in Paragraph 3 with a proper sentence. (within 10 words )

What advice si given in the last paragraph? (within 10 words)

For what purpose does the author mention his American friend in Paragraph 1? (within 10 words)

Franslate the underlined sentence in the last paragraph into Chinese.

It is sometimes said that strange flying objects have been seen high up in the sky. People call these strange objects Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO). These UFOs caused a lot of interest. Some of the reports about them are difficult to believe. Some have been explained in scientific ways. Others have never been explained. Here is an account of UFOs from a report.

Dennis Burdens, who wrote an article, tells us that he once saw a UFO himself. He was having dinner one night with a friend near Tripoli, Libya, and after dinner the two men walked across a yard to his room to look at some papers. Burdens noticed that the moon looked strange that night.

“It wasn’t the moon ”, was the reply.

They watched the light and saw that it was moving. It seemed to be an object rather like a big plate. In some ways it looked like smoke with a light on it, but it wasn’t smoke because it didn’t change its shape. It was moving in a regular way. That is to say, it didn’t go suddenly faster or more slowly, and it didn’t go higher or lower. So the two men decided that there must be men in it.

After that, Burdens said that he felt eyes looking at him. He was being watched in the darkness.

When it was nearer, they noticed that the bottom parts were brighter than the top. The bottom was yellow and the top red. Then the object suddenly turned away and left Libya, moving very fast.

On a later day Burdens talked to other people about it, and he found some who had seen it. They all described it in the same way. Could they all be mistaken?

UFOs are _____.

A. flying high up in the sky    B. strange flying objects

C. difficult to believe         D. very interested

A UFO was seen one night _____.

A. when they were walking across a yard to Burdens’ room

B. while they were looking at the light

C. when Burdens noticed the moon appearing strange

D. while they were having dinner

The UFO moved _______.

A. regularly   B. in a changeable way  C. slowly    D. fast

The UFO looked like _____ .

A. smoke  B. a large plate   C. light   D. a jumping object

The UFO was seen ______ .

A. by Burdens and his friend          B. brighter in the darkness

C. by several people   D. to have a yellow bottom and a red top in the same way

   At a certain time in our lives we consider every place as the possible sites(地点) for a house. I have thus searched the country within a dozen miles of where I live. In imagination I have bought all the farms, one after another, and I knew their prices.

   The nearest thing that I came to actual ownership was when I bought the Hollowell place. But before the owner completed the sale with me, his wife changed her mind and wished to keep it, and he offered me additional dollars to return the farm to him. However, I let him keep the additional dollars and sold him the farm for just what I gave for it.

   The real attractiong of the Hollowell farm to me were its position, being about two miles from the village, half a mile from the nearest neighbor, bounded(相邻) on one side by the river, and separated from the highway by a wide field. The poor condition fo the house and fences showed that it hadn’t been used for some time. I remembered from my earliest trip up the river that the house used to be hidden behind a forest area, and I was in a hurry to buy it before the owner finished getting out some rocks, cutting down the apples trees, and clearing away some young trees which had grown up in the fields. I wanted to buy it before he made any more of his improvements. But it turned out as I have said.

   I was not really troubled by the loss. I had always had a garden, but I don’t thing I was ready for a large farm. I believe that as long as possible it is better to live free and uncommitted (无牵挂的). It makes but little difference whether you own a farm or not.

What do we know about the author?

   A. He wanted to buy the oldest farm near where he lived.

   B. He made a study of many farms before buying.

   C. He made money by buying and selling farms.

   D. He had the money to buy the best farm in the country.

Why did the author decide to buy the Hollowell place?

   A. It was of good market value.

   B. It was next to the highway.

   C. It was in a good position.

   D. It was behind a nice garden.

Why did the author want to buy the farm in a hurry?

   A. He was afraid the owner might changes his mind.

   B. He hoped to enlarge the forest on the farm.

   C. He wanted to keep the farm as it was.

   D. He was eager to become a farm owner.

The underlined words “the loss” in the last paragraph refer to ___.

A. the money the author lost in buying the farm

B. the sale of the garden in the Hollowell place

C. the removal of the trees around the house

D. the failure to possess the Hollowell place

What does the author believe as important in life?

A. To own a farm                    B. To satisfy his needs

C. To be free from worries             D. To live in the countryside