It is sometimes said that the English are polite people. This can make life difficult for foreigners. Suppose a foreign boy asks an English girl to go out with him and she says, “If I finish my work, I'll meet you in the cafe at 7 o'clock.” Is she saying “yes” or “no” to his invitation?

　　In grammatical terms, she is using the conditional structure. By using the conditional, speakers of English can avoid giving a “yes” or “no” answer to a question. It enables people to be diplomatic. If the girl doesn't want to go out with the boy, she won't turn up at the cafe. She will let him understand she is still working. If she wants to go out with him, but doesn't want to appear too easy to catch, she has achieved that with her reply. But in this case, as she uses the first conditional which shows probability, she is quite likely to turn up at the cafe. Being polite can make life very difficult!

　　The conditional is often used by people in the news－politicians, for example－who wish to avoid speaking out their ideas. This is very important if they are on their way to discuss an agreement. No one wants to give away his or her points before he or she starts. A government spokesman might say to a group of workers, “If we could pay you more, we would.” The use of the conditional here makes room for argument although the speaker is using the second conditional form, which shows improbability. So it is unlikely the workers will get their rise.

　　“If” is a small word, which appears often in the English language. It can show politeness, reported speech and conditionals such as the First－probability－if I can come to your party, I will; the Second－improbability－if I saw you tomorrow, I'd give you the book; and the Third－impossibility (meaning it is too late to change something that has happened)－if you have told me, I would have helped you.

　　注：conditional structure表示条件的句式，avoid避免，diplomatic婉转的，achieve达到，politician政客

1．The using of the conditional can make a speech ________.

[　　]

2．Which of the following is TURE according to the passage?

[　　]

A．Language used in the news should make room to argue.

B．Usually English girls are not easy to catch.

C．English people never speak out their ideas in public.

D．The word “if” can show different meanings.

3．In the passage, “If we could pay you more, we would.” probably means ________.

[　　]

A．the workers will make more money

B．the spokesman doesn't give any promise

C．the spokesman keeps his word

D．the workers' problems aren't difficult

4．This passage is mainly talking about ________.

[　　]

A．the conditional in communication

B．how to invite a girl in Britain

C．British people and their life

D．some language points in daily English

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项。

One day, a teacher was speaking to a group of students about how to manage time. He gave such an interesting example that his students would never 　31 .

He put a wide-mouth jar (罐子) on the table. Then he 　 32 some rocks and carefully placed them into the jar, one at a time. When 33 rocks would fit inside, he 　34 , “Is this jar full?”

Everyone in class shouted, “Yes.” “Really?” The teacher pulled out a bag of small stones. He put 　35 small stones in and shook the jar. The small stones went 　36 into the spaces between the big rocks. He then asked the group　 37 , “Is this jar full?”

“Probably not,” one of them answered. “Good!” the teacher replied. He brought out a box of sand and 　38 some sand into the jar and it went between the rocks and small stones. Again he asked the 　39 question, “Is this jar full?

“No,” the class shouted. Once more the teacher said, “Good.” He poured a cup of water into the jar 　40 it was full. The he asked, “What is the point here?” One student 　41 his hand and said, “The point is that if you try really hard, you can 　42 put more things in.”

“No,” the teacher replied, “that’s not the 43 . What I want to tell you is that if you don’t put the big rocks in first, you will never get others in at all. 　44 are the ‘big rocks’ in your life? Time with your friends, your education or your dreams? Remember to put the 45 in first, or you’ll never get others in at all.?”

31. A. remember　　　　　 B. like　　　　　　　　　 C. forget　　　　　　　　　　 D. think

32. A. handed in　　　　　 B. took out　　　　　 C. gave away　　　　 　 D. put away

33. A. no more　　　　　　　　　　 B. not more　　　　　 C. no many　　　　　　　　　 D. not many

34. A. answered　　　　　 B. read　　　　　　　　 C. asked　　　　　　　　　　　 D. said

35. A. no　　　　　　　　　　 B. few　　　　　　　　　 C. any　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. some

36. A. up　　　　　　　　　　 B. out　　　　　　　　　 C. down　　　　　　　　　　　 D. away

37. A. no more　　　　　　　　　　 B. again　 　　　　　 C. a third time　　　　　　　 D. a fourth time

38. A. sent　　　　　　　　　 B. put　　　　　　　　　 C. bought　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. collected

39. A. same　　　　　　　　 B. different　　　　　 C. difficult　　　　　　　　　 D. common

40. A. since　　　　　　　　 B. till　　　　　　　　　　 C. while　　　　　　　　　　　 D. because

41. A. offered　　　　　　　 B. placed　　　　　　　 C. raised　　　　　　　　　　　 D. shook

42. A. always　　　　　　　 B. already　　　　　　 C. never　　　　　　　　　　　 D. hardly

43. A. point　　　　　　　　　 B. example　　　　　　 C. promise　　　　　　　　　 D. story

44. A. When　　　　　　　　 B. What　　　　　　　　 C. Who　　　　　　　　　　　 D. Why

45. A. sand　　　　　　　　　 B. small stones　　　 C. big rocks　　　　　　　　 D. water

阅读下面对话和短文，根据其内容，选择最佳答案。

    Salesman： $73.07，please.

    Peter： What? Show me the receipt.

    Salesman： Here it is.

    Peter： Look. The price on this shirt is $17. But the receipt says $27.

    Salesman： You are right. The receipt is wrong.

    Peter： And what is the $5.57 for?

    Salesman： That’s for tax（税）.

   1   The $5.57 is for the ___________.

A. tax            B. bags       C. jacket         D. shirt

   2   When did Peter do shopping?

A. On June 17.    B. At noon.    C. On June 25.    D. At night.

    China has three economic areas(经济区): eastern China，central China，and western China.

Shanxi，Gansu，Qinghai，Xinjiang，Ningxia，Sichuan，Chongqing，Yunnan，Guizhou and Tibet

are in western China. It covers 5，385，700 square kilometres，making up 56.4% of Chinese

territory(国土) and is home to 230 million people. It is 23% of China's population.

    The western area is rich in mineral(矿产) and energy resources(能源) (water，coal，sun

energy，and wind power). It also has large grassland，ice and snow resources waiting to be

developed. It is home to many wild animals and plants，and it gives us with important medicinal

resource.

    The Chinese leaders have decided to develop the western area. Jiang Zemin said，“Without

development of the western area，how can we modernize the whole country，and how can China

become an economic power?”

    Since 1949，when the People's Republic of China was founded，it is not the first time for

China to develop its western part. China will make its western area a long-term base for economic

development and use its rich resources to develop economic power.

   3  The territory of western China is _______.

A. as large as that of eastern China

      B. as large as that of central China

C. as large as that of eastern China and central China

D. the largest one of the three areas

4  Do you know why we develop western China?

      A. Because the people of western China are rich

B. Because it has 230 million people

C. Because it makes up 56.4% of Chinese territory

D. Because we will modernize the whole country

5 An economic power means _____.

A. a rich and strong country

B. a large country

C. a country with much more population

D. a large country without economic development

6 What is the best advantage(优势) of West China?   

A. Its rich resources  B. Animals   C. Plants  D. Its economic power

7 What is the best title for the passage?

A. China-a large country           B. Developing Western China

C. Home to wild animals and plants  D. Rich Western China

    One day James came up to Dick and said，“Look，what I’ve found in Mr. Trotter’s rubbish

bin!” It was a piece of paper. On it were test questions for history. “That’s our history paper. I’m

sure of it，” said James，“ It’s in Mr. Trotter’s handwriting.” “Yes，I think so.” said Dick. “ I’ll sell the

paper for $1 to our classmates.” said James. So in the three days he went round the class and sold

the “test paper” to his classmates. James felt happy because he got $40. All the students were

sure that these questions would be in the test paper. The questions were quite difficult so they

had to work hard at preparing them.

    The day for the exam came. Mr. Trotter walked into the classroom. “History test，”he said

and then gave out the test paper. Oh dear! It was different from the paper that James had found.

None of the questions were the same. None of the students did well. James had to give all their

money back to his classmates. Ever since he has never looked in teachers’rubbish bins again.

8  Who wrote the test questions on the paper?

A. Mr. Trotter. B. James. C. Dick. D. The headmaster.

9  In the end，James got _________ from his classmates.

    A. $40      B. $1    C. no money    D. some money

10 Which of the following was true?

A. The question in the paper were quite easy.

B. James never sold the test paper to his classmates.

C. The test paper Mr. Trotter gave out was different from the one James had found.

D. Some students did very well in the history exam.

All the parents know that talking to their children about school is very important, but some parents don’t know what questions they should ask their children. They usually ask things like this, what did you do at school today, or How was school today?" Most of the time they may get one - word answers, such as "Nothing" or" Fine" because lots of things happened in the classroom. So it’s hard for the children to answer. Here are some things that might help parents.

     Don ’t ask so soon

   Your child has been in school for a long time before getting off the school bus. Let him relax for a short time before asking any questions.

     1                                                                                                                                                  For some reason, some children only like to talk about school at special times.

For example, some children like to talk about school when they are on the way home. Some like to talk about school when they are in bed at night. Don't ask about school fight away. You can talk with them about other things that they are interested in first. Then you can change the topic to school.

      2                  

    Try to ask your child about something that you’re pretty sure he did at school such as "Did the teacher read any new books today? Did you learn any new songs during music class? How did you do on your spelling test, u you ask more specific questions, you will get more specific answers.

     3                   

    Some children think that school is part of their own private world, and others shouldn’t ask about it. If your child is like that, don’t push. Let him know you’re interested in his school day, and let him talk to you if he has anything really important to share with you.

    A. Ask specific questions

    B. Give children space

C. Build up a special environment

D. Don’t blame (责骂) your child very often

根据短文内容，判断下列各题正误。对的写“T”错的写“F”

4. It’s difficult for the children to answer a question like "What did you do at school today?"

5. This is a passage for children about how to answer the questions that their parents ask.