English nowadays is widely used in science, business, the media and popular cult

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English nowadays is widely used in science, business, the media and popular culture. For example, 80% of e-mails on the internet are in English. But where will English be at the end of the 21^st century?
One view is that English is going to become even more important as a global language, being most widely used in trade and media while some other languages will become less important or just disappear. Another view is that English is already breaking up into several separate languages. There are already dictionaries of the “New Englishes”, such as Australian English, full of words that a British English speaker would not recognize.
Hopefully, neither of these things will happen. Although different varieties of English will continue to develop around the world, standard English will survive for international communication. However, it is impossible for one language to totally control the world. Already, other languages are fighting back against the control of English on the net. Governments around the world are also starting to protect smaller languages and recognize the importance of keeping a variety of cultures and languages. English will probably stay in control for a long time, but it certainly won’t become the only language in the world.
小题1: According to the situation, how many people do you think speak English now?

A．200 million

B．300 million

C．500 million

D．a billion

小题2:At present, what is the most important language in the world?

A．Chinese

B．English

C．French

D．German

小题3:What is the best title of the passage?

A．The Change of English	B．Different Varieties of English
C．The Future of English	D．The Cause of English Change

答案

小题1:D
小题2:B
小题3:C

解析

略

举一反三

●The first double hand transplant patient in the US has left a hospital after medicine cleared up
small red spots on his skin that signaled he might be rejecting his new hands. Jeff Kepner, a 58-year-old former chief cook in a restaurant, lost his hands and feet a decade ago to a bacteria infection. The donor was a 23-year-old man.
●A second major storm in less than a week was blowing yesterday toward the Washington area, where federal government offices were closed for a second day and workers struggled to restore power knocked out by a weekend heavy snowstorm. The storm could leave as much as 20 inches (50 centimeters) of new snow in Washington and nearly as much near Philadelphia –a Northeast travel-hub by tonight.
●British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will give evidence to a public inquiry into the Iraq War in early March, officials for the inquiry said yesterday. Brown’s appearance, just weeks before an election expected in May, could hit the ruling Labour Patry’s attempts to catch up in the polls （民意调查）behind the opposition party Conservatives. Brown, who will be questioned about his time as prime minister, will be a witness in the highest position at the inquiry since former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s appearance last month.
●The head of the UN agency aiding Palestine refugees （难民）is warning a funding shortfall and appealing for another $100 million. Filippo Grandi says the money is necessary for education, health and social services for 4.7 million Palestinian refugees scattered across Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The agency’s 2010 budget is $620 million, and it expects a shortfall of $140 million. The agency says $100 million is necessary for basic services.
64．The passage is most probably adapted from        .
A．new items in a newspaper       B．descriptions of the world situation
C．discussions on foreign affairs D．statements of a government report
65．It can be inferred from the passage that        .
A．the man lost his hands for an unknown reason
B．the result of the transplant operation seems satisfying
C．another storm will hit Washington area in less than a week
D．the electricity supply was cut off in Philadelphia a week ago
66．According to the passage, Gordon Brown          .
A．is the leader of the ruling Labour Party in Britain
B．will send army to the Iraq War in March this year
C．will compete with former Prime Minister Tony Blair
D．is now gaining more support from voters than others
67．Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the fourth news?
A．$100 million should be needed for the survival of the refugees.
B．At least $100 million is to be raised for Palestinian refugees.
C．The refugees mentioned in the passage are in the Middle Africa.
D．It is a tough job for the UN agency to get money for the refugees.

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Huge global interest in “the best job in the world”—earning good money for lazing on a paradise(天堂) island for 6 months — has crashed the Australian website where it is advertised.
The job pays 150,000 Australian dollars (about 100,000 US dollars) and includes free airfares from the successful candidate’s home country to tropical Hamilton Island on the famous Great Barrier Reef. In return, the winner will be expected to have as much fun as he or she can — soaking up the sun, swimming, snorkeling, sailing—and report to a global audience via weekly blogs, photo diaries and video updates.
The successful candidate—who will stay rent—free in a multi-million-dollar three-bedroom beach home—must be over 18, a “fantastic and charismatic” communicator, and able to speak and write English.
The campaign is a key element in a drive to promote the northeastern Australian state’s 18-billion-dollars-a-year tourism industry during the tough global economic climate, officials say. And they are at pains to stress that it is “a real job”.
The successful applicants will “also have to talk to media from time to time about what they’re doing so they can’t be too shy and they’ll have to love the sea, the sun, the outdoors,” said acting state Premier Paul Lucas. “The fact that they will be paid to explore the islands of the great Barrier Reef, swim, snorkel and generally live the Queensland lifestyle makes this undoubtedly the best job in the world.”
60. The Australian website was crashed because          .
A. some people destroyed it         B. the website was clicked very frequently
C. the website was infected by a virus D. the government banned the website
61. To apply for the job, the person is supposed         .
A. to have a good knowledge of Australia   B. to be strong in health
C. to be able to speak at least 3 languages   D. to talk to media from time to time
62. The purpose of the campaign is to improve         .
A. the global economy              B. the environment
C. the popularity of the website       D. the tourism industry
63. Through the passage, the writer is intended to         .
A. encourage everyone to apply for the job
B. tell us something about the most attractive job
C. encourage everyone to visit the Great Barrier Reef
D. support Australian tourism industry

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3D comes home
Have you had this experience? You are watching a movie. A man is shooting on the screen. The picture is so real that you think he is shooting at you. Or a car is speeding on the screen and at one point you are afraid it will hit you.
Three-dimensional (3D)films use special technology to make pictures seem more real and exciting than two-dimensional ones. Two popular movies in the cinema this year, UP and Ice Age; Dawn of the Dinosaurs both use 3D technology.
So far we can only see 3D films in the cinema with a special screen and projector. But soon, we will be able to watch them in our living rooms. Last month, the Japanese company Sony told reporters that it plans to bring 3D televisions to homes in 2010. The company is also hoping to make other products with 3D, like laptops and PS3.
“      The 3D train is on the track, and we are ready to drive it home,” said Sony President Sir Howard Stringer.
How 3D technology works
Three dimensional movies and TV programs are fun to watch, but do you know how they are made? It is much easier to understand if we do an experiment.
Hold one of your fingers up at arms length and close one eye. Then try closing the other eye. As you switch between open eyes you should see your finger “jumping” left and right against the background.
This happens because our two eyes are about 4 cm away from each other. The separation causes each eye to see the world from a different angle. The brain puts these two views together. What you see becomes three-dimensional.
Three dimensional movies are made using two video cameras at the same time, which creates two different images. When the movie plays in a cinema, two projectors put the two images on the screen. With a pair of 3D glasses, the two images are separated and each image only enters one eye. Your brain puts the two pictures back together, and the pictures on the screen become three-dimensional.
72. What does the sentence “The 3D train is on the track, and we are ready to drive it home” mean?           .
A. They’ve got a train to take 3D films back home
B. They are ready to bring 3D technology to homes
C. They have no more work to do on 3D technology
D. They are not sure about the future of 3D films
73. According to the text, 3D films       .
A. use advanced technology to make special sound effects.
B. are less real than ordinary films, but more exciting.
C. can only be seen in the cinema at the moment.
D. will take the place of 2D films in the near future.
74. From the text, we know that 3D technology        .
A. works in a similar way to how our eyes see things.
B. is too expensive to be used in ordinary homes.
C. uses special video cameras and light effects
D. can be easy to experiment with
75. The passage is mainly about        .
A. how 3D films will develop in the future.
B. what makes 3D films so enjoyable
C. how 3D technology works and its future
D. what 3D technology needs and its future

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We lived in a technological society where most goods are mass-produced by unskilled labor. Because of this, most people think that craft(手艺) no longer exists.
One of the ways these people wrongly support their view is by pointing to 100-year-old homes which are still solid, and arguing that it is the craftsmanship that is responsible for their durability(持久性). “Homes in those days were well-built,” they say. No doubt these homes were well-built, but what these people have done is mix up the quality of material used in the house with the quality of the craftsmanship.
Homes today could be built to last just as long as those old homes if people were willing or able to pay the price. For example, more people can no longer afford solid oak stairways, although they were once fairly common in older homes. Nor can they afford the high labor cost of employing a carpenter to build the stairway. Yet if someone can pay the high cost, there are still plenty of carpenters around able to make those stairways. And not only would these carpenters know how to build them, they would probably do a better job than carpenters of old.
One thing the modern carpenter has which enables him to do a better job is much more advanced tools. Such tools as laser beams and power planes help them lay out a house better and make more precision cuts on the wood. Also, it is not uncommon any more to find carpenters with college degrees and carpenters with a solid knowledge of mathematics, which would enable them to deal with more difficult house designs.
The problems of modern quality, then, really boils down to the problem of material, for the modern carpenter is just as able to produce craftsmanship as the carpenter of fifty years ago, but only if given proper material.
1． Compared to the carpenters in the past, modern carpenters are _______.

A．more successful	B．more learned
C．more imaginative	D．more hardworking

2． What does the underlined word “they” (paragraph 2) refer to?
carpenters who are fond of oak stairways.
carpenters who have college degrees.
people who think highly of carpenters of old.
people who think that modern material is of low quality.
3． What does the third paragraph mainly discuss?
People in the past preferred to use oak to build stairways.
It is now expensive to employ a carpenter.
Modern houses last as long as the old one.
Good carpenters still exist in modern times.
4． What would be the best title for the text?
Is Craft Dead?
Craft, Back to life?
History of craftsmanship
Carpenters Today and Yesterday

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In Victorian times, certain flowers expressed meanings because the flower selection was limited. Therefore, flower as a gift was an effective tool in social communication. With so many choices today, we have no rules in flower choosing. However, people tend to give a certain flower their own personal meaning--- maybe it can remind them of some particular friends or events. Here I would introduce the traditional meanings of some gift flowers as a reference for your flower choosing.
Carnation（康乃馨） is a good gift for your female teacher or mother, but not all kinds of carnations mean respect and love. Different colours have different meanings. Generally, carnation means “fascination and woman love”. Specifically, pink carnation means “I’ll never forget you” and red carnation says “I admire you”. But some carnations have very negative meanings. If you want to say goodbye to your girlfriend, you can send her a bunch of striped carnations or yellow ones, because it means “Sorry I can’t be with you. You disappointed me.”
Rose is no doubt the best gift for girls in love. Basically, it relates to the love between men and women, but roses with different colours stand for different stages of love. Red rose is man’s best friend when he wants to show his love to a girl. In the peak of his love, pink rose is more suitable because it means “perfect happiness and please believe me”. While the love gets into trouble, yellow rose seems to be the best symbol. It means “the decrease of love and jealousy”.
Though you are free to choose any kind of flower as long as it is beautiful, I think this brief introduction can help you avoid making mistakes. Besides, the receivers must be happier if he or she gets to know the good will you convey in flowers.
1. Why do we choose certain flowers as gifts?
A. Because they are the best gifts for you.
B. Because flowers all look beautiful
C. Because different flowers smell good.
D. Because they can express specific meanings.
2. In different stages of love, ________.
A. roses of different colours show love to a girl.
B. you can choose red rose at any occasion
C. yellow rose is the best symbol for your love
D. pink rose implies that your love comes to maturity(成熟).
3. What does the passage mainly talk about?
A. Carnation is better than rose B. Like the carnation, like the rose
C. Different flowers have different meanings D. Flowers of different colours

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