The number of speakers of English in Shakespeare’s time is estimated(估计) to have been about five million. Today it is estimated that some 260 million people speak it as a native language, mainly in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In addition to the standard varieties of English found in these areas, there are a great many regional and social varieties of the language as well as various levels of usage that are employed both in its spoken and written forms.

In fact, it is impossible to estimate the number of people in the world who have acquired an adequate(足够的) working knowledge of English in addition to their own languages. The purpose for English learning and the situations in which such learning takes place are so varied that it is difficult to explain and still more difficult to judge what forms an adequate working knowledge for each situation.

The main reason for the widespread demand for English is its present-day importance as a world language. Besides serving the indefinite needs of its native speakers, English is a language in which some of important works in science, technology, and other fields are being produced, and not always by native speakers. It is widely used for such purposes as meteorological and airport communications, international conferences, and the spread of information over the radio and television networks of many nations. It is a language of wider communication for a number of developing countries, especially former British colonies. Many of these countries have multilingual populations and need a language for internal communication in such matters as government, commerce, industry, law and education as well as for international communication and for entrance to the scientific and technological developments in the West.

1.What would be the best title for this passage?

A．The Difficulties of Learning English	B．International Communications
C．The Standard Varieties of English	D．English as a World Language

2.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．Some 260 million people in the world have an adequate working knowledge of English.

B．There are some 260 million native speakers of English in the world.

C．It is almost impossible to estimate the number of people with an adequate working knowledge of English.

D．People learn English for a variety of reasons.

3.According to the passage, what is the main reason for the widespread use of English?

A．It was popular during Shakespeare’s time.	B．It is used in former British colonies.
C．It serves the needs of its native speakers.
D．It is a world language that is used for international communication.

4.What forms an adequate working knowledge of English?

A．The ability to read a newspaper.
B．It is difficult to judge because it differs for each situation.
C．Being able to speak several languages.	D．Being a native speaker.

5.What type of developing countries would be most likely to use English?

A．Those geographically close to the United States.

B．Those interested in the culture of the United States.

C．Former colonies of Great Britain.

D．Countries where international conferences are held.

6.C。细节题。根据文章最后一段倒数第2句可推知此题

The British usually expect one or two snowfalls each year but the amount of snow rarely affects everyday life. However, this week Britain has had the worst snow it has seen in around 18 years. Some places had more than 30cm in a day.
The bad weather caused severe disruption. More than 3000 schools had to close as teachers and pupils were unable to get to school. School children weren’t too unhappy about it though as they headed out to play the snow, building snowmen, having snowball fights, sledging and some even snowboarding and skiing.
In London, bus services were withdrawn for a day and tubes and trains were cancelled. Major motorways in the country had to close. Many people were unable to get to work and it is thought the cost of this lost labor is around &1 billion (10 billion yuan) to businesses and the economy.
Anyone who wanted to leave the country had problems too. Runways were closed at all the UK’s major airports because of the amount of snow. Hundreds of flights were cancelled leaving some passengers stranded at airports.
So why is the UK so ill-prepared for snow? The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, explained that there aren’t enough snow –ploughs（铲雪机）and gritters（撒沙机）and it doesn’t make sense to buy such equipment when it snows so infrequently.
The south-east of England was the hardest hit at the beginning of the week but the snow is now moving northwards where the chaos continues.
More ice and snow is forecast throughout the week and the advice from travel and weather organizations is to stay indoors unless you really need to venture out!
【小题1】 Which of the following facts is FALSE according to the passage?

A．More than 3000 schools had to close for the heavy snow.

B．Major motorways in the country had to close for the bad weather.

C．Runways were closed at all the UK’s major airports for the amount of snow.

D．The government organized to clear the snow away with snow-ploughs and gritters.

【小题2】 What does the underlined phrase venture out probably mean in last paragraph?

A．go out	B．search out
C．take no risks	D．stay indoors

【小题3】 What can we learn from the passage?

A．School children seemed happy to head out to play in the snow though schools had to close.

B．The cost of the lost labor reached around 10 billion yuan to businesses and the economy.

C．Hundreds of flights couldn’t land because the runways were closed at major British airports.

D．Tubes and trains in London were cancelled, but drivers were still driving in main motorways.

【小题4】What can we infer from the passage?

A．The heavy snow is what the British have been expecting for 18 years.

B．The heavy snow has been a very rare heavy one in the UK for 18 years.

C．The heavy snow doesn't please school children at all.

D．The government isn’t ill-prepared for snow.

【小题5】Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．Harsh Winters Visit Britain

B．Heavy Snow Hits the UK

C．Bad Weather Causes Chaos Just in London

D．Heavy Snow Causes Disruption Only in Motorways

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中(A、B、C和 D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Most of us feel upset if we miss just one meal, and if we try to go without food for 12 hours we would really be uncomfortable. But there are some people who seem able to “fast” for very long periods.
Various records are claimed for long fast, but in most cases there is no medical proof and so the records are doubtful. One South African woman claimed that she lived for 102 days on nothinig but water and soda water.
There are great differences among living things in the ability to survive without food. For example , a tick（扁虱）, which lives on animals, may survive a whole year. Warm-blooded animals use up their stores of food in the body more quickly.
In fact, the smaller and more active the animal, the more quickly it uses up its reserves. A small bird starves to death in about five days, a dog in about twenty. In general, we can say that a warm-blooded creature will die when it has lost about half its normal weight.
This matter of weight is important. Man and other creatures live in a state of metabolic equiplibrium（新陈代谢的平衡）which means maintaining the body weight once a certain point has been reached. This regulation of body weight is done by thirst, hunger, and appetite.
When your blood lacks nutritional materials, this registers（记录）in the hunger center of the brain and you feel “hungry”. The body is crying out for any kind of fuel(food). And it is our appetite that sees to it hat we chooose a mixed diet, which is the kind the body needs.
【小题1】According to this passage, a man will die _________.

A．when a certain point in losing weight has been reached.

B．when his blood lacks nutritional material

C．when his normal weight is lost

D．when he goes without food for more than 12 hours

【小题2】The word “fast” in Paragraph 1 can best be replaced by ________.

A．eat no food	B．live merely on water and soda water
C．live on nothing	D．remains alive for a long time without food

【小题3】A tick can survive much longer than a bird because ________.

A．a tick lives on animals	B．a tick is much smaller
C．a bird is more active	D．both B and C

【小题4】A person feels hungry _________.

A．if he doesn’t choose a mixed diet

B．because his body cries out for food

C．when soemthing is wrong with regulation of body weight

D．if there are not enough nutritional in his blood

【小题5】From the passage we can infer that the author ________.

A．believes the South African woman very firmly

B．does not believe the South African woman at all

C．is not certain whether the South African woman’s claim was true.

D．is doubtful whether there was such a South African woman

A HOLIDAY jet pilot （飞行员） said that he would land and call the police after a woman refused to stop smoking．
He warned Maureen Harkavy, “Put that cigarette out, or I’ll land the plane and have you arrested．”
Maureen, 47, was so shocked she wrote to the airline’s chairman．But his reply was even ruder．
“You seem to think you have a God-given right to pollute your neighbors’ atmosphere,” wrote John Ferriday of Paramount Airways．
（a）Said Maureen, “I only found out about it when I was checking in．I’m a nervous flyer so I lit a cigarette during the flight．A stewardess （空姐） asked me to put it out, but I said I wanted to carry on as there was no rule against smoking on the plane．” She was just finishing her cigarette when the pilot arrived．
（b） “I’ve never seen such an unpleasant letter．” She said, “I don’t think I’ll ever fly again．” But there was a funny side．Maureen explained, “We were offered duty-free （免税） cigarette from the stewardess on the plane!”
（c） Mr．Ferriday went on: “Believe me, you haven’t．Especially when you travel on my planes．”
Maureen and her husband Michael were moved to Paramount flight just before they left Portugal．But they were not told of the company’s no smoking policy．
（d） “He was loud and rude,” said Maureen．“He said if I lit another cigarette he would land the plane at Bordeaux and hand me to the French police．”
Later, from her home in Mosely, Birmingham, Maureen wrote to the company and received the rude reply．
【小题1】The second half of the story has been in wrong order．（Parts a-d） Choose the rearranged order which you think is right．

A．a, c, b, d

B．c, a, b, d

C．c, a, d, b

D．d, a, b, c

【小题2】The pilot warned Maureen Harkavy ____________________．

A．to throw her cigarette out of the plane, or he would get her off the plane．

B．to stop smoking, or he would bring down the jet and hand her to the police．

C．not to light another cigarette after her first one．

D．to stop smoking, or he would bring her to justice．

【小题3】Maureen Harkavy ______ on the plane．

A．accepted the warning

B．agreed to the warning

C．refused to do what she was told to

D．was so shocked that she wrote to the airline’s chairman

【小题4】In the answer letter to Maureen Harkavy, the airline’s chairman ____ ．

A．made an apology to her for his worker’s rudeness

B．made sure that he would solve the problem

C．said that she had the right to smoke on his plane

D．actually completely agreed with what the pilot said

Young people can have problems with their minds. Some students become worried because they have to study very hard. Others have trouble getting on well with people like their parents and classmates.
Liu Wei, a Junior 2 student from Hefei, could not understand his teacher and was doing badly in his lessons. He became so worried about it that he started to cut his finger with a knife. Another student, 14-year-old Yan Fang from Guangzhou, was afraid of exams. She got very worried in the test, and when she looked at the exam papers, she couldn’t think of anything to write.
A recent report from Jiefang Daily says about 18% of Shanghai teenagers have mental problems. Their troubles include being worried and very unhappy, and having problems in learning and getting on well with people. Many students who have problems won’t go for advice or help. Some think they will look stupid if they go to see a doctor. Others don’t want to talk about their secret.
Liang Yuezhu, an expert on teenagers from Beijing Anding Hospital has the following advice for teenagers.
1). Talk to your parents or teachers often.
2). Take part in group activities and play sports.
3). Go to see a doctor if you feel unhappy or unwell.
【小题1】The students who often become worried or have trouble getting on well with others may have___________.

A．a headache	B．mental problems
C．knives with them	D．no parents

【小题2】Liu Wei cut his finger with a knife because____________.

A．he was afraid of his teacher	B．he wanted to frighten his parents
C．his finger was badly hurt	D．he was so worried about his study

【小题3】Yan Fang’s problems happened whenever ______________.

A．she studied very hard	B．she talked with her parents
C．she had exams	D．she thought of something

【小题4】 Students who have problems won’t ask others for help because _____________.

A．they won’t let others think they are stupid

B．they don’t think doctors can help them

C．they don’t want to tell their secret to others

D．both A and C

【小题5】Liang Yuezhu’s advice tells us that_________________.

A．it’s unnecessary for them to be with others

B．it’s better for the students who have mental problems to join others

C．only group activities and sports can help them

D．teachers and parents can’t do anything about mental problems