Language is always changing. In a society where life continues year after year with few changes, the language does not change, either. The earliest known languages had difficult grammar but a small, limited vocabulary. Over the century, the grammar changed, and the vocabulary grew. For example, the English and Spanish people who came to America during the sixteenth century gave names to all new plants and animals they found. In this way, hundreds of new words were introduced into English and Spanish vocabularies. Today life is changing very fast, and language is changing fast too.

There are several major language families in the world. Some scientists say there are nine main families, but other scientists divide them differently. The languages in each family are connected, and scientists think that they came from the same parent language About 3 percent of the people in the world speak languages that are not in these major families.

1. The early language had ______.

A．a lot of problems	B．words and easy grammar
C．words but no grammar	D．grammar but not many words

2.In the next few hundred years we can expect language to ______.

A．stay exactly the same	B．change a great deal
C．change only a little	D．add more words and drop some grammar

3.What this article shows is that ______.

A．languages change fast	B．languages really don’t want to change
C．language changes with changes of society	D．Spanish and English change

4. From this article we can see that ______.

A．language can change very slowly or very quickly

B．Though our life changes, our language won’t change.

C．we should give our plants new names

D．English and Spanish are the only languages that have changes

 

When I was in primary school, I got into a major argument with a boy in my class. I can't   16  what it was about, but I have never forgotten the   17  I learned that day.

I was   18  that I was right and he was wrong — and he was sure that I was wrong and he was right. The  19 decided to teach us a very important lesson. She  20 both of us up to the   21  of the class and   22  him on one side of her desk and me on   23 . In the middle of her desk was a large, round object. I could   24  see that it was black. She asked the boy what   25  the object was. "White," he answered.

I couldn't believe he said the object was white,  26 it was obviously black! Another  27  started between my classmate and me, this   28   about the color of the object.

The teacher told me to go stand where the boy was standing and told him to come stand where I had been. We changed   29  , and now she asked me what the color of the object was. I   30  answer, "White." It was an object with two   31  colored sides, and from his side it was white.   32  from my side was it black.

My teacher taught me a very important lesson that day: You must   33  in the other person's shoes and look at the   34  through their eyes in order to   35  understand their view.

1.                A．think           B．suppose        C．remind   D．remember

 

2.                A．lesson          B．lecture         C．class D．text

 

3.                A．told           B．wished         C．convinced D．allowed

 

4.                A．officer         B．teacher         C．doctor   D．parent

 

5.                A．told           B．came           C．brought  D．woke

 

6.                A．back           B．front           C．middle   D．side

 

7.                A．planted         B．placed          C．had  D．fixed

 

8.                A．the other       B．another         C．other D．others

 

9.                A．happily         B．fortunately      C．clearly   D．nearly

 

10.               A．width          B．shape          C．color D．size

 

11.               A．when          B．unless          C．until  D．if

 

12.               A．fight           B．argument       C．conversation   D．game

 

13.               A．time           B．year           C．month    D．day

 

14.               A．places         B．seats           C．attitudes   D．glasses

 

15.               A．needed to      B．was able to      C．hoped to  D．had to

 

16.               A．similarly        B．differently      C．beautifully D．surprisingly

 

17.               A．Still            B．Since          C．Only  D．Also

 

18.               A．seat           B．stand          C．lie   D．put

 

19.               A．situation        B．movement      C．condition  D．behaviour

 

20.               A．unexpectedly    B．suddenly       C．quietly    D．truly

 

 

 

A new study suggests that the round-the-clock(24小时不断的)availability that cell phone have brought to people’s lives may be taking a toll on family life．The study，which followed more than 1，300 adults over 2 years, found that those who consistently used a mobile phone throughout the study period were more likely to report negative “spillover’’ between work and home life—and，in turn, less satisfaction with their family life.

     Spillover essentially(本质上)means that the line between work and home begins to become unclear．Work life may invade home life when a parent is taking job—related calIs at home，for instance--or family issues may start to take up work time．For example，a child may call mom at work，telling her "microwave exploded” explained Noelle Chesley，an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee and the author of the study. The problem with cell phones seems to be that they are allowing for ever more spillover between work and home．   

     This may be especially true for working women，the study found. Among men，consistent use of mobile phones seemed to allow more work issues to creep (潜入)into family time．But for women，the spillover tended to go in both directions. Being “connected” meant that work cut into home time，and family issues came into work life． 

     Cell phones seem to be opening more lines for stressful exchanges among family member．But there may be ways to control the spillover，according to Chesley．Employers, she said，could look at their policies on contacting employees after hours to make sure their expectations are “reasonable”．For their part，employees could decide that cell phones go off during family time, Chesley said. 

64．What does the underlined phrase “taking a toll on’’ probably mean in Paragraph 1?

    A. Explaining.   B. Influencing.    C. Damaging.   D. Extending      

65．According to Chesley，what is the best solution to the problem caused by cell

  phones?

    A. Refuse to use cell phones．

    B. Separate work hours from family time．

    C. Ignore coming calls during family time．

    D. Encourage women to stay at home．

66．We can learn from the passage that ___________________.

    A．spillover makes the line between work and home unclear

    B．cell phones seem to be convenient to families

    C．cell phones affect men as much as women

    D．we can do nothing to solve the problem

67. What is the main idea of the passage?

A .How to control the negative spillover caused by cell phones.

B. Cell phones cause negative “spillover’’ between work and home life.

C. Consistent use of cell phones makes people feel less satisfied with their work.

D.How work life invades home life.

 

Do you enjoy reading? Do you read newspapers or magazines? Chances are, if you do any of these activities, your pre-school child is on his way to becoming a reader.

The process of learning to read is complex, and one of the most important things to know is that parents can help their children learn to read. As children have conversations with adults, they hear both new and familiar words and their vocabulary grows.

There are many opportunities for adults and children to talk together, such as when riding in the car or in a bus, doing housework like fixing dinner, or bathing and getting ready for bed. A major part of conversation is listening. When children talk, adults listen and respond. Then children listen and respond, and so the flow of conversation happens.

Have you watched you pre-school child pretend to read to his younger sisters or brothers? Have you read his favorite story over and over? These experiences tell children that reading is fun. And when things are fun and they are repeated, your child will see letters. He begins to connect them to familiar words, especially the letters that make up his name. A natural next step for him to take is to write the letters.

When children see parents make a grocery list, they want to use a pencil and paper to make their own list. To encourage these beginning writing activities, have pencils, markers, crayons and scrap paper within your children’s reach.

The more children get connected with talking, listening, reading and writing, the easier it is for them to become active readers. While you as a parent have a big influence on these early behaviors, it is important to remember that opportunities for literacy experiences happen when you and your child share in the basic routines（日常生活）of everyday life.

1.The third paragraph tells us that parents can talk with their children__________.

A．during daily routines	B．only in quiet places
C．in their spare time	D．when they are eager to walk

2.During the process of learning to read, children may _________.

A．copy the action of the adults.

B．prefer to talk with those of their own age.

C．show no interest in reading at all.

D．waste a lot of paper and other materials.

3. When do children want to learn to write?

A．When their parents ask them to do so.

B．When they believe they can write well.

C．When they know what they want to know

D．When they can connect letters with familiar words.

4.The passage is written to _____________.

A．talk about parents’ influence on their children’s behavior

B．encourage parents to set a good example to their children

C．advise parents to make reading a part of their children’s daily life

D．make parents believe in the importance of early reading

 

Babies understand what their mothers say, even when they speak a language their children have never heard before, scientists claim.

The researchers found that one-year-olds reacted in exactly same way to their mothers’ voices regardless of whether they were speaking English or Greek, showing what mothers have long known – that babies pick up on tone of voice rather than the words themselves.

The researchers, from Cardiff University’s School of Psychology, observed babies as they watched their mothers perform actions with toys using the English words “whoops” and “there”. The scientists studied reactions from one-year-old babies to their mums’ voices even when they were speaking both English and Greek, and keeping the same tone of voice. The academics found that babies reproduced the same reactions regardless of whether they knew the language.  

Study leader Dr Merideth Gattis of Cardiff University’s School of Psychology says, “What this work showed was that children could have access to understanding simply through tone of voice. We did ‘whoops’ and ‘there’ in two languages and got exactly the same results.” The research, published in the journal Cognitive Development, was conducted on 84 babies aged between 14 and 18 months, over the course of a year, with none of the babies having any previous exposure to Greek.

Dr Gattis says that children respond to tone clues in their parents’ voices from an early age.

She says, “Tone of voice is a really useful signal of what someone is thinking. We never have direct access to other people’s minds, except the signals in language that they give out.” She says the study shows that it is less important what parents say than how they say it.

Dr Gattis adds, “A child may ask if you like his / her drawing, for example. You might say yes, but if you don’t sound enthusiastic, the meaning may not get across.” Before children begin to speak, parents should use exaggerated tone when speaking to them.

1.According to the text, what have mothers long-known?

A．Babies have a better understanding of English.

B．Babies pick up on tone of voice.

C．Babies like their mothers’ performances.

D．Babies like drawing from an early age.

2.Which of the following is TRUE, according to the study?

A．Tone of voice is the most useful sign of what someone is thinking.

B．After children begin to speak, tone becomes unimportant.

C．The babies acted the same way regardless of the language.

D．The research was conducted on 48 babies.

3.According to the text, Dr. Gattis believes that _________.

A．we have no access to other people’s minds

B．babies can’t understand what “yes” means

C．parents should always sound enthusiastic

D．how a parent speaks is more important than what he or she says

4.What’s the text mainly about?

A．The content of the journal Cognitive Development.

B．The famous works of Dr. Gattis.

C．Babies understanding their mothers through tone.

D．Babies having the potential to learn language well.

5.The text can be classified as _________.

A．a report          B．an advertisement    C．a handbook        D．a guide