26. Oil Almost everyone in the world uses oil in some way. Cars, buses, planes and many trains and ships also need oil. Even our bicycles need oil. Indeed the whole world would stop if there was no oil. Today there is a growing need for oil in the world. So people are looking for it everywhere. They look for oil in deserts, in the mountains and under the sea. Quite often they find nothing, but the search for oil always goes on. What are the largest oil producers in the world? The U.S, the U.S.S.R., and countries of the Middle East. But China is catching up fast. Before liberation we used to buy nearly all our oil from the U.S. Many foreign people said China was "oil-poor". But since liberation oil has been found in many parts of the country. Today everyone agrees that China is rich in oil. Our oil will not only meet the great need in our country, but also be sold to other countries. Notes: producer 生产国 used to 过去常常 U.S.S.R 苏联

1. We usually begin to learn a language by ____ it first. A. speaking B. seeing C. hearing D. feeling #C 2. If you have a good ____, you'll have less difficulty in learning something. A. photo B. picture C. memory D. camera #C 3. The children who live abroad with their parents can learn two languages more easily, because ____. A. they are very clever B. they have good teachers C. they have more chances to use these languages D. they have a better life #C 4. We know that one's mind ____ a camera. A. likes B. is liked C. will like D. is like #D 5. A camera takes photos of what can be ____. A. seen B. felt C. heard D. smelt #A

25. Memory A good memory is a great help in learning a language. Everybody learns his own language by remembering what he hears when he is a small child, and some children - like boys and girls who live abroad with their parents - seem to learn two languages almost as easily as one. In school it is not easy to learn a second language because the pupils have so little time for it, and they are busy with other subjects, too. A man's mind is rather like a camera, but it takes photos not only of what we see but of what we feel, hear, smell and taste. When we take a real photo with a camera, there is much to do before the photo is finished and ready to show to our friends. In the same way there is much work to be done before we can keep a picture forever in our mind. Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us.

1. One day a man went to the street to buy a gold ____. A. watch B. clock C. ring D. ear-ring #C 2. He dropped the ring ____ the house. A. inside B. outside C. in front of D. beside #A 3. At first he looked for the ring in the ____. A. street B. shop C. road D. house #D 4. Next he looked for the ring in the ____. A. room B. garden C. house D. street #D 5. Do you think that the man was ____? Yes, I do. A. clever B. foolish C. bright D. wise #B

24. The Lost Ring One day a man went home to his wife and said, "I have bought something for you." "Oh, thank you" said his wife. "What have you bought?" "I've bought a gold ring. Here it is." He held it out for his wife to see. Then he dropped it. "Oh dear" he said. "I have dropped it." He began to look for it on the floor but it was dark inside the house and he could not see anything. He went outside the house and began to look for the ring in the street. Just then a friend came along. "What's the matter?" he asked. "I have lost a ring." said the man. "Where did you lose it?" "I lost it inside my house." "You lost your ring inside your house but you are looking for it outside in the street. That seems very foolish." "Ah," said the man, "but it is dark inside my house. I shall never find it there. But here in the street there is more light and I can see more clearly. Notes: ring 戒指 gold 金,黄金

1. Smith was a ____. A. doctor B. farmer C. landlord D. waiter #C 2. Smith became very rich, because he ____ gave anything to anybody. A. always B. never C. often D. sometimes #B 3. One day Smith was walking along a ____ with his friends. A. river B. park C. street D. lake #A 4. The rich man held ____ his hand when he heard "Take my hand." A. in B. into C. down D. out #D 5. Who knew the rich man very well? A. his friends B. his wife C. the farmer D. his children #C

23. A Selfish Man Smith was a landlord. He loved money very much and never gave anything to anybody. Soon he became rich. One day the weather was fine. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was very warm. The landlord was walking along a river with his friends, when, all of a sudden, he slipped and fell into it. He cried, "Help! Help!" One of his friends held out his hand and said, "Give me your hand and I will pull you out." The landlord's head went under the wather and then came up again, but he did not give his hand to his friends. Then another of his friends tried but the same thing happened. Just then a farmer came over and saw all this. He knew the landlord very well. He said to the others, "Let me try." He held out his hand and said to the landlord," Take my hand and I will pull you out." Hearing this, the landlord took the farmer's hand, and in a minute the farmer pulled the landlord out of the water. All the others got very surprised at this and asked the farmer, "Why did he give his hand to you but not to us?" The farmer said,"You don't know your friend very well, When you say 'give' to him, he does nothing, but when you say 'take', he takes." Notes: selfish 自私的,利己的 landlord 地主

22. Languages There are more than 3,000 million people on the earth and about 2,500 languages. Of these languages only about twelve are used by more than 50 million people. Here are the names of some languages which have very wide use: Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese etc. All these languages have more people talking them today than ever before. A hundred and fifty years ago there were only about twenty million people who talked English, for example. Now there are at least two hundred and fifty million, and there may be many, many more. ## 1. There are about ____ languages in the world. A. 3,000 B. 2,500 C. 5 D. 50 million #B 2. Which languages are widely used in the world? A. English and Chinese B. German and Japanese C. French D. ABC #D 3. 150 years ago, only about ____ people spoke English. A. 20,000 B. 200,000 C. 2,000,000 D. 20,000,000 #D 4. Which of the following languages has most speakers, do you think? A. English B. French C. Chinese D. Japanese #C 5. We know that now there are ____ people speaking English than before. A. fewer B. much less C. much more D. many more #D

21. Weather and Men Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. It is true. People usually begin their talks with "Isn't it a nice day?" "Do you think it will rain?" "What a fine day!" etc. Many people think they can tell what the weather is going to be like. But they hardly agree with each other. One man may say, "Do you see how cloudy it is in the east? It's going to rain tomorrow." Another man will say, "No, it's going to be fine tomorrow." People often look for the weather they want. When a farmer needs water, he looks for something to tell him it's going to rain; he won't believe anything else. When friends have a travel, they are sure the weather is goint to clear up very quickly. Almost everyone listens to what the weather man says. But he doesn't always tell us what we want, and once in a while he makes a mistake. Still, he probably comes closer to being correct than anyone else. ## 1. "Nobody does something about the weather" means ____. A. nobody can make weather B. nobody can change weather C. nobody can talk about weather D. nobody likes weather #B 2. ____ is a common way to start a talk. A. Talking about weather B. Keeping silent C. Asking each other's names D. Smile #A 3. Many people hope the weather will be ____. A. fine B. rainy C. cloudy D. like what they like to be #D 4. A weatherman probably is a man who ____. A. reports weather B. can see weather C. can change weather D. is made of weather #A 5. When it is cloudy in the east, you know that ____ tomorrow. A. it is going to rain B. it will be fine C. it will be still cloudy D. A or B or C #D

1. Can we communicate with each other without words? A. Yes, some times we can. B. No, we can't. C. No. It's impossible. D. Yes, we always do so. #A 2. When we see somebody smile, then, he must be feeling ____. A. angry B. joyful C. surprised D. sad #B 3. We can learn news from ____. A. newspapers B. radio C. TV D. ABC #D 4. A sign at the bus stop tells you ____. A. how many buses there are B. what kind of bus it is C. where the bus comes and goes D. how much money you'll pay for the ticket #C 5. What do you think is the quickest way to communicate with your friend in another city? A. Writing a letter. B. Making a telephone. C. Drawing a picture. D. Asking someone else to take a message. #B