Can you remember the day when you spoke your first word? If you can, you are unusual. Try to imagine what first few months of your life were like. I am sure you just spent most of your time eating, sleeping and crying. As you grew older, you were awake more of the time. It took your parents more time to play with you and talk to you. You watched and listened  curiously（好奇）. You began to know that people made certain sounds to go with certain things.

Then you began to try making the sounds which you heard. And step by step you were able to make the right sound for one thing.

On that day you came to understand the secret of language. The secret is that a certain sound means a certain thing. One sound might be as good as another. But it is no good as a word unless everybody agrees on its meaning. Only when a group of people use the same set of sounds of things, can they understand each other. Then, and only then do these people have a LANGUAGE.

After you found the secret of language, you learned words. Some of the words meant things, such as BOOKS, CHAIRS and SHOES. Some words meant doing things, such as GO and SWIM, and other words describe things, such as GOOD and DIRTY. Soon you learned to put words together to express your idea, such as “I want to go out and play with my friends.” This is language. By means of language people can communicate. So we say languages are means of communication.

1． _____ can remember the day when_______ .

       A．One, he spoke his first word            

       B．No one, he spoke his first word

       C．Most people, they spoke their first words 

       D．None, they spoke their first words

2．When you were a little baby, you_____________.

       A．made sounds to let people know that you wanted to eat

       B．spent most of your time playing with your parents

       C．could not hear any sound around you

       D．spent most of your time eating, playing and crying

3．The secret of language is that.

A．one sound might be as good as another  

B．people can understand each other

C．a certain sound is for a certain thing    

D．there is a special sound for each person

4．You could learn words_________.

       A．before you knew what the language was    

       B．after you knew what the language was

       C．before you knew the secret of the language  

       D．when you were a baby

5．The aim in using language is.

       A．to get everything one wants from others    

       B．to say what one wants to know

       C．to share ideas, opinions, news, etc with one another

       D．to make oneself understood by others

Parents are the closest people to you in the world．They love you just because you are you．And they would do anything for you．

    Like a lot of middle school students，ZhuangShuxia has a problem．She and her parents don’t get on well．

    “I really want to be my Daddy’s little girl．But it feels like he just doesn’t understand．He talks at me and doesn’t listen，”said Zhuang，a Junior 3 student

    Do you and your parents also have problems?

    Well, why don’t you all take a walk and have a talk on Saturday? It’s the International(国际的) Day of Families．On May l5，people around the world give thanks for good things about their families and work on family problems．

    A study last year showed that l,500 Beijing families had the same problem as Zhuang’s family：The children，12 to 15 years old，didn’t like talking with their parents much．They weren’t happy at home．

    Of course，lots of kids feel that way．But you and your parents will be much happier if you can be friends．Here are some ways to have a good talk with them：

    Find a good time to talk，like when you’re eating dinner, going out for a walk or watching TV．

   Tell them something you’re interested in，or ask them about their lives when they were young．They love to talk about it．

   Listen to them carefully，and look them in the eye．

   Be honest(诚实的)．Your parents will trust(信任)you more．And a trusting family is a happy family．

1. Who are the closest people to us according to the writer of this passage?

A. The people who love us.          

B. The people who understand us.

C. Our father and mother.          

D. All the family members.

2. What is Zhuang Shuxia's problem?

     A. Her father thinks she is old enough.

     B. Her father doesn't like to talk with her.

     C. She really wants to be a little girl again.

     D. She and her father don't understand each other well.

3. What does the writer suggest (建议) the students do on the International Day of Families?

     A. They should remember the special day for the families in the world.

     B. They should take a walk and have a talk with their parents.

     C. They should do something to celebrate the International Day of Families.

     D. They should help others to solve their family problems.

4. How does the writer know 1,500 families had the same problem as Zhuang's family?

     A. From a study made in Beijing.

     B. From reports about family problems.

     C. From discussions with parents and their children.

     D. From a report on the International Day of Families.

5. In this passage the writer tells the children,12 to 15 years old,           

     A. how to show their thanks to their parents

     B. how to make friends with their parents

     C. how to feel happier at home in different ways

     D. how to win their parents' trust by listening to their parents

　　Shopping for clothes is not the same experience for a man as it is for a woman. A man goes shopping because he needs something. His purpose is settled and decided in advance. He knows what he wants, and his objective is to find it and buy it; the price is a secondary consideration. All men simply walk into a shop and ask the assistant for what they want. If the shop has it in stock（存货）, the salesman produces（呈出）it, and the business of trying it on proceeds（继续进行）at once. All being well, the deal can be and often is completed in less than five minutes, with hardly chat and to everyone's satisfaction.

　　For a man, slight problems may begin when the shop does not have what he wants. In that case the salesman, as the name implies, tries to sell the customer something else. No good salesman brings out such a substitute bluntly（直率地）; he does so with skill. “I know this jacket is not the style you want, sir, but would you like to try it for size? It happens to be the color you want.” Few men have patience with this treatment. And the usual response（反应，回答）is:“This is the right color and may be the right size, but I should be wasting my time and yours by trying it on.”

　　Now how does a woman go about buying clothes? She does so in a different way, Her shopping is not based on need, She has never fully made up her mind what she wants, and she is only “having a look round”. She will try on any number of things. In her mind there is the thought of finding something that everyone thinks suits her. Faced with a roomful（一室所能容纳之量）of dresses, a woman may easily spend an hour looking around before selecting the dresses she wants to try on. Most dress shops provide chairs for the waiting husbands.

(1) If a man goes shopping, ________.

[　　]

A．he wants anything

B．he knows his purpose before shopping

C．he hardly decides in advance

D．he asks the assistant what he wants

(2) If a man doesn't get what he needs, ________.

[　　]

A．the salesman brings out a substitute and advises him to buy with skill

B．the salesman suggests him to buy something else

C．the salesman is angry

D．the salesman doesn't know what to do

(3) When a woman goes shopping, ________.

[　　]

A．she does know what she needs

B．she wants something

C．she's only walking around the shop

D．she hasn't decided what she wants

(4)The underlined word “provide” may mean ________.

[　　]

(5)Which of the following is TRUE?

[　　]

A．Husbands are willing to go shopping with their wives.

B．Husbands have to go shopping with their wives.

C．Husbands help their wives go shopping.

D．Wives must follow their husbands' advice.

When you are reading something in English, you may often meet with a new word. What’s the best way to know it?
You may look it up in the English-Chinese dictionary. It will tell you a lot about the word: the pronunciation, the Chinese meaning and how to use the word. But how can you know where the word is ? How to find it in the dictionary both quickly and correctly?
First, all the English words are arranged(安排) in the letter order. In the dictionary you can first see the words beginning with letter A, then B, C, D…. That means, if there are two words “desert” and “pull”, “desert” will be certainly before “pull”. Then if there are two words both beginning with the same letter, you may look at the second letter. Then the third, the fourth… For example, “pardon” is before “plough”, “judge” before “just”, etc. Do you understand how to look up in the dictionary? The dictionary will be your good friend. I hope you’ll use it as often as possible in your English study.
【小题1】This passage is about______.

A．new words in writing	B．different dictionaries
C．the best way of reading	D．using an English-Chinese dictionary

【小题2】In the dictionary you may not find_______.

A．how to pronounce the word	B．the spelling of the word
C．who used the word first	D．how to use the word

【小题3】In an English-Chinese dictionary, the last word______.

A．begins with Z

B．begins with A

C．is a short one

D．is not often used

【小题4】Which group of words is in the right order in an English-Chinese dictionary?

A．perhaps, produce, plenty	B．straight, subject, surprise
C．century, center, business	D．foreign, entrance, headache

【小题5】In the passage the writer tries to tell us _______.

A．we have to use a dictionary when we read something in English

B．an English-Chinese dictionary can tell us everything about a word

C．how to look up a word in a dictionary.

D．all English-Chinese dictionaries are the same