Students who say they never or hardly ever used dictionaries often speak English well, but usually write poorly because they make many mistakes.

The students who use dictionaries most do not learn quite well either. The ones who look up every new word do not read fast. For this reason, they do not have time to read much. Those who use small two-language dictionaries have the worst problems. Their dictionaries often give only one or two words as translations of English. But one English word often has many translations in a foreign language and one foreign word has many translations in English.

The most successful students are those who use large college edition dictionaries with about 100,000 words but do not use them too often. When they are reading, these students first try to get the general idea and understand new words from the context（语境）. Then they read again and use the dictionary to look up only key words that they still do not understand. They use dictionaries more for writing. If they are not sure how to spell a word, or divide it into syllables (音节), they always use a dictionary. Also, if they think a noun might have an unusual plural form, they check these in a dictionary.

51. Why are students who never used dictionaries poor in writing?

       A. Because they don’t know how to use right words. 

       B. Because they are not sure how to spell words.

       C. Because they make a large number of mistakes.

       D. Because they can’t understand the main idea.

52. The underlined word “they” (in Paragraph 2) refers to “_________”.

       A.  the students who only look up key words

       B. the students who look up every new word            

C. the students       who never use dictionaries  

D. the students who use large edition dictionaries

53. What kind of English learners are probably the most successful ones?

A. Those who use dictionaries most

B. Those who use small two-language dictionaries

C. Those who sometimes use large college edition dictionaries

D. Those who never or hardly ever use dictionaries

 54. When does the writer advise students to use a good dictionary?

   A. At the beginning of the reading.                              B. At the end of the reading.

   C. During the first reading.                                         D. After the first reading.

 55. What is the best title of the passage? 

     A. How to make good use of a dictionary                   B. Why to use a dictionary

C. How to improve spoken English                D. How to practise reading fast

My name is Ben Mansury. I’m fifteen years old and study in a middle school. In school, I never join in any group discussion or stage (舞台) program. So, I never knew what stage nervousness was.

Our community (社区) has a weekly “Students Ideas” program. About two years ago, I received a(n)   1   from the chairman of our community. He invited me to the “Students Ideas” talk the next morning to speak to the group.

The time between his call to the next morning was like several weeks for me. The whole night, I could not sleep. Many   2   were coming. One of them was to call the chairman, with regret, and tell him that I could not come. But finally, I thought, if I missed this   3  , the community would never invite me again to any of their programs. So, I decided to go.

I reached the hall in time. When my turn came and I started, my heartbeat increased and my mouth went dry. I wasn’t even able to   4   the words on the paper properly. I had no idea where I was standing and what I was talking. That was the day when I   5   my biggest weakness: public speaking.

After I finished, I met with the chairman and   6   what happened to me. He said that this happens to everyone. It is very   7  . He suggested that I should come again the next week.

I   8   a talk carefully. This time when I gave the talk, I was somewhat comfortable but not confident (自信的). Afterwards, I met with the chairman again and told him about the improvement I   9   I had made. He was kind enough to invite me again.

For around one month, I practiced a lot for my talk. This time I was feeling comfortable and both the chairman and my neighbors thought I did a good job.    

I learned that everything is   10   if we take the first step, as the saying goes: A journey of thousand miles begins with first step.

1.                A．letter          B．call            C．card D．email

2.                A．topics          B．regrets         C．thoughts D．words

3.                A．man           B．group          C．stage D．chance

4.                A．read           B．spell           C．see  D．recite

5.                A．had            B．forgot          C．realized  D．improved

6.                A．asked          B．checked        C．explained D．wondered

7.                A．useful          B．successful       C．difficult   D．common

8.                A．wrote          B．prepared        C．gave D．finished

9.                A．knew          B．felt            C．believed  D．hoped

10.               A．easy           B．great          C．helpful    D．possible