Learning English for 2008 Beijing Olympics

Yang Zhenhua has been a taxi driver for years．He knows every comer of the city．His work usually wins him thanks except when he meets foreigners，for Yang doesn’t know any English．

“Now I study English in my free time，”said Yang in his 40s．He pulls an English textbook from the toolbox．“I study English to help with Beijing Olympics，”he said proudly．Yang is just one of the millions of common people in Beijing who started to learn English when Beijing became the host city of the 2008 Olympic Games．Learning and speaking is hot among the people of this 3,000 - year - old city．From schools to factories，men and women，old and young are studying their“ABC”．Books teaching useful expressions for everyday communication are the most popular．

Some people，such as taxi drivers，bus conductors and the policemen，are asked to learn basic English．Nearly 3,000 students from 50 universities in Beijing went to the streets last August as volunteers to teach English to the people of this city．They taught common and useful sentences， such as greetings and asking and answering simple questions．Official figures show that about 15% of Beijing citizens can speak English．It is said that it will rise to 70% or 80% during the following years．Besides，the government encourages the use of English in many places．The city underground railways give messages by radio in both English and Chinese．English，not Chinese， is used as the most important working language for the Olympic Committee．Nearly all the committee members can speak English freely．Many are good at the language．

1．Yang zhenhua can hardly win himself thanks from foreigners because       ．

A．he isn’t polite to them at all         B．he is a common taxi driver

C．he can’t speak English             D．he doesn’t know the city well

2．According to the passage，the English beginners in Beijing like to learn        best．

A．the letters A，B and C．            B．everyday English

C．English texts                      D．English news

3．Nearly 3,000 students from 50 universities in Beijing went to the streets last August to      ．

      A．practice their spoken English         B．show their love of Beijing

      C．tell people the importance of English   D．teach the Beijing citizens English

4．Which of the following is TRUE?

      A．All the people in Beijing are asked to speak English．

      B．Beijing citizens are encouraged to use as much English as possible．

      C．All the taxi drivers in Beijing must speak English．

      D．Beijingers study English to take part in the Beijing Olympics．

5．The passage is about                   ．

A．the importance of English

B．how to learn English well

C．the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games．

D．more and more people are learning English in Beijing．

One afternoon, I went to pick up my mother from work.I got there a little early, so I _______ (41) my car by a small park, and _______ (42) for her.

As I looked outside the car window, I saw a little boy, around two years old, running _______ (43) on the grass as his mother _______ (44) from a short distance. The boy had a big smile on his face as if he had just been ______ (45) free from some sort of prison .The boy would then fall to the grass , (46) up , without looking back at his mother , run as_______ (47) as he could ,again , still with a smile on his face ,as if nothing had happened .

At that moment, I thought to myself , “why aren’t most adults this way ?” Most adults, when they fall down, make a big deal out of it and don’t even _______ (48) a second attempt. They would be so _______ (49) that they would not try again if someone saw them fall .Or , because they fall , they would find a good _______ (50) for themselves that they’re not fit for it . They would end up too afraid to attempt again for fear of failure.

However, with kids, when they fall down, they don’t consider their falling down as a failure, instead, they treat it as a _______ (51) experience. They try again and again until they _______ (52) .The answer must be that they have not connected“falling down” with the word “failure”. As a _______ (53), they are not discouraged in any way .Besides, they _______ (54) think to themselves that it’s quite okay to fall down and that it’s not wrong to do so. In other words ,they allow themselves to make _______ (55), so they remain energetic.

I was deeply impressed by the boy’s persistence (坚持不懈) and the manner in which he did.

41. A. left            B. stopped      C. repaired    D. drove

42. A. waited          B. cared            C. prepared     D. looked

43. A. carefully       B. anxiously        C. freely           D. easily

44. A. watched        B. noticed      C. surveyed     D. supported

45. A. cut         B. kept             C. found        D. set

46. A. hold            B. get          C. end          D. pick

47. A. well            B. long             C. fast         D. soon

48. A. make            B. provide      C. practice         D. discover

49. A. confused        B. embarrassed  C. exhausted        D. surprised

50. A. cause       B. sign             C. chance       D. excuse

51. A. learning        B. running      C. teaching         D. falling

52. A. progress        B. improve      C. achieve      D. succeed

53. A. decision        B. result           C. reason       D. matter

54. A. hardly      B. perfectly        C. probably         D. nearly

55. A. mistakes    B. choices      C. plans            D. wishes

Renting a color television makes more sense than buying. Here’s why:
1. The longer you rent (租), the less you pay. Each year the monthly rate is reduced. You can reach a low rate of not much more than $12 a week.
2. Service is fast and free（免费）. We can have your set installed (安装) in two days. If anything goes wrong, we’ll have it fixed the same day or lend you another set while we’re mending it. And don’t forget: service and spare parts are free!
3. If you don’t have an aerial (天线), we’ll install one for you, and that will be free, too. All you have to pay is the installation charge (安装费)!
4. You can choose from all kinds of models, and what’s more, if after a certain period of time, and you would like a new model, you can change. How’s that for service?
5. No deposit (押金) is needed. You pay only the monthly rental fee. But if you pay in advance, you can save money. Pay twelve months’ fees when you begin to hire, and we’ll give you a month’s hire(雇用) without charge.
6. If you decide that you want to stop renting and buy the set you have on hire, this can be arranged—with a generous allowance (折扣) for the fees already paid.
【小题1】From the passage we know _______________________.
A. the more you rent, the less you pay
B. the longer you rent, the less you pay
C. if you rent a TV set for a long time, service and spare parts will be free
【小题2】What is the good of paying twelve months’ fees when you begin to hire?
A. One and a half months’ hire free of charge.
B. One month’s hire free of charge.
C. Half a month’s hire free of charge.
【小题3】What does “pay in advance” mean?
A. You pay the rent for a period of time before you actually get the television.
B. You pay the rent in front of anyone.
C. You will be the first to pay the rent.
【小题4】If you want to rent a color television, ____________________.
A. leasing company (租赁公司) can have your set installed the same day
B. you can have a choice of sets to rent
C. leasing company will install an aerial for you free of charge
【小题5】This passage is a (an) _______________________.
A. book                B. report                 C. advertisement