My teenage son Karl became withdrawn after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six falling grades for the year. In this way he would never graduate. I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him. Nothing worked.

One night I felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and asked God for help. “Please God, I can’t do anything more for my son. I’m at the end of my rope. I’m giving the whole thing up to you.”

I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster. “I want to talk to you about Karl’s absences.” Before he could say another word, I choked up（哽咽）and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger. “I love my son, but I just don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It’s out of my hands. ” For a moment there was silence on the other and of the line. The headmaster seriously said, “Thank you for your time”, and hung up.

　　Karl’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. Finally, he was even on the list of the best students at school. In his fourth year, I attended a parent –– teacher meeting with Karl. I noticed that his teachers were surprised at the way he had turned himself around. On our way home, he said, “Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?” I nodded. “That was me. I thought I’d play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That’s when I knew I had to make you proud.”

1.Which of the following has the similar meaning as the underlined word “withdrawn” in the  first paragraph?

2.There was silence on the other end of the line because _ _________.

3.Who was it that telephoned Karl’s mother that day?

4.From the passage we can learn that _____________.

完形填空。(10小题，每小题1分，共10分)

More than three thousand languages are spoken in the world today . Many of these languages are spoken  _36     small groups of people . On the 37   ,hand , over two hundred languages are spoken by one million or more people . Chinese is the language spoken by the ___38 ___number of people in the world . But English is most   39  spoken in the world .

English is spoken by more than four hundred million people  40  their first language . It is   41 by most people in the U.S.A. , Great Britain , Canada , Australia and New Zealand . And it is   42  used very widely in many other countries of the world . Look at the back of your watch . You may see the English words “Made   43  China” , or “Japan” , even “Germany” .

English is the first language in  44   of these . Why are English words   45   on it ? That is because in the modern world English is widely used for business between different countries .

1. A. as        B. by        C. for            D. with

2. A. other     B. others     C. another        D. the second

3. A. biggest    B. bigger     C. largest        D. larger       

4. A. wide      B. wider      C. widest        D. widely

5. A. of        B. in          C. by           D. as

6. A. spoke     B. spoken     C. speak        D. speaking

7. A .either     B .as well      C. also         D. too

8. A. at        B. of          C. with         D. in

9. A. no one    B. none        C. nothing      D. no

10.A. written    B. wrote       C. write        D. writing

阅读下面的短文，并根据短文内容回答问题。（共5小题，计10分）

???? More than 6000 languages are spoken on the earth today.Many of these languages are spoken by small groups of people,and over 200 languages are spoken by one million or more people.Chinese is a language spoken by the largest number of people in the world.But English is most widely spoken in the world

????? English is spoken by more than 400 million people as their first language.It is spoken by most people in the U.S.A.,Great Britain,Canada,Australia and New Zealand.And it is also used very widely in many other countries of the world.

????? Look at the back of your watch.You may see the English words? “Made in China”, “Made in Japan”,or “Made in Germany”.English is spoken as the first language in none of these countries.Why are English words written on it?That is because in the modern world English is widely used for business between different countries.

1.How many languages are spoken on the earth today?

____________________________________________

2.Which language is spoken by the largest number of people in the world?

____________________________________________

3.Is English spoken by more than 400 million people as their first language?

____________________________________________

4.Do? Americans speak English ?

____________________________________________

5.Why may English words be written on your watch?

Except for a few times, Americans are not big present-givers. There’s no exchange of presents among business people, and if one American tries to give another a present, it may look like that he wants to bribe (贿赂) him. Americans have learned that in some other countries people like to give presents to others, but among ourselves we don’t see the need for presents.

Even friends may never exchange presents. When I go to foreign countries, I try to bring back little things for close friends, but nobody would feel unhappy if I didn’t. I don’t often re­member a friend’s birthday, and few people outside of my family remember mine. If someone gave me presents too often, I’d get unpleasant. But a present from a foreigner — that kind from his or her homeland — won’t go wrong, except to government employees (政府职员) who can’t be given presents.

You usually open a present at once and in front of the person who gives it except Christmas and birthday presents. You should only say, ‘It’s so nice. Thanks…’when you get Christ­mas or birthday presents.

You may want to bring a bottle of wine (葡萄酒) or flowers to a dinner party, but you’re never asked to. Nobody will mind if you bring wine, but your friend may not use it that evening.

At Christmas we often give presents to our family and sometimes our friends. We also give presents to people who have been helpful during the year like doormen, babysitters, housecleaners , newspaper senders — anyone who has often helped us.

1.What do the underlined words ‘close friends’ mean in the passage?

2.What kind of presents don’t Americans usually open in front of the givers?

3.Why do Americans also give presents to housecleaners at Christmas?

4.Which of the following do you think is right?

5.What is the main idea of the passage?