Hi Hongbo,

I’m so glad to read about the changes talking place in your city. It’s really good news that you can travel by subway in Xi’an, though there’s only one line there. Here in London we have twelve lines. By the way, we don’t use the word “subway” here. It’s American English. We call it “the Underground”, instead.

The London Underground is very famous. It’s famous for several reasons. First of all, part of the underground railway today is the oldest in the world, which opened in 1863. Secondly, the London Underground is also the first line to have electric trains, in 1890. Thirdly but not the last, the London Underground is the second largest metro system in the world, after the Shanghai Metro. There are 270 stations in the Underground and it has 402 kilometres of tracks(轨道). What’s more, the city of London itself helps make the transportation system famous! I’ve got a few photos to help you build a clear picture of the Underground in my city. They are together with this mail.

In your email, you also said workers were building more lines. I’m sure your city is developing fast. Maybe you can send me a few photos of your city today. I really want to see the changes taking place there. I’m happy for you to live there in an ancient city with such a new look!

So much for now. I’ll write soon again. Best wishes!

1.Where is the writer from？

A．From London      B．From Shanghai      C．From Xi’an.       D．From New York

2.The second paragraph mainly tells us        ?

A．when the first subway was opened in the world.

B．when the London Underground first used electric trains

C．why the London Underground is the oldest subway in the world.

D．why the London Underground is famous in the world

3.In the email, the words “subway”, “underground”, and “metro” mean   .

A．three different things                    B．two different things

C．almost the same thing                    D．nothing like each other

4.What does the writer want Hongbo to do?

A．To buy a good book about Xi’an for him.

B．To send him a few photos of Xi’an.

C．To post him some postcards of Xi’an.

D．To tell him more about Xi’an subway.

 

In today’s world, English is the most wildly used language. It is our duty to learn English in the new situation of the reform and opening (改革开放) to the outside world. How can we master the English language ? I’d like to give you some good advice.
First, get interested in it. I enjoy listening to foreign friends talking when I was a child. At the same time I watched the English programme Follow Me on TV. From then on, I kept on learning English. The more I learned, the more progress I made.
Second, practice makes perfect. Many people study English very hard, but they are very shy to speak it in public, for they are afraid of making mistakes. Remember you have to make a mistake before you can correct it. A native English speaker makes mistakes sometimes, too.
Third, the beginners should be encouraged to pay attention to idioms. The English language has many idioms. For example, you should say “ He is as strong as a cow.”
【小题1】The writer wants to tell us ____________. 

A．the importance of learning English

B．the new situation of the reform and opening to the outside world

C．some good ideas on how to master English

D．the wide use of the English language

【小题2】If we want to learn English, we must first __________.

A．show interest in it	B．enjoy listening to it
C．watch English programmes on TV	D．practice speaking it

【小题3】When we are learning English, ____________.

A．remember the mistakes and correct them	B．try not to make any mistakes
C．avoid mistakes before making them	D．don’t be afraid of making mistakes

【小题4】The underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 means “_______________.”

A．Remember to make a mistake before you can correct it

B．You are sure to make a mistake before you can correct it

C．Remember you have to make a mistake and then correct it

D．You’ll make a mistake after you can correct it

The story of English language is a story of change．The old English language, or old English, is quite different from Modern English．If we do not study old English, we can’t understand it．Some of the words are the same, but many are not used now．The story of the English language begins some time after the year 400 AD．At this time, some people came to England from North-west Europe．There were many groups of people．They were called Angles （盎格鲁人）, Saxons（撒克逊人）and Jutes（朱特人），whose language, old English, is like some of the modern language of North-West Europe．In old English, the ending had many meanings．They showed past time and present time and many other things．In Modern English, most of these endings are gone．This is the biggest difference between Old and Modern English．
【小题1】What does the first sentence of the passage mean?

A．The story of English language often changes．

B．English is a language that has changed a lot as time passes by．

C．The old English language has changed into Modern English．

D．The story of English language is one of how people change the language．

【小题2】Old English has a story of ______．

A．2,500 years	B．more than 1,600 years
C．2,300 years	D．more than 400 years

【小题3】Old English was first used by the people from ______．

A．Old English	B．English
C．North-West English	D．North-West Europe

【小题4】Which of the following is NOT true about Old English?

A．The endings of words gave different special meanings．

B．It is easy for most English-speakers today to understand the language．

C．Its words are very different from those Modern English．

D．It was spoken by many groups of the people from North-West Europe．

Everyday, 340 million people speak it. One billion people are learning it and it is said that by 2050, half of the world’s population will be using it. What are we talking about? That global language—English.

The English language started in Britain in the 5th century. It is a mixed language. It was built up when German. Scandinavian and French invaders settled in England and created a common language for communication.

Today it is the official language of the UK, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and Ireland as well as many islands in the Caribbean . Many other countries and regions use it for politics and business, for example, India. Pakistan, Nigeria and the Philippines. English is also one of the official languages of Hong Kong.

But global advertising and pop music mean that in most countries, you will see or hear some English. Thanks to McDonalds, we all know about "burgers". "fries" and "milkshakes". Songs by Madonna, Britney Spears and Celine Dion are in English. We can sing along, even if we do not understand what we are singing!

English is a messy (杂乱的) language. Every year, dictionaries include new words that talk about popular culture, for example, computer-related words such as "blogging", "download" and "chatroom". Also included are words that teenagers use. Who does not know "cool", "OK" and “hello” ?

Other languages also influence English. Many English words come from French. Words like "cafe" and expressions like "c'est la vie" (that is life) are all part of the English language. On the other hand, the French language includes English words like "le weekend" and "le camping". German words are also part of English. Words like "kindergarten" come from the German language.

Recently, British people have become interested in "yoga". But the word comes from an ancient Hindu language in India.

1.The English language has a history of  ______.

A．over 2000 years

B．over 500 years

C．over 1500 years

D．over 1000 years

2.The underlined expression “thanks to ” can be replaced by ______.

A．because of

B．thankful to

C．not until

D．as if.

3.Which of the following statements is true about the language of English ?

A．It has been changing all the time.

B．It has borrowed words from all the other languages.

C．French words are used by the English because dictionaries have French words.

D．Singers and film stars have the greatest influence on language.

4. Many countries and regions use it for politics and business except______.

A．the USA

B．Nigeria

C．the Philippines

D．Norway