Although English is not as old as Chinese, it is spoken by many people around the world every day. English speakers are always making up new words, and we are often able to know where most come from.
Sometimes, however, no one may really know where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers are called “hamburgers”, especially when they are not made with ham(火腿)? About a hundred years ago, some men went to America from Europe. They came from a big city in Germany called Hamburg. They didn’t speak good English, but they ate good food. When some Americans saw them eating round pieces of beef, they asked the Germans what they were. The Germans didn’t understand the question and answered, “We come from Hamburg.” One of these Americans owned a restaurant, and had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of bread with beef in them and started selling them. Such bread came to be called “hamburgers”. Today, “Hamburgers” are sold in many countries around the world.
Whether this story is true or not, it certainly is interesting. Knowing why any word has a certain meaning is interesting, too. This reason, for most English words, can be found in any large English dictionary.
【小题1】English is spoken by many people around the world every day, but English is ______.

A．as old as Chinese	B．older than Chinese
C．younger than Chinese	D．older than German

【小题2】Hamburg is ______.

A．a kind of food	B．a round piece of beef
C．the name of a country	D．a city in Germany

【小题3】According to the story, the word “hamburger” comes from ______.

A．English speakers because they’re always making up new words

B．the round piece of beef which those people from Hamburg ate

C．English because Germans don’t speak good English

D．a large English dictionary

【小题4】. Which of the following is TRUE?

A．Few Americans like hamburgers.

B．Hamburgers are made with ham.

C．Hamburgers were first sold a century ago.

D．Hamburgers were some people.

【小题5】. Which of the following can be found in any large dictionary?

A．Where Germans came from.

B．Where all the new words came from.

C．The reason why a new word has a certain meaning.

D．Why English is spoken all over the world.

综合填空

Reading newspapers has becoming an important p______1 of our everyday life. Many people read newspapers a______2 the first thing to do in the morning, others read newspapers as soon as they are free during the day so that they can learn what is h______3 in the world.

Sometimes, however, we do not have e______4 time to read all the news carefully, so we just take a quick look at the front page, at other times, we may be in such a h______5 that we only have a few minutes to look at the names of the passages.

Newspapers can be found everywhere in the world. We can get many different kinds of newspapers in the big cities, of course, but in some of the mountain v______6 we can see few newspapers.

Some newspapers are published o______7 a week, but most of the newspapers are published once a day with many pages, some even published twice a day! As you know different people e______8 reading different newspapers, some like sports news, some like economic news and others prefer short stories. They just choose what they are i______ 9 in.

Today newspapers in English have the l______ 10 number of readers in the world.

 

用方框中所给单词的适当形式填空，使短文通顺正确、连贯（每个单词限用一次）。

This week we asked students at New High School about the best ways to learn more English. Many said they learnt by using English. Some students had more   1.  suggestions. Lillian Li, for example, said the best way to learn new words was by reading English magazines. She said that  2.   the words of pop songs also helped a little. When we asked about studying grammar, she said,” I never study grammar. It’s too boring.”

  Wei Ming feels  3.  . He’s been learning English for six years and really love it. He thinks studying grammar is a great way to learn a   4. .He also thinks that watching English movies isn’t a bad way, because he can watch the actors say the words. Sometimes, however, he  5.    watching movies frustrating because the people speak too quickly.

 

Have you ever heard someone use the phrase” once in a blue moon”? People use this expression to describe something that they do not do very often. For example, someone might say that he tries to avoid eating sweets because they are unhealthy, but will eat chocolate” once in a blue moon”. Or someone who does not usually like to go to the beach might say “I visit the shore once in a blue moon.”While many people use this phrase, not everyone knows the meaning behind it.

The first thing to know is that the moon itself is never really blue. This is just an expression. In fact, the phrase” blue moon” has to do with the shape of the moon, not the color.

As the moon travels around the earth, it appears to change shape. We associate certain names with certain shapes of the moon. For example, when we can see a small part of the moon it is called a crescent moon. A crescent is a shape that looks like the tip of a fingernail when we cannot see the moon at all; it is called a new moon.

When we can see the whole moon is called a full moon. Usually, there is only one full moon every month. Sometimes, however there will be two full moons in one month. When this happens, the second full moon is called a blue moon”.

Over the next 20 years, there will only be 15 blue moons. As you can see, a blue moon is a very rare (稀有的)event. This fact has led people to use the expression” once in a blue moon” to describe other very rare events in their lives.

1.Which of the following would be a good example of using the phrase” once in a blue moon”.

A．Simon often tells jokes. Simon tells jokes once in a blue moon.

B．Tom rarely remembers to do exercise. Tom does exercise once in a blue moon.

C．Mary likes to go shopping every weekend. Mary goes shopping once in a blue moon.

D．Cindy hates to stay up, but she stays up every day. Cindy stays up once in a blue moon.

2.When does a blue moon happen in nature?

A．When the moon has a blue moon.

B．When we cannot see the moon at all.

C．When there are two full moons in one month.

D．When we can only see a small part of the color.

3.How often will a blue moon happen over the next twenty years?

A．Once a year.                           B．Less than once a year.

C．More than once a year.                   D．At least twice a year.

4.What does the underlined part “This fact” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．A blue moon is a very rare event.

B．The moon appears to change shape.

C．The moon itself is never really bluee.

D．A blue moon has to do with the shape of the moon.

 

Have you ever heard someone use the phrase” once in a blue moon”? People use this expression to describe something that they do not do very often. For example, someone might say that he tries to avoid eating sweets because they are unhealthy, but will eat chocolate” once in a blue moon”. Or someone who does not usually like to go to the beach might say “I visit the shore once in a blue moon.”While many people use this phrase, not everyone knows the meaning behind it.
The first thing to know is that the moon itself is never really blue. This is just an expression. In fact, the phrase” blue moon” has to do with the shape of the moon, not the color.
As the moon travels around the earth, it appears to change shape. We associate certain names with certain shapes of the moon. For example, when we can see a small part of the moon it is called a crescent moon. A crescent is a shape that looks like the tip of a fingernail when we cannot see the moon at all; it is called a new moon.
When we can see the whole moon is called a full moon. Usually, there is only one full moon every month. Sometimes, however there will be two full moons in one month. When this happens, the second full moon is called a blue moon”.
Over the next 20 years, there will only be 15 blue moons. As you can see, a blue moon is a very rare (稀有的)event. This fact has led people to use the expression” once in a blue moon” to describe other very rare events in their lives.
【小题1】Which of the following would be a good example of using the phrase” once in a blue moon”.

A．Simon often tells jokes. Simon tells jokes once in a blue moon.

B．Tom rarely remembers to do exercise. Tom does exercise once in a blue moon.

C．Mary likes to go shopping every weekend. Mary goes shopping once in a blue moon.

D．Cindy hates to stay up, but she stays up every day. Cindy stays up once in a blue moon.

【小题2】When does a blue moon happen in nature?

A．When the moon has a blue moon.

B．When we cannot see the moon at all.

C．When there are two full moons in one month.

D．When we can only see a small part of the color.

【小题3】How often will a blue moon happen over the next twenty years?

A．Once a year.	B．Less than once a year.
C．More than once a year.	D．At least twice a year.

【小题4】What does the underlined part “This fact” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．A blue moon is a very rare event.

B．The moon appears to change shape.

C．The moon itself is never really bluee.

D．A blue moon has to do with the shape of the moon.