Many animals use some kinds of “language”. They use signals(信号) and the signals have meanings. For example, 1 a bee has found some food, it goes 　2 its home. 　3　 is difficult for a bee to tell 4 bees where the food is speaking to them, but it can do a little dancing. This tells the bees where the food is and 　5 it is.

Some animals show 　6 they feel by making sounds. It is not difficult to tell if a dog is angry because it barks. Birds make several different sounds and 　7 has its meaning. Sometimes we humans make sounds in the same way. We make sounds like “Oh” to 　8 how we feel about 9 or we 　10 something on our feet.

We humans have languages. We have words. These words have meaning of things, action, feeling or ideas. We are able to 11 each other information, to tell other people 12 we think or we feel. By writing down words, we can remember what has happened or 13 messages to people far away.

Languages, like people, live and die. If a language is not used by people, it is called a dead language. This language cannot live and grow because 　14 speaks it.

A living language, of course, is often spoken by people today. It grows and changes with time. New words are created, and some old words have 　15 meanings.

1. A. because 　　　　　　 B. since 　　　 　　　 C. when 　　　　　　 D. as

2. A. out of 　　　 B. back from　　　　 C. away from 　　　 D. back to

3. A. It　　　 　 B. This　 　　 　　　 C. That　 　　 D. He

4. A. each other 　 B. another　 　　　 C. the other 　 D. others

5. A. how long 　 B. how far away　 C. how many 　　　 D. how old

6. A. why　　 　　 B. which 　　 　　　 C. how　 　　 D. what

7. A. each　　　　　　　　　　 B. every 　　 　　　 C. all　 　　　 D. some

8. A. show　 　　 B. say　 　　 　　　 C. talk　 　　　 D. speak

9. A. everything　 　　　 B. something 　　　 C. nothing　 D. anything

10. A. put　　　　　　　 B. drop　 　　　　　 C. fall　 　　　　　　 D. set

11. A. give　　 　 B. put　　 　　　　　 C. show 　　 D. take

12. A. that　　 　　 B. which　 　　　 C. what　 　　 D. why

13. A. send　　 　　 B. bring　　 　　　 C. push　 　　 D. get

14. A. someone 　 B. no one　 　　　 C. anyone 　 D. everyone

15. A. new　　　 B. right　　 　　　　 C. real　 　　 D. good

William Shakespeare is the most famous playwright (剧作家). Although he died in 1616, people still go to see his plays. Among the most popular are Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hamlet—the story of a prince who struggles to respond to the crimes around him.

Shakespeare, who was born in 1564, was an actor as well as a writer. Most of his ideas for plays were taken from history, people’s conversation, ancient stories, and also from other writers. He wrote not only about kings and queens and princes, but also about friends and ordinary people. He wrote about the cruelty of war and the bravery of heroes, as well as about jealousy, joy, hate, ambition and love. His stories live on. The tragedy Romeo and Juliet was reborn as the musical West Side Side Story and more recently as the movie Romeo and Julie with the wonderful performance of Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.

He invented a number of great characters: powerful magicians, thrilling witches, smart women and both wise and wicked men. He also invented some great phrases. If you’ve ever said, “Oh, for goodness sake!” you can thank Shakespeare for that. Other examples of common phrases adapted from Shakespeare: “as luck would have it”, “your own flesh and blood”, “too much of a good thing”, “good riddance”, “in one fell swoop”, and “in the twinkling of an eye”. “To be, or not to be: that is the question,” Hamlet says. “Good night, good night. Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it is morrow,” says Juliet to her Romeo.

Don’t be surprised if you don’t understand everything when reading Shakespeare or watching one of his plays because the meanings of many words have changed over the years. And Shakespeare’s characters speak in poetry, so their speeches can be complicated.

It does help to find out a little bit about the story before reading a Shakespeare play. It’s worth the effort. As Shakespeare wrote, “All the world is a stage.” And in his plays you’ll find that an entire world is waiting for you.

1.Shakespeare created the following characters EXCEPT ________.

A. Juliet       B. Hamlet     C. Claire Danes   Romeo

2.From Paragraph 3 we can learn that ________.

A. most of the characters created by Shakespeare were negative ones

B. most of the phrases used today were invented by Shakespeare

C. “Oh, for goodness sake!” is what Juliet says to Romeo

Shakespeare contributed greatly to the development of English

3.Which of the following is a reason why it’s difficult to understand some of Shakespeare’s plays?

A. There are many new words in his plays.

B. He wrote his plays using uncommon words.

C. The characters in his plays speak in poetry.

Most of the words in his plays are outdated.

4.We can infer from the passage that ______.

A. most of Shakespeare’s plays have been made into films

B. language changes with the development of society

C. Shakespeare made lots of money from his works

it is more useful to read Shakespeare’s works than to watch them

Open a large handkerchief out and show both sides of it to your friends. Point out that there is nothing in it; then show them both sides of your hands, which are also empty. Now ask a member of your audience to give you a match. Ask him to put a mark on it with a pen or a pencil. Fold up the handkerchief with the match in it, and let everyone present see you do this.

       Give the handkerchief to anyone in the audience and say：“Here′s the match. Can you feel it? Good! Now I want you to break it into two pieces.”When he or she has broken the match, you say “Would anyone like to feel the broken match in this handkerchief?”several people will probably want to feel it. When they have satisfied themselves that the match really is broken, you say,“Now I′m going to make the match whole again.”Perhaps your friends will say that  is impossible.

       Hold the handkerchief in one hand and pass your hand or your wand（magic stick）over it, saying：“Abracadabra, abracadabra.”Open the handkerchief and let the match fall on to the table or floor, saying“Presto”as it does so. When the audience examine the match, they will find that it is quite whole and undamaged. The member of the audience will see his mark on the match. Everyone will be amazed!

       The secret of this trick is quite simple, as in all magic tricks. Long before you do the trick you must do one thing-you must push one of your own matches into the hem（摺边）of the handkerchief. This must be pushed well along the hem so that it cannot fall out or be seen. When you have wrapped up the match provided by a member of the audience you must take care that it is the match in the hem which is broken, and not the other. You should practice the trick in private, of course, before you perform it before an audience.

1．The magician shows both sides of the handkerchief in order to      .

      A．show the audience what the handkerchief is like

       B．push a match into the hem of the handkerchief

       C．let the audience put a mark on it with a pencil

       D．make the audience believe there is no trick in it                      

2．How many matches are there wrapped in the handkerchief in fact?

       A．0                        B．1                        C．2                        D．3 

3．Why does the magician say“abracadabra”?

       A．He intends to make the match whole again.

       B．He needs to draw the audience′s attention away.

       C．He pretends something super-natural will happen.

       D．He wants to make himself less nervous

4．This magic is actually a      ?

       A．trick of replacement                             B．chemical change

       C．language cheating    D．quick hand movement