The number of speakers of English in Shakespeare’s time is estimated(估计) to have been about five million. Today it is estimated that some 260 million people speak it as a native language, mainly in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In addition to the standard varieties of English found in these areas, there are a great many regional and social varieties of the language as well as various levels of usage that are employed both in its spoken and written forms.

In fact, it is impossible to estimate the number of people in the world who have acquired an adequate(足够的) working knowledge of English in addition to their own languages. The purpose for English learning and the situations in which such learning takes place are so varied that it is difficult to explain and still more difficult to judge what forms an adequate working knowledge for each situation.

The main reason for the widespread demand for English is its present-day importance as a world language. Besides serving the indefinite needs of its native speakers, English is a language in which some of important works in science, technology, and other fields are being produced, and not always by native speakers. It is widely used for such purposes as meteorological and airport communications, international conferences, and the spread of information over the radio and television networks of many nations. It is a language of wider communication for a number of developing countries, especially former British colonies. Many of these countries have multilingual populations and need a language for internal communication in such matters as government, commerce, industry, law and education as well as for international communication and for entrance to the scientific and technological developments in the West.

1.What would be the best title for this passage?

A．The Difficulties of Learning English	B．International Communications
C．The Standard Varieties of English	D．English as a World Language

2.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．Some 260 million people in the world have an adequate working knowledge of English.

B．There are some 260 million native speakers of English in the world.

C．It is almost impossible to estimate the number of people with an adequate working knowledge of English.

D．People learn English for a variety of reasons.

3.According to the passage, what is the main reason for the widespread use of English?

A．It was popular during Shakespeare’s time.	B．It is used in former British colonies.
C．It serves the needs of its native speakers.
D．It is a world language that is used for international communication.

4.What forms an adequate working knowledge of English?

A．The ability to read a newspaper.
B．It is difficult to judge because it differs for each situation.
C．Being able to speak several languages.	D．Being a native speaker.

5.What type of developing countries would be most likely to use English?

A．Those geographically close to the United States.

B．Those interested in the culture of the United States.

C．Former colonies of Great Britain.

D．Countries where international conferences are held.

6.C。细节题。根据文章最后一段倒数第2句可推知此题

Why don’t birds get lost on their long migratory (迁居的) flights? Scientists have puzzled over this question for many years. Now they’re beginning to fill in the blanks.
Not long ago, experiments showed that birds rely on the sun to guide them during daylight hours. But what about birds that fly mainly by night? Tests with artificial stars have proved conclusively that certain night-flying birds are able to follow the stars in their long-distance flights.
One such bird, a warbler(鸣禽) , had spent its lifetime in a cage and had never flown under a natural sky. Yet it showed an inborn ability to use the stars for guidance. The bird’s cage was placed under an artificial star-filled sky at migration time. The bird tried to fly in the same direction as that taken by his outdoor cousins. Any change in the direction of the make-be-live stars caused a change in the direction of his flight. Scientists think that warblers, when flying in daylight, use the sun for guidance. But the stars are apparently their main means of navigation (导航). What do they do when the stars are hidden by clouds? Apparently, they find their way by such landmarks as mountain ranges, coast lines, and river courses. But when it’s too dark to see these, the warblers circle helplessly, unable to get their direction.
【小题1】The reasons why birds don’t get lost on migratory flights__________.

A．have been known to scientists for many years

B．are known by everyone

C．have only recently been discovered

D．will probably remain a mystery

【小题2】Warblers migrate__________.

A．from North America to South America

B．using what is apparently an inborn navigational ability

C．only once during their lifetime

D．when they are freed from their cages

【小题3】When the stars are hidden by clouds, warblers find their way by__________ .

A．an artificial star	B．some landmarks
C．their inborn ability	D．A and B

【小题4】This article is a good example of the way scientists__________ .

A．discover workable answers to universal questions by studying particular cases(特别案例)

B．jump to conclusions

C．find a law and then investigate（调查）

D．are disappointed by the habits of animals

D
Parties, iPods, concerts, movies, TV shows, video games, traffic. All of these things of the modern world make life entertaining and enjoyable. But our 21^st-century lifestyle is also loud and, if we don’t take notice, it can have an effect on our hearing.
Most teenagers don’t think about hearing loss. But if you experience any of the following symptoms（症状）, you may already be hearing damaged: you make efforts to hear normal talk, you have to turn up the TV or radio so high that others complain, you watch other people’s expressions to understand what they are saying, you ask people to repeat themselves, you misunderstand what people are saying or you hear ringing in your ears.
iPods and other MP3 players are as common as the clothes you wear, and just as fashionable. But if you turn up an iPod to more than 60 percent of its maximum volume（最大音量）, and listen to music for more than an hour, you are asking for trouble. And, it does not matter if the music you play is classical, rock or heavy metal.
Some researchers find that young people who break the so-called 60-percent/60-minute rule in listening to iPods are at the risk of suffering hearing loss.
Why is an iPod dangerous? With ear buds placed directly in the ear canal and high-volume music played over a long period of time, it’s like working in a loud factory all day, being a maintenance（修理）person under a jet airplane or using a jackhammer（手提钻）on a building site.
Similarly, iPod music can cause a short time or permanent（永久的）hearing damage. A loud iPod can cause a ruptured（破裂的）eardrum and, over time, may cause permanent damage to the tiny hairs in the inner ear. If these tiny hairs are damaged, they cannot effectively send sounds to the auditory nerves（听觉神经）that connect to the brain. If this happens, hearing loss becomes permanent.
【小题1】Which of the following shows that you are suffering hearing loss?

A．You are interested to listen to others’ talking.

B．You have to read others’ expressions to understand them.

C．You can only understand others over the phone.

D．You always think you hear the ringing of the phone.

【小题2】 Which of the following is TRUE when you listen to music?

A．Listen at least an hour every time.

B．Turn up the volume to the highest level.

C．keep the sound lower than 60% of its highest volume.

D．Choose classical, rock or heavy metal music.

【小题3】What is the correct order of causing permanent hearing loss?
a. The eardrum is broken.
b. The auditory nerves cannot receive sounds.
c. Tiny hairs are damaged.
d. Ear buds are placed directly in the ear canal.
e. High-volume music is played over a long time.

A．d-a-c-b-e

B．e-c-a-b-d

C．b-c-a-d-e

D．d-e-a-c-b

【小题4】This passage is mainly about      .

A．music that teenagers like	B．hearing problems caused by the loud world
C．ways that teenagers enjoy music	D．dangerous modern lifestyles of teenagers.

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
  【小题1】   But science may have just proved them right – because beautiful women are more likely to have daughters than their plainer counterparts, according to a study.
As parents tend to pass on genes that determine looks, this could result in handsome men becoming rather thin on the ground.    【小题2】   For example, Yasmin Le Bon is signed to the same modelling agency as daughter Amber, and Jerry Hall’s daughters Elizabeth and Georgia Jagger have both taken to the catwalk.  
Dr Satoshi Kanazawa, of the London School of Economics, analysed data from a survey of 17,000 babies born in Britain in March 1958 and tracked them throughout their lives.    【小题3】     When they reached 45, they were asked about the gender of any children they had.
Those rated as attractive were equally likely to have a son or daughter as their first child – but the unattractive sorts were more likely to have a son.    【小题4】  
Dr Kanazawa believes that parents tend to produce children who benefit from their own features.  【小题5】   So it pays for attractive women to have daughters. But couples blessed with strength and aggression rather than looks are better off having boys, as these characteristics are of more use to males.

A．Women are becoming more beautiful over the generations because attractive women have more children than plain ones.

B．Single girls have always complained that good-looking men are difficult to find.

C．Beauty is of more benefit to a woman than a man.

D．At the age of seven, their attractiveness was rated by their teachers.

E. Put another way, the beautiful women were more likely to have daughters.
F. And it may also explain why many models have daughters who follow in their fascinating footsteps.
G. Famously good-looking parents like Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are more likely to have girls than uglier couples.

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
  【小题1】   But science may have just proved them right – because beautiful women are more likely to have daughters than their plainer counterparts, according to a study.
As parents tend to pass on genes that determine looks, this could result in handsome men becoming rather thin on the ground.    【小题2】   For example, Yasmin Le Bon is signed to the same modelling agency as daughter Amber, and Jerry Hall’s daughters Elizabeth and Georgia Jagger have both taken to the catwalk.  
Dr Satoshi Kanazawa, of the London School of Economics, analysed data from a survey of 17,000 babies born in Britain in March 1958 and tracked them throughout their lives.    【小题3】     When they reached 45, they were asked about the gender of any children they had.
Those rated as attractive were equally likely to have a son or daughter as their first child – but the unattractive sorts were more likely to have a son.    【小题4】  
Dr Kanazawa believes that parents tend to produce children who benefit from their own features.  【小题5】   So it pays for attractive women to have daughters. But couples blessed with strength and aggression rather than looks are better off having boys, as these characteristics are of more use to males.

A．Women are becoming more beautiful over the generations because attractive women have more children than plain ones.

B．Single girls have always complained that good-looking men are difficult to find.

C．Beauty is of more benefit to a woman than a man.

D．At the age of seven, their attractiveness was rated by their teachers.

E. Put another way, the beautiful women were more likely to have daughters.
F. And it may also explain why many models have daughters who follow in their fascinating footsteps.
G. Famously good-looking parents like Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are more likely to have girls than uglier couples.