The Vieira family moved to the United States in 1981.At that time, they decided to stop speaking Spanish at home and only communicate in English. This was because they were now living in an Englishspeaking country.
Now the Vieira children are adults, and they sometimes travel to Spain to visit their family and friends. But they can't communicate with them. Unfortunately this is common. When people move to new countries, they often leave their own customs and mother language behind. This is a mistake because there are many benefits to knowing more than one language.
One advantage of speaking more than one language is that you can communicate with more people around the world. You don't have to depend on others to talk for you, so you are more independent. People who know only one language must use others to help them communicate.
Furthermore, speaking the second language also allows people to experience other cultures and customs more effectively .Local expressions, vocabulary, and even jokes can have a powerful effect on a person's understanding of other culture. So knowing more than one language increases your knowledge of other cultures.
Finally, having more multilanguage speakers improves relationships between countries. If people from different countries can communicate well, the world can become closer. Countries will then have more respect for each other and better understand each other's problems.
The benefits of knowing more than one language are clear. In fact, there are no disadvantages. It is very sad that many people don't try to learn another language. It's even worse when people let themselves forget their mother language and become silenced.
1.What's the passage mainly about?
A.The benefits of learning other languages. B.The reasons why people come to America.
C.The importance of learning English. D.How to learn another language.
2.The passage begins with the experience of Vieira family in order to ________.
A.discuss the need of teaching a new language
B.introduce the passage's main characters to the readers
C.describe the advantages of moving to another country
D.show the problem of speaking only one language
3.The underlined phrase “multilanguage speakers” (paragraph 5) means “people who know ________.”
A.their mother language B.a new language
C.more than one language D.baby language
4.According to the passage, if you can speak more than one language, you can ________
A.find a better job B.make more friends
C.better understand history D.communicate more independently
5.Based on the last paragraph, which of the following is the worst?
A.Not knowing another language. B.Forgetting one's language.
C.Refusing to learn another language. D.Failing to communicate with others.
In a big amusement park, there was a group of students sitting on the ground. They were listening to a speech after spending a happy morning there. At the beginning of the speech, the speaker told them a story about himself. “When I was in middle school, our class was once asked to write about our dreams. That night I wrote down my dream of opening up an amusement park. However, my teacher gave me an “F” and told me to write it again,” the speaker said. “Her reason was just that it was impossible for a poor boy to make such a dream come true. I went back home and asked my father what I should do. He told me to make the decision by myself. So I decided to make no changes. My teacher can keep the “F” and I’ll keep my dream.”
“And what happened?” the students asked. All of them were curious to know more about the story.
“This is what is happening now. You are listening to my speech in my dream park,” said the speaker. “I told you the story in order to make you know one thing: follow your hearts, keep your dreams and never let others destroy your dreams.”
When the students were leaving the park, their teacher went over to the speaker. “Thank you, Mr. Black. I think my students have learned a lot from your speech. Here I have to say sorry to you. Some years ago, I was once a dream stealer and stole a lot of students’ dreams, including yours. Fortunately you had enough gumption and didn’t give up your dream because of me,” she said and then left.
1.The speaker’s teacher thought it was impossible for the speaker to make his dream come true because ________.
A.he was silly. B.he was very poor. C.he didn’t study hard. D.he was very lazy.
2.According to the passage, a “dream stealer” refers to ________.
A.a person who has great dreams B.a person who has no dream at all
C.a person who helps others realize their dreams D.a person who asks others to give up their dreams
3.The underlined word “gumption” means________ in Chinese.
A.创造力 B.进取心 C.财富 D.运气
4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.The speaker’s teacher felt sorry for what she had done before.
B.The speaker’s father encouraged him to keep his dream.
C.The speaker’s dream was too big to come true.
D.The speaker’s speech was boring and meaningless to the students.
5.The speaker told the students his story in order to ________.
A.show off his success to the students. B.make the students know about his school life.
C.encourage the students to keep their dreams. D.bring more visitors to his amusement park.
“How are you?” is a nice question. It's a friendly way that people in the United States greet each other. But “How are you?” is also a very unusual question. It's a question that often doesn't need an answer. The person who asks “How are you?” hopes to hear the answer “Fine”, even if the person's friend isn't fine. The reason is that “How are you?” isn't really a question and “Fine” isn't really an answer. They are simply other ways of saying “Hello” or “Hi”.
Sometimes, people also don't say exactly what they mean. For example, when someone asks “Do you agree?” the other person might think, “No, I disagree. I think you're wrong…” But it isn't very polite to disagree so strongly, so the other person might say “I'm not sure.” It's a nicer way to say that you don't agree with someone.
People also don't say exactly what they are thinking when they want to finish talking with other people. For example, many talks over the phone finish when one person says “I have to go now.” Often, the person who wants to hang up gives an excuse: “Someone's at the door.” “Something is burning on the stove.” The excuses might be real, or not. Perhaps the person who wants to hang up simply doesn't want to talk any more, but it isn't polite to say that. The excuse is more polite, and it doesn't hurt the other person.
Whether they are greeting each other, talking about an idea, or finishing a talk, people don't say exactly what they are thinking. It's an important way that people try to be nice to each other, and it's part of the game of language.
1.When a person in America asks “How are you?”, he or she wants to hear “________”.
A.How are you? B.Hello. C.I don't know. D.Fine.
2.When a person disagrees with someone, it is polite to say “________”.
A.You're wrong. I disagree. B.I'm not sure. C.I'm sure I disagree. D.No, I disagree.
3.A polite way to finish a talk is to say “________”.
A.You have to go now. B.I want to hang up.
C.I have to go now. D.I don't want to talk any more.
4.When a person says “I’ve to go now. Someone's at the door”, the person may be ________.
A.giving an excuse B.hurting someone's feeling
C.talking to a person at the door D.going to another place
5.The rule of the game of language is probably________.
A.Always say what you mean. B.Don't disagree with people.
C.Never say exactly what you are thinking. D.Be polite.
Toothpaste (牙膏) does more than just keep our teeth bright and white. It can be used wisely in many other ways. Here are some useful tips that can save us time and money, and leave a fresh smell — using toothpaste!
Clean a Dirty Mirror If you want to clean a dirty bathroom mirror, try to put a bit of toothpaste on the mirror and wipe it dry. The glass can be cleaned up beautifully. And doing this can also stop the mirror from fogging. Then you can still see yourself in the mirror after taking a shower. |
Remove the Unpleasant Food Smell Have some bad food smell, like the smell of onions or fish, on your hands? You can remove it by washing your hands with toothpaste. You’ll be fresh-smelling in no time. |
Make Your Sports Shoes Whiter This time, clean your sports shoes by yourself, not by your mother. Wipe some toothpaste around your shoes and then clean it with a wet cloth. See? Your shoes are white as new! |
1.The passage mainly tell us________.
A.how to buy the toothpaste. B.how to choose the toothpaste.
C.how to use toothpaste wisely. D.how to save us time and money.
2.The underlined word “fogging” means ______ in Chinese.
A.腐蚀 B.破碎 C.起雾 D.变干
3.According to the passage, if you want to clean the mirror in your bathroom, you should ________.
A.ask you mother to clean it B.clean it after taking a shower
C.wipe it and keep it dry D.clean it with some toothpaste
4.The passage doesn’t tell us that ________.
A.toothpaste can clean a dirty mirror B.toothpaste can remove the food smell
C.toothpaste can help you clean your sports shoes D.toothpaste can make your ring become new again
5.The passage can be found ________.
A.in a science magazine. B.in an advertisement(广告)
C.in a history book. D.in a poster
One day, I heard an American boy say to a Chinese girl student, “You speak very good English.” But the girl answered, “No, no. My English is very poor.” The foreigner was quite surprised at the answer. Thinking he had not made ___________understood or the girl had not heard him clearly, he said, “Yes, indeed, you speak very well.”___________ the girl still kept saying, “No.” In the end the American boy could not understand and didn’t know ___________ to say.
What’s wrong with the girl’s answer? She didn’t ___________ a compliment (恭维) in the same way as the American people do. She should answer, “Thank you” instead of “No”. She ___________ understood what the American boy had said, but she thought she should be modest. In the ___________, people will feel proud and confident when they are praised . So if someone says the ___________you have cooked are very delicious, you should say, “Thank you.”
In our country we think being modest is a virtue (美德) and being proud is a bad thing, but in my opinion, being confident does not ___________ being proud, so sometimes you should be confident ___________ being modest. If you are modest and say, “No, I’m afraid I can’t do it well”, while working in a western country, the others may think that you really cannot do it. If you often say “No”, you will certainly be looked down upon by others. When asking for a job, if one says something like “Yes, I can certainly do it” instead of “Let me have a try”, he or she will ____________ getting it. So in the west, you should be brave to show your self-confidence.
1.A.itself B.herself C.himself
2.A.Though B.Although C.But
3.A.how B.which C.what
4.A.receive B.accept C.agree
5.A.hardly B.really C.badly
6.A.east B.south C.west
7.A.dishes B.bowls C.glasses
8.A.think B.say C.mean
9.A.as soon as B.as well as C.instead of
10.A.fail to B.expect to C.succeed in
—Could you tell me ________? —In three days.
A.when will they go to the Science Museum
B.how long they are in New York
C.how soon they will go to see the children
