Throughout history, people have been interested in knowing how language first began, but no one knows exactly where or how this happened. However, we do know a lot about languages, the language of today and also the languages of earlier times. There are probably about 3000 languages in the world today. Chinese is the lang uage with the most speakers. English, Russian and Spanish are also spoken by millions of people. On the other hand, some languages in the world have less than one hundred speakers.
There are several important families of languages in the world. For example, most of the languages of Europe are in one large family called Indo-European. The original language of this family was spoken about 4,500 years ago. Many of the present-day languages of Europe and India are modern forms of the language of 4,500 years ago.
Languages are always changing. The English of tod ay is very different from the English of 500 years ago. In time, some even die out completely. About 1,000 years ago, English was a little known relative of German spoken on one of the borders of Europe.
If a language has a number of speakers, or if it is very old, there may be differences in the way it is spoken in different areas. That is, the language may have several dialects. Chinese is a good example of dialect differences. Chinese has been spoken for thousands of years by many millions of people. The differences between the dialects of Chinese are so great that speakers of Chinese from some parts of Ch ina can’t understand spe akers from other parts.
1.The first paragraph mainly tells us that_______.
A. most people in the world speak Chinese
B. there are thousands of languages in today’s world
C. people have much knowledge about languages
D. some people know several languages
2.Most European and Indian languages_______.
A. will soon die out completely
B. were once a relative of English
C. are no longer spoken
D. come from the same family of language.
3.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. Chinese is the language with the most speakers.
B. English was a well-known relative of German spoken on one of the borders of Europe.
C. A language has many speakers, but there may be no differences in the way it is spoken in different areas.
D. Speakers of Chinese from some parts of China can understand speakers from other parts.
4.It is considered to be the most difficult thing for one to learn to speak Chinese because _______.
A. there are great differences between the dialects of Chinese
B. Chinese and many foreign languages are not of the same family
C. Chinese is a ve ry old language
D. there are great differences between the old Chinese and the present-day Chinese
5.The underlined word “dialect” in the last paragraph means_______.
A. a special language spoken by Chinese
B. the sign used by Chinese people in a special area
C. the difference between the old and today’s Chinese
D. the form of a language used in one part of the country
Helen was not someone who gave up easily. Soon she began to explore the world by using her other senses. She followed her mother wherever she went, hangin g onto her skirts. She touched and smelled everything she came across. She copied their actions and was soon able to do certain jobs by herself, like milking the cows. She even learned to recognize people by feeling their faces or their clothes. She could also tell where she was in the garden by the smell of the different plants and the feel of the ground under her feet.
When she was seven, she invented over 60 different signs which she could talk to her family. For example, if she wanted some bread, she would pretend to cut a piece and put some butter on it. If she wanted some ice cream, she put her arms around herself and pretended to shiver.
Helen soon learned to read and write in Braille. She also learned to read people’s lips by pressing her finger-tips against them and feeling the movement. She also learned to speak, a major achievement for someone who could not hear at all.
He len graduated with honors from a college in 1904. While she was still in the college, she wrote “The Story of My Life”. This was an immediate success and she made enough money to buy a house.
She gave lecture after lecture all over her country. Many people wrote books, made several plays and films about her life. She became so famous that some people invited her to go abroad and many foreign university gave her a lot of honors. In 1932 she became a vice-president of the Royal National Institute for the Blind in the United Kingdom.
1.From the passage, we can learn that Helen________.
A. was very lazy when she was a child
B. could do everything easily as the usual people
C. couldn’t see with her eyes, so she had to explore the world with other senses
D. was so shy that she followed her mother wherever she went
2.She even learned to know some people by______ their faces or their clothes.
A. remembering B. learning
C. feeling D. writing
3.Helen could do the following things except________.
A. milk the cow
B. want some bread by her ways
C. want ice cream by putting her arm around herself and pretended to shiver
D. drive cars by herself
4.The Chinese meaning of the underlined word “achievement” is_______.
A.成就 B.运动 C.利益 D.原因
5.The best title of the passage is________.
A. A Shy Girl B. Helen—A Brave Girl
C. The Story of My Life D. Explore the World
完形填空。
根据短文内容从A、B、C、D四个选项中选出一个能填入相应空格内的最佳答案。
More than 3,000 languages are spoken in the world. Of all these languages, English is the most widely used. When English is used, it has also ______ many new words from other languages. For example, Americans borrowed “cookbook” from German . They ______ borrowed “tofu” and “kowtow” from Chinese.
As we all know, there are ______ between western culture and Chinese culture. We can learn about those words by comparing how certain words are used. ______, “you are a lucky dog” means you are a lucky person. To describe a person who is ______ , they say, “ sick as a dog”. On the other hand, Chinese people love cats very much. But in western culture, “cat” is sometimes used to describe a woman that is ______ . The rose is considered as a symbol of love in both China and some western countries. People think the rose stands for love and ______ .
China, a country with the largest population in the world, has ______ more people to learn English. By the 1990s, English learning has been very ______ with Chinese people. Many of them have done quite well in English.
Now students are required to learn English and people think the study of English is a very important industry in China ______in the rest of the world. The English language has played an important part in our lives.
1.A. taken back B. taken out C. taken off D. taken in
2.A. even B. also C. perhaps D. probably
3.A. advantages B. records C. effects D. differences
4.A. In fact B. In some ways C. For example D. As a result
5.A. ill B. lazy C. afraid D. selfish
6.A. kind-hearted B. pretty C. cruel D. helpful
7.A. sadness B. attraction C. disappointment D. friendship
8.A. ordered B. encouraged C. told D. taught
9.A. interested B. tired C. popular D. enjoyed
10.A. as far as B. as well as C. as much as D. as long as
—Could you tell me _______ for the meeting yesterday?
—Because the traffic was heavy.
A. why did you come late B. why you came late
C. why do you come late D. why you come late
I have no idea when _____her the bad news.
A. will tell B. telling C. tell D. to tell
_____, I must try my best to study English.
A. On purpose B. From now on
C. After all D. As soon as
