Clive Roberts，a director at ELS Educational Services，says English tests are changing greatly in response to the global growth in the use of English as a lingua franca— the common language used among people with different native languages．For that reason，a lot of new tests are being developed while old tests are being improved to meet the needs of universities and employers worldwide.
Changes in language testing
“A lot of tests are now delivered online，all four skills are being tested，in some cases，by computer，in particular speaking and writing skills，which are the most difficult to assess on a computer environment，”says Mr.Roberts.
Computer testing will reduce the length of time required for testing，because the tests adjust to the test-taker’s ability．These computer-adaptive tests also increase accuracy in scoring．Computer-adaptive tests change depending on the test-taker’s responses．They can become more or less difficult during the testing session．For this reason，the set of correct answers will be different for each test-taker．
Cultural sensitivity
Another change to language testing relates to cultural sensitivity．The term refers to material on a test that is based on a certain culture or is hard for test-takers from different cultures to understand．
Mr．Roberts says test development companies are now hiring people with intercultural communication backgrounds to review test items．The companies want to make sure the test does not upset test-takers．
Proficiency(精通程度)in language
Changes to English proficiency tests make them better at measuring the learners’ ability．However，Mr．Roberts says the changes may mean the tests are more difficult for some students．
“The tests have become more proficiency-oriented．The items are being designed in such a way that they test real-world proficiency and not simply sort of an artificial environment or a specific set of skills that are taught in a classroom．So a lot of authentic texts，a lot of authentic listening passages are being used．”
The changes mean students have to be able to understand English the way it is used in everyday life， not just in textbooks．
1.Which of the following can best replace the underlined words“a lingua franca”in Paragraph l?
A． a universal language B．a second language
C．a native language D．a mother tongue
2.Which of the following is true about online English tests?
A．Listening is more difficult to be tested online than speaking．
B．Online English tests need more time．
C．Online English tests make scoring more accurate．
D．Online English tests are more difficult．
3.Why is proficiency stressed in language testing?
A．To make the test more difficult．
B．To get learners to learn textbooks well．
C．To test learners’speaking ability．
D．To test learners’ real ability to use the language．
4.Which words can best describe the new English tests?
A． More accurate but easier．
B．Less practical but harder．
C． Better but harder．
D．Less popular but easier．
Guide dogs help blind people who cannot get around by themselves．Although Yorkshire terriers and poodles are good companion dogs，guide dogs are chosen from lager breeds(品种)such as German shepherds，golden retrievers，and Labrador retrievers．The young dogs are raised by families until they are eighteen months old．During this time，they get lots of love and attention，but they are also taught to obey．Then the dogs go to a special school where，for four months，they work with a sighted trainer，an individual who can see．The dog forms a close relationship with this person who teaches it how to follow directions such as right，left，straight ahead，and stop．The young dog also learns to watch out for dangerous traffic and wait until it is safe to cross a busy street.
When the dog is two years old，it starts training with the blind person it will live with. The dog and its new owner make many trips from downtown to where the blind person lives so the dog becomes familiar with the normal atmosphere．During the training，a sighted trainer always remains with them. A blind person who is getting a guide dog for the first time will train for about a month. If the individual has had a dog before，the training takes about three weeks．After the training，the blind person depends on the guide dog for between seven and twelve years．At that point，the working dog become a family pet and the owner needs to train with a younger guide dog．
1.Which breed would NOT be trained as a guide dog?
A．A Yorkshire terrier. B．A golden retriever.
C． A German shepherd. D．A Labrador．
2.What does the guide dog learn to do during the training?
A．Associate directions with food.
B．Play with young children．
C．Stay away from busy streets．
D．Look out for traffic problems．
3.Who gives the dogs training at the special school?
A． A sighted trainer. B．Other blind people.
C．A traffic peliceman． D．The school director．
4.What’s this passage mainly about?
A．The time spent training a guide dog．
B．The importance of having a guide dog．
C．The process of training a guide dog.
D．The way of choosing a guide dog.
My daughter Kelly is a cautious person. She needs to warm up to situations,who is hesitant to try new things. When with close friends, she becomes a leader who laughs loudly and chants, “Girls rule, boys drool.” But when that comfort zone is not around her, she is shy and nervous.
This has been challenging for me at times. “Shy” is not a word that I think has ever been used to describe me. But this has been a year of firsts for my girl that has filled her with a new sense of confidence. This year she moved to lap lane in swimming where she was preparing for a swim team. This year she learned to ride a bike without training wheels. And this year she completed her first kids’ triathlon (三项全能) .
On Saturday, with a thunderstorm coming soon and my son’s birthday party later in the day, we all went out in the dark of the morning for Kelly to participate in her first triathlon. We practiced transitions from swim to bike to run with her, we got all the equipment she’d need, and we kept talking about the race. But as we waited the two hours for the older kids to finish before her turn, she held my leg a little harder and told me she loved me a few too many times. She was nervous but trying to keep it together.
And then it was her turn. From the second she jumped into the water, my heart soared. My daughter transformed into the most confident human being I had ever seen. She dominated(主宰) that swim, crushed that bike ride and ran to the finish with the biggest smile on her face.
I can honestly say that I never felt so proud of someone in my entire life. It wasn’t because she did
a sport or anything like that. It was because she was afraid of something and conquered（克服） that fear with confidence and a fire I hadn’t seen before.
All day I would find myself just looking over at her and smiling. She might be wearing the finalist medal but I felt like I won that day. I won the chance to see my girl shine.
Shine on, sweet baby.
1.Kelly is nervous when ________.
A. situations are new to her
B. boys are around her
C. she changes into a leader
D. she is away from her mom
2.We can know from Paragraph 3 ______.
A. the race began in the early morning
B. the whole family gave Kelly support
C. Kelly was eager for her turn in the race
D. Kelly prepared for her brother’s birthday party
3.Seeing Kelly’s performance in the race, the author felt ______.
A. excited and proud B. anxious and uneasy
C. curious and concerned D. worried and hesitant
书面表达
Directions: Write an English composition according to the pictures and instructions given below in Chinese.
假如你是一名高一学生，最近你看了一则央视公益广告Family且深有感触。请用英语根据下面的图给你校英语报写一篇立志学习，感恩父母的文章,描述图片要表达的内容和意义并谈谈你的感受。
注意: 不少于120词，开头已为你写好，不计入总词数。
As is vividly shown in the picture, the word family represents three people, who are father, mother and I. When I was young, father was the most important person in my family.
短文改错
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。作文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏子符号（∧）并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
I took our foreign teacher Mr. Brown, he came to China for the first time, to the Great Wall in last weekend. Having told about the history of the Great Wall, he was amazing at this world wonder. He was struck by the beautiful of the Great Wall. So I took photo of him, which would be a good memory for him. At the top, Mr. Brown was very interested in the activity of protecting the environment that he was eager to join in and then sign his name. Both the Great Wall or the Chinese people deep impressed him. He decided to visit more places of interest when free.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Have you ever lived abroad? When living overseas in a place where people speak a different language, 1. can be difficult to make yourself understood even in 2. （relative） simple but important areas of life, like shopping and getting around town. It can be really upset trying to ask for something in a store or to tell the taxi driver 3. you are going.
Sometimes you may be at a 4. (lose) as to what to do; sometimes you are certain that people understand you 5. are just pretending that they don’t, and other times they make a very 6. (consider) effort to communicate with you.
You should also be prepared to make changes in the diet and get accustomed to 7. local foods and the limited selection of familiar foods in the stores and restaurants. You may not have the nice variety of very large grocery stores you had back home.
Besides, you will experience some stress and anxiety 8. you are living in a different culture with different values 9. your own. You may find that some of your cherished and deeply 10. (hold) values about life may not equally important to members of your new host culture.
