Probably no other musical instrument is as popular as the guitar around the world. Musicians use the guitar for almost all kinds of music. Country and western music would not be the same without a guitar. The traditional Spanish folk music called Flamenco could not exist without a guitar. The sound of American blues music would not be the same without the sad cry of the guitar. And rock and roll music would almost be impossible without this instrument.
Music experts do not agree about where the guitar was first played. Most agree it is ancient. Some experts say an instrument very much like a guitar was played in Egypt more than 1,000 years ago. Most experts say that the ancestor of the modern guitar was brought to Spain from Persia sometime in the 12th century. The guitar continued to develop in Spain. In the 1700s it became similar to the instrument we know today.
Many famous musicians played the instrument. The famous Italian violins Niccole Paganism played and wrote music for the guitar in the early 1800s. Franz Schubert used the guitar to write some of his famous works. In modern times Spanish guitarist Andres Segovia helped make the instrument extremely popular.
In the 1930s, Les Paul began experimenting to make an electric guitar. He invented the solid-bodied electric guitar in 1946. The Gibson Guitar Company began producing its famous Les Paul Guitar in 1952. It became a powerful influence on popular music. The instrument has the same shape and the same six strings (弦) as the traditional guitar, but it sounds very different. Les Paul produced a series of extremely popular recordings that introduced the public to this music. Listen to this Les Paul recording. It was the fifth most popular song in the United States in 1952. It is called “Meet Mister Callaghan.”
1.What can we infer from the first paragraph?
A． The guitar plays a very important role in music.
B． The choice of musical instrument is important for a band.
C． The guitar was the most popular musical instrument in the past.
D． Every musician likes playing music instrument with the guitar.
2.According to most experts, the guitar developed into a modern form like today in ________.
A. EgyptB. PersiaC. SpainD. Italy
3.In Paragraph 3, the author introduces ________.
A. the method of playing the guitar
B. the exact time of the guitar’s origin
C. the way that the guitar was made
D. some musicians who played the guitar
4.Where does the passage probably come from?
A. A newspaper.B. A broadcast.C. A magazine.D. A history book.
Tone of voice is very important in human conversation. A person might use words that communicate one message and a tone that shows something very different. This possibility for confusion is one reason that businessmen encourage discussing things in person, rather than through email, as tone cannot be determined in the written form.
The same rule is true with children. Children as young as a few months respond to a change in voice. It has been recorded that babies prefer to hear a story read by their own mother rather than another woman whom they do not know.
Have you ever talked to someone who had little or no changes in their voice no matter what you were discussing? Think of the teacher or professor you had in the past that spoke in a monotone manner for the entirelecture. It is very boring and difficult to become interested in the topic.
Parents should make an active effort to communicate with your child. If your child figures out how to open a box he or she has been struggling with and says “YES!” with pride in his or her voice, your response should be happy and excited (something encouraging, like “You did it!”). If you plainly said the same thing, you would not be matching the tone of your child.
This applies to feelings that the child may express in everyday situations as well. If a child argues with a friend, your response should not be said in a high voice or with a smile. Seriously and sincerely you should say “You look sad” or “That must have been hard for you”.
The tone of your voice expresses understanding, acknowledgement, connection and several other healthy things to your child. Although your words are very important, equally important is the tone with which you say those words.
1.What’s the purpose of the first paragraph?
A. To tell us that our tone of voice is as important as the words we say.
B. To tell us that businessmen prefer to talk in person.
C. To lead to the topic of the passage.
D. To advise us to use different tones of voice correctly.
2.The underlined word “monotone” in the 3rd paragraph probably means a(n) ________ tone.
A. slowB. unchangingC. coldD. high
3.When communicating with their children, what are parents advised to do?
A. To hide their feelings with different tones of voice.
B. To use a tone of voice that can match their children’s feelings.
C. Not to speak to their children in a low voice.
D. To train their children to express their feelings by tone of voice.
The wedding took place in a Birmingham hotel. The bride and her father arrived in a new black American sport car. Her father looked nervous and uncomfortable in front of the cameras. The bride wore a silk wedding dress. She smiled nervously at the waiting photographers and went to a room on the first floor where she met her future husband for the very first time.
Carla Germaine and Greg Cordell were the winners of a radio station’s competition. The aim of the competition was to find two strangers prepared to marry without having met each other. Miss Germaine, 23, is a model. Mr. Cordell, 27, is a TV salesman. They were among the two hundred people who entered a special “experiment” organized by BMRB radio in Birmingham, England, Greg, and Carla were among eight finalists who were interviewed live on a radio. They took a lie detector（测谎仪） test and the station also spoke to their friends and family about their personalities. The competition judges include an astrologer（占星家） who declared that they were suited.
The couple celebrated their wedding with a wedding breakfast and a party for 100 guests in the evening, but not everyone shared their joy. Miss Germaine’s mother looked anxious throughout the wedding and Mr. Cordell’s parents are reported to be less than delighted.
Organizations, including the marriage guidance Service Relate, have criticized the marriage. As one person put it, “We have enough problems getting young people to take marriage seriously without this. Marriage should always be about love.”
The couple are now on a Caribbean honeymoon followed by journalists. Their other prizes include a year’s free use of a wonderful apartment in the center of Birmingham, and a car. But will it last?
1.How did the couple’s parents react to the wedding?
A. The bride’s mother shared their joy.
B. The bride’s father felt uncomfortable about the wedding.
C. The bridegroom’s parents were not that joyful.
D. The bridegroom’s parents were quite delighted.
2.Some experts believe that ________.
A. marriage without the couple’s meeting each other first ends up in divorce（离婚）
B. young people nowadays are too careless about marriage
C. taking a lie detector test can not solve all the marriage problems
D. most young people take marriage seriously except this couple
3.One of the prizes for the couple is ________.
A. to spend their honeymoon wherever they like
B. to use an apartment free for some time
C. to have a wedding dress free
D. to own an American sports car
4.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. A well-matched couple
B. A wedding based on love
C. A short-lived marriage
D. Two strangers and a wedding
The Healthy Habits Survey shows that only about one third of American seniors have correct habits. Here are some findings and expert advice.
1. How many times did you brush your teeth yesterday? ·Finding: A full 33% of seniors brush their teeth only once a day. ·Step: Remove the 300 types of bacteria in your mouth each morning with a battery-operated toothbrush. Brush gently for 2 minutes, at least twice a day. 2. How many times did you wash your hands or bathe yesterday? ·Finding: Seniors, on average, bathe fewer than 3 days a week. And nearly 30% wash their hands only 4 times a day—half of the number doctors recommend. ·Step: We touch our faces around 3,000 times a day—often inviting germs（病菌）to enter our mouth, nose, and eyes. Use toilet paper to avoid touching the door handle. And, most important, wash your hands often with hot running water and soap for 20 seconds. 3. How often do you think about fighting germs? · Finding: Seniors are not fighting germs as well as they should. · Step: Be aware of germs. Do you know it is not your toilet but your kitchen sponge（海绵）that can carry more germs than anything else? To kill these germs, keep your sponge in the microwave for 10 seconds. |
1.What is found out about American seniors?
A. Most of them have good habits.
B. Nearly 30% of them bathe three days a week.
C. All of them are fighting germs better than expected.
D. About one third of them brush their teeth only once a day
2.Doctors suggest that people should wash their hands ________.
A. eight times a dayB. three times a day
C. four times a dayD. twice a day
3.Which of the following is true according to the text?
A. We should keep from touching our faces.
B. There are less than 300 types of bacteria in the mouth.
C. A kitchen sponge can carry more germs than a toilet.
D. We should wash our hands before touching a door handle.
4.The text probably comes from ________.
A. a guide bookB. a popular magazine
C. a book reviewD. an official document
假定你是某国际学校的学生李华。最近，你校打算为同学们制作统一的校服，请你给外籍校长威尔逊先生写一封建议信，要点如下：
1. 写信的目的：
2. 对校服布料、款式等提出建议并说明理由。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3 开头和结尾已给出，但不计入总词数。
Dear Mr. Wilson,
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Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
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。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处错误。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（∧），并在此符号下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用（＼）划掉。
修改：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。
Cars are everywhere. In big city and small towns, the preferred method of transportation is the automobile. People can get to where they need to go quickly and easy, and it has given a new kind of freedom to many people who may not have experienced it ago. But was driving really the best thing for our society? I argue that it is not. First, pollution was a serious problem, and more cars only make them worse. There is just not way to reduce pollution without decrease the number of cars on the road. Second, cars are very dangerous. Traffic accidents are responsible tens of thousands of deaths every year. Finally, cars are so expensive for most people to afford. However, that doesn’t stop low-income families from spending the most of their money to pay for the family car.
