According to US research, it can take up to ten years to become a near-native English speaker. Asian and Spanish students took between five and ten years to reach native speaker performance in English-only schools. Fluency obviously doesn’t happen overnight. But time can definitely make you a better speaker.
After testing his own memory, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered that humans forget most of what they learn in the first 20 minutes.
So cramming right before a speaking exam is not likely to be as effective as practicing regularly over time. The more you practice, the more familiar new words will become. In the classroom, studies have also shown that repeating oral tasks improves a speaker’s performance.
One of the best repetition exercises is the 4/3/2 technique. Speakers give the same talk to three different listeners with a progressive decrease in delivery time, starting at four minutes, then three, and finally two minutes. This exercise has been proven to help learners speak faster. It can also result in less hesitation and more grammatical accuracy. While time dose make a difference when it comes to speaking perfect English, it would not hurt to brush up on your other language skills.
Studies have also shown that reading can increase your speaking vocabulary. After one month of an extensive reading program, a 27-year-old student of French became more familiar with 65 percent of the new words.
Aside from choosing the right learning methods, having certain personality traits may also help. US linguistics expert Stephen Krashen believes those with high motivation, self-confidence and a low level of anxiety are better equipped for speaking success.
Krashen says students who don’t have these qualities are more likely to have a “mental block”. “Even if they understand the message, the input will not reach the part of the brain responsible for language acquisition,” he writes in his book Principles and Practice in second Language Acquisition.
小題1:According to the passage, if you want to be a near-native speaker, you need _____.

A．long-term speaking practice and much reading

B．speaking practice for ten years only

C．long-term speaking practice, much reading and certain qualities

D．cramming new words every day

小題2:The author put forward the 4/3/2 technique just to show that _____.

A．you should speak to 3 different people

B．you should speak to 3 different people at 3 different times

C．it can prevent you from making grammar mistakes

D．it is really a good way to make you a better speaker

小題3:The example of a 27-year-old student of French in the passage mainly means that _____.

A．reading can enlarge your vocabulary for your speaking

B．reading can make you memorize just 65 percent of the new words

C．the 27-year-old student of French is very clever

D．in one month, you can improve your speaking ability

小題4:The underlined phrase “l(fā)inguistics expert” means a person who is quite expert at _____.

A．languages	B．spoken language
C．scientific research	D．teaching English

Televisions, stereos, telephones, and computers have changed the way we spend our time and what we know about the world. Some of the changes brought about by these material possessions have improved our way of life, but others have made it worse. Our young teenagers turn on the television, play the stereo, play games on the computer, talk on the telephone, and eat all the same time. This drives me right up the wall to instant insanity(精神失常).
However, teens of today place too great an importance on material property. They spend an average of several hours a day watching television, listening to stereos, playing on the computer, playing video games, and talking on the telephone. Families no longer watch television together and there is great lack of communication. Materialism is evident when an otherwise intelligent teenager drives their parents crazy, and into debt, when misusing communication equipment. Teens judge and admire other teens for what they own and have, rather than for what they are or what they can do. They no longer care about values, like honesty, integrity(正直), freedom, talent, quality and other values and morals.
However, good or bad, communication devices are here to stay. It is up to us, as parents, to stop our beloved teenagers from misusing and abusing our communication equipment and devices. We need to avoid the problems they present and to make the most of their opportunities they possess and hold for us all.
小題1:The writer’s attitude toward the modern material possessions is generally _____.

A．positive

B．negative

C．neutral

D．indifferent

小題2:According to the writer, teens’ overuse of communication equipment can do harm to _____.

A．their own health	B．their own study
C．their own morality	D．their neighbors’ life

小題3:The writer attributes (歸咎) the unsatisfactory behavior of teens to _____.

A．teens’ too much free time	B．parents’ non-interference
C．inadequate school education	D．material property

小題4:It can be inferred from the passage that the writer seems to be most annoyed at ______.

A．all the modern material possession	B．eating while talking on the phone
C．the decline in teens’ morality	D．all the communication equipment

Are some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experiences? Strangely enough，the answer to both these questions is yes. To some extent（程度）our intelligence is given to us at birth，and special education can never make a genius(天才) out of a child born with low intelligence. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings. Thus the limits of a person’s intelligence are fixed at birth, but whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment. This view, now held by most experts can be supported in a number of ways.
It is easy to say that intelligence is to some extent something we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence. Thus if we take two unrelated people at random from the population, it is likely that their degrees of intelligence will be completely different. If on the other hand we take two identical twins, they  will very likely be as intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters，parents and children，usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth.
Imagine that now we take two identical twins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring. We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this indicates that environment as well as birth plays a part. This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all, are likely to have similar degrees of intelligence.
小題1:By using the example that two people closer in blood relationship are closer in intelligence that writer wants to prove    _    .

A．intelligence can be developed by environment

B．intelligence is given at birth

C．intelligence can be developed by experience

D．education plays an important part in the development of education

小題2:A child who lives in rich and varied surroundings turns out higher in intelligence because ________.

A．his family is rich and therefore can afford to develop his intelligence

B．he can break the limits of intelligence fixed at birth

C．his family is rich and provides him with various healthy food

D．these surroundings are likely to help him reach the limits of their intelligence

小題3:In the second paragraph “if we take two unrelated people at random from the population．．．” means “if we ____．”

A．choose two persons who are relative

B．take out two different persons

C．choose two persons with different intelligence

D．pick any two persons

小題4:The best title for this passage might be __________.        

A．Birth and Environment	B．Intelligence
C．The Answer to a Question	D．Intelligence and Education

Now let us look at how we read. When we read a printed text, our eyes move across a page in short, jerky （急動的）movement. We recognize words usually when our eyes are still when they fixate. Each time they fixate, we see a group of words. This is known as the recognition span(范圍)or the visual span. The length of time of which the eyes stop ---the duration of the fixation (定位)----varies considerably from person to person. It also varies within any one person according to his purpose in reading and his familiarity with the text. Furthermore, it can be affected by such factors as lighting and tiredness.
　　Unfortunately, in the past, many reading improvement courses have concentrated too much on how our eyes move across the printed page. As a result of this misleading emphasis on the purely visual aspects of reading, numerous exercises have been devised to train the eyes to see more words at one fixation. For instance, in some exercises, words are flashed on to a screen for, say, a tenth or a twentieth of a second. One of the exercises has required students to fix their eyes on some central point, taking in the words on either side. Such word patterns are often constructed in the shape of rather steep pyramids so the reader takes in more and more words at each successive (連續(xù)的) fixation. All these exercises are very clever, but it’s one thing to improve a person’s ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently. Reading requires the ability to understand the relationship between words. Consequently (因此), for these reasons, many experts have now begun to question the usefulness of eye training, especially since any approach which trains a person to read isolated (孤立的) words and phrases would seem unlikely to help him in reading a continuous text.
小題1:The time of the recognition span can be affected by the following facts except ________ .

A．one’s familiarity with the text

B．one’s purpose in reading

C．the length of a group of words

D．lighting and tiredness

小題2:The author may believe that reading ______.

A．requires a reader to take in more words at each fixation

B．requires a reader to see words more quickly

C．demands an deeply-participating mind

D．demands more mind than eyes

小題3:What does the author mean by saying “but it’s one thing to improve a person’s ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently.” in the second paragraph?

A．The ability to see words is not needed when an efficient reading is conducted.

B．The reading exercises mentioned can’t help to improve both the ability to see and to comprehend words.

C．The reading exercises mentioned can’t help to improve an efficient reading.

D．The reading exercises mentioned has done a great job to improve one’s ability to see words.

小題4:Which of the following is NOT true?

A．The visual span is a word or a group of words we see each time.

B．Many experts began to question the efficiency of eye training.

C．The emphasis on the purely visual aspects is misleading.

D．The eye training will help readers in reading a continuous text.

小題5:The tune of the author in writing this article is ________

A．critical (批評的)	B．neutral (中立的)
C． pessimistic （悲觀的 ）	D．optimistic

Welcome to the future. It’s year 2050 and Scotland is now powered completely by“clean”energy.
Homes have entire roofs made of solar materials, rooms are kept warm by wallpaper, and people go to and from work in electric and hydrogen( 氫) cars.
Oil is still being found in the North Sea, but it’s not now only used to keep aircraft flying. And a new 500---mile underwater link with Iceland has been built to catch heat from the hot springs. There’s still a role for king coal—but the black diamonds are now environment---friendly. 
People will be able to import the electricity they need and export any excess(超過的量) they make through rooftop windmills(風車). New technology will store electricity better and provide it on demand. Heat exchangers will provide heating and hot water.
Harmful carbon dioxide waste is being piped offshore to St Fergus and from there into some of the remaining oil—producing fields to be stored safely without entering the atmosphere. Gas remains the preferred energy source of industry and is now shipped in liquid form. But hydrogen is imported through pipelines from France and from a geothermal (地熱的) plant in Iceland.
Hydrogen—fuelled cars have become popular. Electric bikes are common in cities using the new urban two—wheel network. Electric vehicles have become common, and their performances have been improved because of the developments in electrical drive technology like high—temperature super conducting motors. Many people leave their vehicles in a giant park where they can be recharged from the national electrical system . Oilseed rape (油菜) is widely grown to fuel some motors .
小題1:What does the underlined phrase in paragraph 2 mean ?

A．The hot springs

B．Oil

C．Coal

D．Oil and coal

小題2:Which sources of energy play a more important role in people’s daily life in the future ?

A．Oil and coal

B．Hydrogen and gas

C．Electricity and gas

D．Solar energy and wind

小題3:The means of transport people use in 2050 do not include__________.

A．windmills	B．electric bikes
C．hydrogen—fuelled cars	D．aircraft

小題4:The passage is written to tell us in the future_____________.

A．life will be better and better

B．the energy will become cleaner and cleaner

C．people will use some new sources of energy

D．people will pay more attention to the environment

Scientists in Canada say big ocean fish have almost disappeared from the world since the start of industrial fishing in the nineteen-fifties. The scientists found that population of large fish like tuna; swordfish and cod have dropped by ninety percent in the past fifty years.
The study took ten years. The researchers gathered records from fishing businesses and governments around the world. The magazine Nature published the findings.
The scientists say the common method called longline fishing is especially damaging to populations of large fish. This method involves many fishing lines connected to one boat. These wires can be close to one-hundred kilometers long. They hold thousands of sharp metal hooks to catch fish.
Longline fishing is especially common in the Japanese fishing industry. Records showed that Japanese boats used to catch about ten fish for every one-hundred hooks. The study says longline fishing boats now might catch one fish per hundred hooks.
The scientists say industrial fishing can destroy groups of fish much faster than in the past. The study suggests that whole populations can disappear almost completely from new fishing areas within ten to fifteen years.
Ransom Myers of Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia led the study with Boris Worm of Dalhousie and the University of Kiel in Germany. Mister Worm says the destruction could lead to a complete re-organization of ocean life systems. Mister Meyers says the decreased number of large fish is not the only worry. He says even populations that are able to reproduce do not get the chance to live long enough to grow as big as their ancestors(祖先). He says not only are there fewer big fish, they are smaller than those of the past.
American government scientists say even with the best efforts to protect fish populations, decreases are to be expected.
小題1:Where is the passage probably taken from?

A．A story book.

B．A business magazine.

C．An environment report.

D．An economic survey.

小題2:Big fish have gradually been disappearing especially because ________.

A．longline fishing method is used

B．sea water is getting polluted

C．mankind destroys the environment

D．governments don’t make the best efforts

小題3:Which of the following shows the fact that the populations of large fish have dropped?

A．Today’s “l(fā)arge”fish are smaller than those of the past.

B．Longline boats now might catch fewer fish every one-hundred hooks.

C．Fish even able to reproduce don’t have the chance to live longer.

D．Japanese boats could catch about ten fish for every 100 hooks.

小題4:What can be the best title?

A．Discoveries Canadian Scientists Have Made

B．Japanese Fishing Industry

C．Losses of Big Fish

D．Modern Fishing Methods

小題5:When did the researchers begin to survey the decreasing of large fish?

A．In the 1960s.

B．In the 1970s.

C．In the 1980s.

D．In the 1990s.

Students often complain（抱怨）their teachers give them too much homework . Now , two reports show that in America this is not true .
The Brookings report shows that most students do less than one hour of homework . The Rand report shows that only 10% of high school students spend more than two hours a night on homework .
The Brookings report also talks about a study from 1995 . American students do almost the least homework among twenty countries . Students in France , Italy and South Africa spend more than two hours on homework .
The Rand report says there was only one time when homework greatly increased in America .During the early 1960s , Americans were not happy when the former Soviet Union (前蘇聯(lián))became the first country to reach space . People thought it was necessary to improve education .
Parents want their children to have time for sports , music lessons and other things after school. some experts say schools need to give useful homework .
小題1:Students are not happy about _________ .

A．too much homework	B．going to school
C．less homework	D．stay at home

小題2:French students usually spend _______ on homework than American students .

A．more time

B．less time

C．more daytime

D．two hours

小題3:_______ shows homework once greatly increased in America .

A．The Brookings report	B．The Rand report
C．A university	D．A piece of news

小題4:The former Soviet Union was  the _______ to get to space .

A．first

B．second

C．third

D．forth

小題5:Some experts think __________ .

A．students don’t work hard enough

B．students should not do any homework

C．homework is welcome if it is useful

D．it isn’t necessary for students to do homework

There are some places in the world where great cities once stood. There were trees, gardens and grass. But now these cities have gone and the places are like deserts. Scientists began to study this land to find out what happened. Many of them believed the land died when the trees were cut down.
Trees help other plants grow and help hold the soil in place. They keep the soil from blowing away. The leaves of trees on the ground keep rainwater from running off. Trees near farms protect growing plants from strong winds.
Once there were hundreds of farms in the southwestern United States. Then the farms turned into fields of dry dust. Trees might have saved these farms. But few trees grow in the dry southwest now.
Now we try to save trees. In many places, when a tree is cut down , a new tree is planted in its place . We do not want the land to die.
小題1:Places where great cities once stood are now like ______ .

A．farms

B．gardens

C．deserts

D．fields

小題2:What can trees do according to the passage ?

A．Trees can keep other plants green

B．Trees can help other plants grow .

C．Trees can help the land grow .

D．Trees can keep other plants in place .

小題3:Which is true ?

A．Trees let the rainwater run off .

B．All the farms in the United States have turned into deserts .

C．There aren’t any trees in the dry southwest now .

D．Land will die if there are no trees .

小題4:The main idea of this passage is _________ .

A．that farms are better than cities

B．how farms turned into deserts

C．that trees are important to the land

D．how people save trees

小題5:From the passage we know that _______ .

A．trees can blow soil away

B．man should protect the land

C．trees grow only in deserts

D．trees die easily

In a great many cities, hundreds of people ride bikes to work every day． In New York, some bike riders have even formed a group called Bike for a Better City． They declare that if more people rode bikes to work, there would be fewer automobiles in the downtown part of the city and so less dirty air from car engines．
For several years, this group had been trying to get the city government to help bike riders． For example, they want the city to draw special lanes(車道) for bikes on some of the main streets, because when bike riders must use the same lanes as cars there are accidents． Bike for a Better City feels that if there were special lanes, more people would use bikes．
But no bike lanes have been drawn． Not everyone thinks it is a good idea—they say it will slow traffic． Some store owners on the main streets don’t like the idea—they say that if there is less traffic, they will have less business．
The city government has not yet decided what to do． It wants to keep everyone happy． On weekends, Central Park—the largest place open ground in New York— is closed to cars, and the roads may be used by bikes only．
小題1:In New York, a group of bike riders__________．

A．are keeping practicing for health

B．have no cars of their own

C．are complaining there are not enough buses

D．are trying to settle the problem of air pollution

小題2:The bike riders suggest that __________．

A．bikes should be used instead of cars

B．bike lanes should be drawn

C．fewer buses or cars should be used

D．the number of special lanes should be decreased

小題3:The advantage of the special lanes is that__________．

A．they will make cars and buses run slowly

B．they will make it easier for bike riders to go to parks

C．they will make the city more beautiful

D．they will prevent accidents

One is not born able to speak a language. One is born able to make a noise. I have heard babies cry in America and in China. I can’t tell any difference. But when I hear someone from America speak English and hear someone speak Chinese, I can tell you there are a lot of differences.
I believe a common(普遍的) problem with Chinese students’ learning English is that they were not taught to think in English. They have an idea spoken in English and want to translate the idea into Chinese, then they think in Chinese of the proper reply and translate it into English. After a long period of speaking the language, one begins to think in the foreign language naturally. You will learn faster if you begin to think in English at the very beginning of your study. Many students ask me: What can I do to improve my spoken English?
My reply is: The more English you speak, the better English you will speak. There are many things you can do to improve your spoken English. Of course, the best way is to live where English is spoken as a language of the country.
小題1:The cries of American and Chinese babies are _______.

A．different	B．the same
C．not like each other	D．like each other

小題2:The underlined sentence (in Paragraph 2) means that______.

A．some teachers didn’t teach students to think in English

B．teachers never gave the students the way of learning English

C．students didn’t remember the way teachers taught them

D．teachers didn’t want their students to think in English

小題3:The underlined word “they” (in Paragraph 2) refers to “_____”.

A．Chinese students	B．English students
C．Chinese teachers	D．English teachers

小題4:According to the article, which of the following is TRUE?

A．You must think in English all the time.

B．You should always translate English into Chinese.

C．After speaking English for a long time, you may probably think in English naturally(自然地).

D．The best way of learning English is to live in America.