Popeye the Sailor first became a popular cartoon in the 1930s.The sailor in that cartoon ate lots of
spinach to make him strong. People watched him, and they began to buy and eat a lot more spinach.
Popeye helped sell 33 percent more spinach than before! Spinach became a necessary part of many
people's diets. Even some children who hated the taste began to eat the vegetable.
     Many people thought that the iron in spinach made Popeye strong, but this is not true. Spinach does
not have any more iron than any other green vegetable.
     People only thought spinach had a lot of iron because the people who studied the food made a
mistake. In the 1890s, a group of people studied what was inside vegetables. This group said that
spinach had ten times more iron than it did. The group wrote the number wrong, and everyone accepted
it.
     Today, we know that the little iron there is in spinach cannot make a difference in how strong a person
is. However, spinach does have something else which the body needs-folic acid.
It is interesting to point out that folic acid can help make a person strong. Maybe it was really the folic
acid that made Popeye strong all along.    

1. A good title for this reading passage is______.

A. Popeye the Sailor
B. The Truth About Spinach
C.A Mistake with Numbers
D. Folic Acid Makes You Strong

2. Why did many people eat spinach after they saw Popeye the Sailor?

A. They thought spinach made them strong.
B. They thought Popeye was funny.
C. Spinach had a lot of iron.
D. People liked folic acid.

3. A research group told people that spinach______.

A. made Popeye strong
B. was a green vegetable
C. had less iron than other green vegetables
D. had more iron than other green vegetables

4. The reading passage says that perhaps Popeye got his strength from______.

A. iron
B. folic acid
C. spinach
D. exercise

5. Folic acid is ______.

A. something in food
B. a vegetable
C. dangerous
D. a certain kind of spinach

     At midnight on New Year's Eve, people in Rome, Italy, throw out all the things they no longer want.
The streets are filled with old chairs, beds, clothes and dishes. In Madrid, Spain, the new year comes in
more quietly. People flock to the main square. Each holds a bag of grapes. As the clock strikes twelve,
the people eat the grapes- one for each stroke.
     In Tokyo people eat noodles on New Year's Eve. This food is said to bring long life. Early the next
morning, some Japanese families climb Mount Fuji. There they watch the first sunrise of the new year.

1. This story is about New Year's Eve in ____.

A. Italy and Spain    
B. China and Japan
C. Japan              
D. Italy ,Spain and Japan

2. In Rome, Italy, the streets are filled with old things on New Year's Eve because _____  .

A. people throw out all the things they no longer want
B. the city has never been clean
C. people want to change back what they want
D. they want to see the sun come up

3. In Tokyo, people eat noodles on New Year's Eve _____.

A. because they like eating noodles very much
B. so that the daytime could be longer
C. in order that they could live longer
D. though they don't eat them

1. From the passage we can learn that________.

A. people don't like parsley's strong taste at all
B. people don't attach great importance to parsley's value
C. parsley has been widely planted in the world
D. only ancient people used parsley as an addition

2. Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A. The Planting of Parsley  
B. To Parsley's Regret
C. Parsley  
D. The Use of Parsley

3. It seems________to the writer that parsley is valued for its looks.

A. regretful  
B. unbelievable
C. confusing  
D. doubtful

4. The last paragraph mainly deals with________.

A. how to use parsley
B. whether people like parsley
C. how to plant parsley
D. how the author feels about parsley

     Many people all over the world speak English as their second language and it is not too much
to say that it has become an international language.  
Studying English can make life fun. It enables you to watch American movies, read English
books and listen to English songs. Moreover, as English is an international language, you will be
able to communicate with foreigners when you are on a trip abroad. Traveling will be more
interesting that way.
     It is a good idea to make friends with foreigners. In my opinion, it is the best way to improve
your English. In addition, it will bring you a lot of fun and expand your view of the world.  If you
make friends with a native speaker, you can practise your spoken English more often, and then
you can communicate with people around the world. You can also become familiar with the
customs and habits of different cultures.
     There are some people who are afraid to make friends with foreigners, because they are not
confident about their English. However, many foreigners do not care about grammar. They will
get your key words in the sentence and know the whole meaning. Therefore, it is unnecessary to
be afraid; just go ahead.
     In brief, English is so useful to us that we should all learn it.
1.Why does the writer think it necessary for us to learn English?
A. Because he uses it as a second language.
B. Because English has become an international language.
C. Because you can't make foreign friends if you can't speak English.
D. Because it will be difficult for you to travel if you can't speak English.
2.Studying English can make fun in the following ways EXCEPT _____ according to the text.
A. enjoying British or American music
B. travelling abroad
C. attending English parties
D. reading English novels or poems
3.In the writer's opinion, some people dare not make foreign friends because _____.
A. they are afraid of making grammar mistakes
B. they become shy when they meet foreigners
C. they know little English
D. they seldom speak English with foreigners
4. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word "expand"?
A. improve
B. deepen
C. enlarge
D. raise

                                                 Linguistic(語言學的) Puzzles
     How did language begin? What was the world's first language? Do all languages come from one
original language?   1     .
      In the 4th century BC, the Greek historian Herodotus wrote this account: Psamtik I，an Egyptian
King, wanted to find out what the oldest language in the world was.    2    .He told his servant to find
two newborn babies.When the servant had found them, the king gave them to a shepherd (牧羊人)
and said,  “Keep these babies with the goats.Take care of them, but do not talk to them.Listen to any
words that they say.” The king wanted to find out what language the children would speak if they were
left alone.He said, “The first words they speak will come from the original language of the world.”
         3    . He told the king who asked his scholars about this word.They told him that the Phiygians,
who lived in an area which is now Turkey, called bread “becos”. The king said, “Then Phiygian is the
oldest language.” Today we know that the king's conclusion was wrong.We don't know why the children
said “becos”. 
      4  . Scholars discovered that many European and southern Asian languages belonged to the same
“family” and that they started from the same parent language, ProtoIndoEuropean.Linguists think that it
had split into several different languages, including Greek and Sanskrit, between 2000 and 1000 BC.
Other languages, such as English and Spanish, developed from later splits.
       5   . Two questions that interest linguists are: How does language change? Why does language
change? If you like solving mysteries, historical linguistics may be the job for you.

A. Nowadays, we study the origin of language more scientifically
B. He was talking about this problem with his scholars when he had an idea
C. The King was very kind to his servant and his servant remained royal to him
D. Linguists are the scholars who are very interested in categorizing the language families
E. People have been trying to find the answers to these questions for more than 2000 years
F. One day, while the babies were babbling to each other, the shepherd heard them say “becos”
G. Linguists have classified many language families, and they are still trying to categorize others

     How words came into being is unknown.All we assume(推測)is that some early men invented certain
sounds，in one way or another，to express thoughts and feelings，actions and things，so that they
could talk with each other.Later they agreed upon certain signs，called letters，which could be put
together to show those sounds，and which could be written down.Those sounds，whether spoken or
written in letters，are called words.
    The power of words，then，lies in their associations-the things they bring up to our minds.Words
become filled with meaning for us by experience；and the longer we live，the more certain words bring
back to us the happy and sad events of our past；and the more we read and learn，the more the
number of words that mean something to us increases.
    Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words
which have powerful effects on our minds and feelings.This clever use of words is what we call literary
style(文體). Above all，the real poet is a master of words.He can express his meaning in words which
sing like music，and which by their position and association can move men to tears.We should therefore
learn to choose our words carefully and use them correctly，or they will make our speech silly and
common.

1. We learn from the text that language might have begun with ________.

A. expressions     
B. actions
C. signs  
D. sounds

2. What is mainly discussed in Paragraph 2?

A. The learning of new words.
B. The importance of old words.
C. The relation of human experience with words.
D. The gradual change and development of words.

3. In the last paragraph，what does the author suggest that we should do?

A. Use words skilfully.
B. Make musical speeches.
C. Learn poems by heart.
D. Associate with listeners.

     I was reading these intriguing stories behind a group of great logos in the world. Personally Nike is my
favorite one-it's so simple. And I liked the stories behind them, which made me forget all other things.
McDonald's, Apple, Mercedes Benz and Adidas own great logos as well, and they are among my very
favorites.
     Nike
     In the Greek myth, Nike is the goddess of victory and the source of inspiration  for  soldiers. This  
logo represents the wing in the famous statue of the Greek goddess. Nike's logo was designed by
Carolyn Davidson in 1971 for $35, and was registered as a trademark in 1995.
     McDonald's
     The logo was designed in 1962 by Jim Schindler  to  resemble  the  archshaped  signs  on  the  side
  of  the company's then walkup hamburger stand. Later on, the two golden arches were combined
together to form the M. The McDonald's name was added to the logo in 1968.
     Apple
     There  are  different  stories  behind Apple's logo. The first logo was a reference to the religious
story of Adam and Eve, in which the apple represented the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. One year
later, the second logo was designed in 1977 by Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne, and it described Sir
Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. This logo didn't stay long. One year later it was replaced
almost immediately by graphic designer Rob Janoff's "rainbow apple", a rainbowcolored silhouette(輪廓)
of an  apple with a bite taken out of it. And then the rainbowcolored apple was replaced by the
onecolored logo in 1998. It has not been changed so far.
     Mercedes Benz
     The Mercedes Benz logo, which was originally created by Gottlieb Daimler in 1909, consists of a
simple description of a threepointed star that represents its rule of the land, the sea and the air. The
company was founded by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. Marcedes is the name of Maybach's
elder daughter, while Benz came as a result of a combination with Benz, Cie. and DMG in 1926.
     Adidas
     The  Adidas  logo, which  was created by the founder of the company Adi Dassler, represents
mountains, pointing towards the challenges that are seen ahead and goals that can be achieved. The logo
was used for the first time in 1967.

1. What does the author think of the stories of the great logos?

A. They are boring.
B. They are out of date.
C. They are attractive.
D. They are practical.

2. What does Nike's logo stand for?

A. The goddess of victory.
B. The source of inspiration for soldiers.
C. The statue of the Greek goddess.
D. The wing of the Greek goddess.

3. We can learn that Apple's present logo is ________.

A. the religious story of Adam and Eve
B. a bitten apple with only one color
C. Newton's sitting under an apple tree
D. the rainbowcolored bitten apple

4. Which of the following time orders describes the births of the great logos?

A. Mercedes Benz-McDonald's-Nike-Apple
B. Nike-McDonald's-Apple-Mercedes Benz
C. McDonald's-Apple-Nike-Mercedes Benz
D. Nike-Mercedes Benz-McDonald's-Apple