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     Americans usually consider themselves a friendly people. Their friendships, however, tend to be
shorter and more casual than friendships among people from other cultures. It is not uncommon for
Americans to have only one close friend during their lifetime, and consider other "friends" to be just
social acquaintances.
     This attitude probably has something to do with American mobility and the fact that Americans do
not like to be dependent on other people. They tend to " compartmentalize" friendships, having "friends
at work", " friends on the softball team", "family friends", etc.
    Because the United States is a highly active society, full of movement and change, people always
seem to be on the go. In this highly changed atmosphere, Americans can sometimes seem brusque or
impatient. They want to get to know you as quickly as possible and then move on to something else.
Sometimes, early on, they will ask you questions that you may feel are very personal. No insult in
intended; the questions usually grow out of their genuine interest or curiosity, and their impatience to
get to the heart of the matter. And the same goes for you. If you do not understand certain American
behavior or you want to know more about them, do not hesitate to ask all about their country or
anything "American" in which you may be interested. So much so in fact that you may become tried
of listening. It doesn't matter, because Americans tend to be uncomfortable with silence during a
conversation. They would rather talk about the weather or the latest sports scores, for example, than
deal with silence.
     On the other hand, don't expect Americans to be knowledgeable about international geography or
world affairs, unless those subjects directly involve the United States. Because the United states is not
surrounded by many other nations, some Americans tend to ignore the rest of the world.
1.What is the main idea of the first paragraph?(no more than 15words)
_______________________________________________________________
2.The underlined phrase on the go means "______"
__________________________________________________________________
3.What would Americans prefer to talk about in order to carry on a comfortable conversation?( no
more than 10 words)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4.According to the customs mentioned in the passage, what would you do if you want to know
something about America?(no more than 10 words)
_______________________________________________________________
5. why don't Americans know much about international geography or world affairs?( no more than
15 words)
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

     The English language is changing fast,thanks to the rapid progress of technology. We all have a
rapid choice:We can either bury our heads in the sand and spend the rest of our lives wishing
Shakespeare were alive and well. Or we can embrace(擁抱)the new English,enter into the spirit of the
Internet age called Weblish.
     "You can't keep away from it, for the simple reason that whenever a new variety of language comes
along,it inevitably(不可避免地)influence the language as a whole. "Says Dr David Crystal,honorary
professor of linguistics(語言學家)at the University of Wales in BangoL, whose book"Language and
the Internet"has just been published.
     The trouble with keeping up with the new English is not so much that there are so many new words
but that the old words no longer mean what we thought they did. In the past, if someone said they did
not have Windows,you would have to suppose they lived in a cave. These days, it is probably because
they use a Mac(which is a computer,not a rain coat). Spam is as disliked as it ever was,but whereas it
once meant an unappetizing(引不起食欲的)canned meat. It now stands for unwanted'junk"email.
Spellings are changing,too. Not only is text-messaging playing"hvc with vrbs"(havoc(混亂)with verbs),
but the conventions(常規(guī))of email communication place little emphasis on"perfect speaking".    
     Weblish loves to see nouns happily become verbs ("please bookmark this site"),and verbs become
nouns ("Send me the download"). Verbs and prepositions are regularly thrown together to become new
nouns or adjectives(dial-up,logon,print-on,pull-down,upload),while others are created from simply
pairing nouns:cyberspace,emit Internet,hyperlink,metatag,netspeak.

1. The best title of this passage would be_________.

A. Technology and English
B. Newly invented English Words
C. Keep Up with the Latest Weblish
D. Keep Up with the Latest Development in

2. We can infer from the first paragraph that________.

A. all people welcome weblish English
B. weblish causes fear among people
C. some people wish Shakespeare were still alive
D. people may have different opinions towards weblish

3. The author thinks the main difficulty for people in keeping up with weblish is that________.

A. there are so many new words
B. old words take on new meanings
C. the technology is changing too fast
D. weblish words are full of spelling mistakes

4. Dr. David Crystal would probably agree that________.

A. people should not accept weblish
B. weblish will destroy the English language
C. people should know something about weblish
D. weblish can cause misunderstandings among people

     The Lego Group had a very low beginning in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen,a carpenter
(木匠)from Denmark. Christiansen began creating wooden toys in 1932. Two years later, he came
upon the Lego name by putting together the first two letters of the Danish words Leg and Godt,which
mean"play well. "The name could be interpreted as "I put together" in Latin；it is also similar to the
Greek verb meaning "gather" or"pick up".
     In 1 947,the company enlarged to making plastic toys. At first,the use of plastic for toy production
was not highly regarded by salesmen and consumers of the time. Many of the Lego Group's shipments
were returned,following poor sales. However, Christiansen's son,Godtfred Kirk Christiansen,saw the
great potential(潛能)in Lego bricks to become a system for creative play-As the junior managing
director of the Lego Group,he spent years trying to improve the "locking"ability of the bricks and made
the bricks more versatile(多用途). In 1958, the modem interlocking brick design was finally developed
and patented(獲得專利).
     Today Lego is sold in more than 1 30 countries. Every minute 33,824 Lego bricks are made,and kid
s around the world spend 5 billion hours a year playing with Lego. There will be more than 400 million
people playing with Lego bricks this year. On average,every person in the world owns 62 Lego bricks,
and about seven Lego sets are sold every second.
     This year Lego fans all over the world are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the tiny building blocks.
Though already 50 years old,Lego is still the same product it was in the 1950s.
     Bricks bought then are still compatible(兼容的) with present bricks and that is probably the reason
the toy has never fallen out of favor.

1. Which of the following is true about the name Lego?

A. It is a combination of Greek and Latin words.    
B. It was created by Ole Kirk Christiansen's son.
C. It was created in 1947 for naming the plastic toys.
D. It came from Danish words meaning "play" and "well."

2. When did the Lego brick become as a creative form of toy?

A. 1958.    
B. 1947.    
C. 1934.  
D. 1932.    

3. Which of the following is true in describing the popularity of Lego?

A. More than 5 billion people in the world own Lego sets.
B. Children spend an average of 62 dollars on Lego bricks each year.
C.  People in the world spend 400 million hours playing with Lego every year.
D. The Lego Group now produces more than 30 thousand toy bricks every minute.

4. What is most likely the reason why Lego still remains popular?

A. Old Lego bricks may still be connected to new ones.
B. The company hasn't changed its name since 1 947.
C.  The material for the bricks has proved to be safe.
D. The price of the toy is relatively, reasonable.

     Elephants and people are in competition for space. In much of Africa, elephants are now put in
national parks. Elephants suffered a serious and steady decrease in numbers in the 1970s. This wa
s the same time when scientists were beginning to learn a great deal about elephants and their behavior.
Studies through the 1980s and into the 1990s showed a lot about their sounds and methods of
communication.
     In Kenya alone, in the 1970s and 1980s, the elephant population decreased from 170,000 to
25,000. The sharp drop in numbers was the result of poachers (偷獵者) illegally killing elephants for
their ivory. The price of ivory went from $3 a pound to $50 to $100 a pound. Africa became very
attractive to poachers. Bull elephants carried the largest tusks (象牙), so they were more often killed.
With males gone and older females killed by poachers as well, there were many young elephants unable
to benefit from the wisdom of the older females and matriarchs, who lead the herds.
     Kenya took a stand, international trade in ivory was officially forbidden, and $3,000,000 worth of
confiscated (沒收的) ivory was burned in Kenya. The following year, only 50 elephants were lost to
poachers in Kenya instead of 3,000. But Kenya has the fastest growing human population in the world.
People throughout Africa won't tolerate elephants eating their crops and destroying their livelihoods.
     In South Africa, elephants live behind the fences of national parks. In some parts of Africa, big-game
hunters pay a lot of money to hunt elephants. This keeps their numbers down, and the money goes toward conservation. In Kenya, there were some attempts at birth control to keep the elephant population at
manageable numbers to reduce conflicts with people.
     Faced with a growing human population, elephants are losing the battle for space. It's unlikely, though,
that they will become extinct. They will live in natural parks that bring tourists to Africa as well as India
and other parts of Asia. The money from tourism will help elephants to survive.

1. Bull elephants were at higher risk of being killed because _______.

A. they were the leaders of the herds
B. they possessed bigger ivory
C. they were of smaller size
D. they ran slowly

2. In the 1970s and 1980s, _______.

A. scientists learned little about elephants
B. most ivory was sold at a reasonable price
C. many young elephants are gaining less wisdom
D. the elephant population decreased because of the terrible climate

3. Some big-game hunters are still allowed to hunt elephants because _______.

A. elephants are eating their crops k@s5u
B. they are pursuing fun instead of profit
C. the money they pay can be used to save elephants
D. they are not hunting in national parks

4. We know from the passage that in Kenya _______.

A. the human population is growing fast
B. it's likely that elephants will become extinct
C. confiscated ivory will be kept in national parks
D. no attempts were made to reduce elephants' conflicts with people

     Researchers believe the mobile phone system makes young people less thoughtful and more likely
to make mistakes elsewhere in life.
     Hitting a few keys and then seeing the desired word appear in full trains children to be fast but
inaccurate when doing other things, according to Australian scientists.
     They warn that this could have repercussions throughout the country, especially as more than 9 out
of 10 16-year-olds now own a mobile phone as well as 40 percent of primary schoolchildren.
     In a new study, Professor Michael Abramson, a researcher at Monash University, Melbourne,
Australia, analyzed the mobile phone use of children aged between 11 and 14 and their ability to carry
out a number of computer tests.
     A quarter of the children made more than 15 voice calls a week and a quarter of them wrote more
than 20 text messages a week.
     When researchers studied the way in which the children handled IQ-type tests they found that
increased mobile phone use appears to change the way their brains work.
     Prof Abramson said, "The kids who used their phones a lot were faster on some of the tests, but
were less accurate.
     "We suspect that using mobile phones a lot, particularly tools like predictive texts for SMS (Short
Message Service), is training them to be fast but inaccurate.
     "Their brains are still developing, so if there are effects then potentially it could have effects in the
future.
     "The use of mobile phones is changing the way children learn and pushing them to become more
impulsive (易沖動的) in the way they behave."
     Experts concerned about the possible impact of mobile phone radiation on developing brains have
given a warning over children's use of them.
     But Prof Abramson says the amount of radiation given off when texting is a mere 0.03 percent of
that given off during voice calls - suggesting radiation is not to blame for the brain effects. Instead, he
thinks predictive texting could be doing the damage.
     The study was published in the journal Bioelectromagnetics and disagreed with previous studies
which suggested that text messaging encourages children's language skills and did not damage their
ability to spell.

1. The underlined word "repercussions" probably means _______.

A. negative effects
B. profits
C. chances
D. positive influences

2. Abramson probably agrees that _______.

A. voice calls produce less radiation than texting
B. text messaging is bad for children's spelling
C. mobile phone use encourages children's language skills
D. children can be more accurate if they use mobiles a lot

3. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. Mobile phone use is training children to be fast
B. Children use mobile phones much more than before
C. The negative impacts of mobile phone radiation
D. Text messaging is making children more impulsive

     For five days, Edmonton's Downtown Park is transformed into one huge stage where artists are
able to share their talents, and where people are able to celebrate and enjoy themselves. Since its
beginning in 1980, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival has been commemorating(紀念) the true
feeling of what folk music is all about and that's the traditional togetherness(友愛) that is felt when
people gather to share stories and feelings through song.    
     This year will be the sixth year when volunteer Riedel will be offering up her time to the festival.
"People coming off a busy spring and summer have a moment of relaxation," Riedel said."It's really
easy to relax,  and it's great seeing family and friends have fun together." These families and friends
come from all different kinds of musical tastes. People who take pleasure in Blues are there, so are
people who love Bluegrass. This festival does its best to develop everyone's musical interests.    
     With so many years of experience, the festival has become a welloiled machine, and does whatever
it can to make attendees feel as comfortable as possible. There are free water stations throughout the
venue(舉辦地)for people to fill up their travel cups. When people buy food, reusable dishes are given
a $2 plate fee, but that is returned when the plate is brought back.      
     The festival has completely sold out of tickets,  and in record time. But with big names such as Van
Morrison and Jakob Dylan,  it's easy to see how that was going to happen. There is no parking area
during the festival, so using the Park & Ride system or Edmonton Transit is highly recommended. A
bike lockup area is provided and will be available Thursday until Sunday one hour before the gates
open until 45 minutes after the gates close.      
     The Edmonton Folk Music Festival begins on Wednesday, Aug. 4 with Van Morrison playing the
special donation fund(基金) concert,  and will finish up on Sunday, Aug. 8.