If you want to learn a new language, the very first thing to think about is why. Do you need it for a ___1____ reason, such as your job or your studies? Or perhaps you’re interested in the ___2____, films or music of a different country and you know how much it will help to have a ___3____ of the language.

Most people learn best using a variety of ___4___, but traditional classes are an ideal（理想的）start for many people. They ___5___ an environment where you can practice under the ___6___ of someone who’s good at the language. We all lead ___7___ lives and learning a language takes time. You will have more success if you study regularly, so try to develop a ___8___. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t got long. Becoming fluent in a language will take years, but learning to get by takes a lot less.

Many people start learning a language and soon give up. “I’m too ___9___,” they say. Yes, children do learn languages more ___10___ than adults, but research has shown that you can learn a language at any ___11___. And learning is good for the health of your brain, too. I’ve also heard people ___12___ about the mistakes they make when ___13___. Well, relax and laugh about your mistakes and you’re much less likely to make them again.

Learning a new language is never ___14___. But with some work and devotion, you’ll make progress. And you’ll be ___15___ by the positive reaction of some people when you say just a few words in their own language. Good luck!

1. A. technical             B. practical              C. political         D. physical

2. A literature        B. transport        C. agriculture         D. medicine

3. A view                 B. knowledge            C. form         D. database

4. A paintings              B. regulations      C. methods      D. computers

5. A. protect         B. change               C. respect               D. provide

6. A. control         B. command     C. guidance        D. pressure

7. A. busy           B. happy               C. simple               D. normal

8. A. theory          B. business             C. routine         D. project

9. A. tired           B. nervous        C. weak          D. old

10. A. closely        B. quickly         C. privately      D. quietly

11. A. age            B. speed                C. distance              D. school

12. A. worry                 B. hesitate              C. think           D. quarrel

13. A. singing        B. working        C. bargaining     D. learning

14. A. tiresome               B. hard                 C. interesting              D. easy

15. A. blamed                B. amazed               C. interrupted      D. informed

Frank Smithson woke up and leaned over to turn off the alarm clock. "Oh no!" he __16________ (think) to himself, "Another day at that office; a boss who shouts at me all the time."

    As Frank went downstairs his eyes fell on __17_________ large brown envelope by the door. He was overjoyed when he opened __18_________ and read the letter inside. "Bigwoods Football Pools (足球赌博公司) would like to congratulate you. You __19_________ (win) half a million pounds."

　　Frank suddenly came __20_________ life. The cigarette fell from his lips as he let out a shout __21_________ could be heard halfway down the street.

　　At 11:30 Frank arrived at work. "Please explain __22_________ you're so late," his boss said. "Go and jump in the lake," replied Frank. "I've just come into a little money so this is good-bye. Find yourself __23_________ else to shout at."

　　That evening Frank was smoking a very __24_________ (expense) Havana cigar when a knock was heard on the door. He rushed to the door. Outside were two men, neatly __25_________ (dress) in grey suits. "Mr. Smithson," one of them said, "we're from Bigwoods Pools. I'm afraid there's been a terrible mistake…"

Some years ago, writing in my diary used to be a usual activity. I would return from school and spend the expected half hour recording the day’s events, feelings, and impressions in my little blue diary. I did not really need to express my emotions by way of words, but I gained a certain satisfaction from seeing my experiences forever recorded on paper. After all, isn’t accumulating memories a way of preserving the past?

When I was thirteen years old, I went on a long journey on foot in a great valley, well-equipped with pens, a diary, and a camera. During the trip, I was busy recording every incident, name and place I came across. I felt proud to be spending my time productively, dutifully preserving for future generations a detailed description of my travels. On my last night there, I wandered out of my tent, diary in hand. The sky was clear and lit by the glare of the moon, and the walls of the valley looked threatening behind their screen of shadows. I automatically took out my pen…

At that point, I understood that nothing I wrote could ever match or replace the few seconds I allowed myself to experience the dramatic beauty of the valley. All I remembered of the previous few days were the dull characterizations I had set down in my diary.

Now, I only write in my diary when I need to write down a special thought or feeling. I still love to record ideas and quotations that strike me in books, or observations that are particularly meaningful. I take pictures, but not very often--only of objects I find really beautiful. I’m no longer blindly satisfied with having something to remember when I grow old. I realize that life will simply pass me by if I stay behind the camera, busy preserving the present so as to live it in the future.

I don’t want to wake up one day and have nothing but a pile of pictures and notes. Maybe I won’t have as many exact representations of people and places; maybe I’ll forget certain facts, but at least the experiences will always remain inside me. I don’t live to make memories--I just live, and the memories form themselves.

26. Before thirteen, the author regarded keeping a diary as a way of ________.

A. observing her school routine            B. expressing her satisfaction

C. impressing her classmates              D. preserving her history

27. On a journey at thirteen, the author ________.

   A. nearly ignored the beauty of nature while busy making records

   B. hardly made preparations for a journal while appreciating nature

   C. suddenly felt it impossible and unnecessary to write everything down

   D. was entirely struck by nature and forgot to record anything

28. What caused a change in the author’s understanding of keeping a diary?

A. A dull night on the journey.

B. The beauty of the great valley.

C. A striking quotation from a book.

D. Her concerns for future generations.

29. What does the author put in her diary now?

A. Notes and beautiful pictures.         B. Special thoughts and feelings.

C. Detailed accounts of daily activities. D. Descriptions of unforgettable events.

30. The author comes to realize that to live a meaningful life is ______.

A. to experience it               B. to live the present in the future

C. to make memories           D. to give accurate representations of it

       It’s such a happy-looking library, painted yellow, decorated with palm-tree stickers and sheltered from the Florida sun by its own roof. About the size of a microwave oven, it’s pedestrian-friendly, too, waiting for book lovers next to a sidewalk in Palm Beach country Estates, along the northern boundary of Palm Beach Gardens.

       It’s a library built with love.

       A year ago, shortly after Janey Henriksen saw a Brian Williams report about the Little Free Library organization, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit that aims to promote literacy and build a sense of community in a neighborhood by making books freely available, she announced to her family of four, “That’s what we’re going to do for our spring break!”

       Son Austin, now a 10th-grader, didn’t see the point of building a library that resembles a mailbox. But Janey insisted, and husband Peter unwillingly got to work. The 51-year-old owner of a ship supply company modified a small wooden house that he’d built years earlier for daughter Abbie’s toy horses, and made a door of glass.

       After adding the library’s final touches (装点), the family hung a signboard on the front, instructing users to “take a book, return a book,” and making the Henriksen library, now one of several hundred like it nationwide and among more than 2,500 in the world, the only Little Free Library in Palm Beach County.

       They stocked it with 20 or so books they’d already read, a mix of science fiction, reference titles, novels and kids’ favorites. “I told them, keep in mind that you might not see it again,” said Janey, a stay-at-home mom.

       Since then, the collection keeps replenishing (补充) itself, thanks to ongoing donations from borrowers. The library now gets an average of five visits a day.

       The project’s best payoff, says Peter, are the thank-you notes left behind. “We had no idea in the beginning that it would be so popular.”

31. In what way is the library “pedestrian-friendly”?

   A. It owns a yellow roof.

B. It stands near a sidewalk.

   C. It protects book lovers from the sun.

D. It uses palm-tree stickers as decorations.

32. Janey got the idea to build a library from __________.

   A. a visit to Brian Williams

B. a spring break with her family

   C. a book sent by one of her neighbors

D. a report on a Wisconsin-based organization

33. The library was built __________.

   A. by a ship supply company                 B. on the basis of toy horses

   C. like a mailbox                                         D. with glass

34. What can we infer about the signboard?

   A. It was made by a user of the library.

B. It marked a final touch to the library.

   C. It aimed at making the library last long.

D. It indicated the library was a family property.

35. The passage tells us that the users __________.

   A. donate books to the library

B. get paid to collect books for the library

   C. receive thank-you notes for using the library

   D. visit the library over 5 times on average daily

We’ve reached a strange--some would say unusual--point. While fighting world hunger continues to be the matter of vital importance according to a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO), more people now die from being overweight, or say, from being extremely fat, than from being underweight. It’s the good life that’s more likely to kill us these days.

Worse, nearly l8 million children under the age of five around the world are estimated to be overweight. What’s going on?

We really don’t have many excuses for our weight problems. The dangers of the problem have been drilled into us by public-health campaigns since 2001 and the message is getting through--up to a point.

In the 1970s, Finland, for example, had the highest rate of heart disease in the world and being overweight was its main cause. Not any more. A public-health campaign has greatly reduced the number of heart disease deaths by 80 per cent over the past three decades.

Maybe that explains why the percentage of people in Finland taking diet pills doubled between 2001 and 2005, and doctors even offer surgery of removing fat inside and change the shape of the body. That has become a sort of fashion. No wonder it ranks as the world’s most body-conscious country.

We know what we should be doing to lose weight--but actually doing it is another matter. By far the most popular excuse is not taking enough exercise. More than half of us admit we lack willpower.

Others blame good food. They say: it’s just too inviting and it makes them overeat. Still others lay the blame on the Americans, complaining that pounds have piled on thanks to eating too much American-style fast food.

Some also blame their parents--their genes. But unfortunately, the parents are wronged because they’re normal in shape, or rather slim.

It’s a similar story around the world, although people are relatively unlikely to have tried to lose weight. Parents are eager to see their kids shape up. Do as I say--not as I do.

36. What is the “strange” point mentioned in the first sentence?

A. The good life is a greater risk than the bad life.

B. Starvation is taking more people’s lives in the world.

C. WHO report shows people’s unawareness of food safety.

D. Overweight issue remains unresolved despite WHO’s efforts.

37. Why does the author think that people have no excuse for being overweight?

A. A lot of effective diet pills are available.

B. Body image has nothing to do with good food.

C. They have been made fully aware of its dangers.

D. There are too many overweight people in the world.

38. The example of Finland is used to illustrate ________.

A. the cause of heart disease

B. the effectiveness of a campaign

C. the fashion of body shaping

D. the history of a body-conscious country

39. According to the last paragraph, parents ________.

   A. always set a good example to their children

   B. are hardly as overweight as their children

   C. hope to be as healthy as their own children

   D. rarely take action to lose weight themselves

40. Which would be the best title for the passage?

A. Actions or Excuses?                B. Overweight or Underweight?

C. WHO in a Dilemma                 D. No Longer Dying of Hunger