A student is learning to speak British English．He wonders：Can I communicate with Americans？Can they understand me？Learners of English often ask：What are the differences between British and American English？How important are these differences？

Certainly there are some differences between British and American English．There are a few differences in grammar．For example，speakers of British English say"in hospital"and"Have you a pen？"Americans say"in the hospital!"and"Do you have a pen？"Pronunciation is sometimes different．Americans usually sound theirs in words like"bird"and"hurt"．Speakers of British English do not sound theirs in these words．There are differences between British and American English in spelling and vocabulary．For example，"colour"and"honour"are British，"color"and honor"are American．

These differences in grammar，pronunciation，spelling and vocabulary are not important．However，for the most part，British and American English are the same language．

21．According to this passage，a student who is learning to speak American English

might be afraid that　  　．

A．British people cannot understand him

B．American people cannot understand him

C．the grammar is too hard for him

D．the spelling is too hard for him

22．American English and British English are different in　  　．

A．spelling      

B．pronunciation

C．grammar      

D．all of the above

23．What is not mentioned in the passage？　  

A．Whether there are differences between British English and American English．

B．Whether British English and American English are one language or two．

C．How the differences between British English and American English happened．

D．How important the differences are．

There is a story about a man who lost his legs and left arm in an accident．After the accident，only a finger and thumb on his right hand remained．

He was a brilliant，creative，and educated man．He had gained a lot of experience while traveling around the world，so he became very depressed after his accident．He was afraid that he would spend the rest of his life suffering and would no longer be able to spend his life in a meaningful way．Then，he realized that he still had partial function of his right hand and could still write even though it was very difficult．An idea occurred to him．"Why not write to other people who need encouragement？"

He wrote to the prison ministry（监狱长） about sending letters to the prisoners．The prison minister replied，"Writing to the prisoners is acceptable，but your letters will not be answered．"

Filled with excitement，the man knew he could write his letters．He began sending one﹣way messages of God's love，hope，strength，and encouragement．He wrote twice a week，testing his strength and ability to the limit．He poured （倾诉）his heart and soul into his words and shared his experience，sense of humor，optimism（乐观），and faith．

It was difficult to write those letters，especially without hope of a reply．One day he received a letter from the prison ministry．It was a short note from the officer who monitored and checked the prison mail．

The letter said，"Please write on the best paper you can afford．Your letters are passed from cell （单人牢房）to cell until they literally（逐字地） fall to pieces!"

No matter what circumstances （环境）life may present，we all have unique experiences，abilities，and God﹣given talents．We can discover ways to reach others who desperately （极度渴望地）need messages of encouragement and strength．

24．In order to live in a meaningful way，the man began to　  　．

A．receive the school education

B．write to other people who need encouragement

C．meet the people who are depressed

D．help other people with lost arms and legs

25．According to the prison minister，　  ．

A．the man was not allowed to write to the prisoners

B．the man couldn't go to see the prisoners himself

C．the prisoners were not allowed to answer the letters

D．he was not sure if the prisoners would receive the letters

26．From the officer's short note we are told that　  　．

A．the man would be offered free paper to write letters on

B．some of the prisoners were not satisfied with his letters

C．the prisoners eagerly wanted to write back to the man

D．his letters were very popular among the prisoners

27．What can be the best title for the passage？　 

A．Stories about a Humorous Person

B．Popularity of Special Letters

C．Special Letters of Encouragement

D．Relationship between writers and prisoners．

For 52years my father got up at 5：30am every morning，went to work，and returned home at 5：30pm．I never saw my father stayed home from work ill，nor did I ever see my father lay down to take a nap．He had no hobbies，other than taking care of his family．All he asked from me，his daughter，was to help him while he was repairing something，so we could have some time to talk．

For 22years，after I left home for college，my father called me at 9：00am every Sunday．Nine years ago when I bought my first house，my father，67years old，spent eight hours a day for three days painting my house．He would not allow me to pay someone to have it done．All he asked for was a glass of iced tea．Five years ago，at age 71，my father spent five hours putting together a swing set for my daughter．

On the morning of January 16，1996，my sister telephoned me：my father was in the hospital with an aneurysm（动脉瘤） in Florida．I got on an airplane immediately，and on the way I realized that I hadn't communicated with him as much as I'd always wanted to．I vowed（发誓） that when I arrived，I would have a long talk with him．I arrived in Florida at 1：00am，only to find that my father，at the age of 76，had passed away at 9：12pm．This time it was he who did not have time to talk，or time to wait for me．

28．From the first paragraph we can infer （推断） that the author's father　  　_．

A．was a good driver        

B．had many hobbies

C．sometimes fell ill          

D．was in good health

29．The underlined phrase"other than"in the first paragraph has the same meaning as"　 　"．

A．without   

B．including    

C．except   

D．due to

30．According to the last paragraph，we can know that the author's father was born in　 　．

A.1920      

B.1918         

C.1916    

D.1922

31．The author wrote the article in order to　 　．

A．praise her father

B．remember her father

C．show her father was healthy

D．let her father be known．

Let children learn to judge their own．A child who learns to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time； if corrected too much，he will stop talking．He notices a thousand times a day the difference between the language he uses and the language those around him use．Little by little，he makes the necessary changes to make his language like other people's，in the same way，children learn to do all the other things without being taught﹣to walk，run，climb，ride a bicycle﹣compare （比较） their own performances（表现） with those of more skilled people，and slowly make the needed changes．But in school we never give a child a chance to find out his mistakes if we thought that he would never notice a mistake unless it was pointed out to him，or correct it unless he was made to．Let him work out，with the help of other children if he wants it，what this word says，what the answer is to that problem，whether this is a good way of saying or doing this or not．If it is a matter of right answers，as it may be in mathematics or science，give him the answer book．Let him correct his own papers．Why should we teachers waste time in doing such work？Our job should be to help the child when he tells us that he can't find the way to get their own understanding，how to know what they know or do not know．

32．According to the passage，the best way for children to learn things is　  　

A．to listen to skilled people's advice

B．to ask older people many questions

C．to make mistakes and have them corrected

D．to do what other people do

33．According to the writer，teachers in school should　  　

A．allow children to learn from each other

B．point out children's mistakes whenever they are found

C．correct children's mistakes as possible as they can

D．give children more book knowledge

34．Which of the following does the writer think teachers should not do？　  　

A．Give children correct answers

B．allow children to make mistakes

C．Point out children's mistakes

D．Let children judge their own work

35．The passage suggests that learning to speak and learning to ride a bicycle are　 　．

A．different from learning other skills

B．the same as learning other skills

C．more important than other skills

D．not really important skills．

The Winner's Guide to Success

Do you know what makes people successful？To find out the answers，an American reporter recently visited some of the most successful people around the world．

（36）　  　

Be responsible for yourself

Sometimes you may want to blame others for your failure to get ahead．In fact，when you say someone or something outside of yourself is stopping you from making success，you're giving away your own power．（37）　  　

Write a plan．

It's very difficult to try to get what you want without a good plan．It's just like trying to drive through strange roads to a city far away．（38）　  　 Without this"map"，you may waste your time，money and also your energy； while with the"map"，you will enjoy the"trip"and get what you want in the shortest possible time．

（39）　  　

Nothing great is easy to get．So you must be ready to work hard﹣﹣﹣even harder than you have ever done．If you are not willing to pay the price，you won't get anything valuable．

Never give up．

（40）　  　When you are doing something，you must tell yourself again and again：Giving up is worse than failure because failure can be the mother of success，but giving up means the death of hope．

A．A good plan is like a map to you．

B．It seems to us that everyone knows this，but it is easier said than done．

C．Some people achieve success much later in life because they don't work hard  earlier．

D．You're saying，"You have more control over my life than I do．"

E．Someone else's opinions of you don't have to become your reality．

F．Be willing to pay the price．

G．Here are some keys to success that they give．