出自:湖南大学-大学英语（高升专）
Passage 2
Someone said that encouragement is simply reminding a person of the "shoulders" he.s standing on, the heritage he.s been given. That.s what happened when a young man, the son of a star baseball player, was drafted by one of the minor league teams. As hard as he tried, his first season was disappointing, and by midseason he expected to be released any day.
The coaches were bewildered by his failure because he possessed all the characteristics of a superb athlete, but he couldn.t seem to incorporate those advantages into a coordinated effort. He seemed to have become disconnected from his potential.
His future seemed darkest one day when he had already struck out his first time at bat. Then he stepped up to the batter.s box again and quickly ran up two strikes. The catcher called a time-out and trotted to the pitcher.s mound for a conference. While they were busy the umpire, standing behind the plate, spoke casually to the boy.
Then play resumed, the next pitch was thrown and the young man knocked it out of the park. That was the turning point. From then on, he played the game with a new confidence and power that quickly drew the attention of the parent team, and he was called up to the majors.
On the day he was leaving for the city, one of his coaches asked him what had caused such a turnaround. The young man replied it was the encouraging remark the umpire had made that day when his baseball career had seemed doomed.
"He told me I reminded him of all the times he had stood behind my dad in the batter.s box," the boy explained. "He said I was holding the bat just the way Dad had held it. And he told me, I can see his genes in you; you have your father.s arms.. After that, whenever I swung the bat, I just imagined I was using Dad.s arms instead of my own."
6. According to the passage, encouraging remarks help a person to realize .
A.the great successes he has achieved
B.the experience he has accumulated
C.the qualities he was born with
D.the support he has received
7. The young man couldn.t succeed at first probably because
A.he didn.t work hard enough
B.he knew little about baseball
C.he didn.t realize his potentials
D.he was not born to be an athlete
8. What brought about the turning point in his baseball career?
A.The coaches. encouraging words.
B.The umpire.s casual remarks.
C.The pitch he knocked out of the park.
D.The first time he struck out at bat.
9. After hearing the umpire.s words, the young man felt .
A. Helpless B. confident C. discouraged D. bewildered
10. The main purpose of the passage is to tell us______.
A. encouragement may change one.s life
B. athletes especially need encouragement
C. the young man will have a bright future
D. people can never succeed without encouragement
Passage 3
Ever since humans have inhabited the earth, they have made use of various forms of communication. Generally, this expression of thoughts and feelings has been in the form of oral speech. When there is a language barrier, communication is accomplished through sign language in which motions stand for letters, words and ideas. Tourists, the deaf, and the mute have had to resort to this form of expression. Many of these symbols of whole words are very picturesque and exact and can be used internationally: spelling, however, cannot. Body language transmits ideas or thoughts by certain actions, either intentionally or unintentionally. A wink can be a way of flirting or indicating that the party is only joking. A nod signifies approval, while shaking the head indicates a negative reaction.
Other forms of nonlinguistic language can be found in Braille (a system of raised dots read with the fingertips), signal flags, Morse code, and smoke signals. Road maps and picture signs also guide, warn, and instruct people. While verbalization is the most common form of language, other systems and techniques also express human thoughts and feelings.
11.Which of the following best summarizes this passage?
A. When language is a barrier, people will find other forms of communication.
A.Everybody uses only one form of communication.
B.Nonlinguistic language is invaluable to foreigners.
C.Although other forms of communication exist, verbalization is the fastest.
12.Which of the following statements is not true according to the passage?
A.There are many forms of communication in existence today.
B.Verbalization is the most common form of communication.
C. The deaf and mute do not need sign language for communication. D. Ideas and thoughts can be transmitted by language.
13. Which form other than oral speech would be most commonly used among blind people?
A. Picture signs. B. Braille. C. Body language. D. Signal flags.
14.How many different forms of communication are mentioned here?
A. 2 – 4 B. 5 -7 C. 8-10 D. Over 10
15. Sign language is said to be very picturesque and exact and can be used internationally as it doesn.t represent__________.
A. spellings B. whole words C. ideas D. feelings
Passage 4
Some people seem to have a knack for learning languages. They can pick up new vocabulary, master rules or grammar, and learn to write in the new language more quickly than others. They do not seem to be any more intelligent than others, so what makes language learning so much easier for them? Perhaps if we take a close look at these successful language learners we may discover a few of the techniques, which make language learning easier for them.
First of all, successful language learners are independent learners. They do not depend on the book or teacher; they discover their own way to learn the language. Instead of waiting for the teacher to explain, they try to find the patterns and the rules for themselves. They are good guessers who look for clues and form their own conclusions. When they guess wrong, they start over. They try to learn from their mistakes.
Successful language learning is active learning. Therefore, successful learners do not wait for a chance to use the language; they look for such a chance. They find people who speak the language and they ask these people to correct them when they make a mistake. They will try anything to communicate. They are not afraid to repeat what they hear or to say strange things; they are willing to make mistakes and try again. When communication is different, they can accept information that is inexact or incomplete. It is more important for them to learn to think in the language than to know the meaning of every word.
Finally, successful language learners are learners with a purpose. They want to learn the language because they are interested in the language and the people who speak it. It is necessary for them to learn the language in order to communicate with these people and to learn from them. They find it easy to practice using the language regularly because they want to learn with it.
What kind of language learners are you? If you are a successful language learner, you have probably been learning independently, actively, and purposefully. On the other hand, if your language learning has been less than successful, you might do well to try some of the techniques outlined above.
16. What makes language learning easier for some people than for others, according to the text?
A. Some people learn grammar more quickly than others.
B. Successful language learners use special techniques.
C. Some people have good teachers and good books.
D. Successful language learners are more intelligent than others.
17. How do successful language learners learn languages?
A. They learn independently, actively and purposefully.
B. They learn special techniques from their teachers.
C. They learn the rules and patterns of the language from books.
D. They learn to think about the meaning of every word.
18. Why do successful language learners find it easy to practice using the language regularly?
A. They find it easy to communicate.
B. They look for inexact information.
C. They want to teach the language to others.
D. They want to learn from people who speak the language.
19. "If your language learning has been less than successful, you might do well to try some of the techniques outlined above." What does this sentence mean?
A. Unsuccessful language learners should try the techniques of successful language learners.
B. Less successful language learners try to use successful language learning techniques.
C. Language learning is less successful if you use these techniques.
D. Less successful language learning is the result of using these techniques.
20. According to the passage, what does the word "knack" (Line 1, Para. 1) probably mean?
A. attitude B. intelligence C. code D. ability
Passage 1
By now, people.s definition of what makes a family has changed. In a 1989 poll sponsored by the Massachusetts Mutual Insurance Company, three-quarters of the people rejected traditional definitions based on two parents and their children living together. Instead, they defined a family as "a group of people who love and care for one another". This changing attitude was reflected in American society, where families were extremely varied.
Ten times more adults lived alone in 1990 than had in 1900. Though most people still married, more couples chose not to have children. Many more marriages ended in divorce, leaving many families headed by a single parent. Some parents never married, and the stigma attached to children born "out of wedlock (已婚状态)" had almost disappeared. There were blended families, formed when two single parents remarried and together raised children from earlier marriages. There were families in which the partners were homosexuals. There were also more marriages between partners of different races.
The physical surroundings of families have changed as well. In 1900, 60 percent of all Americans lived in rural areas. By the end of the century, 75 percent lived in cities and suburbs. Homes have changed, too. The average single-family home built toward the end of the century had at least two stories, three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms and a garage. It was much bigger than houses built in the boom that followed World War II (1941 -1945). At the same time, more people lived in multi-family housing—apartment buildings and townhouses attached to others like them.
1. This passage is mainly about .
A. the definition of families
B. the changes of families
C. people.s new ideas of marriages
D. serious social problem in the U.S.
2. The word "stigma" in the second paragraph probably means " ".
A. shameful feeling
B.wonderful life
C.good fortune
D.natural gifts
3. What is a blended family?
A.A family formed by two parents and a child.
B.A family formed by two divorced parents and their children from earlier marriages.
C.A family formed by two single women and their children deserted by their husbands.
D.A family formed by two partners who are from different races.
4. In 1900, of all Americans lived in cities and suburbs.
A.25%
B.40%
C.60%
D.75%
5. What is the writer.s attitude towards thn now families?
A.Neutral.
B.Positive.
C.Negative.
D.Respectful.