Are you learning English and do you need help with grammar? Do you want to learn new vocabulary or slang (俚语)? Well, you can find help online with these top 5 free English as a Second Language websites.
Dave’s ESL Café
This is a complete website that can help you learn and practice English. You can read many stories and do a lot of exercises to test your self. You c an also post questions and answers onto the help center.
About.com
You can get free English courses from About.com and you’ll get regular e-mails that will help you learn English.
The Classroom by Voice of America
You can watch videos and listen to news stories to improve your listening and vocabulary skills. You can also hear English words and their meanings.
Heinle’s Newbury House Dictionary of American English
Do you need to find the definition of a word? Use this online dictionary to find simple and clear definitions, as well as example sentences and idioms (习语). You can also find different cultural facts.
Perso nal English Portal (门户网站) on YouTube
You can watch this series of videos on YouTube to develop your listening skills. You can also do a search for “learn English” on YouTube to find other videos. This is a good way to practice English and have fun.
1.If you want to do English exercises and test yourself, you can go to .
A. About.com B. YouTube
C. Dave’s ESL Cafe D. the Classroom by Voice of America
2.You can at the help center on the website Dave’s ESL Cafe.
A. watch videos and pictures
B. listen to news and music
C. watch movies and matches
D. read questions and answers
3.About.com often sends e-mails to its visitors to help them .
A. get relaxed B. have fun
C. become famous D. learn English
4.The underlined word “definition” means “ ” in Chinese.
A. 来源 B. 释义
C. 意图 D. 背景
5.From Heinle’s Newbury House Dictionary of American English, you can find .
A. cultural information B. online libraries
C. interesting news D. many storybooks
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
Newspaper Carrier Day happens on September 4 to celebrate Barney Flaherty and all past and present newspaper carriers.
Every day，thousands of newspaper carriers get up early and carry newspapers around the streets. They deliver(递送)our newspapers before we wake up but few people think about their hard work. In the USA，10－year－old Barney Flaherty became the first newspaper boy. He started working for The New York Sun on September 10，1833.Today，many young people make their pocket money by delivering newspapers.
Perhaps millions of people have been a newspaper deliverer. Delivering newspapers used to be a part－time(兼职的)job for the children aged(……岁的)between 13 and 16.But now many adults often deliver newspapers by car. It has become dangerous for children to be on the streets alone before six in the morning. The newspaper carriers in the world are paid differently. For example，the newspaper carriers in Britain can make about $25 every day. And they usually work seven days a week. When you see your newspapers next time，think about the persons who delivered them.
1.Barney Flaherty，the first newspaper boy in the USA was born in ________.
A. 1843 B. 1833 C. 1823 D. 1820
2.Who used to deliver newspapers as a part-time worker?
A. The young people under the age of 16. B. The children between the ages of 13 and 16.
C. The people of all ages. D. The children over the age of 10.
3.How do adults usually deliver newspapers now?
A. By bike. B. On foot. C. By bus. D. By car.
4.How much money can a newspaper carrier make every week in Britain?
A. About $175. B. About $125. C. About $100. D. About $25.
5.From the passage，we can know that ________.
A. all the newspaper earners in the world are boys aged between 13 and 16
B. it isn't safe for children to walk on the streets alone before 6：00 a.m.
C. newspaper carriers must have all kinds of skills besides driving
D. the writer used to deliver newspapers on foot
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
We all know that the British people love their manners. They are part of their national identity (特性), as well as having fish and chips and complaining about the weather. Recently I read online that they said “sorry” up to eight times a day.
After some research I have not been able to find any specific reasons why they are like this. I suppose, for centuries, manners, including how they behave at table and talk to other people have been one of the differences between the lower and upper classes and those manners show their social classes. Britain has traditionally been a quite conservative (保守的) country. There are many articles suggesting that their seemingly polite attitude of always saying “please” and “thank you” is quite false because it is impossible for a person to always feel that he or she wants to thank someone or say “please”.
Maybe it is for this reason that people are going one of two ways:they are too polite and hold back their feelings or they are not polite at all and express their true feelings directly. Some British people are tired of pretending that they are always happy and having to please others. But sometimes because they feel they have to be polite, they are prevented from saying what they truly think.
1.What don't the British people often do?
A. Eat fish and chips. B. Have no quite good manners.
C. Be polite to others. D. Talk about the weather.
2.What do the British people say up to eight times every day?
A. Hello. B. Thank you. C. I don't know. D. Sorry.
3.What does the writer think are the reasons why the British people are so polite?
①The upper classes should have good manners.
②They have learned much about politeness at school.
③They like to hold back their true feelings.
④They are not honest at all.
A. ①② B. ③④ C. ①③ D. ②④
4.What does the underlined word “pretending” mean in Chinese?
A. 打算 B. 假装 C. 想象 D. 体验
5.What is the best title of this passage?
A. British people are too polite B. British people should not be so polite
C. How to learn the British manners D. It's time to change our manners
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
_____ he is very young, _____ he knows a lot about science.
A. Because, so B. Though, but
C. When, and D. Although, /
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
— If we want to be a _____ visitor in a foreign country, it is important to know how to ask for help ________.
A. politely, polite B. polite, politely
C. politely, politely D. polite, polite
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
_______nice the ice cream looks ! I can’t wait to taste it.
A. How a B. How C. What a D. What
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
—Can you tell the difference between these two pictures?
—Difference? Oh, no. They look quite .
A. similar B. different
C. strange D. Interesting
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Peter likes pop music，but _____ his father _______ his mother likes it.
A. both; and B. not only; but also
C. neither; nor D. either; or
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
They wonder ________ robots will make humans lose their jobs or not.
A. that B. if C. whether D. so
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Bikes are ____ in our city.
A. more popular and more popular B. most popular and popular
C. more popular and most popular D. more and more popular
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
I don’t know if Jack ______back today. If he____back, I’ll call you.
A. will come; will come B. comes; will come C. comes; comes D. will come; comes
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
---Could you tell me how long ______the book?
---Three days.
A. I can keep B. can I borrow C. I can borrow D. can I keep
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
— The game is too hard for me. I will certainly lose.
—You never say no before you try. __________
A. forget it! B. I’m sorry. C. Come on! D. Pardon me?
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
I’d like to know _____. ______ –Maybe in the forest.
A. whether we will go camping
B. where we will go camping
C. whether will we go camping
D. where will we go camping
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
---- Could you tell me where the bookstore is?
----- ____________? I didn’t hear clearly.
A. How are you ? B. Yes, please C. Pardon D. Excuse me
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
You can improve your English________ reading more.
A. in B. with C. of D. by
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
__What’s the matter? —I’m having trouble_____ who has taken my book.
A. looking after B. looking for C. looking up D. looking out
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
They find ________difficult to understand the teacher when she talks.
A. it B. that C. this D. its
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
任务型阅读（每小题2分，满分10分）
If you spend some time in an English-speaking country，you might hear the term “etiquette”. It means normal and polite social behavior. This may seem like a difficult word at first，but it can be very useful to understand.
Etiquette is not the same in every culture or in every situation. For example，standing very close to the person you are talking with is quite common in some Asian countries. However，if you do this in Europe，some people might feel uncomfortable. Even in China，we all know that etiquette is not the same in all situations. Perhaps we think that talking loudly in our own homes is fine，but there are other places where talking loudly is not allowed. For example，most people would agree that talking loudly in a library，a museum or a movie theater is impolite. Even if you are with your friends，it is better to keep your voice down in public places.
If we see someone breaking the rules of etiquette，we may politely give them some suggestions. One of the most polite ways is to ask someone，Would you mind doing this or Would you mind not doing that. People don’t usually like to be criticized，so we have to be careful how we do this.
Although rules of etiquette can often be different，some rules are the same almost everywhere in the world！For example，dropping litter is almost never allowed. If you see someone you know doing this，you can ask him，“Would you mind picking it up？”
根据短文内容，回答问题。
1. What does the word “etiquette” mean？
2. Find out the key sentence of Paragraph 2. （找出第二段的中心句）
3. If your friend talks loudly in the library, what would you say to him/her?（根据你对短文的理解，写出一个委婉的建议）
4. 请将最后一段中的画线句子译成汉语。
5.请给短文拟个标题。
难度: 极难查看答案及解析
In some provinces of Canada，people celebrate Family Day on the second Monday of February. It is a holiday that gives families the chance(机会)to ______together.
On Family Day，many people plan and take part in(参加)activities such as visiting art museums，watching movies，playing games and holding parties，with their families. Some communities(社区)plan special public _______too.
______ the weather is usually very cold in February，some people _______choose to stay at home. Hot chocolate and freshly made cookies are the most popular snacks for
___.Other people use the long weekend as a chance to take a short winter break，or to travel to visit friends.
On Family Day，most people have a day off work or school. Many stores and supermarkets are _______，but post offices may be open. Buses run ______their usual timetables(时刻表).
Family Day was first ______in Alberta，Canada in 1990.It was held to show the importance of family and home that were important to people in Alberta. Later，Family Day was ______to other provinces，such as Ontario and Saskatchewan. British Columbia celebrated Family Day as a(n) _______for the first time in 2013.One of the reasons for introducing Family Day was that there were no holidays from New Year's Day to Good Friday(受难节).It was such a long time.
1.A. work B. discuss C. exercise D. stay
2.A. events B. secrets C. memories D. interests
3.A. So B. Because C. But D. Although
4.A. never B. just C. ever D. still
5.A. her B. him C. us D. them
6.A. enough B. open C. closed D. free
7.A. thanks to B. because of C. instead of D. according to
8.A. held B. controlled C. studied D. borrowed
9.A. created B. continued C. introduced D. admired
10.A. success B. holiday C. weekend D. invention
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Plant bring interest mix call famer mean
There are 24 solar terms (节气) in China, and the Grain Rain(谷雨) is one of them. It falls on April 19 this year.
This solar term is 1. the Grain Rain because it is known for “rain” that helps the grain grow. From its name, we can guess it 2. a time of more rain. So if you go out in the next two weeks, you may need to bring an umbrella with you.
But this is a great time for 3. crops. If you miss the time for planting during the Grain Rain, you will feel sorry later. So maybe you can try to plant some flowers or vegetables in your garden. When the spring rain falls, 4. begin to grow crops (庄稼). Farmers often say, “Spring rain is as precious (珍贵的) as oil.” It 5. farmers hope for a good year ahead.
There are also many interesting 6. during the Grain Rain. In the northern part of China , people like to eat
Chinese toon7.with eggs. The food made during the Grain Rain tastes wonderful and is good for your stomach. In the southern part of China, the tea leaves are picked during the time. They are called Grain Rain tea, which is famous for its freshness and sweet smell.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
1.每个人多天生具有学习的能力。
Everybody is _________ ________ the ability to learn.
2.乘地铁虽然很方便， 但是常常很拥挤。
Taking the subway is ________， but it's often very ________.
3.他经常在语法方面犯错误。
He often ______ _______ grammar.
4.一旦做出承诺，就要遵守诺言。
Once you ________ ________ ,you should keep it.
5.你可以把这个单词和有趣的东西联系起来。
You can ________ the word __________ something interesting.
6.当地政府已经采取了措施来应对空气污染。
The local government ______ _______ _______ some measures to fight against air pollution.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
bookstore go along third floor between supermarket flower store
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难度: 困难查看答案及解析
根据自己的学习问题寻求帮助：前几天，一些同学就英语学习现状进行了一次讨论，发现如下问题：
1、对英语学习没有兴趣; 2、记忆单词有困难;
3、怕出错，不敢参与小组讨论； 4、阅读中如何处理生词； 5、写作中……。
假如你是方华，在英语学习中也遇到一些类似的问题，你以邮件的形式向英语报社的编辑（Bob）咨询，希望得到帮助。
要求：1、提出三个英语学习中的问题；
2、可以参考以上提示，也可以根据自己实际适当发挥； 3、中心突出，语意连贯，层次清晰，书写规范； 4、不少于80词； 5、开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Bob,
I’m very pleased to write to you……
________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
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难度: 中等查看答案及解析