The number of speakers of English in Shakespeare’s time is estimated to have been about five million. Today it is estimated that some 260 million people speak it as a native language, mainly in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In addition to the standard varieties of English found in these areas, there are a great many regional and social varieties of the language as well as various levels of usage that are employed both in its spoken and written forms.
In fact, it is impossible to estimate the number of people in the world who have acquired an adequate working knowledge of English in addition to their own languages. The purpose for English learning and the situations in which such learning takes place are so varied that it is difficult to explain and still more difficult to judge what forms an enough working knowledge for each situation.
The main reason for the widespread demand for English is its present-day importance as a world language. Besides serving the various needs of its native speakers, English is a language in which some of important works in science, technology, and other fields are being produced, and not always by native speakers. It is widely used for such purposes as meteorological (气象的) and airport communications, international conferences, and the spread of information over the radio and television networks of many nations. It is a language of wider communication for a number of developing countries, especially former British colonies . Many of these countries have multilingual populations and need a language for internal communication in such matters as government, commerce, industry, law and education as well as for international communication and for entrance to the scientific and technological developments in the West.
1.Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.It is likely to tell the number of people with an enough working knowledge of English.
B.There are some 260 million native speakers of English in the world.
C.Apart from the standard English,there are other forms of Englishes.
D.People all around the world learn English for a variety of reasons.
2.According to the passage, what is the main reason for the widespread use of English?
A.It was popular during Shakespeare’s time.
B.It is used in former British colonies.
C.It is a world language that is used for international communication.
D.It serves the needs of its native speakers.
3.What forms an enough working knowledge of English?
A.Being a multilingual.
B.Being a native speaker.
C.The ability to read a newspaper.
D.It is difficult to judge because it differs for each situation.
4.What type of developing countries would be most likely to use English?
A.Those geographically close to the United States.
B.Former colonies of Great Britain.
C.Those interested in the culture of the United States.
D.Countries where international conferences are held.
5.What would be the best title for this passage?
A.The Difficulties of Learning English B.International Communications
C.The Standard Varieties of English D.English as a World Language
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题
The number of speakers of English in Shakespeare’s time is estimated to have been about five million. Today it is estimated that some 260 million people speak it as a native language, mainly in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In addition to the standard varieties of English found in these areas, there are a great many regional and social varieties of the language as well as various levels of usage that are employed both in its spoken and written forms.
In fact, it is impossible to estimate the number of people in the world who have acquired an adequate working knowledge of English in addition to their own languages. The purpose for English learning and the situations in which such learning takes place are so varied that it is difficult to explain and still more difficult to judge what forms an enough working knowledge for each situation.
The main reason for the widespread demand for English is its present-day importance as a world language. Besides serving the various needs of its native speakers, English is a language in which some of important works in science, technology, and other fields are being produced, and not always by native speakers. It is widely used for such purposes as meteorological (气象的) and airport communications, international conferences, and the spread of information over the radio and television networks of many nations. It is a language of wider communication for a number of developing countries, especially former British colonies . Many of these countries have multilingual populations and need a language for internal communication in such matters as government, commerce, industry, law and education as well as for international communication and for entrance to the scientific and technological developments in the West.
1.Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.It is likely to tell the number of people with an enough working knowledge of English.
B.There are some 260 million native speakers of English in the world.
C.Apart from the standard English,there are other forms of Englishes.
D.People all around the world learn English for a variety of reasons.
2.According to the passage, what is the main reason for the widespread use of English?
A.It was popular during Shakespeare’s time.
B.It is used in former British colonies.
C.It is a world language that is used for international communication.
D.It serves the needs of its native speakers.
3.What forms an enough working knowledge of English?
A.Being a multilingual.
B.Being a native speaker.
C.The ability to read a newspaper.
D.It is difficult to judge because it differs for each situation.
4.What type of developing countries would be most likely to use English?
A.Those geographically close to the United States.
B.Former colonies of Great Britain.
C.Those interested in the culture of the United States.
D.Countries where international conferences are held.
5.What would be the best title for this passage?
A.The Difficulties of Learning English B.International Communications
C.The Standard Varieties of English D.English as a World Language
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
___________to be the greatest writer of plays in the English-speaking world, Williams Shakespeare is more famous than he was in his own lifetime.
A.Considered | B.To be considered |
C.Having considered | D.Considering |
高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
_____ recent survey shows that the number of Non-English speaking families in US is on ____ increase this year .
A. The, the B. A, an C. A, the D. The, an
高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
New York Times---( DINITIA SMITH )Tomorrow is the 433d anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth. A recent survey shows that more people are watching him, reading him and studying him than ever before.
Consider the recent yearly conference of the Shakespeare Association of America in Washington, where more than 600 people who study or admire Shakespeare from 18 countries took in topics like ‘‘Whither Attribution Studies,’’ ‘‘Unpopular Shakespeare’’ and ‘‘Sex Me Here,’’ a talk on breast-feeding and Lady Macbeth.
‘‘The national media is saying that fewer students’ taking Shakespeare,’’ Barbara Mowat, the editor of The Shakespeare Quarterly, observed in a speech at the conference. ‘‘But Shakespeare is thriving.’’ The association’s membership has increased by a third since 1990.
The Shakespeare business is so good these days that W. W. Norton is introducing a huge new collections of the plays into the already crowded field just in time for tomorrow’s birthday anniversary. Priced at $44.95, ‘‘The Norton Shakespeare: Based on the Oxford Edition’’ runs for 3,420 pages, offering introductions, illustrations and notes and three versions(版本) of ‘‘King Lear.’’
Today, movies and videos have made the plays even more accessible. Last year, ‘‘William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet’’ was No. 1 at the box office when it opened, and it grossed nearly $50 million. In New York in January, crowds lined up in the freezing cold to see Kenneth Branagh’s four-hour ‘‘Hamlet.’’ The students select a scene and then have a violent discussion about it.’’ Influenced by films, professors are increasingly teaching students by having them perform the plays.
1.Why people from 18 countries came to Washington this year?
A. To celebrate Shakespeare’s 433d birth day only.
B. To watch some plays by Shakespeare as planned.
C. To celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday and study his works.
D. To discuss how to teach students using Shakespeare’s plays.
2.What does the underlined word “ field” in the fourth paragraph refer to?
A. Washington D.C. B. Shakespeare Association.
C. The birthday anniversary. D. The Shakespeare business.
3.Which of the many plays by Shakespeare was most popular the year before?
A. King Lear. B. Hamlet.
C. Macbeth. D. Romeo and Juliet.
4.What does the author want to prove by using so many examples about Shakespeare?
A. More and more people are becoming interested in Shakespeare.
B. Shakespeare business is being run well in America nowadays.
C. Plays by Shakespeare can be used at school for more studies.
D. Shakespeare belongs not only to Britain but also to the USA.
高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
Not all English is the same
To many learners of English, it’s easy to think that all native speakers have no trouble communicating with one another.
1.
Well, it turns out that being a native English speaker from one country doesn’t mean that you’re able to perfectly understand a native English speaker from another country, and vice versa (反之亦然)
Take the UK and the US for example.
As a Briton, I grew up hearing American accents alongside British ones – on TV shows, movies and in songs.2. and how they would eat “cookies” instead of “biscuits”. And it took me a while to figure out that the “trunk” (n. 后备箱) of a car is what us Britons call its “boot”.
The confusion didn’t stop at just vocabulary –3. For example, when talking about shopping malls, Americans pronounce it “mawl” instead of “mal”. And for some reason that’s hard for Britons to understand, Americans remove the “H” sound from “herb”, pronouncing it “erb”.
These small differences may not change much in a day-to-day conversation between a Briton and an American.4. Recently, for example, an American friend told me that she liked my pants. “You can see them?” I asked, shocked. Pants means “underpants” to most British people, which explains my horror.
5. In the US, for example, a “bum” is a homeless person, while the same word in the UK is used to describe one’s backside(n.臀部).
And, more amusingly, “trump” was only ever really used as a verb in the UK – meaning “to pass gas” – until the US’ current president came into the spotlight.
But as long as you can speak one version of English, it’s easy enough to understand any other – and any confusion just makes your day more interesting.
A. English is changing as it spreads around the world.
B. After all, English is English, isn’t it?
C. I soon noticed how Americans would put “gas” in their cars instead of “petrol” .
D. However, confusion can still happen every now and then.
E. There are different words that mean the difficult thing.
F. Some words can even be offensive (adj.无礼的) without you realizing it.
G. I discovered that many words are even pronounced differently.
高二英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析
Before the 17th century, most of the native English speakers lived in England. After the 17th century, British people began to move to other 1. (country). Gradually, English was spoken there. At present 2. (many) people speak English as their first, second or a foreign language than ever before. 3. (luck), native English speakers can understand each other even if they don’t speak the same kind of English.
English 4. (change) and developed when cultures met and communicated with each other over the past centuries. The English 5. (speak) in England between about AD450 and 1150 was very different 6. the modern English we speak today. It was the new settlers that enriched the English language and 7. (especial) its vocabulary. The English language was settled by the 19th century 8. two big changes in English spelling happened. English now is also spoken as a foreign 9.second language in South Asia. China may have the 10. (large) number of English learners.
高二英语短文填空简单题查看答案及解析
听下面一段独白,回答以下小题。
1.What is the speaker talking about?
A. The importance of learning English.
B. The approaches to learning English.
C. The difficulties in learning English.
2.What are you advised to do to change attitude?
A. Go abroad. B. Realize your goal. C. Learn through the Internet.
3.What is the purpose of exposing yourself?
A. To develop a taste.
B. To create an English atmosphere.
C. To accept new concepts
4.What does the speaker encourage learners to do by mentioning David Beckham?
A. To learn from him.
B. To broaden learner’s horizons.
C. To care less about mistakes.
高二英语长对话中等难度题查看答案及解析
In William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, there is major difference between two of the characters, Brutus and Mark Antony, Brutus was very honorable and Antony was very persuasive. When Brutus spoke at Caesar’s funeral, he appealed to the people’s logic and Antony spoke to the emotions of the people. Antony was very smart and used his brain frequently during the play and Brutus was very naive(天真的,率直的) about many of things.
Brutus was very honorable in the way that he always told people the truth. Antony was persuasive in the way that he used people to get whatever he wanted. For example, Antony used Lepidus to seek revenge on all of the conspirators (同谋者,阴谋者) to take the blame for their deaths. Brutus’ speech at Caesar’s funeral was very short and to the point and spoke to the logic of the people in the crowd. For example, Brutus spoke in a detached way about Caesar’s death while Antony spoke to the emotions of the crowd by crying and talking about all the good things that Caesar did for Rome. Antony’s intelligence was very apparent throughout the play and Brutus appeared to be naive about many things. Antony as smart in the way that he controlled people to his own advantage. Brutus appeared to be naive throughout the whole play because he believed everyone was as honorable as he. Brutus did not question what he was told, assuming it was always true.
In conclusion, in William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, there is a major difference between the two characters, Brutus and Mark Antony. The strongest contrast between the two characters appears to be their ability and inability to be both honorable and persuasive.
46. The author wrote this passage by _____
A. number B. contrast C. question D. narration
47. A lot of difference is mentioned in the passage between _____
A. Shakespeare and Antony B. Julius and Antony
C. Brutus and Antony D. Julius and Brutus
48. Which of the following adjectives can be used to describe Antony’s character?
A. Honorable and naïve
B. Persuasive and smart
C. Honorable and smart
D. Simple and frank
49. What’s the Chinese meaning of the underlined “to the point”?
A. 离题的 B. 中肯的 C. 优美的 D.动听的
50. From the passage, we can conclude that ______
A. Shakespeare was a great scientist
B. Shakespeare was a well-known musician
C. Shakespeare was a famous artist
D. Shakespeare was a famed playwright
高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
The increase in tuition fees(学费) has led to a “clear drop” in the number of English students applying for university places this autumn. There are 15,000 “missing” applicants this academic year, according to the Independent Commission on Fees. Chairman Will Hutton said: “We’re asking our young men and women to have more debt than any other country in the world — it’s higher than the average debt in the US. It’s not clear whether those lost students this year will return next year, or if it’s a storm warming of a worrying trend.”
But the commission’s report says there does not seem to be an impact on poorer communities. The commission found there was no significant change in the application rate to the key universities, such as Oxford or Cambridge. The decline (下降)in England has not been mirrored in other parts of the UK where fees have not been raised, and the drop can only partly be explained by falling numbers of young people in the population. Students from Scotland attending Scottish universities do not pay fees, while the Welsh Assembly says it will pay fees above £3,465 for Welsh students attending UK institutions.
The average tuition fee at English universities this year is £ 8,385, rising to £ 8,507 next year. UK and EU students have access to govemment-backed loans to pay the fees. And the survey of 1,000 pupils aged 15-18, carried out this April, found that the majority expected to go on to higher education as people continue to understand that university remains a good long term investment in their future.
A spokeswoman at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which is responsible for universities, said:“Students shouldn’t be forced to put off going to university for financial reasons. Most students will not have to pay in advance, and no one will have to start paying back their student loan until they start to earn at least £ 2l,000 per year.”
1.From the first paragraph, we know that __________________ .
A. it’s a trend that English students are dropping out of school
B. the rising tuition fees have a great effect on English students
C. the lost English students will find their way back
D. many English students are missing the final examinations
2.Why is there still a drop of applicants though fees have not been raised?
A. Because the students live in poor communities.
B. Because Welsh students will pay fees above£3,465.
C. Because education is free for Scottish students.
D. Because there are less young students in the area.
3.What’s the students’ attitude to universities in the survey?
A. Most of them are willing to go to university.
B. They feel universities takes up too much time.
C. They will stop applying for university places this autumn.
D. They are anxious to go to a key university.
4.The spokeswoman in the last paragraph advises students to ______________
A. put off going to university
B. reduce the anxiety about the rising fees
C. pay for the fees in advance
D. pay back their loan soon after graduation
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
The increase in tuition fees has led to a “clear drop” in the number of English students applying for university places this autumn. There are 15,000 “missing” applicants(申请人) this academic year, according to the Independent Commission on Fees. Chairman Will Hutton said: “We’re asking our young men and women to have more debt than any other country in the world — it’s higher than the average debt in the US. It’s not clear whether those lost students this year will return next year, or if it’s a storm warming of a worrying trend.”
But the commission’s report says there does not seem to be an impact on poorer communities. The commission found there was no significant change in the application rate to the key universities, such as Oxford or Cambridge. The decline(下降) in England has not been mirrored(再现) in other parts of the UK where fees have not been raised, and the drop can only partly be explained by falling numbers of young people in the population. Students from Scotland attending Scottish universities do not pay fees, while the Welsh Assembly says it will pay fees above £3,465 for Welsh students attending UK institutions.
The average tuition fee at English universities this year is £ 8,385, rising to £ 8,507 next year. UK and EU students have access to government-backed loans to pay the fees. And the survey of 1,000 pupils aged 15-18, carried out this April, found that the majority expected to go on to higher education as people continue to understand that university remains a good long term investment(投资) in their future.
A spokeswoman at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which is responsible for universities, said: “Students shouldn’t be forced to put off going to university for financial reasons. Most students will not have to pay in advance, and no one will have to start paying back their student loan until they start to earn at least £ 2l,000 per year.”
1.From the first paragraph, we know that .
A. the rising tuition fees have a great effect on English students
B. many English students are missing the final examinations
C. the lost English students will find their way back
D. it’s a trend that English students are dropping out of school
2. Why is there still a drop of applicants though fees have not been raised?
A. Because the students live in poor communities.
B. Because education is free for Scottish students.
C. Because there are less young students in the area.
D. Because Welsh students will pay fees above£3,465.
3.What’s the students’ attitude to universities in the survey?
A. They will stop applying for university places this autumn.
B. They feel universities takes up too much time.
C. They are anxious to go to a key university.
D. Most of them are willing to go to university.
4.The spokeswoman in the last paragraph advises students to .
A. put off going to university
B. pay for the fees in advance
C. reduce the anxiety about the rising fees
D. pay back their loan soon aller graduation
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析