Try reading the following sentences as fast as you can. " She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells in the seashore, I'm sure she sells seashore shells." Not very easy, was it? What you've just read is called a tongue twister . It is an exercise made up of sounds that are hard to pronounce in order to help people pronounce words faster and more correctly. Try the next example. "Peter Piper picked a peck of picked peppers, Did Peter Piper pick a peck of picked peppers? If Peter Piper picked a peck of picked peppers, where's the peck of picked peppers Peter picked?" Tongue twisters usually do not have much meaning. They are just designed to improve people's _ to pronounce words. Although they may be very difficult, these exercises are very important to people who are trying to speak English correctly. This is because tongue twisters help people to tell the differences between similar sounds. So if you wish to pronounce words more smoothly, you'd better try picking out some tongue twisters and practicing them. The first tongue twister is hard because _ . A) it is very boring to read B) it teaches us a lot of knowledge C) we don't know who "she" is D) the sounds of "s" and "sh" are similar
D
Christopher Reeve was born in September, 1952. He was in his first school play when he was eight and he started to act in TV shows and films while he was still in college. He made many successful films and TV shows but he is most famous for his Superman films. Unfortunately, disaster came in 1995 when he fell from his horse and broke his back. The doctors did not expect him to live. However, he made amazing progress. At first, he couldn't breathe without a machine, but he learnt to breathe on his own. He would never walk again but he started a new life with great courage. The second year after his accident, Christopher returned to film making. He also raised a lot of money to promote medical research into back injuries. He made speeches all over the USA about his experiences. This not only drew public attention to research into back injuries but also encouraged a lot of people living with all kinds of problems. From their home, Christopher and his wife Dana spoke about their life after the accident. Could you say something about your life after the accident? "Four days after the accident, I came to understand my situation. The doctors said I was not going to pull through. Those days were terrible. But my wife Dana said, "You are still you and I love you. Be confident in yourself." And that saved my life. Since that moment I have never thought of giving up." What do you think of your family? "Great! Dana is so wonderful.We have always got on really well.My parents often quarreled with each other when I was young.But they've got closer since the accident." How do you spend your time? "I spend most of my time on charity work to improve the life for all disabled people.I think they need my help. With the progress of new medical research, I'm confident that people like me would be able to walk again one day. So you can see _ !" Christopher Reeve died on October 10, 2004. But people all over the world will always remember him as a superhero. Reeve made a lot of public speeches in order to _ . A) make more money B) draw people's attention to his films C) prove he was a superman D) encourage people to be strong in life
D
Q: Do you want to be the most popular, person in your class? You don't want to change your character; you just need to improve your personality. In fact, the most popular people are trusted and loved because they stay normal but still have something that makes them different from the rest of us. Here are some pieces of advice about becoming the most popular person in the class. If you want others to like and respect you, you have to start by liking and accepting yourself. Do not change yourself in order to please others. Be helpful to everyone and do it happily. _ Be active and have a positive view towards life. Develop confidence in yourself. Stay clean and wear fresh clothes. Do no try to follow fashion to please others Respect cannot be brought with big words and power . You have to get it by being honest. It also helps your personal growth. You must be a person that can be trusted to get respect. How can you be respected by your classmates according the article? A) By following fashion. B) By using big words. C) By being honest and helpful D) By changing yourself.
A: C
Q: I live with my grandmother in a Beijing yard house. One day last year, I was surprised to see a big foreigner coming out of the house next door to ours. He was very tall with short brown hair and a pair of glasses. The first time I saw him, I was too shy to speak to him. "My English is too poor!" I thought. My grandmother told me that he had just moved into our yard. "I don't like it!" she said. "Foreigners aren't like us. Maybe he'll play loud music and parties every night! I'm sure he's going to cause trouble." Several days later, I met the foreigner as I was walking home after work. "Hello!" he said (in Chinese!). "My name's Tony. I've just moved into the house next door to yours." While I was wondering what to say, he continued, "There's a nice bar down the road. Why don't you and your family come and have dinner with me?" "Bars are bad places," said my grandmother when I told her, but we decided to go. The bar was not at all what I had expected. It was in a beautiful little yard house, with several large bookshelves and pictures of Tibet on the walls. Several Chinese people and foreigners were sitting drinking or reading books. I noticed that some of the foreigners were speaking Chinese in a low voice to each other! "Oh, what a civilized place!" my grandmother exclaimed. The bar served special "hutong pizzas". As we ate, Tony told us about himself-he is an English expert in environment. He always likes to be quiet. My grandmother said to me, "He really seems like a very nice young man." Which of the following sentence is Not true? A) Tony made a lot of noise every night. B) Tony was an English expert in environment. C) There were some foreigners speaking Chinese in the bar. D) The grandmother thought Tony might cause some trouble.
A: A