Passage 3

　　In sixteenth-century France, the start of the new year was observed on April first. It was celebrated in much the same way as it is today with parties and dancing into the late hours of the night. Then in 1562, Pope(教皇) Gregory introduced a new calendar (日历) to the Christian world, and the new year fell on January first.

　　There were some people, however, who hadn't heard or didn't believe the change in the date, so they continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April first. Others played tricks on them and called them "April fools." They sent them on a "fool's errand" or tried to make them believe that something false was true.

　　In France today, April first is called "Poisson d'Avril (April Fish)." French children fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their friends' backs. When the "young fool" discovers this trick, the prankster (恶作剧的人) yells "Poisson d'Avril!"

　　Today Americans play small tricks on friends and strangers alike on the first of April. One common trick on April Fool's Day, is pointing down to a friend's shoe and saying, "Your shoelace is untied."

　　Whatever the trick, if the innocent victim falls for the joke the prankster yells, "April Fool! "

　　Some practical jokes are kept up the whole day before the victim realizes what day it is. Most April Fool jokes are in good fun and do not mean to harm anyone. The cleverest April Fool joke is the one that makes everyone laugh, especially the person upon whom the joke is played.

　　11. The new year started ________C______in sixteenth-century France.

　　A. on January first B. on February first

　　C. on April first D. not mentioned in the passage

　　12. The new year fell on January first in1562 because_________D_____.

　　A. Pope Gregory tried to make people believe that something false was true.

　　B. Pope Gregory didn't believe the change in the date.

　　C. Pope Gregory asked people to accept new ideas.

　　D. Pope Gregory introduced a new calendar to the Christian world.

　　13. _____A_________ were the first people called "April fools".

　　A. those who continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April first

　　B. those who celebrated with parties and dancing into the late hours of the night

　　C. those who played tricks on others

　　D. those who knew nothing about Pope Gregory

　　14. Which of the following is TRUE?__B__

　　A. American children usually fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their friends' backs.

　　B. Americans play small tricks only on their friends on the first of April.

　　C. April Fool jokes intend to hurt feelings.

　　D. Some victims don’t realize immediately they have been tricked.

　　15. ____D_________ is considered as the cleverest April Fool joke.

　　A. the joke that makes the pranksters laugh

　　B. the joke that makes everyone laugh

　　C. the joke that makes fun of a few people

　　D. the joke that makes fun of everyone

　　Passage 4

　　If you are like most learners of English, you probably do not spend much time reading English. You are likely to be aware of an urgent need to improve your speaking and listening skills, increase your vocabulary and improve your grammar.

　　Because of these seemingly more urgent (紧急的) needs, reading skills improvement is often put at the bottom of the list of things to do to improve your English ability. You may also tell yourself that your do not need to spend extra time on reading improvement because you do reading in English as part of your schoolwork or job. Putting off reading improvement with this type of reasoning is one of the biggest mistakes you can make in your language-learning planning.

　　The purpose of reading practice is far more than just improving reading comprehension. Through reading your can improve your English ability in so many ways. By coming into contact with new words and being able to understand their meaning, you are able to increase your word power. The same is true for idioms. Through repeated contact with new and not-so-familiar sentence construction, you improve your understanding of grammar. With this increase in knowledge and use of vocabulary, idioms, and grammar, your writing ability will improve, your speaking ability will improve, and even your listening comprehension will improve, too.

　　16. One of the biggest mistakes that people make in their language-learning planning is that______C________.

　　A. people think it’s most urgent to build up their vocabulary.

　　B. people think it’s most urgent to improve their listening and speaking skills.

　　C. people think it’s least urgent to improve their reading comprehension.

　　D. people think it’s least urgent to improve their grammar.

　　17. People are unwilling to spend extra time on reading improvement because__A____________.

　　a) they read English a lot in dealing with their schoolwork or jobs

　　b) they are too busy with their schoolwork or jobs

　　c) they read newspapers and magazines almost everyday

　　d) they don’t like reading at all

　　18. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?______A__

　　A. Only a few learners of English spend a lot of time reading English.

　　B. The purpose of reading practice is just improving reading comprehension.

　　C. Reading practice cannot build up your speaking ability.

　　D. Your writing ability will improve if you write a lot.

　　19. Through reading you can ______D______.

　　A. increase your word power

　　B. improve your understanding of grammar

　　C. improve your speaking ability and listening comprehension

　　D. all of the above

　　20. The best title for the passage is_____B_________.

　　A. “The Purpose of Reading”

　　B. “The Importance of Reading”

　　C. “The Importance of Language Ability”

　　D. “The Improvement of Reading Ability”