II. Reading Comprehension

　　Every year just after Christmas the January Sales start. All the shops reduce their prices and for two weeks, they are full of people looking for bargains. My husband and I do not normally go to the sales as we don’t like crowds and in any case are short of money as we have to buy lots of Christmas presents.

　　Last year, however, I took my husband with me to the sales at the large shop in the center of London. We both needed some new clothes and were hoping to find a television set. When we got to Oxford Street, it was so crowded that we decided to split up and meet again at the underground station. So I left my husband and started looking around the shops. Unfortunately all the clothes were in very large sizes and so were not suitable for me. But I did buy a television at a very cheap price, so I felt quite pleased with myself.

　　When I arrived at the station, my husband was not there. So I sat down in a nearby cafe to have a cup of tea. I quickly finished my tea when I saw my husband and went out to meet him. He looked very happy. Then I saw he was carrying a large and heavy cardboard box. “Oh, dear!” I thought. Yes, we had no new clothes but two televisions. We shall not be going to the sales again.

　　1. In January ____________.

　　A. lots of people go shopping for discount

　　B. people have a lot of money to spend after Christmas

　　C. all the shops close for a two-week Christmas holiday

　　D. people don’t have enough money to go looking for bargains

　　2. In this passage, the word “bargain” could best be replaced by “something_______”.

　　A. given to people

　　B. offered at a reduced price

　　C. offered，sold or bought which is expensive

　　D. sold for the purpose of reaching an agreement

　　3. The husband and wife in the story __________ .

　　A. wished to buy a TV

　　B. went to the sales the year before

　　C. often went to the sales to buy clothes

　　D. were usually not short of money after Christmas

　　4. The phrase “split up” in the second paragraph means“_________”.

　　A. break apart

　　B. cause to break

　　C. become pieces

　　D. go indifferent directions

　　5. After their day’s shopping, they _________.

　　A. were happy with their bargains

　　B. had got everything they wanted

　　C. got more than they had hoped for

　　D. had to go back to the sales the next day

　　In order to learn a foreign language well, it is necessary to overcome the fear of making mistakes. If the primary goal of language use is communication, then mistakes are secondary considerations that may be dealt with gradually as awareness of those mistakes increases. On the other hand, students should not ignore their mistakes. The language learner may observe how native speakers express themselves, and how native expressions differ from the way the learner might say them. For example, a Spanish speaker who has been saying “I do it” to express willingness to do something in the immediate future, could, by interacting with native speakers of English, observe that native speakers actually say “I’ll do it”. The resulting difference can serve as a basis for the student to modify his way of using the present tense in English. But a student who is unwilling to interact in the first place would lose this opportunity to learn by trial of an error.

　　6. According to the passage, the present tense in English is ______.

　　A. not used to express a desire to do something in the immediate future

　　B. used with some verbs but not with others to express future intention

　　C. basically the same in English as it is in Spanish

　　D. speaking without regard for native speakers

　　7. According to the passage, language learners can reduce the number of their mistakes by______.

　　A. asking native speakers for explanations

　　B. reading good books in the foreign language

　　C. comparing their speech with that of native speakers

　　D. learning through trial of an error

　　8. According to the passage, foreign language students who do not interact with native speaker will NOT ______.

　　A. learn very much about the foreign culture

　　B. learn about the history of the foreign language

　　C. have to worry about making mistakes

　　D. take advantage of available language models

　　9. According to the passage, foreign language students should not worry too much about making mistakes because _______.

　　A. native speakers like foreign students who try to learn their language

　　B. communication is the primary goal of language learning

　　C. native speakers will ignore their mistakes

　　D. everyone makes mistakes when trying to communicate in a strange language

　　10. The author's major conclusion about the function of mistakes in foreign language learning is that ______.

　　A. mistakes are not important in the process of learning a language

　　B. learners are often very afraid of making mistakes

　　C. making mistakes can help the learner discover the rules of the language

　　D. native speakers often do not tell foreign language learners about their mistakes

　　参考答案：

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