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Today's word, pan, takes us back to the days of the gold rush in California.
On January 24th, 1848, a man named James Wilson Marshall discovered gold in California. The news spread quickly. Thousands rushed west. They traveled on foot, on horseback and by boat to reach the gold fields. By 1849, the great gold rush was on. Towns and cities grew overnight. Throughout California --- in the mountains, along the streams and rivers --- thousands of people searched for gold.
Some found areas of mountain rock thick with gold. These men got rich. But such areas were few and quickly claimed by the first men to find them. Others searched for gold in the rivers coming down the mountains. They were after pieces of gold that the rains had washed down from above .
The only way to find this gold was by panning. First a gold miner put dirt in a metal pan and added water. Then he shook the pan so that the water would wash the dirt. Slowly, he poured the water out of the pan. If he was a lucky miner, pieces of gold would remain.
Across the nation, newspapers carried stories of the gold being found. Each one hoped that the place he claimed panned out well --- had some gold.
For many, gold mining did not pan out. For a few, it panned out well. But in time, huge machines were built that could wash many tons of dirt at a time. Panning died out.
The word, however, remained in the language. Today, Americans still say, “ It panned out well ,” when something they have done pleases them. A business, a discovery, a simple event pans out well if it is successful. Unhappily, sometimes things do not pan out.
In recent years, the word pan has taken on another meaning. Today, it also means to criticize. How it got this meaning is hard to discover. But the job of a critic is to sometimes pan the work of a writer, artist or singer.
小題1:Why did so many people flood to California in 1848?

A．Because towns and cities there developed quickly.

B．Because the mountains in California were a great place for travel.

C．Because they wanted to get rich by looking for gold.

D．Because the land of California was fertile at that time.

小題2:The underlined part “It panned out well" in Paragraph 7 has the same meaning as “______”

A．Everything turned out well	B．Nothing could be worse
C．It's not the case	D．It's a pity

小題3:What is the purpose of this passage?

A．To tell us some stories about the gold rush.

B．To introduce the word "pan" in American English.

C．To teach us how to look for gold in rivers.

D．To introduce the history of the gold rush in California

I used to think of myself as a fairly open person, but my bookshelves told a different story. Apart from a few Indian novels and the Australian and South African book, my literature collection consisted of British and American titles. Worse still, I hardly ever read anything in translation. My reading was limited to stories by English-speaking authors.
So, at the start of 2012, I set myself the challenge of trying to read a book from every country in a year to find out what I was missing. As I was unlikely to find publications from nearly 200 nations on the shelves of my local bookshop, I decided to ask the planet’s readers for help. I created a blog called A Year of Reading the World and put out an appeal for suggestions of titles that I could read in English.
The response was amazing. Before I knew it, people all over the planet were getting in touch with ideas and offers of help. Some posted me books from their home countries. Others did hours of research on my behalf. In addition, several writers sent me unpublished translations of their novels, giving me a rare opportunity to read works otherwise unavailable to the 62% of the British who only speak English. Even so, selecting books was no easy task. With translations making up only around 4.5 percent of literary works published in the UK and Ireland, getting English versions (版本)of stories was difficult.
But the effort was worth it. I found I was visiting the mental space of the storytellers. These stories not only opened my mind to the real life in other places, but opened my heart to the way people there might feel.
And that in turn changed my thinking. Through reading the stories shared with me by bookish strangers around the globe, I realised I was not alone, but part of a network that spread all over the planet. 
小題1:Which of the following might be found on the blog A Year of Reading the World?

A．Lists of English version books.

B．Research on English literature.

C．Unfinished novels by British writers.

D．Comments on English literature.

小題2:Why was it hard for the author to select the right books to read?

A．The author had a busy schedule.

B．The author was only interested in a few topics.

C．The author could only read books written in English.

D．Most books recommended are not available in local bookshops.

小題3:The author is probably from_________.

A．America

B．the UK

C．Australia

D．Canada

小題4:Which of the following words can best describe the author’s experience?

A．fast and effortless	B．challenging but rewarding
C．hopeless but beneficial	D．meaningful but fruitless

Do you ever wonder why the English have one word for some animals and a different one for their meat? Why do they use pig and pork, cow and beef, and sheep and mutton? To find it out, we have to go back to 1066, when the Norman French invaded England and put a French king on the English throne (王位), which not only changed the government but also changed the language. French became the language of the upper classes of society. And it remained that way for 300 years. Only these high society people could afford to eat meat. As a result, French words like porc (pork) and beouf (beef) came into the English language. However, poor English farmers raised the animals. So the English language retained the words pig and cow from the Native Anglo-Saxon.
The Norman French added about 10,000 French words to the English language. Seventy-five percent of them are still in use today.
In French grammar, nouns have either a male or female gender (性別), so adjectives (形容詞) take different forms for each. English has only one adjective that does this, and it came from French. The word “blond” describes someone with light-colored hair. “Blond” is used for men, and “blonde” describes women. And they are also nouns.
Some French words that entered the English language have taken on completely different meanings. The French phrase “a la mode” means “in style”. In English, the phrase means “with the ice cream”. Someone must have decided something eaten with ice cream was in style!
Now, as you learn English, you’re on your way to learning French!
小題1:French was once popular among the upper classes of the UK because_____.

A．too many French moved to Britain

B．French brought animals with them

C．the king and his officials spoke French

D．the king allowed French to be spoken

小題2:Which word can replace the word “retained” in Paragraph 1?

A．Chose

B．Kept

C．Introduced

D．Give up

小題3:Why does an English speaker find French easy to learn?

A．Because English and French share similar pronunciations.

B．Because English grammar and French grammar are similar.

C．Because a large number of English words have French origins.

D．Because English has great influences on the French language.

小題4:French grammar is very different from English grammar because ______.

A．no words have the same pronunciation

B．a(chǎn)ll words have the same pronunciation

C．English nouns have a male or female gender

D．French nouns have different adjective forms

小題5:What conclusion can we draw from the text?

A．Language is closely related to history and culture.

B．French and English words have nothing in common.

C．Language is controlled by the upper classes of society.

D．English combines French and the Native Anglo-Saxon.

Governments all over the world make public reports about the condition of their economies. Most countries, including the United States, have used a measure called the gross national product (國(guó)民生產(chǎn)總值)or GNP. It includes all goods and services produced by citizens of the country anywhere in the world.
Recently the American Commerce Department has started using a new method to measure production. It is known as the gross domestic product（國(guó)內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值）or GDP. It counts only goods and services that have been produced within the nation’s borders. Money earned by foreign companies operating in the United States is included in the GDP, but money earned by American companies operating in other countries is not.
Economic experts generally approve of the change. They say that the gross domestic product provides a truer measure of the economy. They also note that most other industrial countries use this method. Therefore it will be easier to study the economies of different countries. Some officials also hope the new system will help them make better economic policy decisions. It will provide them with a clearer understanding of economic activity in the U.S. . The new measure is less likely to be affected by sudden changes in foreign oil prices or in the value of the American dollar in other countries.
Economic experts believe that the change from GNP to GDP will immediately reduce the value of American production by at least 40,000 million dollars a year. But that is really a very small change in the American economy – less than 1% . The Commerce Department reports the unofficial gross domestic product once every three months. The government also continues to report GNP as it has four times a year since 1941.
小題1:To report the American GNP, the government should not consider goods and services produced _______.

A．by American companies at home

B．by American companies in China

C．by American companies in Singapore

D．by Japanese companies in the United States

小題2:To report the American GDP, the Commerce Department should count money earned ________.

A．by both American and foreign companies in America

B．by American companies within its own borders

C．by foreign companies in the United States

D．by American companies in its foreign markets

小題3:GDP is considered better than GNP by some economists because ________.

A．it is something new

B．it is used by most countries

C．it is easier to calculate

D．it is less likely to be affected by the foreign market

小題4:What will happen to the value of American economy if GDP is used to replace GNP?

A．It will be seriously affected.	B．It will not be affected.
C．It will come down a little.	D．It will slightly go up.

小題5:How often are the reports of GDP issued by the American Commerce Department?

A．once every four months	B．once every three months
C．once every six months	D．once a year

You heard about the sign posted on a farmer's fence? On the other side of the     resides the biggest, meanest looking    you can imagine．The sign is intended to strike    into the hearts of would-be trespassers．It reads, "Don't attempt to    this field unless you can do it in 9．9 seconds．The bull can do it in 10 flat!"
Don't try to cross that field unless you are        !And isn't that the way it is in life? We have to be ready when the     arises or else we will have little chance of    ．
Sixth-grade schoolteacher Ms Shelton believed in    ．Students remember how she    in on the first day of class and began writing    of an eighth-grade caliber on the chalkboard．They    protested that the words were not on their    and they couldn't learn them．
Their teacher        that the students could and would learn these words．She said that she would       teach down to them．Ms Shelton ended by saying that one of the students in that classroom could go on to      ．maybe even be president some day, and she wanted to prepare them for that day．
Ms Shelton spoke those words many years ago．    did she know that someday one of her students - Jesse Jackson - would take them     ．She believed that if they were well prepared, they could achieve     goals．
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "People only see what they are prepared to see．"     that's true, then it is also true that they only become what they are prepared to become． And a lot of         is just about getting ready．

小題1:	A．fence B．river C．village D．hill

小題2:	A．tiger B．farmer C．bull D．goat

小題3:	A．curiosity B．fear C．desire D．courage

小題4:	A．cut B．cover C．enter D．cross

小題5:	A．a(chǎn)ccompanied B．a(chǎn)rmed C．prepared D．guarded

小題6:	A．opportunity B．challenge C．hope D．problem

小題7:	A．luck B．victory C．wealth D．success

小題8:	A．determination B．readiness C．honesty D．diligence

小題9:	A．hurried B．moved C．walked D．broke

小題10:

A．words B．poems C．proverbs D．questions

小題11:

A．strangely B．quietly C．rudely D．quickly

小題12:

A．range B．level C．interest D．requirement

小題13:

A．a(chǎn)dmitted B．a(chǎn)nnounced C．insisted D．complained

小題14:

A．never B．instead C．still D．a(chǎn)lways

小題15:

A．position B．career C．service D．greatness

小題16:

A．Little B．Seldom C．Much D．Once

小題17:

A．easy B．seriously C．completely D．back

小題18:

A．final B．proper C．high D．straight

小題19:

A．Although B．If C．Whether D．Unless

小題20:

A．fan B．fact C．truth D．life

During the 1800s, African Americans worked long days in the fields of the American South．To ease their labor, they sang "field hollers" that they had brought from Africa．One person sang a line．Then a group of workers repeated it．The songs' words told of the hardships that people suffered．African Americans sang "shout spirituals", or joyous religious songs．They clapped their hands and stomped their feet to the music．
After the Civil War, the music changed dramatically．African American music, from ballads to church music, took new forms．It also adapted dance music, called "jump-ups"．which had great rhythm． Banjos became popular．A blues singer usually played a call and response with the banjo．By the early 1900s, the guitar had replaced the banjo as the main blues instrument．
Northern Mississippi - called the Delta - was the center of the blues tradition．By the 1920s, the Delta had many clubs, so-called juke joints．African Americans listened and danced to music in these clubs．Some of the greatest blues men and women performed there．
Blues have a soulful sound that is easy to recognize．The musical notes are often "bent"．That is, they are changed slightly to give a song more strength．Whatever their origin, these bent notes most often define the blues．
Lyrics are the words of a song．Blues lyrics describe everyday life．The lyrics, often about relationships between men and women, are often very intense and personal．They tell about sorrow and overwork．They tell about finding or losing love, having money or being broke, being happy or sad and lonely．The lyrics may use humor to describe life's trials and joys．They almost always use the rhythms of everyday speech．A typical blues stanza, or group of lyrics, has three lines．The second line repeats the first line．The third line has different words．
By the 1940s, large numbers of African Americans had left the Delta and moved north to work． Many settled in Chicago．There, a new kind of "electric", or "Chicago" blues began．Many of its themes were the same, but these blues had "wailing" electric guitars and harmonicas．The music had a steady, strong drumbeat．The loud, driving Chicago blues was excellent dance music．Chicago blues led to the birth of a new music style-rock and roll．
小題1:The "field holler" is a kind of music that came from ___．

A．the American South．	B．Africa．
C．Chicago．	D．Asia．

小題2:"Shout spirituals" and "field hollers" are similar in that both_____．

A．used banjos．	B．were sung in church．
C．included call and response singing．	D．expressed sadness．

小題3:A typical blues Stanza is made up of____．

A．three lines．	B．a(chǎn) harmonica．
C．a(chǎn) driving beat．	D．four lines．

小題4:One can conclude from the passage that the blues ___．

A．would have widespread without the juke joints of the Mississippi．

B．served as a form of communication and self-expression．

C．was successful only in the American South．

D．there were only greatest blues man performed in these clubs．

小題5:African Americans probably moved to Chicago because ____．

A．the South was too hot in summer．

B．they liked the Chicago blues．

C．there were more jobs there．

D．they wanted to create a new music style．

Inland waters may be grouped into two general classes: standing waters and flowing waters. As is often the case, the boundary between these two classes is not sharp and clear. A pond is an example of standing water. But most ponds are fed by springs or brooks and most have an outlet. Thus some current of changing water flows through them. On the other hand, a river is an example of flowing water. In some places, however, a river may have such a slow current that it is very difficult to detect.
Standing inland waters differ in size, in age, and in many abiotic environmental characteristics. They range in size from roadside puddles to the Caspian Sea. Puddles may last for only a few days or weeks; ponds, for a few hundred to a thousand years. In general, lakes are older, though the waters of some tropical “l(fā)akes” disappear completely during each dry season. Standing waters vary from very shallow to very deep, from clear to muddy, from fresh to salty.
In flowing waters we roughly distinguish between brooks, creeks, and rivers. The size and age of flowing waters are unimportant. Speed of flow, clearness, oxygen content, and other chemical characteristics are used by scientists in studying flowing-water ecosystems.
小題1:According to the passage, which of the following characteristics of flowing waters is unimportant?

A．Clarity.

B．Size.

C．Speed of flow.

D．Oxygen content.

小題2:The word “abiotic” in paragraph 2 can best be replaced by ______.

A．nonliving

B．living

C．coastal

D．inland

小題3:Which of the following statements is true?

A．Usually the water in a river flows into a pond.

B．Scientists only study flowing-water ecosystems.

C．Usually ponds last much longer than puddles.

D．The Caspian Sea is considered as an example of flowing water.

小題4:From this passage we may know that the distinction between standing waters and flowing waters ______.

A．depends on how people name the waters

B．is clear

C．depends on the seasons

D．is hard to make

小題5:This passage mainly tells us that ______.

A．there are two major classes of inland waters

B．lakes and rivers are flowing waters

C．a(chǎn)ge and size of flowing waters are important

D．ponds and brooks are standing waters

When, after a year of being alone on his island, Robinson Crusoe sees a footprint in the sand, the reader of Robinson Crusoe trembles. Will Crusoe find another human being to end his loneliness? Is the footprint the sign of an enemy? Since 1719, when Daniel Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe, thousands of people who enjoy English novels have thrilled to this great adventure story. But few know how the story came to be written. Robinson Crusoe was the first English novel. Its birth brought together the misadventures of a Scotch “failure” and the untapped imagination of an aging English scribbler.
Near the end of the Seventeenth Century, the hot-tempered Alexander Selkirk was charged with bad conduct while in church. Rather than face this charge, he ran away to sea. Several years later, Selkirk found himself on the ship of an English privateer. The privateer was preying on Spanish shipping. But Selkirk quarreled bitterly with the Captain. So, when the ship came to the island of Juan Femandez in the South Seas, Selkirk asked to be put ashore. When he saw that there were no people on the island, he begged to be taken back on board. But the Captain refused—Selkirk had gone too far. Over four years later, Selkirk was rescued by another ship.
When Selkirk got back to England, the story of his life on the island fired the imagination of Daniel Defoe. Defoe had been earning a living by his pen since he was thirty. He was amazingly hard-working. He wrote a whole newspaper three times a week. He also made part of his living from politics. He supported both political parties. He told each party that it had his sole support.

小題1:Alexander Selkirk spent four years on a desert island because        .

A．he sought adventure

B．he was hot-tempered

C．he was afraid to face charges

D．his ship was wrecked

小題2:Daniel Defoe         .

A．made his living as a writer

B．got his start as a writer with the writing of Robinson Crusoe

C．was very “straight”-he was hardworking and honest

D．had little power of imagination, but succeeded with his novel because he worked hard

小題3:This passage is mainly about           .

A．how Alexander Selkirk was able to survive on the island.

B．why people enjoy English novels

C．what the footprint in the sand meant

D．how Robinson Crusoe came to be written

小題4:According to this passage , which of the following statements is not true?

A．Robinson Crusoe was a successful novel.

B．Even if Alexander Selkirk had not lived on the island of Juan Femande, Robinson Crusoe would still have been written.

C．Daniel Defoe lived partly by hard work and partly by his “ wits ”.

D．With the writing of Robinson Crusoe , the English novel was born.

小題5:The author’s attitude towards Daniel Defoe is          .

A．critical

B．supporting

C．both A and B

D．opposing

Here’s a movie—a sharp, sugar-rush of fun that’s guaranteed to entertain the entire family.
With some terrific computer-generated effects, a great cast and a fun-packed storyline, Robots is the best animated film (動(dòng)畫(huà)片) since The Incredibles. Yep, it really is that good.
Set in a world populated by robots, Ewan McGregor plays Rodney Copperbottom, a young robot who leaves his small-town home to pursue his dream of becoming an inventor.
But after arriving in Robot City, his hopes of getting a job at Bigweld Industries are destroyed when he learns the firm has been taken over by the evil Ratchet (Greg Kinnear).
Egged on by his controlling mum, Madame Gasket (Jim Broadbent), Ratchet plans to reduce half of Robot City’s citizens to scrap metal by refusing to sell the spare parts they need to survive.
Instead, he wants to make a fortune selling expensive upgrades that few can afford. As he says, “Why be you when you can be new?”
Aided by a few misfit robots known as the Rustles—including Robin Williams as the cowardly' (膽小的）Fender (“I’m made of a metal called Afraidium”)—Rodney must track down the firm’s founder, Bigweld (Mel Brooks), and convince him to save the city from Ratchet’s plans.
The first thing that’ll strike you about the movie is the thought that's gone into creating Robot City. It’s a wondrous world full of mechanical marvels including wind-up cars and walking streetlamps.
Also terrific are the special effects. This might be an animated movie but at times you’ll catch yourself thinking it’s really a live-action film.
Of course, there have been plenty of animated movies that looked the part but were let down by a weak storyline (see Shark Tale, for example).
But Robots grips (扣人心弦) right from the start thanks to a heart-warming and thoroughly engaging plot that never bores.
My only complaints are with Williams who, as usual，has a one-in-10 success rate with his jokes. Also a letdown is a romantic subplot between Rodney and a shapely robot called Cappy (Halle Berry) that doesn’t go anywhere.
Complains aside, this is a mechanical marvel that’ll have you bolted firmly to your seat.
BEST QUOTE(引述): Fender: “Even though you had a discouraging day, just remember there’s another one coming tomorrow.”
BEST BIT: Check out those amazing images.
WORST BIT: Robin Williams, character does an unfunny Britney Spears dance routine.
IF YOU LIKED…Ice Age, The Incredibles, Toy Story... YOU’LL LIKE THIS.
小題1:This piece of writing is a _______.

A．commercial advertisement	B．film review
C．movie poster	D．literary essay

小題2:The cast of Robots is made up of all the following actors or actresses EXCEPT _______.

A．Ewan McGregor	B．Robin Williams
C．Britney Spears	D．Halle Berry

小題3:What is Shark Tale an example of?

A．A great cast.	B．A poor plot.
C．Special effects.	D．Clumsy animation.

Below is an entry taken from an English dictionary．


小題1:“Be careful not to scratch the furniture" most probably means “Be careful not to          ”．

A．remove any marks	B．damage its surface
C．make any noises	D．change its position

小題2:The word "scratch" in "Some drawings had been scratched on the back of the door" has the same meaning as in“      ”．

A．We scratched some of the dirt away

B．The car's paintwork is badly scratched

C．The dog; kept scratching at the door to go out．

D．They scratched lines in the dirt to make marks

小題3:“She．had scratched because of a knee injury" might imply that “She couldn't       ．

A．take part in a race	B．cancel a prepared activity'
C．make a living af6ne	D．make enough money

小題4:When the French girl says "I learned German from scratch iii six months she means she       ．

A．had previously well prepared

B．was unsatisfied with her German

C．knew no German before that

D．found few materials available