When one looks back upon the fifteen hundred years that are the life span of the English language, he should be able to notice a number of significant truths. The history of our language has always been a history of constant change—at times a slow, almost imperceptible change, at other times a violent collision between two languages. Our language has always been a living growing organism, it has never been static. Another significant truth that emerges from such a study is that language at all times has been the possession not of one class or group but of many. At one extreme it has been the property of the common, ignorant folk, who have used it in the daily business of their living, much as they have used their animals or the kitchen pots and pans.         At the other extreme it has been the treasure of those who have respected it as an instrument and a sign of civilization, and who have struggled by writing it down to give it some permanence, order, dignity, and if possible, a little beauty. 

As we consider our changing language, we should note here two developments that are of special and immediate importance to us. One is that since the time of the Anglo-Saxons there has been an almost complete reversal of the different devices for showing the relationship of words in a sentence. Anglo-Saxon (old English) was a language of many inflections. Modern English has few inflections. We must now depend largely on word order and function words to convey the meanings that the older language did by means of changes in the forms of words. Function words, you should understand, are words such as prepositions, conjunctions, and a few others that are used primarily to show relationships among other words. A few inflections, however, have survived. And when some word inflections come into conflict with word order, there may be trouble for the users of the language, as we shall see later when we turn our attention to such maters as WHO or WHOM and ME or I. The second fact we must consider is that as language itself changes, our attitudes toward language forms change also. The eighteenth century, for example, produced from various sources a tendency to fix the language into patterns not always set in and grew, until at the present time there is a strong tendency to restudy and re-evaluate language practices in terms of the ways in which people speak and write.

1．In contrast to the earlier linguists, at present, more and more attention is paid to_________.

A. the standardization of the language 

B. language practices in terms of current speech rather than standards or proper patterns 

C. the improvement of the language than its history 

D. the rules of the language usage 

2．From the study we know that language is ________.

A. a possession of upper class. 

B. a possession of lower class. 

C. a possession of the whole society. 

D. the only property of those who treasure it much. 

3．Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned in the passage? 

A. It is generally believed that the year 1500 can be set as the beginning of the Modern English.

B. Some other languages had great influence on the English language in its development. 

C. The English language has been and still in a state of relatively constant change. 

D. Many classes or groups have contributed to the development of the English language. 

4．The author of these paragraphs is probably a(an) _________. 

A. writer specially interested in English                   

B. person who pays much attention to people of lower classs          

C. teacher who teaches the English language             

D. expert in studying languages 

5．Which of the following can be best used as the title of the passage? 

A. The history of the English language. 

B. Our changing attitude towards the English language. 

C. Our changing language. 

D. Some characteristics of modern English.

In a cab, a woman seemed in such a hurry. She constantly rushed the cab driver to drive quickly. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts of getting to the airport as soon as possible that she was not aware they were going by a different route.

All of a sudden, a young man got inside the cab. He took her handbag in which she had put her visa, passport, and all the money for the trip.

The cab driver, who was in collusion with the robber, left her in the exactly middle of a dark street. She thought that she was rather unfortunate in the very situation.

During the very night, she was told a piece of shocking news. Tears came down her cheek. Flight 360, the plane that she should have got on board, had crashed. Had she not lost her important belongings, she could surely have lost the thing far more precious——her life.

Sometimes bad things really happen. There are times when nothing seems to go our way. So what should we do about it? We must get rid of all these frustrations and start all over again in the faith that we will get what we deserve. 

Don’t waste your time and energy on things that can’t be changed. Continuous worrying will only affect your health and you’ll be doing much more damage than what was previously done.

What if it was the other way round? What if we never ran out of good luck?

There was a man who won the lottery. He became greedy and wasted all his money on everything he could get his hands on.

But when he one day made it to the front page of the newspaper again, it was a different story. He had been killed because of his riches. If you attain good luck, you can never be too secure about it. Life is so unpredictable. You never know what will happen next.

Live one day at a time. We sometimes subject ourselves to unnecessary emotional trouble. But please don’t forget: sometimes misfortune can be the source of happiness. Live for the moment. Do what must be done for the present and the future will turn out just fine. Believe me. And believe in yourself. As Captain Planet always says, “The power is yours！”

1. The underlined phrase “in collusion with” in Paragraph 3 probably means “________.”

A. was forced by                              B. was fighting bravely against 

C. was doing one’s best to beg             D. had cooperated with

2. From the passage, we learn that ________.

A. robbers are sure to get what they want        

B. somebody never runs out of good luck

C. the woman was lucky to miss her flight 

D. if one feels oneself lucky, he or she will continue to be so

3. The writer presents the second example in order to ________.

A. warn people of the danger of winning the lottery

B. tell people life is unpredictable

C. encourage people to buy lottery  

D. persuade people not to be greedy

4. According to the author, which of the following choices is the correct attitude to adopt to life?

A. Never waste any time or energy because time is so limited.

B. One needn’t be worried or feel frustrated. Believe in yourself.

C. Even while everything appears to be going smoothly, we should keep fully alert.

D. Worrying about what you don’t have

5. The passage above is intended to tell us ________.

A. misfortune sometimes is a blessing

B. we should save up for a rainy day

C. fortune just goes with those prepared minds

D. both losses and gains go hand in hand

A woman was in a hurry to go to the airport. She told the cab driver to drive quickly. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she was not aware they were going by a different route.
Suddenly, a man got inside the cab. He took her handbag where she had placed her visa, passport, and all her money for the trip.
The driver, who was in cahoots with the robber, left her in the middle of that dark street. She cursed the world for being so mean to her, and thought how unlucky she was in that situation.
That very same night, she heard some shocking news.Tears flowed down her face.Flight 230,which was the plane that she was supposed to have boarded, had crashed.If she had not lost her precious belongings, she could have lost something far more important—her life.
Sometimes bad things really happen.We lose money, fail our exams, or are rejected by others.There are times when nothing seems to go our way.
So what should we do about it? Should we be disappointed? The answer is a resounding “No!" We must get rid of all these frustrations and start all over again in the consistent faith that we will get what we deserve.
Don't waste your time and energy on things that can't be changed.Continuous worrying will only affect your health and you'll be doing much more damage than what was previously done.
What if it was the other way round? What if we never ran out of good luck?
There was a man who won the lottery.He thought he was the luckiest person in the world.He became greedy and wasted all his money on everything he could get his hands on.
One day, he made it to the front page of the newspaper again.But this time, it was a different story.He had been killed because of his riches.
If you attain good luck, you can never be too secure about it.Hope for protection and guidance.Life is so unpredictable.You never know what will happen next.
Live one day at a time.we sometimes subject ourselves to unnecessary emotional trouble.We ask ourselves: "What if I don't get this done in time?" or "What if my family leaves me and I've got no one else to turn to?"
Live for the moment.Do what must be done for the present and the future will turn out just fine. Believe me.And believe in yourself.As Captain Planet always says: "The power is yours!"

1. 1.

   The underlined phrase "in cahoots with" in Paragraph 3 probably means "____".

   1. A.
      was forced by
   2. B.
      was fighting bravely with
   3. C.
      had cooperated with
   4. D.
      was trying to beg
2. 2.

   From the passage, we learn that___.

   1. A.
      the woman was lucky to miss her flight
   2. B.
      some people just never run out of good luck
   3. C.
      robbers will get what they deserve
   4. D.
      if you feel yourself lucky, you will continue to be so
3. 3.

   According to the author, which of the following is the right attitude to adopt towards life?

   1. A.
      Don't waste your time and energy because time is limited.
   2. B.
      There's no need to worry or get frustrated.Just believe in yourself.
   3. C.
      Even when everything seems to be going well, we should keep fully alert.
   4. D.
      Worrying about what you don't have means you miss out on opportunities for other things.
4. 4.

   The stories are intended to tell us___.

   1. A.
      fortune only favors the prepared mind
   2. B.
      gains and losses go hand in hand
   3. C.
      misfortune might be a blessing
   4. D.
      we should save up for a rainy day

A woman was in a hurry to go to the airport. She told the cab driver to drive quickly. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she was not aware they were going by a different route.

Suddenly, a man got inside the cab. He took her handbag where she had placed her visa, passport, and all her money for the trip.

The driver, who was in cahoots with the robber, left her in the middle of that dark street. She cursed the world for being so mean to her, and thought how unlucky she was in that situation.

That very same night, she heard some shocking news．Tears flowed down her face．Flight 230,which was the plane that she was supposed to have boarded, had crashed．If she had not lost her precious belongings, she could have lost something far more important—her life．

Sometimes bad things really happen．We lose money, fail our exams, or are rejected by others．There are times when nothing seems to go our way．

So what should we do about it? Should we be disappointed? The answer is a resounding “No!" We must get rid of all these frustrations and start all over again in the consistent faith that we will get what we deserve．

Don't waste your time and energy on things that can't be changed．Continuous worrying will only affect your health and you'll be doing much more damage than what was previously done．

What if it was the other way round? What if we never ran out of good luck?

There was a man who won the lottery．He thought he was the luckiest person in the world．He became greedy and wasted all his money on everything he could get his hands on．

One day, he made it to the front page of the newspaper again．But this time, it was a different story．He had been killed because of his riches．

If you attain good luck, you can never be too secure about it．Hope for protection and guidance．Life is so unpredictable．You never know what will happen next．

Live one day at a time．We sometimes subject ourselves to unnecessary emotional trouble．We ask ourselves: "What if I don't get this done in time?" or "What if my family leave me and I've got no one else to turn to?"

Live for the moment．Do what must be done for the present and the future will turn out just fine. Believe me. And believe in yourself．As Captain Planet always says, “The power is yours!”

41．The underlined phrase "in cahoots with" in Paragraph 3 probably means "____"．

A．was forced by                       B．was fighting bravely with

C．had cooperated with                  D．was trying to beg

42．From the passage, we learn that___．

A．the woman was lucky to miss her flight

B．some people just never run out of good luck

C．robbers will get what they deserve

D．if you feel yourself lucky, you will continue to be so

43．According to the author, which of the following is the right attitude to adopt towards life?

A．Don't waste your time and energy because time is limited．

B．There's no need to worry or get frustrated. Just believe in yourself．

C．Even when everything seems to be going well, we should keep fully alert．

D．Worrying about what you don't have means you miss out on opportunities for other things．

44．The stories are intended to tell us___． 

A．fortune only favors the prepared mind   B．gains and losses go hand in hand

C．misfortune might be a blessing         D．we should save up for a rainy day