Consider these five words： island，honour，sign tongue，climb.At first glance，you probably don't think they have anything in common.Then，you might find some of them contain the most common letter in the English language.And you might need to go back to your grade-school grammar lessons to see the connection.If you're still confused，say each word slowly.Did you notice a missing syllable （音節(jié)） or two？Actually，all five words have one or more silent letters-and that's just a small sample of them.
It's no secret that the English language has lots of crazy grammar rules，and the way we pronounce words is no exception.While there are 26 letters in the alphabet，they share at least 44 different pronunciations among jye.aim.The letter A，for example，has seven different English pronunciations alone.At least you can safely ignore these common grammar rules.
On top of that，almost every letter in the alphabet has a silent usage，too.Think about it：From the C in scissors to the U in build，the English language has a bad habit of dropping letters in certain words.Even unusual letters like Z and J are silent in words that we have adopted from foreign languages，such as marijuana （originally a Spanish word） and laissezfaire（French）.
But as Merriam-Webster Dictionary points out，one unusual letter is never silent：the letter V.While it makes an appearance in words like quiver and vivid，you can be sure it always behaves exactly the same way.That might change soon，though.Last year，President Donald Trump tweeted the word "covfefe"，which caused heated debate about how，exactly，one should say this made-up term.Some suggested that it be pronounced with a silent V.
（1）What do the underlined words in Paragraph 1 have in common？ BB
A．They contain exactly the same letters.
B．They have one or more silent letters.
C．They are difficult to pronounce.
D．They all refer to a place.
（2）Why is the letter A mentioned in Paragraph 2？ DD
A．To show that it has many pronunciations.
B．To tell us that English has many grammar rules.
C．To explain that words have similar pronunciations.
D．To prove English letters have various pronunciations.
（3）Which letter is seldom silent in the English language？ CC
A．The letter A.
B．The letter J.
C．The letter V.
D．The letter Z.
（4）What is the text mainly about？ AA
A．English pronunciations.
B．English dictionaries.
C．English grammar.
D．English vocabulary.
【答案】B；D；C；A
【解答】
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發(fā)布：2024/4/20 14:35:0組卷：3引用：2難度：0.6
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1．A mother was asked to attend his son's school's first teacher-parent meeting．To the little boy's disappointment，she said she（1）
go．This was the first time（2）his classmates and teacher（3）his mother and he felt（4）of her appearance．Although she was a beautiful woman，there was a severe scar （疤痕） that（5）nearly the entire right side of her face．The boy never wanted to（6）why or how she got the scar．
The people at the meeting were（7）by the kindness and natural beauty of his mother（8）the scar，but the little boy was still embarrassed （尷尬） and（9）himself from everyone．However，he could（10）a conversation between his mother and his teacher．
The teacher asked（11）， "How did you get the scar on your face？"
The mother replied， "（12）my son was a baby，he was in a room that caught fire．Everyone was（13）afraid to go in because the fire was（14），so I went in．As I was running toward his bed，I saw a long piece of wood coming down and I placed myself over him trying to protect him．I was knocked（15）but fortunately，a fireman came in and saved both of us．" She（16）the burned side of her face．" This scar will be（17），but to this day，I have never（18）what I did．"
Hearing this ，the little boy came out running toward his mother with tears in his eyes．He held her in his arms and felt a great（19）of the sacrifice （犧牲） that his mother had made for him．He held her hand（20）for the rest of the day．（1） A．may B．would C．could D．will （2） A．that B．which C．whether D．when （3） A．had noticed B．had greeted C．had accepted D．had met （4） A．sick B．a(chǎn)shamed（羞恥） C．a(chǎn)fraid D．tired （5） A．included B．passed C．covered D．shaded （6） A．talk about B．think about C．care about D．hear about （7） A．impressed B．surprised C．excited D．comforted （8） A．in sight of B．by means of C．by way of D．In spite of（盡管） （9） A．hid B．protected C．separated D．escaped （10） A．understand B．remind C．hear D．learn （11） A．carefully B．seriously C．nervously D．a(chǎn)nxiously （12） A．As B．When C．Since D．While （13） A．so B．much C．quite D．too （14） A．out of control B．under control C．in control D．over control （15） A．helpless B．hopeless C．senseless D．useless （16） A．pointed B．showed C．wiped D．touched （17） A．ugly B．lasting C．serious D．frightening （18） A．forgot B．recognized C．considered D．regretted （19） A．honor B．sense C．happiness D．pride （20） A．quietly B．slightly C．tightly D．Suddenly 發(fā)布：2025/1/1 18:0:1組卷：8引用：2難度：0.2 -
2．Your child is unique，but what all children have in common is natural curiosity and an ability to learn they are born with.Our brains are active all the time，and a baby's brain is the busiest of all.Research has shown that babies begin to understand language about twice as fast as they actually speak it.By showing children other languages at an early age，you are giving them the opportunity to make use of their natural ability to hear and recognize between the sounds of other languages，and their ability to make sense of what they are hearing.
Communication is something that children do to help them achieve something else，and they are unaware of the large amount of learning taking place.They take everything in through their senses，making connections between what they hear，see，smell，taste and touch.As long as we provide the right conditions，their learning and development will take place in a natural way.
In your child's early years，the emotional environment is just as important as the physical environment.Children learn when they feel safe，happy，valued and listened to.This is central to any learning experience in a child's early years，including learning an additional language.Your child has a trial-and-error approach to its development，and making mistakes is a valuable part of the learning process.When children learn an additional language at an early age，they get the benefits of experimenting with that language as a natural part of their development.Their progress isn't prevented by a fear of getting it wrong，and very young children are simply working their way towards getting it right.
The long-term benefits of learning another language go beyond being able to communicate with others.Studies suggest that children learning an additional language tend to score better on standardized tests because learning languages develops listening，observation，problem-solving and critical （批判性的） thinking skills.These are skills that are of life-long benefit，both personally and professionally.Encouraging in children a love of language at an early age prepares them well for school and for life.
（1）What do we know about Children according to Paragraph 1？
A．Children are busy playing.
B．Children are born to speak.
C．Children are good at speaking native language.
D．Children have a better ability to learn other languages.
（2）While learning a language，children.
A．speak to themselves
B．need to have language classes
C．make use of their different senses
D．notice how much they have learned
（3）Children learn when they.
A．a(chǎn)re in bad emotion
B．do not make mistakes
C．learn from their mistakes
D．a(chǎn)re taught by their teachers
（4）In fact learning another language helps children to.
A．take more tests
B．have a good time
C．encourage themselves
D．develop life-long skills發(fā)布：2025/1/1 17:30:2組卷：4引用：3難度：0.5 -
3．A few weeks ago，I sat with a California farmer named Dave Ribeiro．I asked him what he wished to know about farmers．He smiled and said， "That we walk among you．We look like you and talk like you．We have advanced degrees and hobbies，just like you．"
Take Dave for example：He's a young man with a music degree．And if you walked past him on the street，you'd never think， "There goes a farmer．"
Is someone like Dave who you picture when you think of a farmer？Probably not．I think that most people would picture a man in his overalls（工作服）．I can tell you，that does not represent Dave or any of the many other farmers I have gotten to know．
Not only do we have to throw out our previous impression of farmers，but farming as a whole doesn't look much like it used to either．We recently sent a team out to see what modern farming looks like，and they found farmers to be completely different from our usual ideas about them and also came across them in some unexpected places．
In a parking lot in a neighborhood of Brooklyn，they met a new crop of young farmers who were trying to bring fresh greens closer to eaters in the city by growing them in high-tech indoor vertical（垂直的） farms．In a Florida field under the fight path of an airport，they discovered farmers with university degrees growing plants that might someday fuel our cars．And in a modern farm in California，they observed how farmers were using technology to take the best possible care of their animals．
These farmers all spend their days in very different ways-none of them looks like the previous farmer we have in our mind-but they're all working on new ways to feed our planet．Not only do we need to change our idea of what farming looks like，but we also need to change our view of where solutions can come from．Feeding all of us is going to take all of us working together．
（1）How does Dave describe today's farmers？
A．They often walk on the street．
B．They are leading a very busy life．
C．They are similar to ordinary people．
D．They have little time to make friends．
（2）How does the author think most people see farmers？
A．They usually wear overalls．
B．They have interesting hobbies．
C．They are skilled at growing crops．
D．They know modern farming practices．
（3）What was the purpose of the team？
A．To deepen connections among farmers．
B．To study different technologies in farming．
C．To find the new developments of modern farming．
D．To encourage farmers to use new farming method．
（4）What do the farmers mentioned in Paragraph 5 have in common？
A．They all work in the city．
B．They all use high technology．
C．They all do hard physical work．
D．They all work with universities．發(fā)布：2025/1/1 18:0:1組卷：26引用：5難度：0.7
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