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A

When a group of children politely stop a conversation with you， saying， “We have to go to work now，” youre left feeling surprised and certainly uneasy. After all， this is the 1990s and the idea of children working is just unthinkable. That is， until you are told that they are all pupils of stage schools， and that the “work” they go off to is to go on the stage in a theatre.

Stage schools often act as agencies（代理機構）to supply children for stage and television work. More worthy of the name “stage school” are those few places where children attend full time， with a training for the theatre and a general education.

A visit to such schools will leave you in no doubt that the children enjoy themselves. After all， what lively children wouldnt settle for spending only half the day doing ordinary school work， and acting， singing or dancing their way through the other half of the day？

Then of course these are time for the children to make a name and make a little money in some big shows. Some stage schools give their children too much professional work at such a young age. But the law is very tight（嚴格的）on the amount they can do. Those under 13 are limited to 40 days in the year； those over 13 do 80 days.

The schools themselves admit that not all children will be successful in the profession for which they are being trained. So what happens to those who dont make it？ While all the leading schools say they place great importance on children getting good study results， the facts seem to suggest this is not always the case.

1. People would stop feeling uneasy when realizing that the children theyre talking to ___ .

A. attend a stage school B. are going to the theatre

C. get some work to do D. love singing and dancing

2. In the writers opinion， a good stage school should ___ .

A. produce star performers

B. help pupils improve their study skills

C. train pupils in language and performing arts

D. provide a general education and stage training

3. How does the writer feel about stage schools？

A. He thinks highly of what they have to offer.

B. He favours an early start in the training of performing arts.

C. He feels uncomfortable about children putting on night shows.

D. He doubts the standard of ordinary education they have reached.

B

When I lived in Spain， some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car. Before they left， they asked me for advice about how to find accommodation（住處）. I suggested that they should stay at “bed and breakfast” houses， because this kind of accommodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family. My friends took my advice， but they came back with some funny stories.

“We didnt stay at ‘bed and breakfast houses，” they said， “because we found that most families were away on holiday.”

I thought this was strange. Finally I understood what had happened. My friends spoke little English， and they thought “VACANCIES” meant “holidays”， because the Spanish word for “holidays” is “vacaciones”. So they did not go to houses where the sign outside said “VACANCIES”， which in English means there are free rooms. Then my friends went to a house where the sign said “NO VACANCIES”， because they thought this meant the people who owned the house were not away on holiday. But they found that these houses were all full. As a result， they stayed at hotels！

We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs. In Spanish， the word “DIVERSION” means fun. In English， it means that workmen are repairing the road， and that you must take a different road. When my friends saw the word “DIVERSION” on a road sign， they thought they were going to have fun. Instead， the road ended in a large hole.

English people have problems too when they learn foreign languages. Once in Paris， when someone offered me some more coffee， I said “Thank you” in French. I meant that I would like some more， however， to my surprise the coffee pot was taken away！ Later I found out that “Thank you” in French means “No， thank you.”

4. My Spanish friends wanted advice about ___ .

A. learning English

B. going to England by car

C. finding places to stay in England

D. driving their car on English roads

5. I suggested that they stay at “bed and breakfast” houses because ___ .

A. they would be able to practise their English

B. it would be convenient for them to have dinner

C. it would be much cheaper than staying in hotels

D. there would be no problem finding accommodation there

6. According to Paragraph 3， “NO VACANCIES” in English means ___ .

A. holidays B. free rooms

C. no free rooms D. not away on holiday

7. If you see a road sign that says “DIVERSION” in England， you will ___ .

A. fall into a hole

B. have to take a different road

C. have a lot of fun and enjoy yourself

D. find that the road is blocked by crowds of people

8. When someone offered me more coffee and I said “Thank you” in French， I ___ .

A. really wanted some more coffee

B. wanted to express my politeness

C. didnt really want any more coffee

D. wanted them to take the coffee pot away

從下列方框里10個單詞中選擇8個適當單詞的正確形式填入下列各句中，使其句意完整。每個單詞只使用一次。

borough compete declare dramatic gymnast

protest slogan tough ultimate victory

1. Their ____ goal of complete freedom and total equality is never reached.

2. The game ended in a ____ for our school， giving us an opportunity to get together and have fun.

3. At any point events could have developed in a ____ different way.

4. I stand here， ____ for peoples right of freedom in the name of free speech.

5. Germany ____ war on France on August 1st， 1914.

6. The crowd began shouting anti-government ____ again and again.

7. We produce cheaper goods than our ____ ， which is our advantage.

8. Jack has developed his unusual ____ by working out daily at a gymnasium.

下列各句每句有1個錯誤。

1. Ill eat some of the butter and keep rest for next breakfast. ____

2. The demand for oil is still on increase though its price is high. ____

3. How do you feel about the victory with Italy？ ____

4. I was nervous first， but soon I started to relax after seeing so many audiences came to support me. ____

1. 令我們驚奇的是，他被認為不擅長釣魚，但今天他表現得很好。

2. 我在體操比賽中轉錯了方向，失去了和其他優秀選手競爭的機會。

3. 實際上，提前買火車票通常保證你有一個好座位。

4. 用來商討重要事項的會議室比我們的辦公室大三倍。

1. Houston Rockets center Yao Ming would not play for the rest of the NBA basketball season ___ his foot injury on Tuesday.

A. thanks to B. as to

C. according to D. due to

2. Its no use ___ since the plan has been declared and carried out soon.

A. protesting B. protecting

C. pretending D. preventing

3. — ___ when has the country been open to international

trade？

— 1978， I suppose.

A. Since B. After

C. From D. In

4. Products made in this factory ___ well； it has sold ___ all its products.

A. sell； off B. are sold； off

C. sell； out D. are sold； out

5. The young boy quickly ___ to his feet and left the classroom without saying a word.

A. lifted B. rose

C. stood D. raised

6. She ___ Japanese when she was in Japan. Now she can speak it frequently.

A. made out B. picked out

C. made up D. picked up

7. Widespread salary rises resulted obviously in increased ___ power.

A. selling B. lending

C. borrowing D. purchasing

8. — ___ ！ You shouldnt have been so impolite to your father.

— I deeply regret that I did that.

A. Well done B. Thats not the point

C. Good luck D. You are right

Across the street from our home was a school and I would often watch the kids as they played basketball during the break. I often noticed a small 1 playing with boys. I watched in 2 as she ran circles around the other kids. She 3 to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into the net. The boys always tried to stop her but no one could. At other times I saw her playing alone， sometimes until 4 .

One day I asked her why she 5 so much. She looked

6 in my eyes and without a moment of hesitation（猶豫）she said， “The only way I can go to 7 is to get a scholarship（獎學金）. I believe that I would get it if I were good enough at 8 . My daddy told me if the dream is big enough， the facts dont 9 .” Then with a determined smile she ran towards the court. I watched her 10 those junior high years and into high school. Every week， she led her team to victory.

One day in her senior year， I saw her sitting in the grass， head 11 in her arms. The coach told her that at 5 feet 5 inches she would 12 never get to play for a top ranked team—much less offered a scholarship—so she should 13

dreaming about college. I asked her if she had talked to her dad about it yet. She 14 her head from her hands and told me that her father said those coaches just did not understand the 15 of a dream. He told her that if she truly wanted a scholarship， 16

could stop her except one thing—her own attitude.

The next year， 17 she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game， she was seen by a college coach. She was indeed 18 a scholarship， a full one. She was going to get the college education that she had 19 of and worked toward for all those years. Its 20 ： If the dream is big enough， the facts dont count.

1. A. boy B. girl C. student D. coach

2. A. question B. shock C. wonder D. delight

3. A. managed B. tried C. figured D. attempted

4. A. morning B. noon C. dark D. afternoon

5. A. practised B. suffered C. performed D. worked

6. A. nervously B. quickly C. quietly D. directly

7. A. work B. court C. college D. school

8. A. football B. basketball C. study D. work

9. A. damage B. lose C. count D. win

10. A. past B. over C. beyond D. through

11. A. buried B. placed C. hidden D. dropped

12. A. firmly B. sadly C. nearly D. probably

13. A. stop B. begin C. continue D. keep

14.A. lowered B. lifted C. turned D. moved

15. A. effect B. power C. aim D. advantage

16. A. something B. anything C. everything D. nothing

17. A. after B. before C. as D. once

18. A. brought B. handed C. sent D. offered

19. A. thought B. dreamed C. complained D. warned

20. A. true B. possible C. proper D. perfect