单选题Is there any evidence that the standard of English as a foreign language has improved in the years since the Second World War? Naturally, as it is the world language, more and mere people are taught it and use it. But do they speak it or write it or understand it better than their patents' or grandparents' generations? Have standards declined? There is no objective way of answering this question. Tests of the traditional sort— compositions, pr6cis writing, and so on—have always been subjective, so they cannot be used to judge whether people have got better or not over the years. But so-called objective tests are useless as a measure of progress too. They have not been used consistently in the same "concentration" over the period they have been in use, so there is no way of comparing exams "now" and "then". Moreover, usually in the form of multiple choice questions, they do not, by and large, test the things that really count in mastering a language. Even comprehension is a partly "creative" activity in real life, as we have to think of possible meanings for ourselves rather than have them suggested for us from outside. And people can be trained in the techniques of multiple choice, while others fail the tests because they have been led astray precisely by their "suggestive" nature, so they are not really objective at all. We are left with only personal impression to go on. My own is that, if anything, standards have declined somewhat in the last thirty or forty years, despite all the new theories, tools and techniques that have been developed. I am not alone in this judgment In Sweden, for instance, Professors Johannes Hedberg and Gu.slav Kofien, two of the most experienced workers in the field; have on several occasions drawn attention to the lack of progress in the teaching of foreign languages since the late fifties. Yet Sweden is a sophisticated society with extremely high educational and academic standards, and very concerned not to be cut off from the rest of the world. If such a country cannot achieve advances in the study of foreign languages, it is unlikely that many, if any, others have done so. Japan is another community where remarkably little progress has been made in the learning of English. It is probably as important for Japan as for Sweden to master that language, and there is much academic effort put into linguistic research of various kinds. Yet the average standard of language learning is abysmally low, particularly for such a highly literate and educated society. This is no doubt in part the result of a vicious circle: many of the professors of English at Japanese universities are themselves incapable of speaking or writing or even understanding the language well.

单选题When he tried to make a ______ , he found that the hotel was completely filled because of a convention.

单选题KeyplayersintheCongoKinshasawarareholdingtalksabout______followingtherebeltakeoverMondayofastrategiccityofKindu.

单选题The back garden of our house contains a lawn, __ very pleasant to sit on in summer.[A] which is[B] which it is[C] it is[D] where it is

单选题Physics is the present-day equivalent of ______ used to be called natural philosophy, from which most of present-day science arose. A. that B. all C. which D. what

单选题Cranfield offers an evening lecture series on philosophy to ______.

单选题Questions 8 to 10 are based on the following conversation. At the end of the conversation, you will be given 15 seconds to answer the questions.

单选题Weather ______ , the Johnsons will hold an open-air garden party.

单选题One third of the Chinese in the United States live in California, ______ in the San Francisco area. A. exceptionally B. drastically C. remarkably D. predominantly

单选题It is reported that the factory's new assembly line ______ next year will increase its output by at least 30%.

单选题It"s no wonder you"ve got a headache ______ you drank so much last night.

单选题{{B}}SECTION A CONVERSATIONS{{/B}} {{I}} In this section you will hear several conversations. Listen to the conversations carefully and then answer the questions that follow.{{/I}} {{I}}{{B}} Questions 1 to 3are based on the following conversation. At the end of the conversation, you will be given 15 seconds to answer the questions. Now listen to the conversation.{{/I}}{{/B}}

单选题Other people's advice would be ______ valuable to him who is at present at his wit's end.A. exceedinglyB. exclusivelyC. intensivelyD. excessively

单选题Word came from my hometown ______ an earthquake had taken place there, 200 persons their lives.A. where.., to costB. which...in order to costC. that...costingD. that...cost

单选题 Questions 21 to 23 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given i5 seconds to answer the questions. Now listen to the news.

单选题Just take such books ______ are needed for teaching the freshmen. A. that B. which C. as D. what