2016年江苏省高中英语口语等级测试纲要
第一部分 朗读短文并回答问题
用正确的语音语调朗读下面的短文并回答问题。
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“Depend on yourself.” is what nature says to every man. Parents can help you. Teachers can help you. Still others can help you. But all these people only help you to help yourself.
There have been many great men in history. But many of them were very poor in childhood, and had no uncles, aunts, or friends to help them. Schools were few and of poor quality. They could not depend on them for an education. They saw how it was, and set about working with all their strength to learn something. They worked their own way up to fame.
One of the most famous teachers in England used to tell his pupils, “I cannot make worthy men of you, but I can help you make men of yourselves.”
Some young men have no ambition to do anything, and they are to be pitied. They can never succeed unless they see their foolishness, and change their courses. They are nothing now, and will be nothing as long as they live, unless they accept the advice of parents and teachers, and depend upon their own honest and serious efforts.
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In many parts of the world，university students work during the summer vacation. They need money, and they can get some working experience. Traditionally, they get jobs as servers, cashiers, and lifeguards at swimming pools.
These days, however, more and more students are working at dotcoms. Dotcoms are Internet-based companies which offer goods and services online. The pay is usually much better than that at the traditional summer jobs.
There are other advantages besides the pay. In addition to providing good experience, the work is also enjoyable. On top of this, their co-workers treat them with respect.
Dotcoms are new and need new ways of thinking. Imagination and enterprise are more important than formal qualifications. So some students are even leaving school to start their own dotcoms.
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Dear Mr Zhu
I am writing to your magazine?s “Teenagers Now” column to ask for some help with my 16-year-old son. At the moment, he refuses to do almost everything his mother and I ask him to do. He is our only child, and we treat him very well, and his grandparents buy him many things. Yet he is still rude to us. He refuses to spend time with us or do as we tell him to. Sometimes he acts as though he doesn?t even love us at all.
Recently he has been refusing to do his homework, and instead insists on wasting his time watching DVDs and listening to foreign music. I cannot understand this music, but I don?t like it. He also spends too much time in Internet cafes, where he either plays games or chats online. He is wasting valuable time during this important period in his life!
What am I to do? At present, to prevent upsetting his mother with an argument, I am allowing him his freedom. However, I am worried that if I keep allowing him to do what he wants to, he may fail at school, or worse.
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How can I help my son without harming our relationship?
Yours sincerely, Liu Zhenhua
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Dear Amy,
My computer was broken so I couldn?t read your two e-mails until today. I?m so sorry to hear about your problem, but I?m glad you?re feeling better and are recovering. I?m amazed that in China someone?s liver matched yours! This is really a touching story—a stranger who donated part of his liver to a girl he doesn?t even know!
You?re right. We shouldn?t be embarrassed about our weight. I think you look great as you are, and you?re a wonderful person. I know that the pressure to stay slim is a problem, especially for an actress. However, your mother knows best: nothing is more important than health.
It?s the same in China—many people, some of whom are not overweight at all, are always going on a diet or taking weight-loss pills, which are often dangerous. I hope they can learn from your story.
Yours,
Zhou Ling
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Thanks to the development of China?s economy and society, the country?s sports and fitness industry is taking off, with 36 percent of China?s population between the ages of 7 and 70 taking regular physical exercise.
In 1995, the central government issued an Outline of the National Fitness Programme to enhance the development of national public fitness. Since then, rapid progress has been made in building sports and fitness venues and facilities, raising public awareness of the importance of keeping fit, and in organizing sporting activities.
Encouraged by the central government?s call to build a harmonious society and the successful holding of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, people have obviously become more conscious of their fitness.
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Tom was on a bus when the accident happened. He was traveling along when suddenly there was a loud crash! The bus driver fell asleep while he was driving, and drove into a huge building. Everything went black. All Tom could remember was being in great pain.
He woke up three days later, with a bad headache. It was then that he realized that he had only one arm. During the accident a sharp piece of metal cut off his arm.
At first he found it difficult to adjust to life without one of his arms. He had to learn to do many things with just one arm instead of two. However, after some time he got used to it and began to be motivated to do many things again.
Now, he is back at work and starts running every day. He enjoys running because it keeps him fit and healthy. Also, he is very fast, and it doesn?t matter that he has only one arm. It was hard to adjust to life after the accident, but now he is as happy as he used to be.
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People travel for a lot of reasons. Some go to see historic battlefields. Others are looking for culture, or simply want to have their pictures taken in front of famous places. Most European tourists are looking for a sunny beach to lie on.
Northern Europeans are willing to pay a lot of money for the sun because they have so little of it. People from cities like London and Amsterdam spend much of their winter in the dark, for the days are so short, and much of the rest of the year in the rain. Every summer, many people travel to Mediterranean resorts and beaches for their vacation. They all come for the same reason: sun!
Italy?s 30,000 hotels are booked without a break every summer. And 13 million people camp on French beaches, in parks and on roadsides. Spain?s long sandy coastline attracts more people than anywhere else: 37 million tourists go there every year.
But there are signs that the area is getting more tourism than it can deal with. The Mediterranean is already one of the most polluted seas on Earth.
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There are many different dialects of English spoken depending on where people live. When Old English was developing, it consisted of an Anglo-Saxon base mixed with many words from other languages. Before people could write, they used oral poems to record the history of England. Old English became the official language of England in the 10th century. English vocabulary has lots of similar words for the same thing and that is because so many different people came to England. Another thing that happened in English is that there are different words for animals and the meat which comes from them. This is because the English servants cooked for the French-speaking royalty. King Henry IV?s mother tongue was English and he was the first king to use English after the Normans conquered England in 1066.
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Body language shows all kinds of feelings, wishes and attitudes and is sometimes more important than spoken language.
A smile is the universal facial expression—it is intended to put people at ease. It does not always mean that you are happy, however. A smile can hide other feelings like anger, fear or worry.
In most countries, nodding the head up and down shows agreement, while shaking the head means that you do not agree, or that you refuse to do something.
If you look away from a person or yawn, they may think you are not interested in them. If you stand holding your arms across your chest, you may be protecting yourself—just from a conversation you do not want! If you sit looking at, and turn toward, the person you are talking to, it shows that you are interested. If you roll your eyes and turn your head away, most likely you do not believe what you are hearing, or you do not like what you hear.
There are some differences in body language between cultures. It is important to give them attention.
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The Chinese language differs from many Western languages in that it uses characters which have meanings and can stand alone as words. Chinese people invented numerous characters to represent ideas, objects or actions. Chinese words are often formed by combining different characters. The history of many Chinese words can be seen by looking at how their characters developed.
Chinese writing began thousands of years ago. There is a legend that says that a man named Cang Jie invented Chinese writing. One winter day while he was hunting, he saw the footprints of birds and animals in the snow and realized that each one was different. Then he had the idea that he could use different shapes or pictures to represent different objects. These shapes or pictures were the very first Chinese characters.
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There are nearly 400 different types of sharks in total, but only about 30 types have ever been reported as attacking human beings. Most people know that the most dangerous shark is the great white shark, mainly because they have seen the movie Jaws. However, there are still two other sharks which are fierce. They are the tiger shark and the bull shark.
The chances of being attacked by a shark are very small compared to other dangers. The number of people who drown in the ocean every year is larger than the number of people attacked by sharks. The low number of attacks that happen every year proves that sharks do not feed on humans if they have the choice.
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Most people believe we must not drink sea water. They believe that if we do we shall be very ill because of all the salt in the water. A doctor called Bombard did not believe this. He thought that people could stay alive by drinking sea water and eating animals and plants from the sea. To prove he was right he set out in a small boat to cross the Atlantic Ocean without any food or water with him.
Every day Dr Bombard drank just a little sea water. He also caught fish and they had water in them. He drank this water. He could not cook the fish so he ate them as they were. He took small plants from the sea, which gave him more food.
He traveled from one side of the Atlantic Ocean to the other in 65 days later. He lost 20 kilos but he showed that people could live on sea water and the animals and plants in the sea.
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I am an American student and I want to tell you about some of the things America is famous for. I think these are all important parts of American popular culture.
Firstly, America makes lots of amazing films. Films are very popular in America. When a new film is released at the cinema, lots of people go and watch it. Many American actors are world famous. Lots of them have huge houses in a place called Hollywood.
Fast food is very popular in America. In a fast food restaurant, you can buy chicken and beef burgers, chips and soft drinks as well as other things. It is great because once you have ordered your food you only have to wait a couple of minutes for your meal to be ready. I think fast food is delicious, but try not to eat it too often because it is unhealthy.
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My favourite sport is basketball. All my friends like watching it, and many students in America support a team in the NBA. Because I live in Chicago, I support the Chicago Bulls. My fovourite player is Michael Jordan. He is very famous and earns a lot of money, but he does not play any more because he is retired.
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The office has always been a place to get ahead. Unfortunately, it is also a place where people?s responsibilities about using natural resources start to fall behind. Take a look around next time you?re at work. See how many lights are left on when people leave. See how much paper is being wasted. See how much electricity is being used to run computers that are left on. See how much water is being wasted in the restrooms. And see how much solid waste is being thrown out in the trash cans. We bet it?s a lot.
Now, here are some simple ways you can produce less waste at work. When you are at the copier, only make the copies you need. Use both sides of the paper when writing something less important. Turn off the lights when you leave. Use a lower-energy bulb in your lamp. Drink your coffee or tea out of your own cup instead of single-use plastic cups. Set up a recycling box for cans and one for bottles. And when you?re in the bathroom brushing your teeth or washing your face, don?t let the tap run. Remember, if we use fewer resources today, we?ll save more for tomorrow.
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Today about 15 percent of the population is left-handed. But why are people left-handed? The answer is in the way the brain works.
The brain has two halves—the right half and the left half. The right half controls the left side of the body, and the left controls the right side of the body. So right-handed people have a strong left brain, and left-handed people have a strong right brain.
The two halves of the brain are about the same size. But each side controls different things. The left side controls language, mathematics, and logic. When you memorize the spelling of words, or when you put things in order, you use your left side. The right side of the brain controls your love of art, colour and music. It is also good at recognizing faces.
This does not mean that all artists are left-handed and all accountants are right-handed. There are actually many exceptions. Some right-handers have a strong right brain, and some left-handers have a strong left brain.
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Millions of words have been written about young people in the United States. There are reasons for this great interest in the ideas, feelings and actions of youth.
Today there are about seven million Americans in colleges and universities. Young persons under 25 make up nearly half of the American population. Many of these will soon be in charge of the nation. Naturally, their ideas are important to everyone in the country, and it is necessary for older people to understand what they think and feel.
College students today have strong opinions about right and wrong. They are deeply interested in making a better life for all people, especially for those who have not been given a fair chance. They see much that is wrong in the old ways of their elders. So they insist on changing
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