初三511期
China’s English efforts (P2)
Pre-reading
1. Are you good at English reading, writing, speaking, or listening?
2. How do you learn English?

While reading
Choose the answer: 
1. Which country ranked first in the 2016 English Proficiency Index?
A. Sweden.
B. The Netherlands.
C. The United Kingdom.
D. Denmark.

2. Which city has the best English speakers in China?
A. Beijing.
B. Shanghai.
C. Hong Kong.
D. Chengdu.

3. Which of the following is TRUE?
A. Half of the Chinese population is learning English now.
B. Chinese people have high English proficiency levels.
C. Some Chinese schools are short of English teachers.
D. Rote memorization is the best way to learn English.

4. What can we tell from Magnusson’s words?
A. English is difficult for younger students to learn.
B. Learning English from textbooks is not a good method.
C. Learners should put what they have learned to practice.
D. Learners should get help from their teachers and parents.

Words in use
用所给单词或短语的正确形式填空：
      publish  follow  different  advice  matter 
1. Let me give you a piece of ____.
2. This job is a lot _____ from what I'm used to.
3. The first edition was _______ in 1998.
4. The children ____ more to her than anything else in the world.
5. The first two classes are _____ by a break of 10 minutes.

Post-reading
1. About the EF English Proficiency Index:
The EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) is a report which attempts to rank countries by the average level of English language skills among adults. It is the product of EF Education First, a global language training company, and draws its conclusions from data collected via English tests available for free over the internet. The report was published for the first time in March, 2011 based on the results of over 2 million test takers. The most recent, sixth edition was released in November, 2016.
2. How long will it take to become proficient (熟练的) in a foreign language?
This question is impossible to answer because a lot depends on a person’s language learning ability, motivation, learning environment, and prior experience in learning foreign languages. It also depends on the degree to which the target language is similar to or different from the learner’s first language or languages that the learner has learned in the past. Last, but not least, it depends on the level of proficiency the person wishes to achieve.

Story behind man in the red suit (P4)
Pre-reading
1. Look at the pictures below, what festival is it?
2. What do you know about the festival?

While reading
Choose the answer: 
1. Which of the following about Santa Claus is NOT true, according to the traditional story?
A. He is very popular during Christmas.
B. He lives in the North Pole.
C. He sends presents to kids in a sled.
D. He is a poor man with no food to eat.

2. When he knew the fact about Santa, the writer _____.
A. didn’t believe his parents
B. didn’t enjoy Christmas anymore
C. still celebrated Christmas
D. celebrated Christmas in a different way
 
3. What do we know about Saint Nicholas?
a. He was born in the Roman Empire.
b. He was a very kind priest.
c. He used gifts to make kids go to sleep quickly.
d. He asked Santa Claus to do his job for him.
A. ab  B. ac  C. bc  D. bd
 
4. What does the last paragraph talk about?
A. The United States version of Santa Claus.
B. How US people celebrate Christmas.
C. History of the United States.
D. Coca Cola and Santa Claus.

Words in use
根据所给提示完成下列句子：
1.今年的圣诞节是星期一。
Christmas Day _____ Sunday this year.
2. 她从一场兴奋的梦境中醒来。
She ______ in the middle of an exciting dream.
3. 事实上，我认为有一辆旧车总比没车强。
_____, I think an old car is better than none.
4. 我琢磨不透他为什么要辞掉工作。
I can't ______ why he quit his job.
5. 你不能阻止人们说出他们的想法。
You can't ______________ what they think.

Post-reading
Fun interesting Christmas facts:
1. Christmas trees are also known as the Yule-tree. Christmas trees are evergreen trees, usually either a fir tree, pine tree or spruce tree.
2. That “Xmas” stems from Greece. The Greek “X” is a symbol for Christ. 
3. In 1836 Alabama became the first state in the US to declare Christmas a legal holiday. In June of 1870 Christmas became a federal holiday in the US.
4. The song Jingle Bells was written by James Pierpont in 1857. It was originally called One Horse Open Sleigh and was made for Thanksgiving.
5. The Christmas Stocking got its start when three unmarried girls did their laundry and hung their stockings on the chimney to dry. They couldn’t marry. They had no dowry (嫁妆). But St Nicholas, who knew this, put a sack of gold in each stocking and in the morning the girls discovered they had dowries. They could marry.
6. The French gave the biggest Christmas present ever in 1886. It was the Statue of Liberty, and they gave it to the United States of America. (The French have one too, a smaller one, in Paris.)

Seeking relief in space (P6)
Pre-reading
1. Are you interested in space?
2. What do you know about astronauts?
3. Do you know what the International Space Station is?

While reading
Choose the answer:
1. What does the underlined word “separate” in the second paragraph mean?
A. 分开的
B. 特殊的
C. 简单的
D. 共同的
 
2. How did astronauts relieve themselves in earlier times?
A. They used straps to hold themselves to the toilet seat.
B. Their spacesuits had bags strapped to their bottom.
C. They used a special kind of helmet to control it.
D. They used diapers in spacesuits.
 
3. What does NASA’s “The Space Poop Challenge” aim to do?
A. To encourage people to produce a new kind of diaper.
B. To call on people to care about space missions.
C. To call on more people to work as astronauts.
D. To encourage people to solve astronauts’ waste problems.
 
4. A winning design for the astronauts’ waste management system should meet all of the following requirements EXCEPT _____.
A. it must worth $30,000
B. it must be used without using hands
C. it must be used when an astronaut is in different positions
D. it must store certain amounts of urine and waste

Words in use
根据所给中文提示，完成句子：
1. He used to ____ (收集) cards, but now he likes to collect stamps
2. Eating too much sugar can _____ (导致) health problems.
3. You deserve a day off as a ____ (奖赏) for working so hard.
4. Working with these children ______ (需要) a great deal of patience.
5. This hotel can hold _____ (多达) 500 guests.

Post-reading
Five amazing facts about living in space:
1. Preparation for a spacewalk takes hours.
Astronauts don (穿上) their spacesuits hours before going on a spacewalk, during which time they breathe pure oxygen in preparation for the activity.
2. You see a sunrise every 90 minutes.
The International Space Station orbits the Earth at about 17,000mph (27,000kph). This means astronauts aboard the ISS see the Sun rise and set every 90 minutes. However, their clocks run just like on Earth, to keep their days ordered.
3. You must sleep next to a fan.
Good ventilation (通风) is important for sleeping astronauts, as warm air does not dissipate (消散) in space. Instead, it forms a bubble of carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) around them and, eventually, they’d run out of breathable oxygen.
4. The heart takes a breather (呼吸器).
Due to the low gravity, the heart has a far easier time of pumping blood (输送血液) around the body in space than it does on Earth. This can be dangerous, as it gradually pumps less and less and becomes weaker, so astronauts must exercise for several hours a day to keep it working hard.
5. You’ll drop things back on Earth.
Several astronauts have reported that when they come back to Earth they inadvertently (无心地) drop objects like cups. This is because they’re so used to the weightless environment in space.

参考答案及解析
P2:
Choose the answer:
1. 答案：B。根据第一段第二句The Netherlands ranked first, followed by Denmark and Sweden.可知，在2016英孚英语熟练度指标报告荷兰名列第一，故选B。
2. 答案：B。根据第二段第二句Out of the whole country, people in Shanghai are the best English speakers.可知，中国城市中，上海人英语说得最好。
3. 答案：C。根据倒数第二段可知，在中国很多地方，英语教师缺乏，故选C。
4. 答案：C。根据最后一段 中“Do not limit it to textbooks. What matters most is to use what you’ve learned,” Magnusson said.可知，Magnusson认为把学到的用于实践对于学好英语很重要。

Words in use:
1. advice 2. different 3. published 4. matter  5. followed

P4:
Choose the answer:
1. 答案：D。通读文章前四段可知，A、B、C三个选项都正确，D不对。第四段最后一句When they wake up in the morning, some of the food is eaten and there are presents under the Christmas tree.意思是说：圣诞老人在给孩子们送礼物的时候，吃了一些食物，但并不是说圣诞老人是穷人。
2. 答案：C。根据第五段最后一句 But that doesn’t stop people celebrating Christmas in the same way. 可知，作者尽管知道了生当老人并不存在，但是仍然会像以前一样庆祝圣诞节。
3. 答案：A。根据第六、七段可知，圣诞老人是一名神父，出生在罗马帝国，故选A。
4. 答案：A。最后一段主要讲了美国版本的圣诞老人的故事。

Words in use:
1. falls on  2. woke up   3. in fact  4. figure out  5. stop people (from) saying

P6:
Choose the answer:
1. 答案：A。根据第二段最后一句Spacesuits have separate parts, so the waste went to the lower part of the suits, and wouldn’t fly into the helmet.句意“太空服有_____的部分，所以在粪便会到太空服底部，而不会飞到头盔里去。”可知，此处应该是“分开的，隔开的”之意，故选A。
2. 答案：B。根据第二段第一句In earlier times, astronauts in spacesuits had bags strapped to their bottom to collect anything that came out.可知，答案选B。
3. 答案：D。根据倒数第三段第一句That’s why NASA is offering a $30,000 (200,000 yuan) reward for whoever can solve this problem, reported CBS News.可知，The Space Poop Challenge是希望有人能够解决航天员的方便问题，故选D。
4. 答案：A。根据倒数第三段第一句可知，$30,000是“The Space Poop Challenge”给提出航天员方便问题解决方案的奖励，而不是实际上这个解决方案的价值，故选A。

Words in use:
1. collect  2. lead to 3. reward  4. requires  5. up to