一

The British love to think of themselves as polite， and everyone knows how fond they are of their \"pleases\" and \"thank you\". Even the simplest business such as buying a train ticket requires1seven or eight of these. Another2of our good manners is the queue. New-comers to Britain could be forgiven for thinking that queuing rather than football was the3national sport. Finally， of course， Motorists generally stop at crossings. But does all this mean that the British should consider themselves more polite than their European neighbors? I think not.

Take forms of address(稱呼) for example. The average English person4 he happens to work in a hotel or department store -- would rather die than call a stranger \"Sir\" or \"Madam\". Yet in some European countries this is the most basic of common address. Our5 \"you\" for everyone may appear more democratic， but it means that we are forced to seek out complicated ways to express6. I am all for returning to the use of \"thee\" and \"thou\" (Thee and thou are old-fashioned poetic words for \"you\"): \"you\" would be7for strangers and professional relationships.

And of course， the English find touching and other shows of friendship truly terrifying. Have you noticed how the British 8ever touch? Personally， I find the Latin habit of shaking hands or a friendly kiss quite charming. Try kissing the average English person， and they will either take two steps backwards in horror; or if their escape is 9you will find your lips touching the back of their head. Now what could be 10 than that?

1. A. at least B. at mostC. less thanD. not more than

2. A. signal B. sceneC. signD. sight

3. A. treeB. originalC. superiorD. advanced

4. A. if B. whetherC. whenD. unless

5. A. universalB. uniqueC. regularD. normal

6. A. politenessB. gratitudeC. democracyD. consideration

7. A. orderedB. reservedC. offeredD. stocked

8. A. highlyB. mostlyC. hardlyD. nearly

9. A. confirmedB. assuredC. jammedD. blocked

10. A. betterB. ruderC. more politeD. more frightening

二

It is very important to have healthy teeth. Good teeth help us to chew food. They also help us to look nice.

How does a tooth go bad? The1begins in a little crack in the enamel (琺瑯) covering of the tooth. This happens after germs and bits of food have2 there. Then the decay slowly spreads inside the tooth. In the end， poison goes into the blood， and we may feel quite ill.

How can we keep our teeth3? First， we ought to visit our dentist twice a year. He can fill the small holes in our teeth before they destroy the teeth. He can4 our teeth to check that they are growing in the right way.5， many people wait until they have toothache before they see a dentist. Secondly， we should brush our teeth with a toothbrush and fluoride(氯化物) toothpaste at least6a day--once after breakfast and once before we go to bed. We can also use wooden toothpicks to7 between our teeth after a meal. Thirdly， we should eat food that is8to our teeth and our body: milk， cheese， fish， brown bread， potatoes， red rice， raw vegetables and fresh fruit. Chocolate， sweets， biscuits and cakes are bad， especially9we eat them between meals. They are harmful because they10our teeth and cause decay.

1. A. destruction B. decayC. faultD. hurt

2. A. storedB. collectedC. laidD. piled

3. A. healthyB. completeC. effectiveD. painless

4. A. observeB. skimC. watchD. examine

5. A. UnexpectedlyB. CertainlyC. UnfortunatelyD. Generally

6. A. onceB. twiceC. three timesD. four times

7. A. drillB. digC. cleanD. explore

8. A. deliciousB. valuableC. beneficialD. meaningful

9. A. whatB. howC. whetherD. when

1 0. A. stick toB. attach toC. fix onD. keep to

三

One topic is rarely mentioned in all the talk of improving standards in our schools: the almost complete failure of foreigu-language teaching. As a French graduate who has taught for more than twenty-five years， I believe I have some idea of why the failure is so total. 1the faults already found out in the education system as a whole- such as child-centered learning， the \"discovery\" method， and the low expectations by teachers of pupils -- there have been several serious2which have a direct effect on language teaching.

The first is the removal from the curriculum(課程) of the thorough teaching of English3 . Pupils now do not know a verb from a norm， the subject of a sentence from its object， or the difference between the past， present， or future.

Another important error is mixed， ability teaching or teaching in ability groups so4 that the most able pupils are5and are bored while the least able are lost and6bored. Strangely enough， few head teachers seem to be in favour of mixed-ability school football teams.

Progress depends on memory， and pupils start to forget immediately they stop having7lessons. This is why many people who attended French lessons at school， even those who got good grades， have forgotten it a few years later. 8 they never need it， they do not practice it.

Most American schools have accepted what is inevitable and9modern languages， even Spanish， from the curriculum. Perhaps it is time for Britain to do the same， and stop 10resources on a subject which few pupils want or need.

1. A. Due B. In addition toC. Instead ofD. In spite of

2. A. errorsB. situationsC. systemsD. methods

3. A. vocabularyB. cultureC. grammar D. literature

4. A. wide B. similarC. separateD. unique

5. A. kept out B. turned downC. held backD. left behind

6. A. surprisinglyB. individuallyC. equallyD. hardly

7. A. extraB. traditionalC. basicD. regular

8. A. AlthoughB. BecauseC. UntilD. Unless

9. A. restoredB. absorbedC. prohibitedD. withdrawn

10. A. wastingB. focusingC. exploitingD. sharing