As I was thinking about language learning the other day, the image of baking bread came into my mind. I compared some of the exercises and drills that we put ourselves through in order to learn a language to the various ingredients (原料) that go into baking a loaf of fresh bread.
Real language learning takes place in human relationships. No one sits down and eats a cup of flour, even if he is hungry and in a hurry. You don' t become bilingual (雙語的) by learning lists of vocabulary. You don' t become a speaker of a language by memorizing grammatical rules. You become bilingual by entering a community that uses that other language as its basic means of communication.
I am not suggesting that we can make bread without ingredients. Flour is necessary, as are yeast (酵母), salt, water and other ingredients. Vocabulary is part of any language and will have to be learned. Grammatical rules exist in every language and cannot be ignored. But merely combining the appropriate ingredients in the recommended proportions does not result in bread. At best, you only end up with a ball of dough (面團(tuán)).
In order to get bread, you have to apply heat to the dough. And in language learning, that heat comes from the community. Anyone who has learned a second language has experienced that heat. It creeps up your neck when you ask the babysitter, “Have you already been eaten?” when you meant to say, ‘‘Have you already eaten?” When you try to say something quite innocent and the whole room bursts into laughter, you are experiencing the heat that turns raw dough into good bread.
Remember the old saying, “If you can’ t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen". This is where language learning often breaks down because we find the heat uncomfortable and we stop the baking process. In other words, we can' t stand the heat, so we get out of the kitchen.
However, the language learner who stays in the kitchen—in the heat—until the combined
ingredients are thoroughly transformed will enjoy the richness of a quality loaf of bread. He is glad that he did not "get out of the kitchen” at the important moment when the oven seemed too hot.
Now the baker enjoys good bread, seated at the table with family members and guests. However, he does not focus on "bread" but rather on enjoying the whole feast: fine salads, pastas, fresh vegetables, rich desserts and so on. And the language learner has arrived when he no longer needs to focus on language. Language merely becomes one element in the "feast" of membership in his chosen community.

小題1:B小題2:D小題3:C小題4:A
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

I arrived at the bus station much too early for the London bus, which was not to leave until five to twelve. I pushed through the crowds, looking for somewhere to sit down. Scores of people were standing about, or struggling along with their bags and the cases to find the right lines. There was a party of school girls. I could see teachers trying to keep them in order. But there was nowhere for me to sit.
I stepped into the station buffet. I looked up at the clock there. It was only twenty to twelve. I found a seat opposite a large mirror on the wall. Just then a friend of mine called Jim came in and sat with me. "What time is your bus?" asked Jim. "Oh, there's a plenty of time yet," I answered. "Oh, I'll get some drinks then," said Jim. We talked while drinking. Then I looked at the clock again. "Good heavens! It's going backward!" I cried. "A moment ago it was twenty to twelve and now it's half past eleven." "You are looking at the clock in the mirror," said Jim. I could kick myself for being so stupid. I had not realized that the marks for one and eleven on the face of the clock were the same. The next bus was not to leave for another hour. I have never liked mirror since then.
小題1: The London bus left ________. 
A．a(chǎn)t five to twelveB．before five to twelve
C．a(chǎn)fter five to twelve D．until five to twelve
小題2:The writer went to the station buffet because ________.
A．he was thirsty
B．he saw the station buffet was not so crowded
C．it was still early for his bus and he couldn't find a place to sit at the bus station
D．he had changed his mind; he wouldn't go to London
小題3: The writer sat ________.
A．behind a mirrorB．facing a mirror
C．under a mirrorD．near a mirror
小題4: Jim came to the station buffet at about ________.
A．twenty to twelveB．twenty past twelve
C．half past oneD．twenty past eleven
小題5:What time was it when the writer looked at the clock again?
It was ________.                                       
A．half past elevenB．twelve thirty
C．twelve twentyD．eleven thirty

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, “Mum, you must come and see the daffodils （水仙花）before they are over.” I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Lake Arrowhead. “I will go next Tuesday,” I promised, a little unwillingly, on her third call.
The next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn’s house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, “Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible （看不見的）in the cloud and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see!”
My daughter smiled calmly and said, “We drive in this weather all the time, Mum. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.”
After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand-lettered sign that read “Daffodil Garden”.
We got out of the car and each took a child’s hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most beautiful sight! There were five acres of flowers! “But who has done this?” I asked Carolyn. “It’s just one woman,” Carolyn answered. “That’s her home,” Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house. On the patio （庭院）, we saw a poster. “Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking” was the headline.
The first answer was a simple one. “50,000 bulbs （鱗莖）,” it read. The second answer was, “One at a time, by one woman.” The third answer was, “Began in 1958.”
I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than fifty years before, had begun -- one bulb at a time -- to bring the beauty and joy to the mountain top.
小題1:The author didn’t go to see the daffodils at first because _________.
A．she was not interested in them
B．they were growing on the mountain top
C．the weather was not good enough
D．it was not easy for her to drive there
小題2:What do we know about the woman living in the A-frame house?
A．She must be out of mind.
B．She acted as a gardener there.
C．It took her great determination to grow the daffodils.
D．She was poor and made her living by selling daffodils.
小題3:What could the author probably learn from this experience?
A．Nothing is too difficult if you put your heart into it.
B．We must put the interests of others above our own.
C．We can change the world by growing flowers.
D．It’s never too late to learn.
小題4: What would be the best title for the passage?
A．An Unforgettable Experience.B．Beautiful Daffodils.
C．One Bulb at a Time.D．I Love Daffodils.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

I promised Michael I wouldn’t mention this until the season was over．Now l think it's time．
Early last season, I wrote a column about an art of kindness I had seen Jordan do to a disabled child outside the stadium．After it ran，I got a call from a marl in the western suburbs．He said，“I read what you wrote about Jordan．but I thought I should tell you another thing I saw．”
Here it comes, I thought. It always does. Write something nice about a person, and people call you up to say that the person is not so nice.
A few weeks later Jordan and I were talking about something else before a game, and I brought up what the man had said. Was the man right? Had Jordan really been talking to those two boys in that poor and dirty .neighborhood?
"Not two boys," Jordan said. "But four."
And he named them. He said four names. And what did they talk about?
"Everything,” Jordan said. " Anything. I’ve asked to see their grades so that I can check to see if they're paying attention to their study. If it turns out that one or two of them may need teaching, I make sure they get it."
It's just one more part of Michael Jordan's life one more thing that no one knows about, and one more thing Jordan does fight for. The NBA season is over now, and those boys have their memories. So do J! When the expert reviewers begin to tuna against Jordan as they surely will, I'll think about those boys under the streetlight, waiting for the man they know to come. For someone they can depend on.
小題1:The writer wrote this story about Jordan and his young friends because _______
A．he thought highly of Jordan's deeds
B．he hated to see Jordan do something bad
C．he believed it was time to help the disabled
D．he felt sure he needn't keep the promise then
小題2: A man in the western suburbs made a call to_______
A．know why Jordan stopped in a bad area
B．get a chance to become famous himself
C．let the writer know Jordan was not that nice
D．offer an example to show how Jordan helped others
小題3: Jordan talked with the boys because he _______.                     
A．needed their support
B．had promised to do so
C．liked to teach them to play basketball
D．wanted to make sure they all studied well
小題4: The text implies that Jordan is _______.
A．a(chǎn)n excellent basketball player
B．good at dealing with problems of life
C．a(chǎn)lways ready to make friends with young people
D．willing to do whatever he can for the good of society

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

After spending three days in a wheelchair, I was ready to quit. Not only did I have to battle cracked (裂縫的) and uneven (不平的) pavements, I had to deal with the bad attitude of pedestrians (行人) and a cold rain. But I didn’t give up because of people like Tiffany Payne.
Payne, who has been using a wheelchair for 18 years, laughed at me:
“Imagine trying to get around town in the winter,” she said.
I could see her point: You’re battling to get to a doctor’s appointment (預(yù)約), but no one has shoveled (鏟) after a big snowfall. Your choices: Move out and risk getting stuck, or reschedule the appointment.
Those of us fortunate enough to get around on our own two legs don’t give a second thought to the person in a wheelchair next to us at a crosswalk. That would require us to look down.
So I decided to try using a wheelchair to get a sample of what their lives are like. It wasn’t long before I saw that people who use wheelchairs are forced to deal with a lot of trouble.
During my experiment, I was ignored by store staff while shopping and bumped into by inattentive (疏忽的) walkers without so much as an apology.    
Some people even gave me angry looks as if I were the one at fault.
Once in a store, a woman bumped into me trying to get to the new iPad. She didn’t say, “Excuse me.”
When salespeople did offer assistance, they talked to people who were with me, instead of me. I wanted to yell: “Hey, I’m down here!”
Some salespeople talked to me as though I were a child or acted like they didn’t want to be bothered with me.
People who use wheelchairs want to be treated like everyone else. They also comprehend (理解), so you don’t have to speak to them in a childlike, sing-song voice. It’s not very appealing (吸引人的), especially when the person is an adult. And most importantly, remember they have feelings that can be hurt just like yours.
Spending three days in a wheelchair made me look differently at those who have to use one. I hope you do the same.
By James E. Causey
小題1:The author writes the story to _______.
A．help those in wheelchairs gain self-confidence
B．share his experience of acting as a wheelchair user
C．a(chǎn)sk people to show sympathy for those in wheelchairs
D．call on people to respect and help those in wheelchairs
小題2: During his three days in a wheelchair, the author met all of the following  
difficulties EXCEPT ______.
A．bad road conditionsB．poor attitudes of ordinary people
C．terrible medical serviceD．bad weather
小題3: What can we conclude from the article?
A．A wheelchair user may feel offended when you do not address him or her directly.
B．Assistants in big stores are usually kind to people in wheelchairs.
C．People in wheelchairs should fight for fair treatment.
D．People in wheelchairs are usually hard to get along with.
小題4: Which of the following statements would the author agree to?
A．Look down on a person in a wheelchair.
B．Speak to a person in a wheelchair in a sing-song voice.
C．Treat a person in a wheelchair as you would any other person.
D．Offer assistance to a person in a wheelchair without asking for permission.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

He met her at a party. She was so outstanding that many guys were chasing after her, while he was so ordinary. At the end of the party, he invited her to have coffee with him. She was surprised but due to being being polite, she promised.
They sat in a nice coffee shop, he was too nervous to say anything, and she felt uncomfortable, too. Suddenly he asked the waiter, “Would you please give me some salt? I’d like to put it in my coffee.” Everybody stared at him. It was so strange! His face turned red but still, he put the salt in his coffee and drank it. She asked him curiously, “Why do you have this hobby?” He replied, “When I was a little boy, I lived near the sea, I liked playing in the sea, I could feel the taste of the sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I have the salty coffee, I always think of my childhood, my hometown, and my parents who are still living there.” While saying that tears filled his eyes. She was deeply touched. Then she also started to speak, speaking about her faraway hometown, her childhood, and her family.
That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their love. They continued to date. She found that actually he was a man who met all her demands. He had tolerance, kind-hearted, warm and careful. Thanks to his salty coffee! They married. And, every time she made coffee for him, she put some salt in the coffee, as she knew that was the way he liked it. After 40 years, he passed away and left her a letter which said, “My dearest, please forgive my whole life’s lie. Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time, actually I wanted some sugar, but said salt. It was hard for me to change so I just went ahead. I didn’t like the salty coffee then, what a strange bad taste! But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life, for it was prepared by you.”
小題1: The man was nervous at the coffee shop, because _______.
A．everybody stared at him at that time
B．many guys chased after the woman
C．he didn’t feel himself a match for the woman
D．he had the strange habit of drinking salty coffee
小題2: From this passage, we can infer that ________.
A．the man’s lie won the woman’s love
B．the man’s parents onced lived near the sea
C．the woman talked with the man, for they had the same experience
D．the woman realised what salty coffee had to do with a good man
小題3: What can be concluded about the man?
A．He had intended to give his wife a surprise at his death
B．He unwillingly developed a taste for salty coffee after marriage
C．He was so stubborn as to drink for a life what he didn’t like
D．He enjoyed his lifelong bitter salty coffee out of love
小題4: Which of the following could be the best title for this passage?
A．A Foolish LieB．Salty Coffee
C．A Sad Love StoryD．Love in a Coffee Shop

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

The small unframed painting called “Fisherman” was signed by a little-known Italian artist, Maveleone (1669-1740). When it was sold recently in New York for $27,000, the seller, Mr. Oliver Pitt, was asked to explain how the picture had come into his possession.
Pitt said, “I didn’t know it was so valuable. I’m not an art expert. Photography is my hobby. I bought ‘Fisherman’ in Italy in 1970 for $140. The picture was dirty, and I couldn’t see the artist’s signature. But anyway it wasn’t the picture that I liked. I bought it because of the frame. ”
“It’s a most unusual frame, made of tiny, silvery sea-shells. They are set in such a way that they reflect perfect light onto the surface of a picture. I now have a photograph of my wife in that frame, and I’ll never part with it.”
“When I returned to New York I showed the painting in its frame to a customs officer. I told him that I had paid $140 for it but admitted I didn’t know its actual worth. The customs man valued it at $140, and I was asked to pay duty on that value. I did so, there and then. ” 
“Later, I took off the frame, and that uncovered Maveleone’s signature. My wife suggested in fun that the painting might be a valuable one, so I cleaned it and put it up for sale.”
As a result of this explanation, Oliver Pitt had to appear in court. He was accused of knowingly making a false statement of the value of a picture so as to cheat the Customs Department.
Pitt was not happy. “I told the truth as I knew it then,” he said, “What else could I say?”
And then the judge agreed with him. “The Customs Department is to be responsible,” he said, “for making a true valuation of goods brought into the country, so that the correct amount of duty may be charged. Mr. Pitt did not cause or try to cause the mistake that was made. He paid the duty that was demanded. If, now, the Customs Department finds that its valuation was not correct, it cannot be allowed to have another try. Pitt is not guilty”.
小題1:When Oliver Pitt bought the picture, ________.
A．it was unframedB．Maveleone signed the deal
C．he suggested that it was valuableD．it was the frame that attracted him
小題2: From the passage we can infer that if Maveleone had been a well-known artist,        _.
A．the painting would have cost much more than $ 140
B．he wouldn’t have sold his painting
C．the customs officer wouldn’t have been cheated
D．Pitt wouldn’t have had the intention to buy any of his paintings
小題3: Pitt took off the frame probably in order to        _.
A．clean the painting to put it up for sale
B．look for the artist’s signature
C．use it for his wife’s photograph
D．find the painting’s true value
小題4:Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the story?  
A．In the end Pitt was asked to pay the correct amount of duty.
B．In the end Pitt sold the frame of the painting at an even higher price.
C．In the end the Customs Department had no right to revalue the painting.
D．In the end Pitt’s wife was regarded as an expert because of her wise suggestion.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Last summer I went through a training program and became a literacy volunteer (掃盲志愿者). The training I received, though excellent, didn't tell me how it was to work with a real student, however. When I began to discover what other people’s lives were like because they could not read, I realized the true importance of reading.
My first student Marie was a 44-year-old single mother of three children. In the first lesson, I found out she walked two miles to the nearest supermarket twice a week because she didn't know which bus to take. When I told her I would get her a bus schedule, she told me it would not help because she couldn't read it. She said she also had difficulty once she got to the supermarket because she couldn't always remember what she needed. Also, she could only recognize items by sight, so if the product had a different label, she would not recognize it as the product she wanted.
As we worked together, learning how to read built Marie’s self-confidence. She began to make rapid progress and was even able to take the bus to the supermarket. After this successful trip, she reported how self-confident she felt. At the end of the program, she began helping her youngest son, Tony, a shy first grader, with his reading. I found that helping Marie to build her self-confidence was more rewarding than anything I had ever done before.
As a literacy volunteer, I learned a great deal about teaching and helping others. In fact, I may have learned more from the experience than Marie did.
小題1:What did the writer do last summer?
A．She worked in the supermarket.
B．She helped someone to learn to read.
C．She helped some single mothers.
D．She was trained by a literacy volunteer.
小題2: Why didn't Marie go to the supermarket by bus at first?
A．Because she liked to walk to the supermarket.
B．Because she didn't have a bus schedule.
C．Because she couldn't afford the bus ticket.
D．Because she couldn't find the right bus.
小題3:How did Marie use to find the goods she wanted in the supermarket?
A．She knew where the goods were in the supermarket.
B．She asked others to take her to the right place.
C．She managed to find the goods by their looks.
D．She remembered the names of the goods.
小題4:Which of the statements is TRUE about Marie?
A．She could do many things she had not been able to before.
B．She was able to read stories with the help of her son.
C．She decided to continue her studies in school.
D．She helped to build up my self-confidence.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table, I couldn't help overhearing parts of their conversation. At one point the woman asked, “So, how have you been?” And the boy—who could not have been more than seven or eight years old—replied. “Frankly, I've been feeling a little depressed lately.”
This incident stuck in my mind because it confirmed my growing belief that children are changing. As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn't find out we were “depressed”, that is, in low spirits, until we were in high school.
Undoubtedly a change in children has increased steadily in recent years. Children don't seem childlike anymore. Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to.
Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different. Childhood as it once was no longer exists. Why?
Human development depends not only on born biological states, but also on patterns of gaining social knowledge. Movement from one social role to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new social positions. Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages; traditionally, we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders.
In the last 30 years, however, a secret-revelation（揭示） machine has been equipped in 98 percent of American homes. It is called television. Television passes information to all viewers alike, whether they are children or adults. Unable to resist the temptation （誘惑）,  many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more attractive moving pictures.
Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information which children will gain. Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials.
小題1: According to the author, feeling depressed is ____________.
A．a(chǎn) sure sign of a mental problem in a child
B．a(chǎn) mental state present in all humans, including children
C．something that cannot be avoided in children's mental development
D．something hardly to be expected in a young child
小題2:According to the author, that today's children seem adult-like results from ____________.
A．the widespread influence of television
B．the poor arrangement of teaching content
C．the fast pace of human scientific development
D．the rising standard of living
小題3: What does the author think of communication through print for children?
A．It enables children to gain more social information.
B．It develops children's interest in reading and writing.
C．It helps children to read and write well.
D．It can control what children are to learn.
小題4:What does the author think of the change in today's children?
A．He feels their adult-like behavior is so funny.
B．He thinks the change worthy of note.
C．He considers it a rapid development.
D．He seems to be upset about it.

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