If you ask people to name the one person who had the greatest effect on the English language, you will get answers like "Shakespeare," "Samuel Johnson," and "Webster," but none of these men had any effect at all compared to a man who didn't even speak English--William the Conqueror . Before 1066, in the land we now call Great Britain lived people belonging to two major language groups. In the west-central region lived the Welsh, who spoke a Celtic language, and in the north lived the Scots, whose language, though not the same as Welsh, was also Celtic. In the rest of the country lived the Saxons, actually a mixture of Anglos, Saxons, and other Germanic and Nordic peoples, who spoke what we now call Anglo-Saxon (or Old English), a Germanic language. If this state of affairs had lasted, English today would be close to German. But this state of affairs did not last. In l066 the Normans led by William defeated the Saxons and began their rule over England. For about a century, French became the official language of England while Old English became the language of peasants. As a result, English words of politics and the law come from French rather than German. In some cases, modern English even shows a distinction   between upper-class French and lower-class Anglo-Saxon in its words. We even have different words for some foods, meat in particular, depending on whether it is still out in the fields or at home ready to be cooked, which shows the fact that the Saxon peasants were doing the farming, while the upper-class Normans were doing most of the eating. When Americans visit Europe for the first time, they usually find Germany more "foreign" than France because the German they see on signs and advertisements seems much more different from English than French does. Few realize that the English language is actually Germanic in its beginning and that the French influences are all the result of one man's ambition . Why does France appear less foreign than Germany to Americans on their first visit to Europe? A) Most advertisements in France appear in English. B) They know little of the history of the English language. C) Many French words are similar to English ones. D) They know French better than German.
C

American colleges and universities consider a number of things about a student who wants to be admitted. Experts say the most important thing is the students' high school record. Besides, student's interests and activities may also play a part in getting accepted. But in most cases another consideration is how well the student did on college entrance exams. Here we'd like to discuss two of these tests: the SAT and the ACT. Most American schools accept either one. The SAT measures reasoning skills in mathematics and language. Students have almost four hours to complete the SAT. The newest part is an essay. Students have twenty-five minutes to write an answer to a question. The SAT costs 41.5$. Besides, the international processing charge is 22$ more. And test-takers in India and Pakistan must also pay a 21.5 $ security charge. Students may also need to take SAT subject tests in areas like history, science and foreign language. Subject tests cost eighteen dollars each. The ACT is an achievement test. It is designed to measure what a student has learned in school. Students are tested in mathematics, English, reading and science. A writing test is offered but not required. Without it, the ACT takes about three hours to complete. The essay part adds thirty minutes. The ACT costs forty-nine dollars to take outside the United States. The writing test costs an additional fourteen dollars. What's most important in students' admission to American colleges and universities? A) High school record B) Interests and activities C) Performances in SAT and ACT D) Skills in mathematics and language
A

Every human being has a unique arrangement of the skin on his fingers and this arrangement is unchangeable. Scientists and experts have proved the uniqueness of finger-prints and discovered that no exactly similar pattern is passed on from parents to children, though nobody knows why this is the case. The ridge structure on a person's fingers does not change with growth and is not affected by surface injuries. Burns, cuts and other damage to the outer part of the skin will be replaced in time by new one which bears a reproduction of the original pattern. It is only when the inner skin is injured that the arrangement will be destroyed. Some criminals make use of this fact to remove their own finger-prints but this is a dangerous and rare step to take. Finger-prints can be made very easily with printer's ink. They can be recorded easily. With special methods, identification can be achieved successfully within a short time. Because of the simplicity and economy of this system, finger-prints have often been used as a method of solving criminal case. A suspected man may deny a charge but this may be in vain. His finger-prints can prove who he is even if his appearance has been changed by age or accident. When a suspect leaves finger-prints behind at the scene of a crime, they are difficult to detect with the naked eye. Special techniques are used to "develop" them. Some of the marks found are incomplete but identification is possible if a print of a quarter of an inch square can be obtained. Scientists and experts have proved that the pattern of a human being's finger skin  _ A) is similar to his mother's B) is valuable to himself only C) is like that of others with the same type of blood. D) is different from that of all others
D

Many studies have been carried out to discover the benefits of listening to and playing music. The growing field of "music treatment" is presenting increasing amounts of proof that point to the great powers of music. Emotional  benefits The right song can put anybody in a better state. Most people turn to certain songs to make them feel better. The main reason behind this is that music can express our feelings better than any other medium. In addition, we have favorite songs for particular situations because we turn to the music which has the best effect on us. Music and exercise Have you ever noticed how out of breath you get when listening to an exciting song while doing exercises at the gym? It has been suggested that exciting music can actually increase muscle tension  , while light music does the opposite. It has also been proved that music can improve motor skills. An experiment done on a group of pupils proved that children learning basic motor skills such as throwing ,catching and jumping while listening to music did better than those with no music. Chronic pain relief  Music also has the ability to reduce chronic pain. In fact, according to a paper published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, music can reduce chronic pain by 21%. The paper reports that 60 patients in an experiment were divided into two groups--one group listened to music, and the other did not. The results showed that people who listened to music for an hour each day for a week improved physically and psychologically  while those who did not listen to music did not. It can be inferred from the passage that A) the 60 patients all have physical and psychological problems B) 21%of the patients recovered quickly with the help of music C) all the patients listened to music daily D) music can cure people of muscle pain slowly

A