【正文】 past 40 years, and the situation always seemed to improve. I was speechless! He continued, “You don?t remember?” I said, “Sadly, no, I don?t.” But I did ask if I could have a copy of the letter. He said he would it to me. After Casper finished work at Murphy?s wedding, we met on the steps of the church. Casper came up to me and presented the letter. He lived a block away from the church and ran home to get it after the Mass. The envelope had faded and turned yellow, and so was the letter inside. That letter had to be nearly 50 years old. In simple terms, the letter read: These hard times are temporary: Maintain your passion for the game. Never quit and you will be back on top again shortly. Hang in there! Casper Barrata once again became the best pitcher in the League and remained to be a thorn in our team?s side every time he pitched against us. 25. Why did the author go to the church? A. To get married. B. To hold a wedding. C. To attend a wedding. D. To meet his friend Casper Barrata. 26 What does the underlined sentence show in Paragraph 2? A. The author was moved by Casper. B. The author wasn?t good at speaking. C. The author admired Casper too much. D. The author didn?t recall the letter at all. 27. Why did Casper keep the letter for decades? A. The letter was sent by his best friend. B. The letter inspired him in his sport career. C. The letter was written by a softball pitcher. D. The letter helped him recall something in the past. C How many hours does it take to be fluent in English? There are plenty of people in the UK for whom even basic English is a problem. According to the survey, 726,000 people in England and Wales said they could not speak English well, and another 138,000 said they did not speak it at all. Ling, 40, who arrived five years ago from China, found it difficult to learn English. “When I came here I was pregnant and so I was at home for the next three years. It took me longer to learn as I was very busy with the children.” Eventually she was able to begin taking classes and now speaks good conversational English. But even with classes, it can be a long process to pick up the language. Age is the most important factor in language acquisition, acquisition, says Mila Vulchanova, professor of linguistics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. “There is a sensitive period in language learning, which is biologically determined, with an onset at birth and a decline around puberty. So the younger the immigrant, the better. Since this decline is only gradual, teenagers are at an advantage over adults,” he says. There are a number of systems for grading English. The government expects immigrants to reach “ESOL Entry 3” or “B1 level” in Scotland, before they can be granted citizenship. It?s equivalent (相當(dāng)?shù)?) to being able to hold a confident conversation and — it might take 360 hours of study to achieve. Gee Osborne said in June following the spending review that welfare claimants (申請者 ) who don?t speak English will have their benefits cut if they fail to attend language courses. Huan Japes, deputy chief executive of English UK, a trade body for language colleges, says a rule of thumb is 360 hours — 120 hours for each of three stages — to get to the standard the government expects benefit claimants to reach. But many of the people who attend courses are visiting students rather than people settling in the UK. Immigrants tend to have very varied levels of education. “Using 120 hours [for each stage of English fluency] is a rather traditional approach to course book learning,” says Dr Elaine Boyd, head of English language at Trinity College London. “If someone is really highly motivated, they can learn really quickly. It?s mon for children under the age of 11 to be very immersed and be fluent in about six months.” 28 The example of Ling is given to show that . A. it?s important to speak fluent English B. many immigrants attend English classes C. it?s difficult to learn English well D. many immigrants can?t speak English in England 29. What does Mila Vulchanova mainly stress? A. The necessity of working hard at English. B. The function of the sensitive period. C. The advantages of children?s learning English. D. The importance of starting learning English early. 30. What Dr Elaine Boyd says suggests that . A. 120 hours is a standard that is a little low B. 120 hours is a standard that is too high C. English fluency can be easily achieved D. English fluency can hardly be achieved 31. The author develops the passage mainly by . A. using survey data