A major new development in system of work in Britain is taking place. Flexible working hours, or “Flextime”, are catching on fast, and trend is continuing. In 1973, over 500 organizations had adopted the idea, and by 1974, this number had risen to over 200,000.
Flexible working hours were invented in Germany in the late 1960’s, but reached Britain only in 1972. The system allows workers to start and finish work whenever they want, with only two requirements. These are, firstly, that all workers must present for certain “key” times in the day, and secondly, that all workers must work an agreed total number of hours per week.
The system had proved a total success wherever it has been tried. A survey of 700 workers on flexible hours showed three main advantages: a better balance between working and private life, avoidance of the need to travel during rush hours and the ability to finish a certain task before leaving.
From the employer’s point of view, the system tends to increase productivity, reduce labour turnover and give workers a greater sense of duty. At first, “Flexible” was mainly confined to white-collar workers, but it is now being applied to manual workers too.According to “Flextime” system, workers need not _________.
| A．work at the same time | B．work all the weekdays |
| C．work hard | D．ask for leave when being absent |
“Key” time is a period when _________.
| A．visitors come to the plants |
| B．all workers must be at work |
| C．employers go round in the workshop |
| D．rush hours are over |
No matter where it is used, this system has proved _________.
| A．entirely effective | B．totally correct |
| C．a complete failure | D．quite difficult |
One of the great advantages of “Flextime” for workers is that they _________.
| A．have a great sense of duty | B．can avoid busy traffic |
| C．can get higher pay | D．can avoid working hard |
Amid Italy's rapid recovery, Christmas was celebrated on Friday with greater enthusiasm and optimism compared to last year.
The mood in the country is brighter. This year's festivities were less gloomy (忧郁的）than those in 2008，with consumer confidence and expenditures on the rise.
" I have spent much more money on gifts，" said the 27-year-old Martina Dello Russo, a communication expert.
"When I went shopping last week many boutiques (专卖店）had sold out several items and for the first time in months people were actually buying，" she added, explaining that it was a good sign demonstrating the recovery of consumer confidence and purchasing power.
The center-right government under Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has recently issued positive data on the state of Italy's economy, despite long-lasting effects of the downturn such as high unemployment.
Christmas in Italy is a traditional religious festivity when families stay at home and gather, rather than go out eating or go on holiday.
This year, Italians spent about 2. 8 billion euros in “intelligent gifts" such as food, wine and other typical Made-in-Italy goods, ac-cording to a survey by farmers' association Coldiretti.
For Italians the cook traditions are very important and we prefer spending on food rather than on clothes or other things, said the61-year-old businessman, Mario Corradi.
The traditional Christmas lunch is a three-course menu ： home-made meat ravioli(馄饨），lamb, artichokes(洋蓟）and fried fish. The celebration on Friday for Christmas is full of __________.
| A．flowers and smiles |
| B．men and women |
| C．exciting activities |
| D．enthusiasm and optimism |
The atmosphere of festivities tell us that __________.
| A．Italians welcome another new Christmas |
| B．Italians hope for a good coming luck |
| C．Consumer confidence and purchasing power is beginning to recover |
| D．Italy has made great progress in all the fields |
What will Italians do on Christmas Day?
| A．They will gather all friends to have a big deal. |
| B．All the family members gather to celebrate the festival at home. |
| C．All the members of family will go out eating. |
| D．They will do something they like at home or other places. |
One thing Italians must do on Christmas Day is __________.
| A．showing their culinary skills |
| B．showing their latest fashion |
| C．telling their contributions |
| D．making out their future plans |
When my father was getting ready for work, our house was ruled by knocks and words. He used to come downstairs to have breakfast. The morning paper lay beside his plate. He always read the " Deaths" first, and then he knocked once on the table. One of my sisters brought his bread, already buttered for him. Usually he said nothing, but once I heard him say，" I love you very much, Edith. I would love more if you buttered my bread on both sides. "He read the paper all through the breakfast. Two knocks on the table meant " I am ready for my tea. " If a single knock followed, that meant " More bread, please. "
After breakfast he said，" Boots. " The paper was spread (展开）for him over the back of an arm-chair. Yesterday's paper was put on the chair for his feet, and his boots were brought to him, freshly cleaned. He read standing at the same time putting on his boots. With one boot finished he said，" Bus. " At that point one of the girls went outside to the garden gate and waited there. Her job was to stop a bus when it came. It came early sometimes and it had to wait for my father. " Overcoat, hat. " One of my sisters had already brushed his overcoat. Now she held it open for him. Another girl came with his hat, nicely brushed. " Handkerchief, pipe (烟斗）" They were brought and put, with his tobacco (烟草），into his pocket. He looked out of the window and said either " Walking stick" or " Umbrella". It was handed to him. Ready now, he was still reading the paper. He didn't put it down until he heard the shout " Bus coming ！ " Then he kissed my mother and went out. The girls breathed freely.
How lucky a man was to have a wife and five daughters at home! When the father made the first knock, he meant __________.
| A．he had begun to read the morning newspaper |
| B．he was made to feel sad by the " Deaths" news |
| C．he would start to read the other parts of the paper |
| D．his breakfast should begin |
What does "Edith" mean?
| A．A kind of bread. | B．One of the writer's sisters. |
| C．The writer. | D．The writer's mother. |
All the daughters were quite busy in the morning because __________.
| A．their father never helped them |
| B．their father always gave different instructions at the same time |
| C．each of them had to start and finish her job just on time |
| D．they were not clever or quick enough to do their jobs |
What was the father's favorite?
| A．Reading newspaper. |
| B．Having bread buttered on both sides. |
| C．Giving instructions. |
| D．Being clean and tidy. |
Does a drink a day keep heart attacks away? Over the past 20years, numerous studies have found that moderate alcohol consumption, say, one or two beers, glasses of wine or cocktails daily helps to prevent coronary heart disease. Last week a report in the New England Journal of Medicine added strong new evidence in support of that theory. More importantly, the work provided the first solid indication of how alcohol works to protect the heart.
In the study, researchers from Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvad Medical School compared the drinking habits of 340 men and women who had suffered recent heart attacks with those of healthy people of the same age and sex. The scientists found that people who sip one to three drinks a day are about half as likely to suffer heart attacks as nondrinkers are. The apparent source of the protection ： those who drank alcohol had higher blood levels of high density lipoproteins (脂蛋白），the so called good cholesterol (胆固醇），which is known to prevent heart disease.
As evidence has mounted (增长），some doctors have begun recommending a daily drink for patients of heart diseases. But most physicians are not ready to recommend a regular happy hour for everyone. The risks of teetotal ling (绝对戒酒）are nothing compared with the dangers of too much alcohol, including high blood pressure, strokes and liver troubles—not to mention violent behavior and traffic accident. Moreover, some studies suggest that even moderate drinking may increase the incidence of breast and colon cancer. Until there is evidence that the benefits of a daily dose(吸收剂量）of alcohol outweigh the risks, most people won't be able to take a doctor's prescription to the neighborhood bar or liquor store. The report mentioned in the first paragraph indicates __________.
| A．the way in which alcohol can help the heart |
| B．that a couple of cocktails daily can help stop heart problems |
| C．why alcoholic drinks are dangerous to one's health |
| D．that reports on the advantages of alcohol were misled |
Experiments showed that nondrinkers had __________.
| A．larger amounts of good cholesterol |
| B．smaller amounts of good cholesterol |
| C．higher blood pressure |
| D．lower blood pressure |
According to the passage, moderate drinking __________.
| A．is recommended by most doctors for heart patients |
| B．should be allowed on prescription |
| C．is still not medically advisable |
| D．is not related to liver problems |
The main theme of this passage is __________.
| A．the change in recent drinking habits |
| B．the connection between cancer and alcohol |
| C．whether moderate drinkers outlive nondrinkers |
| D．whether alcohol may be good for one's health |
Several different stories are told about the origin of Saint Valentine's Day. One legend dates as far back as the days of the Roman Empire. According to the story, Claudius, the Emperor of Rome, wanted to increase the size of his army. He knew that it would be easier to get young men who were not married to join. Therefore he made a rule that no young man could marry until he had served a certain number of years in the army.
A priest(牧师)named Valentine broke the rule and secretly married a great many young people. Finally, Claudius found out Valentine and put the priest in prison, where he remained until his death on February 14.
After his death, Valentine was made a saint (圣人），and the day of his death was named Saint Valentine's Day. It became the custom for lovers to send each other message on this day. Now Saint Valentine's Day is a time for people to send one another greetings of many kinds.
February 14，Valentine's Day, is sweethearts, day, on which people in love with each other express their tender(温柔的）emotions.
People sometimes put their love message in a heart shaped box of chocolates, or a bunch of flowers tied with red ribbons(带子）. Words of letters may be written on the flower-covered card, or some-thing else. Whatever the form may be, the message is almost the same ： " Will you be my Valentine?" Valentine was put in prison because __________.
| A．he secretly got married |
| B．he didn't serve in the army |
| C．he married many young people secretly |
| D．he broke the rule |
This passage mainly tells us about __________.
| A．how Valentine died |
| B．the Emperor of Rome |
| C．how Valentine's Day is celebrated |
| D．the origin of Valentine's Day |
February 14 is chosen as Valentine's Day because __________.
| A．lovers express their tender emotions on this day |
| B．people want to remember Valentine |
| C．people send one another greetings of many kinds on this day |
| D．people want to fix a date for lovers to express their emotions |
According to the rule，__________.
| A．no young men could get married unless they were old enough |
| B．young men could marry if they served in the army for several years |
| C．no one could get married without the emperor's permission |
| D．young men could many only in the army |
If you thought the Lantern Festival of China is just a day for family reunions and eating some yuanxiao, then, you are wrong. It is actually the Chinese carnival.
The Chinese traditional Lantern Festival, Yuanxiao Festival in Chinese, which is on the 15th day of the Chinese Lunar Calendar and falls on Feb. 17 this year, is actually not just about getting together with family but also means a date that all people should cheer up and celebrate. It is an ancient Chinese carnival.
Cao Baoming, the vice president of Chinese Folk Literature and Art Society, said that the Yuanxiao Festival, also known as "Shangyuan Festival" and " Lantern Festival，" had become a popular folk custom during the Han dynasty more than 2，000years ago.
The festival is usually considered as the last peak of Spring Festival because people will start their life in the new year officially after the day. People of the whole country will cheer up to celebrate it and also they will pray that Heaven will offer them seasonable weather for a healthy harvest in the new year. Therefore, the custom of joining for celebrations at Yuanxiao Festival is widely spread among ordinary people.
Every year, when the day comes, people will go out of their own houses to the streets to look at various lanterns, guess lantern riddles and watch performances of Dragon Dances, Lion Dances, stilt-walking, fireworks show and so on. Some of those traditional custom and activities are national intangible cultural heritages now.
Actually, the Lantern Festival is not a single festival, and it only could be understood in the context of the Spring Festival.
The Spring Festival eve is usually a night that people stay at home to wait for the coming of the new year. From then until the end of Lantern Festival, it is actually a whole process of people expanding their spaces of activities as well as interpersonal relation-ships. The Lantern Festival of China means __________.
| A．family reunions and eating some yuanxiao |
| B．a new starting of a year |
| C．reunions and celebration |
| D．saying good-bye between family members |
The Lantern Festival of China is considered as a new start of the year because __________.
| A．people will start their life in the new year officially after the day |
| B．people will separate each other to live after the day |
| C．there is no opportunity to reunite together again |
| D．there is no other festival to celebrate after the day |
On the Lantern Festival people all go out to __________.
| A．visit their friends and relatives |
| B．prepare for some lanterns |
| C．clean the streets and other places |
| D．guess Lantern riddles and watch various activities |
The activities on the Lantern Festival people do are the following except __________.
| A．dancing | B．fireworks show |
| C．stilt-walking | D．playing poker |
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