London will stage its biggest political funeral in almost half a century on Wednesday when Britain's governing elite join the Queen and global leaders to bid farewell to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, better known as the “ Iron Lady".
In an event comparable to that of Winston Churchill's funeral in 1965, Thatcher's coffin will be carried on a horse-drawn gun carriage through streets lined with admirers from parliament to the city's most famous cathedral.
The bells of London's symbolic Big Ben clock tower will fall silent for the first time since Churchill's funeral and more than 700 men and women from Britain's armed forces will honor a woman who led them to victory in the 1982 Falklands War as foreign politicians from around 170 nations look on.
Surveys have shown that many are unhappy that the estimated l0-million($15 million)pound bill for the funeral is being picked up by the taxpayer, while some left-wing lawmakers say the luxurious funeral is too expensive.
But her admirers, of whom there are many in her party and in southern England, argue that her historical profile deserves such a funeral. She was the country's first and only woman premier, was Britain's longest-serving prime minister of the 20th century, and won three general elections.
More than 2,300 mourners will attend including 11 serving prime ministers from around the world, the British government's entire cabinet, two heads of state and 17 foreign ministers.
But there will be notable absences. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev is too ill to attend and Nancy Reagan, the widow of Thatcher's great U·S. ally Ronald Reagan, is also unable to come.
Thatcher struck up a close relationship with Reagan during the Cold War, backed the first President George Bush during the 1991 Gulf War, and was among the first to discover that Gorbachev was a man she could "do business with. ”
Covered in the red, white and blue British flag, Thatcher's coffin lay overnight in a 13th-century church in Britain's parliament, a forum she dominated for years. From the passage we know that Big Ben clock tower will fall silent to .
| A．get repaired for the first time |
| B．honour the passing away of the great woman |
| C．tell the specific time to the public |
| D．welcome the officials from all over the world |
Who that are still alive will be absent from the funeral?
| A．Mikhail Gorbachev and Nancy Reagan. |
| B．Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan. |
| C．Nancy Reagan and Ronald Reagan. |
| D．George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev. |
From the passage we can learn that Margaret Thatcher was .
| A．strong and smart | B．weak and disappointing |
| C．aggressive and warlike | D．stubborn and luxurious |
Which of the following might serve as the best title of the passage?
| A．The legend of Thatcher, the “Iron Lady". |
| B．Why Big Ben falls silent for the first time? |
| C．Who will pay for such a luxurious funeral? |
| D．London will witness its biggest political funeral. |
In England, people often talk about the weather because they can experience (经历) four seasons in one day. In the morning the weather is warm just like in spring. An hour later black clouds come and then it rains hard. The weather gets a little cold. In the late afternoon the sky will be sunny, the sun will begin to shine, and it will be summer at this time of a day.
In England, people can also have summer in winter, or have winter in summer. So in winter they can swim sometimes, and in summer sometimes they should take warm clothes.
When you go to England, you will see that some English people usually take an umbrella (伞)or a raincoat with them in the sunny morning, but you should not laugh at them.
If you don't take an umbrella or a raincoat, you will regret (后悔) later in the day.Why do people in England often talk about the weather?
| A．Because they may have four seasons in one day |
| B．Because they often have very good weather |
| C．Because the weather is warm just like in spring |
| D．Because the sky is sunny all day |
From the story we know that when _________come, there is a heavy rain.
| A．sunshine and snow | B．black clouds |
| C．summer and winter | D．spring and autumn |
"People can also have summer in winter." Means "it is sometimes too ______in winter."
| A．warm | B．cool | C．cold | D．rainy |
In the sunny morning some English people usually take a raincoat or an umbrella with them because ________.
| A．their friends ask them to do so | B．it often rains in England |
| C．they are going to sell them | D．they are their favourite things |
The best title (标题)for this passage is ________.
| A．Bad Seasons | B．Summer or Winter |
| C．The Weather in England | D．Strange English People |
When I was young, I had an old neighbor named Dr. Gibbs. He didn’t look like any doctor I’d ever known. He never shouted at us for playing in his yard. I remembered him as a neighbor who was nicer than anyone else in the neighborhood.
When Dr. Gibbs was happy, he was planting trees. And his life’s goal was to make it a forest.
Dr. Gibbs had some interesting theories about planting. He talked about trees that weren’t watered would grow deep roots in search of water. So he never watered his trees. He planted an oak (橡树) and, instead of watering it every morning, he beat it with the rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree’s attention.
Dr. Gibbs died a couple of years. Every now and again, I walk by his house and look at the trees that he planted twenty-five years ago. They’re very strong now.
I planted a couple of trees a few years later. I watered them regularly and took good care of them. Whenever a cold wind blows, they shake their leaves and branches.
The funny thing about those trees of Dr. Gibbs was that difficulty seemed to help them in ways comfort and ease never could.What was Dr. Gibbs’ life goal?
| A．To build a forest. | B．To save more lives. |
| C．To make a lot of money. | D．To study plants. |
One of Dr. Gibbs’ theories about planting was that ______.
| A．he often talked to the trees | B．he kicked the trees heavily |
| C．he never watered the trees | D．he buried the leaves around the roots |
What does the writer mainly want to tell us?
| A．Trees are not as weak as we think. |
| B．We should listen to others’ advice. |
| C．Difficulty is necessary for growth. |
| D．Planting trees is good for the environment. |
Streit was an experienced safecracker who never used force —either against people or safes (保险箱). He was a real artist of his trade and it took him only 19 minutes to open the most difficult safe he had ever encountered. In about 10 years, helped by his brother Stefan and two friends, he took about $330,000 —from the safes of 28 banks in Austria. On his last job, early in 1999, he left the safe door open and $80,000 behind. With the money ws a note, "We don’t need all that much."
A witness (目击者) recognized his car and Streit was caught by the police. Then he was sent to Austria’s Stein Prison to serve a six-year sentence. He boasted (吹嘘) at his trial that he would continue breaking the law, "I am a thief and I shall use every opportunity." Despite the warn-ing, prison officials moved Streit to the prison’s blacksmith (铁匠) shop. One day during the week before Christmas, Streit disappeared. Searchers found all his doors were well locked. Streit had managed to make a set of keys and let himself out.
Not to freedom, though. After crossing into Bavaria, Streit attracted the suspicion (怀疑) of German customs police on purpose and got himself arrested. "I want to be in a German prison,"he explained to the surprised police. "As German courts give much milder (温和的) sentences for crimes like mine and will reduce the time I would otherwise have served in Stein Prison."
In prison, Streit persuaded his keepers to let him make a Christmas Eve telephone call to his former keeper, Karl Schreiner of Stein Prison. "I’m sorry if I caused trouble. I didn’t want to embarrass anybody by escaping. Conditions weren’t that bad. In fact the food was better than it is here."
The underlined word "safecracker" in the first paragraph means "_________".
| A．prisoner | B．criminal | C．stealer | D．Robber |
What’s the correct order of the following events?
a. Streit was caught by German customs police.
b. Streit left a note in the bank.
c. Streit was sent to Stein Prison.
d. Streit worked in a blacksmith shop.
e. Streit escaped from prison.
| A．d-b-a-c-e | B．b-a-c-d-e | C．b-c-d-e-a | D．d-b-c-e-a |
What helped Streit escape from prison?
| A．His living alone in prison. |
B．His good relations with the prison officials. |
C．His cooperation with other prisoners. |
D．His working in the blacksmith shop. |
Streit was finally caught because _______.
| A．his car was recognized by someone |
B．he left a note in the bank safe |
C．he was recognized by customs police |
D．he made a phone call to his former keeper |
Streit preferred to serve his time in Germany because _______.
| A．he hated working in the blacksmith shop in the Austrian prison |
B．the life of prisoners in Germany was better than those in Austria’s |
C．he wouldn’t have to stay that long in a German prison |
D．he could escape more easily from a German prison |
Four decades ago a group of college students visited the mountains of Borneo to examine moth (蛾) populations. Now a team of British scientists, including a member of the original trip, has returned to the same sites to repeat the survey. They have found that, due to rising temperatures, the insects now live 68 meters higher.
Global warming is forcing tropical (热带的) species uphill to escape the rising temperatures at a rate of nearly 2 meters a year, the new study from Borneo suggests.
Since this was the only chance to repeat the original survey, the scientist did everything they could to do it exactly the same way, going at the same time of year, in July and August, using photographs to find the exact original sites of the moth traps.
"While this is the first study of insects, a few other studies of tropical species are starting to appear," said Thomas. "If you look across all those studies, you’ll find the same results, and it’s extremely difficult to think of any other explanation for them."
While some species might survive by finding places on the mountains with temperatures similar to those of their original habitats, others may run out of habitat on the rocky peaks, warns the study.
In a paper in the journal Naturein 2004, Thomas and 13 other experts analyzed the habitats of 1,100 species on five continents, and estimated that on average one quarter were at risk of extinction.
Last year a paper published in the Public Library of Science in the US warned that the risk of extinction in the tropics was becoming more and more serious. The authors, Jana and Steven Vamosi, estimated that 20-45% of tropical species were at risk of extinction.
| A．6.8 meters higher | B．19 meters higher |
| C．34 meters higher | D．68 meters higher |
| A．There’ll be too little space. |
| B．The temperature will be much too low. |
| C．They will be at greater risk of extinction. |
| D．They’ll find it hard to adapt to the environment. |
| A．this survey of moths has been carried out many times |
| B．some scientists have put forward other explanations for the results |
| C．scientists tried to repeat the original survey |
| D．20-45% of tropical species were estimated to be at risk of extinction in 2004 |
| A．Climate change forcing moths higher. |
| B．Protecting moths from extinction. |
| C．How to research tropical moths. |
| D．How to study moths living on mountains. |
Books which give instructions on how to do things are very popular in the United States today. Thousands of these "How to" books are available; in fact, there are about four thousand books with titles that begin with the words "How to" One book may tell you how to earn more money, another may tell you how to save or spend it, and another may explain how to give your money away. Many "How to" books give advice on careers (职业). They tell you how to choose a career and how to succeed at it. If you fail, however, you can buy a book called “How to Turn Failure into Success”. If you would like to become very rich, you can buy the book “How to Make a Million”. If you never make any money at all, you may need a book called "How to" Live on Nothing? One of the most popular types of books is one that helps you with personal problems. If you want to have a better love of life, you can read "How to" Succeed at Love Every Minute of Your Life.? If you are tired of books on happiness, you may prefer a book called "How to". Make Yourself miserable?
Many of these books help people use their time better. Some people want books which will give them useful information about sports, hobbies, and travel. Other people use their free time to make repairs and improvements on their homes. They prefer books which give step by step instruction on how to repair things like plumbing (卫生管道工程) and electrical wiring, or on how to redecorate (重新装饰) or enlarge a house.
Why have "How to" books become so popular? Probably because life has become so complex. Today people have far more free time to use, more choices to make, and more problems to solve. "How to" books help people deal with modern life.
| A．tell people to love their life |
| B．earn money |
| C．give people some good advice on how to do something they want to do |
| D．say something about America |
| A．buy a book on "How to" Make a Million? |
| B．read a book on how to choose a career and how to succeed at it |
| C．beg bosses or managers for it |
| D．use his free time to look for it |
| A．＂How to" Turn Failure into Success？ |
| B．"How to" Make a Million? |
| C．"How to" Succeed at Love Every Minute of Your Life? |
| D．"How to" Make Yourself Miserable? |
| A．“How to" Books in America |
| B．"How to" Books Are Ordinary in America |
| C．Thousands of "How to" Books |
| D．Books with Title That Begin with the Words "How to" |
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