Bright red post boxes, the Queen and queuing---what do they all have in common? They are all important parts of British life. At least I thought so.
However, the ability to queue for long periods of time, once believed to be a traditional characteristic of British, is no longer tolerated by people in the UK, according to a survey done by British bank Barclays.
Once upon a time, queuing was seen as normal. During World War Ⅱ, everyone had to queue up to receive their daily supply of foods. In fact, if you didn’t stand up and wait in line with all the others, it was seen as uncivilized(不文明的).
The famous English double-decker buses, with only one entrance, might also help explain why queuing was seen as part of British life. Almost always, there is a queue to get in.
But perhaps the British are tired of being pushed past by the Spanish, the Italian or the French as they queue up to get a table at a restaurant. The people of these other European countries have more than one entrance to their buses, which explains their more relaxed attitude to the queue.
Two minutes is now the longest time most British people are prepared to stand and wait. But could it be that the Internet, which allows us to carry out tasks quickly, is the main reason why British people are no longer prepared to queue?
“Used to buying without delay, customers are even giving up purchases rather than wait their turn,” says Stuart Neal of Barclaycard. “Shoppers are also less likely to queue for long if the item they are buying is of low value.”
Perhaps I will have to replace “queuing” with “impatience” in my list of things I relate to the British.What can we learn about the tradition of queuing in Britain?
| A．It was a product of the slow pace of life. |
| B．It was a long time tradition as old as the Queen. |
| C．It was considered a symbol of a civilized behavior. |
| D．It has made the British different from other Europeans. |
According to the passage, the British gradually stopped queuing because .
| A．they prefer shopping online |
| B．they follow the example of foreigners |
| C．British buses have more than one entrance |
| D．the Internet has changed their way of life |
It can be learned from the text that .
| A．the British get impatient with queuing for long |
| B．the British have to queue to receive foods |
| C．the British like to eat in foreign restaurants |
| D．the British prefer to take double-decker buses |
The author’s main purpose of writing the passage is .
| A．to tell us the influence of the Internet on the British ways of life |
| B．to compare the cultural differences between Britain and other European countries |
| C．to talk about the changes in the attitude to queuing in Britain |
| D．to report his research on the British ways of life |
BEIJING — The rescue operations at a coal mine accident have ended with 105 miners dead．The State Council has organized an investigation team to probe (调查) into what caused the disaster in the city of Linfen, North China’s Shanxi Province．Preliminary investigations show the illegal mining of an unauthorized seam, and the number of miners who had been sent down the shaft far exceeded its capacity．
This mine was found to have long disregarded the rules to steal state coal, and did not have a list of miners employed to check the number of miners missing after the accident．
How did such a coal mine get all the necessary licenses for production? How did it pass the three safety inspections the local government organized last month?
In response to this disaster, the Shanxi governor promised to set up hotlines for people to report illegal coal mines and rewards as high as 100,000 yuan for tip-offs．
We appreciate the action this governor has taken to solving the coal mining problems, and we believe that the reporting scheme will help to stop the existence of illegal coal mines．
But at the same time we have reason to question how governments at various levels supervise these mines．
The sad fact that such a mine with serious safety problems could pass three consecutive local government safety inspections in a month is enough to tell us how ineffective the safety inspections were．
What if these inspections were just a formality? What if the inspectors were bribed by the mine owners to turn a blind eye to the safety dangers? We can well imagine what would happen if reports about mine problems were handled by such officials．
So a thorough probe must find out who are responsible for the death of so many miners．A real safety inspection and management system must be established to guarantee that safety dangers will be removed．What is NOT one of the causes of this coal mine accident?
| A．The workers didn’t operate properly． |
| B．The mine didn’t obey the rules to mine for coal． |
| C．A lot more miners than allowed were working under the mine． |
| D．The safety inspections were ineffective． |
According to the writer, who should be further investigated?
| A．Mine owners and miners． |
| B．Miners’ families and mine staff． |
| C．Government officials and safety inspectors． |
| D．The Shanxi governor and miners． |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．More than 105 miners died in the disaster． |
| B．Some other coal mines like this one exist in Shanxi province． |
| C．Safety inspectors just turned a blind eye to hidden dangers． |
| D．The three inspections were only a formality． |
What does the underlined word “tip-offs” probably mean in Paragraph 4?
| A．Some warnings． |
| B．Some money for one’s service． |
| C．Some secret information． |
| D．Some pieces of advice． |
Fifteen years ago, I entered the Boston Globe, which was a temple to me then . It wasn’t easy getting hired. I had to fight my way in to a dime-a-word job. But once you were there, I found , you were in .
Globe jobs were for life-guaranteed until retirement. For 15 years I had prospered there—moving from an ordinary reporter to foreign correspondent and finally to senior editor. I 
would have a lifetime of security if I struck with it.
Instead, I had made a decision to leave.
I entered my boss’s office. Would he rage? I wondered. He had a famous temper. “Matt, we have to have a talk, ” I began awkwardly. “I came to the Globe when I was twenty —four. Now I’m forty . There’s a lot I want to do in life. I’m resigning. ”
“To another paper? ” he asked.
I reached into my coat pocket, but didn’t say anything, not trusting myself just then.
I handed him a letter that explain everything. It said that I was leaving to start a new media company. That the Globe had taught me in a thousand ways. That we were at a rare turning point in history, I wanted to be directly engaged in the change.
“I am glad for you , ” he said , quite out of my expectation. “ I just came from a board of directors meeting and it was seventy-five percent discouraging news. Some of that we can do deal with. But much of it we can’t ,” he went on. “I wish you all the luck in the world, ”be concluded. “And if it doesn’t work out , remember ,your star is always high here.”
Then I went out of his office, walking through the newsroom for more good-byes. Everybody was saying congratulations. Everybody—even though I’d be risking all on an unfamiliar venture : all 
the financial security I had carefully built up.
Later, I had a final talk with Bill Taylor, chairman and publisher of the Boston Globe. He had turned the Globe into a billion-dollar property.
I’m resigning, Bill, ” I said. He listened while I gave him the story. He wasn’t looking angry of dismayed either. After a pause, he said, “Golly, I wish I were in your shoes.” From the passage we know that the Globe is a famous .
| A．newspaper | B．magazine | C．temple | D．church |
If the writer stayed with the globe, .
| A．he would be able to realize his lifetime dreams |
| B．he would let his long favourite dreams fade away |
| C．he would never have to worry about his future life |
| D．he would never be allowed to develop his ambitions |
The writer wanted to resign because .
| A．he had serious trouble with his boss |
| B．he got underpaid at his job for the Globe |
C．he wanted to work in the new media industry |
| D．he had found a better paid job in a publishing house |
By “I wish I were in your shoes. ”(in the last paragraph), Bill Taylor meant that .
| A．the writer was to fail | B．the writer was stupid |
| C．he would do the same if possible | D．he would reject the writer’s request |
China is the biggest market in the world, and many countries such as Germany, the USA, the UK and Russia do a lot of business in China. Let’s have a look at some important tips to help you be successful when dealing with these nationalities,
First, you must be punctual(准时的) with Germans. Even 5 minutes late makes a bad impression. Being punctual is also very important in the USA. In the UK, it’s important to be punctual for business meetings, but nobody expects you to be on time for a social event. Half past seven really means a quarter to eight, or even eight o’clock! With Russians, you should always be on time, though it is not unusual for them to be one or even two hours late!
It is best to dress formally and wear dark colours when you meet people from all the four countries. In Russia, designer clothes are very common.. Don’t be surprised if you go to an office in the UK on a Friday and find everyone wearing jeans. Many companies have "dress down Friday", when people wear casual (随便的) clothes.
In Germany, first names are only used by family members and close friends, so be prepared to use titles and last names. In the USA you will usually be invited to use first names almost immediately. The British are quite informal and using first names in business is more and more common, especially among younger people. In Russia, however, nobody uses first names, so use titles and last names.
In conversation, the British and the Americans value humour, and both like to talk about sport. The weather is also a good topic of conversation with the British and the Americans, but avoid talking about politics. In Russia, say positive (积极的)things about their country, but avoid making complaints（抱怨）. The Germans, however, prefer to get straight down to business!
So, use these tips, and you will be on your way to a successful international business career!Which color should you NOT wear when meeting a person from the USA?
| A．Dark blue. | B．Gray. | C．Black. | D．White. |
All of the following statements are true EXCEPT ________.
| A．you can say something funny when you talk to an American |
| B．you can use his first name when you talk to an Englishman |
| C．you must be on time when you meet people from each of the four countries |
| D．people wear whatever they like on Friday in some companies in the UK |
When you talk to a Russian, you can ________.
| A．complain about something |
| B．say something negative about his country |
| C．say something good about his country |
D． point out some disadvantages in politics |
The tips in this passage are probably given to people from ______.
| A．China | B．the USA | C．Germany | D．the UK |
If you don’t use a dictionary. What should you do instead? The first thing you can do is trying to guess what the word means. Often the surrounding context gives a very clear idea of the meaning of the word. Even if you can’t work out the meaning exactly, you may be able to get a vague idea, enough to enable you to continue reading.
Sometimes It is impossible to guess the meaning of a word from the context and then you will have to decide whether the word is important enough to make it worthwhile stopping and looking it up in a dictionary or whether you can just pass it by.
Many times in your reading, you will come across words which you don’t know, but which do not prevent you from understanding all the main points of the text. You can made your dictionary use much more efficient if you only look up the words which are necessary to understand the text. and this means that you must develop the skill to decide whether the words are worth looking up.The passage mainly tells us in our reading what we would do .
| A．without knowledge of English |
| B．when we look up words in a dictionary |
| C．when we are guessing new words |
| D．without using a dictionary |
What does the underlined word“vague”mean?
| A．Mysterious. | B．Not clear. | C．Exact. | D．Important. |
In our reading some words we don’t know .
| A．help us to understand the text well |
| B．don’t prevent us from understanding the main points of the text |
| C．will be remembered forever |
| D．are borrowed from other languages |
In this passage the writer
| A．advised us to use the dictionary as much as possible |
| B．told us not to be discouraged by the sight of a dictionary |
| C．gave us some advice on how to deal with these unknown words |
| D．introduced some ways to take notes in the course of reading |
What do you know about the sea? We know that it looks very pretty when the sun is shining on it. We also know that it can be very rough when there is a strong wind. What other things do we know about it?
The first thing to remember is that the sea is very big. When you look at the map of the world you will find there is more water than land. The sea covers three quarters of the world.
The sea is also very deep in some places. It is not deep everywhere. Some parts of the sea are very shallow. But in some places the depth of the sea is very great. There is one spot, near Japan, where the sea is nearly 11 kilometers deep! The highest mountain in the world is about 9 kilometers high. If that mountain were put into the sea at that place, there would he 2 kilometers of water above it ! What a deep place !
If you have swum in the sea, you know that it is salty. You can taste the salt. Rivers, which flow into the sea, carry salt from the land into the sea. Some parts of the sea are saltier than other parts. There is one sea, called the Dead Sea, which is very salty. It is so salty that swimmers cannot sink! Fish cannot live in the Dead Sea!
In most parts of the sea, there are plenty of fishes and plants. Some live near the top of the sea. Others live deep down. There are also millions of tiny living things that float in the sea. These floating things are so small that it is hard to see them. Many fish live by e
ating these.
The sea can be very cold. Divers who go deep down in the sea know this. On the top the water may be warm. When the diver goes downwards, the sea becomes colder and colder. An
other thing happens. When the diver goes deeper, the water above presses down on him. It squeezes him. Then the diver has to wear clothes made of metal. But he cannot go very deep. Some people who wanted to go very deep used a very strong diving ship! They went down to the deepest part of the sea in it. They went down to a depth of eleven kilometers !When does the sea look beautiful?
| A．When it is calm. | B．When the weather is fine. |
| C．When there is a strong wind. | D．When there is a storm. |
How much of the earth’s surface does land cover?
| A．15%. | B．25%. | C．30%. | D．45%. |
Why does the writer cite（引用） the sea somewhere near Japan?
| A．To show that the sea in some places is very deep. |
| B．To show that the sea in some places is very shallow. |
| C．To show that its depth is 9 kilometers greater than the height of the highest mountain. |
D．To show that its depth is 11 kilometers greater than the height |
of the highest mountain.Which of the following statements about the Dead Sea is NOT true?
| A．Swimmers cannot sink. | B．It is a safe place for swimmers. |
| C．It is extremely salty. | D．Fish  can be found in it. |
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