For thousands of years, the most important two buildings in any British village have been the church and the pub. Traditionally, the church and the pub are at the heart of any village or town, where the people gather together to socialize and exchange news.
As a result, British pubs are often old and well preserved. Many of them have become historic sites. The most famous example is the pub in the city of Nottingham called “The Old Trip to Jerusalem”, which dates back to the year 1189 AD and is probably the oldest pub in England.
However, British pubs are not just for kings and queens; they welcome people from all classes and parts of society. On a cold night, the pub’s landlord or landlady can always find a warm place for you by the fire. There is always honest and hearty food and plenty of drink available at an affordable price.
That’s how things used to be. Things are beginning to change. It is said that the credit crunch(信贷紧缩) is causing 39 British pubs a week to go out of business. People do not have enough spare money to spend on beer. Recently, the UK government banned smoking in all pubs, and that may also have affected the number of customers going to pubs.
This decline is happening despite the fact that in 2005 the UK government started to allow pubs to stay open after 1l pm. Previously, with 1l pm as closing time, customers would have to drink quite quickly, meaning they sometimes got more drunk than they would if allowed to drink slowly. The British habit of drinking a lot very quickly is known as “binge drinking”, and it causes long-term health problems for people and problems with violent crime for communities.
In order to save their businesses, pubs are trying to change with the market. British pubs now offer something for everyone. A lot of pubs used to be “Working Men’s Clubs”, meaning that women could not usually enter. Today, however, women can freely enter 99% of pubs without experiencing any problems. Perhaps things are changing for the better after all. The passage mainly tells us something about ______.
| A．the importance of British pubs |
| B．the decline of British pubs |
| C．the long history of British pubs |
| D．the past and present of British pubs |
Which may not be the cause of the decline of British pubs?
| A．The present closing time. |
| B．The ban of smoking. |
| C．The lack of enough spare money. |
| D．The credit crunch. |
We can infer from the passage that ______.
| A．binge drinking means drinking less beer |
| B．closing the pubs early will reduce social problems |
| C．British people used to like drinking slowly |
| D．British government aims to discourage people from binge drinking |
We can see from the last paragraph that the author _______.
| A．holds an optimistic attitude towards the British pubs |
| B．thinks that British pubs should offer everything you need |
| C．thinks that women in the pubs will cause less social problems |
| D．is against the admission of too many women to the pubs |
The flying fox is not a fox at all. It is an extra large bat that has got a fox’s head, and that feeds on fruit. Like all bats, flying foxes hang themselves by their toes (趾) when at rest, and travel in great crowds when out flying. A group will live in one place for years. Sometimes several hundreds of them occupy a single tree. As they return to the tree towards sunrise, they quarrel among themselves and fight for the best places until long after daylight.
Flying foxes have babies once a year, giving birth to only one at a time. At first the mother has to carry the baby on her chest wherever she goes. Later she leaves it hanging up, and brings back food for it to eat. Sometimes a baby bat falls to the ground. Then the older ones fly down and try to pick it up. If they fail to do so, it will die. Often hundreds of baby bats can be found lying on the ground at the foot of the tree. The passage tells us that there is no difference between the flying fox and the ordinary bat in ______.
| A．their size | B．their appearance |
| C．the kind of food they eat | D．the way they rest |
Flying foxes ______.
| A．double their number every year |
| B．fight and kill a lot of themselves |
| C．move from place to place very often |
| D．lose a lot of their young |
At daybreak every day flying foxes begin to ______.
| A．fly out toward the sun |
| B．look for a new resting place |
| C．come back to their home |
| D．go out and look for food |
Flying foxes have fights ______.
| A．to occupy the best resting places |
| B．only when it is dark |
| C．to protect their homes from outsiders |
| D．when there is not enough food |
How do flying foxes care for their young?
| A．They only care for their own babies. |
| B．They share the feeding of their young. |
| C．They help when a baby bat is in danger. |
| D．They often leave home and forget their young. |
It took courage to stand up at work. Now more and more people like to have a change and stand up when they are on something important. Standing up is popular. Medical researchers have found that people who stand at work tend to be much healthier than those who sit.
In the last few years, many office supply companies have begun to sell the adjustable- height desk. These so- called “ sit/ stand” models are equipped with an electric motor that lets them shift from chair height to person height at the push of a button. Unfortunately, they’re regarded as specially furniture. Sit/ stand desks tend to be expensive, hard to find and not easy to test it in person.
When you worked standing up, your mind was more excited and new ideas kept coming out. This is because when you’re standing, you feel a bit unchained from your desk. If you got stuck on a word or sentence as you wrote, you found yourself shaking your arms, bouncing on your feet or stepping away from the desk for a bit------ things you couldn’t do in a chair. Often, standing up seemed to relax your mind enough for you to get over creative barriers.
There’s one other thing about standing for a long time; you tended to get hungrier than you do when you sit on a chair. That felt like confirmation of the stand-up advocates’ belief that you burn more calories when you stand than when you sit. For this reason alone, I’m hoping that sit/ stand desks one day hit the mainstream, with mass- market furniture companies making many low- priced versions. We could all do with a bit more standing up.We can learn that the adjustable- height desk is_______.
| A．easy to find | B．easy to test |
| C．relatively cheap | D．smart in operation |
According to para.3, standing up while working ______.
| A．tends to make us much healthier |
| B．get us distracted from the work at hand |
| C．can make us relaxed and be creative |
| D．make us move about and unfocused |
The underlined word “ unchained” in para.3 means “_______”
| A．free | B．tired | C．uneasy | D．Unbalanced |
The National Trust has many campsites(野营地) in scenic locations all over the UK. Make the most of the last days of summer by living outdoors and taking in these beautiful landscapes. Here are some of the most popular places to go.
Low Wray, Cumbria
Low Wray is a lovely campsite situated on the western shore Windermere in the Lake District. There are magnificent views across the water to Wansfell Pike and the Fairfield Horseshow and the site is an ideal base for water sports with on-site access for launching.
Phone 05139463862 or book online.
Houghton Mill, Cambridgeshire
This site is situated on the banks of the Great Ouse with spectacular views across the river to the Trust’s Houghton Mill, the last working mill on this river. Mill demonstrations are held every Sunday during the season and the site is situated near the picturesque village of Houghton. There are plenty of footpaths for walkers, horse riders and cyclists along the waterways.
Check availability or phone 01480466716.
Wasdale Head, Cumbria
Wasdale is a great base for climbers of all abilities. The site is nestled under the Scafell mountain range at the head of beautiful Wastwater, the deepest lake in England. Canoeing (划独木舟运动) is possible on Wastwater although limited to no more than 15 on the lake at a time.
Phone 01212765416 or book online.
Highertown Farm, Cornwall
A small, basic campsite situated in the quiet hamlet of Lansallos with fine views of the south-east Cornwall coast and not far from a secluded beach. Bookings may be necessary at peak time.
Email or phone 01208265211
Lundy, Bristol Channel
Lundy Island is an unspoilt(未遭破坏的) island, home to a fascinating array of wildlife amidst dramatic scenery. There are passages from Bideford and Ilfracombe according to the tides, 1 April-31Oct and a winter helicopter service 1 Nov-31 March.
Email or phone 01271863636 for more information.Mike is fond of swimming. Which of the following campsites would he choose?
| A．Low Wray, Cumbria |
| B．Lundy, Bristol Channel |
| C．Highertown Farm, Cornwall |
| D．Houghton Mill, Cambridgeshire |
If you are interested in cycling, which number would you like to dial?
| A．05139463862 | B．01208265211 |
| C．01480466716 | D．01271863636 |
If you are at Wasdale Head, _______.
| A．you can swim in the lake |
| B．you can have fun in canoeing |
| C．it is dangerous to climb the Scafell |
| D．it is fun to go fishing along the bank |
If your family want to go to Highertown Farm during official holidays, you’d better______.
| A．book in advance | B．send emails first |
| C．dial 01218265211 | D．bring your own tents |
More Americans are Googling themselves ------ and many are checking out their friends, co-workers and romantic interests, too.
In a report Sunday, the Pew Internet and American Life Project said 47 percent of U.S. adult Internet users have looked for information about themselves through Google or another search engine.
That is more than twice the 22 percent of users who did in 2002, but Pew senior research specialist Mary Madden was surprised the growth wasn't higher.
"Yes it's doubled, but many Internet users have never done this simple act of plugging their name with search engines," she said.
Americans under 50 and those with more education and income were more likely to self-Google because their jobs demand a certain online persona.
Meanwhile, Pew found that 53 percent of adult Internet users admit looking up information about someone else, not including celebrities.
Often, it's to find someone they have lost touch with. But looking up information about friends, relatives, colleagues and neighbors also was common.
Although men and women equally searched for online information about themselves, women were slightly more likely to look up information about someone they are dating.
In many cases, the search is done to find someone's contact information. But a third of those who have conducted searches on others have looked for public records, such as bankruptcies(破产) and divorce （离婚）proceedings. A similar number have searched for someone else's photo.
Few Internet users say they Google themselves regularly —— about three-quarters of self-searchers say they have done so only once or twice. And most who have done so consider what they find accurate.
Pew also found that teens were more likely than adults to restrict who can see their information at an online hangout(常去之处) like Facebook or News Corp's MySpace.The number of American adult Internet users______ Mary Madden.
| A．frightened | B．pleased | C．disappointed | D．annoyed |
What does “ they” refer to in the seventh paragraph?
| A．common people | B．scientists |
| C．adults | D．53 percent adult Internet users |
How many people have checked others’ photos?
| A．One- fifth | B．One-fourth | C．One- third | D．A half |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Learn to Google Yourself | B．Googling Oneself Is Popular |
| C．New Performance Online | D．Don’t Google Yourself Online |
Women turn to online shopping
Women have jumped ahead of men for the first time in using the Internet to do their holiday shopping, according to a study published last week in the US.
For years men have been more likely to shop on the Internet than women, but during the 2004 holiday season, 58 percent of those making online purchases were women.
“It shows how mainstream the Internet is becoming,” said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project group, which carried out the study.
Rainie said it was only a matter of time before women shoppers caught up with men. This is because women traditionally make decisions about spending.
Users were more likely to shop online to save time. Internet users between the ages 18 and 29 were responsible for some of the most dramatic increase in the online gift-buying population this time around.
However, three- quarters of the US Internet users did not buy holiday gifts online in 2004. They worried about credit card security, or just compared online prices with off-line prices, then dashed off to the shops to get the best deals.
“ But even if shoppers don’t buy online , websites are becoming promotion tools for stores,” said Dan Hess, vice president of ComScore Networks Inc. Hess said that actually most stores’ websites can make customers fully believe the security of their credit card numbers. And most are able to ensure that gifts arrive on time.
“ It’s all about making the shopping experience more efficient, more reliable and more comfortable.” Hess said.Which of the following statements is true?
| A．There were fewer women online shoppers than men in 2004 |
| B．Most of the Internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 are women. |
| C．People in the US were more likely to buy gifts online. |
| D．More women shopped online than men in 2004 |
From the passage we can infer that______.
| A．Men usually decide how to spend money in the family |
| B．Women usually decide what to buy in the family |
| C．The Internet is used in all the shops |
| D．More and more shops will sell their goods online |
According to Dan Hess, shopping online_______.
| A．is unsafe | B．is convenient |
| C．is a waste of money | D．is cheaper |
What can we know from the passage?
| A．American people only gift in holidays |
| B．Shopping online is fun for women. |
| C．Shopping off-line provides better service. |
| D．Young people like to do gift-shopping online. |
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