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 |
B
It’s reported that powerful Cyclone Pam has impacted at least half the population of Vanuatu, which is a South Pacific island nation.
“Vanuatu is used to disasters but the indications are that Cyclone Pam has caused unprecedented damages,” said President Baldwin Lonsdale in a press release.
The leader of the island nation noted that following a direct hit from the Category 5 storm on Friday, at least two deaths have been confirmed and over 30 injured people are being treated in the Central Hospital in the capital, Port Vila where many people are now homeless and torrential rain has led to severe flooding. He also said bridges which link the capital with the rest of the island have been destroyed.
Mr. Lonsdale made his appeal from Sendai, Japan, where he has been attending since Sunday the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. The Conference has drawn thousands of Government and civil society delegations to craft a new framework for managing disaster risk which will reduce mortality and curb economic losses.
The country is already threatened by coastal erosion and rising sea levels in addition to five active volcanoes and earthquakes. "This is why I am attending this Conference and why Vanuatu wants to see a strong new framework on disaster risk reduction which will support us in tackling the drivers of disaster risk such as climate change."
Meanwhile, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that it is estimated that at least half the population of Vanuatu has been affected by cyclone Pam. Of these, at least 54,000 are children.
Many homes in Vanuatu have likely been destroyed as they are built with natural and local materials such as thatched and corrugated roofs that are vulnerable to strong winds and floods.
Other Pacific Island countries have been severely impacted as well, including the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Kiribati.
A UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team was expected arrive in Port Vila late Saturday. OCHA was also expected to deploy three staff with information management, public information and humanitarian coordination as well.
From what President Baldwin Lonsdale said in the second paragraph, we can know that ______.
| A．Vanuatu is a beautiful South Pacific island nation. |
| B．Vanuatu wants to see a strong new framework on disaster risk reduction. |
| C．Vanuatu suffers from natural disasters a lot. |
| D．Vanuatu will have a bright future on tourism. |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．At least 3 deaths have been confirmed and over twenty people injured. |
| B．Port Vila is the capital of Vanuatu. |
| C．The country is not yet threatened by coastal erosion and rising sea levels. |
| D．The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that half the children has been affected by cyclone Pam. |
What can we know from the last three paragraphs?
| A．Some international rescue teams are being under way. |
| B．Four other Pacific Island countries have been severely impacted by Cyclone Pam except Vanuatu. |
| C．Many houses in Vanuatu are still strong enough for people to live in. |
| D．A UN team was expected arrive in Port Vila late Sunday. |
Where was the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction being held?
A. In Vanuatu. B. In the USA.
C. In China. D. In Japan.
A
THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME
In June 1971, Helene Hanff travelled to London and visited the site of Marks & Co, the bookshop that had been dear to her for 20 years. While Hanff was very happy to finally step foot on British soil the visit carried with it a sad irony (讽刺), which she explained in a 1980 television interview with Dick Cavett: “It was very sad,” she said. “It was the bookstore manager Frank Doel’s death that made me want to write the story of our correspondence and when a publisher bought it, I went to London on the proceeds of the sale.”
Hanff spent the early part of her career trying to make a name for herself as a playwright. London-based writer Monica Porter, who met her in the 1980s, says that Hanff considered herself a “failed playwright” and that her 1961 book Underfoot in Show Business was an account of her failure to get her plays produced. A decade after 84, Charing Cross Road was published, James Roose-Evans adapted the book for the stage and the play was a West End hit.
It had a 16-month run and Hanff finally got to taste stage success, albeit (虽然；即使) in a circuitous (迂回的) way. In a piece that Porter wrote for the British weekly newspaper, The Stage, she says Hanff was led on stage at the end of the opening night performance to thunderous applause. “To get a standing ovation(热烈的鼓掌) like that, taking curtain calls before an enthusiastic audience, was something she must often have dreamt about,” Porter wrote.
The stage adaptation opened in the US a year later, but never lived up to its West End success. This was to Hanff’s great relief. According to Porter, she once recounted: “Being a celebrity for a week in London had been the most fun I’d had in my life, and wonderful for the ego (自我) - but only because I’d known I was coming home at the end of it, home to the quiet, orderly, solitary(独立的), unglamorous life I was made for.”
However, her peace was not to last: Hollywood came calling. The 1987 film of 84 Charing Cross Road, produced by Mel Brooks, won several awards.
Anne Bancroft starred as Hanff. Doel was played by Anthony Hopkins. Hanff died in New York in 1997 from diabetes-related complications. Today, the Marks & Co building is a restaurant with a plaque on its street frontage that commemorates(纪念) the author that made the site so famous. And Hanff’s unlikely bestseller remains in print.What made Helene Hanff want to write the story of their correspondence?
| A．The trip to the bookstore. |
| B．The death of the bookstore manager. |
| C．A decade after 84, Charing Cross Road was published. |
| D．Visiting the site of Marks & Co, the bookshop. |
It took Hanff the early part of her career to _______.
| A．finally step foot on British soil |
| B．commemorate the author that made the site so famous |
| C．try to make a name for herself as a playwright |
| D．get to taste stage success |
What made Hanff feel relieved?
| A．The stage adaptation that never lived up to its West End success. |
| B．The 1987 film of 84 Charing Cross Road winning several awards. |
| C．James Roose-Evans adapting the book for the stage. |
| D．A piece that Porter wrote for the British weekly newspaper, The Stage. |
Nowadays the Marks & Co building is _______.
| A．a famous bookstore |
| B．a restaurant in hour of the author |
| C．a theater where people can enjoy plays |
| D．a stage for West End hit |
D
Many people rely on a cup of coffee or two to wake them up in the morning or pick them up during the working day, but now a chemist has come up with a speedy alternative to crafting a cup of coffee.
U.S. biochemist Ben Yu has created `Sprayable Energy,` which claims to be the world`s first caffeine - based topical energy spray.He said tired workers can spray a `shot` of caffeine onto their skin without experiencing a strong buzz, loading up on unnecessary calories or being stuck with a nasty aftertaste like they might get from drinking energy drinks or coffee.
The patent-pending caffeine spray is an odourless liquid that is absorbed through the skin and distributed through the body over a number of hours to deliver a caffeine hit that apparently lasts longer than guzzling a cup of coffee.
Each small aluminum bottle of Sprayable Energy contains around 160 sprays - the equivalent amount of caffeine to 40 cups of coffee and the creators say it is a much cheaper way of getting a caffeine fix than popping to a cafe.The only active ingredient in the spray is caffeine, which can naturally enter the human body through the skin by passing through cell membranes as it is very similar to nicotine in structure.Each spritz of Sprayable Energy contains around a quarter of the amount of caffeine found in a cup of coffee, but apparently has the same effect as a full cup.
The website said: `The reason for this is our product not being ingested, isn`t almost entirely metabolised（新陈代谢） by the liver before entering your system and becoming available to your body.`
`Thus, a smaller amount of caffeine can have just the same effect as a very large amount of caffeine ingested through an energy drink or cup of coffee.`c`s website recommends that users apply the spray in places where they normally spritz perfume, such as the neck or wrists, but warns users not to exceed 20 sprays a day.
It claims that after spraying the product on the skin, users will feel `awake and focused without being over-stimulated,` which is common with coffee and energy drinks.What can we learn about Sprayable Energy from the passage ?_______.
| A．A bottle of Sprayable Energyis cheaper than 40 cups of coffee. . |
| B．Sprayable Energy lets users not worry about taking in unnecessary calories.. |
| C．Sprayable Energy can be used at least 20 sprays a day |
| D．The caffeine spray is a colorless liquid that is absorbed through the skin.. |
What does the fifth paragraph mainly tell us ?____
A,Sprayable Energy is taken by mouth...
B.Before Sprayable Energy is absorbed by body, the liver entirely metabolizes it
C.How Sprayable Energy acts on user’s body and how users use the product.
D.Sprayable Energy is convenient but expensive.We can conclude from the passage that ____
| A．Sprayable Energy can not be permitted to be used by people now. |
| B．Sprayable Energy has not already gone into mass production |
| C．each spritz of Sprayable Energy has the same effect as a full cup of coffee |
| D．Sprayable Energy is well received by flagging workers. |
The writer’s attitude towards Sprayable Energy ____
| A．negative. |
| B．positive |
| C．uncertain |
| D．indifferent |
C
A machine that takes sweat-laden clothes and turns the moisture into drinking water is in use in Sweden.The device spins and heats the material to remove the sweat, and then passes the vapor through a special membrane designed to only let water molecules get through.
Since its Monday launch, its creators say more than 1,000 people have "drunk other's sweat" in Gothenburg.They add the liquid is cleaner than local tap water.
The device was built for the United Nation's child-focused charity UNICEF to promote a campaign highlighting the fact that 780 million people in the world lack access to clean water.
The machine was designed and built by engineer Andreas Hammar, known locally for his appearances on TV tech show Mekatronik.He said the critical part of the sweat machine was a new water purification component developed by a company named HVR in collaboration with Sweden's Royal Institute of Technology.
"It uses a technique called membrane distillation(膜蒸馏)," he told the BBC."We use a substance that's a bit like Gortex that only lets steam through but keeps bacteria, salts, clothing fibers and other substances out."They have something similar on the International Space Station to treat astronaut's urine - but our machine was cheaper to build.Volunteers have been sampling the treated sweat since the start of the week in Gothenburg"The amount of water it produces depends on how sweaty the person is - but one person's T-shirt typically produces 10ml , roughly a mouthful."
The equipment has been put on show at the Gothia Cup - the world's largest international youth football tournament.MattiasRonge, chief executive of Stockholm-based advertising agency Deportivo - which organized the stunt(惊人的表演) - said the machine had helped raise awareness for UNICEF, but in reality had its limitations.
"People haven't produced as much sweat as we hoped - right now the weather in Gothenburg is lousy," he said."So we've installed exercise bikes alongside the machine and volunteers are cycling like crazy."Even so, the demand for sweat is greater than the supply. And the machine will never be mass produced - there are better solutions out there such as water purifying pills."Which of the following is the disadvantage of the machine?_______.
| A．The water processed by the machine is cleaner than local tap water . |
| B．The amount of water the machine produces is too small. |
| C．the machine is cheaper than the similar one on the International Space Station |
| D．The machine can help raise awareness of lacking water in the world . |
What is the main idea of the fifth paragraph ?
| A．How the machine works. |
| B．Who developed the machine. |
| C．How the machine was invented. |
| D．Why the machine was invented.. |
What does Mttias Ronge think of the machine?____
| A．The machine can solve the severe water shortage in the world.. |
| B．People do not like the water the machine processes |
| C．The machine should be used in rather hot areas in summer. |
| D．The machine is not worth popularizing.. |
The passage is most likely to be____
| A．a tourist brochure. |
| B．a book review |
| C．a news report |
| D．a blog. |
B
Banquets are usually held in restaurants in private rooms that have been reserved for the purpose. You will be met at the door and led to the banquet room. Traditionally, the head of your delegation should enter the room first. Do not be surprised if your hosts greet you with a loud round of applause. The proper response is to applaud back.
Seating arrangements are stricter than in the West. Guests should never assume that they may sit where they please and should wait for hosts to guide them to their places. Traditionally, the Chinese regard the right side as the superior and the left side as the inferior. Therefore on formal occasions, the host invariably arranges for the main guests to sit on his right side.
It is the host's responsibility to serve the guests, and at very formal banquets people do not begin to eat until the host has served a portion to the principal guest. Or, the host may simply raise his chopsticks and announce that eating has begun. After this point, one may serve oneself any food in any amount. Remember to go slow on eating. Don't fill yourself up when five courses are left to go. To stop eating in the middle of a banquet is rude, and your host may incorrectly think that something has been done to offend you.
Drinking takes an important place in Chinese banquets. It is likely that the host will stand and hold his glass out with both hands while saying a few words. When he says the words "gan bei", which means bottoms up, all present should drain their glasses. After this initial toast, drinking and toasting are open to all. No words are needed to make a toast, and it is not necessary to drain your glass, although to do so is more respectful. When filling another glass, it is polite to fill it as full as you can. This symbolizes full respect and friendship.
When the last dish is finished, the banquet has officially ended. There is little ceremony involved with its conclusion. The host may ask if you have eaten your fill. Then the principal host will rise, signaling that the banquet has ended. Generally, the principal host will bid good evening to everyone at the door and stay behind to settle the bill with the restaurateur. Other hosts usually accompany guests to their vehicles and remain outside waving until the cars have left the premises.To attend a formal banquet,you_______.
| A．may enter the banquet room directly when you arrive . |
| B．may stop eating in the middle of the banquet. |
| C．may help yourself to any food immediately the dishes are served. |
| D．should applaud back when greeted with a loud round of applause . |
What is the host ‘s responsibility in the author’s eyes?
| A．Announcing that eating ends. |
| B．Driving guests to their home. |
| C．Filling the guests’ glasses. |
| D．Arranging for guests to go to their place.. |
We can conclude form the passage that____
| A．To stop eating halfway means that the dishes taste bad. |
| B．Guests should drain their g1ass es the instant they are filled |
| C．Important guests are arranged to sit on the host’s right side |
| D．The more you drink , the more you respect the host. |
The passage mainly tells us ____
| A．Chinese food is delicious. |
| B．customs and traditions at banquets in China |
| C．what food guests should eat at banquets |
| D．different customs between China and western countries. |
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