Visitors worry that London is an expensive city but there really are so many free things to do here. The following ideas should get you started.
All of London's major museums are free, but most offer some special exhibitions for a fee. My favorite is the Museum of Londonwhere you can learn the history of London from Roman times to today. And I love theGeffrye Museumwhich shows English domestic interiors and helps bring to life what it was really like to live in London.
I regularly hear people tell me theQueen Mary's Rose Gardens in Regent's Parkis their favorite spot in London, and who am I to argue? I would also recommend St. James's Park as it offers one of the best views ofBuckingham Palace. Hyde Park is enormous and Kensington Gardens nearby includes the ever popular Diana Memorial Playgroundand thePeter Pan Statue.
No visit to London is complete without seeing this military tradition. The Queen's Guard in London changes in the Forecourt inside the gates ofBuckingham Palaceat 11.30am every day in the summer and every other day in the winter. Get there early and view the spectacle from outside the front gates.
Trafalgar Square is one of Britain's greatest visitor attractions and was designed by John Nash in the 1820s and constructed in the 1830s. This iconic square has many sights to see including Nelson's Columnand theNational Gallery. It is both a tourist attraction and the main focus for political demonstrations. Every December, Norway donates a marvelous Christmas tree, to thank Britain for liberation from the Nazis. Where can visitors find thePeter Pan Statue?
| A．in Regent's Park. | B．in St. James's Park. |
| C．in Hyde Park. | D．in Kensington Gardens. |
Which of the following descriptions is True?
| A．In theGeffrye Museumvisitors can learn the history of London from Roman times to today. |
| B．The Queen Mary's Rose Gardens is in Buckingham Palace. |
| C．There is the Queen's Guard change inside the gates ofBuckingham Palaceat 11.30 am every day all year around. |
| D．Trafalgar Square is both a tourist attraction and a place for political demonstrations. |
The writer wrote the passage to ________.
| A．compare some free places in London. |
| B．advertise some free places in London. |
| C．recommend some free places in London. |
| D．expose some free places in London. |
The rise in smartphones（智能手机）among young people may be having a direct effect on how successful they become as adults.
Research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has discovered the average university student checks their phones 11 times per lesson, and more than 80 percent believe this tech addiction is interfering with(干扰) their learning.
A quarter of students across five U.S states also blamed poor grades in exams specifically on the fact they used mobile devices（设备） when they should have been concentrating and revising - and these grades could determine the jobs they end up going into.
Barney McCoy, an associate professor of broadcasting at the university, surveyed 777 students at six universities across five states about how they used digital devices in the classroom.
The students were from UNL and the University of Nebraska at Omaha in Nebraska, Morningside College in Iowa, the University of North Carolina, the University of Kansas and the University of Mississippi.
Around two thirds said they used phones, tablets and laptops for “non-classroom purposes” up to ten times during a typical university day, while 15 percent admitted this figure was closer to 30 times.
Among the top reasons why students checked their devices so regularly were staying connected and fighting boredom, at 55 percent. Less than half said the devices were used for classwork.
Texting was the most popular distraction（注意力分散） technique at 86 percent, while 68 percent said they used their phones to check personal emails. Two thirds used social networks, 38 percent surfed the web and eight percent admitted to playing games when they should have been studying.
Despite eight out of ten students admitting their devices were distracting, fewer than five percent considered it to be a “very big” distraction.
“I don’t think students necessarily think it’s a big problem,” said McCoy said. “They think it’s part of their lives.”
“It’s become automatic behavior on the part of so many people - they do it without even thinking about it.”
He continued, “They’ve got their laptops open, but they’re not always taking notes. Some might have two screens open -- Facebook and their notes.”The majority of the students think that using smartphones _________ .
| A．helps to improve their grades. |
| B．contributed to their poor grades. |
| C．has a bad effect on their studies. |
| D．determines their jobs in the future. |
How many students surveyed used digital devices for “non-classroom purposes” about 30 times during a day?
| A．About 518 | B．About 116 | C．About 427 | D．Less than 388 |
_________ was the most popular form of distraction.
| A．Texting | B．playing games | C．surfing the web | D．Checking personal emails |
The text is most likely to be found in a section about _________ .
| A．successful people | B．political systems |
| C．science and technology | D．historical events |
I have had just about enough of being treated like a second–class citizen, simply because I happen to be that put–upon member of society ---- a customer. The more I go into shops and hotels, banks and post offices, railway stations, airports and the like, the more I'm convinced that things are being run only to suit the firm, the system, or the union. There seems to be a harmful new motto for so–called “service” organizations ---- Staff Before Service.
How often, for example, have you queued for what seems like hours at the post office or the supermarket because there weren’t enough staff on duty to man all the service grilles (栅门) of checkout counters? Surely in these days of high unemployment it must be possible to employ cashiers and counter staff. Yet supermarkets, hinting darkly at higher prices, claim that enshrouding all their cash registers at any one time would increase overheads(operating cost). And the Post Office says we cannot expect all their service grilles to be occupied “at times when demand is low.”
It’s the same with hotels. Because waiters and kitchen staff must finish when it suits them, dining rooms close earlier or menu choice is curtailed. As for us guests, we just have to put up with it. There’s also the nonsense of so many so friendly hotel night porters(行李员) having been dismissed in the interests of “efficiency” and replaced by coin guzzling machines. Not to mention the coldness of the tea–making kit in your room: a kettle with an assortment of teabags, plastic milk cartons and lump sugar. Who wants to wake up to a raw teabag? I don't, especially when I am paying for “service”.The writer feels that nowadays a customer is ____.
| A．one who is well served |
| B．unworthy of proper consideration |
| C．classified by society as lower-ranking |
| D．the victim of modern service |
In the writer’s opinion, the quality of service is changing because ____.
| A．the customer’s demands have changed |
| B．the organizations receive more consideration than the customers |
| C．the customers’ needs have increased |
| D．the staff are less considerate than their employers |
According to the writer, long queues at counters are caused by ____.
| A．difficulties in employing staff |
| B．improper staffing arrangements |
| C．staff being made lazy |
| D．lack of co–operation between the staff |
The disappearance of old–style hotel porters can be attributed to the fact that ____.
| A．few people are willing to do this type of work |
| B．machines are more reliable than human beings |
| C．the personal touch is less appreciated nowadays |
| D．automation has provided cheaper choices |
If you are a wealthy resident of India, madly in love and planning your big fat wedding—or being pressured into arranged marriage—Thailand wants you to exchange vows（誓言） in Bangkok, Phuket or elsewhere in this "wedding Paradise（乐园）".
This wedding business starts from overseas with the Indians. Thai embassies in India give quick services for the visas. Not only the couples, you can bring anyone, say, your own cook. So, feel free to invite hundreds of your friends and relatives.
Why would Indians want to spend so much on weddings in Thailand? Because they have similarities in religion. When Indian weddings want to have some religious prayer for the couples, Thailand can do that. But the more obvious appeal are Thailand's fancy hotels, tropical islands, and delicious Thai food, allowing newlyweds to include a honeymoon in Thailand after they say "I do" while their guests also celebrate on a holiday here. But on the other hand, love does have a price.
Kasu Rajagopal arranged for his daughter to have a wedding in Phuket. They arranged entertainment to begin three days before the wedding, because guests' arrival time varied. Yachts were chartered to take guests to small islands, while a DJ, flown in from Bangalore, India, was booked to help them dance in the evening. Kasu also arranged priests for the Hindu wedding, and cooks to prepare Indian food. The approximate costs are around half a million U. S. dollars, including the airfares, hotel accommodation, food, transportation, the yachts on hire and the wedding ceremony expenses, for 225 to 250 guests.
Thailand wants to make itself a wedding paradise for all couples, not just from India, but from around the world. Last year, there were around 500 to 600 couples from China, and the numbers are slowly coming up. Westerners also arrive to get married, but in much smaller numbers. What is the main reason why the Indians would go to Thailand for weddings?
| A．They will be pressured into arranged married in India. |
| B．India shares the same religion as Thailand. |
| C．Thailand offers them more than just a wedding ceremony. |
| D．Guests are not satisfied with Indian weddings. |
We can learn from the passage that____.
| A．guests do not need visas to get into Thailand |
| B．changing vows is a necessary step for an Indian wedding |
| C．islands are people's first honeymoon destination choice |
| D．some Indians prefer the food prepared by their own cooks |
Kasu Rajagopal's example in the fourth paragraph shows____.
| A．it may cost you a fortune to have such a wedding |
| B．you can bring whatever you want to Thailand |
| C．what Thailand offers hardly satisfies customers' needs |
| D．there are quite a few activities after the wedding |
It can be predicted that____.
| A．cost of weddings in Thailand will be reduced |
| B．more people will get married in Thailand |
| C．fewer westerners will have Thai weddings |
| D．Chinese will be Thailand's No. l customers |
I used to think of myself as a person learned in books, but my bookshelves told a different story. Apart from a few Indian novels and an Australian book, my literature collection only consisted of British and American titles. Worse still, I couldn’t ever found anything in translation. My reading was limited to stories by English-speaking authors.
So, at the start of 2012, I set myself the challenge of trying to read a book from every country in a year to find out what I was missing.
With no idea where to get those books, I was unlikely to find publications from nearly 200 nations on the shelves of my local bookshop, so I decided to ask the readers all over the world for help. I created a blog called A Year of Reading the World and put out an appeal for suggestions of titles that I could read in English.
The response was amazing. People all over the world were getting in touch with me, offering ideas and book lists. Some posted me books from their home countries. In addition, several writers, like Turkmenistan’s Ak Welsapar and Panama’s Juan David Morgan, sent me unpublished translations of their novels, giving me a rare opportunity to read works unavailable in Britain. Even with such an extraordinary team of bibliophiles(爱书者) behind me, however, sourcing books was no easy task. With translations making up only around 4.5 per cent of literary works published in the UK, getting English versions of stories was tricky.
One by one, the books from the countries on the list filled my heart with laughter, love, anger, hope and fear. Lands that had once seemed exotic and remote became close and familiar to me. At its best, I learned, reading makes the world real.The author realized she was not a learned person when she found ________.
| A．she could do nothing but read books |
| B．she had never been to Indian and Australian |
| C．she didn’t have any translated books. |
| D．she could only read simple English stories |
What was the challenge the author set for herself?
| A．Reading books from nearly 200 countries in a year. |
| B．Creating a blog to offer help to other readers. |
| C．Looking for publications to publish her own books. |
| D．Giving some suggestions on learning English. |
Which of the following is NOT the help from people around the world?
| A．Offering book names. | B．posting local books |
| C．Giving financial supports | D．Sending unpublished translations |
It was not easy to find the books mainly because ________.
| A．the readers were unwilling to offer help |
| B．there were too few translations in the UK |
| C．the author had no time and no chance to do it |
| D．the writers didn’t want to publish their books |
What is the hottest topic at your school recently? In Taiyuan No.55 Middle School, it’s money.
The school held an activity called “making money” last weekend. About 200 Junior 1 and Junior 2 students were divided into 30 teams. They went out to make money by selling things.
What did they choose to sell? Some sold newspapers; some chose bottled water; some sold environmentally friendly shopping bags and bamboo baskets.
Hu Qing’s team decided to sell some useful books in front of the Children Activity Center. They thought parents would like to buy the books for their children. But unfortunately, they met urban management officers (城管). The officers asked them to leave. “We played hide-and-seek (捉迷藏) with the officers for the whole morning” said Hu. “Finally we had to give up.”
Wang Bing and her team sold ice cream in a square. They didn’t meet any officers. But few people were interested in what they were selling. The team then put up a board saying “For Country Kids”. It worked. More people came to their stall (小摊). A foreigner even gave them 100 yuan. “He didn’t want any change. He said he wanted to help the children,” said Wang. “We were touched.” Later that day they gave the 100 yuan and more to the “Project Hope” office.
Meng Zhaoxiang and his team were luckier. They sold all their cakes in four hours, spending 39.5 yuan and getting back 80 yuan. They made 40.5 yuan. “It was not easy to make the money,” said Meng. “Some people just looked. Others just tasted but didn’t buy. Now I know how hard it is for our parents to make the money we need to lead happy lives.”. In Taiyuan No.55 Middle School, what the students talk more about is _______.
| A．the officers | B．money |
| C．the activity called “making money” | D．the money they made last weekend |
______ took part in the activity.
| A．About 200 of Junior 1 and Junior 2 students | B．Some teachers |
| C．About 200 students of the three grades | D．About200 Junior 1 students |
Hu Qing’s team finally gave up because ______.
| A．the parents didn’t like to buy the books |
| B．the Children Activity Center was too crowded |
| C．the officers didn’t allow them to sell anything there |
| D．the team played the game of the hide-and-seek the whole morning |
Why did more people come to Wang Bing’s stall at last?
| A．The team put up a magic board. |
| B．A foreigner came up and helped them. |
| C．The people were willing to help country kids. |
| D．The people were interested in their ice cream. |
According to the passage the students learn ______.
| A．it’s impossible for them to make money |
| B．it’s not easy for their parents to make money |
| C．it’s very important for them to make a living |
| D．it’s necessary for school to hold more activities in the future |
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