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 “Ye Olde 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.
1.The passage mainly tells us something about
A. the past and present of British pubs
B. the decline of British pubs
C. the long history of British pubs
D. the importance of British pubs
2.Which may not be the cause of the decline of British pubs?
A. The credit crunch.
B. The ban of smoking.
C. The present closing time
D. Having no spare money.
3.We can infer from the passage that
A. British people used to like drinking slowly
B. closing the pubs early will reduce social problems
C. binge drinking means drinking less beer
D. British government aims to discourage people from binge drinking
4.We can see from the last paragraph that the author ________
A. is against the admission of too many women to the pubs
B. holds an optimistic attitude towards the British pubs
C. thinks that women in the pubs will cause less social problems
D. thinks that British pubs should offer everything you need
Like any good mother,when Karen found out that another baby was on the way,she did what she could to help her 3-year-old son,Michael,prepare for a new baby.Day after day,night after night,Michael sang to his mommy’s tummy(肚子).
Finally,Michael’s little sister was born.But she was in serious condition.With sirens (警报) howling in the night,the ambulance rushed the baby to St.Mary’s Hospital.The days inched by.The little girl became worse.The pediatric(儿科的) specialist told the parents to prepare for the worst.
Michael kept begging about singing to his sister,but kids are not allowed in pediatric department at St.Mary’s Hospital.Karen made up her mind to take Michael to see his sister.She dressed him in an oversized suit and marched him into the hospital.He looked like a walking laundry basket,but the head nurse recognized him as a child and shouted,“Get that kid out of here now!”Karen rose up strong,and the usually mild-mannered lady glared steel-eyed into the head nurse’s face.“He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!”
Karen towed Michael to his sister’s bedside.He gazed at the tiny baby losing the battle to live.And he began to sing.In the pure-hearted voice of a 3-year-old,Michael sang,“You are my sunshine,my only sunshine.You make me happy when skies are grey.”Instantly the baby girl responded.Her pulse rate became calm and steady.Her strained breathing became smoother.
“Keep on singing,Michael.”“The other night,dear,as I lay sleeping,I dreamed I help you in my arms…”Michael’s little sister relaxed as healing rest seemed to sweep over her.“Keep on singing,Michael.”Tears conquered the face of the nurse.“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.Please don’t take my sunshine away.”
The next day—the very next day—the little girl was well enough to go home!
1.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A.It’s Hard to Raise a Baby B.Mother’s Love
C. The Miracle of a Brother’s Song D.An Unforgettable Day
2.From Karen’s action in the first paragraph we know that .
A.mothers often pay much attention to their newly-born babies
B.it often takes some time for a child to accept his/her newly-born brother or sister.
C.it is good for children to learn to sing songs to babies
D.mothers often tell their children how to look after their younger brothers or sisters
3.The underlined word“strained”means“ ”.
A.unnatural B.exciting C.deep D.blocked
4.Which words can describe Michael?
A.Naughty and annoying. B.Strong and brave.
C.Active and careless. D.Concerned and determined.
One afternoon in January in 1998, Susan Sharp, 43, and her 8-year-old son David, were walking across an icy square, Susan's cane(手杖) slipped on the ice. Her face first into the mud. David her mother's side, “Are you all right, Mom” , Susan pulled herself up, “I'm okay, Honey,” she said.
Susan was falling more since she had trouble walking. Every inch of ice was a danger for her. “I wish I could do something,” the boy thought. David, too, was having of his own. The boy had a speech problem, so at school he talked .
One day, David's teacher announced a homework. "Each of you is going to come up with an ," she said. This was for "INVENT AMERICA", a national competition to encourage creativity in children.
An idea David one evening. If only his mother's cane didn't slip on the ice. “What if I your cane to a nail coming out of the bottom” he asked his mother.
“ the sharp end would scratch(划破) floors,” Susan said.
“No, Mom, I make it like a ball-point pen. You take your hand off the button and the returns back up.” Hours later the cane was finished. David and his father as Susan used it to walk 50 feet about the . Happily Susan cried out, “It !”
In July 1999, David was national winner for the "INVENT AMERICA". David began to make public appearance. Thus he was forced to communicate .Today, David is nearly free of his speech problem, and his cane is becoming well accepted.
1.A. Where B.while C.when D. then
2.A. fell B. touched C. lay D. dropped
3.A. stood by B. rushed to C. looked at D. ran around
4.A. Firmly B. Easily C. Quickly D. Shakily
5.A. slowly B. frequently C. freely D. heavily
6.A. hiding B. certainly C. possible D. waiting
7.A. method B. disease C. trouble D. hope
8.A. few B. little C. much D. more
9.A. useful B. strange C. common D. special
10.A. appearance B. invention C. experience D. experiment
11.A. reminded B. encouraged C. occurred D. hit
12.A. fastened B. stuck C. fixed D. tied
13.A. So B. And C. For D. But
14.A. might B. would C. did D. need
15.A. pen B. hand C. cane D. nail
16.A. watched B. supported C. noticed D. helped
17.A. street B. ice C. yard D. square
18.A. works B. operates C. succeeds D. helps
19.A. declared B. received C. won D. praised
20.A. more slowly B. more carefully C. more clearly D. faster
--- I need to advertise for a roommate for next term.
--- _______？Mary is interested.
A. Why bother B. Why not C. So what D. What for
We are taught that a business letter should be written in a formal style in a personal one.
A. rather than B. more than C. better than D. less than
--- Is this the first time you ___ Xiamen?
--- No. But the first time I ____ here, the city wasn’t so beautiful.
A. visited, come B. visited, have come C. have visited, came D. have visted, have come
