Question

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.

1. 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

2. 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.

3.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

4. 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

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.D

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：文章全篇讲的都是有关英国酒吧的从过去到现在的发展过程，并提出对将来酒吧的发展表现出比较乐观的态度。

1.主旨大意题。根据文章全篇讲的都是有关英国的从过去到现在有关“pub”的事情。第二段第一句As a result, British pubs are often old and well preserved. 因此,英国酒吧通常保存完好的古老。最后一段第一句In order to save their businesses, pubs are trying to change with the market为了挽救他们的企业,酒吧试图改变市场格局。因此可知选A。

2.细节理解题。Previously, with 1l pm as closing time, customers would have to drink quite quickly, 以前关门时间是晚上11点钟，顾客们不得不快速喝酒，因此选 B。

3.推理判断题。 根据倒数第二段最后一句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.对于英国政府出台的这个政策可知，政府是反对酗酒的，因此用法律的手段来限制酗酒。选D

4.推理判断题。 根据最后一句Perhaps things are changing for the better after all.“毕竟事情变得更好点了”可知，作者对于英国酒吧的发展的态度应该是比较积极乐观的。选B

考点：考查日常生活类短文。