Planning a visit to the UK? Here we help with ways to cut your costs.AVOID BIG E

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Planning a visit to the UK? Here we help with ways to cut your costs.
AVOID BIG EVENTS　Big sporting events，concerts and exhibitions can increase the cost of accommodation and make it harder to find a room.A standard double room at the Thistle Brighton on the final Friday of the Brighton Comedy Festival (19 Oct.) cost￡169.15 at Booking.com.A week later，the same room cost￡118.15.
If you can be flexible and want to know dates to avoid－or you’re looking for a big event to pass your time－check out sites such as Whatsonwhen.com，which allow you to search for events in the UK by city，date and category.
STAY AWAY FROM THE STATION　If traveling to your destination by train，you may want to find a good base close to the station，but you could end up paying more for the sake of convenience at the start of your holiday.
Don’t be too choosy about the part of town you stay in.Booking two months in advance，the cheapest room at Travelodge’s Central Euston hotel in London for Saturday 22 September was￡95.95.A room just a tube journey away at its Covent Garden hotel was￡75.75.And at Farringdon，a double room cost just￡62.95.
LOOK AFTER YOURSELF　Really central hotels in cities such as London，Edinburgh and Cardiff can cost a fortune，especially at weekends and during big events.As an alternative consider checking into a selfcatering flat with its own kitchen.Often these flats are hidden away on the top floors of city centre buildings.A great example is the historic O’Neill Flat on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile，available for￡420 for five days in late September，with room for four adults.
GET ON A BIKE　London’s ‘Boris bikes’ have attracted the most attention，but other cities also have similar programmes that let you rent a bicycle and explore at your own pace，saving you on public transport or car parking costs.
Among the smaller cities with their own programmes are Newcastle (casual members pay around￡1.50 for two hours) and Cardiff (free for up to 30 minutes，or￡5 per day)．
小题1:The Brighton Comedy Festival is mentioned mainly to show big events may________.

A．help travelers pass time

B．attract lots of travelers to the UK

C．allow travelers to make flexible plans

D．cause travelers to pay more for accommodation

小题2:“Farringdon”in Paragraph 5 is most probably________.

A．a hotel away from the train station

B．the tube line to Covent Garden

C．an ideal holiday destination

D．the name of a travel agency

小题3:The passage shows that the O’Neill Flat________.

A．lies on the ground floor

B．is located in central London

C．provides cooking facilities for tourists

D．costs over￡100 on average per day in late September

小题4:Cardiff’s program allows a free bike for a maximum period of________.

A．half an hour

B．one hour

C．one hour and a half

D．two hours

小题5:The main purpose of the passage is________.

A．to tell visitors how to book in advance

B．to supply visitors with hotel information

C．to show visitors the importance of selfhelp

D．to offer visitors some moneysaving tips

答案

小题1:D
小题2:A
小题3:C
小题4:A
小题5:D

解析

本文是一篇说明文。文章介绍了去英国旅游时几个可以有效节省费用的方法。作者在文章中给出了一些建议。
小题1:解析：选D。细节理解题。文章第二段中提到Brighton Comedy Festival的目的是举例说明“Big sporting events，concerts and exhibitions can increase the cost of accommodation and make it harder to find a room.”，即作者建议避免在一些重大节日期间出门旅游，因为住宿费用会增加。所以正确答案是D。
小题2:解析：选A。细节理解题。此段的大标题是“远离车站”，然后开始举例说明。根据“￡95.95，￡75.75，￡62.95”这三个数据的对比可知，离车站越近，价格越高，故最便宜的Farringdon很可能是远离车站的一个旅馆，所以正确答案是A。
小题3:解析：选C。推理判断题。根据第六段中的“As an alternative consider checking into a selfcatering flat with its own kitchen...A great example is...”可以推断，有一些旅馆能够提供有厨房的公寓，而O’Neill Flat便是一个例子，所以正确答案是C。
小题4:解析：选A。细节理解题。根据文章最后一段中的“...and Cardiff(free for up to 30 minutes，or￡5 per day)．”可知，Cardiff的该项计划允许免费用自行车的最长时限是30分钟，即half an hour，所以正确答案是A。
小题5:解析：选D。主旨归纳题。一般来说，考生只有通篇理解文章传递的信息，才可能概括出全文的主旨。文章的开头“Planning a visit to the UK？Here we help with ways to cut your costs.”总领全文，之后各段分别介绍了一些帮助节省旅游费用的建议，所以正确答案是D。

举一反三

According to sociologists(社会学家)，every modern industrial society has some form of social stratification(阶层)．Class，power and status are important in deciding people’s rank in society.
Class means a person’s economic position in society.A commonly used classification is lower class，middle class and upper class.While sociologists disagree on how these terms should be exactly defined，they do describe societies like the United States quite well.One study shows that 53% of Americans belong to the lower class,46% the middle class，and 1% the upper class.Interestingly，a surgeon earning $500,000 a year and a bus driver earning $50,000 a year both regard themselves as the middle class!
Power refers to the amount of control a person has over other people.Obviously，people in positions of great power (such as governors) exercise(行使)big power，but people who take orders from others have less power.Power and class do not always go hand in hand，however.For example，the governor of a state has great power，but he or she may not belong to a corresponding (相应的)economic class.Generally，however，there is a relationship between power and class.To our knowledge，there aren’t too many people who aren’t millionaires in the U．S.Senate!
Status is the honor or respect attached to a person’s position in society.It can also be affected by power and class，but not necessarily so.For example，a university professor may have a high status but not belong to a high social class or have a lot of power over others.
小题1:What can we learn about“the middle class”from Paragraph 2?

A．People earning $50,000 a year belong to the middle class.

B．Nearly half Americans belong to the middle class.

C．People generally consider bus drivers as the middle class.

D．Sociologists have a clear definition of the middle class.

小题2:According to the text，we know that________.

A．power and class do not always correspond with each other

B．status refers to a person’s economic position in society

C．people with high status have a lot of control over others

D．class is less important in deciding a person’s social rank

小题3:．Which of the following shows the structure of the whole text?

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It is widely known that any English conversation begins with The Weather.Such a fixation with the weather finds expression in Dr.Johnson’s famous comment that“When two English meet，their first talk is of weather.”Though Johnson’s observation is as accurate now as it was over two hundred years ago，most commentators fail to come up with a convincing explanation for this English weatherspeak.
Bill Bryson，for example，concludes that，as the English weather is not at all exciting，the obsession with it can hardly be understood.He argues that“To an outsider，the most striking thing about the English weather is that there is not very much of it.” Simply，the reason is that the unusual and unpredictable weather is almost unknown in the British Isles.
Jeremy Paxman，however，disagrees with Bryson，arguing that the English weather is by nature attractive.Bryson is wrong，he says，because the English preference for the weather has nothing to do with the natural phenomena.“The interest is less in the phenomena themselves，but in uncertainty.”According to him，the weather in England is very changeable and uncertain and it attracts the English as well as the outsider.
Bryson and Paxman stand for common misconceptions about the weatherspeak among the English.Both commentators，somehow，are missing the point.The English weather conversation is not really about the weather at all.English weatherspeak is a system of signs，which is developed to help the speakers overcome the natural reserve and actually talk to each other.Everyone knows conversations starting with weatherspeak are not requests for weather data.Rather，they are routine greetings，conversation starters or the blank “fillers”．In other words，English weatherspeak is a means of social bonding.
小题1:The author mentions Dr.Johnson’s comment to show that________.

A．most commentators agree with Dr.Johnson

B．Dr.Johnson is famous for his weather observation

C．the comment was accurate two hundred years ago

D．English conversations usually start with the weather

小题2:What does the underlined word “obsession” most probably refer to?

A．A social trend.

B．An emotional state.

C．A historical concept.

D．An unknown phenomenon.

小题3:According to the passage，Jeremy Paxman believes that________.

A．Bill Bryson has little knowledge of the weather

B．there is nothing special about the English weather

C．the English weather attracts people to the British Isles

D．English people talk about the weather for its uncertainty

小题4:What is the author’s main purpose of writing the passage?

A．To explain what English weatherspeak is about.

B．To analyse misconceptions about the English weather.

C．To find fault with both Bill Bryson and Jeremy Paxman.

D．To convince people that the English weather is changeable.

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We’ve reached a strange－some would say unusual－point.While fighting world hunger continues to be the matter of vital importance according to a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO)，more people now die from being overweight，or say，from being extremely fat，than from being underweight.It’s the good life that’s more likely to kill us these days.
Worse，nearly l8 million children under the age of five around the world are estimated to be overweight.What’s going on?
We really don’t have many excuses for our weight problems.The dangers of the problem have been drilled into us by publichealth campaigns since 2001 and the message is getting through—up to a point.
In the 1970s，Finland，for example，had the highest rate of heart disease in the world and being overweight was its main cause.Not any more.A publichealth campaign has greatly reduced the number of heart disease deaths by 80 per cent over the past three decades.
Maybe that explains why the percentage of people in Finland taking diet pills doubled between 2001 and 2005，and doctors even offer surgery of removing fat inside and change the shape of the body.That has become a sort of fashion.No wonder it ranks as the world’s most bodyconscious country.
We know what we should be doing to lose weight—but actually doing it is another matter.By far the most popular excuse is not taking enough exercise.More than half of us admit we lack willpower.
Others blame good food.They say：it’s just too inviting and it makes them overeat.Still others lay the blame on the Americans，complaining that pounds have piled on thanks to eating too much Americanstyle fast food.
Some also blame their parents－their genes.But unfortunately，the parents are wronged because they’re normal in shape，or rather slim.
It’s a similar story around the world，although people are relatively unlikely to have tried to lose weight.Parents are eager to see their kids shape up.Do as I say－not as I do.
小题1:What is the“strange”point mentioned in the first sentence?

A．The good life is a greater risk than the bad life.

B．Starvation is taking more people’s lives in the world.

C．WHO report shows people’s unawareness of food safety.

D．Overweight issue remains unresolved despite WHO’s efforts.

小题2:Why does the author think that people have no excuse for being overweight?

A．A lot of effective diet pills are available.

B．Body image has nothing to do with good food.

C．They have been made fully aware of its dangers.

D．There are too many overweight people in the world.

小题3:．The example of Finland is used to illustrate________.

A．the cause of heart disease

B．the fashion of body shaping

C．the effectiveness of a campaign

D．the history of a bodyconscious country

小题4:Which would be the best title for the passage?

A．Actions or Excuses?

B．Overweight or Underweight?

C．WHO in a Dilemma

D．No Longer Dying of Hunger

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Pride and Prejudice for the Modern Woman
Let us imagine how Pride and Prejudice，Jane Austen’s most
famous work，might be updated，200 years on.
Austen’s popularity is rooted in her intelligence.But today she would certainly have had a very different life，as would her characters.Here’s my own suggestion...
It is a truth finally and universally acknowledged that a single woman with brains deserves to have equal opportunities to men，however disadvantaged she may feel by sexism.
“My dear husband，”said his hopeful wife one day，“have you heard that the local store，standing empty for so long，is taken over by a bright young businesswoman？”
Her dull and indifferent (漠不关心的) husband replied that he had not.
“But it is，it is，”she replied excitedly.
Mr DullHusband made no reply.
“Don’t you want to know her plans？”she cried with some impatience.
“Well，clearly you think it matters to your silly little head...so I’d better listen.”
“Well，my dear，the rumour (传言) is that she has already set up a string of successful businesses in northern England，though how_a_woman_can_know_anything_about_that_is_beyond_me.She will move in herself next month.”
“What is her name？”
“Bingley.”
“Is she married or single？”
“What a question! And none of your business.But her coming will be a fine thing for our five boys.”
“How so? How can it possibly affect them? ”
“My dear love：those lazy boys need something to wake them up.There are bound to be jobs going.”
“Is that her point in settling here? Surely as a woman she has simply taken a fancy to the place.”
“Nonsense，my love，how little you’ve noticed the world has changed.She’s got a firstrate degree and some sort of business qualification，I’m told.She surely needs one of our boys! Perhaps you might give her a call.”
“Me? No.Perhaps you can take an interest.You still have your looks，after all.She may even offer you a job.”
“Oh，that’s not likely.These new chances belong to the younger generation.But now you mention it，I think I’ll go along all the same.”
And Mrs Bennet went along.That was 10 years ago.She is now managing director of a FTSElisted company.
...It would remain the case，of course，that Mrs Bennet would be one of very few women on the company board，that her salary would be lower than her male colleagues，her bonus of a more“female”dimension and her lifespan (年限) among the city’s business leaders shorter than theirs.Still，she’d no doubt have enjoyed Davos—and might even have hobnobbed (攀谈) with influential figures.
小题1:Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Austen was born 200 years ago.

B．Austen rewrote Pride and Prejudice.

C．Austen’s success lies in her wisdom.

D．Austen’s updated work gains popularity.

小题2:The underlined part in the passage suggests that Mrs Bennet ________.

A．had mixed feelings of admiration and surprise about Bingley

B．felt kind of worried and doubtful about Bingley

C．was extremely anxious to meet Bingley

D．had a great curiosity about Bingley

小题3:In the eyes of Mrs Bennet，Bingley surely needed one of their boys to ________.

A．get married to

B．work for her

C．help her move in

D．take over her store

小题4:What does the writer intend to tell us?

A．Women with brains can also be as successful as men.

B．Women have to pay a high price for success.

C．A judgment must be made free from prejudice.

D．Sex discrimination still exists nowadays.

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One might expect that the evergrowing demands of the tourist trade would bring nothing but good for the countries that receive the holidaymakers.Indeed，a rosy picture is painted for the longterm future of the holiday industry.Every month sees the building of a new hotel somewhere.And every month another rockbound Pacific island is advertised as the ‘last paradise(天堂) on earth’．
However，the scale and speed of this growth seem set to destroy the very things tourists want to enjoy.In those countries where there was a rush to make quick money out of seaside holidays，overcrowded beaches and the concrete jungles of endless hotels have begun to lose their appeal.
Those countries with little experience of tourism can suffer most.In recent years，Nepal set out to attract foreign visitors to fund developments in health and education.Its forests，full of wildlife and rare flowers，were offered to tourists as one more untouched paradise.In fact，the nature all too soon felt the effects of thousands of holidaymakers traveling through the forest land.Ancient tracks became major routes for the walkers，with the consequent exploitation of precious trees and plants.
Not only can the environment of a country suffer from the sudden growth of tourism.The people as well rapidly feel its effects.Farmland makes way for hotels，roads and airports；the old way of life goes.The onetime farmer is now the servant of some multinational organization；he is no longer his own master.Once it was his back that bore the pain；now it is his smile that is exploited.No doubt he wonders whether he wasn’t happier in his village working his own land.
Thankfully，the tourist industry is waking up to the responsibilities it has towards those countries that receive its customers.The protection of wildlife and the creation of national parks go hand in hand with tourist development and in fact obtain financial support from tourist companies.At the same time，tourists are being encouraged to respect not only the countryside they visit but also its people.
The way tourism is handled in the next ten years will decide its fate and that of the countries we all want to visit.Their needs and problems are more important than those of the tourist companies.Increased understanding in planning worldwide tourism can preserve the market for these companies.If not，in a few years’ time the very things that attract tourists now may well have been destroyed.
小题1:What does the author indicate in the last sentence of Paragraph 1?

A．The Pacific island is a paradise.

B．The Pacific island is worth visiting.

C．The advertisement is not convincing.

D．The advertisement is not impressive.

小题2:The example of Nepal is used to suggest________.

A．its natural resources are untouched

B．its forests are exploited for farmland

C．it develops well in health and education

D．it suffers from the heavy flow of tourists

小题3:What can we learn about the farmers from Paragraph 4?

A．They are happy to work their own lands.

B．They have to please the tourists for a living.

C．They have to struggle for their independence.

D．They are proud of working in multinational organizations.

小题4:Which of the following determines the future of tourism ?

A．The number of tourists.

B．The improvement of services.

C．The promotion of new products.

D．The management of tourism.

小题5:The author’s attitude towards the development of the tourist industry is________.

A．optimistic	B．doubtful
C．objective	D．negative

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