.
Today, people all over the world are moving out of small villages in the country to go and live in big, noisy cities. They are moving from the peaceful hills, mountains, fields, rivers and streams of the countryside to the busy world of streets, buildings, traffic and crowds. This movement from rural areas to urban areas has been going on for over two hundred years.
In many countries, the main reason people come to live in towns and cities is work. After one or two large factories have been built in or near a town, people come to find work, and soon an industrial area begins to grow. There is usually a residential area nearby where the factory workers can live. The families of these workers need schools, hospitals and shops, so many people come to live in the area to provide these services and a city grows.
In every major city in the world, there is a business district where the big companies have their main offices. In the United States, this area is usually in the city center downtown. It is here that you can see many huge skyscrapers(摩天楼)and office blocks. The people who work here often travel a long way to work each day. Many of them live in the suburbs of the city, far away from the industrial area and the city center. Some suburbs are very pleasant, with nice houses and big gardens. There are usually parks for children to play in and large department stores where you can buy all you need.
But what is the future of the big cities? Will they continue to get bigger and bigger? Perhaps not. Some major cities have actually become smaller in the last ten years, and it is quite possible that one day we will see people moving out of the major cities and back into smaller town and villages.
71. The underlined phrase “a residential area” means ________.
A. an area where people can buy things B. an area where people live
C. an area where people can do business D. an area near a city center
72. Why do people move to live in cities or towns?
A. Because they can live more comfortably there.
B. Because they like noisy life better than peaceful life.
C. They do so mainly to find work.
D. Because they are sure of having a better life there.
73. In a residential area you can see ________.
A. rows of houses B. many offices and factories
C. a lot of factories and farms D. many houses with offices and factories
74. In the United States, many people work in the center of a big city__________.
A. and live there B. while living on the far away edge(边缘)of the city
C. but live in another city D. but live far away out of the city
75. We can infer that this movement from rural to urban areas ______.
has been going on for more than 2,000 years B. will surely continue in the future
C. may not continue in the future D. has now stopped already
They wear the latest fashions with the most up-to-date accessories(配饰).Yet these are not girls in their teens or twenties but women in their sixties and seventies.A generation which would once only wear old-fashioned clothes is now favoring the same high street looks worn by those half their age.
Professor Julia Twiggy, a social policy expert,said,“Women over 75 are now shopping for clothes more requently than they did when they were young in the 1960s.In the 1960s buying a coat for a woman was a serious matter.It was an expensive item that they would purchase only every three or four years—now you can pick one up at the supermarket whenever you wish to.Fashion is a lot cheaper and people get tired of things more quickly.” Professor Twiggy analyzed family expending data and found that while the percentage of spending on clothes and shoes by women had stayed around the same—about 5 or 6 percent of spending,the amount of clothes bought had risen sharply.
The professor said,“Clothes are now 70 percent cheaper than they were in the 1960s because of the huge expansion of production in the Far East.In the 1960s Leeds was the heart of the British fashion industry and that was where most of the clothes came from,but now almost all of our clothes are sourced elsewhere.Everyone is buying more clothes but in general we are not spending more money on them.’’
Fashion designer Angela Barnard,who runs her own fashion business in London,said older women were much more affected by celebrity style than in previous years.She said,“When people see stars such as Judi Dench and Helen Mirren looking attractive and fashionable in their sixties,they want to follow them.Older women are much more aware of celebrities.There’s also the boom in TV programmers showing people how they can change their look,and many of my older customers do yoga to stay in shape well in their fifties.When I started my business a few years ago,my older customers tended to be very rich,but now they are what I would call ordinary women. My own mother is 6l and she wears the latest fashions in a way she would never have done ten years ago.”It can be concluded that old women tend to wear the latest fashions today mainly because___________.
A.they get tired of themselves more quickly |
B.TV shows teach them how to stay in shape |
C. they feel much younger now |
D.clothes are much cheaper than before |
What can we learn about old women in terms of fashion?
A.They are often ignored by fashion designers. |
B.They are now mole easily influenced by stars. |
C.They are regarded as pioneers in the latest fashion. |
D.They are more interested in clothes because of their old age. |
Which is the best possible title of the passage?
A.Age Is No Barrier for Fashion Fans. |
B.The More Fashionable,the Less Expensive. |
C.Unexpected changes in Fashion. |
D.Boom of the British Fashion Industry |
Instagram is a fast,beautiful and fun way to share your life with friends and family.Take a picture or video,choose a filter to transform its look and feel.and then post to Instagram—it's that easy.You can even share to Facebook.Twitter and more.It’s a new way to see the world.So many photos of food are contained on Instagram—now a pop-up diner in London is taking advantage of this new trend by letting people settle the bill for their meals simply by uploading photos of their dishes to social networks.
I always thought people’s taking pictures of their food was kind of silly, but at this new pop-up restaurant in the UK,I’d probably do it too.“The Picture House”is the world’s first pay-by-photo restaurant—you order, click a photo of the food,share on Instagram and eat for free!
The restaurant belongs to frozen food giant(巨人)Birds Eye,who came up with the idea to cash in on people’s addiction with photographing food and sharing the pictures online. They conducted a survey and found out that more than half of the British population regularly took pictures of their meals.So they realized it was a better way to advertise their new dining range.
The pop-up diner was open in Soho,London for three days in May,and is now moving to other major UK cities.They serve two-course meals that customers don’t have to pay for, if they photo and lnstagram it.
The restaurant is a part of Birds Eye’s“Food for Life”campaign,a new marketing project that aims at changing the way people look at frozen food.“Taking photos of food enables people to show off and to share their mealtime moments—from the everyday to the special,”said marketing director Margaret Jobling.
The reaction to The Picture House has been great so far And the pay-by-picture concept has proven to be an effective way.Alternative payment methods are actually gaining popularity among a lot of businesses.Last year in a cafe in Germany customers pay by how much time they spend there,not by what they eat.Instagram probably is______.
A.a restaurant free of chmge |
B.a campaign of“Food for Life’’ |
C.a program used to share photos |
D.a new marketing project |
What’s the author’s attitude to this new trend?
A.Confused | B.Unconcerned |
C.Opposed | D.Interested |
“The Picture House”encourages sharing photos of its food to_____.
A.raise the price of frozen food |
B.attract more customers |
C.create a new social media trend |
D.reward the regular customers |
Which of the following can serve as the best title for the passage?
A.Pay by Picture | B.The Pop-up Diner |
C.No Need to Pay | D.Food for Life |
At the age of ten I could not figure out what this Elvis Presley guy had that the rest of us boys did not have.I mean,he had a head,two arms and two legs,just like the rest of us.About nine o’clock on Saturday morning I decided to ask Eugene Correthers,one of the older boys,what it was that made this Elvis guy so special.He told me that it was Elvis’wavy hair and the way he moved his body.
About half an hour later all the boys in the orphanage(孤儿院)were called to the main dining-room and told we were all going to downtown Jacksonville,Florida to get a new pair of Buster Brown shoes and a haircut.That is when I got this big idea,which hit me like a ton of bricks. If the Elvis hair cut was the big secret,then that’s what I was going to get.
A11 the way to town I told everybody, including the matron(女管家)from the orphanage who was taking us to town,that I was going to look just like Elvis Presley and that I would learn to move around just like he did and that I would be rich and famous one day, just like him.
When I got my new Buster Brown shoes, I could hardly wait for my new hair cut and now that I had my new Busier Brown shoes I would be very happy to go back to the orphanage and practice being like Elvis.
We finally arrived at the big barber shop,where they cut our hair for free because we were orphans(孤儿).I looked at the barber and said,“I want an Elvis hair cut. Can you make my hair like Elvis?”I asked him,with a big smile on my face.“Let's just see what we can do for you,little man,”he said.I was so happy when he started to cut my hair.Just as he started to cut my hair, the matron signed for him to come over to where she was standing.She whispered something into his ear and then he shook his head,like he was telling her“No”.Then he told me they were not allowed to give us Elvis hair cuts.Then I saw my hair falling onto the floor.In the author’s eyes,Elvis Presley was_________.
A.disgusting | B.admirable |
C.ambitious | D.dynamic |
From the passage,we can know that______________.
A.Buster Brown was more appealing than Elvis Presley |
B.An Elvis hair cut cost the orphans a lot of money |
C.The matron did not want the boy to have an Elvis hair cut |
D.The barber was unwilling to give the boy an Elvis hair cut |
We can learn from the underlined sentence that the boy was______.
A.excited to have an Elvis hair cut |
B.worried to think about the secret |
C.anxious to remove the ton of bricks |
D.careful to seize the chance |
How would the boy probably feel when he walked out of the barber shop?
A.Delighted. | B.Guilty. |
C.Self-satisfied. | D.Depressed. |
I have two sons. They are as different as night and day. My youngest is sweet, loveable, easy-going, and finds joy in everything. My oldest we’ve nicknamed the “Evil Genius” is ambitious, self-confident, and suffers no fools.
Whenever we mentioned Santa my husband and I were rewarded with major eye rolling and deep sighs from my oldest. At first we both tried to ignore it.
We both knew that our eldest had figured out the big secret. But I’d be damned(指责) if he was going to ruin it for his six-year-old brother who had plenty of Santa-loving years ahead of him. I looked at my husband in the eye and said, “I’ll handle this.” to which he responded “Okay just be careful because I’m not sure he knows - he might just be acting like it.” But I knew. And I had it in my mind that he was about to break his younger brothers spirit and break the news to him. I was afraid he was going to take the Christmas spirit away from my sweet innocent youngest and stamp all over it. I had to protect him. I needed to control this now before it got out of control. I rushed into the play room where my oldest was playing alone. I looked him dead in the eyes and said: “Well you know Santa isn’t real, right?” And as I stared at my eight-year-old son for what seemed like a long time of silence, his eyes started to fill with tears. And a tear dropped down his cheek when he screamed out, “He’s not?”
“Um well it’s not that he’s not real (shut up you idiot- stop saying he’s not real), but he doesn’t really make and deliver all the toys. Dad and I get some of them for you. So he’s real. He’s just got a little help from us.”
The Evil Genius wasn’t buying it. He just sat there looking at me with an expression of doubt.
You know when you make a terrible mistake but you can’t stop yourself from making it worse? That was me because I just had to know. I had to know why he had seemed to be over Santa. So I asked him why he rolled his eyes and sighed every time his father and I mentioned Santa, to which he replied that kids at school had been saying Santa wasn't real but that he still thought he was.What’s the best title for the passage?
A.Two different sons |
B.Santa secret given away |
C.Protecting one, ruining the other |
D.Making a mistake worse |
What did the writer conclude when “Evil Genius” rolled his eyes and sighed?
A.“Evil Genius” had discovered Santa was not real. |
B.“Evil Genius” had broken the secret to his younger brother. |
C.“Evil Genius” had passed his Santa-loving years. |
D.“Evil Genius” had been influenced by his classmates. |
What does the underlined sentence mean in the passage?
A.“Evil Genius” refused to buy toys. |
B.“Evil Genius” didn’t believe his mother’s words. |
C.“Evil Genius” wanted to keep silent. |
D.“Evil Genius” would not give away the secret. |
What lesson can we learn from the story?
A.Lies can never change facts. |
B.Honesty is the best policy. |
C.No one is perfect. |
D.We should think twice before we act. |
“People are ruder today because they are rushed and more ‘time poor’ than ever before,” says Patsy Rowe, “ Manners have fallen off the radar(雷达).” Due to our strong attraction to electronic equipment it is a wonder that more people don’t wake up each morning and greet the singing birds with complaining about the noise. Here are some examples of rudeness.
Some people prefer to do almost everything over the Internet. To them, dealing with an actual human is like an evolutionary step backward. It feels very slow because humans don’t work at 4G speeds. When you have dinner with friends, you will often notice someone paying more attention to his mobile phone. We have programmed ourselves to think that every new message brings life-changing news, so taking calls and checking our texts are more important than talking to the people we are with. What is worse, some people even tend to send anonymous(匿名的)rude messages by email.
However, rudeness is never acceptable. Don’t assume it is OK to be rude if the person you’re in touch with won’t recognize you. If you have something awful to say, have the courage to face the person and say it, write a letter or email and sign it, or forget it. Upsetting people with unsigned messages is cruel and disgusting.
We shouldn’t blame technology for our shortcomings. Technology is here to help us, but we should not allow it to take over our lives. An important step is acknowledging our shortcomings. People spend a lot of time pointing out bad manners but it would be even more helpful if we’d publicly acknowledge good manners when we see them.What can be inferred from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1?
A.People can tell good from bad behavior. |
B.Radar is able to observe human behavior. |
C.People care little about their behavior. |
D.Radar can be used to predict human behavior. |
Some people are less willing to deal with humans because__________.
A.they are becoming less patient |
B.they are growing too independent |
C.they have to handle many important messages |
D.they have to follow an evolutionary step backward. |
The author thinks sending unsigned awful messages is ___________.
A.Ridiculous | B.disgusting |
C.acceptable | D.reasonable |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A.We should applaud good behavior. |
B.Technology can never be blamed |
C.We should keep pointing out mistakes. |
D.Technology will take over lives one day. |