Britain’s oldest man made his first visit to London yesterday at the age of 110. Mr. John Evans had never found the time or the money-to make the trip from his home near Swansea. But, when British Rail offered him an all-expenses-paid birthday trip to the capital, he just could not refuse.
Until yesterday he had never been far from home, except for one trip to Aberdeen. Mr. Evans, who spent 60 years working as a miner in South Wales, almost made the journey to London once before, at the turn of the century. "There was a trip to the White City but it was ten shillings (1 shilling =" 1/20" pound) return from Swansea—too much I thought. All my money went to the family then." he said.
During the next two days Mr. Evans will be taken on a whistle-stop tour of London to see the sights. Top of his list is a visit to the Houses of Parliament(国会).
The only arrangement he does not care for is the wheelchair provided to move him about if he gets tired. "I don’t like the chair business--people will think I am getting old," he said.
His secret for a long and healthy life has been well publicized--no alcohol, no cigarette and no anger. Before setting off from Swansea with his 76-year-old son, Amwel, he quipped," I’m glad to see they’ve given me a return ticket. "It was reported that Mr. Evans’s healthy long life was to a certain extent due to his ______.
A.wine drinking | B.proper smoking | C.mild temper | D.sense of humor |
Which of the following statements is true?
A.A single trip from Mr. Evans’s home to the White City used to be ten shillings. |
B.The first place for Mr. Evans to visit is the Houses of Parliament. |
C.He appreciated people’s arrangement of a wheelchair during his visit. |
D.Mr. Evans once made the journey to London at the turn of the century. |
The word "quip" in the last sentence most probably means _______.
A.to make a witty remark | B.to express a happy message |
C.to make a wish | D.to tell a joke |
What might be the best title for this passage?
A.110-Year-Old Tourist | B.Secret for Long and Healthy Life |
C.Free Return Ticket | D.Sightseeing in London |
When Emily Beardmore first heard that a trip was being planned by the biology class at Windsor High School, she thought about how much fun it would be.
“I thought it would be a really good experience to go with other friends and teachers to another country in an environment other than a vacation environment,” the 10- year-old girl said.
A few months later, Emily got her chance when she and 14 of her classmates, along with biology teacher Tamara Pennington went to Costa Rica for eight days in late May.
“It was not just a tour,” said Pennington, who organized the trip. “You can go to any place in the world on just a tour. This one was practical, really working with the sea turtles and practicing conservation (保护). It just seemed like the perfect science field trip for kids who think they want to get into science to see what it’s really like to be out in the field and enjoy themselves.”
Emily said her time on the turtle project, which was the focus of the trip, was “crazy”. “We were walking on the beach at night and you can’t see anything — just see a big black dot (点),” she said with a laugh. “I was not expecting the turtles to be that big.” The turtles are leatherback turtles, which are becoming extinct because their eggs are used as food.
“When they would move their legs while laying their eggs they were really hard to control because they were a lot more powerful than you would imagine,” Emily said.
Once the eggs were collected, the students took them back to a hatchery (孵化场) and dug holes to copy the hole the mother turtle had made and then buried the eggs for the 60 days needed to hatch.
“It was an amazing experience,” Emily said. “You go to another country to see what their culture is like and learn what their everyday lives are like. It made me really want to help out my mom a lot more than I do, and value what I have.” What did Pennington consider the trip to be?
A.It was a common tour to a foreign country. |
B.It was a journey to practice what students learned. |
C.It was a trip to do practical science activities. |
D.It was to attract students’ interest in science. |
From what Emily said on her turtle project, we know that _____.
A.she was afraid of walking on the beach at night |
B.she didn’t dare to catch the powerful turtles |
C.she got crazy at the sight of turtles at night |
D.she had thought turtles were small animals |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A.Emily thought the trip being planned by the biology class would be fun. |
B.Totally, 16 people went to Costa Rica for the 8-day trip in May. |
C.Generally, it takes about 60 days to hatch little turtles. |
D.The trip mainly aimed to get fun and rest. |
Amusement parks make most of their money from admission fees paid by guests attending the park. Other sources include parking fees, food and drink sales and souvenirs. Practically all amusement parks operate using one of two admission principles:
Pay-as-you-go In this form, a guest enters the park at little or no charge. The guest must then buy rides one by one, either at the attraction’s entrance or by buying ride tickets. The cost of the attraction is often based on its complexity (复杂性) or popularity. The park may allow guests to buy unlimited admissions to all attractions within the park. A pass is then shown at the attraction entrance to gain admission.
Disneyland opened in 1955 using the pay-as-you-go form. Initially, guests paid the ride admission fees at the attractions. Soon, the problems of dealing with so many coins led to the development of a ticket system that, while now out of use, is still part of the amusement-park vocabulary. In this new form, guests bought ticket books that contained a number of tickets, with “A,” “B” and “C.” Rides and attractions using an “A-ticket” were generally simple, with “B-tickets” and “C-tickets” used for the larger, more popular rides. Later, the “D-ticket” was added, then finally the now-famous “E-ticket,” which was used for the biggest rides, like Space Mountain. Smaller tickets could be traded up for use on larger rides. Disneyland, as well as the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, gave up this practice in 1982.
The advantages include:
guests pay for only what they choose to experience
attraction costs can be changed easily
The disadvantages include:
guests may get tired of spending money almost continuously
guests may not spend as much on food or souvenirsWhat is the passage mainly about?
A.Attractions of amusement parks |
B.Admission fees of amusement parks. |
C.Admission principles of amusement parks |
D.Sources of income of amusement parks. |
According to the pay-as-you-go principle, guests _____.
A.don’t pay at the gate of the park |
B.must pay for each ride they take |
C.have to pay for all rides in the park |
D.needn’t pay after entering the park |
According to the passage, what is the meaning of the underlined word “Initially” in Paragraph 3?
A.Gradually. | B.At the beginning. | C.At last. | D.Commonly. |
What would be introduced following the passage?
A.The other admission principle |
B.Amusement parks’ earnings. |
C.Some other admission principles |
D.Users of the pay-as-you-go principle. |
Wanted, Someone for a Kiss
We’re looking for producers to join us in the second of London 100FM. You’ll work on the station’s music programmes. Music production experience in radio is necessary, along with rich knowledge of modern dance music. Please apply(申请) in writing to Producer Vacancies, Kiss100.
Father Christmas
We’re looking for a very special person preferably over 40, to fill our Father Christmas suit.
Working days: Every Saturday from November 24 to December 15 and every day from December17 to December24 except Sunday, 10:30—16:00
Excellent pay.
Please contact(联系)the Enterprise Shopping Center, Station Parade, Eastbourne.
Accountants Assistant
When you join the them in our Revenue Administration Unit, you will be providing assistance within all parts of the Revenue Division, dealing with post and other general duties. If you are educated to GCSE grade C level we would like to talk to you. This position is equally suitable for a school leaver of for somebody who has office experience.
Wealden District Council
Software Trainer
If you are aged 24-45 and have experience in teaching and training, you could be the person we are looking for. You should be good at the computer and have some experience in programme writing. You will be allowed to make our decision, and to design courses as well as present them. Pay upwards of £15,000 for the right person. Please apply by sending your CV (简历) to Mrs R. Oglivie, Palmlace Limited.Who should you get in touch with if you hope to work in a radio station?
A.Producer Vacancies, Kiss 100 |
B.Mrs R. Oglivie, Palmlace Limited. |
C.The Enterprise Shopping Centre |
D.Wealden District Council. |
We learn from the ads that the Enterprise Shopping Centre needs a person who _____.
A.is aged between 24 and 40 | B.may do some training work |
C.should deal with general duties | D.can work for about a month |
which position is open to recent school graduates?
A.Producer,London Kiss. | B.Father Christmas. |
C.Accountants Assistant | D.Software Trainer |
What kind of person would probably apply to Palmace Limited?
A.One with GCSE grade C level |
B.One with some office experience. |
C.One having good computer knowledge |
D.One trained in producing music programmes |
As a boy, Charles Robert Darwin collected anything that caught his interest: insects, coins and interesting stones. He was not very clever, but Darwin was good at doing the things that interested him.
His father was a doctor, so Darwin was sent to Edinburgh to study medicine, and was planned to follow a medical career. But Charles found the lectures boring. Then his father sent him to Cambridge University to study to be a priest. While at Cambridge, Darwin’s interest in zoology and geography grew. Later he got a letter from Robert FitzRoy who was planning to make a voyage around the world on a ship, the Beagle. He wanted a naturalist to join the ship, and Darwin was recommended(推荐). That voyage was the start of Darwin’s great life.
As the Beagle sailed around the world, Darwin began to wonder how life had developed on earth. He began to observe everything. After he was home, he set to work, getting his collection in order. His first great work The Zoology of the Beagle was well received, but he was slow to make public his ideas on the origin of life.
Later Darwin and Wallace, another naturalist who had the same opinions as Darwin, produced a paper together. Darwin’s great book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (《物种起源》) appeared. It attracted a storm. People thought that Darwin was saying they were descended from monkeys. What a shameful idea! Although most scientists agreed that Darwin was right, the Church was still so strong that Darwin never received any honors for his work.
Afterwards, he published another great work, The Descent of Man. His health grew worse, but he still worked. “When I have to give up observation, I shall die,” he said. He was still working on 17, April, 1882. He was dead two days later.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A.Charles Darwin’s ideas |
B.Charles Darwin’s works |
C.Father of modern biology: Charles Darwin |
D.The greatest scientist: Charles Darwin |
Darwin’s father sent him to Edinburgh to _____.
A.make him like natural history |
B.make him become a doctor |
C.let him change his hobbies |
D.have him give up his collection |
According to the passage, Charles Darwin’s whole life was changed by _____.
A.his study at Cambridge University |
B.his collection of coins |
C.the naturalists at Cambridge |
D.the voyage of the Beagle |
We can learn from the passage that _____.
A.Darwin announced his ideas on the origin of life as soon as he finished his voyage |
B.Wallace agreed with Darwin’s opinions and wrote The Descent of Man with him |
C.Darwin wrote two great books and a paper during his lifetime |
D.churchmen were strongly against Darwin’s ideas at that time |
Throughout the history of the arts, the nature of creativity has remained constant to artists. No matter what objects they select, artists are to bring forth new forces and forms that cause change-to find poetry where no one has ever seen or experienced it before.
Landscape(风景) is another unchanging element of art. It can be found from ancient times through the 17th-century Dutch painters to the 19th-century romanticists and impressionists. In the 1970s Alfred Leslie, one of the new American realists, continued this practice. Leslie sought out the same place where Thomas Cole, a romanticist, had produced paintings of the same scene a century and a half before. Unlike Cole who insists on a feeling of loneliness and the idea of finding peace in nature, Leslie paints what he actually sees. In his paintings, there is no particular change in emotion, and he includes ordinary things like the highway in the background. He also takes advantage of the latest developments of color photography(摄影术) to help both the eye and the memory when he improves his painting back in his workroom.
Besides, all art begs the age-old question: What is real? Each generation of artists has shown their understanding of reality in one form or another. The impressionists saw reality in brief emotional effects, the realists in everyday subjects and in forest scenes, and the Cro-Magnon cave people in their naturalistic drawings of the animals in the ancient forests. To sum up, understanding reality is a necessary struggle for artists of all periods.
Over thousands of years the function of the arts has remained relatively constant. Past or present, Eastern or Western, the arts are a basic part of our immediate experience. Many and different are the faces of art, and together they express the basic need and hope of human beings.
The underlined word “poetry” most probably means __________.
A.an object for artistic creation | B.a collection of poems |
C.an unusual quality | D.a natural scene |
Leslie's paintings are extraordinary because.
A.they are close in style to works in ancient times |
B.they look like works by 19th-century painters |
C.they draw attention to common things in life |
D.they depend heavily on color photography |
What is the author's opinion of artistic reality?
A.It will not be found in future works of art. |
B.It does not have a long-lasting standard. |
C.It is expressed in a fixed artistic form. |
D.It is lacking in modern works of art. |
What does the author suggest about the arts in the last paragraph?
A.They express people's curiosity about the past. |
B.They make people interested in everyday experience. |
C.They are considered important for variety in form. |
D.They are regarded as a mirror of the human situation. |
Which of the following is the main topic of the passage?
A.History of the arts. |
B.Basic questions of the arts. |
C.New developments in the arts. |
D.Use of modern technology in the arts. |