American cities are similar to other cities around the world. In every country, cities reflect the values of the culture. American cities are changing, just as American society is changing.
After World War II, the population of most large American cities decreased; however, the population in many Sun Belt cities increased. Los Angeles and Houston are cities where population shifts（转移）to and from the city reflect the changing values of American society. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, city residents（居民）became wealthier. They had more children so they needed more space. They moved out of their apartments in the city to buy their own homes. They bought houses in the suburbs（郊区）。
Now things are changing. The children of the people who left the cities in the 1950s are now adults. Many, unlike their parents, want to live in the cities. They continue to move to Sun Belt cities and older ones of the Northeast and Midwest. Many young professionals are moving back into the city. They prefer the city to the suburbs because their jobs are there; or they just enjoy the excitement and possibilities that the city offers.
This population shift is bringing problems as well as benefits. Countless poor people must leave their apartments in the city because the owners want to sell the buildings or make apartments for sale instead of for rent. In the 1950s , many poor people did not have enough money to move to the suburbs; now many of these same people do not have enough money to stay in the cities.
Only a few years ago, people thought that the older American cities were dying . Some city residents now see a bright, new future. Others see only problems and conflicts. One thing is sure: many dying cities are alive again.What does the author think of cities all over the world?
| A．They are alive. | B．They are hopeless. |
| C．They are similar. | D．They are different. |
Why did American city residents want to live in the suburbs after World War II?
| A．Because older American cities were dying. |
| B．Because they were richer and needed more space. |
| C．Because cities contained the worst parts of society. |
| D．Because they could hardly afford to live in the city. |
According to the 4th paragraph, a great many poor people in American cities .
| A．are faced with housing problems. | B．are forced to move to the suburbs. |
| C．want to sell their buildings. | D．need more money for daily expenses. |
We can conclude from the text that .
| A．American cities are changing for the worse. |
| B．people have different views on American cities. |
| C．many people are now moving from American cities. |
| D．the population is decreasing in older American cities. |
Hilton Shanghai, the city's first international hotel, has been recognized as a top business hotel in Shanghai for its convenient location and outstanding facilities for more than 20 years.
However, the hotel's newly appointed general manager Gerd Knaust says it is the people that make the hotel successful.
More than 380 employees have been working with the hotel for more than 15 years. Some of them have personal relationships with customers.
''It's a people-relation business,'' Knaust says. ''They really tell me about the stories in the last 15 years. It's something very nice to listen to. It's also a lasting memory for the guests.''
In fact, over the years, some of the guests have stayed in the hotel 200 or even 300 times.
Knaust, who has been working in the hospitality industry for more than 30 years, started his career as a chef in Germany. During his early 30s, Knaust already moved to the top in the culinary (烹调的) field as director of kitchen of Hyatt Regency Cologne in Germany.
After holding several general manager positions in Mandarin Oriental hotels, Knaust joined Hilton International as the general manager to open the Conrad and Doubletree by Hilton at Haitang Bay, Sanya in 2010.
When he was appointed as the general manager of Hilton Shanghai in November, he not only was heavily involved in recruitment, sales and marketing strategies but also he worked closely with the food and beverage team to develop the hotel's restaurant concepts and menus.
''I believe that we should offer quality and healthy food.'' he says.
Knaust believes that a hotel must value the customers' comments on Ctrip, Trip Advisor and other platforms, etc.
''It keeps us more on guard to be 100 percent professional,'' he says. Why do business travelers choose Hilton Shanghai?
| A．Because of its location, facilities and good service. |
| B．Because it is in Shanghai. |
| C．Because its general manager is excellent. |
| D．Because some customers are the staff’s relatives. |
From the passage we know ______ .
| A．Hilton Shanghai is the first international hotel in China |
| B．Gerd Knaust thinks that the staff is the most important in making the hotel successful |
| C．Gerd Knaust has worked in Hilton Shanghai for more than 20 years |
| D．most of the employees in Hilton Shanghai have personal relationships with customers |
Knaust joined Hilton International as the general manager to ______.
| A．start his career as chef |
| B．be involved in recruitment |
| C．open the Conrad and Doubletree |
| D．develop the hotel’s restaurant concepts and menus |
Trip Advisor in the last paragraph but one is likely to be______.
| A．a person who can give you some advice about trip |
| B．a place where you can have a good trip |
| C．an organization which can give you some advice |
| D．a website where travelers can leave their advice |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．First international hotel in Shanghai. | B．How to manage a hotel well. |
| C．Knaust's management idea. | D．Knaust's life story. |
Homestay provides English language students with the opportunity to speak English outside the classroom and the experience of being part of a British home.
What to Expect
The host will provide accommodation and meals. Rooms will be cleaned and bedcovers changed at least once a week. You will be given the house key and the host is there to offer help and advice as well as to take an interest in your physical and mental health.
Accommodation Zones
Homestays are located in London mainly in Zones 2, 3 and 4 of the transport system. Most hosts do not live in the town centre as much of central London is commercial and not residential. Zone 3 and 4 often offer larger accommodation in a less-crowded area. It is very convenient to travel in London by underground.
Meal Plans Available
☆ Continental Breakfast
☆ Breakfast and Dinner
☆ Breakfast, Packed Lunch and Dinner
It’s important to note that few English families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast. Your accommodation includes Continental Breakfast which normally consists of fruit juice, cereal, bread and tea or coffee. Cheese, fruit and cold meat are not normally part of a Continental Breakfast in England. Dinners usually consist of meat or fish with vegetables followed by dessert, fruit and coffee.
Friends
If you wish to invite a friend over to visit, you must first ask your host’s permission. You have no right to entertain friends in a family home as some families feel it is an invasion of their privacy.
Self-Catering Accommodation in Private Homes
Accommodation on a room-only basis includes shared kitchen and bathroom facilities and often a main living room. This kind of accommodation offers an independent lifestyle and is more suitable for the long-stay student. However, it does not provide the same family atmosphere as an ordinary homestay and may not benefit those who need to practice English at home quite as much.The passage is probably written for ____________.
| A．hosts willing to receive foreign students |
| B．foreigners hoping to build British culture |
| C．travelers planning to visit families in London |
| D．English learners applying to visit families in London |
Which of the following will the host provide?
| A．Room cleaning | B．Medical care |
| C．Free transport | D．Physical training |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 3?
| A．Zone 4 is more crowded than Zone 2. |
| B．The business centre of London is in Zone 1. |
| C．Hosts dislike travelling to the city centre. |
| D．Accommodation in the city centre is not provided. |
According to the passage, what does Continental Breakfast include?
| A．Dessert and coffee. | B．Fruit and vegetable. |
| C．Bread and fruit juice | D．Cereal and cold meat. |
Why do some people choose self-catering accommodation?
| A．To experience a warmer family atmosphere. |
| B．To enrich their knowledge of English. |
| C．To entertain friends as they like. |
| D．To enjoy much more freedom |
Once upon a time there was a painter who had just finished his course from a great painter. He wanted to assess his skills, so he decided to display one of his best works on a busy street.
He put his painting at a busy street-crossing. And below it a board read — "Gentlemen, I have painted this piece. Since I'm new, I might have made some mistakes in my work."
When he came back in the evening to collect his painting, he was completely shocked to see that the whole painting was filled with crosses.He burst into tears and said sadly, "I'm useless and if this is what I have learned to
paint, I'm not worth teaching."
The master smiled and suggested, "My son, I will prove that you are a great artist." The master told him, "Just paint the same painting once again and give it to me."
Then they went to the same street the next morning and displayed the same painting. The master took out another board which read — "Gentleman, I have painted this piece. Since I'm new, I might have made some mistakes. I have put a box with colors and brushes just below. Please dome a favor."The master and the young painter went back home.
They visited the place in the evening. The young painter was surprised to see that actually there was not a single correction done!If you want to help people improve their behaviors, it is worth investing your effort in learning how to help people change their behaviors, attitudes and skills. Also, always remember not to get carried away or judge yourself by someone else's criticism and feel depressed as you are the best judge to judge yourself!
| A．It is easy to criticize, but difficult to improve. |
| B．Please put a cross wherever you see a mistake. |
| C．Discouraged and broken, he ran to his master's place. |
| D．If you see a mistake, kindly pick up the brush and correct it. |
E. Criticizing has the function of helping people improve themselves.
Gwendolyn Brooks wrote hundreds of poems during her lifetime. She was known around the world for using poetry to increase understanding of black culture in America.
During the 1940’s and the 1950’s, Gwendolyn Brooks used her poems to describe conditions among the poor, racial (种族的) inequality and drug use in the black community. She also wrote poems about the struggles of black women.
But her skill was more than her ability to write about struggling black people. She combined traditional European poetry styles with the African American experience.
Gwendolyn Brooks once said that she wrote about what she saw and heard in the street. She said she found most of her materials through looking out of the window of her second-floor apartment in Chicago, Illinois.
In her early poetry, Gwendolyn Brooks wrote about the South Side of Chicago, where many black people live. In her poems, the South Side is called Bronzeville. It was “A Street in Bronzeville” that gained the attention of literary experts in 1945. Critics praised her poetic skills and her powerful descriptions about the black experience during the time. The Bronzeville poems were her first published collection.
In 1950, Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature. She won the prize for her second book of poems called “Annie Allen”. “Annie Allen” is a collection of poetry about a Bronzeville girl as a daughter, a wife and a mother. She experiences loneliness, loss, death and poverty (贫穷).
Gwendolyn Brooks said that winning the prize changed her life.
Her next work was a novel written in 1953 called “Maud Martha”. “Maud Martha” attracted little attention when it was first published. But now it is considered an important work by some critics. Its main ideas about the difficult lives of many women are popular among female writers today. Gwendolyn Brooks became world-famous because .
| A．she was an expert on the language of poetry |
| B．she introduced black culture by writing poems |
| C．she fought for black rights by writing poems |
| D．her poems showed the lives of black women |
Which of the following can we learn from the text?
| A．Gwendolyn Brooks’ poems focused on black people in Africa. |
| B．Winning the Pulitzer Prize for Literature was important to Brooks. |
| C．Gwendolyn Brooks used to suffer a lot from drugs. |
| D．Gwendolyn Brooks was very strict with herself. |
How did Gwendolyn Brooks get ideas for most of her poems?
| A．By observing life. | B．By having talks. | C．By reading widely. | D．By traveling. |
We can infer that the book “Annie Allen” mainly deals with.
| A．family life | B．inequality | C．adventure | D．failure |
There is an old Chinese tale about a woman whose only son died. Sadly, she went to the holy man and asked, “What magical things do you have to bring my son back to life?”
Instead of sending her away or reasoning with her, he said to her, “Fetch me a mustard (芥菜) seed from a home that has never known sadness. We will use it to drive the sadness out of your life.” The woman happily went off at once in search of that magical mustard seed.
She first came to a splendid house, knocked at the door and said, “I am looking for a home that has never known sadness. Is it such a place? It is very important to me.”
They told her “You’ve certainly come to the wrong place” and began to describe all the tragic things that had happened to them recently.
The woman said to herself, “I have had misfortune of my own. Who is able to help these poor, unfortunate people?” She stayed to comfort them, and then went on in search of a home that had never known sadness. But wherever she went, she found one tale after another of sadness and misfortune. She became so involved in other people’s sorrow that finally she forgot about her search for the magical mustard seed, never realizing that it had, in fact, driven the sadness out of her life.Which of the following does the story lead us to believe?
| A．Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. |
| B．Time passed cannot be called back again. |
| C．You can’t feel happy unless compared with others. |
| D．You can’t expect to know the result until you have tried. |
Instead of sending the woman away, the holy man.
| A．asked her to help him first |
| B．tried to comfort her with kind words |
| C．asked her to look for a thing that didn’t exist at all |
| D．tried to encourage her by talking with her |
Leaving the holy man, the woman.
| A．was full of hope | B．was filled with sadness |
| C．was determined to try again | D．became discouraged |
The best title for the text would be “”.
| A．A woman’s misfortune | B．A nice surprise | C．The holy man’s faith | D．Cure for sadness |