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 (居住的). Zones 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 (谷物类食品), 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 desert, 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 know British culture |
| C．travelers planning to visit families in London |
| D．English learners applying to live in English homes |
Which of the following will the host provide?
| A．Room cleaning. | B．Medical care. |
| C．Free transport. | D．Physical training. |
According to the passage, what does Continental Breakfast include?
| A．Dessert and coffee. | B．Fruit and vegetables. |
| 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. |
A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. They were a loving couple and loved the boy very much. When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle open. He was late for work so he asked the wife to cap the bottle and keep it in the cupboard. The mother, preoccupied in the kitchen, totally forgot the matter.
The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle and, fascinated with its color, drank it all. It happened to be a poisonous medicine meant for adults in small dosages. When the child collapsed, the mother hurried him to the hospital, where he died. The mother was stunned. She was terrified how to face her husband.
When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just four words. The husband just said ‘I am with you, Darling’. The husband's totally unexpected reaction is proactive behavior. The child is dead. He can never be brought back to life. There is no point in finding fault with the mother. Besides, if only he have taken time to keep the bottle away, this will not have happened. No point in attaching blame. She had also lost her only child. What she needed at that moment was consolation and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her.
If everyone can look at life with this kind of viewpoint, there would be much fewer problems in the world. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears and you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think. Sometimes we spend time asking who is responsible or whom to blame, whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know. By this way we miss out some warmth in human relationship.
56．The uncapped medical bottle was not put back into the cupboard because .
A．the husband was careless B．the husband was busy
C．the wife wasn’t informed of the matter D．the wife ignored the matter
57．What do we know about the bottle? .
A．It contained poison only for adults B．It appeared like a nice drink
C．It was broken by the child D．It was kept in the kitchen
58．The husband’s attitude towards his wife can be described as .
A．optimistic B．confident C．considerate D．generous
59．What did the writer intend to tell us about life? .
A．Let go the negative side and we can enjoy life.
B．It is always useless finding who is responsible
C．Think of nothing and life will be easy
D．Life should give way to responsibility
The Lantern Festival first evolved along the banks of the Yellow River during the peak of freezing winter conditions. The celebration held on the night of the first full noon of the lunar new year is often referred to as the “Little New Year”.
The festival’s origin has been argued by historians. Some say the festival was set up in relation to New Year Buddhist ceremonies. Lanterns were used to praise Buddha and request his protection for the coming year. However, Taoists insist that the Martial Emperor Wu Ti (141 B.C.~86 B.C.) began the festival a century earlier in an effort to gain eternal life.
In the huge courtyard of his palace, he ordered lanterns to be hung on the night of the first full moon until the entire courtyard was lit as bright as the day.
After a Chinese eunuch (太监) invented paper in 105 A.D., people of all classes began to enjoy the beauty of inexpensive paper lanterns. Today, the lantern has experienced further revolution and paper has been replaced by plastic animated characters lit by battery operated light bulbs. In Taiwan, this development has extended to the creation of extravagant, enormous and highly technical lanterns representing the zodiac animals. Even still, many of the old ways remain mixed with the new.
73. According to the article, which of the following statement is true?
A. Historians are troubled by different opinions.
B. Wu Ti ordered an eunuch to make lanterns using inexpensive paper.
C. The weather conditions under which the first lantern festival was held were extreme.
D. Buddhists believe that Wu Ti began the Lantern Festival.
74. Wu Ti is believed to have established the Lantern Festival in his vain effort to ______.
A. change night into day. B. live forever.
C. make the greatest of offering to Buddha. D. celebrate the “Little New Year”.
75. The invention of paper in 105 A.D. ______.
A. helped to invent paper lanterns.
B. replaced paper lanterns with plastic animated characters.
C. lit up the sky.
D. increased the popularity of lanterns.
It is often necessary to release a fish, that is , set it free after catching, because it is too small, or you just don’t want to take it home to eat. In some cases, releasing fish is a good measure that will help keep fish variety and build their population size. The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) encourages fishermen who practice catch-and-release fishing to use a few simple skills when doing so. The advice provided below will help make sure that the fish you release will survive to bite again another day.
—When catching a fish, play it quickly and keep the fish in the water as much as possible.
Don’t’ use a net in landing the fish and release it quickly to prevent it from dying.
—Hold the fish gently. Do not put your fingers in its eyes. Don’t wipe the scales (鱼鳞) off the fish because it might cause it to develop a disease and reduce its chance of survival.
—Remove your hook quickly. If the hook is too deep or hooked in the stomach, cut the line and leave the hook in. The hook left inside will cause no serious problem to the fish.
—Take good care of the fish by moving it gently in water. Release the fish when it begins to struggle and is able to swim.
—Do not hold fish in a bucket or some other containers and later decide to release it. If you are going to release a fish, do so right away.
With a little care and by following the suggestions given above, you can give the released fish a better chance of survival.
69. People sometimes set a fish free after catching it because they _________
A. don’t want it to die B. hope it will grow quickly
C. don’t want to have it as food D. want to practice their fishing skills
70. Which of the following will probably make a fish ill?
A. Taking the hook off it. B. Removing its scales.
C. Touching its eyes D. Holding it in your hand.
71. A proper way to release a fish is to _________.
A .move it in water till it can swim B. take the hook out of its stomach
C. keep it in a bucket for some time D. let it struggle a little in your hand
72. What is the purpose of the text?
A. To show how to enjoy fishing. B. To persuade people to fish less often.
C. To encourage people to set fish free. D. To give advice on how to release fish.
More than 10 years ago, it was difficult to buy a tasty pineapple. The fruits that made it to the UK were green on the outside and, more often than not, hard with an unpleasant taste within. Then in 1966, the Del Monte Gold pineapple produced in Hawaii first hit our shelves.
The new type of pineapple looked more yellowy-gold than green. It was slightly softer on the outside and had a lot of juice inside. But the most important thing about this new type of pineapple was that it was twice as sweet as the hit-and-miss pineapples we had known. In no time, the Del Monte Gold took the market by storm, rapidly becoming the world’s best-selling pineapple variety, and delivering natural levels of sweetness in the mouth, up until then only found in tinned pineapple.
In nutrition it was all good news too. This nice tasting pineapple contained four times more vitamin C than the old green variety. Nutritionists said that it was not only full of vitamins, but also good against some diseases. People were understandably eager to be able to buy this wonderful fruit. The new type of pineapple was selling fast, and the Del Monte Gold pineapple rapidly became a fixture in the shopping basket of the healthy eater.
Seeing the growing market for its winning pineapple, Del Monte tried to keep market to itself. But other fruit companies argued successfully that Del Monte turned to law for help, but failed. Those companies argued successfully that Del Monte’s attempts to keep the golden pineapple for itself were just a way to knock them out the market.
65 We learn from the text that the new type at pineapple is __________.
A. green outside and sweet inside
B. good-looking outside and soft inside
C. yellowy-gold outside and hard inside
D. a little soft outside and sweet inside
66. Why was the new type of pineapple selling well?
A. It was rich in nutrition and tasted nice.
B. It was less sweet and good for health.
C. It was developed by Del Monte.
D. It was used as medicine.
67. The bold word “fixture” in Paragraph 3 probably refers to something _________.
A. that people enjoy eating B. that is always present
C. that is difficult to get D. that people use as a gift
68. We learn from the last paragraph that Del Monte _________.
A. slowed other companies to develop pineapples
B. succeeded in keeping the pineapple for itself
C. tried hard to control the pineapple market
D. planned to help the other companies
Last week my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home in Tucson, Arizona. He moved there a few years ago, and I was eager to see his new place and meet his friends.
My earliest memories of my father are a tall, handsome, successful man devoted to his work and his family, but uncomfortable with his children. As a child I loved him. He seemed unhappy with me unless I got straight A’s and unhappy with my boyfriends if their fathers were not as “successful” as he was. Whenever I went out with him on weekends, I used to struggle to think up things to say, feeling on guard.
On the first day of my visit, we went out with one of my father’s friends for lunch at an outdoor café. We talked along that afternoon, did some shopping, ate on the street table, and laughed over my son’s funny facial expressions. Gone was my father’s critical (挑剔的) air and strict rules. Who was this person I knew as my father, who seemed so friendly and interesting to be around? What had held him back before?
The next day dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his own childhood. Although our times together became easier over the years, I never felt closer to him at that moment. After so many years, I’m at last seeing another side of my father. And in so doing, I’m delighted with my new friend. My dad, in his new home in Arizona, is back to me from where he was.
61. Why did the author feel bitter about her father as a young adult?
A. He was silent most of the time.
B. He was too proud of himself.
C. He did not love his children.
D. He expected too much of her.
62. When the author went out with her father on weekends, she would feel .
A. nervous B. sorry C. tired D. safe
63. What does the author think of her father after her visit to Tucson?
A. More critical.B. More talkative
C. Gentle and friendly.D. Strict and hard-working.
64. The underlined words “my new friend” in the last paragraph refer to .
A. the author’s sonB. the author’s father
C. the friend of the author’s father D. the café owner