You’ve just come home, after living abroad for a few years. Since you’ve been away, has this country changed for the better or for the worse?
If you’ve just arrived back in the UK after a fortnight’s holiday, small changes have probably surprised you—anything from a local greengrocer suddenly being replaced by a mobile-phone shop to someone in your street moving house.
So how have things changed to people coming back to Britain after seven, ten or even 15 years living abroad? What changes in society can they see that the rest of us have hardly noticed—or now take for granted? To find out, we asked some people who recently returned.
Debi: When we left, Cheltenham, my home town, was a town of white, middle-class families—all very conservative (保守的).The town is now home to many eastern Europeans and lots of Australians, who come here mainly to work in hotels and tourism. There are even several shops only for foreigners.
Having been an immigrant (移民) myself, I admire people who go overseas to find a job. Maybe if I lived in an inner city where unemployment was high, I’d think differently, but I believe foreign settlers have improved this country because they’re more open-minded and often work harder than the natives.
Christine: As we flew home over Britain, both of us remarked how green everything looked. But the differences between the place we’d left behind and the one we returned to were brought sharply into focus as soon as we landed.
To see policemen with guns in the airport for the first time was frightening — in Cyprus, they’re very relaxed — and I got pulled over by customs officers just for taking a woolen sweater with some metal-made buttons out of my case in the arrivals hall. Everyone seemed to be on guard. Even the airport car-hire firm wanted a credit card rather than cash because they said their vehicles had been used by bank robbers. But anyway, this is still a green, beautiful country. I just wish more people would appreciate what they’ve got.After a short overseas holiday, people tend to ______ .
| A．expect small changes |
| B．notice small changes |
| C．welcome small changes |
| D．exaggerate (夸大) small changes |
How does Debi look at the foreign settlers?
| A．Cautiously. | B．Skeptically. |
| C．Positively. | D．Critically. |
When arriving at the airport in Britain, Christine was shocked by ______ .
| A．the tight security | B．the messy arrivals hall |
| C．the relaxed policemen | D．the bank robbers |
Which might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Life in Britain. | B．Britain in Memory. |
| C．Britain in Future. | D．Back in Britain. |
One of the most exciting and attractive fields of work today is the fashion industry. Some of the most well-known people in this industry are the fashion de-signers with unbelievable financial (金融的）King-doms. But most of the clothes that you wear have been designed by people that the world has never heard of. Although these unknown fashion designers will never make a very large amount of money as their famous workmates, most still would not think of changing their careers. They are doing what they love.
If you spend hours looking through fashion magazines and like making your own clothes, a career as a fashion designer might be right for you. You do not have to go to a design school to become a fashion de-signer, but many people who want a career in this field do. One of the most famous places to study is the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. It is located in the heart of the "garment" district on Eighth Avenue, also known as Fashion Avenue.
Becoming a fashion designer is not just a matter of classroom education. Students know that they can-not just leave school and start designing on their own. Many think that they need at least four years' experience working for someone else after they graduate. The best schools encourage students to work closely with the fashion industry while they are still studying.
You need ambition (抱负）and hard work to get a career in fashion. Students often work 12 hours a day. They are encouraged to have realistic ambitions and not to expect success overnight, if ever. Success means finding a job in the fashion industry and more years of hard work. What can we learn from the first paragraph?
| A．Some famous fashion designers can make sl lot of money. |
| B．Most of the clothes are designed by famous de-signers. |
| C．Most fashion designers don't like their own jobs. |
| D．Unknown fashion designers can earn a large amount of money. |
In order to have a career in fashion design, one had better __________.
| A．look through magazines |
| B．go to New York City |
| C．study in a design school |
| D．graduate from high school |
The following can lead to the success of a fashion designer EXCEPT __________.
| A．working with the fashion industry |
| B．realistic ambitions |
| C．hard work |
| D．expectation of success overnight |
Which of the following old sayings shows the writer's opinion about learning fashion design?
| A．Better late than never. |
| B．Experience is the best teacher. |
| C．Well begun is half done. |
| D．Seeing is believing. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．To be a fashion designer, design school education is a must. |
| B．All famous design schools are located in New York City. |
| C．Design school students had better do some practice while studying. |
| D．All students have to work with famous designers first. |
The first reality TV show in the world was called Expedition Robinson and it was shown in Sweden in 1997. Half the population of the country watched the final event and a new kind of TV program was born. Two years later in Holland, the first series of Big Brother was filmed. Again, it was a great success and the final program was watched by 15 million people. Now more than 20 countries around the world have Big Brother or Expedition Robinson on their TV screens. The ordinary people who take part in the pro-grams are known by millions of people in their own countries and reality TV has become big, big business.
For the TV producers, reality TV is a dream to come true because many of the programs cost nothing to make. At some point, the television viewers (观众） are asked to telephone the program to vote or to apply to take part in the show. It is the cost of these telephone calls that pays for the shows. One of the most popular shows is Pop Idol. In the show, a group of at-tractive young people are made into pop stars. TV viewers vote for their favorite person on the show. The winner makes a record and millions of copies ofthe record are sold. His or her pictures are published on the covers of magazines or on the front pages of newspapers, and then, they are quickly forgotten.
But not everyone is happy about reality TV. In Portugal, two TV channels got into trouble because they showed too much of the personal lives of the people in the shows. In France, reality TV is called “rubbish TV” and the TV studios of Big Brother were at-tacked three times in one week. In Greece, Big Brother was described as “ against human rights and civilization". Those who take part in reality TV shows are usually__________
| A．common people |
| B．pop TV stars |
| C．attractive people |
| D．famous film stars |
Who would pay for the cost of reality TV shows ac-cording to the passage?
| A．TV producers who make reality TV shows. |
| B．TV actors who take part in reality TV shows. |
| C．TV viewers who telephone reality TV shows. |
| D．TV companies which broadcast reality TV shows. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Pop Idol is one of the popular reality TV shows in the world. |
| B．Big Brother was one of the first reality TV shows in the world. |
| C．"Rubbish TV” is one of the personal reality TV shows in the world. |
| D．Expedition Robinson was the first reality TV show in the world. |
It can be concluded from the passage that __________.
| A．everyone is happy about reality TV |
| B．reality TV will do well in many countries |
| C．all the people in Europe are in favor of reality TV |
| D．reality TV will not be broadcast in any countries |
I will never forget the Saturday I took my great-grandfather to his first movie. I was nine. Granddad was over 90 years old.
We were a little late when we got to the movie. The lights already turned low. The girl at the piano had started to play. In those days, the movies had no sound. The only sounds that went with them came from a piano.
I helped Granddad find a seat in the first row. He sat back just as Hoot Gibson came riding across the screen on his horse. I looked at Granddad. His eyes were fixed on the screen and his lips were moving. I saw that he was riding right along with Hoot Gibson ！ Hoot was running away from outlaws(逃犯）• Faster and faster the horses ran. The girl at the piano played louder and louder.
Suddenly Granddad jumped to his feet and yelled at Hoot. ‘‘Look out!” he cried. ‘‘Run for it, Hoot! They're getting closer!”
The girl at the piano turned around. Right behind her she saw a tall old man with arms stretched (伸展） widely, it was my granddad. She thought he had gone crazy. With a scream, she climbed to the top of the piano. Then she jumped through the movie screen, making a big hole in it. She ran out of the back door of the movie, yelling.
There were about 40 people at the movie that afternoon. Granddad was the only one there over 12 years old. All the excitement made us boys feel we should do something. But what? Hoot showed us! He was shot from his horse right into the hole in the screen！
A friend of mine named Sammy climbed up to see what had become of Hoot. Three or four others followed Sammy. Soon about 12 yelling boys were crowd-ed around the screen. What noise！
Sammy shot this cap gun. Someone saw the smoke from the cap gun and screamed “Fire!”
Granddad was still standing. He called out，“Get the fireman! Where's the fire?”
Just then several men came in through the backdoor. The girl who played the piano had told them about the crazy man. They were coming to get Grand-dad!
Before they got to him, a fireman came in through the front door. He was carrying a horse. "Water ！he shouted to the firemen behind him. Then he turned his horse on the screen, full force. The hole in the screen became larger and larger. Now we could see only the top of Hoot's head and his horse's tail.
"I'm getting out of here!” Granddad said to me. "I've been in many a battle, but this is the worst of all. ”
We pushed past the firemen and got to the street at last. By this time there was a big crowd of people. "What's happened? Where's the fire?" everyone wan-ted to know.
But we didn't wait to talk. Granddad took me to his little house and gave me some ice cream.
"I'm sorry you didn't get to see the whole show, Granddad’ "I said. "Will you go with me next Saturday?” Granddad shook his head. “No, Robert，" he said.
"I don't like movies. They are too noisy. My first movie will be my last ！ ” The phrase “ running away” in Paragraph 4 can be best replaced by __________.
| A．escaping |
| B．setting loose |
| C．leaving |
| D．setting off |
Thegirl yelled because she was __________.
| A．angry |
| B．frightened |
| C．asking for help |
| D．crazy |
Sammy and other yelling boys climbed up and crowded around the screen to see __________.
| A．what's the matter with the screen |
| B．where the girl had gone |
| C．whether Hoot was in the hole |
| D．what had happened about Hoot |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Sammy shot his cap gun and caused fire. |
| B．Granddad and I escaped from the policemen. |
| C．At last, the fire was put out by firemen. |
| D．Granddad would not see amovie any more. |
No other band has had the same influence in the world as the Beatles. Over eight years and more than a dozen albums, four young men from Liverpool, Eng-land—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Star changed popular music and culture forever.
People in the UK became crazy about the Beatles in late 1963. The phenomenon was called “Beatlemania” by the British press. The term referred to the young women seen screaming at the band's concerts. Beatlemania came to North America in early 1964，and the band's popularity spread across much of the world.
Within five years, the Beatles' music changed greatly from their simple early hits like “ She Loves You” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand”.
The band wrote their own songs, explored new ways to create music and strived for high quality in every album they released.
However, with their popularity came criticism. The press criticized the band as symbols of the 1960s youth culture, which celebrated freedom from traditional family roles.
In 1970，Paul McCartney announced he was leaving the Beatles, and the group quickly came to an end.
In the 1970s, fans hoped for a reunion, but the group decided to follow their own careers with different degrees of success.
Fans lost hope with a tragedy. John Lennon was murdered in New York in 1980. The“word” Beatlemania" refers to __________in thepassage.
| A．being most crazy |
| B．the band's popularity |
| C．young women's screaming |
| D．bothA and C |
Which of the following is not true according to the passage?
| A．Beatlemania first appeared in the UK. |
| B．The band came to an end when John Lennon was murdered. |
| C．Th0e four members of the Beatles were from Liverpool, England. |
| D．The youth culture in the 1960s celebrated freedom from traditional family roles. |
The press that criticized the Beatles may probably __________.
| A．be unable to understand their music |
| B．hate freedom too much |
| C．envy the popularity of the band |
| D．hope for freedom |
From the passage, we can infer that the writer __________.
| A．introduces the band to readers, both from their achievements and from their ending |
| B．feels it a pity that the reunion failed |
| C．thinks that no other band as the Beatles has ever created popular music |
| D．doesn't like the Beatles, early hits “She Loves You" and “I Want to Hold Your Hand" |
Almost a year after Michael Jackson s death, the spirit of King of Pop appears to live on a 4-year-old Chinese boy, who is fast becoming internationally popular.
Wang Yiming, who is known as Xiao Bao, has already been making waves across the world with his dance moves. 
A favorite of Chinese media, Xiao Bao draws curious crowds whenever he breaks into a dance routine, which his mother says happens almost every time he hears music. "When he was young, we just started playing music to him and he started moving around like this，"his mother said. "When he was just a couple of months old, we would let him listen to music and he would immediately stop crying and calm down，" she told Reuters Television.
Xiao Bao was born prematurely (早产），and doc-tors suggested moving his body to music would do good to him, but his parents were surprised by how quickly and interestedly he took to the rhythm.
Dancing since he was two years old, he has now mastered the moonwalk and other Jackson moves, such as Beat It, Billie Jean and Dangerous.
Before long, his passion turned into an obsession (着迷）——the family spends up to 20，000 yuan a month on dance training with a professional and outfits including tailor-made suits, hats and shirts.
Xiao Bao is serious about his dancing career and says he will not mind becoming famous one day. But his parents say that no matter how talented their son is, his schooling will be their first choice. What Xiao Bao's mother said suggested that __________.
| A．she didn't expect her son to take up music |
| B．Xiao Bao had a strong love for music |
| C．she taught him music when Xiao Bao was young |
| D．she was very sad at the beginning |
How did Xiao Bao's parents feel when they saw his reaction to music?
| A．Amazed. |
| B．Happy. |
| C．Angry. |
| D．Anxious. |
We can learn from the passage that __________.
| A．his parents taught him the moonwalk |
| B．he began to perform on stage at two |
| C．moonwalk moves were first done by Jackson |
| D．his parents found him hard to please |
Theunderlined word "outfits"in Paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to __________.
| A．clothes |
| B．shoes |
| C．bags |
| D．tools |