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. |
第二部分阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
第一节(共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
Coca Cola is an American icon – and sometimes seen as a symbol of the country’s economic right. But one of the world’s famous companies will play a different role during the 2008 Olympic Games: promoting Oriental (东方的) culture to the world.
The man who is in charge of the project couldn’t be more suited for the job. The American has lived in the country for about 15 years, speaks fluent Chinese, and considers Beijing his hometown. David Brooks, vice-president and general manager of the Olympics Project Group of Coca Cola China, who has lived in the country for more than a decade, said: "We are working very hard to create a lot of special different kinds of items that are very Oriental in character and have a strong Oriental identity. "There is a lot of curiosity around the world about the country and about Oriental culture. So, we think we also have a role and opportunity to show people so many things."
Coca Cola has launched its logo(标识) with the Beijing Games, featuring kites and lucky clouds, traditional elements in the Oriental culture. Brooks considers it a good start. "We are doing a lot of similar programs, and in the next 570 days or so, as we count down to the Games, you will see more examples with strong Oriental spirit and identity."
He certainly has a sense of history. "The Olympic spirit, which is an ancient spirit from over 2,000 years ago, is alive. It still lives through the Olympic Games in the idea of balancing the body and mind, and doing the best," said Brooks, who has been to three Games. "It's like a big family celebrating together. I think all the members of my team and I feel it is a special honor to be involved in the Games."
1．The underlined word “icon” in the first sentence can be replaced by “ ”.
A．sign B．image C．portrait D．picture
2．What can we know about David Brooks from the passage?
A．He is vice – president and general manager of Coca Cola Corporation.
B．He is living in Beijing with his family.
C．He has mastered at least two languages.
D．He is especially curious about oriental culture.
3．Why will Coca Cola cooperate (合作) with the 2008 Olympic Games?
A．Because it is a good chance to let the world understand Oriental culture.
B．Because there is a lot of curiosity around the world about China and Oriental culture.
C．Because it contains a lot of enormous business opportunities.
D．Because it will promote Oriental culture to the world.
Making an advertisement for television often costs more than a movie. For example, a two – hour movie costs ＄6 million to make. A TV commercial can cost more than ＄6 000 a second. And that does not include cost of paying for air time. Which is more valuable, the program or the ad? In terms of money – and making money is what television is all about – the commercial is by far the more important.
Research, market testing, talent, time and money —— all come together to make us want to buy a product. No matter how bad we think a commercial is, it works. The sales of Charm went up once the ads began. TV commercials actually buy their way into our head. We, in turn, buy the product.
And the ads work because so much time and attention are given to them. Here are some rules of commercial ad making. If you want to get the low middle – class buyer, make sure the announcer has a though, manly voice. Put some people in the ad who work with their hands. If you want to sell to upper – class audience, make sure that the house, the furniture, and the hair style are the types that the group identifies（认同）with. If you want the buyer feel superior to the character selling the product, then make that person so stupid or silly that everyone will feel great about himself or herself.
We laugh at commercials. We don’t think we pay that much attention to them. But evidence shows we are kidding ourselves. The making of a commercial that costs so much money is not kid stuff. It’s big, big business. And it’s telling us what to think , what we need, and what to buy. To put simply, the TV commercial is a form of brainwashing.
1．TV commercials are more important than other programs to television because.
A．they bring in great profits（利润）
B．they require a lot of money to make
C．they are not difficult to produce
D．they attract more viewers than other programs
2．The purpose of all the efforts made in turning out TV commercials is .`
A．to persuade people to buy the product
B．to show how valuable the product is
C．to test the market value of the product
D．to make them as interesting as TV movies
3．From the rules set for making commercial ads, we can see that .
A．the lower – middle – class buyer likes to work with his hand
B．the more stupid the characters, the more buyers of the product
C．ad designers attract different people with different skills
D．an upper – class buyer is only interested in houses and furniture
4．It is believed by the writer that .
A．few people like to watch TV commercials
B．TV commercials are a good guide to buyers
C．TV commercials often make people laugh
D．people do not think highly of TV commercials
5．What does the author actually mean in the last paragraph?
A．He asks TV viewers never to laugh at the TV commercial ads.
B．Commercials are used to show the true value of a product to be sold.
C．TV commercials cost much and they do influence us in one way or another.
D．Brainwashing must be introduced to sell something on TV.
Some years ago industries had more freedom than they have now, and they did not need to be as careful as they must today. They did not need to worry a lot about the safety of the new products that they developed. They did not have to pay much attention to the health and safety of the people who worked for them. Often new products were dangerous for the people who used them; often conditions in the work place had very bad effects on the health of the workers.
Of course sometimes there were real disasters which attracted the attention of governments and which showed the need for changes. Also scientists who were doing research into the health of workers sometimes produced information which governments could not ignore. At such times, there were inquiries into the causes of the disasters or the problems. New safety rules were often introduced as a result of these inquiries; however, the new rules came too late to protect the people who died or two became seriously ill.
Today many governments have special departments which protect customers and workers. In the U.S., for example, there is a department which tests new airplanes and gives warnings about possible problems. It also makes the rules that aircraft producers must follow. Another department controls the foods and drugs that companies sell. A third department looks at the places where people work, and then reports any companies that are breaking the laws which protect the health and safety of workers. Of course, new government departments and new laws cannot prevent every accident or illness, but they are having some good results. Our work places are safer and cleaner than before. The planes and cars which we use for travel are better. Producers are thinking more about the safety and health of the people who buy and use their products.
1．The main topic the passage is .
A．conditions in the work place
B．the freedom of industries in the past
C．changes in industrial production
D．the safety and health of workers and customers
2．It can be inferred from the passage that in the past .
A．workers often got ill because of the poor working conditions
B．companies were free to put out any products they wanted to
C．many people were killed by dangerous products
D．industries were as careful in management as they are today
3．It is implied in the passage that .
A．governments and companies had different opinions about the safety of products
B．in the past no safety laws were introduced by governments
C．government officials often did not listen to scientists
D．governments paid no attention to the safety of products at all
4．From the passage, we know that some years ago safety rules .
A．were put forward due to scientists’ recommendations
B．came into being as a result of the workers’ demands
C．were introduced because quite a number of people were killed or seriously injured
D．were effective enough to protect workers and customers
5．The special departments protect customers and workers in many ways EXCEPT by .
A．testing new products B．controlling the sale of products
C．designing new products D．inspecting work places
Veronica
By Mary Gaitskill.
Pantheon Books, $ 23.
This attractively dark novel from the author of Bad Behavior and Two Girls, Fat and Thin is narrated by a former Paris model who is now sick and poor; her reflections on beauty and cruelty have clarity and an uncanny bite.
On Beauty
By Zadie Smith.
Penguin Press, $ 25.95
In her new book, a cultural – politics novel set in a place like Harvard, the author of White Teeth brings everything to the table: a crisp intellect, a lovely wit and enormous sympathy for the men, women and children who read her story.
Saturday
By Ian McEwan.
Nan A. Talese / Doubleday. $ 26.
As exciting and as carefully constructed as anything McEwan has written, this astringent (尖锐的) novel traces a day in the life of an English neurosurgeon who comes face to face with senseless violence.
De Kooning: An American Master
By Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan.
Alfred A. Knopf, $ 35.
A brilliant biography, impressively researched and absorbingly written, of the talented immigrant who stood at the vortex (中心) of mid – 20th – century American art.
A History of Europe Since 1945
By Tony Judt.
Penguin Press, $ 39.95.
Judt’s massive, learned, truthfully detailed account of Europe’s recovery from the wreckage of World War Ⅱpresents a whole continent in panorama (全景) even as it sets off detonations (爆炸) of insight on almost every page.
1．According to the passage, the most probable non – fiction novel is .
A．Veronica B．Saturday
C．On Beauty D．A History of Europe Since 1945
2．If you’re fond art, which of the following would be your favorite?
A．On Beauty B．Saturday
C．Veronica D．De Kooning : An American Master
3．The novels published by the same company are .
A．On Beauty & A History of Europe Since 1945
B．Saturday & De Kooning : An American Master
C．Veronica & On Beauty
D．A History of Europe Since 1945 & Saturday
4．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A．Mary Gaitskill is the author of both Veronica and Bad Behaviour.
B．On Beauty describes the stories that happened in Harvard.
C．Two authors finished De Kooning : An American Master together.
D．A post – war Europe can be found in A History of Europe Since 1945.
5．Which of the following novels are written by Zadie Smith?
A．On Beauty & Bad Behavior
B．Saturday & De Kooning : An American Master
C．On Beauty & White Teeth
D．Veronica & White Teeth
第二部分阅读理解（共25小题；每小题2分,满分50分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Football is , I believe , the most important game in England : one has only to go to one of the important matches to see this . Rich and poor , young and old , one can see them all there , shouting for one side or the other .
To a stranger , one of the most surprising things about football in England is the great knowledge of the game which even the smallest boy seems to have. He can tell you the names of the players in most of the important teams . He has pictures of them and knows the results of large numbers of matches . He will tell you who he expects will win such a match, and his opinion is usually as good as that of men three or four times his age .
Most schools in England take football seriously—much more seriously than nearly all European schools , where lessons are all that are important, and games are left for the children themselves . In England, it is believed that education is not only a matter of filling a boy’s mind with facts in classroom, it also means the training of character by means of games , especially team games , where they boy or girl has to learn to work with others for the team instead of working for himself alone . The school therefore plans games and matches for its pupils . Football is a good team game ; it is good for both the body and the mind . That is why it is every school’s game in England .
1．In Paragraph 1, “this” means .
A．people often shout at each other in a football match
B．people , rich and poor , young and old , often play football
C．football is the most popular game in England
D．people usually go to the important matches
2．People often one football team or the other by shouting .
A．beat B．win over C．support D．laugh at
3．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage ?
A．English children know more about football than adults
B．Nearly all European schools consider lessons the most important
C．It is surprising that English children have great knowledge of football
D．English schools attach more importance to football than nearly all European schools
4．What does education mean in England ?
A．Filling a boy’s mind with facts .
B．Teaching how to work with others for the team .
C．Training character by means of games .
D．More than the teaching of knowledge .
5．From the passage , we learn that .
A．football is popular mostly among English children
B．schools in England make use of football for the training of body and mind
C．football is more important than lessons in England
D．other European schools consider football unimportant