题目内容
阅读下列短文,从每小题所给的四个选项中,选出一个最佳答案。
After 78 years in the UK, the Dutch clothing retailer (零售商)has closed shop for the last time. But C & A is not alone. In the past week the best known names on British high streets-Marks & Spencer, Boots and Littlewoods——have announced some of their worst ever trading figures.
The downturn is not a case of belt tightening. Although there are fears of a recession(衰退), UK consumer (消费者) spending has set new records in the past year. Experts say the sudden fall is the result of a revolution that is changing almost every side of British lives.
Mr. and Mrs. UK Average are throwing out the everyday and trading up to the finer things in life. Consumers are declaring an end to all things ordinary. The good taste revolution has swept the country with remarkable speed. Sales of once
popular fashions(时髦) are dropping quickly. Just three years ago Marks & Spencer was the UK's favorite. People now consider the fashions “ordinary”.
Yet just 100 yards (91 meters) from the empty aisles(通道) in London's Oxford Street, the story is different. Burberry enjoyed a 35 per cent increase in sales income in the last three months of last year. Gucci saw its sales rise 25 per cent. Armani reported 20 per cent growth. Demand for the logo-print at Louis Vuitton cannot be satisfied immediately. And growth is not only limited to the wealthy South-east.
Experts say Britain has moved from a “good enough” culture to “good taste” culture. Almost everywhere you look——from clothes, to food and drink, to cars, to home furnishings, to holidays —— Britons are buying into a life less ordinary.
Rising wealth is driving the revolution. New research shows that the average UK household is 40 per cent better off than in 1986. “In the past only those with money and time on their hands were able to devote energy to the search for tasteful living”, says Martin Hayward, a director at the Henley Center. “But as incomes rise and free time increases, the privileged(有特权的)many are living higher. More middle-class consumers are developing a sense of their own self-image (自我形象) through what they buy. ”
1.________ has caused the great revolution in Britain.
[ ]
A.Fear of earning less money in the future
B.Increase in incomes and free time
C.Desire for more tasteful living
D.Difficulty to buy more less ordinary things on the market
2.The expression “belt tightening”in Paragraph 2 probably means ________ .
[ ]
A.spending less money than before
B.selling less clothing
C.eating less food than before
D.buying less ordinary things.
3.More and more people in Britain today ________ .
[ ]
A.enjoy s good rise in their incomes but spare more time for work
B.like to buy things less ordinary and have a better taste of life
C.refuse to buy things of fashion and save more money to become millionaires
D.decide to spend less money on shopping but buy into a life less ordinary
4.Which of the following can be the most proper title of the passage?
[ ]
A.Income increasing in Britain.
B.Revolution changing the world.
C.Britons going high fashion.
D.Sales in Britain going down.
第二部分:阅读理解(共25小题;第一节每小题2分,第二节每小题1分,满分45分)
第一节:阅读下列短文,从每小题所给的四个选项A、B、C、D中,选出最
佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A.
Each Indian tribe had a different language. Many Indians never learned any language except their own. Do you know how Indians from different tribes talked to each other? They had two ways to talk without sound. One way was by sign language; the other way by signals.
Sign language is a way of talking by using signs. Indians used sign language when they met strangers. In this way, they could find out whether the stranger was a friend or an enemy. In the Indian sign language, signs were made with the hands. One sign meant “man”. Another meant “horse”. To tell the time of day when something happened, an Indian pointed to the sky. He showed where the sun had been at the time.
Indians usually used signals when they wanted to send messages to someone far away. To make signals, an Indian might use a pony. He might use a blanket. Or he might use smoke, a mirror or fire arrows.
To signal that he had seen many animals, an Indian rode his pony in a large circle. Sometimes the Indian gave a signal like this and then went away to hide. This meant that there was danger.
The blanket signal was visible from far away. An Indian held the corners of a blanket in his hands. Then he began to swing the blanket from side to side in front of him. An Indian could send many different signals with his blanket.
He could also send many signals with a mirror. He usually used the mirror to warn someone of danger. Or he attempted to get the attention of a person far away. But he also used it to send messages in code. Of course, mirrors could be used only when the sun was shining. At night, Indians used fire arrows for signaling.
An Indian also sent signals with smoke. He made a small fire of dry wood. Then he put grass or green branches on it. He held a blanket over the fire for a minute. When he removed the blanket from the fire, there was a cloud of smoke. The number of clouds of smoke told his message in code.
Now you can see that Indians didn’t need to learn each other’s language. They could talk to one another by using signals or sign language.
41. The whole text is mainly about _______.
A. different tribes have different languages
B. the Indians had many kinds of languages
C. how Indians communicated between different tribes
D. why the Indians used many languages
42. An Indian used a mirror to do all the followings EXCEPT _______.
A. send messages in code
B. get the attention of someone in the distance
C. warn someone of danger
D. to tell a friend from an enemy
43. Sign language is _______.
|
C. a kind of gesture only for Indians
D. a way to express one’s ideas by making gestures
44. Indians didn’t need to learn each other’s language because _______.
A. they thought they could easily make themselves understood
B. they could use signals or sign language
C. different tribes lived far away and never met each other
D. they never communicated with one another