C
The number of speakers of English in Shakespeare’s time is estimated (估计) to have been about five million. Today it is estimated that some 260 million people speak it as a native language, mainly in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In addition to the standard varieties of English found in these areas, there are a great many regional and social varieties of the language as well as various levels of usage that are employed both in its spoken and written forms.
In fact, it is impossible to estimate the number of people in the world who have acquired an adequate (足够的) working knowledge of English in addition to their own languages. The purpose for English learning and the situations in which such learning takes place are so varied that it is difficult to explain and still more difficult to judge what forms an adequate working knowledge for each situation.
The main reason for the widespread demand for English is its present-day importance as a world language. Besides serving the indefinite needs of its native speakers, English is a language in which some of important works in science, technology, and other fields are being produced, and not always by native speakers. It is widely used for such purposes as meteorological and airport communications, international conferences, and the spread of information over the radio and television networks of many nations. It is a language of wider communication for a number of developing countries, especially former British colonies. Many of these countries have multilingual populations and need a language for internal communication in such matters as government, commerce, industry, law and education as well as for international communication and for entrance to the scientific and technological developments in the West.
65. What would be the best title for this passage?
A. The Difficulties of Learning English                    B. International Communications
C. The Standard Varieties of English                     D. English as a World Language
66. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Some 260 million people in the world have an adequate working knowledge of English.
B. There are some 260 million native speakers of English in the world.
C. It is almost impossible to estimate the number of people with an adequate working knowledge of English.
D. People learn English for a variety of reasons.
67. What forms an adequate working knowledge of English?
A. The ability to read a newspaper.
B. It is difficult to judge because it differs for each situation.
C. Being a multilingual.                                  
D. Being a native speaker.
68. What type of developing countries would be most likely to use English?
A. Those geographically close to the United States.
B. Those interested in the culture of the United States.
C. Former colonies of Great Britain.
D. Countries where international conferences are held.

“Dining out”, or “eating out”, is a phrase people use in Britain when they eat in a restaurant or a pub. Eating out is more popular in Britain today than ever before.
However, eating out can be expensive. Restaurants are normally more expensive than pubs, though many pubs serve very good, simple food. As British people don’t dine out every night of the week, eating in a restaurant is often seen as a special occasion. When going for the first date, or if celebrating an anniversary or a birthday, many people like to go to a restaurant. People often eat in a restaurant before going to the cinema or the theatre.
As in all cultures, there are many rules of etiquette (礼节)surrounding food and eating, and nowhere is this more pronounced than when eating in a smart restaurant. People are almost always expected to eat with a knife and fork and these should be held in the correct hand and used in the correct way. It is also impolite to have your elbows on the dining table when you are eating.
There’re many such “unspoken” rules — they are normally only important when eating in a very elegant and expensive restaurant, and vary slightly from restaurant to restaurant and place to place. A recent nationwide survey showed that there was a divide in manners between the north and south of Britain — the “worst” manners were in Scotland and the northeast, and the “best” in Wales and the southeast! However, this survey was almost certainly conducted by someone in the southeast, so it may not be entirely fair.
Naturally, restaurants vary greatly in quality and price. However, almost all British cities have a vast range of food and cooking styles to choose from as well as traditional British food,. from the very cheap to the very expensive — French, Italian, Indian, Greek, Thai, Japanese and many more. In fact, when asked what their favorite food is, many British people say an Indian curry (咖喱菜)rather than any other dish!
As well as dining in a restaurant, when people are too tired to cook after work they often get a “takeaway”. This means they order from a takeaway or takeout restaurant by phone, then go to collect it and take it home to eat. Many takeout restaurants also deliver to your house. While you can normally find a takeout restaurant for almost any cuisine, the most popular are Italian, Indian and Chinese — and all you have to do is to open the door, pay and eat!
【小题1】What can be concluded from the first two paragraphs?

A.The British spend more eating out than cooking at home.
B.The British pay great attention to eating in a restaurant.
C.The British often dine out when celebrating festivals.
D.People tend to eat in a restaurant after watching a movie.
【小题2】The underlined word pronounced” in Paragraph 3 probably means “_____”.
A.politeB.expensiveC.strangeD.obvious
【小题3】According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
A.There exist great differences of rules in different restaurants.
B.People from Wales and southeast Britain are the most polite.
C.Your order in a takeout restaurant can be sent to your home.
D.Traditional British food is seldom served in British restaurants.
【小题4】What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.Restaurant culture in Britain.B.Table manners in Britain.
C.Different restaurants in Britain.D.Traditional and foreign foods in Britain.

Visitors to Britain may find the best place to sample local culture is in a traditional pub. But these friendly pubs can be dangerous places of potential gaffes (失礼) for the newcomers. A team of researchers have discovered some of the unknown customs of British pubs-starting with the difficulty of getting a drink. Most pubs have no waiters-you have to go to the bar to buy drinks. A group of Italian youths waiting 45 minutes before they realized they would have to fetch their own. This may sound inconvenient, but there is a hidden purpose.

Pub culture is designed to promote sociability (社交) in a society known for its reserve. Standing at the bar for service allows you to chat with others waiting to be served. The bar counter is possibly the only site in the British Isles in which friendly conversation with strangers is considered entirely suitable and really quite normal behavior. “If you haven't been to a pub, you haven't been to Britain.” This tip can be found in a booklet, Passport to the Pub: The Tourists' Guide to Pub Etiquette, a customers' rule of conduct for those wanting to sample “a central part of British life and culture”.

The trouble is that if you do not follow the local rules, the experience may fall flat. For example, if you are in a big group, it is best if only one or two people go to buy the drinks. Nothing annoys the regular customers and bar staff more than a group of strangers blocking all access to the bar while they chat and hesitate about what to order.

1. The underlined word “sample” in the first paragraph probably means “________”.

A.taste

B.experience

C.test

D.record .

2.The culture of pub in Britain is so developed to ______.

A.encourage people to communicate with each other

B.encourage more people to consume drinks

C.attract more tourists to the pubs

D.form its own character of culture

3.If you don't follow the local rules in a pub, ________.

A.you won't buy good local drinks

B.you may annoy the regular customers and bar staff

C.you may fail to feel the local culture

D.you might get into a dangerous place

4.What may be the best title for the passage?

A.Self-service Pubs in Britain

B.British Local Pubs: Special Chat Places

C.Local Pub Culture in Britain

D.Manners in British Local Pubs

 

Although many butterflies remain to be decreasing in the long run, last year three quarters of endangered species saw an increase in number, including some rare species.

Experts said the improvement in the butterflies’ fortunes was likely to be the result of effective action on protection, such as leaving open wetland in woods where flowers can grow, and better weather in 2010 after three damaging wet summers.

Dr Tom Brereton said butterflies are extremely sensitive to changes in the weather. Last year saw a warm summer for successful feeding, which helped a number of butterflies in some way.

He even said climate change could be benefiting some butterfly species but many other butterfly species suffer from it. For example, the mountain ringlet suffers as it needs cold climates. And at the same time, the change is too rapid for most to get used to.

In the long run butterfly numbers have continued to drop, with three quarters of the nearly 60 species found in Britain seeing numbers fall in recent decades and nearly half of them seriously threatened.

The Lulworth skipper, one of the UK’s rarest butterflies, had its worst year since 1976, and there are people worrying that changing the environment to benefit other species may be harming this kind of butterfly. Wild flowers have been grown in some places to help other butterflies but the Lulworth skipper needs long grass and wild areas. Meadow browns, the country’s most common species, also had the worst year on record. Some other kinds of butterflies also had a bad year.

However, in the short term many butterflies saw an increase in number in 2010 compared to 2009 levels.

  …

1.Which was a reason for the increase in the number of the butterflies last year?

A.The protection of humans.             B. A wet summer.

C.Changes in the butterflies’ habits.     D. The decrease in wetland in woods.

2.We can learn from Dr Tom Brereton’s words that       .

A.the mountain ringlet can quickly adapt to climate change

B.butterflies can help slow down climate change

C.climate change can be both beneficial and harmful to butterflies

D.other kinds of animals also suffer from climate change

3.What is most likely to be discussed in the following paragraph?

A.Why some butterflies decreased in number in 2010.

B.How to protect butterflies in the coming winter.

C.Effects of climate change on butterflies.

D.Examples of butterflies that have increased in number.

4.What is the passage mainly about?

A.Some butterflies in Britain have had a good year.

B.Butterflies in Britain have different habits.

C.Butterflies are well protected in Britain.

D.Butterflies are disappearing from Britain.

 

For more than ten years John Grimshaw has been pioneering a gentle revolution. He aims to get us going by bike on Britain’s network of disused railways. He works as an engineer for Sustrans, a Bristol-based charity.[来源:Z。xx。k.Com]

He believes that there is no benefit or logic behind the building of bigger and faster roads that only encourage people to use cars more extravagantly(过分地). Britain’s roads being built ignore all but the motorists while miles of railway tracks no longer used by trains lie wasted.[来源:学|科|网Z|X|X|K]

His organization started work in 1994 with a modest five mile track from Bristol to Bath, and cyclists and walkers now make a million journeys a year on the path. Sustrans has since completed a further 150 miles throughout Britain with the help of volunteer workers.

Building such paths is not easy or cheap. Sustrans buys or leases(租借) land from British Rail and the paths can cost from 6,000 pounds up to 8, 0000 pounds per kilometer to build. Money comes from central and local government, charity bodies and gifts from individuals.

To encourage more walkers and cyclists along its paths, Sustrans plans to construct a work of art on every mile of path it builds. Most of their tracks quickly transport people from the city to the countryside. The latest route runs from the heart of Glasgow to Loch Lomond. Relics (遗迹)of the great railway age litter the routes—station houses, signals boxes and even steam trains.

Some might consider John Grimshaw a traveler from the past, out of touch with the modern world, but for many he is preparing the way for an alternative for a car-mad world.

 

1.The aim of Sustrans is to _________.

a. encourage people to use cars more efficiently

b. use old railway lines for leisure purposes

c. provide a cycling network across Britain

d. build better and faster roads[来源:Z.xx.k.Com]

2.How does Sustrans finance its work?

a. with a mixture of money from the government and donations

b. with money from British Rail

c. by leasing its land

d. by using volunteer workers

3.Which of the following is TRUE?

a. Sustrans will not build any more tracks after Glasgow to Loch Lomond

b. Sustrans will have to clear the track of relics

c. Sustrans makes the countryside more accessible to the public

d. Sustrans believes more drivers will use their tracks.

 

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