BRITAIN is a popular tourist place. But tours of the country have pros and cons.

GOOD NEWS

Free museums. No charge for outstanding collections of art and antiquities.

Pop music. Britain is the only country to rival(与…匹敌)the US on this score.

Black cabs. London taxi drivers know where they are going even if there are never enough of them at weekends or night.

Choice of food. Visitors can find everything from Ethiopian to Swedish restaurants.

Fashion. Not only do fashion junkies love deeply and respect highly brand names such as Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen; street styles are justly loved, too.

　　BAD NEWS

　　Poor service. “It’s part of the image of the place. People can dine out on the rudeness they have experienced,” says Professor Tony Seaton, of Luton University’s International Tourism Research Center.

　　Poor public transport. Trains and buses are promised to defeat the keenest tourists, although the over crowded London tube is inexplicably(难以理解的) popular.

Lack of languages. Speaking slowly and clearly may not get many foreign visitors very far, even in the tourist traps(圈套).

　　Rain. Still in the number one complaint.

　　No air-conditioning. So that even splendidly hot summers become as unbearable as the downpours.

　　Overpriced hotels. The only European country with a higher rate of tax on hotel rooms is Denmark.

Licensing hours. Alcohol(酒) is in short supply after 11 pm even in “24-hour cities”.

1. What do tourists complain most?

　　A. Poor service.           　　B. Poor public transport.

C. Rain.               　　       D. Overpriced hotels.

2. What do we learn about pop music in Britain and the US through this passage?

A. Pop music in Britain is better than that in the US.

B. Pop music in Britain is as good as that in the US.

C. Pop music in Britain is worse than that in the US.

D. Pop music in Britain is quite different from that in the US.

3. When is alcohol not able to get?

　　A. At 9: 00 pm      B. At 10: 00 pm     C. At 11: 00 pm     D. At 12: 00 pm

4. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

　　A. You have to pay to visit the museums.

　　B. It’s very cheap to travel by taxi there.

　　C. You cannot find Chinese food there.

    D. The public transport is poor there.

“Can I see my baby？” the happy new mother asked. When the bundle was in her arms and she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped. The doctor turned quickly and looked out of the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears.

Time proved that the baby’ s hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance that was imperfect. When he rushed home from school one day and threw himself into his mother’s arms, she sighed(叹息), knowing that his life was to be misfortunate. He cried to his mum “A boy, a big boy... called me a freak (怪人)．”

He grew up, handsome. A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but for that. He developed a gift, a talent for literature and music. “But you might communicate with other young people，” his mother blamed him, but felt a kindness in her heart.

Two years went by. One day, his father said to the son, “You’ re going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it’ s a secret.” The operation was a great success, and a new person appeared.

Later he married and became a lawyer. One day, he asked his father, “Who gave me the ears? Who gave me so much? I could never do enough for him or her.” “I do not believe you could，” said the father, “but the agreement was that you are not to know... not yet.”

The years kept their secret, but the day did come. He stood with his father over his mother’ s casket棺材. Slowly, tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish brown hair to show the mother had no outer ears.

“Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut，” his father whispered gently, “and nobody ever thought Mother less beautiful, did they？”

1.Why did Mother gasp when she saw her newborn baby?

A. Because her son had a tiny face.　　　　 B. Because she saw her son crying.

C. Because her son was born imperfect.　　 D. Because her son was in her arms.

2.Which word can describe Mother’ s feeling when the son threw himself into her arms?

A. Nervous.　　　　　　 B. Sympathetic.　　 C. Proud.       D. Angry.

3.We can infer that the person who donate the ears is_____.

A. A doctor.        B. His father.　　　 C. His mother.     　D. A stranger.

4.From the passage we know the followings are True except________

A, the mother felt sorry for the son without ears   B. the doctor didn’t like the baby

C. the boy meant everything to the mother        D. the father kept the secret until mother died

5.The best title for the passage would be ________.

A. Mother’s hair　　　　　　　　B. An unforgettable memory

C. Who gave me the ears?　　　 　D. Who is my best respectable person?

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。

Alfred Hitchcock is one of the best-known film-makers in the world. This gentle-looking and overweight Englishman has connected the   1   audiences with most of the mysterious and frightening films   2   made.

“The 37 Steps”made in 1939 was the  3  which made him famous outside  4  . He receivedお many  5  from Hollywood, where he went to make“Rebecca”. This was the most expensive film he had made,   6   over a million dollars. This was  7  in Britain,  8  the budget（预算）was very small. But as soon as he started on“Rebecca”, the Second World War started. Like many  9  film people, Hitchcock decided to  10  in America, and was sometimes  11  a traitor（叛徒）at home. But he was too old to  12  , and the British film industry had  13  down. He finished“Rebecca”and got  14  first Oscar, for the best film of the year.

He was  15  the first film director to  16  a TV  17  which showed mysterious and frightening stories, called“Alfred Hitchcock presents…”. This was a new   18   , for most of the Hollywood people hated television and didn’t think it was worth trying at all. The audience loved Hitchcock, however, and he made more shows. These shows gave him more   19   to try a new idea and produce more and more mysterious and frightening   20   .

1. A. theatre　　　　　　  B. cinema　　 C. sports　　　　　　　　  D. music

2. A. ever　　　　　　   B. never　　  C. still　　　　　　　　   D. yet

3. A. book　　　　    B. story　　　　    C. play　　　　　　   D. film

4. A. America  　　　　   B. France　　　　  C. Britain　　　　　　  D. Australia

5. A. offers　　　　    B. congratulations　　   C. letters　　　　　　 D. telegrams

6. A. spending　　　　　　 B. costing　　　　  C. talking　　　　  D. wasting

7. A. possible　　　　    B. easy　　   C. impossible　　　　   D. interesting

8. A. why　　　　　　    B. where　　　　    C. there　　　　　　    D. here

9. A. another　　　　　　  B. the other　　　　  C. the same　　　　    D. other

10. A. leave　　　　　　　　    B. stay　　    C. fight　　　　　　　　  D. love

11. A. made　　　　　　    B. forced　　　　  C. called　　　　    D. destroyed

12. A. fight　　　　　　    B. eat　　　　    C. talk　　　　　　 D. sleep

13. A. started　　　　　　   B. begun　　　　  C. closed　　　　 　　 D. put

14. A. her　　　　　　  B. their　　　　　　  C. his　　　　　　　　 D. its

15. A. also　　　　　　    B. both　　　　   C. all　　　　　　　　 D. neither

16. A. become　　　　　　 B. remain　　　　  C. get　　　　　　    D. stay

17. A. station　　　　　　  B. show　　　　    C. factory　　　　　　 D. farm

18. A. idea　　　　　　    B. nation　　　　  C. shape　　　　      D. attention

19. A. chances　　　　　　 B. time　　　　  C. money　　　　　　 D. directions

20. A. plays　　　　   B. stories　　　　　　 C. films　　　　　　   D. problems

Americans have contributed to many art forms, but jazz, a type music, is one of the art form that was started in the United States. Black Americans, who sang and played the music of their homeland, created jazz.
Jazz is a mixture of the music of Africa, the work songs the slaves sang, and religious(宗教) music. Improvisation is an important part of jazz. This means that the musicians make the music up as they go along, or create the music on the spot. This is why a jazz song might sound a little different each time it is played.
Jazz bands formed in the late 1800s. They played in bars and clubs in many towns and cities of the South, especially New Orleans. New Orleans is an international seaport, and people from all over the world come to New Orleans to hear jazz.
Jazz became more and more popular. By the 1920s, jazz was popular all over the United States. By the 1940s, you could hear jazz not only in clubs and bars, but in concert halls as well. Today, people from all over the world play jazz. Jazz musicians from the United　States, Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe meet and share their music at festivals on every continent. In this way jazz continues to grow and change.
【小题1】What can be the best title of the passage?

Americans have contributed to many art forms, but jazz, a type music, is one of the art form that was started in the United States. Black Americans, who sang and played the music of their homeland, created jazz.
Jazz is a mixture of the music of Africa, the work songs the slaves sang, and religious(宗教) music. Improvisation is an important part of jazz. This means that the musicians make the music up as they go along, or create the music on the spot. This is why a jazz song might sound a little different each time it is played.
Jazz bands formed in the late 1800s. They played in bars and clubs in many towns and cities of the South, especially New Orleans. New Orleans is an international seaport, and people from all over the world come to New Orleans to hear jazz.
Jazz became more and more popular. By the 1920s, jazz was popular all over the United States. By the 1940s, you could hear jazz not only in clubs and bars, but in concert halls as well. Today, people from all over the world play jazz. Jazz musicians from the United　States, Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe meet and share their music at festivals on every continent. In this way jazz continues to grow and change.
【小题1】What can be the best title of the passage?