When I was a child, I often dreamed of the time when I could leave home and escape to the city. We lived on a farm, in the winter especially, we wear quite out off from the outside world. As soon as I left school, I packed my bags and moved to the capital.

    However, I soon discovered that one big disadvantage is money. It costs so much to go out, not to mention basics like food and housing. Another disadvantage is pollution. I suffer from asthma(哮喘), and  the air is so bad that I am afraid to go outside. Then there is the problem of traveling round. Although I have a car, I seldom use it became of the traffic jams. One choice is to go by bicycle, but that can be quite dangerous.

    Of course there are advantages. First, there is so much to do in the city, whatever you tastes in culture or entertainment(娱乐活动). Besides, there are wonderful jobs and greater chances of moving to a more important job or position. Finally, if you like shopping, the variety of goods is very surprising --- and , what is more, shops are often only a short walk away.

    Is life better then, in the city? Perhaps it is , when you are in your teens(十几岁)or twenties. However, as you get older, and especially if you have small children, the peace of the countryside may seem preferable. I certainly hope to move back there soon.

1.

 What was the writer always thinking about when he was a child ?[来源:]

   A. Staying on the farm.                B. Moving to the countryside.

   C. Leaving home for the city.           D. Running away from the school.

2.

Which of the following is true about the writer?

   A. He is very old now.                 B. He is in good health.

   C. He prefers driving a car.             D. He lives in the city now.

3.

 In the passage, the writer tries to __________.

   A. express his opinions about way of life  

B. describe his life in the countryside

   C. an interest in the outside world      

D. persuade the reader to live in the city

4.

 How is the passage mainly developed?

   A. By inferring.  B. By comparing. C. By listing examples. D. By discussing.

--- Where did you get to know her ?

--- It was on the farm _________ we worked.

A．that           B．there       C．which     D．where

Zoe Chambers was a successful PR (Public Relations) consultant and life was going well — she had a great job, a beautiful flat and a busy social life in London. Then one evening in June last year, she received a text message telling her she was out of work. The first two weeks were the most difficult to live through." she said. "After everything I'd done for the company, they dismissed me by text! I was so angry and I just didn't feel like looking for another job. I hated everything about the city and my life."

Then, Zoe received an invitation from an old school friend, Kathy, to come and stay. Kathy and her husband, Huw, had just bought a farm in north-west Wales. Zoe jumped at the chance to spend a weekend away from London, and now, ten months later, she is still on the farm.

"The moment I arrived at Kathy's farm, I loved it and I knew I wanted to stay." said Zoe. "Everything about my past life suddenly seemed meaningless."

Zoe has been working on the farm since October of last year and says she has no regrets. "It's a hard life, physically very tiring." she says. "In London I was stressed and often mentally exhausted. But this is a good, healthy tiredness. Here, all I need to put me in a good mood is a hot bath and one of Kathy's wonderful dinners."

Zoe says she has never felt bored on the farm. Every day brings a new experience. Kathy has been teaching her how to ride a horse and she has learnt to drive a tractor. Since Christmas, she has been helping with the lambing — watching a lamb being born is unbelievable, she says, "It's one of the most moving experiences I've ever had. I could never go back to city life now."

When working as a PR consultant in London, Zoe thought she lived a______life.

A. satisfying         B. tough                      C. meaningless       D. boring

The most important reason why Zoe went to visit Kathy's farm is that______.

A. Zoe lost her job as a PR consultant     B. Kathy persuaded her to do so

C. Zoe got tired of the city life                   D. Zoe loved Wales more than London

How does Zoe feel about the country life according to the passage?

A. Tiresome and troublesome.                    B. Romantic and peaceful

C. Mentally exhausting but healthy             D. Physically tiring but rewarding.

Which of the following is closest to the main idea of the passage?

A. A friend in need is a friend indeed.        B. Where there is a will, there is a way.

C. A misfortune may turn out a blessing.     D. Kill two birds with one stone.

What’s your idea of a good time? What about dancing in a rainy field with one hundred and fifty thousand other people while a famous rock band plays on a stage so far away that the performers look like ants?
It may sound strange but that is what many hundreds of thousands of young people in the UK do every summer. Why? Because summer is the time for outdoor music festivals.
Held on a farm, the Glastonbury Festival is the most well-known and popular festival in the UK. It began in 1970 and the first festival was attended by one thousand five hundred people each paying an admission price of ￡1 — the ticket included free milk from the farm.
Since then the Glastonbury Festival has gone from strength to strength — in 2004 one hundred and fifty thousand fans attended, paying ￡112 each for a ticket to the three-day event. Tickets for the event sold out within three hours. Performers
included superstars, such as Paul McCartney and James Brown, as well as new talent, like Franz Ferdinand and Joss Stone.
Although many summer festivals are run on a profit —making basis, Glastonbury is a charity event, donating millions of pounds to local and international charities.
Glastonbury is not unique in using live music to raise money to fight global poverty (贫穷). In July of this year, the Live 8 concerts were held simultaneously (同时) in London, Paris, Rome and Berlin. Superstars such as Madonna, Sir Elton John and Stevie Wonder performed in order to highlight (强调) international poverty and debt.
【小题1】What does the author mean by saying “the Glastonbury Festival has gone from strength to strength”?

Barbara and Barry Zucker – Pinchoff, both doctors from New York City, took their three daughters on a walking safari（旅行）last year in Tanzania. Barbara told about their experience in Kinbero, “It is the most remote（遥远的）place we have ever been to,” camping with a few other Americans, two Tanzanian guides, and several Hadza（哈扎人）who had time to sit and chat because they had just killed a giraffe.

About 400 members of the Eastern Hadza tribe（部落）live in Tanzania today, the only hunter-gatherers who remain in Africa. The Hadza hunt game, gather edible plants and honey, and move from place to place whenever the weather changers. Every two weeks or so, they move to a new campsite.

At the Pinchoffs’ campsite, three Hadza men stopped by to visit and ended up staying three days. One of the guides gave the men a cigarette. They took out the tobacco, put it in a pipe, and lit the pipe with fire they started.

It takes less than two hours for Hadza women to build a new camp. They make huts（茅屋）by bending branches into round structures about six feet high, and then covering them with long, golden grass. If the weather is very wet, the women may choose a dry cave to set up a camp. Some rock caves have been used over thousands of years and are decorated（装饰）with ancient rock paintings. Whether they sleep in huts, caves or in the open, the Hadza cover themselves only with thin cloths and depend on fire to keep them warm.

The Hadza refuse to be “settled” into villages or to have the life of farmers. By 1979, almost all of them had returned to their old ways. They Hadza may be the only tribe in Africa the has never paid taxes.

1. The passage mainly tells up         .

A. one of the author’s travel experiences

B. the life of the Hadza tribe in Tanzania

C. Barbara’s walking safari in Tanzania

D. the efforts of the Hadza to keep their old ways

2.What does the underlined word “game” ( in Paragraph 2 ) probably refer to?

A. Part of a match.                                           B. Edible wild animals.        

C. An area of work.                                                 D. A children’s activity.

3.What do we know about the life of the Hadza?

A. They change their campsites regularly.           B. They live mainly on farming.

C. They keep warm using leaves at night.            D. It takes them a long time to set up a camp.

4.Where do the Hadza live in wet weather?

A. On the farm.            B. In huts.             C. In caves.           D. In the open.