Britain's oldest man made his first visit to London yesterday at the age of 110. Mr John Evans had never found the time or the money—to make the trip from his home near Swansea. But, when British Rail offered him an all expenses paid birthday trip to the capital, he just could not refuse.

Until yesterday he had never been far from home, except for one trip to Aberdeen. Mr Evans, who spent 60 years working as a miner in South Wales, almost made the journey to London once before, at the turn of the century.“There was a trip to the White City but it was ten shillings (1 shilling=1/20 pound) return from Swansea—too much I thought. All my money went to the family then，” he said.

During the next two days Mr Evans will be taken on a whistle stop tour of London to see the sights. Top of his list is a visit to the Houses of Parliament(国会).

The only arrangement he does not care for is the wheelchair provided to move

him about if he gets tired.“I don't like the chair business—people will so think I am getting old，” he said.

His secret for a long and healthy life has been well publicized—no alcohol, no cigarette and no anger. Before setting off from Swansea with his 76-year-old son, Amwel, he quipped, “I'm glad to see they've given me a return ticket.”

1.It was reported that Mr Evans's healthy long life was to a certain extent due to his________ .

A. wine drinking         B. proper smoking

C. mild temper           D. sense of humor 

2.Which of the following statements is true?

A.A single trip from Mr Evans's home to the White City used to be ten shillings.

B.The first place for Mr Evans to visit is the Houses of Parliament.

C.He appreciated people's arrangement of a wheelchair during his visit.

D.Mr Evans once made the journey to London at the turn of the century. 

3.The word “quip” in the last sentence most probably means  ________.

A. to make a witty remark          B. to express a happy message

C. to make a wish                 D. to tell a joke 

4.What might be the best title for this passage?

A. 110-Year-Old Tourist           B. Secret for Long and Healthy Life

C. Free Return Ticket             D. Sightseeing in London 

Britain’s oldest man made his first visit to London yesterday at the age of 110. Mr. John Evans had never found the time or the money – to make the trip from his house near Swansea. But, when British Rail offered him an all-expenses-paid birthday trip to the capital, he just could not refuse.

Until yesterday he had never been far from home, except for one trip to Aberdeen. Mr. Evans, who spent 60 years working as a miner in South Wales, almost made the journey to London once before, at the turn of the century. “There was a trip to the White City but it was ten shillings (1 shilling ="1/20" pound) return from Swansea – too much I thought. All my money went to the family then, “he said.

During the next two days Mr. Evans will be taken on a whistle–stop tour of London to see the sights. Top of his list is a visit to the Houses of Parliament (国会).

The only arrangement he does not care for is the wheelchair provided to move him about if he gets tired. “I don’t like the chair business – people will so think I am getting old,” he said.

His secret for a long and healthy life has been well publicized–no alcohol, no cigarette and no angry. Before setting off from Swansea with his 76-year-old son, Amwel, he quipped, “I’m glad to see they’ve given me a return ticket. ”

1.It’s reported that Mr. Evans’s healthy long life was to a certain extent due to his _____.

2.Which of the following statements is true?

3.The word “quip” in the last sentence most probably means _____.

4.What might be the best title for this passage?

“Choo, Choo!” Here comes the Chunnel train. Get aboard if you want to learn more about this underground transportation system. This is an unusual form of transportation, because it is a tunnel that trains travel through and not an actual form of transportation.

The Chunnel is actually the English nickname for the Channel Tunnel. In French, it is called le tunnel sous la Manche. It is a rail tunnel beneath the English Channel at the Straits of Dover. It connects Cheriton in Kent, England with Sangatte in northern France. It is the second longest rail tunnel in the world.

Did you know that the British and the French had a race whi1e they were building the Chunnel? The race was to see who could get to the middle of the tunnel first. The British won by a little bit. It took 15,000 workers over seven years to dig the tunnel. The tunnel was finished in 1994.

The completed Chunnel cost about $ 21 billion. But it all paid off, because it became very popular, very quick. Millions of people use it. Now it is getting even more popular.

There are three complete tunnels in the Chunnel. The two outside ones are the passenger trains. The small inner one is a guidance train. The guidance train is not used for transportation. Each track is exactly parallel to each other.

There are four different train systems in the Chunnel. The Eurostar is a high speed passenger service that connects London, Paris, Brussels, and Lille. The Eurotunnel shuttle is a rail ferry service. These shuttles carry cars. These are railcars that allow drivers to drive their vehicles on and off. There are also two Eurotunnel goods service trains.

Now you know more about the Chunnel. Everybody off, this is the last stop.

1.The Channel Tunnel links ______ with _______.

A. Dover; Kent          B. London; Paris      C. Lille; Brussels        D.Cheriton; Sangatte

2.Which of the following shows the structure of the tunnels in the Chunnel?

3.The Eurotunnel shuttle is intended to carry _________.

A. passengers                 B. drivers and their vehicles

C. goods              D. staff members of the Chunnel

4.The text can most probably be __________.

A. found in a textbook                                               B. read in a magazine

C. broadcast on a train                                           D. heard in a railway station

When my brother and I were young, my mom would take us on Transportation Days.

It goes like this: You can’t take any means of transportation more than once. We would start from home, walking two blocks(街区) to the rail station. We’d take the train into the city center, then a bus, switching to the tram, then maybe a taxi. We always considered taking a horse carriage in the historic district, but we didn’t like the way the horses were treated, so we never did. At the end of the day, we took the subway to our closest station, where Mom’s friend was waiting to give us a ride home—our first car ride of the day.

The good thing about Transportation Days is not only that Mom taught us how to get around. She was born to be multimodal (多方式的). She understood that depending on cars only was a failure of imagination and, above all, a failure of confidence—the product of a childhood not spent exploring subway tunnels.

Once you learn the route map and step with certainty over the gap between the train and the platform, nothing is frightening anymore. New cities are just light-rail lines to be explored. And your personal car, if you have one, becomes just one more tool in the toolbox—and often an inadequate(不适当的) one, limiting both your mobility and your wallet.

On Transportation Days, we might stop for lunch on Chestnut Street or buy a new book or toy, but the transportation was the point. First, it was exciting enough to watch the world speed by from the train window. As I got older, my mom helped me unlock the mysteries that would otherwise have paralyzed my first attempts to do it myself: How do I know where to get off? How do I know how much it costs? How do I know when I need tickets, and where to get them? What track, what line, which direction, where’s the stop, and will I get wet when we go under the river?

I’m writing this right now on an airplane, a means we didn’t try on our Transportation Days and, we now know, the dirtiest and most polluting of them all. My flight routed me through Philadelphia. My multimodal mom met me for dinner in the airport. She took a train to meet me.

1.Which was forbidden by Mom on Transportation Days?

2.According to the writer, what was the greatest benefit of her Transportation Days?

3.The underlined word “paralyzed” (in Para. 5) is closest in meaning to “_______”.

4.Which means of transportation does the writer probably have a dislike of?

A thief entered the bedroom of the 30^th President of the United States, who met him and helped him escape punishment.

The event happened in the early morning hours in one of the first days when Calvin Coolidge came into power, late in August, 1923. He and his family were living in the same third-floor suite(套房) at the Willard Hotel in Washington that had occupied several years before. The former President’s wife was still living in the White House.

Coolidge awoke to see a stranger go through his clothes, remove a wallet and a watch chain.

Coolidge spoke, “ I wish you wouldn’t take that.”

The thief, gaining his voice, said, “ Why?”

“ I don’t mean the watch and chain, only the charm(表坠). Take it near the window and read what is impressed on its back,” the president said.

The thief read, “ Presented to Calvin Coolidge.”

“ Are you President Coolidge?” he asked.

The president answered, “ Yes, and the House of Representatives（众议院）gave me the watch charm. I’m fond of it. It would do you no good. You want money. Let’s talk this over.”

Holding up the wallet, the young man said in a low voice, “ I’ll take this and leave everything else.”

Coolidge, knowing there was 80 dollars in it, persuaded the young man to sit down and talk. He told the President he and his college roommate had overspent during their holiday and did not have enough money to pay their hotel bill.

Coolidge added up the roommate and two rail tickets back to the college. Then he counted out 32 dollars and said it was a loan(借款).

He then told the young man, “ There is a guard in the corridor.” The young man nodded and left through the same window as he had entered.

1.What caused the thief to meet the President

A. He knew the president had lots of money.  B. He knew the president lived in the suite.

C. He wanted to be a rich businessman.      D. He wanted to steal some money.

2.Why did Calvin Coolidge live at the Willard Hotel in those days?

A. Because the former president was still in the White House.

B. Because the former First Lady hadn’t left the White House.

C. Because the First lady liked to live there.

D. Because he liked there.

3. Coolidge counted out 32 dollars______.

A. in order not to be killed by the thief

B. in order to be out of danger

C. so as to help the young student overcome his difficulty.

D. because he had no more money.

4.The young man’s roommate went back to college _____.

A. by air           B. by water         C. by bus           D. by train

5.Which of the following might happen afterwards?

A. The young man repaid the 32 dollars.

B. The thief was put into prison.

C. The President told many reporters the thief’s name.

D. The President ordered the young man to repay the money.