完形填空

　　I once went to a town in the north of England on business．It was about 7∶30 in the evening when I reached the hotel．The manageress, a strict old lady of about 60, showed me to my room．When I asked her what time the dinner was, she said there was only one sitting at 6∶30, and I had 　　1　　 it．“Never mind, ”I said．“I’m not very 　　2　　．I’ll just have a drink in the bar(酒吧)and a sandwich．”

　　“Bar!” she 　　3　　 her voice．“This is a respectable hotel, young man．If you want 　　4　　, you must go somewhere else．” She spoke 　　5　　 a glass of beer was a dangerous drug．I went to a bar and had some beer and sandwiches and then went to the cinema．At about 11∶30 I 　　6　　．Everything was in darkness．I knocked at the door, but nothing happened．The 　　7　　 sound was the church clock opposite, which suddenly struck the half-hour with such 　　8　　 that it made me jump．　　9　　 a window opened upstairs．The old lady 　　10　　 and asked me what was going on．I explained who I was and she let me 　　11　　 after ten minutes’ wait．She was in her nightdress．She told me seriously that guests were 　　12　　 to be back in the hotel by 11 o’clock．

　　I went to bed but could not sleep．Every quarter of an hour the church clock struck and at midnight the whole hotel shook with the noise．Just before dawn, I finally 　　13　　．When I arrived at 　　14　　, everyone else had nearly 　　15　　 and there was not enough coffee to go round．

　　“Did you 　　16　　 well, young man?” the old lady asked．“　　17　　, I don’t think I could go through 　　18　　 night in that room,” I replied．“I hardly slept at all．” “That’s because you were 　　19　　 all night drinking!”she said angrily, putting 　　20　　 to the conversation．

阅读理解

　　For thousands of years, the most important two buildings in any British village have been the church and the pub．Traditionally, the church and the pub are at the heart of any village or town, where the people gather together to socialize and exchange news．

　　As a result, British pubs are often old and well preserved．Many of them have become historic sites．The most famous example is the pub in the city of Nottingham called “Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem”, which dates back to the year 1189 AD and is probably the oldest pub in England．

　　However, British pubs are not just for kings and queens; they welcome people from all classes and parts of society．On a cold night, the pub's landlord or landlady can always find a warm place for you by the fire．There is always honest and hearty food and plenty of drinks available at an affordable price．

　　That's how things used to be．Things are beginning to change．It is said that the credit crunch(信贷紧缩)is causing 39 British pubs in a week to go out of business．People do not have enough spare money to spend on beer．Recently, the UK government banned smoking in all pubs, and that may also have affected the number of customers going to pubs．

　　This decline is happening despite the fact that in 2005 the UK government started to allow pubs to stay open after 11 p．m．．Previously, with 11 p．m．as closing time, customers would have to drink quite quickly, meaning they sometimes got more drunk than they would if allowed to drink slowly．The British habit of drinking a lot very quickly is known as “binge drinking”, and it causes long-term health problems for people and problems with violent crime for communities．

　　In order to save their businesses, pubs are trying to change with the market．British pubs now offer something for everyone．A lot of pubs used to be “Working Men's Clubs”, meaning that women could not usually enter．Today, however, women can freely enter 99％ of pubs without experiencing any problems．Perhaps things are changing for the better after all．

阅读理解

　　For thousands of years, the most important two buildings in any British village have been the church and the pub．Traditionally, the church and the pub are at the heart of any village or town, where the people gather together to socialize and exchange news．

　　As a result, British pubs are often old and well preserved．Many of them have become historic sites．The most famous example is the pub in the city of Nottingham called “The Old Trip to Jerusalem”, which dates back to the year 1189 AD and is probably the oldest pub in England．

　　However, British pubs are not just for kings and queens; they welcome people from all classes and parts of society．On a cold night, the pub's landlord or landlady can always find a warm place for you by the fire．There is always honest and hearty food and plenty of drink available at an affordable price．

　　That's how things used to be．Things are beginning to change．It is said that the credit crunch(信贷紧缩)is causing 39 British pubs a week to go out of business．People do not have enough spare money to spend on beer．Recently, the UK government banned smoking in all pubs, and that may also have affected the number of customers going to pubs．

　　This decline is happening despite the fact that in 2005 the UK government started to allow pubs to stay open after 1l pm．Previously, with 1l pm as closing time, customers would have to drink quite quickly, meaning they sometimes got more drunk than they would if allowed to drink slowly．The British habit of drinking a lot very quickly is known as “binge drinking”, and it causes long-term health problems for people and problems with violent crime for communities．

　　In order to save their businesses, pubs are trying to change with the market．British pubs now offer something for everyone．A lot of pubs used to be “Working Men's Clubs”, meaning that women could not usually enter．Today, however, women can freely enter 99％of pubs without experiencing any problems．Perhaps things are changing for the better after all．