In today's Ireland, it seems hard to imagine the grim days of the 19^th century when so many of the population starved, or that, in those days, many poor people had no clue how to prepare any food other than boil a potato. Nowadays, it is quite possible to eat both well and heartily all over the island.

Tourism has made a vast difference to the standards of cooking in Ireland. Until recently there was hardly any tradition of eating out in many districts, except perhaps on very few occasions at a local hotel. Patterns of diet were old-styled, based firmly on 'meat and two vegetables' (somewhat overcooked), potatoes (of course) and large quantities of dairy produce. Now things are very different. Tourist demands for predictable, inexpensive fast-food are met, as everywhere, with hamburgers and pizzas - a better bet being fish and chips. But more sophisticated tastes have introduced wholefoods and vegetarian restaurants (almost unheard of before), and a vast number of new restaurants, often French in style, have opened in the main tourist centres. Food 'events' such as Kinsale's Gourmet festival or Galway's Oyster Festival attract large numbers of visitors and reflect the new interest in food.

Whatever Irish cooking lacks in finesse（精细）, it nearly always makes up for in plenty, and ingredients(成分) are of a high quality. Home-grown produce includes rich dairy foods, beef, lamb and pork, and a great variety of seafood. One of its great specialities is soda bread. It is made with buttermilk and is served fresh and warm with every meal. Recently there has been a return to simple Irish foods such as stews（炖菜）and potato dishes.

One of the best-value meals in Ireland is breakfast. A 'traditional Irish breakfast' is a plateful of bacon and eggs with soda and potato breads. Accommodation rates are nearly always quoted with a full breakfast included, so you might as well eat enough to keep you going all day and get your money's worth!

1．What was Irish food like until quite recently?

A. It was very conservative and uninteresting.

B. It was influenced by French cooking.

C. It was very unhealthy.

D. It was plentiful

2．  How has Irish food improved in recent years?

A. There are more French restaurants. B. Food produce is fresher.

C. There is more kinds.            D. Food is more expensive

3．What is the main reason for this improvement?

A. People have more money to spend.

B. The development of tourism.

C. People have more tastes today.

D. Young people dislike traditional food

4．How does the passage describe Irish cooking today?

A. It is exciting and interesting.  B. It is boring and overcooked.

C. It is plentiful and simple. D. It is good-looking and tastes bad

5.    Which of the following statements is true according to the text?

A. Eating out at weekends is traditional in most parts of Ireland.

B. Today most Irish people prefer fast-foods to the traditional Irish cooking.

C. Nowadays French-style restaurants are quite common in tourist centres.

D. Many Irish people are vegetarians and grow their own vegetables.

A great life doesn’t happen by accident. It is the result of allocating (分配) your time, energy ,thoughts ,and hard work towards what you want your life to be . Stop setting yourself up for stress and failure, and start setting up your life to support success and ease. It is the result of using what you get in a creative and thoughtful way, instead of just what comes next .___71___.

S---Simplify. A great life is the result of simplifying your life. People often misinterpret what simplify means. It’s not a way to remove work from your life .__72__ . In order to create a great life , you will have to make room for it in yours first.

E---Effort. A great life is the result of your best effort. Creating it requires that you make some adjustments. It may mean re-evaluating how you spend your time ,or choosing to spend your money in a different way. Life will reward your best effort.

C---Create priorities.(首要事情).A great life is the result of creating priorities .It’s easy to spend your days just responding to the next thing that gets your attention, instead of intentionally using the time ,energy and money you have in a way that’s important to you .__73__.

R---Remove distractions. A great life is the result of removing distractions. __74__. Removing distractions can be a difficult concept to many people ,since they haven’t really considered that there is another way to live. Find ways to free up your mental energy for things that are more important to you.

T---Thoughts. ___75___.Your belief in the outcome will directly determine how successful you are. Motivated people have specific goals and look for ways to achieve them. Believing there is a solution to the same old problems you encounter year after year is vitally important to creating a life that you love.

A. When you focus on simplifying your life ,you free up energy and time for the work that you enjoy and the purpose for which you are here.

B. A great life is the result of having reserves ---reserves of things ,time, space ,energy and money.

C. Today ,right now , is the right day to start to take a step in the direction of your heart’s desires.

D. Up to 75% of your mental energy can be tied up in things that stop your concentrating.

E. Now please use “secrets” to fit your own needs and style ,and start creating your own great life today.

F. A great life is the result of controlling your thoughts so that you accept and allow for the possibility that it actually can happen to you !

G. Focus on removing the obstacles that get in the way of you making sure you are honoring your priorities.

I still remember the day when my mom said, “Let’s get you some new clothes.” You can imagine that to any little girl that would mean the world, but to me it meant the universe, because we were not very rich. After she said that, all I could think about was what kinds of clothes I would choose. To my surprise, my mom allowed me to pick out three dresses: a pink one, a blue one and a yellow one. The yellow one was my favorite.

I had a best friend named Seema, whose family was even poorer than ours. We played and studied together, and spent the best days of our childhood laughing at the silly stories we made up. I was excited to show her my three beautiful new dresses. She loved them all and was happy for me, but tearfully explained to me that her father could only afford to buy her clothes for her birthday. I felt sorry, and then did something that surprised even myself: I asked her to pick out one of my dresses for herself. To my disappointment, she picked up my favorite—the yellow one. Please remember, I was only seven years. My heart almost popped out (跳出) of my chest. But as she held it against her body, and I saw how brightly she smiled, I stopped feeling any hurt. I told her it looked lovely on her.

I’ll always remember Seema’s smile, and how at that moment nothing mattered more. When you value your friendships, nothing else matters! We’re still best friends today.

Why did the new clothes mean the universe to the author?

A. She loved dressing up more than anything else.

B. She thought they would make her more beautiful.

C. Her family was poor, and new clothes were very rare.

D. Her mother only bought her new clothes for her birthday.

The author let Seema pick out one of her dresses because she wanted to _______.

A. show her pity for Seema’s family          B. show off her family’s wealth

C. make Seema become her best friend        D. exchange it with Seema’s dress

When Seema chose the yellow dress, the author was disappointed because ________.

A. she was not generous           B. she didn’t expert to lose her favorite dress

C. Seema chose her favorite dress on purpose   D. Seema was careless about her feelings

What can we conclude from the passage?

A. Getting a best friend means losing other things. B. Being generous is not easy.

C. Children like sharing their favorite things.     D. Friendship is precious (珍贵的).

I still remember the day when my mom said, “Let’s get you some new clothes.” You can imagine that to any little girl that would mean the world, but to me it meant the universe, because we were not very rich. After she said that, all I could think about was what kinds of clothes I would choose. To my surprise, my mom allowed me to pick out three dresses: a pink one, a blue one and a yellow one. The yellow one was my favorite.
I had a best friend named Seema, whose family was even poorer than ours. We played and studied together, and spent the best days of our childhood laughing at the silly stories we made up. I was excited to show her my three beautiful new dresses. She loved them all and was happy for me, but tearfully explained to me that her father could only afford to buy her clothes for her birthday. I felt sorry, and then did something that surprised even myself: I asked her to pick out one of my dresses for herself. To my disappointment, she picked up my favorite—the yellow one. Please remember, I was only seven years. My heart almost popped out (跳出) of my chest. But as she held it against her body, and I saw how brightly she smiled, I stopped feeling any hurt. I told her it looked lovely on her.
I’ll always remember Seema’s smile, and how at that moment nothing mattered more. When you value your friendships, nothing else matters! We’re still best friends today.
【小题1】Why did the new clothes mean the universe to the author?

I still remember the day when my mom said, “Let’s get you some new clothes.” You can imagine that to any little girl that would mean the world, but to me it meant the universe, because we were not very rich. After she said that, all I could think about was what kinds of clothes I would choose. To my surprise, my mom allowed me to pick out three dresses: a pink one, a blue one and a yellow one. The yellow one was my favorite.

I had a best friend named Seema, whose family was even poorer than ours. We played and studied together, and spent the best days of our childhood laughing at the silly stories we made up. I was excited to show her my three beautiful new dresses. She loved them all and was happy for me, but tearfully explained to me that her father could only afford to buy her clothes for her birthday. I felt sorry, and then did something that surprised even myself: I asked her to pick out one of my dresses for herself. To my disappointment, she picked up my favorite—the yellow one. Please remember, I was only seven years. My heart almost popped out (跳出) of my chest. But as she held it against her body, and I saw how brightly she smiled, I stopped feeling any hurt. I told her it looked lovely on her.

I’ll always remember Seema’s smile, and how at that moment nothing mattered more. When you value your friendships, nothing else matters! We’re still best friends today.

1.Why did the new clothes mean the universe to the author?

2.The author let Seema pick out one of her dresses because she wanted to _______.

3.When Seema chose the yellow dress, the author was disappointed because ________.

4.What can we conclude from the passage?