Whether I’m looking for a good chat with some old Mends or a quiet place to meet a colleague, the pub will be the place I always choose.
I could, of course, go to a bar. But a pub, I always find, is far more comfortable and has a more relaxed atmosphere.
Many people in the UK also have a favorite pub at the end of the road where they live or nearby to where they work. I can almost always guarantee that I’ll bump into someone I know at my “local”, as we British call our nearest pub.
In fact, many people from the UK say that the pub is a cornerstone (基础) of British life. Coming together over a drink, usually of beer, is generally con­sidered the best way to catch up with friends. For those who are a little reserved (内向的), as the British sometimes are, it’s the best way to open up and get chatting.
However, this habit is slowly changing among some British people. According to a survey completed in August by UK trade magazine The Publican, eating, rather than drinking, has become the main source of income for our 52,000 pubs.
The gastropub (美食酒吧), with its greater emphasis on food, is primarily responsible. All over the country, this more expensive type of pub has been springing up, providing a place for more formal meetings with business partners. Wine is often drunk instead of the traditional beer.
But not everyone’s happy. Many people hate the fact that some local pubs are closing because new gastropubs are proving more profitable. “Beer sales are sinking and many pubs are struggling to survive,” Rob Haward, of the British Beer and Pub Association, told UK newspaper The Daily Mail.
For my part, I’m going to do all I can to keep the local British pub alive. It will be the first place I visit when I go back home.
【小题1】.  The article is mainly about         .

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项A、B、C和D中，选出空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Tips to keep a hearty conversation flowing

   On holidays we typically gather with our nearest and dearest. But    36    can be made, maintained and broken through the ways we talk to our loved  _37___, according to Deborah Tannen, a George-town University professor in linguistics（语言学）. She has suggestions   as to  how we can  38     communications at our festival dinner tables. Let’s take a look.

  ＊A  round dinning table is best for promoting a     39     conversation because

everyone   40      each other.

  ＊Avoid _41_ grandparents at the ends of a rectangular(长方形的) table, even though it is the traditional place of __42__. Elderly people may feel lonely there if they are unable to hear or keep __43__ a conversation.

  ＊__44__ prefer to face each other and make eye contact when they talk. In contrast, men tend to look around at other things. “Guys may be more   45     keeping gazing on the TV,” says Tannen. “They’ll still be _46__, though.”

  ＊Be aware that people have different ways of talking. Each person has a different __47__ of tone, rhyme, timing and how _48__ of a pause is normal in a conversation. Watch for people who seem left __49__. If you feel you are doing all the talking, hold back to give others a  50   .If you feel you aren’t getting a chance to speak, try pushing yourself to start  51     .

  ＊People sometimes get upset on big festivals _52 they stay too long in the apartment. Some families find that gatherings go more __53__ if they plan for some fun _54___. So why not get a breath of fresh air? Going to a park for a walk or taking a trip to the zoo may be more__55__ than just sitting around inside.

A. demands       B. relationships  C.   victories      D. mistakes

A. ones          B. those        C. others           D. them

A.  bother       B. delay        C.  damage        D. improve

A. lively         B. short         C.  calm          D. dull

A. scolds         B. blames       C. faces           D. annoys

A. checking       B. hiding        C. seating         D. hurting

A. pity           B. sorrow       C. intelligence      D. honor

A. up with        B. off          C.  away from      D.  out of

A. Grown-ups     B. Men         C. People          D. Women

A. surprised       B. relaxed       C. encouraged     D. upset

A. thinking        B. doubting     C. listening        D. looking

A. matter          B. sense        C. direction       D. point

A.  often         B.  long       C.  soon          D.  far

A.  out          B.  behind      C.  over          D.  off

A. reward        B. gift           C. hand           D. chance

A. talking        B  singing       C.  dancing       D. playing

A. until          B. if             C. though         D. since

A. naturally      B. coldly          C. quickly        D. smoothly

A. indoors       B. outside         C. inside          D. everywhere

A. abstract       B. bitter          C. enjoyable       D. cruel

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项A、B、C和D中，选出空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Tips to keep a hearty conversation flowing
On holidays we typically gather with our nearest and dearest. But    36   can be made, maintained and broken through the ways we talk to our loved  _37___, according to Deborah Tannen, a George-town University professor in linguistics（语言学）. She has suggestions   as to  how we can  38    communications at our festival dinner tables. Let’s take a look.
＊A  round dinning table is best for promoting a     39    conversation because
everyone   40     each other.
＊Avoid _41_ grandparents at the ends of a rectangular(长方形的) table, even though it is the traditional place of __42__. Elderly people may feel lonely there if they are unable to hear or keep __43__ a conversation.
＊__44__ prefer to face each other and make eye contact when they talk. In contrast, men tend to look around at other things. “Guys may be more   45    keeping gazing on the TV,” says Tannen. “They’ll still be _46__, though.”
＊Be aware that people have different ways of talking. Each person has a different __47__ of tone, rhyme, timing and how _48__ of a pause is normal in a conversation. Watch for people who seem left __49__. If you feel you are doing all the talking, hold back to give others a 50  .If you feel you aren’t getting a chance to speak, try pushing yourself to start  51    .
＊People sometimes get upset on big festivals _52 they stay too long in the apartment. Some families find that gatherings go more __53__ if they plan for some fun _54___. So why not get a breath of fresh air? Going to a park for a walk or taking a trip to the zoo may be more__55__ than just sitting around inside.

阅读理解

　　It is ten o'clock at night and you are outside. You can see many stars in the sky. Each star is another sun. The sky is big, and it hag many suns.

　　Our sun is near to us. It warms us and gives us light in daytime. The stars are not near. We can see their light only at night, and they do not warm us.

　　The stars are not all the same. Many stars are quite like our sun. They are the same size, and they have the same colour, yellow. Other stars are bigger or smaller. A “giant(巨人)” star is very, very big. A “dwarf(侏儒)”is a small star—smaller than the sun.

　　Stars have different colours, too. They can be blue, orange, yellow, white or red. There are giants and dwarfs in all these colours. All stars are, of course, very hot. The hottest stars are the blue ones. White stars come next, they are less hot. Then yellow and orange stars are less hot again. Red stars are the least hot, and they are also the oldest stars.

　　Light moves very quickly across the sky, eighteen million (18,000,000)kilometers in a minute. Our nearest star is a red dwarf. Its name is Proxima Centauri ( proxima ＝ nearest), and it gives a weak, red light. We can just see this light. It left Proxima Centauri 4.25 years ago, and now tonight, it is reaching cur eyes. Think about it! In one minute, 18,000,000 kilometres. So, in 4.25 years—well, how many kilometers? You can find the answer yourself.

　　I will just say this: Proxima Centauri is a long way from us.

1．According to the temperatures on stars, the right order from the lowest temperature to the highest is ________.

[　　]

A．red→yellow→white→blue

B．orange→red→blue→white

C．blue→white→yellow→red

D．white→blue→orange→red

2．All the following am right except ________.

[　　]

A．a “dwarf” is smaller than the sun

B．there are dwarfs in different colours

C．a “dwarf” is a small star

D．dwarfs are the least hot

3．How far away is the star Proxima Centauri from us?

[　　]

A．40,208,400,000,000 kilometres.

B．9,460,800,000,000 kilometres.

C．679,140,000,000 kilometres .

D．279,225,000,000 kilometres .

4．When we say “The star Procyon is ‘ten light years’ away.”, we mean ________.

[　　]

A．we can reach the star in ten years

B．we first saw the star ten years ago

C．the light left Procyon ten years ago

D．Procyon has been that far away for ten years

Whether I’m looking for a good chat with some old Mends or a quiet place to meet a colleague, the pub will be the place I always choose.

I could, of course, go to a bar. But a pub, I always find, is far more comfortable and has a more relaxed atmosphere.

Many people in the UK also have a favorite pub at the end of the road where they live or nearby to where they work. I can almost always guarantee that I’ll bump into someone I know at my “local”, as we British call our nearest pub.

In fact, many people from the UK say that the pub is a cornerstone (基础) of British life. Coming together over a drink, usually of beer, is generally con­sidered the best way to catch up with friends. For those who are a little reserved (内向的), as the British sometimes are, it’s the best way to open up and get chatting.

However, this habit is slowly changing among some British people. According to a survey completed in August by UK trade magazine The Publican, eating, rather than drinking, has become the main source of income for our 52,000 pubs.

The gastropub (美食酒吧), with its greater emphasis on food, is primarily responsible. All over the country, this more expensive type of pub has been springing up, providing a place for more formal meetings with business partners. Wine is often drunk instead of the traditional beer.

But not everyone’s happy. Many people hate the fact that some local pubs are closing because new gastropubs are proving more profitable. “Beer sales are sinking and many pubs are struggling to survive,” Rob Haward, of the British Beer and Pub Association, told UK newspaper The Daily Mail.

For my part, I’m going to do all I can to keep the local British pub alive. It will be the first place I visit when I go back home.

1..   The article is mainly about         .

A. the British pub losing popularity             B. the author’s love of pubs

C. how the British socialize                     D. the local British pub

2..  Many British people say that the pub is a cornerstone of British life because         .

A. it is nearby and convenient

B. it is a great place for meeting friends

C. it is far more comfortable than a bar to have a drink

D. it is easy to bump into people they know in a pub ,

3..  From the text, we can conclude that gastropubs         .

A. will replace the local pubs

B. attach more importance to drinks

C. are somewhere between a restaurant and a bar

D. attract beer lovers as well as wine lovers

4..   Which of the following is TRUE according to the article?

A. The author is in favor of gastropubs.

B. Wine is thought to show one’s class and taste.

C. British people do not go to pubs as often as be­fore.

D. Local pubs are being seriously affected by gastropubs.