British Summer Time runs from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. In the depths of winter the nights in the UK are anything from 15-19 hours long. Longer nights mean frost and fog are more likely to form.
Twice a year the clocks change, forward in the spring and then back again in the autumn. But why? It happens twice a year. We all change our clocks and watches by one hour. In the spring, we add an hour, and go onto what is called British Summer Time, while in the autumn, we do the reverse, and return to Greenwich Mean Time.
Why bother?
It’s all to do with saving the hours of daylight, and was started by a guy called William Willett, a London builder, who lived in Petts Wood in Kent. Basically, he figured that you could improve the population’s health and happiness by putting forward the clocks by twenty minutes every Sunday in April and do the opposite in September.
Economics
His idea was not taken up, even though a “Daylight Saving Bill” was introduced some five years before the outbreak of World War One. But once the war started, it was considered wise to economics, to promote greater efficiency in using daylight hours, and in the use of artificial lighting. And so in 1916, “Daylight Saving Time” was introduced. Even though most countries abandoned this after that war, some eventually decided that it was a good idea, and most of these nations began to keep it throughout the year.
Experiment
Since 1972, Britain has decided to go with Greenwich Mean Time in winter, and British Summer Time in Summer.
But back in 1968, Britain tried a four-year experiment by advancing time one hour ahead of GMT throughout the year.
But those living further north, particularly in Scotland, found it most unsatisfactory, with dark mornings for much of the year, and the experiment was dropped.
But the arguments go on …and on.
【小题1】Why some countries decide to change the clocks after World War One?

Donna is 19 years old and loves animals, which is why I’m always happy to leave my dog with her when I go on holiday. Donna also helps to train hunting dogs, but recently, her boyfriend told me, she returned home from a farm in tears after being told to hit some dogs.

  “She wasn’t being asked to hit them because they didn’t behave well,” he said. “She was told to punch these puppies with a closed fist simply to let them know who is the boss,” Donna refused. Good for Donna. In my view, you hit an animal for only two reasons: as a way to teach it an important lesson to protect it from danger, such as not into the road; or because you like hurting animals.

  Last summer, I attended a horse race. I don’t know much about horses, but I was alarmed when I saw a horse with a huge ulcer (溃疡) on its legs. “Surely this horse won’t race?” I asked. I was very surprised that nobody in the crowd seemed concerned.

  The horse began the race, but later it fell heavily. It had broken its leg. The next thing I saw was its dead body in a bag, being driven past. No one seemed to care, except those who had bet on it. I know people care for horse racing, but do they really care for horses? I doubt it.

  Oh, but it’s a tradition, I hear you say. Wouldn’t the world be a boring place if we didn’t occasionally hit, shoot and chase animals? Traditions are made by man and can be unmade. It was once acceptable to kill servants when their master died, to visit the mental hospitals to laugh at the patients or to watch public execution (执行死刑).

  Nor should it be forgotten that in our progress to a more civilized world, animals have played an important role: they have fed us, carried us, worked for us, rescued us, died for us and sometimes just saved us from loneliness. Surely by now they deserve our kindness. At the very least, they deserve our respect.

1.Donna was asked to hit the young dogs because ________.

A. they misbehaved                                    

B. their owner disliked them

C. people on the farm enjoy hurting them     

D. it was a way to train them to obey people

2.What does the underlined word in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A. strike        B. stroke        C. scold        D. pump

3.What is the author’s purpose in telling the readers the story about the horse?

A. To explain the traditional horse race to readers.

B. To prove that the weak horse can’t win in the race.

C. To show that animals are treated unfairly by humans.

D. To say that people care more for horses than horse racing.

4.Which of the following is NOT true?

A. People no longer watch killing criminals in public.

B. The author cannot accept anyone who hits the animals.

C. It was a traditional practice to kill servants for their dead master.

D. The author thinks it is possible to change the traditions made by man.

5.What’s the best title of the passage?

A. No One Cares for Animals Nowadays.     

B. Let’s Protect the Endangered Animals.

C. Show Animals the Respect They Deserve.           

D. The Stories Between Animals and People.

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换个性作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除、或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号 ，并在其下面写出该加的单词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线（﹨）划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写上修改后的词。

注意：1.每处错误以及修改均仅限一词。

2.只允许修改10处，多者从（第11处起）不计分。

This morning I got up early and went to school as usually.But I found that there is nobody in the classroom because it was Sunday.“How a bad memory I have!”I couldn`t help bursting into laughing. Stand in front of the school gate, I wondered what to do next. Suddenly a good idea occurred to me.“Why not to get together with some friends for a picnic on such fine day?”I immediately telephoned some of my best friends,and to my delighted,they all agreed to go.About two hours late,we finally arrived a beautiful park.We really enjoyed us there.

短文改错（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句最多有两处，每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\） 划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词;
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
This morning I got up early and went to school as usually, only to find there were nobody in the classroom because it is Sunday. “How a bad memory I have!” I couldn’t help laughing. Stand in front of the school gate, I began to wonder what to do next. Suddenly a good idea occurs to me. “Why not get together with some good friends for a picnic in such a fine weather?” I immediately telephoned some of my best friends, but they all agreed to join me. About two hours late, we finally arrived a pleasant park with trees and flowers here and there. We really enjoyed us greatly.

短文改错（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句最多有两处，每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线（\） 划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词;

2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

This morning I got up early and went to school as usually, only to find there were nobody in the classroom because it is Sunday. “How a bad memory I have!” I couldn’t help laughing. Stand in front of the school gate, I began to wonder what to do next. Suddenly a good idea occurs to me. “Why not get together with some good friends for a picnic in such a fine weather?” I immediately telephoned some of my best friends, but they all agreed to join me. About two hours late, we finally arrived a pleasant park with trees and flowers here and there. We really enjoyed us greatly.