The wedding between Prince Wiliam and Kate Middleton on April 29 has focused the world’s camera lenses (镜头) on the UK.

In Britain, there is a constant debate about the relevance (相关性) of the royal family to modern British society. However, Windsor (the fam­ily name of the British Royal Family) and Middleton have been seen to represent a more modern, forward-looking nation.

Nigel Baker, the British ambassador to Bolivia, believes that the royal wedding is “about modern Britain”. “The estimated 2 billion spectators across the world will see that Britain is one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse nations in the world, home to 270 nationalities speaking 300 different languages, founded on tolerance and respect for difference,” wrote Baker on his blog.

According to Baker, the wedding could help viewers to see “why Britain is one of the most dynamic and creative countries in the world”: The television on which most people watched the event was invented by John Logie Baird, a Briton, and the World Wide Web that broadcast the event to millions more was invented by another Briton, Tim Berners-Lee.

 The guests who attended the wedding ceremony gave more than a few clues as to the nature of modern Britain. David and Victoria Beckham represent Britain’s obsession (着迷)with football and celebrity.

Leaders from different religious backgrounds supported Baker’s com­ments on the multicultural nature of modern British society.

Before the wedding, David Elliott, arts director of the British Council China, agreed that the wedding would be a showcase for modern Britain: “I think, and hope, that it (modern British influence) would be values like openness, multiculturalism, creativity, sense of humor and the traditional British sense of fair play,” he said.

Furthermore, events such as the Olympics in London in 2012 may also increase people’s sense of Britishness.

According to a poll published in Daily Telegraph, more than a third of people in the UK admitted they felt “very British” when watching the Olympics.

1..  What is the point of the article?

A. To introduce Prince William’s wedding arrangements in detail.

B. To comment on the significance of the royal wedding.

C. To question the relevance of the royal family in modern British society.

D. To explain why the royal wedding is linked with the 2012 Olympics.

2..  What can be concluded from the article?

A. Some say that the royal wedding is a reflection on modern Britain.

B Some think the royal wedding shows Britain’s multiculturalism and sense of fair play.

C.About 2 billion people across the world will see the wedding ceremony online.

D. Britons are obsessed with football due to the influence of David Beckham.

3..  Why is the inventor of the World Wide Web mentioned?

A. To inform readers about some well-known British inventors.

B. To point to the importance of the World Wide Web for the wedding.

C. In support of the idea that Britain is a nation of creative and original people.

D. To encourage people to watch the wedding on the Internet.

4..  According to the article, both the 2012 Olympics and the royal wedding         .

A. have increased the British sense of national identity

B. have promoted traditional British values

C. represent a more modern Britain

D. have encouraged the interest of Britons in Football

It seems that the Englishman just cannot live without sports of some kind. A famous French humourist once said that this is because the English insist on behaving like children all their lives. Wherever you go in this country you will see both children and grown-ups knocking a ball about with a stick or something, as if in Britain men shall always remain boys and women girls! Still, it can never be bad to get exercise, can it?

Taking all amateur（业余）and professional sports in Britain into consideration, there can be no doubt that football is at the top of the list. It is called soccer in the United States. The game originated in Britain and was played in the Middle Ages or even earlier, though as an organized game, or “association football”, it dates only from the beginning of the 19th century.

The next is rugby, which is called “football” in the United States. It is a kind of football played by two teams of fifteen players rather than eleven. The rugby, in which an oval-shaped ball is used can be handled as well as kicked. It is a pretty rough game.

In summer, cricket is the most popular sport. In fact, it has sometimes been called the English national game. Most foreigners find the game rather slow or even boring, but it enjoys great popularity among the British.

Tennis rates high on the list, too. It was introduced into England from France in the 15th century, but it was from England that it spread to practically every country in the world.

Table-tennis or “ping-pong” surely is not played on a great scale as it is in China or in Japan. Basketball and volleyball were introduced into Britain during the late 19th century from America and are gaining popularity. Horse-back riding, swimming, rowing and golf all attract a lot of people.

1.The main purpose of paragraph one is to tell us that the English_______.

2.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true about football and rugby?

3.From the second and the third paragraph, we know that_____.

Britain and Ireland

　　The British Isles is made up of two large islands: One is called Ireland and the other __16  . Britain, or Great Britain, is the larger of these two islands, and it is17  into three parts: Scotland, Wales and England.

　　The United Kingdom is that 18   of the British Isles ruled over by the Queen. It is made up of Scotland, Wales and England, that is, the  19   of Britain, and also about one sixth of Ireland, the Northern part. The  20  of Ireland is self-governing. The  21  name of the United Kingdom is  22   “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”.

　23  is larger and richer than Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and has the largest  24   of the United Kingdom, so people often use the 25  “England” and “English” when they  26   “Britain” and “British”. This sometimes makes the Scots and the Welsh a little 27  . The Scots in particular are very  28  of their separate nationality. The Welsh too do not regard   29  as English, and have a culture and even a   30 of their own.

　　Ireland became part of the United Kingdom in 1801, but for forty years the “Irish  31   ” was the greatest headache of the United Kingdom.  32  , Ireland is divided into two: Northern Ireland still  33 to the United Kingdom, and in 1922 the rest of Ireland   34   to found an Irish Free State, later called Eire and now the Republic of Ireland.

　　The Republic of Ireland does not regard itself as part of Britain, and is not now even a supporter of the Commonwealth of Nations (英联邦). Unlike the major Commonwealth countries it did not lift a finger to   35 British in the Second World War and now wants the whole of Ireland to be a republic.

1.A. Wales       B. Britain         C. England        D. Scotland

2.A. divided      B. cut            C. broken          D. separated

3.A. piece        B. island          C. country         D. part

4.A. south        B. north          C. part            D. whole

5.A. smaller      B. larger          C. rest             D. island

6.A. correct      B. true            C. full             D. complete

7.A. also         B. therefore       C. likely           D. perhaps

8.A. The UK      B. The British isles  C. Great Britain    D. England

9.A. colleges      B. officials         C. cities           D. population

10.A. words       B. names           C. spellings        D. pronunciations

11.A. call         B. forget           C. speak           D. write

12.A. angry       B. difficult          C. tired           D. lonely

13.A. proud       B. fond            C. full             D. kind

14. A. it           B. Wales           C. them            D. themselves

15.A. capital      B. language         C. history          D. programs

16.A. Country     B. Question         C. Disease          D. Republic

17.A. At last      B. So              C. Meanwhile       D. Also

18.A. returns      B. belongs          C. gets             D. speaks

19.A. hoped       B. refused          C. broke away       D. used

20.A. feel         B. touch            C. fight             D. help

Jeffery Deaver looks more like a brainy villain （反派人物） in a James Bond movie than a "00" agent in Her Majesty's secret service．Best known for his thrillers starring criminalist （刑事专家） Lincoln Rhyme, Jeffery Deaver has a new mission: Bring Bond into the 21st century in a new 007 novel．

The yet-to-be-named book is cryptically （隐秘地） referred to as "Project X" by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd．, which owns the rights to Fleming's work．Most of the details surrounding Project X, to be published in May, are being kept under wraps, but under gentle coaxing （用好话劝诱） Deaver begins to spill his guts．"The novel," he says, "is set in the present day, in 2011．Bond is a young agent for the British secret service．He's 29 or 30 years old, and he's an Afghan war vet．" That in itself is big news．After all, if Bond were aging in real time — he first appeared on the screen in 1953 — the now doddering （老态龙钟的） 007 would be nearly 90．

But first up: a new stand-alone Deaver novel, Edge （Simon & Schuster, $26．99）, to be published Tuesday．It's about a federal agent who risks his life to protect a Washington police detective from a man hired to extract information from him using any means at his disposal （任由个人支配的）．

Sipping coffee while seated on a leather chair in a sitting room decorated with portraits of his dogs and show ribbons, the mild-mannered author who writes about murderers and serial killers talks about his career and the solid fan base that has allowed him to pursue writing full time since 1990．"I may not sell as many books as John Grisham（although he has sold a cool 20 million）, but I have a very loyal fan base," says Deaver, 60, who wrote some of his novels while working as a Wall Street lawyer．Deaver's initiation into the Bond family — more than 100 million 007 novels have sold worldwide — could significantly raise his profile （知名度）．

Other novelists have written Bond novels since Ian Fleming's death in 1964 — including Kingsley Amis, John Gardner and, most recently, Sebastian Faulks — but they all took place in the original era．Deaver is taking a new approach．"There's no more Cold War to fight," says Deaver, so his new Bond, of the Fleming estate, will fight "post-9/11 evil．" "I want to stay true to the original James Bond, who many people don't know much about," he says, referring to the secret agent Fleming portrayed in 14 novels, and not the movie Bond．"People know Daniel Craig, they know Pierce Brosnan, they know Roger Moore and Sean Connery, all of whom brought a great deal to the stories of 007．But the original Bond was a very dark, edgy （另类的） character．"

1.Which of the following is NOT true about Jeffery Deaver?

2.Which statement best explains the meaning of “spill his guts” in Paragraph 2?

3.Who was the author of 007 novels?

4.What do you know about the new 007 novel from the passage?

Over the last 25 years, British society has changed a great deal. In some ways, however, very little has changed. Ideas about social class whether a person is “working-class” or “middle-class” are one area in which changes have been extremely slow.

In the past, the working-class tended to be paid less than middle-class people, such as teachers and doctors. As a result of this and also of the fact that workers’ jobs were generally much less secure, distinct differences in life-styles and attitudes came into existence. The typical working man would collect his wages on Friday evening and then give them to his wife, leaving a little for drinking or betting.

The type of what a middle-class man did with his money was perhaps nearer the truth. He was and still is likely to take a longer-term view. Not only did he regard buying a house to provide him and his family with security. Only in very few cases did workers have the opportunity (or the education and training) to make such long-term plans.

Nowadays, much has changed. In a large number of cases factory workers earn as much. Social security and laws have made it less necessary than before to worry about “tomorrow”. Working-class people seem slowly to be losing the feeling of inferiority(自卑感)they had in the past. In fact there has been a growing tendency in the past few years for the middle-classes to feel slightly ashamed of their position.

The changes in both life-styles and attitudes are probably most easily seen among younger people. They generally tend to share very similar tastes in music and clothes. They spend their money enjoying themselves, and save for holidays or longer-term plans when necessary. There seems to be much less difference than in precious generations. Nevertheless, we still have a wide gap between the well-paid and the low-paid. As long as this gap exists, there will always be a possibility that new problems will appear between different groups.

1.Which of the following is seen as the main cause of class differences in the past?

2. The writer seems to suggest that _______.

3. According to the passage, what was the typical feature of the middle–class in the past?

4. Working-class people's sense of security has increased as a result of all the following factors EXCEPT that _______.

5.Which of the following statements is incorrect?