Planning a visit to the UK? Here we help with ways to cut your costs．
AVOID BIG EVENTS Big sporting events, concerts and exhibitions can increase the cost of accommodation and make it harder to find a room．A standard double room at the Thistle Brighton on the final Friday of the Brighton Comedy Festival(19 Oct．)cost ￡169．15 at Booking．com．A week later, the same room cost ￡118.15．
If you can be flexible and want to know dates to avoid－or you're looking for a big event to pass your time－check out sites such as Whatsonwhen．com, which allow you to search for events in the UK by city, date and category．
STAYAWAY FROM THE STATION If traveling to your destination by train, you may want to find a good base close to the station, but you could end up paying more for the sake of convenience at the start of your holiday．
Don't be too choosy about the part of town you stay in．Booking two months in advance, the cheapest room at Travelodge's Central Euston hotel in London for Saturday 22 September was ￡95.95．A room just a tube journey away at its Covent Garden hotel was ￡75.75．And at Farringdon, a double room cost just ￡62.95．
LOOK AFTER YOURSELF Really central hotels in cities such as London, Edinburgh and Cardiff can cost a fortune, especially at weekends and during big events．As an alternative consider checking into a self-catering flat with its own kitchen．Often these flats are hidden away on the top floors of city centre buildings．A great example is the historic O'Neill Flat on Edinburgh's Royal Mile, available for ￡420 for five days in late September, with room for four adults．
GET ON A BIKE London's ‘Boris bikes' have attracted the most attention, but other cities also have similar programmes that let you rent a bicycle and explore at your own pace, saving you on public transport or car parking costs．
Among the smaller cities with their own programmes are Newcastle(casual members pay around ￡1.50 for two hours)and Cardiff(free for up to 30 minutes, or ￡5 per day)．(358 words)
(1)
The Brighton Comedy Festival is mentioned mainly to show big events may ________．
[ ]
A．
help travelers pass time
B．
attract lots of travelers to the UK
C．
allow travelers to make flexible plans
D．
cause travelers to pay more for accommodation
(2)
“Farringdon” in Paragraph 5 is most probably ________．
[ ]
A．
a hotel away from the train station
B．
the tube line to Covent Garden
C．
an ideal holiday destination
D．
the name of a travel agency
(3)
The passage shows that the O'Neill Flat ________．
[ ]
A．
lies on the ground floor
B．
is located in central London
C．
provides cooking facilities for tourists
D．
costs over ￡100 on average per day in late September
(4)
Cardiff's program allows a free bike for a maximum period of ________．
Beijing(Xinhua)－Blind Chinese pianist Sun Yan, 23, will give a concert at the People’s Liberation Army(PLA)Theatre in downtown Beijing．
Sun, a student at the well-known China Central Conservatory of Music, was born with cataracts(白内障), which caused him to become blind．He started learning to play the piano when he was three years old and immediately gained acclaim(喝彩)as a piano virtuoso at the age of six．
Guo Shulan, head of the CCCM, said Sun was the first blind student the school had ever received in its half-century history．The well-known piano teacher, Yang Jun, taught Sun personally and found him to be greatly talented and strongly determined．
At his concert, Sun will play a dozen masterpieces by composers, such as Bach, Beethoven and Chopin．
“Common piano players may have a look at these long and difficult musical pieces while playing, but Sun would have to spend a much, much longer time to fully memorize a piece of music．” Yan said．“He plays the piano for at least six hours every day．”
With painstaking effort for the past few years．Sun achieved very good grades at school and also gained an audience worldwide．He was invited to visit dozens of countries and regions and even performed at top theatres such as Caregie Hall in the United States．
Top fashion brand Mark Fairwhale and piano manufacturer Bosendorfrr will offer Sun a financial support fund and the use of piano, respectively．The PLA Theatre will also provide him technical support and a stage setting design free of charge．Three schoolmates of Sun’s who were also pianists, for winning top prizes in international competitions, will be guest performers at the concert．
Expecting to graduate with a bachelor degree in paino next year, Sun has applied to study for a master’s degree．
“Music changes people’s lives．I hope I can continue to study the piano for the rest of my life,” Sun said．
(1)
Which of the following may be the best title of the passage?
[ ]
A．
Sun Yan’s achievements in music．
B．
Blind Chinese pianist gives concert in Beijing．
C．
Sun Yan, successful blind pianist in China．
D．
Blind pianist gains international fame．
(2)
The underlined word “virtuoso” in the second paragraph most probably means ________．
[ ]
A．
excellent teacher
B．
excellent student
C．
excellent producer
D．
excellent player
(3)
The CCCM has a history of ________．
[ ]
A．
about 23 years
B．
about 50 years
C．
about 10 years
D．
about 150 years
(4)
What does Sun Yan benefit most from on his way to being a well-known pianist besides his born talent?
一线名师权威作业本系列答案