BRITAIN is a popular tourist place．But tours of the country have advantages and disadvantages.
GOOD NEWS
Free museums．No charge for outstanding collections of art and antiquities（文物）.
Pop music．Britain is the only country to compare with the US on this score.
Black cabs．London taxi drivers know where they are going even if there are never
enough of them at weekends or night.
Choice of food．Visitors can find everything from Ethiopian to Swedish restaurants.
Fashion．Not only do fashion junkies love deeply and respect highly brand names
such as Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen; street styles are justly loved, too.
BAD NEWS
Poor service．“It’s part of the image of the place．People can dine out on the rudeness they have experienced,” says Professor Tony Seaton, of Luton University’s International Tourism Research Center.
Poor public transport．Trains and buses are promised to defeat the keenest tourists, although the overcrowded London tube is inexplicably (难以理解的) popular.
Rain．Still in the number one complaint.
No air-conditioning．So that even splendidly hot summers become as unbearable as the downpours.
Overpriced hotels．The only European country with a higher rate of tax on hotel rooms is Denmark.
Licensing hours．Alcohol (酒) is in short supply after 11 p.m. even in “24-hour cities”.
1.What do tourists complain most?
A．Poor service． B．Poor public transport.
C．Rain. D．Overpriced hotels.
2.What do we learn about pop music in Britain and the US through this passage?
A．Pop music in Britain is better than that in the US.
B．Pop music in Britain is as good as that in the US.
C．Pop music in Britain is worse than that in the US.
D．Pop music in Britain is quite different from that in the US.
3.When are people not able to get alcohol?
A．At 12: 00 p.m. B．At 10: 00 p.m. C．At 11: 00 p.m. D．At 9: 00 p.m.
4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．You have to pay to visit the museums．
B．It’s very cheap to travel by taxi there.
C．You cannot find Chinese food there．
D．The public transport is poor there.
SEE a cell phone cover that you like on Taobao? Forget about placing an order, paying the bill online and waiting for days for it to be delivered to you. In the near future, you'll be able to get it in minutes just by hitting "print" on your computer.
You might find it hard to believe that you could actually "print" an object like you would a picture. But it is not that hard to understand how it would work. Just as a traditional printer sprays (喷) ink onto paper line by line, modern 3-D printers spread material onto a surface layer by layer, from the bottom to the top, gradually building up a shape.
Instead of ink, the materials the 3-D printer uses are mainly plastic, resin (树脂)and certain metals. The thinner each layer is --- from a millimeter to less than the width of a hair --- the smoother and finer the object will be.
This may sound like a completely new technology, but the truth is that 3-D printing has been around since the late 1980s. Back then, it was barely affordable for most people, so few knew about it.
Last year, though, saw a big change in the 3-D printing industry--- printers became much cheaper. For example, 10 years ago a desktop 3-D printer might have cost £20,000 (200,000 yuan), while now they cost only about £ 1,000, according to the BBC.
Taken out of the factory and introduced to more diverse and common uses, 3-D printing can create just about anything you can think of ---flutes (笛子), bikinis, jewelry, aircraft parts and even human organs. In fact, scientists from Cornell University in New York have just made an artificial ear using a 3-D printer, according to Science Daily. The fake ear looks and acts exactly like a natural one.
However, as 3-D printing becomes more commonplace, it may bring about certain problems --- such as piracy. "Once you can download a coffee maker, or print out a new set of kitchen utensils (餐具) on your personal 3-D printer, who will visit a retail (零售的) store again?" an expert in 3-D printing told Forbes News. Even more frightening, what if anyone in the world could use a 3-D printer to print out a fully functioning gun?
1.According to the article, in the future, the 3-D printing technology will ___.
A．enable people to make better purchases online
B．be applied as widely in our daily lives as computers
C．change the way we make many products
D．shorten the time it takes for people to get what they buy online
2.What was the big event happening in the 3-D printing industry last year?
A．The 3-D printing technology was taken out ofthe factory.
B．The 3-D printer became more affordable forconsumers.
C．The 3-D printer was used for medical treatmentfor the first time.
D．3-D printing technology began to be used invarious fields.
3.How is the last paragraph developed?
A．By analyzing a cause and an effect. B．By making comparisons.
C．By giving examples. D．By presenting research findings.
4.What is the best title of the passage?
A．Printing out everything B．Technology in the future
C．Online shopping disappearing D．Great demand for 3-D printers
Looking for some inspiration or the “write” kind of ideas for your creative stories? To start with, some writers describe winter by using their five senses or their imagination. Others write on their favorite winter activity. Whatever you choose to write about, working on a winter story can always help to improve your writing skills. Now read the following story and see if it helps get rid of any icy writing block you’ ve been struggling with.
A Winter Adventure
Beep, beep. Beep-beep: the alarm clock rang. Slowly, I got out of warm bed down onto the wooden floor which the winter had thrown its cold upon. The bitter cold temperature penetrated （穿透）my socks and I hurried to put my feet in shoes.
Looking out of the window, I watched the white snow, soft and thick, drop onto rooftops and trees. Half an hour later, finishing the last of my hot chocolate, I prepared to enter the adventure that waited for me outside. I buttoned my jacket and fastened my boots. Hat on, I opened the door and was greeted by the winter coldness.
In the depths of winter, the early morning did not have the rush of the rest of the year. Most of my neighbours were put off by the cold, and stayed in bed until the sun had climbed higher into the sky.
Unseen by those who remained locked inside their homes, warm in their beds, I enjoyed being alone with the beauty of the wintertime. Those indoors were unable to appreciate the snow-scapes, ice crystals, frost and the crisp（清新的）breeze. For them, the coming of winter meant just the arrival of the cold.
Appreciation depends on contrasts. One cannot love the warmth of April if one has not known the freezing cold of winter. Later that year, the heat of the sun on my skin would be all the more wonderful for my memories of that cold morning and others like it.
1.The underlined word “adventure” refers to____________.
A．getting out of bed on the cold winter morning.
B．enjoying the loveliness of the winter outdoors
C．going skiing on the cold winter morning
D．throwing snowballs with friends.
2.According to the story A Winter Adventure, most of the neighbours _________.
A．didn’t work in winter B．stayed up late in winter
C．missed the beauty of winter D．enjoyed the seasons except winter
3.Which of these statements is true according to the story A Winter Adventure?
A．Of all the seasons, the writer loves winter most.
B．The writer regrets that he went out on the freezing cold winter morning.
C．The writer believes contrast makes our experiences of the seasons lovelier.
D．The writer values the autumn and summer more than the winter
4.What function does the story A Winter Adventure serve?
A．To share some winter thoughts with readers.
B．To show readers how to work on a winter story.
C．To inspire readers to take more exercise in winter
D．To tell readers how to appreciate the beauty of winter.
Signs can sometimes be seen at the entrance of a house, expressing that a tramp（流浪汉） has passed. This special sign-language is frequently 36 by tramps to inform their 37 whether the host of a certain house is friendly or unfriendly, and to 38 them the trouble of making unnecessary calls.
Quite 39 one day, I came across a real tramp. He was such a rare sight these days that I stood some distance away and watched him. He was dressed just as a tramp should be 40 , old worn trousers, and a jacket many sizes too big for him. On his head there was a battered old hat and his boots were so old and worn; they were almost coming into 41 . But the man himself looked cheerful as if he had not been a 42 in the world. He rubbed his nose with his forefinger, 43 a funny turn, laid a small parcel by the front gate, and began 44 a sign made by a former caller. Although the sign was meaningless to me, it must have been 45 , for the tramp’s face lit up with 46 . He entered the front gate confidently and rang the bell. When the door opened, I saw him 47 his hat but couldn’t hear his words. The 48 was very short indeed, for no sooner had he spoken a few words than the door closed fiercely in his face. I felt 49 for him as he walked 50 out of the house, But just as quickly, his face lit up again and he moved quickly towards the gate. There he stopped, looked at the sign, and 51 his head seriously as if he had made a bad mistake. 52 deeply into his pockets, he produced a piece of chalk, rubbed out the 53 sign and made a new one in its place. He stared at it for a moment smiling to himself, then gathered his 54 , pushed back his hat and began walking towards the next house at an unhurried 55 , whistling as he went along.
1. A．employed B．made C．taken D．put up
2. A．parents B．classmates C．fellows D．friends
3. A．share B．save C．give D．put
4. A．in a way B．by mistake C．by the way D．by chance
5. A．with B．in C．by D．on
6. A．a fashion B．a design C．pieces D．blocks
7. A．success B．care C．failure D．family
8. A．gave B．got C．set D．made
9. A．drawing B．kissing C．correcting D．studying
10. A．pleased B．strange C．funny D．exciting
11. A．surprise B．satisfaction C．worry D．disappointment
12. A．rise B．put on C．raise D．throw
13. A．conversation B．introduction C．quarrel D．greeting
14. A．happy B．frightened C．worried D．sorry
15. A．cheerful B．sadly C．bravely D．eagerly
16. A．waved B．swung C．shook D．nodded
17. A．Digging B．Stealing C．Putting D．Looking
18. A．appearing B．moving C．shining D．existing
19. A．belongings B．clothes C．umbrella D．stick
20. A．step B．position C．pace D．situation
--- Excuse me, sir?
--- ___________?
--- You’re not meant to park your car in front of the main entrance.
--- Oh, sorry. I don’t know.
A．Well, who are you B．Yes, what is it
C．Me, are you talking to me D．What’s the matter with you
He managed what ___a smile of satisfaction though it was an unexpected result that came out..
A．counted on B．amounted to C．compensated for D．majored in
