How clean are the nation’s homes?
According to a survey by CIF, there’s room for improvement all over Britain.
Love or hate it — cleaning your home is one job you simply can’t ignore（忽视）. But that’s not to say everyone spends the same amount of time or effort on making their places spotless. A new survey by CIF— experts on making tough cleaning jobs easier—— shows that when it comes to washing windows or cleaning the oven（烤箱）,where you live in the UK it may show how much effort you put into the task.
BATHROOM
25% of men have never cleaned the toilet — but those in Wales are the worst. Nearly four in 10 Welsh men said they never cleaned anywhere in the house. Hate cleaning the shower head? You’re not alone — a quarter of a million Brits say the same. 20% of Scots regard window-cleaning as their most hated job.
KITCHEN
36% of people in the south-east say cleaning the cooker is their hated task. 68% of those in the north-east spend more than six hours a week cleaning their homes — especially the kitchen — in sharp contrast to the 49% of Welsh and West Country folk, who put their hands up to cleaning for under an hour.
BEDROOM
18% believe cleaning starts here: that’s the percentage of women who clean wearing their dressing gowns. 51% of women in the north-west may be staying in bed and giving their husband a cuddle（拥抱）—as a thank-you for helping them clean. In other places, there are far fewer helpful men.
LIVING ROOM
32% of women in the north-east turn up the stereo to help make the dusting more fun. Almost six in 10 women agree, however, that cleaning is seriously energetic exercise.
SHIFT THE DIRT WITH CIF
It’s no secret that the right cleaning products will cut cleaning time and effort in half— and no one knows that better than How Clean Is Your house? Presenters Aggie Mackenzie and Kim Woodburn. For solutions（解决办法）to all your cleaning needs, here are some of CIF’s top tips:
·Stop a lot of build-up on your shower head—give it a quick squirt（喷洒）with CIF bathroom spray once a week.
·Stainless steel（不锈钢）tools seem to need endless cleaning. The CIF Wild Qrchid Qxy-Gel-it lifts dirt easily and leaves the kitchen smelling fresh and clean.
·Cooking outside? CIF cream will get your barbecue （烤架）spotlessly clean, ready for those long, lazy summer evenings. Perfect!
1.The main purpose of this passage is to ______.
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A．tell us the results of a certain survey |
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B．advertise a certain product |
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C．advise men to do more cleaning housework |
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D．tell us which is the hardest job at home |
2.It can be concluded from the survey that people in different parts of Britain______.
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A．have different views on house cleaning |
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B．spend different amounts of time and effort on house cleaning |
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C．like to do different kinds of housework |
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D．have different ways to do housework |
3.According to the survey,______ spend the most time cleaning their homes.
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A．the Welsh |
B．people in the north-west |
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C．people in the south-east |
D．people in the north-east |
4.CIF in the passage probably refers to ______.
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A．an organization doing research on housework |
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B．a group of experts who give advice on doing housework |
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C．a company providing advice and products on cleaning |
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D．a company providing cleaning services |
Have you ever posted letters to your friends or parents? If so, you must have put stamps on the letters before you sent them. But, how did people receive letters before stamps were invented, and who came up with the idea of using stamps?
In the past, stamps and envelopes were not used. When people wanted to send a letter, they would close the paper with a seal（封印）. The person who got the letter had to pay for it. Because costs at that time were very high, most people refused to accept letters. In fact, the sender would often place secret marks on the outside of the letter. The person who was sent the letter would read the secret message. Then, they would refuse to accept the letter and did not have to pay for it.
In Britain, Sir Rowland Hill introduced the “Post Office Reforms” in 1837. He decided that letters could go to any place in the country for a penny even if the letter had to go far away. The cost was to be paid by the sender of the letter. Payment was recorded by placing a small piece of coloured paper on the letter, the stamp! On May 6,1840, the first stamp called the “Penny Black” was born. Because the stamp was printed in black, the stamp became known as the “Penny Black”. This is now the world’s most famous stamp. This new system spread fast.
1.The best title for this passage should be______
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A．The First Stamp. |
B．How Stamp Was First Made |
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C．Why the First Stamp Was Made |
D．When Was Stamp First Made |
2.Before stamps were used,______ would pay for the letter.
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A．the sender |
B．the receiver |
C．the government |
D．no one |
3.The first stamp was made______.
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A．more than 160 years ago |
B．more than two centuries ago |
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C．less than 100 years ago |
D．about 100 years ago |
4.Which of the following is true about the first stamp of China?
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A．It was made much earlier than the first stamp of the US |
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B．The stamp had a snake on it |
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C．The stamp couldn’t be found now |
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D．The stamp had a picture of a dragon on it |
完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，共30分）
A long time ago, there was an Emperor who told his horseman that if he could ride on his horse and cover as much land area as he liked, then Emperor would give him the area of land he had covered. Sure enough, the horseman__36__ jumped onto his horse and rode as fast as possible to cover as much land area as he could.He__37__ riding and riding, whipping the horse to go as fast as possible. When he was 38__ or tired, he did not stop 39__ he wanted to cover as much area as possible. He came to a 40__ when he had covered a great area and he was very tired and was 41__. Then he asked himself, “Why did I 42__ myself so hard to cover so much land area? Now I am dying and I only 43__ a very small area to bury myself.”
The above story is 44_ to the journey of our 45__. We push very hard every
day to make more _ 46__ to live a better life. We _ 47__ our health and time with our family to_ 48__ the surrounding beauty and the 49__ we love to do. One day 50__ we look back we will 51__ that we don’t really need that much, but then we cannot turn back time for what we have 52__.
Life is not about making money. Life is 53__ not about work! Work is only 54__ to keep us living so as to enjoy the beauty and 55__ of life.
36. A. quickly B. carefully C. simply D. finally
37. A. kept on B. asked for C. gave up D. succeeded in
38. A. sad B. excited C. tense D. hungry
39. A. but B. so C. because D. if
40. A. house B. point C. sea D. hospital
41. A. sleeping B. arguing C. dying D. smiling
42. A. push B. control C. punish D. prove
43. A. need B. destroy C. find D. show
44. A. useful B. precious C. similar D. special
45. A. future B. progress C. history D. life
46. A. friends B. products C. discoveries D. money
47. A. forget B. consider C. want D. doubt
48. A. describe B. admire C. protect D. appreciate
49. A. jobs B. things C. lessons D. sports
50. A. before B. when C. unless D. since
51. A. realize B. regret C. apologize D. explain
52. A. saved B. missed C. valued D. won
53. A. hardly B. probably C. absolutely D. extremely
54. A. practical B. attractive C. necessary D. particular
55. A. pleasures B. dreams C. stories D. secrets
You may lie ______ the ground is dry.
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A．which |
B．that |
C．where |
D．unless |
He recognized me _____ he saw me.
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A．the moment |
B．until |
C．after |
D．since |
The commander ordered that the wounded _____ to hospital at once.
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A．to be sent |
B．be sent |
C．send |
D．should send |
