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?
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A．Life style and occupation. |
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B．Attitude and income. |
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C．Income and job security. |
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D．Job security and hobbies. |
2. The writer seems to suggest that _______.
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A．the description of middle-class ways of spending money is quite real |
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B．working-class ways of spending the weekend remain the same |
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C．working-class drinking habits differ from the past |
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D．middle-class attitudes towards their positions have changed greatly |
3. According to the passage, what was the typical feature of the middle–class in the past?
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A．They had to save money for security. |
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B．They couldn’t make long-term plans. |
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C．They could make as much money as they do now. |
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D．They didn’t have the sense of inferiority. |
4. Working-class people's sense of security has increased as a result of all the following factors EXCEPT that _______.
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A．they are provided with social security |
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B．they can get much income |
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C．better jobs are available for all of them |
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D．the government offers legal protection |
5.Which of the following statements is incorrect?
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A．Changes are slowly taking place in all aspects of the British society. |
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B．The difference between working-class and middle-class young people is narrowing. |
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C．The gap in income between the two classes will still remain. |
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D．Middle-class people may sometimes feel a little inferior. |
We all, at one time or another, have pretended to be a rock star, singing and dancing along to our favorite song. Most of us have done this in the privacy of our own room when we were kids and as adults, in the privacy of our homes. Me? I love to do that when I drive! I turn on the radio, find a song that I can sing along too and pretty soon my arms are in the air and I am moving along to the rhythm. Most of the time, I do this on my way to work.
Yes, that is true. I will be in my nice work clothes, jamming while driving or stopped at a traffic light. I get weird looks from some people and others laugh. Personally, I love to get lost in the rhythm of a song which leads me to share with you the importance of being silly!
The definition for the word silly, according to the dictionary is: stupid, foolish and nonsensical. I know many people do not want to look foolish. So they walk around all serious, which in all honesty, is foolish!
No one is perfect, I repeat: no one is perfect. I don’t care how educated, how thin, how beautiful, how simple, how frugal, how rich, and so on… No one is perfect! So why pretend to be something you are not?
Life is so short… You never know when this beautiful journey will be over, so why waste a single second on being so full of rigidity(呆板)? Here is a quote by Souza, that I think says it all and is a great recipe for life:
"Dance as though no one is watching you,
Love as though you have never been hurt before,
Sing as though no one can hear you,
Live as though heaven is on earth."
When we were kids, we had no idea of what limitations were and we had no care in the world so we could do things without worrying about how we appeared to others. However, as we grew up, we lost that childlike innocence.
So don’t lose the child that still lives within you. The next time you feel down, go turn on your favorite song, and sing and dance along like there is no tomorrow. Or watch something that makes you laugh. Laughter is the best medicine to whatever ails you and nothing is better than laughing so hard that your tummy hurts. Trust me, you will feel a whole lot better, and who doesn’t want to feel good?
1. According to the passage, what does the writer usually do?
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A．He pretends to be a rock star. |
B．He dances in his own home. |
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C．He sings songs while going to work. |
D．He gets jammed on his way to work. |
2.What do other people think of the writer?
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A．They think that the writer is strange. |
B．They look down upon the writer. |
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C．They believe that the writer is lonely. |
D．No one is interested in the writer. |
3. What is the writer’s opinion about the people who look very serious?
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A．They are honest. |
B．They are silly. |
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C．They are perfect. |
D．They are educated. |
4. The writer quotes Souza to show that _______.
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A．life is a beautiful journey |
B．life is full of rigidity |
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C．life is like a great recipe |
D．life is to be treasured |
5.The underlined part “the child” in the last paragraph probably refers to _______.
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A．the writer |
B．any child |
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C．the feeling of being a child |
D．the time of being a child |
With eco-tourism on the rise, eco-hotels are fast becoming the darling of the travel industry. These days, however, staying at an eco-hotel doesn’t necessarily mean vacationing in a tree house in the Costa Rican jungle, although that is certainly a choice.
The majority of eco-hotels fall into one of several categories: hotels and resorts that conserve ecologically important habitats; “green” hotels that reduce, recycle, minimize waste, and protect water; sustainable hotels that harvest food from gardens on the hotel property or get part or all of their power from renewable energy; hotels that encourage community involvement such as guests taking part in trail clearing; and hotels that offer some form of environmental education to their guests.
As such, eco-hotels are a various group. Stylish urban hotels like the Willard Inter-Continental Washington focus on energy conservation whereas the Rosario Resort & Spa on Orcas Island in Washington State offers a wildly popular “green” vacation package where guests can “take a hike, clear a trail”.
No matter what you call them, eco-hotel, eco-lodge, eco-resort, or green hotel, they’re all part of the “greening” of the tourism industry.
Part of what drives this greening of the hotel industry is no doubt competition. Going green is yet another way to distinguish a hotel from the mass of other excellent hotels that consumers have to choose from. But for many hotels, it’s also part of their philosophy. With the concept of “going green” firmly rooted in consumers’ minds, eco-hotels have taken it to the next level, and whether or not money is the driving factor behind the greening of the hotel industry doesn’t matter so much as it’s good for the planet.
1.The underlined part in the first paragraph means _______.
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A．lovers like staying at an eco-hotel when traveling |
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B．eco-hotels are very popular in the travel industry |
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C．eco-hotels are where young people love to live |
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D．romantic love stories often happen in eco-hotels |
2. According to the passage, which of the following can match the idea of eco-hotel?
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A．It uses renewable energy. |
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B．It is comfortable and fashionable. |
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C．It has walls of glass. |
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D．It is home to endangered species. |
3. From the passage, we know the Rosario Resort & Spa is a kind of hotel that _______.
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A．protects important habitats |
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B．harvests food from its own garden |
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C．has courses on the environment for its guests |
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D．encourages its guests to participate in its greening activities |
4. From the last paragraph, we can learn that _______.
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A．money is the driving force behind eco-hotels |
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B．eco-hotels have no advantages in competing for guests |
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C．eco-hotels teach their guests the philosophy of eco-hotels |
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D．the hotel industry cares more about money than the environment |
5. People who choose to stay at eco-hotels _______.
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A．love to take a hike |
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B．have environmental awareness |
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C．want to live comfortably |
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D．enjoy the green atmosphere |
完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，从16-35各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项并在答题卡上将其涂黑。
I had always loved music and dreamed of being a musician, travelling to different countries, meeting lots of people and doing something I loved to earn my money. 16 , my parents had a farm and I didn’t want to do that—I wanted to do something 17 . However, I had always been shy and too nervous to try playing 18 in public.
I had been playing the 19 since I was ten years old, but the idea of playing in front of other people was very 20 .
I started one day, 21 a local youth club advertised a talent show—anybody who could play an instrument or sing could put his name down to be in concert. I 22 myself up.
When the day of the show came, I was so 23 that I couldn’t eat. 24 was the first time I had played in front of other people and I felt 25 unsure of myself. I had no idea whether I was 26 good and was worried that no one would like me.
When my turn came, I played my favorite tune and I even started to 27 ! I could not hear what I sounded like, but to my surprise, I eventually forgot about all the people in the audience and started to enjoy myself. When the song ended, everyone clapped and some people
28 !
After the show a man 29 up to me to say how much he enjoyed my 30 . He said that he had a rock band, and they needed to 31 a guitar player. He asked me to come along the next day to have a try. This successful trial turned my dream into 32 . In the following days, we 33 around a lot, playing in concerts in lots of places around the world. Sometimes we would enter competitions and once we went on TV.
We really enjoyed ourselves and life was like a big long holiday. As we became more successful, we had to work harder and practice more and eventually I became 34 of travelling so much. But now, nearly fifty years later, I look back on those carefree days of my
35 as among the best moments of my life.
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--- You look happy today. Is there anything good?
--- I’m very delighted ______ as one of the exchange students.
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A．to choose |
B．to have been chosen |
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C．choosing |
D．having been chosen |
This football player was accused of taking money for not scoring goals ______.
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A．by chance |
B．on end |
C．in turn |
D．on purpose |
