Big Ben, the landmark of London, a clock famous for its accuracy and chimes(和谐的钟声), stopped working for 90 minutes, an engineer said Saturday.
People do not know why the 147-year-old clock on the banks of the River Thames stopped at 10:07 p.m. Friday. It continued keeping time, but stopped again at 10:20 p.m. and remained silent for about 90 minutes before starting up again, a spokeswoman for the House of Commons said.
There has been speculation(推测) that a recent period of hot weather may have been to blame(责备). Temperatures in London reached 90 ℉on Saturday, and forecasters called it England’s hottest day in May since 1953.
The clock has experienced occasional problems. In 1962, snow caused the clock to stop before the New Year. In 1976, the clock stopped when a piece of its machinery broke. Big Ben also stopped on April 30, 1997, and once more three weeks later.
1.How many times has Big Ben stopped up to now?
A. Three B. Five C. Six D. Eight
2.The probable reason for Big Ben stopping working this time is ________.
A. high temperature B. low temperature
C. broken machine D. heavy snow
3.The passage mainly talks about ________.
A. Big Ben’s history
B. the solution to Big Ben’s problem.
C. the landmark of London
D. Big Ben’s silence
Soon it would be the holidays, but before that, there were final . All the kids had been working hard for some time, review their . If they didn’t pass the exams, they would have to them in September. There were usually a few who , but Jane didn’t want to be one of them. She had worked hard all year. She worked so hard that her mother her. Jane went bed late. The night before the big day, her mother that she should have an early night and take a sleeping pill. She promised to her up in the mornin
g.
Jane was too to fall asleep. Her mind kept jumping from subject to subject. At last, the did work. In no time she was sitting in the examination hall, looking at the paper, but she couldn’t answer of the questions. Everyone her was writing pages and pages. she thought hard, she couldn’t find anything to write about. From time to time, she looked at her . Time was running . There was only an hour . She started one question, wrote two sentences, and tried another. With only an hour left, she wrote two sentences. By this time she was so worried that she started . Her whole body shook. It shook so much that she woke up. She was still in bed and it had all been a terrible . A minute later, called her name.
1.A. harvestsB. examsC. reportsD. papers
2. A. exercisesB. jobsC. books D. lessons
3.A. take B. write C. attend D. do
4.A. cheated B. succeeded C. passedD. failed
5. A. cared about B. felt proud of C. worried about D. thought highly of
6.A. advised B. agreed C. promised D. allowed
7.A. ring B. wake C. put D. pick
8. A. sad B. tired C. happyD. nervous
9. A. dreamB. pill C. suggestion D. music
10.A. all B. none C. any D. some
11.A. ahead ofB. behindC. in front of D. around
12.A. Unless B. However C. Though D. As
13.A. watch B. paper C. teacher D. book
14.A. up B. down C. out D. over
15.A. runB. left C. remainingD. go
16.A. gave out B. gave up C. put off D. put out
17.A. anotherB. more C. otherD. the other
18.A. thinkingB. dreamingC. crying D. writing
19.A. examB. dream C. story D. night
20.A. her mother B. her teacher C. a classmateD. a friend
If you listen to English programs every day, I’m sure you’ll _______ make progress in English.
A. frequently B. eventually
C. fluently D. hardly
All the factories _______ great importance to the car exhibition.
A. attached B. afforded
C. earned D. brought
The policeman _______ that the drunk driver get out of his car.
A. said B. commanded
C. connected D. thought
The criminals ______ in a hotel the other day were connected with a murder(谋杀).
A. arrested B. to be arrested
C. being arrested D. arresting
