For thousands of years, the most important two buildings in any British village have been the church and the pub. Traditionally, the church and the pub are at the heart of any village or town, where the people gather together to socialize and exchange news.

As a result, British pubs are often old and well preserved. Many of them have become historic sites. The most famous example is the pub in the city of Nottingham called “The Old Trip to Jerusalem”, which dates back to the year 1189 AD and is probably the oldest pub in England.

However, British pubs are not just for kings and queens; they welcome people from all classes and parts of society. On a cold night, the pub’s landlord or landlady can always find a warm place for you by the fire. There is always honest and hearty food and plenty of drink available at an affordable price.

That’s how things used to be. Things are beginning to change. It is said that the credit crunch(信貸緊縮) is causing 39 British pubs a week to go out of business. People do not have enough spare money to spend on beer. Recently, the UK government banned smoking in all pubs, and that may also have affected the number of customers going to pubs.

This decline is happening despite the fact that in 2005 the UK government started to allow pubs to stay open after 1l pm. Previously, with 1l pm as closing time, customers would have to drink quite quickly, meaning they sometimes got more drunk than they would if allowed to drink slowly. The British habit of drinking a lot very quickly is known as “binge drinking”, and it causes long-term health problems for people and problems with violent crime for communities.

In order to save their businesses, pubs are trying to change with the market. British pubs now offer something for everyone. A lot of pubs used to be “Working Men's Clubs”, meaning that women could not usually enter. Today, however, women can freely enter 99% of pubs without experiencing any problems. Perhaps things are changing for the better after all.

1.The passage mainly tells us something about ______.

A．the past and present of British pubs

B．the decline of British pubs

C．the long history of British pubs

D．the importance of British pubs

2.Which may not be the cause of the decline of British pubs?

A．The credit crunch.

B．The present closing time.

C．The ban of smoking.

D．Having no spare money.

3.We can infer from the passage that ______.

A．British people used to like drinking slowly

B．closing the pubs early will reduce social problems

C．binge drinking means drinking less beer

D．British government aims to discourage people from binge drinking

4.We can see from the last paragraph that the author _______.

A．is against the admission of too many women to the pubs

B．holds an optimistic attitude towards the British pubs

C．thinks that women in the pubs will cause less social problems

D．thinks that British pubs should offer everything you need

 

This is time of year when we think about giving and receiving presents. Can you find a little extra to give? On this page we suggest a few organizations you might like to help.
Littleton Children’s Home
We don’t want your money, but children’s toys, books and clothes in good condition would be very welcome.
Also—we are looking for friendly families who would take our children into their homes for a few hours or days as guests. You have so much—will you share it?
Phone Sister Thomas on 55671.
Children’s Hospice
We look after a small number of very sick children. This important work needs skill and love. We cannot continue without gifts of money to pay for more nursing staff. We also need story books and toys suitable for quiet games.
Please contact The Secretary, Little Children’s Hospice, Newby Road.w.^w.k.s.5*u.c.#o@m
Street Food
In the winter weather, it’s no fun being homeless. It’s even worse if you’re hungry. We give hot food to at least fifty people every night. It’s hard work, but necessary. Can you come and help? If not, can you find a little money? We use a very old kitchen, and we urgently need some new saucepans. Money for new ones would be most welcome indeed.
Contact Street Food, c/o Mary’s House, Elming Way, Littleton. Phone 27713.
Littleton Youth Club
Have you got an unwanted chair?—a record player?—a pot of paint?
Because we can use them!
We want to get to work on our meeting room!
Please phone 66231 and we’ll be happy to collect anything you can give us.
Thank you!
The Night Shelter
We offer a warm bed for the night to anyone who has nowhere to go. We rent the former Commercial Hotel on Green Street. Although it is not expensive, we never seem to have quite enough money. Can you let us have a few pounds? Any amount, however small, will be such a help.
Send it to us at 15, Green St, Littleton. Please make check payable to Night Shelter.
【小題1】Reading the passage, you might like to help these organizations which work for     

A．homeless and sick children

B．less fortunate members of our society

C．hungry people who have no beds to sleep in

D．friendly members of our society to help others

【小題2】If you like children and can offer a happy family to a homeless child, you may go to     .

A．Street Food

B．Night Shelter

C．Children’s Home

D．Children’s Hospice

【小題3】We can infer that      .

A．there are too many social problems in this country

B．people are very poor during the time for giving presents

C．warm-hearted people like to give away money

D．this passage is taken from a local newspaper

【小題4】If your child has grown up, you may take the child’s things to       .         

A．Children’s Home and Children’s Hospice	B．Youth Club and Children’s Home
C．Children’s Hospice and Night Shelter	D．Youth Club and Night Shelter

It was a winter afternoon. Some friends and I were eating at a restaurant and talking. We talked and talked and soon       became the topic. Suddenly I hit upon an idea. “Wouldn’t it be fun to go       ? Others go in winter, but why couldn’t we?      , we could be healthier if we did. ” I told them about this, and they all said it was a good idea      . Early the next morning, we four were standing at the bus stop, with bags in our hands,       for a bus to take us to the       . The sky was clear; the sun was shining. But it was very cold all the same.       our heavy overcoats were not enough to keep us warm. We all felt we should go back, but no one wanted to speak out.

We soon reached the sands. There was       there, but we were not discouraged. Instead we were       that we were the only ones that dared to challenge the weather.       we changed our clothes quickly. But things were not going so       . The freezing sea wind was blowing. We felt very cold and trembled all over. At       we made up our minds to go into the water. We put our feet in first       to take them back very quickly. The water was unbelievably cold. Then I suggested we all jump in       . We all went back ten steps. I gave the       , and we all rushed forward and jumped in. I shall never forget the moment I was in the water. I was up       and rushed again to the shore.       it was with my friends. We put on our clothes as quickly as possible.

On the way back home, we talked about this unforgettable       . The four of us did not       school for the following three days. We all suffered a lot       a very bad cold. But we thought it was all worth it.

1.A. film         B. music          C. sports        D. play

2.A. swimming    B. skating         C. skiing         D. camping

3.A. Specially     B. Besides         C. Really        D. Clearly

4.A. indeed       B. fully           C. certainly      D. truly

5.A. looking      B. searching       C. waiting       D. asking

6.A. river        B. lake            C. pool         D. sands

7.A. Even        B. Yet             C. But         D. Just

8.A. somebody    B. nobody         C. everybody    D. anybody

9.A. excited      B. happy           C. proud       D. lonely

10.A. So          B. But             C. Still        D. Yet

11.A. wrong       B. right            C. bad         D. smooth

12.A. first         B. all              C. last         D. once

13.A. just         B. then             C. only        D. but

14.A. one by one   B. one after another   C. separately    D. at the same time

15.A. message     B. order            C. mark        D. information

16.A. slowly      B. nervously         C. late         D. immediately

17.A. Nor        B. And             C. So          D. Or

18.A. idea        B. experiment       C. chance       D. experience

19.A. attend       B. reach           C. enter         D. go

20.A. by         B. with            C. from          D. of

 

It was a cold December, and Mrs. Bell wanted to do a lot of shopping. She waited until it was Saturday, when her husband was free, and she took him to the shops with her to pay for everything and to carry for her what she had bought. They went to a lot of shops, and Mrs. Bell bought everything she could think of.

She often stopped and said, “Look, Peter! Isn’t that beautiful?”

“All right, my dear. How much is it?” answered Mr. Bell, and then he took money out to buy it for her.

It was almost dark when they came out of the last shop, and Mr. Bell was tired. He was thinking about a nice drink by the side of a warm fire home. Suddenly his wife looked up at the sky and said, “Look at that beautiful moon, Peter!”

Without stopping, Mr. Bell answered at once. “All right, dear. How much is it?” Then he took his wallet out of his pocket.

1.Mrs. Bell did shopping ________.

A．a(chǎn)lone                                B．together with her husband

C．every day                             D．in the morning

2.Mrs. Bell took her husband to the shops because ________.

A．he liked beautiful things                  B．he liked to do shopping too.

C．she wanted him to pay money              D．he was always free

3.Mrs. Bell bought ________ in the shops.

A．nothing                               B．a(chǎn) drink

C．the most beautiful thing                  D．a(chǎn) number of things

4.Mr. Bell _______ shopping.

A．was addicted to                         B．was thinking about

C．was tired of                            D．was very interested in

5.According to the last paragraph, we know Mr. Bell _______.

A．wanted to buy the moon

B．did not really know what his wife was saying

C．was a millionaire

D．did not like the idea of buying the moon

 

It was unusually quiet in the emergency room on December 25.

I was nurse on duty that day. I didn’t think there would be any patients, sighing about having to work on Christmas. Just then five bodies showed up at my desk, a pale woman and four small children.

“Are you all sick?” I asked suspiciously.

“Yes,” she said weakly and lowered her head.

But when it came to descriptions of their presenting problems, things got a little vague. Two of the children had headaches, but the headaches weren’t accompanied by the normal body language of holding the head or trying to keep it still. Two children had earaches, but only one could tell me which ear was affected. The mother complained of a cough but seemed to work to produce it.

Something was wrong, but I didn’t say anything but explained that it might be a little while before a doctor saw her. She responded, “Take your time; it’s warm here.”

On a hunch (出于直覺), I checked the chart after the admitting clerk had finished registering the family. No address---they were homeless. The waiting room was warm.

I looked out at the family huddled by the Christmas tree. The little one was pointing at the television and exclaiming something to her mother. The oldest one was looking at an ornament on the Christmas tree.

I went back to the nurses’ station and mentioned we had a homeless family in the waiting room. The nurses, grumbling about working Christmas, turned to compassion for a family just trying to get warm on Christmas. The team went into action, much as we do when there’s a medical emergency. But this one was a Christmas emergency.

We were all offered a free meal in the hospital cafeteria on Christmas Day, so we claimed that meal and prepared a banquet for our Christmas guests. We needed presents. We put together oranges and apples in a basket. We collected from different departments candies, crayons and other things available that could be presents. As seriously as we met the physical needs of the patients that came to us that day, our team worked to meet the needs, and exceed the expectations, of a family who just wanted to be warm on Christmas Day.

Later, as the family walked to the door to leave, the four year old came running back, gave me a hug and whispered, “Thanks for being our angels today.”

1.Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?

A．Working Christmas Day                   B．Christmas Day is Coming

C．A Happy Family                         D．A Pale Woman and Four Small Children

2.What kind of person do you think the author is?

A．Hardworking and outgoing                B．Serious and careful

C．Hardworking and warmhearted             D．Serious and stubborn

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Something was wrong with one of the children’s heads.

B．The pale woman forgot to write the address.

C．The author did not understand the truth.

D．The children’s mother told a lie.

4.It can be inferred from the text that______.

A．The author didn’t think there would be any patients on Christmas Day

B．The woman was uncomfortable when she lowered her head

C．The family appeared in the emergency room on Christmas Eve

D．The woman and four small children were satisfied and grateful