Big Ben is not the name of a man. It is the name of a huge clock in London.London is the capital of the
UK. This clock has four faces,so no matter (无论) where you stand,you can read the time on the face of
Big Ben. Each face is the size of a double-decker (双层的) bus. The hands are about four metres long. It is
about the size of two people standing on top of each other. If you go to London, you may want to visit the
House of Parliament (国会大厦). That is where you will find Big Ben sitting at the top of the clock tower
(塔) in the House of Parliament. You will hear it as well as see it. The big clock makes such a loud sound,
"Ding Dong, Ding Dong," when it goes every quarter (四分之一) of an hour. The clock was named after
a big man. He was Sir Benjamin Hill. He did much building work in London many years ago.

1. Big Ben is ______.

A. a double-decker bus
B. a huge clock
C. the name of Ben
D. a building

2. The clock strikes (敲响) every ______ of an hour.

A. ten minutes
B. fifteen minutes
C. thirty minutes
D. forty-five minutes

3. Which of the two words mean the same as "large"?

A. double
B. loud
C. huge
D. small

4. You can read the time of Big Ben ______.

A. at the top of the tower
B. in the House of Parliament
C. on the hands of the huge clock
D. on the four faces of the clock

5.The title (标题) of the passage may be ______.

A. Big Ben
B. A clock
C. Sir Benjamin Hill
D. The Capital of the UK

    Big Ben is not the name of a man. It is the name of a big clock in London. London is the capital of England.
This clock has four faces. So, no matter (无论) where you stand, you can read the time on the face of Big Ben.
Each face is the size of a bus. The hands are about four meters long. It is about the size of two people standing
on top of each other. If you go to London, you may want to visit the Houses of Parliament (国会大厦). In that
place you will find Big Ben sits at the top of the clock tower in the Houses of Parliament. You will probably hear
it and see it. The big clock makes such a loud noise. 'Ding dong, ding dong.' It goes every quarter (四分之一)
of an hour. The name of Big Ben comes from a big builder.

1. Big Ben is _______.

A. a bus
B. a clock
C. the name of Ben
D. a house

2. Big Ben is in ________.

A. China
B. the USA
C. Japan
D. the UK

3. The clock strikes (敲) every _______ minutes of an hour.

A. ten
B. fifteen
C. thirty
D. forty-five

4. You can read the time of Big Ben _______.

A. at the top of the clock tower
B. in the Houses of Parliament
C. on the hands of the huge clock
D. on the four faces of the clock

5. The underlined (划线部分) word "hands" means _______ in Chinese.

A. 手
B. 标志
C. 指针
D. 发条

     Before you go to another country it is a great help if you know the language and some of the customs
(风俗) of the country.
     When people meet each other for the first time in Britain, they say "How do you do?" and shake hands
(握手). Usually they do not shake hands when they just meet or say goodbye. But they shake hands when
they haven't met for a long time or when they will be away form each other for a long time.
     Last year a group of German students went to England for a holiday. Their teacher told them that the
English people hardly ever shake hands. So when they met their English friends at the station, they kept
their hands behind their backs. The English students had learned that the Germans shake hands as often
as possible, so they put their hands in front and got ready to shake hands with them. It made both of them
laugh.

1. It is _____ if you know the language and some of the customs of a country before you pay a visit to that
    country.

A. not useful
B. not helpful
C. very helpful
D. very bad

2. English people usually shake hands when they _____.

A. meet every time
B. meet for the first time
C. say goodbye to each other
D. say hello to each other

3. Usually, English people don't shake hands _____.

A. when they will be away for a long time
B. when they say "How do you do?"
C. when they just meet or say goodbye
D. when they haven't met for a long time

4. Which is right?

A. German people shake hands as often as possible.
B. English people like shaking hands very much.
C. German people hardly ever shake hands.
D. Both English people and Germans don't like shaking hands.

5. This story is about _____.

A. shaking hands
B. languages
C. customs
D. languages and customs

     Why does the Leading Tower of Piza (比萨斜塔) in Italy lean (倾斜)? It leans because of a mistake.
It has leaned almost since the day the tower was built.
     In 1174, the people of Piza, Italy wanted to build a bell tower. They wanted the tower to be the most
beautiful bell tower in all of Italy. The city also needed a bell tower because the church did not have one.
     As soon as the first floor of the building was finished, the tower started to lean. Builders tried to make
the building straight again as they added more floors, but the Leaning Tower only got worse as the tower
grew.
     It took almost 180 years to finish the tower. It is 54.5 metres tall, and it leans almost 4 metres to one
side. The tower is also sinking into the ground on which it was built. Every year, the tower leans another
1.5 centimetres.
     Like all old buildings, it is also falling apart. If someone cannot figure out (想出) a way to save the
tower, the Leaning Tower of Piza will fall down after 175 more years.

1. The Leaning Tower of Piza is in _____.

A. America
B. Canada
C. England
D. Italy

2. People built the Leaning Tower of Piza in _____.

A. 1175
B. 1165
C. 1174
D. 1800

3. The Leaning Tower of Piza is _____ metres tall, and it leans almost _____ metres to one side.

A. 180; 54.5
B. 175; 4
C. 54.5; 4
D. 180; 4

4. People finished the Leaning Tower of Piza nearly in _____.

A. 1174
B. 1245
C. 1340
D. 1354

5. Which of the following is not true?

A. The Leaning Tower of Piza leans less than 0.5 centimetres every year.
B. The Leaning Tower of Piza is a bell tower.
C. It took almost 180 years to finish the Leaning Tower of Piza.
D. The Leaning Tower of Piza maybe falls down after 175 more years.

     You will find traffic noise disappearing as soon as you arrive in Venice. So as you walk down the narrow
streets, you only have to avoid crowds of people. About 19 million travelers visit Venice for the enjoyable
environment, art and food each year.
     Seeing Venice on foot is the best. You can walk through the city in about an hour. Look around St. Mark's
Basilica and the Doge's Palace. But you should know walking along the streets isn't as easy as traveling on the
city's canals (运河). The canals are Venice's "streets". And you can enjoy the Grand Canal, the Rialto Bridge and
many wooden buildings.
     Venice is fantastic. You shouldn't miss it in your life. No matter how long you're in Venice, it will leave a
pleasant feeling on you.
1. What will you find disappearing as soon as you arrive in Venice?
    ____________________________________________________________
2. What are millions of visitors came to Venice for?
    ____________________________________________________________
3. What are Venice's "street"?
    ____________________________________________________________
4. Which is the best way to do sightseeing in Venice according to the writer?
    ____________________________________________________________
5. How will the visitors feel in Venice according to the writer?
    ____________________________________________________________

      The word "Hello" may be used more often than any other word in the English language. Everyone in the USA
— and other countries — uses this word.
      Thomas Edison is believed to be the first person to use "hello" on the telephone soon after the world's first
telephone was invented.
      At first people began their words on the telephone with "Are you there?" They were not sure if a telephone
could really carry voices.
      Edison was a man with few words. He wanted to save time. The first time he picked up the phone, he was
very busy. He trusted (信任) the telephone as he invented it himself. He was sure someone was there and only
said "hello".
      From then on, "hello" is often heard when you pick up the telephone.

1. "Hello" may be used ________.

A. only in the USA
B. only in England
C. in many countries
D. in English-speaking countries except the USA

2. From the passage we can learn that Edison ________.

A. didn't like the word "hello"
B. didn't know the word "hello"
C. had nothing to do with the word "hello"
D. might be the first one to use "hello" on the telephone

3. At first people said "Are you there?" because _________.

A. they didn't trust the telephone
B. they didn't know each other
C. they couldn't see each other
D. they wanted to ask each other questions

4. Edison was a man of few words. It means ________.

A. he knew few words
B. He could say few words
C. He didn't like to talk much
D. He had few friends

5. Edison was sure someone was there because ________.

A. he could see the person
B. he knew the person
C. he invented the telephone and trusted it
D. he had just met the person

     Almost all people like flowers. Some people like flowers because of their smells, shapes, colors and so on.
1._______ Flowers have their own language. For example, red roses mean "love" and sunflowers mean "loyalty
(忠诚)". So people in more than 100 countries have chosen their own national flowers which say something
about their countries' spirit (精神). In 1994, China talked about choosing a national flower. 2._______ They
couldn't agree with each other. So it has not been decided yet.
     People like to buy different flowers in different seasons. Where do all the beautiful flowers in shops come
from? They may come from far away, so their price is higher.
     a. Farmers grow flowers in their fields.
     b. Planes or trains or buses take the flowers to different places.
     c. Flower shopkeepers buy flowers from the flower markets. They look at the flowers and throw away the
broken or bad ones. They cut the flowers to make them more beautiful.
     d. You go to buy the flowers in the shops. 3.________: the farmer, the driver of the plane or train or bus, the
seller in the flower market and the flower shopkeeper.
     So you'd better keep your flowers from far away for a long time. But how? Why not dry them? It's easy!
Sand drying is a way. Dry, clean sand is one of the oldest things for drying flowers. And it's one of the
cheapest.
     ·Fill a box half-way with sand.
     ·Put the flowers on top of the sand.
     ·Put the box in a warm, dry place.
     4._________
     ··Take them out and they will be dry.
     A. Some people liked the peony (牡丹花) but others liked the plum blossom (梅花).
     B. Leave the flowers there for one to three weeks.
     C. When you buy a flower, you're paying lots of people
     D. Others like flowers because they think different flowers mean different things

5. The Chinese national flower has not been decided because _______.

A. China hasn't talked about choosing one
B. No flower can show China's spirit
C. Nobody agrees to choose the national flower
D. People can't agree to choose the same flower

     Do you live in a city? Do you know how cities began? Long long ago, the world had only a few thousand
people. These people moved from one place to another. They moved over the land, hunting animals for food.
     No one knows how or when these people learned about growing food. But when they did, their life changed.
They did not have to look for food any longer. They could stay in one place and grow it.
     People began to live near one another, so the first village was established (建立). Many people came to live in
the villages, and these villages became even larger.
     When machines appeared, life in the villages changed again. People built factories. More and more people
lived near the factories. The cities began.
     Today, it's strange that some people are moving back to small villages. Can you tell me why?
(     ) 1. People moved from place to place to hunt animals.
(     ) 2. The story says, "No one knows how or when these people learned about growing food. But when they
            did, their life changed." In this sentence, the word "they" means people.
(     ) 3. When machines appeared, life in the cities changed again.
(     ) 4. All people like to live only in big cities.
(     ) 5. People built factories after the cities grew big.