Planning a visit to the UK? Here we help with ways to cut your costs.

AVOID BIG EVNENTS big sporting events, concerts and exhibitions can increase the cost of accommodation and make it harder to find a room. A standard double room at the Thistle Brighton on the final Friday of the Brighton Comedy Festival(19 Oct.) cost ￡118.15.

If you can be flexible and want to know dates to avoid—or you're looking for a big event to pass your time­check out sites such as Whatsonwhen.com, which allow you to search for events in the UK by city, date and category.

STAY AWAY FROM THE STATION If traveling to your destination by train, you may want to find a good base close to the station, but you could end up paying more for the sake of convenience at the start of your holiday.

Don't be too choosy about the part of town you stay in. Booking two months in advance, the cheapest room at Travelodge's Central Euston hotel in London for Saturday 22 September was ￡95.95. A room just a tube journey away at its covent Garden hotel was ￡75.75. And at Farringdon, a double room cost just ￡62.95.

LOOK AFTER YOURSELF Really central hotels in cities such as London, Edinburgh and Cardiff can cost a fortune, especially at weekends and during big events. As an alternative consider checking into a self­catering flat with its own kitchen. Often these flats are hidden away on the top floors of city centre buildings. A great example is the historic O'Neill Flat on Edinburgh's Royal Mile, available for ￡420 for five days in late September, with room for four adults.

GET ON A BIKE London's ‘Boris bikes’ have attracted the most attention, but other cities also have similar programmes that let you rent a bicycle and explore at your own pace, saving you on public transport or car parking costs.

Among the smaller cities with their own programmes are Newcastle (casual members pay around ￡1.50 for two hours) and Cardiff (free for up to 30 minutes, or ￡5 per day)．

56．The Brighton Comedy Festival is mentioned mainly to show big events may________．

A．help travelers pass time

B．attract lots of travelers to the UK

C．allow travelers to make flexible plans

D．cause travelers to pay more for accommodation

57．“Farringdon” in Paragraph 5 is most probably ________．

A．a hotel away from the train station

B．the tube line to Covent Garden

C．an ideal holiday desinationo

D．the name of a travel agency

58．The passage shows that the O'Neill Flat ________．

A．lies on the ground floor

B．is located in central London

C．provides cooking facilities for tourists

D．costs over ￡100 on average per day in late September

59．Cardiff's program allows a free bike for a maximum period of ________．

A．half an hour　　　　　　　 B．one hour

C．one hour and a half  D．tow  hours

60．The main purpose of the passage is ________．

A．to tell visitors how to book in advance

B．to supply visitors with hotel information

C．to show visitors the importance of self­help

D．to offer visitors some money­saving tips

I remember as a small child people would often ask me, "What are you going to be when you grow up?"
Well, it __36__ being a cowboy or some super hero. Later it was a fireman, a policeman, a lawyer... As I grew older my dreams for the future __37__. When, at last, I was in college, I set my __38__ on becoming a preacher (牧师) like my father. __39__ I studied and prepared for that life. I reached the __40__ in the end and I was preaching __41__ full-time for much of my adult life.
However, for many people, there is a "thief" that goes around stealing our __42__. Sometimes, the thief will come as a parent, a relative, or a friend, but the __43__ thief is usually ourselves.
We find __44__ just about reaching the top, and a "small" __45__ inside says, "You’ll never make __46__.""You can’t possibly do this." On and on the "small" voice __47__ our failure. Failure ,__48__ is one of the most important tools we have may teach us valuable (极宝贵的) __49__ . When we learn these lessons well, we are ready __50__ success.
I always tell my children that you __51__ do anything that your heart desires(渴望). Remember the saying, "Nothing is __52__ to a willing heart." There are __53__ "overnight" successes, but with determination, they will come. Imagine __54__ a life you dream of ，Then in your heart, believe it will happen to you. Then work, work, work. You’ll get the picture.
So, be true to your dream, and don’t let anyone __55__ it from you —especially yourself.

Computers are very important to modern life．Many people think that in the future computers will be used in lots of everyday life．It is thought that we won’t have to go shopping because we will be able to get most things which are sold in shops on the Internet．There will be no more books because we will be able to get all texts from computers．The Internet will be used to play games, see films and buy food．Most telephone calls will be made by computers, too．

Some people are glad about those new ways of shopping and communicating．Others do not think that computers will replace our old ways．

Some people think that one day we will not read books made of paper．Instead, we will buy and read books using computers, which will keep many different books in them at the same time．We won’t need to turn lots of pages and paper will be saved．Computerized books will be used more and more．

While many people say it is a pleasure to go into shops and look at things you want to buy．It is also unlikely that many people will want to read large texts on our computers．Because paper books will perhaps be more friendly．Maybe computers won’t change these two habits．

1．Which is the main idea of this passage?

       A．People like going shopping                    B．Reading books is important

       C．Computers are important                      D．Computer can be used to play games

2．There will be no more books because________．

       A．There is no paper in the future．         B．People don’t like reading books．

       C．They are very expensive．                   D．We can read passages from computers．

3．Which of the following is TRUE?

       A．We can see films by computers．      

       B．People all like to go shopping by computers．

       C．We can’t buy anything using computers．

       D．All the people like reading books from computers．

4．Which of the following is mentioned in the passage?

       A．Computers can help us e-mail our friends．   

       B．We can chat by using computers．

       C．Computers can help us make telephone calls．

       D．We can listen to the music by computers．

We’ve considered several ways of paying to cut in line: hiring line standers, buying tickets from scalpers (票贩子), or purchasing line-cutting privileges directly from, say, an airline or an amusement park. Each of these deals replaces the morals of the queue (waiting your turn) with the morals of the market (paying a price for faster service).

Markets and queues—paying and waiting—are two different ways of allocating things, and each is appropriate to different activities. The morals of the queue, “ First come, first served,冶 have an egalitarian (平等主义的）appeal. They tell us to ignore privilege, power, and deep pockets.

The principle seems right on playgrounds and at bus stops. But the morals of the queue do not govern all occasions. If I put my house up for sale, I have no duty to accept the first offer that comes along, simply because it’s the first. Selling my house and waiting for a bus are different activities, properly governed by different standards.

Sometimes standards change, and it is unclear which principle should apply. Think of the recorded message you hear, played over and over, as you wait on hold when calling your bank: “Your call will be answered in the order in which it was received•” This is essential for the morals of the queue. It’s as if the company is trying to ease our impatience with fairness.

But don’t take the recorded message too seriously. Today, some people’s calls are answered faster than others. Call center technology enables companies to “score” incoming calls and to give faster service to those that come from rich places. You might call this telephonic queue jumping.

Of course, markets and queues are not the only ways of allocating things. Some goods we distribute by merit, others by need, still others by chance. However, the tendency of markets to replace queues, and other non-market ways of allocating goods is so common in modern life that we scarcely notice it anymore. It is striking that most of the paid queue-jumping schemes we，ve considered—at airports and amusement parks, in call centers, doctors’ offices, and national parks—are recent developments, scarcely imaginable three decades ago. The disappearance of the queues in these places may seem an unusual concern, but these are not the only places that markets have entered.

58. According to the author, which of the following seems governed by the principle “First come, first served”?

A. Taking buses.                                    B. Buying houses.

C. Flying with an airline.                         D. Visiting amusement parks.

59. The example of the recorded message in Paragraphs 4 and 5 illustrates ______.

A. the necessity of patience in queuing

B. the advantage of modern technology

C. the uncertainty of allocation principle

D. the fairness of telephonic services

60. The passage is meant to ______.

A. justify paying for faster services         B. discuss the morals of allocating things

C. analyze the reason for standing in line       D. criticize the behavior of queue jumping

Steve Jobs on life and death
When I was 17, I read a quote （引述） that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, some day you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an   1  on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every   2  and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?”  And whenever the    3  has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to   4  something.
Remembering that I’ll be   5  soon is the most important tool I’ve ever used to help me make the big   6  in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all   7  of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is   8  important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to   9 . You are already naked. There is no reason not to   10  your heart.
Your time is limited, so don’t   11  it living someone else’s life. Don’t be   12  by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the   13  to follow your beliefs and goals. They somehow already know what you really want to   14 . Everything else is   15 .