10. What do we learn about pop music in Britain and the US through this passage?

　 　 A. Pop music in Britain is better than that in the US.

　　 B. Pop music in Britain is as good as that in the US.

　　 C. Pop music in Britain is worse than that in the US.

　　 D. Pop music in Britain is quite different from that in the US.

9. What do tourists complain most?

　　　　 A. Poor service.　　 B. Poor public transport.　　 C. Rain.　　 D. Overpriced hotels.

8. It can be concluded from this passage that 　　　.

　 　 A. parents don’t know how to educate their children.

　 　 B. Tan did not use personal experience in her writing.

　　 C. Tan made the right decision when she closed her business.

　　 D. Tan thinks and lives more in an American way than in a Chinese way.

C

BRITAIN is a popular tourist place. But tours of the country have pros and cons.

Good news

Free museums. No charge for outstanding collections of art and antiquities. Pop music. Britain is the only country to rival (与……比敌) the US on this score.

Black cabs. London taxi drivers know where they are going even if there are never enough of them at weekends or night.

Choice of food. Visitors can find everything from Ethiopian to Swedish restaurants.

Fashion. Not only do fashion followers love deeply and respect highly brand names such as Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen; street styles are justly loved, too.

Bad news

　 Poor service. “It’s part of the image of the place. People can dine out on the rudeness they have experienced,” says Professor Tony Seaton, of Luton University’s International Tourism Research Center.

　 Poor public transport. Trains and buses are promised to defeat the keenest tourists, although the over-crowded London tube is unbelievable popular.

　 Lack of languages. Speaking slowly and clearly may not get many foreign visitors very far, even in the tourist traps .

　 Rain. Still in the number one complaint.

No air-conditioning. So that even splendidly hot summers become as unbearable as the down-pours.

Overpriced hotels. The only European country with a higher rate of tax on hotel rooms is Denmark.

Licensing hours. Alcohol (酒) is in short supply after 11p.m. even in “24-hour cities.”

7. The underlined words “the work” in paragraph 1 refer to 　　　.

　　　　 A. stories　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　 B. writing

　　　　 C. Commonwealth Club Gold Award　 　　　　　　 D. Joy Luck Club

6. According to the passage, Amy Tan’s visit to China　　　 .

　　 A. was disappointing 　　　　　　B. had a great pushing effect on her.

　　 C. was not surprising in the least.　 D. was a trip she had always dreamed of taking.

5. What is the writer’s main purpose in this passage?

　 　　 A. To analyze (分析)Amy Tan’s works.

　 　 B. To support Amy Tan’s decision to become a fiction writer.

　　 C. To present Amy Tan’s personal experiences.

　 　 D. To criticize Amy Tan’s rebellion against her parents.

4. The passage suggests those people 　　　　would be most likely to take suicide.

　　　　 A. who are alone　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　 B. who are weak-minded

　　　　 C. who fail in love　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　 D. who suffer from society’s pressures

B

　 　　 Amy tan, the American-born daughter of Chinese immigrants, received the Commonwealth Gold Award in 1989 for her first work of fiction, the best-selling Joy Luck Club. The sixteen stories that make up the work alternate (交替) the tales of four Chinese immigrant mothers and their Americanized daughters, in an exploration of the generational and cultural tensions (紧张关系) experienced by many first-generation daughters of immigrants.

　 　　 Tan’s parents, like many immigrants, had high expectations for their children and often set puzzling standards, expecting Amy and her two brothers to think like Chinese but to speak perfect English, be excellent at school work, and take advantage of every situation that might lead to success. Tan, however, rebelled (反叛) against her parents’ expectations and devoted herself to being thoroughly American and dreaming of being a fiction writer.

　 　　 Tan got a bachelor’s degree in English and linguistics (语言学) and a master’s degree in linguistics and established herself as a highly successful business writer. Tan, however, was not satisfied in spite of her material success. Turning to her life long dream, she wrote her first short story, “Endgame,” and then a second, “Waiting between the trees.” In 1987 Tan visited her half-sisters in China with her mother, a trip that proved to be a turning point in her life and career. Tan felt a sense of completeness, a tie with the country and its culture that she had never expected. Returning from China, Tan was surprised to learn that on the strength of her short stories she had received an advance from a publisher. Tan closed her business and wrote the remaining stories for the Joy Luck Club. It was a great success, well received by the public and appearing on the New York Times bestseller list. It has been translated into seventeen languages, including Chinese, and was made into a movie in 1993.

3. Among the following, which one is NOT the cause of “my friend’s death”?

　　　　 A. She has too much society’s pressure.　 B. She is not well content with her work.

　　　　 C. She is disappointed in love.　　　　　 D. She doesn’t get on well with others.

2. In the writer’s opinion, failure is 　　　　.

　　　　 A. the mother of success　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　 B. the key to success

　　　　 C. good for the young　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. bad for the young

1. The passage wants to tell us 　　　　.

　　　　 A. a lot of young people choose death to escape from the society

　 　 B. the number of people who take suicide is larger and larger

　 　 C. the young people should go to see doctors to solve the spiritual problems

　　　　 D. the reason why the young kill themselves lies in two main kinds