Tourism probably started in Roman times. Rich Romans visited friends and family who were working in another part of the Roman Empire. But when the empire broke down, this kind of tourism stopped.

   In the early 17^th century, the idea of the “Grand Tour” was born. Rich young English people sailed across the English Channel（英吉利海峡）. They visited the most beautiful and important European cities of the time, including Paris in France, and Rome and Venice in Italy. Their tours lasted for two to four years, and the tourists stayed a few weeks or months in each city. The “Grand Tour” was an important part of young people’s education---but only for the rich.

In the 18^th century, tourism began to change. For example, people in the UK started to visit some towns, such as Bath to “take the waters”. They believed that the water there was good for their health. So large and expensive hotels were built in these towns.

In the 19^th century, travel became much more popular and faster. When the first railways were built in the 1820s, it was easier for people to travel towns, so they started to go for holidays by the sea. And some started to have holidays in the countryside as cities became larger, noisier and dirtier.

Traveling by sea also became faster and safer when the first steamships were built. People began to travel more to faraway countries.

The 20^th century saw cars become more and more popular among ordinary people. Planes were made larger, so ticket prices dropped and more people used them.

Thus tourism grew. In 1949, Russian journalist Vladimir Raitz started a company called Horizon Holidays. The company organizes everything---plane tickets, hotel rooms, even food----and tourists pay for it all before they leave home. The package tour and modern tourist industry was born.

The first travel agency in China was set up as early as 1949. But tourism did not take off until 1978. In 2002, the industry was 500 billion yuan and became an important part of China’s social development.

In the early times, the travelers _____.

   A. all came from Roman    B. were very young and strong 

   C. had lots of money       D. traveled by boat

Which is NOT true about “Grand Tour”?

   A. It was a long journey.    B. The young men learned a lot from it.

   C. Those who took the tour weren’t rich.    D. Most of its destinations were in Europe.

_____ played the most important role in the tourism development.

  A. Education     B. Money     C. Transportation     D. People’s ideas

Modern tourism was born _______.

  A. in 1949    B. in Roman times  C. in the early 17^th century   D. in the early 19^th century

The underlined phrase “take off” in the last paragraph means ______.

  A. a plane rising into the air    B. develop very fast 

  C. remove hats and clothes     D. bring down the prices

BUILDING up a close bond (关系) with friends is important in all cultures. But different cultures have different ways of socializing.
The Chinese love going to restaurants. Family, friends and colleagues all go out to eat as a way of relaxing. So Chinese restaurants are much louder and noisier places compared with those in the Western world.
Although British people do socialize by going out for dinner, most people meet in pubs. They go there in the evening and sometimes during the day. Most people order wine or beer.
Going for a drink with colleagues after work is a particularly important British tradition. A recent survey of office workers found three-quarters of people regard the after-work drink as the key to building positive relationships with colleagues.
But for the French, the preferred place to socialize is in cafés. They are a central part of daily life in France and its culture. People will go to cafes at all times during the day.
In the morning, people may go there to buy a newspaper and a cup of coffee. At lunch they may go there for something to eat. Then when it's evening they may return to enjoy a glass of wine.
While the meeting place is different from culture to culture, "Essentially (本质上) they serve the same purpose, which is that humans need a place to come together to meet," said Aidan Saunders, a professor of social history at the University College London. "We are sociable animals."
People from different parts of the world have different values, and sometimes these values are quite against each other. However, if we can understand them better, a multicultural environment will offer a wonderful chance for us to learn from each other.
【小题1】What is the passage mainly about?      

A．Different cultures and different people.

B．Different places where different people love to go.

C．Different ways of building up relationships with friends

D．Different relationships in different countries.

【小题2】Which of the following is true according to the passage?   

A．The Chinese love to dine out.

B．The Chinese always talk loudly in restaurants.

C．Making friends is an important thing in all countries

D．French people spend all their time in cafes.

【小题3】What does Aidan Saunders mean by "We are sociable animals."?   

A．Human beings need society to survive in.

B．Human beings need to communicate with each other.

C．Human beings are the same as the other animals.

D．Human beings are also animals belonging to the society.

【小题4】 The following are all mentioned as ways of socializing except         .   

A．dining out with friends

B．drinking in pubs with colleagues after work

C．going to the cafes to have a cup of coffee

D．going to the cinema to see a film

【小题5】Who are the intended readers of the passage ?        

A．People in general.	B．Adolescents.
C．Business people.	D．Educators.

The clock rules our lives. The more we try to save time, the less time we seem to have. In every area of our lives we are doing things faster. And many of us live in towns and cities which are getting noisier and more stressful as each day passes. But now a worldwide movement, whose aim is to slow life down, has started. Its supporters are people who believe that a happier and healthier way of life is possible.

The Slow Food movement was founded the day that an Italian journalist, Carlo Petrini, saw that McDonald’s had opened a restaurant in a beautiful square in Rome. He thought it was sad that many people today live too quickly to sit down for a proper meal and only eat much fast food. He decided that he had to try to do something about it and so he started the Slow Food movement. Slow Food has become a global organization ever since and now has more than 80,000 members in 100 countries.

Slow Food also encourages people to eat local and regional food, to use local shops and markets, to eat out in small family restaurants, and to cook with traditional recipes.

The idea of Slow Cities was inspired by the Slow Food movement. The aim of Slow Cities is to improve people’s quality of life. Towns which want to become a Slow City have to reduce traffic and noise, increase the number of green areas, plant trees, build pedestrian zones, and promote local businesses and traditions. Now it has spread to other countries all over the world, from the UK to Japan and Australia. There are now 135 Slow Cities in 24 countries across the world that have been named since founding of the organization in 1999. Gao Chun County, in east China’s Jiangsu Province, is expected to be named the first “Slow City” in China next year.

“Slow Cities are about having a community life in the town,” said a local resident. “It is not ‘slow’ as in ‘stupid’. It is ‘slow’ as in the opposite of ‘worried’ and ‘stressful’.”

But not everybody is happy. For teenagers, who have to go 25km to Norwich, the nearest city, to buy CDs, living in a Slow City is not very attractive. “It’s all right here,” says Lewis Cook, 16. “But if you want excitement, you have to go to Norwich. We need more things here for young people.”

1.What’s the aim of the Slow Food movement?

A．To call on people to eat out.

B．To make people enjoy cooking.

C．To drive McDonald’s out of Rome

D．To encourage people to slow down.

2.All the following are necessary to be a Slow City EXCEPT ______.

A．reducing traffic and noise

B．increasing the number of green areas

C．building more department stores

D．promoting local businesses and traditions

3.From the fourth paragraph, we know that ______.

A．the Slow Food was founded in 1999

B．there is no Slow City in China now

C．Slow Cities are mainly in the UK

D．there are about 24 Slow Cities in the world

4.What’s Lewis Cook’s attitude to living in a Slow City?

A．Positive

B．Neutral

C．Negative

D．Indifferent

5.What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Slow down and you’ll move fast

B．Time flies never to be recalled.

C．Eat slowly and you’ll be healthy.

D．Pay attention to the quality of life.

 

Life gets noisier every day and very few people can be free from noise of some sort or another. It doesn't matter where you live---in the middle of a modern city or a faraway village---the chances are that you’ll be disturbed by jet planes, transistor radios, oil-powered engines, etc. We seem to be getting used to noise, too. Some people feel quite lonely without background music while they’re working.
Scientific tests have shown that total silence can be a very frightening experience for a human being. However, some people enjoy listening to pop music which is very loud, and this can do harm to their eardrums(耳鼓). The noise level in some discos is far above the usual safety level for heavy industrial areas.
One recent report about noise and concentration suggested that although a lot of people say that any noise disturbs their concentration, what really influences their ability to concentrate is a change in the level of noise. It goes on to say that a background noise which doesn't change too much (music, for example) may even help people to concentrate.
【小题1】.
According to this passage, the noise pollution______.

A．has become the worst in the countryside

B．has become better in big cities

C．has spread from cities to villages

D．has been controlled in modern cities

【小题2】.
What does background music refer to?

A．Music played while people are working.

B．Music played in the backyard.

C．Noise that continues while you’re listening to other noises.

D．Music used to help people to concentrate.

【小题3】.
. Some people have their hearing harmed______.

A．while listening to pop music	B．in complete silence
C．when speaking loudly	D．while watching TV