Some people like to get up early, but some do not. In fact, it is really good for us to get up early every day. Maybe those who don’t like getting up early will not believe this, but it is true. Scientists made a survey(调查) in about one thousand people, and then they found that early rising people had less disease(疾病) than late rising people, and early rising people also look healthier than late rising people, and so on.
So we may know early rising is helpful in more than one way. Firstly, it helps to keep us healthy. We all need fresh(新鲜的) air. And air is the freshest early in the morning. Besides(此外), it is useful to do morning exercises.
Secondly, early rising helps us in our studies. In the morning we learn more quickly and find it easier to understand what we learn.
Thirdly, early rising can give us a plan of our work for the day. We cannot work well without a good plan.
Fourthly, early rising gives us enough time to get ready for our work, such as to wash our hands and faces and eat our breakfast.
Late risers may find it difficult to form(形成) the habit(习惯) of early rising. They have to make an effort(努力) to do so. As the English proverb(谚语) says, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”
【小题1】We may read this passage in a _______ magazine.

A．health

B．sports

C．music

D．travel

【小题2】Early rising people are _______ than late rising people.

A．fatter

B．thinner

C．healthier

D．cleverer

【小题3】Air is the freshest ______ according to the passage.

A．in the morning

B．in the afternoon

C．in the evening

D．all day

【小题4】Which of the following is NOT the result(结果) of early rising?

A．People can get ready for their work.

B．People can get fresh air.

C．People can learn things more quickly and better.

D．People can have enough food for breakfast.

【小题5】If a man always likes to get up late, it’s ___ for him to form the habit of getting up early.

A．easy

B．difficult

C．happy

D．sad

Hundreds of years ago, news was carried from place to place by people on foot or by horse. It took days, weeks and sometimes months for people to receive news. Now it is possible to send words and pictures around the world in seconds. Billions of people learn about news of their country and all over the world every day, either by watching TV or reading newspapers.
Newspapers have been an important part of everyday life since 18th century. Many countries have hundreds of different newspapers. How do newspaper editors decide which news to print？ Why do they print some stories and not others? What makes a good newspaper story?
Firstly, it’s important to report news. TV stations can report news much faster than newspapers. Yet, newspapers give more about the story. They may also look at the story in another way, or they may print completely different stories from those on TV.
Secondly, a new story has to be interesting and unusual. People don’t want to read stories of everyday life. As a result, many stories are about some kind of danger and seem to be “bad” news. For example, newspapers never print stories about planes landing safely, instead they print stories about plane accidents.
Another factor(因素) is also very important. Many people are interested in news in foreign countries, but more prefer to read stories about people, places and events in their own country. So the stories on the front page in Chinese newspapers are usually very different from the ones in British, French and American newspapers.
【小题1】According to the passage, how do people learn about news in the world now?

A．They carry news stories and tell others from place to place on foot or by horse.

B．They tell each other what they have seen with their eyes.

C．They watch TV or read newspapers.

D．They listen to the radio every day.

【小题2】Newspapers have been an important part of the daily life since ______.

A．19th century

B．18th century

C．16th century

D．17th century

【小题3】The difference between newspaper stories and TV news reports is that ____.

A．people can learn more about the same news from a newspaper

B．people can read the news story more quickly in a newspaper

C．people can read news stories in other countries

D．people can read news stories about their own country

【小题4】To make a good newspaper story, how many factors does the passage talk about?

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Five.

D．Six.

【小题5】Which is NOT TRUE in the passage?

A．Newspapers may print different stories from those on TV.

B．People like to read interesting and unusual news like plane accidents.

C．Many Chinese people have no interest in news in their own countries.

D．Newspapers have been an important part of everyday life for more than three hundred years.

You may have heard of the famous saying, "East or West, home is the best. "
What does the word "home" mean to you? How do you say the word in French? In Chinese? In your language? Although people usually know what the word means, it sometimes has no exact translation. It’s not surprising, because the idea of home is "different from country to country, and from person to person. A home is more than a roof and four walls. It’s the cooking, eating, talking, playing and sleeping that go on inside. And at home you usually feel safe and relaxed.
Homes look different in different countries. They also have different things inside. For example, in cold northern Europe, there’s a fire in the living room or kitchen and all the chairs face it. In the south, where the sun shines a lot and it’s more important to keep the heat out, there are small windows and cool stone floors.
We asked some people about their homes.
How often do people move house in your country?
"In my country many people don’t stay in one place for a very long time. They often move every ten years or so. "
--Chery, Boston, USA.                                                                                                         
 What a e features (特征) of homes in your country ?
"In Britain, even in town, there’s always a garden. We have separate bedrooms and living rooms. But we don’t often have balconies(阳台). The weather isn’t warm enough !"                                                                                      
--Pat, Exeter, England
【小题1】The word "home" sometimes has no exact translation because________.

A．people can’t find this word in the dictionary

B．no one knows what it is

C．it has different meanings in different countries

D．people can’t understand each other very well

【小题2】According to the passage, at home, you can do everything except______.

A．making friends	B．cooking and eating
C．playing and talking	D．sleeping and relaxing

【小题3】Why is it important to keep the heat out of the houses in southern Europe?

A．Because they want to breathe fresh air outside.

B．Because there’s a fire in the living room.

C．Because they wear heavy clothes all day long.

D．Because the sun there shines a lot.

【小题4】 From the second paragraph, what kind of homes people have depends on _____.

A．whether they are rich or not

B．the climate(气候) they have

C．how old they are

D．whether they live in the city or countryside

【小题5】Which one of the sentences below is true?                                                                                                 

A．People in Britain seldom have balconies because it’s so hot outside.

B．Some Americans move house several times during their lifetime.

C．Homes look the same in different countries.

D．Houses in northern Europe have big windows and cool stone floors.

 

Arriving in New York

There are three airports in New York. When you arrive at one of them, you can take a bus or a taxi to any place in New York. Eating out

There are many kinds of food in New York and you shouldn't eat at McDonald's every day. There are good restaurants in Little Italy and Chinatown, for example.

Hotels

There are lots of good hotels in New York. The best is The Plaza on 5th Avenue but you don't have to pay a lot to stay in the city; there are lots of smaller hotels and the YMCA near Central Park is great for young people.   Public Transport

In New York ,there's a good bus and subway service. If you are planning to use the subway a lot, you should buy a subway ticket for the journey because it's cheaper. But you don't have to use public transport－there are lots of places you can go to on foot. The Empire Stale Building, 5th Avenue and Central Park. The New York taxis are a part of the city experience, so you should take at least one taxi during your visit!

Places to see

Finally, there are a lot of places to see in New York－Times Square, the Statue of Liberty. And you shouldn't go home without climbing the Statue of Liberty to enjoy the scenery of the city.   Shopping

Shopping in New York is fun. There are big shops on 5th Avenue. They are open seven days a week. But be careful when you look at the prices; you have to pay a special 8% tax (税)on everything you buy in New York.

1.How many kinds of public transport are mentioned in the passage?

A．Two.             B．Three.            C．Four.             D．Five.

2.How much do you have to pay if you buy a book of $10 in New York? 

A．$10.8            B．$10.08            C．$ l8              D．$10

3.From the passage, we can learn that _________.

A．people can visit many places of interest in New York on foot

B．New York is not a good place for shopping

C．people must travel by public transport in New York

D．people have to eat only one kind of food in New York

 

The red phone box in Britain is a perfect example of the British traditional culture. However, with the fast development of mobile phones, it has lost its place in people’s everyday life. In order to save their loved red phone boxes, people have come up with many ideas, for example, to turn them into toilets or art houses. 

In a village in Somerset, a place in South West England, villagers have found a new way to save their red phone box. They turned it into a mini library to deal with the shortage of libraries in their area. The idea was given by a local villager, Janet Fisher, who lives opposite the phone box. Villagers got together to set up the book box. Over 100 books and a lot of movies and music CDs are available at this mini library. The books are of different kinds, including from cooking books to the classics and children’s books. People can put the books that they have read inside the phone box, and take away the books that they’d like to read. The books are always changing. There is a regular check on the books to keep the phone box collection fresh.

Anyone is free to come to read books there. The phone box library is open every day around the clock and is lit (the past form of “light”) at night.  “ It’s very pleasing that the red phone box has been saved. More importantly, it can continue providing a service for us,” said one of the villagers.

1.The red phone box has been a symbol of _________.

A．the British culture

B．the European art of building

C．the development of mobile phones

D．British people’s daily life

2. People in Somerset turned the red phone box into a mini library to _________.

A．make it like the new one

B．help solve the shortage of library service

C．provide a place to exchange ideas

D．make the collection of the local library larger

3.Which of the following statements is TRUE about the red phone box?

A．People can borrow books and enjoy the films and CDs there.

B．The library was set up by a local villager living opposite a phone box.

C．The library is open to the public day and night.

D．Regular check is made to keep the books in good order.