Part III Reading Comprehension (30 marks)
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.
A
Planning a visit to the UK? Here we help with ways to cut your costs.
AVOID BIG EVENTS 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 £169.15 at Booking.com. A week later, the same room 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 time—check out sites such as Whatsonwhen.com, which allow you to search for events in the UK by city, date and category.
STAYAWAY 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 self-catering 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). (358 words)
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 destination 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. two 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 self-help
D. to offer visitors some money-saving tips
B
In my living room, there is a plaque (匾) that advises me to “Bloom (开花) where you are planted.” It reminds me of Dorothy. I got to know Dorothy in the early 1980s, when I was teaching Early Childhood Development through a program with Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky. The job responsibilities required occasional visits to the classroom of each teacher in the program. Dorothy stands out in my memory as one who “bloomed” in her remote area.
Dorothy taught in a school In Harlan County, Kentucky, Appalachian Mountain area. To get to her school from the town of Harlan, I followed a road winding around the mountain. In the eight-mile journey, I crossed the same railroad track five times, giving the possibility of getting caught by the same train five times. Rather than feeling excited by this drive through the mountains, I found it depressing. The poverty level was shocking and the small shabby houses gave me the greatest feeling of hopelessness.
From the moment of my arrival at the little school, all gloom (忧郁) disappeared. Upon arriving at Dorothy’s classroom. I was greeted with smiling faces and treated like a queen. The children had been prepared to show me their latest projects. Dorothy told me with a big smile that they were serving poke greens salad and cornbread for “dinner” (lunch). In case you don’t know, poke greens are a weed-type plant that grows wild, especially on poor ground.
Dorothy never ran out of reports of exciting activities of her students. Her enthusiasm never cooled down. When it came time to sit for the testing and interviewing required to receive her Child Development Associate Certification, Dorothy was ready. She came to the assessment and passed in all areas. Afterward, she invited me to the one-and-only steak house in the area to celebrate her victory, as if she had received her Ph. D. degree. After the meal, she placed a little box containing an old pen in my hand. She said it was a family heirloom (传家宝), but to me it is a treasured symbol of appreciation and pride that cannot be matched with things. (360 words)
61. “Early Childhood Development” in Paragraph 1 refers to __________.
A. a program directed by Dorothy B. a course given by the author
C. an activity held by the students D. an organization sponsored by Union college
62. In the journey, the author was most disappointed at seeing __________.
A. the long track B. the poor houses
C. the same train D. the winding road
63. Upon arriving at the classroom, the author was cheered up by __________.
A. a warm welcome B. the sight of poke greens
C. Dorothy’s latest projects D. a big dinner made for her
64. What can we know about Dorothy from the last paragraph?
A. She was invited to a celebration at a restaurant.
B. She got a pen as a gift from the author.
C. She passed the required assessment.
D. She received her Ph. D. degree.
65. What does the author mainly intend to tell us?
A. Whatever you do, you must do it carefully.
B. Whoever you are, you deserve equal treatment.
C. However poor you are, you have the right to education,
D. Wherever you are, you can accomplish your achievement.
C
It’s such a happy-looking library, painted yellow, decorated with palm-tree stickers and sheltered from the Florida sun by its own roof. About the size of a microwave oven, it’s pedestrian-friendly, too, waiting for book lovers next to a sidewalk in Palm Beach country Estates, along the northern boundary of Palm Beach Gardens.
It’s a library built with love.
A year ago, shortly after Janey Henriksen saw a Brian Williams report about the Little Free Library organization, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit that aims to promote literacy and build a sense of community in a neighborhood by making books freely available, she announced to her family of four, “That’s what we’re going to do for our spring break!”
Son Austin, now a 10th-grader, didn’t see the point of building a library that resembles a mailbox. But Janey insisted, and husband Peter unwillingly got to work. The 51-year-old owner of a ship supply company modified a small wooden house that he’d built years earlier for daughter Abbie’s toy horses, and made a door of glass.
After adding the library’s final touches (装点), the family hung a signboard on the front, instructing users to “take a book, return a book,” and making the Henriksen library, now one of several hundred like it nationwide and among more than 2,500 in the world, the only Little Free Library in Palm Beach County.
They stocked it with 20 or so books they’d already read, a mix of science fiction, reference titles, novels and kids’ favorites. “I told them, keep in mind that you might not see it again,” said Janey, a stay-at-home mom.
Since then, the collection keeps replenishing (补充) itself, thanks to ongoing donations from borrowers. The library now gets an average of five visits a day.
The project’s best payoff, says Peter, are the thank-you notes left behind. “We had no idea in the beginning that it would be so popular.” (317 words)
66. In what way is the library “pedestrian-friendly”?
A. It owns a yellow roof. B. It stands near a sidewalk.
C. It protects book lovers from the sun. D. It uses palm-tree stickers as decorations.
67. Janey got the idea to build a library from __________.
A. a visit to Brian Williams B. a spring break with her family
C. a book sent by one of her neighbors D. a report on a Wisconsin-based organization
68. The library was built __________.
A. by a ship supply company B. on the basis of toy horses
C. like a mailbox D. with glass
69. What can we infer about the signboard?
A. It was made by a user of the library. B. It marked a final touch to the library.
C. It aimed at making the library last long. D. It indicated the library was a family property.
70. The passage tells us that the users __________.
A. donate books to the library
B. get paid to collect books for the library
C. receive thank-you notes for using the library
D. visit the library over 5 times on average daily
