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Londoners are great readers. They buy large numbers of newspapers, magazines and books-especially paperbacks, which are still cheap in spite of ever-increasing rises in the costs of printing. They still continue to buy “proper” books, too, printed on good paper.
There are many streets in London containing bookshops. Perhaps the best known of these is Charing Cross Road in the very heart of London. Here bookshops of all sorts and sizes are to be found, from the famous one which is said to be “the biggest bookshop in the world” to the dusty little places which seem to have been left over from Dickens’ time. Some of these shops stock or will make efforts to get any kind of books, but many of them specialize in second-hand books, in art books, in foreign books, in books on economics, politics or any other subjects about which books may be written. One shop in this area specializes only in books about ballet.
Although it may be the most convenient place for Londoners to buy books, Charing Cross Road is not the cheapest. For really cheap second-hand books, collectors must go to Farringdon Road, in the East Central district of London. Here there is nothing so impressive as bookshops. The booksellers come along each morning and put lots of books onto small hand-carts (手推车) which line the streets. The collectors, some professionals and some amateurs (业余爱好者), who have been waiting for them, run quickly towards the books. In places like this one can still, sometimes, pick up for a few pence an old book that may be worth many pounds.
1.“Londoners are great readers” means that _________.
A.Londoners are great because they read many books B.Only great readers live in London
C.Londoners are readers who read only great books D.Londoners read a lot
2.According to this passage, Charing Cross Road ________.
A.is in the suburbs of London B.is famous for its bookshops
C.contains only big shops D.is the cheapest place for Londoners to buy books
3.What do you know about Farringdon Road?
A.It is the most convenient place for Londoners to buy books.
B.Cheap second-hand books can be found there.
C.It is in the West Central district of London.
D.Few people like to buy books there.
4.The best topic for this passage is “__________”.
A.bookshops in London B.the biggest bookshop in the world
C.Charing Cross Road D.Londoners are great readers
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Lin Hanxing is a 30-year-old who lives in Beijing. She owns just five shirts, two pairs of pants, four pairs of shoes and a few other things. It's hard to believe that only five years ago, Lin was one of those people who couldn't stop buying stuff. Back then, she had more than 400 pieces of clothing and handbags
But that was before she saw an online challenge in 2014, introduced by Joshua Becker, a blogger in the United States who was promoting(推广) a minimalist lifestyle(极简生活方式). He encouraged people to reduce the number of their belongings to fewer than 100. Lin wasn’t strongly against it, so she got rid of 90 percent of her stuff. She also deleted(删除) 120 contacts she never spoke to from her social networking account. After doing all that, Lin said she felt “lighter”.
We used to think owning more was the way to lead a rich life. But now many people tend to believe that the opposite is also true--and perhaps truer.
According to US sociologist Joel Stillerman, people who are educated and well-off are more likely to have a minimalist lifestyle. “These people are making the statement: ‘I can afford to have less.’,”he said.
But leading a minimalist lifestyle doesn't mean spending less. A report by UK market research company Euromonitor found young Chinese people spend less on possessions, but more on short holidays and visits to the movies.
“They are looking for a life that is all about culture,” Alison Angus, head of lifestyles at Euromonitor, said about Chinese youth.
So perhaps it all comes down to how we define(定义) “rich”. Is wealth in life about buying more and owning more, or is it about having a more colorful life?
1.The author mentioned the change of Lin Hanxing to _______.
A.introduce the minimalist lifestyle
B.encourage us readers to buy less
C.explain the popularity of owning less
D.explain the importance of a new lifestyle
2.What’s Lin Hanxing’s attitude towards the online challenge in the beginning?
A.She was very fond of it.
B.She thought it worth a try.
C.She was strongly against it.
D.She thought it must be painful.
3.According to the passage, young Chinese people care more about _______.
A.possessions B.culture
C.education D.clothes
4.If one is rich, he is more likely to _______.
A.spend less B.buy more
C.own less D.experience more
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Qomolangma is the world’s highest mountain. You may have learned from your textbooks that its height is 8,844 meters. But not all sides are in agreement on this. Different researchers have given different results. In addition, the height of the mountain can change over time.
That’s why a 30-member Chinese survey team set out to reach the peak of Qomolangma to re-measure its height on May 6. They are equipped with the latest technology. It is not an easy task. The average air temperature on the mountain is-29℃-four degrees lower than in Antarctica-and powerful winds blow all the time. In such bad conditions, surveying drones (无人机) cannot work at the peak of the mountain. That’s why it’s still necessary to send human experts to the peak to get reliable results.
But does a difference of a few meters really matter when it comes to a high mountain?
In fact, measuring the height of Qomolangma is about more than just getting one exact number. Mount Qomolangma is at the point where the Eurasian plate (欧亚板块) meets the Indian plate. It formed 38 million years ago as the two plates hit each other. Changes in the peak’s height can show whether the two plates are heading toward or away from each other. This can help us understand the movement of Earth’s crust (地壳).
The survey team will also get firsthand information about environmental conditions at the top of the mountain. This will help us understand how climate change has affected the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau (青藏高原).
1.Which statement is true according to the first paragraph?
A.Researchers measures the height of Qomolangma every year.
B.There is no agreed-upon height of Qomolangma at present.
C.It’s easy to measure the height of Qomolangma.
D.The height of Qomolangma increases every year.
2.Which of the following words could replace “peak” in Paragraph 2?
A.point B.top C.base D.edge
3.What challenge will the Chinese survey team face?
A.A lack of water. B.Dangerous animals.
C.Bad weather conditions. D.The movement of Earth’s crust.
4.What is the main idea of the last two paragraphs?
A.Why measuring the height of Qomolangma is important.
B.What is the height of Qomolangma.
C.How Qomolangma became the highest mountain.
D.How plate movements have affected the height of Qomolangma.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析