【推荐1】The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the eleventh largest nation in Europe. England, Wales and Scotland make up the island of Great Britain, which takes up most of the Britain Isles. Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are mountainous. The highest mountain is Ben Nevis in Scotland. Plains and valleys cover much of England. The British climate is mild.

About 58 million people live in the United Kingdom. Few other countries are so crowded. Four out of five people live in cities such as Belfast, Glasgow, and London. London is the capital. Great Britain grows half of the food it needs. Its industries help to pay for the food that is bought from abroad. The United Kingdom manufactures a wide range of goods. Service industries, such as tourism, that provide services rather than producing goods, are increasing. Traditional industries, such as coal mining, are declining.

1. There are many mountains in ______________.

A．Northern Ireland, Scotland and England

B．England, Wales and Scotland

C．Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

D．Northern Ireland, Wales and England

2. In the United Kingdom, about __________people live in big cities.

A．58 million	B．48.8 million
C．38.8 million	D．half

3. According to the passage, which of the statements is true?

A．Great Britain grows all of the food it needs.

B．The United Kingdom manufactures a narrow range of goods.

C．The speed of tourism in UK is increasing faster than producing goods.

D．The coal mining is also increasing fast.

【推荐2】I was born and raised in England in a culture where privacy and “keeping yourself to yourself” were valued traditions. Speaking to strangers was not encouraged. People were most hospitable and friendly.

However, I have been lucky enough to spend some time in both Italy and the US, where I found traditions of hospitality and politeness to be very different.

I experienced Italian hospitality firsthand. On a crowded railway carriage travelling, one afternoon, from Genoa to Florence, sinking gratefully into an empty seat, I was scolded in rapid Italian by a gentleman who was returning to this seat ---- it had not been “spare” after all. I apologized in English, and got up to allow him back into the seat. The gentleman obviously had no understanding of the English language, but he, too, realized my genuine (真诚的) mistake. He smiled and gestured for me to remain in the seat, and he himself remained standing in the corridor for the remainder of the journey. The other occupants of the carriage smiled and nodded at me and made me feel quite welcome amongst them. I feel that if this had been in England, a foreigner who made a mistake would not always be so kindly treated.

Transport also featured in the differences I noticed between English and American culture. I flew to New York on a plane with mainly English passengers. We sat together in near silence. Nobody spoke to me nor, as I expected, to anyone else they did not know. They felt it was not polite to interrupt someone else’s privacy. However, when I travelled across the United States, whether by plane or bus, I was never short of conversation. Conversation was going on all around me and whoever sat next to me was happy to introduce themselves and ask me about myself. They obviously felt it would have been rude not to speak to another person, whether they were strangers or not.

1. What do we know about the occupants when the author was travelling in Italy?

A．They were all on the side of the gentleman.

B．They all laughed at the author for his mistake.

C．They would not bear a mistake like the author’s in public

D．They all showed their understanding of the author’s mistake.

2. How does the author finally believe the Italian people are?

A．Cold.

B．Rude

C．Helpful.

D．Hospitable.

3. Why did English passengers sit in near silence according to the last paragraph?

A．They were too tired to speak to anyone.

B．They were all strangers to each other.

C．Privacy was a valued tradition in England.

D．Everybody was deeply lost in though.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Different Ways of Hospitality and Politeness

B．Co-understanding Each Other

C．My Unforgettable Travelling Experience Abroad

D．The Importance of Privacy

【推荐3】What do you think of British people and American people? You might think that there are no differences between the people in the two countries. After all they speak the same language, don't they? But if you ask a British or an American person, the differences are quite great.

What do British people think Americans are like? The British think Americans are very strange. They make a lot of noise and they laugh too loudly. They are rich, and they only think about money. But the British do say that Americans are kind, friendly people. They are happy to help you if you are in trouble.

What do Americans think of the British? Well, they think the British are cold and very unfriendly. They are not interested in success or in making lots of money. They think Britain is the best country in the world. They look down upon other countries. But Americans say that the British are quite good workers. They are brave and honest. And in time of trouble they face difficulties happily.

You can see that these ideas can cause misunderstanding between the British and Americans. But when American and British people become friends, they usually find things are not as bad as they expected.

1. What do you think of the differences between British and American people?

A．Their differences are very small.

B．The differences are very great.

C．There are no differences between them.

D．Some people think there are, but some people don’t think so.

2. What do the British think Americans are like?

A．They are strange but friendly.

B．They are poor.

C．They are rich but unfriendly.

D．They are happy in trouble.

3. The American and British people usually get along quite well ____.

A．when misunderstanding is caused between them

B．once they become friends

C．after they fight

D．when they help each other

【推荐3】Letters to the Editor

Nurses’ strike

Sir, I have worked in the public sector for more than 30 years and know that the idea that nurses will be “driven out” of the health service by the 1 per cent pay offer is poppycock(胡说) (news, Mar 8). What attracts and keeps people working in these areas is public service and, as the Queen said in her message, a “selfless devotion to duty”.

Tim Kerin

London E7

Doorstep heroes

Sir, I can understand why so many people now like to have their milk delivered (“Pint-sized heroes are back on doorstep”, Mar 8) but don’t know why it has to be at such antisocial hours. I have often been woken up by the loud noise of Milk & More delivering to one of my neighbours in the early hours, and one day last week it was even at 1:50 a.m. , which made me sleepless the following hours.

Helen Hinde

Ruislip, Middx

Wine of the weak

Sir, Jane MacQuitty excelled (突出) herself in her wine column this week (“Red wine for lightweights: the best 12% and under bottles”, Weekend, Mar 6). The eight bottles on offer were flavoured as follows: forest-fruited, meaty, mocha, beetrooty, tobacco leaf, lemony and samphire. The star flavours (调味) in a Reisling from Chile were fat and lime pickle (酸菜味). Of the eight bottles of wine only one was described as “grapey”.

Tony Stafford

Harston, Cambs

Note: Letters to the Editor should be sent to letters@thetimes.co.uk or by post 1London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF.

1. Why did the three people write these letters?

A．To make themselves famous.	B．To make some complaints.
C．To promote The Times.	D．To improve their writing skills.

2. The Queen held a positive attitude toward ________.

A．the health service	B．the nurses’ devotion to their work
C．the practical idea	D．the medical workers’ strike

3. What does Helen Hinde think of the time of milk delivery?

A．Shocking.

B．Pleasant.

C．Unbearable.

D．Popular.