【推荐1】England

England is the biggest of the four countries in the United Kingdom. Over 50 million people live in England, which is around 80% of the total UK population.

    1     It is spoken today by billions of people all over the world. Many students go to England from other countries to study the language and learn about the culture. Although everyone speaks English, there are many different accents around the country. French was the official language in England between 1066 and 1362.       2    

The English people love music.       3     Glastonbury is a five-day festival of music, dance, comedy, and theatre and around 175,000 people go there. Many people stay at the festivals for a few days and they camp in tents. People listen to all types of music, especially pop and rock. England has produced many international groups and singers.

The most popular sports in England are football, rugby and cricket. Most towns have a football, rugby and cricket ground where teams can play.       4           Womenˈs football is also popular. Cricket is a traditional sport played with a bat and a ball. People like to watch all these sports on TⅤ．

England is a multicultural country.       5       Indian, Chinese and Italian foods are popular. Traditional English food includes fish and chips, roast beef, sausages and mashed potatoes. Many English people drink several cups of tea every day, usually with milk. However, different types of coffee are also popular.

A．The official language of England is English.

B．This has a big influence on the food people eat.

C．The lion is the symbol of many English sports teams.

D．It is a fact that English is accepted as an international language.

E．In the summer you can go to music festivals all over the country.

F．This is why there are many French words and expressions in English.

G．English football teams like Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool are world-famous.

【推荐2】Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to conquer (征服) Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally,in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two "Irelands". Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.

In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a lack of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.

For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the   cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.

The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly, Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were "the greatest talkers since the Greeks". Since independence, Ireland has revived (复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish song which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.

1. We learn from the text that in Ireland _____.

A．food shortages in the 1840s led to a decrease in population

B．people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside

C．it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker

D．different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments

2. The last paragraph is mainly about _____

A．the Irish character	B．Irish culture
C．Irish musical instruments	D．a famous Irish writer

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

A．life in Ireland	B．A very difficult history
C．Ireland, past and present	D．the independence of Ireland

【推荐3】Diwali（Deepavali）is a festival of lights observed in October or November each year in Canada. During the festival, various community groups, businesses, schools and associations celebrate it in different ways. Some companies have Diwali dinners and some communities organize gatherings that feature firework displays, dances, street lighting, and plays.

Many women wear fine jewelry and silk outfits to celebrate Diwali. Some women and girls use Mehendi, a dye decoration which can last a limited time, on their palms, and then they will finally get colorful hand paintings. Many homes that celebrate Diwali have various types of sweets, salty and spiced food as well as Diwali herbs （香料）. Various lights, candles and sparklers are lit inside and outside homes, particularly in courtyards, on Diwali. Diwali is not a nationwide public holiday in Canada but it is a prevalent festival celebrated in many towns and cities. There may be traffic jams and parking places may be full in areas where events are held to celebrate Diwali. Some Indian businesses may close early on Diwali.

Diwali is called the "Festival of Lights" and is celebrated to honor Rama, a hero who once fought and won a battle against the demons（恶魔）. In the past, people lit their houses to celebrate his victory over demons（light over darkness）. At the same time, every household did careful and complete cleaning at home in advance. It is believed that the goddess of happiness and good fortune, Lakshmi travels around the Earth on this day and enters the house that is pure, clean, and bright.

Diwali celebrations may vary in different communities but its spiritual meaning is generally "the awareness of the inner light". As the word “Deepavali” means “a row or cluster of light”, the festival symbolizes the victory of righteousness and the lifting of spiritual darkness.

1. What can we learn about Diwali from the first two paragraphs?

A．It is celebrated on a fixed day.

B．It centers on various local food.

C．People stay up late to prepare for It.

D．People from all walks of life enjoy celebrating it.

2. What does the underlined word "prevalent" in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Popular.	B．Free.
C．Serious.	D．Funny.

3. According to Paragraph 3, why did people make their houses bright and clean on Diwali?

A．To pray for good journey.

B．To expect joy and good luck.

C．To create a romantic atmosphere.

D．To welcome their friends to visit.

4. What's the present meaning of Diwali?

A．Showing respect for others.

B．Staying straight and positive.

C．Valuing your family members.

D．Improving your living environment.

5. What is the author's purpose in writing this passage?

A．To stress the importance of a public holiday.

B．To tell an interesting story about a Canadian festival.

C．To briefly introduce a traditional festival in Canada.

D．To show different holiday celebrations in Western cultures.

【推荐1】Located in Pisa, the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy has become the sign of Italy. It is the third oldest structure in Pisa’s Cathedral Square. There eight floors in the Leaning Tower of Pisa including observation deck at the top. The weight of the tower is about 14,500 metric tons. There are amazing facts of the Leaning Tower of Pisa that we will mention here.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa was not originally intended to lean, but because it was built on soft soils the tower gradually leaned to one side. Prior to its restoration (修复) from 1990 to 2001, the tower had a tilt (倾斜) of 5.5 degrees. Many people think that it will fall one day. Millions of tourists come to the lawns around the tower to take the classic photo pretending to hold up or knock down the tower.

It is said that you must visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa during the day. At night the shops are closed and it appears unimpressive. But, if you plan to visit on a full moon night, the tower will look charming. Mornings are the best time to beat the crowds. Summer in Pisa is very hot and wet, but you can expect rain in fall and winter.

Even though some people regard the tower to be an engineering failure owing to the tilt, the tower has acquired a special place in history. The tower has also been used for experiments by the famous Italian scientist named Galileo Galilei. He is believed to have thrown two balls of different mass from the tower to prove that their falling time is not related to their mass.

On your tour you should not miss various places of interest near the Leaning Tower of Pisa including Lucca, Florence, and Santa Maria della Spina.

1. What will you see if you go to Pisa’s Cathedral Square?

A．The Leaning Tower of Pisa standing in the middle.

B．More than one ancient structure to visit.

C．The Leaning Tower of Pisa covering a lot of space.

D．Pisa’s amazing buildings around the square.

2. Why does the tower tend to lean to one side?

A．Because it was originally designed like that.

B．Because the base of the tower was not strong.

C．Because many people came to knock it down.

D．Because the builders used lots of soft soils.

3. When will you visit the tower if you dislike being disturbed?

A．In summer.	B．At night.
C．In the morning.	D．In winter.

4. What has made the tower much more famous?

A．It will fall to the ground in the soon future.

B．It is an obvious engineering failure.

C．Galileo once did experiments on the tower.

D．The restoration lasted more than ten years.

【推荐2】Italy is shaped like a boot. Ancient Rome was one of the world’s most powerful empires more than 2,000 years ago. The Romans’ ideas about roads, laws, government and buildings still influence us today.

The Colosseum in Rome was built during the time of the Roman Empire, in the first century A. D.     1    , who went to see fights between animals and people. It is a popular tourist attraction today.

Italy is well-known for its designers, who create cars, handbags, clothes, shoes and other items that are in demand for their style and fine workmanship.

Today, the economy of Italy is stronger than in the past.     2    . Today, manufacturing and tourism are the main sources of income. There are some big companies, but Italy has many smaller companies, too.

The northern part of the country is the main manufacturing center. The southern part does not offer as many manufacturing jobs, so it is not as prosperous.

    3    , a group of countries that join together for better trade. The currency, or money, they use is called the “euro”.

Food and eating good meals are important to Italians. Popular foods include pasta, risotto, minestrone and pizza.     4    .

Many families still eat their main meal in the middle of the day.     5    . Families spend a lot of time together.

A．Italy is a member of the European Union

B．It could seat about 50,000 people

C．Italy has several islands off the coast

D．McDonald’s is also popular there

E．The country used to depend on agriculture

F．Mountains cover about three fourths of the country

G．The family is very important to the Italian way of life

【推荐3】Australia is a society of people from a rich diversity (多样) of cultural, ethnic, linguistic (语言的) and religious backgrounds. Most Australians are immigrants or the descendants (后裔) of immigrants who arrived over the past two centuries from more than 200 countries.

Cultural and linguistic diversity was a feature of Australian life before European settlement and remains a defining feature of modern society. Immigration began with European settlement in 1788. It continued at a steady pace — reaching 50,000 a year during the Gold Rush Period of the 1850s — until the population reached seven million in the 1940s. Most settlers were from a British background. Since the Second World War, the Australian government’s immigration program has brought more than 6.6 million migrants to Australia.

Today, almost one in four of Australia’s estimated resident population of 24 million was born overseas. The last 50 years have seen a significant change in the source countries of people who choose to come here. In the 1960s, 45% of all new settlers were born in the United Kingdom and Ireland. By 2006 to 2007, this had fallen to 17%, with settlers and long-term visitors increasing from countries in the Asia-Pacific region, Africa and the Middle East.

Australia recognizes, accepts and respects cultural diversity. There are few countries in the world where migrants have achieved the level of economic, political, social and cultural participation that they have in Australia. Foreign languages are taught in most mainstream Australian schools and universities, as well as in community ethnic schools, many of which are funded by the Australian government. The Australian government spends a large amount of money every year supporting the teaching and learning for Asian, European and indigenous (本土的) Australian languages and Australian sign language for the deaf in mainstream schools as well as through community language programs.

Foreign languages are taught in both primary and secondary schools. The most popular languages studied are Japanese, Chinese, French, Italian, German, Indonesian, Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic and Latin. Around 50% of students study a foreign language at some time during their primary and secondary schooling. Almost 150 languages are taught in mainstream and non-mainstream settings.

1. From the text, we can learn that .

A．Australia began to have waves of immigrants from 1788

B．most Australians are immigrants from a British background

C．there wasn’t any cultural diversity in Australian life until modern times

D．about 6.6 million people immigrated to Australia during World War II

2. The third paragraph is mainly about .

A．Australia’s estimated resident population

B．the effects of Australia’s immigration program

C．the increase in settlers and long-term visitors

D．the change in the source countries of immigrants

3. Which is the best title for the text?

A．The Population of Australia.

B．The Foreign Languages of Australia.

C．The immigration Policy of Australia.

D．The cultural and Linguistic Diversity of Australia.