Question

【题目】 You’ve just come home, after living abroad for a few years.Since you’ve been away,has this country changed for the better—or for the worse?

If you’ve just arrived back in the UK after a fortnight’s holiday, small changes have probably surprised you—anything from a local greengrocer suddenly being replaced by a mobile-phone shop to someone in your street moving house.

So how have things changed to people coming back to Britain after seven, ten or even 15 years living abroad? What changes in society can they see that the rest of us have hardly noticed—or now take for granted? To find out, we asked some people who recently returned.

Debi: When we left, Cheltenham, my home town, was a town of white, middle-class families—all very conservative（保守的）.The town is now home to many eastern Europeans and lots of Australians, who come here mainly to work in hotels and tourism. There are even several shops only for foreigners.

Having been an immigrant（移民）myself,I admire people who go overseas to find a job. Maybe if I lived in an inner city where unemployment was high, I’d think differently, but I believe foreign settlers have improved this country because they’re more open-minded and often work harder than the natives.

Christine: As we flew home over Britain, both of us remarked how green everything looked. But the differences between the place we’d left behind and the one we returned to were brought sharply into focus as soon as we landed.

To see policemen with guns in the airport for the first time was frightening—in Cyprus, they’re very relaxed—and I got pulled over by customs officers just for taking a woolen sweater with some metal-made buttons out of my case in the arrivals hall. Everyone seemed to be on guard. Even the airport car-hire firm wanted a credit card rather than cash because they said their vehicles had been used by bank robbers.

But anyway, this is still a green, beautiful country. I just wish more people would appreciate what they’ve got.

【1】 After a short overseas holiday, people tend to________.

A. notice small changes

B. expect small changes

C. welcome small changes

D. exaggerate small changes

【2】 How does Debi look at the foreign settlers?

A. Cautiously.

B. Positively.

C. Skeptically.

D. Critically.

【3】 When arriving at the airport in Britain, Christine was shocked by__________ .

A. the relaxed policemen

B. the messy arrivals hall

C. the tight security

D. the bank robbers

【4】 Which might be the best title for the passage?

A. Life in Britain.

B. Back in Britain.

C. Britain in Future

D. Britain in Memory.

Answer 1

【答案】【1】 A

【2】 B

【3】 C

【4】 B

【解析】【1】 细节理解题。根据文章的第二段第一句If you’ve just arrived back in the UK after a fortnight’s holiday, small changes have probably surprised you...可知是注意到小变化，因此答案为A。B项为“期待小变化”；C项为“欢迎小变化”；D项“夸大小变化”，文中没提到这三项。

【2】 作者态度题。cautiously意为“谨慎地”；positively意为“积极地；肯定地”；skeptically意为“怀疑地”；critically意为“批判性地”。根据第五段最后一句...but I believe foreign settlers have improved this country because they’re more open-minded and often work harder than the natives.中的improved this country，open-minded和work harder可以看出作者对外来定居者持积极的态度，所以选B。

【3】 细节理解题。从文章的倒数第二段可知答案选C。从倒数第二段第一句话To see policemen with guns in the airport for the first time was frightening—in Cyprus, they’re very relaxed—and I got pulled over...in the arrivals hall.可知在Christine的家乡Cyprus，第一次看到配枪的警察让人害怕，而那里的警察是非常放松的。所以排除A项。文中只是提到了the arrivals hall，并没提到messy,所以排除B项。本段的最后一句话提到了bank robbers，但Christine并没有亲眼看到他们，排除D项。所以选C。

【4】 主旨大意题。本文是通过从国外回来的人的叙述，说明了英国的变化，所以B项符合题意。A项作为题目过大，C项文中未提到，D项“记忆中的英国”作为题目过小。