To swim across the English Channel takes at least nine hours. It‘s hard work and it makes you short of breath. To fly over the channel takes only twenty minutes as long as you’re not held up at the airport， but it‘s an expensive way to travel. You can travel by hovercraft （气垫船）if you don’t mind the noise and that takes forty minutes. Otherwise， you can go by boat， if you remember your sea-sickness pills. All these means of transport have their problems， and the weary（厌烦的）traveler often dreams of being able to drive to France in his own car. “Not possible， you say. Well， wait a minute. People are once again considering the idea of a channel tunnel or bridge.” This time， the great London Council（议会）is looking into the possibility of building a channel link straight to London. A bridge would cost far more than a tunnel， but you would be able to make a journey by rail or by car on a bridge， yet a tunnel would provide a rail link only. Why is this idea being discussed again？ Is Britain realizing the need for links with Europe as a result of joining EEC？Well， perhaps， the main reason， though， is that a tunnel or bridge would reach the twenty square kilometers of London‘s discussed dockland（船坞）。 A link from London to the continent would stimulate（刺激） trade and revitalize（使重新具有活力）the port， and would make London a main trading center in Europe. With a link over the Channel， you could buy your fish and chips in England and be able to eat them in France while they are still warm！

From the lines we can see that people crossed the Channel by ______ in the past.

A. air   B. boat    C. swimming   D. A， B， or C

The weary traveler thinks the best way to cross the Channel is ______.

A. by swimming   B. in his own car   C. by air  D. by hovercraft

A tunnel would cost______ a bridge.

A. far less than  B. as much as  C. far more than  D. as little as

The main idea of the passage is______.

A. how to develop the trade of London

B. when to cross the Channel

C. how to get to Europe from London more conveniently

D. what to do in the developing of traveling

To the Editor,

    I have been reading your newspaper, the Hometown Gazette, for the past two years, ever since I moved to Smithville. We moved here from New York City, so I am accustomed(习惯的) to reading excellent newspapers such as The New York Times . In fact, we still have the Times delivered on Sundays. The entire family enjoys reading the recipes（食谱） in the magazine, as well as the Styles section.

The Times is great, but the Gazette is another story. I’ve never read an article that doesn’t contain at least three or four spelling or grammatical errors. For instance, in last week’s issue you misspelled the word “secretary”, used a singular verb with a plural noun, and used “it’s” as a possessive (所有格). And that was just in the lead story! In case you never went to elementary school, “it’s” means “it is ”.It’s also a possessive adjective!

It’s a pity that this tiny little hick(乡下) town has only one newspaper, because I’d like to have an alternative(替换物) to the rag you publish. I find it hard to believe your news stories. If you can’t spell correctly. How can you get your facts right?

I’ve been meaning to get this off my chest for some time. Please cancel my subscription(订阅). And buy yourself a dictionary.

                                                    Sincerely,

                                                    Jane Z, Jones

Which phrase from the passage shows the writer’s prejudice(偏见)?

   A. get this off my chest

   B. three or four spelling or grammatical errors

   C. tiny little hick town

   D. reading the recipes in the magazine

The author’s tone in this passage can best be described as                 

   A. happy        B. angry       C. sympathetic(同情的)         D. objective

Which statement of the following is not true according to the passage?

   A. The writer once lived in New York City, so he was used to reading the Times.

   B. The entire family enjoys reading the Styles section in the mafazine.

   C. The writer has long been planning to express his dissatisfaction with the local newspaper

   D. It is obvious that the editors of the newspaper are not very careful about their work.

    To swim across the English Channel takes at least nine hours. It‘s hard work and it makes you short of breath. To fly over the channel takes only twenty minutes as long as you’re not held up at the airport， but it‘s an expensive way to travel. You can travel by hovercraft （气垫船）if you don’t mind the noise and that takes forty minutes. Otherwise， you can go by boat， if you remember your sea-sickness pills. All these means of transport have their problems， and the weary（厌烦的）traveler often dreams of being able to drive to France in his own car. “Not possible， you say. Well， wait a minute. People are once again considering the idea of a channel tunnel or bridge.” This time， the great London Council（议会）is looking into the possibility of building a channel link straight to London. A bridge would cost far more than a tunnel， but you would be able to by rail or by car on a bridge， yet a tunnel would provide a rail link only. Why is this idea being discussed again？ Is Britain realizing the need for links with Europe as a result of joining EEC？ Well， perhaps， the main reason， though， is that a tunnel or bridge would reach the twenty square kilometers of London‘s discussed dockland（船坞）。 A link from London to the continent would stimulate（刺激） trade and revitalize（使重新具有活力）the port， and would make London a main trading center in Europe. With a link over the Channel， you could buy your fish and chips in England and be able to eat them in France while they are still warm！

From the lines we can see that people crossed the Channel by ______ in the past.

    A. air          B. boat        C. Swimming          D. A， B， or C

The weary traveler thinks the best way to cross the Channel is ______.

    A. by swimming      B. in his own car     C. by air        D. by hovercraft

A tunnel would cost______ a bridge.

    A. far less than     B. as much as    C. far more than    D. as little as

According to the passage， a link from London to the continent would be______.

    A. necessary for its trade          B. important for its politics

    C. useful for its industry          D. helpful for its culture

The main idea of the passage is______.

A. how to develop the trade of London     

B. when to cross the Channel

C. how to get to Europe from London more conveniently

D. what to do in the developing of traveling

To be ______ changing times you cannot have your body in the 21st century and your head back in the past.

To the Editor,
I have been reading your newspaper, the Hometown Gazette, for the past two years, ever since I moved to Smithville. We moved here from New York City, so I am accustomed(习惯的) to reading excellent newspapers such as The New York Times . In fact, we still have the Times delivered on Sundays. The entire family enjoys reading the recipes（食谱） in the magazine, as well as the Styles section.
The Times is great, but the Gazette is another story. I’ve never read an article that doesn’t contain at least three or four spelling or grammatical errors. For instance, in last week’s issue you misspelled the word “secretary”, used a singular verb with a plural noun, and used “it’s” as a possessive (所有格). And that was just in the lead story! In case you never went to elementary school, “it’s” means “it is ”.It’s also a possessive adjective!
It’s a pity that this tiny little hick(乡下) town has only one newspaper, because I’d like to have an alternative(替换物) to the rag you publish. I find it hard to believe your news stories. If you can’t spell correctly. How can you get your facts right?
I’ve been meaning to get this off my chest for some time. Please cancel my subscription(订阅). And buy yourself a dictionary.
Sincerely,
Jane Z, Jones
【小题1】 Which phrase from the passage shows the writer’s prejudice(偏见)?