There is more to tourism in Britain than you might think.

When you think of tourist sites in Britain, what do you think of? Big Ben and the Tower of London? Lock Ness? Shakespeare’s birthplace at Strafford-upon-Avon? There are many famous tourist attractions in the UK and they attract millions of visitors each year. But along with the famous names there are thousands of other interesting places that are only open to the public for a few days each year. Heritage Open Days takes place each September and lets the public visit places that would normally be out of bounds. Among the thousands of historic sites there are castles and factories, town halls and churches. Here we look at some of the places that most tourists might not know about.

Roman Baths --- Chester

These Roman baths are almost two thousand years old and a fascinating insight into the history of the city but they aren’t often open to visitors because they are under a clothes shop and a shop that sells baked potatoes! In Open Days week, visitors can go downstairs to the basement of the shops and find a little piece of history.

Tennis Club --- Birmingham

Edgbaston Tennis Club opened in 1860 and is the oldest tennis club in the world. Visitors can see the club’s collection of tennis clothes and equipment and learn about the game’s rich history.

Ardman Animation --- Bristol

The studios that produced the famous Wallace and Gromit animated films open its doors to the public to let people find out more about how the films are made.

Paddock Wood --- Kent

A family house where some of the rooms are unchanged since the 1920s. The home’s owner, Sarah Hamilton, is happy to open her doors to the public, saying “I’m passionate about history and I love taking to people.”

These are just a few of the thousands of places to visit each year. If you’re visiting Britain in September ---- look out for Open Days!

1.Where is the Roman Baths --- Chester?

A．Next to a clothes shop.

B．Above a potato shop.

C．In Open Days week.

D．In a basement of two shops.

2.Which place might be most attractive to movie fans?

A．Paddock Wood --- Kent

B．Tennis Club --- Birmingham

C．Roman Baths --- Chester

D．Ardman Animation --- Bristol

3.What common things can tourists learn about at the four interesting places in the passage?

A．Collection.         B．Structure.         C．History.           D．Style

PART THREE READING COMPREHENSION

  Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A,B,C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.

    Building after building under water．Refugees in shelters．Thousands of others unsure where to go．Bodies in streets．This is what one of America's historic cities was reduced to this week by a powerful storm, Katrina．The mayor of New Orleans says thousands may be dead．Hurricane Katrina also caused death and destruction in parts of Mississippi and Alabama along the Gulf of Mexico．

    New Orleans is famous for its wild Mardi Gras celebrations．New Orleans is also a major port for foreign oil and other shipping trade．Yet the city of nearly five hundred thousand people was built below sea level．New Orleans has depended on levees to control floods from the Mississippi River．Katrina struck on Monday．New Orleans avoided a direct hit．But two of the levees failed the next day．Most of the city was flooded．Helicopters dropped huge sandbags to fill the breaks．But the water had no place to go．Pumping stations had no power．

    America faces one of the worst natural events in its history．President Bush says the recovery will take years．People were told to leave the path of the storm．But some would not or could not．Many of those worst affected by Katrina are poor and black．African-American leaders and others were angry that government aid did not arrive faster．President Bush visited some of the damaged areas on Friday．He said the way officials reacted to the crisis was unacceptable．

56．Which is true of the following details about New Orleans?

       A．New Orleans is a newly-built city of America

       B．There were no black people in New Orleans．

       C．This is the first time that hurricane has stricken it．

       D．It’s  a port for foreign oil and other shipping trade．

57．What does the underlined word “levees” (in the second paragraph) mean?

       A．dams                    B． trees                    C．ports                     D．ships

58．Which is right about the Hurricane Katrina?

       A．It also caused the destruction in parts of Mississippi．

       B．A lot of people died in this disaster．

       C．It cut off the electricity supply of the city．

       D．All of the above is right．

59．What can we learn from the text?

       A．President Bush was not concerned about this disaster．

       B．The recovery of the city will take a few days．

       C． In this city there were no pump stations．

       D． In this disaster the government aid didn’t  arrive in time．

60. What kind of attitude does the author have toward the government ?

    A. appreciative           B. optimistic               C. depreciative            D. humorous

Bamboo is one of the nature’s most surprising plants. Many people call this plant a tree, but it is a kind of grass.

Like other kinds of grass, a bamboo plant may be cut very low to the ground, but it will grow back very quickly. A Japanese scientist recorded one bamboo plant that grew almost 1.5 meters in 24 hours! Bamboo grows almost everywhere in the world except Europe. There are more than 1,000 kinds of bamboo that grow around the world on both mountains and plains.

Not all bamboo looks the same. Some bamboo plants are very thin. They may only grow to be a few centimeters wide while others may grow to more than 30 centimeters across. This plant also comes in different colors, from yellow to black to green.

Many Asian countries have been using bamboo for hundreds of years. They often use bamboo for building new buildings. As a matter of fact, the cables that hold up the hanging bridge across the Min River in Sichuan are made of bamboo. The bridge has been in use for more than 1,000 years, and is still holding strong.

In Africa, engineers are teaching poor farmers how to find water using bamboo. These African countries need cheap ways to find water because they have no money, and their fields often die from no rain and no water. It seems that bamboo is one of the best things they can use. Bamboo pipes and drills can help to make the poor thirsty fields to be watered.

1.How is bamboo like grass?

A．It is thin and easy to cut.                  B．It grows everywhere.

C．It grows quickly after it's cut short.          D．It is short and green.

2.The sentence “while others may grow to more than 30 centimeters across.” means “Some other bamboo plants may grow to be very _______.”

A．short             B．strong            C．thick             D．tall

3.From the text we know ______.

A．most people call bamboo plant trees

B．a bamboo plant may grow 4.5 meters in three days

C．the bamboo plant changes its colors when it grows

D．a bridge held by bamboo cable was built thousands of years ago

4.Why did the engineers teach the poor farmers in Africa to make use of bamboo?

A．Because it is cheap.                      B．Because it is colorful.

C．Because it drills fast.                     D．Because it is used by Asians.

5.Which of the following is NOT true?

A．There are many different kinds of bamboo with different colors.

B．Cables made of bamboo can last for over a thousand years.

C．Bamboo can be used for buildings, bridges and watering projects.

D．Bamboo plants are able to grow well in any part of the world.

Attending a university is an important part of a person’s life. Today, many people go to a university to study and train for a future job in subjects like law, medicine, or education. But the university is not a modern invention. It has a history that is over a thousand years old.
The world’s oldest university, Al-Azhar, is in Cairo, Egypt. It was first built as a mosque in A.D. 972. A few years later, learners and teachers began meeting in the mosque in “tutoring circles”. They read and talked about the subject of law. Around 988, leaders in the city of Cairo decided to create a school for higher learning and the University of Al-Azhar was founded.
At Al-Azhar, there were many university ‘firsts.’ Courses were created. The earliest ones taught at Al-Azhar were in law and religion. In a course, students read and studied with the teacher, but there was also free discussion. Often, students and teachers talked about a topic, and there was no ‘right’ answer. Finally, scholars from around the world came to Al-Azhar to teach and do research. At the university, people studied the past, but it was also a place for sharing new ideas.
Over a thousand years later, Al-Azhar is still an important university in the world. Its library contains more than 250,000 of the world’s oldest and most valuable books. Today, many of the world’s most important universities such as Oxford and Harvard still follow the traditions started at Al-Azhar.
【小题1】What’s this passage mainly about?

PART THREE READING COMPREHENSION
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A,B,C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.
A
Building after building under water．Refugees in shelters．Thousands of others unsure where to go．Bodies in streets．This is what one of America's historic cities was reduced to this week by a powerful storm, Katrina．The mayor of New Orleans says thousands may be dead．Hurricane Katrina also caused death and destruction in parts of Mississippi and Alabama along the Gulf of Mexico．
New Orleans is famous for its wild Mardi Gras celebrations．New Orleans is also a major port for foreign oil and other shipping trade．Yet the city of nearly five hundred thousand people was built below sea level．New Orleans has depended on levees to control floods from the Mississippi River．Katrina struck on Monday．New Orleans avoided a direct hit．But two of the levees failed the next day．Most of the city was flooded．Helicopters dropped huge sandbags to fill the breaks．But the water had no place to go．Pumping stations had no power．
America faces one of the worst natural events in its history．President Bush says the recovery will take years．People were told to leave the path of the storm．But some would not or could not．Many of those worst affected by Katrina are poor and black．African-American leaders and others were angry that government aid did not arrive faster．President Bush visited some of the damaged areas on Friday．He said the way officials reacted to the crisis was unacceptable．
56．Which is true of the following details about New Orleans?
A．New Orleans is a newly-built city of America
B．There were no black people in New Orleans．
C．This is the first time that hurricane has stricken it．
D．It’s  a port for foreign oil and other shipping trade．
57．What does the underlined word “levees” (in the second paragraph) mean?
A．dams                   B． trees                    C．ports                    D．ships
58．Which is right about the Hurricane Katrina?
A．It also caused the destruction in parts of Mississippi．
B．A lot of people died in this disaster．
C．It cut off the electricity supply of the city．
D．All of the above is right．
59．What can we learn from the text?
A．President Bush was not concerned about this disaster．
B．The recovery of the city will take a few days．
C． In this city there were no pump stations．
D． In this disaster the government aid didn’t  arrive in time．
60. What kind of attitude does the author have toward the government ?
A. appreciative          B. optimistic              C. depreciative           D. humorous