More than a hundred years ago, an American produced (创造) a game. He called it indoor tennis. The Americans were not interested in it at first so he sent it to his London friends and it became very popular (流行) in Britain. The game was then played across the dining-room table or on the floor with the net hung between two chairs. In the early days ，the balls were made of cork (软木) or rubber. The bats(球拍) were made of wood.

A few years later a hollow (空心) ball like the one we use today was invented. The game then quickly spread all over the world. An Englishman once made a bat covered with rubber. He first played the game in England and called it "ping - pong". "Ping" was the sound of the bat when it hit the ball, and "pong" was the sound of the ball when it hit the table.

1.Who invented the game of ping-pong?

A．A Chinese.

B．An Englishman.

C．An American.

D．We don't know.

2.The game was first called ________ by its producer(创造者).

A．ping- pong tennis

B．table tennis

C．our-door tennis

D．indoor tennis

3.What did the British think of the game?

A．Moving (感人的).

B．Interesting.

C．Terrible.

D．boring.

4.In the early days，the ball was________.

A．hollow	B．covered with rubber
C．made of cork or rubber	D．made of wood

5.The name of ping-pong has something to do with __________.

A．sound

B．size

C．history

D．place

 

Chinatown is the name given to an area in the middle of London. It is just between Leicester Square and Shaftsbury Avenue. Gerrard Street is at the center and is the most important street in the area. There is a large Chinese community(社区) with a lot of Chinese restaurants, Chinese supermarkets and shops in this street.

In the 1950s, it was a poor area and everything was very cheap. At the same time, the world rice market changed and thousand of farm workers in Hong Kong lost their jobs. They began arriving in London to look for work. They found jobs in the restaurants in this area. Many British people like Chinese food, and the restaurants were popular.

These restaurant workers often worked 17 hours a day and had no time to learn English. As more Chinese arrived, more shops and businesses grew up. Wives came and joined their husbands and children came and joined their fathers. The community grew, and Chinatown was born.

In the 1970s and 1980s, British-born Chinese started to have a better education and this brought economic(经济的) success to the area. Many families moved out of Chinatown, and there was more space for businesses. Gerrard Street become a street only for visitors and was soon a popular place for tourists.

Now everyone knows about London’s Chinatown. During the Chinese New Year, the streets are seen with flags and thousands of Chinese go into the streets. For most of the year, though, Londoners and tourists go there mainly for the food in the Chinese restaurants. They best restaurants are the ones where the Chinese eat.

1.Is this Chinatown in the middle of London?

2. Ws the area rich or poor in the 1950s?

3.Why did the restaurant workers have not time to learn English?

4.When did British-born Chinese start to have a better education?

5.What are the main points about Chinatown in this passage?

 

The Clockwork Radio
The British inventor Trevor Baylis created this really clever ′wind-up radio′ for people from Third World countries. in some parts of the Third World countries, it’s very hard for people to get or pay for enough energy. This radio uses no batteries (电池) and does not need any electricity to run it. A clockwork generator (发电机) is put inside the radio and works as the power. When it is fully wound up (上弦), the radio can work for long periods.

The clock work product is not a new invention. The Victorians had already put it in wide use. We may find them used in toys as well. Then what is new about this clockwork radio? Baylis has used this simple but effective (高效的) way of creating electricity to both help the people of the Third World and to develop a product which is selling well in Western Europe.
Even former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandella has one of these radios and personally recommends this product to others.
【小题1】What does the clockwork radio use to run it?

A．Batteries.	B．Electricity.
C．A clockwork generator.	D．Wind power.

【小题2】The Third World countries are      in the world.

A．the rich countries	B．the poor countries
C．Western European	D．Victorian countries

【小题3】Which sentence is true according to the passage?

A．the clockwork radio can work for only a short period of time.

B．Trevor Baylis created the world’s first clockwork product.

C．The clockwise radio is also a toy for people of the Third World.

D．Nelson Mandella owns one of the clockwork radios.

One thing that British and Chinese cultures share is a love for tea. Today, when we think of western tea culture, we often think of the English and beautiful china tea cups.

Afternoon tea:

People believe that an English lady, Anna, first introduced the idea of afternoon tea. In the 18^th and 19^th centuries, the English ate only two main meals each day, breakfast and a heavy supper that would last for several hours in the evening. As a result, people often got very hungry during the long wait between these two meals. To solve this problem, Anna came up with the clever idea of inviting some friends to join her for an afternoon meal between four and five o’clock. This meal included cakes, sandwiches, and tea was served to wash down the food. In order to make this afternoon meal important, fine china cups, plates, and silver teapots, knives, forks and spoons were used. Soon, afternoon tea parties became popular social occasions. Today, afternoon tea parties continue to play an important part in the social life in modern Britain.

Will you come for coffee:

Coffee also has an important role in British culture. People often use words “Will you come for coffee?” to mean “Would you like to come to my home for a chat?” Normally, several different drinks such as tea, hot chocolate or a soft drink like orange juice will be served as well as coffee, and you will be asked what you would like. However, you will not normally be offered wine at a “coffee” party.

Coffeehouses and the London Stock Exchange:

In the 17^th century London coffeehouses were busy and noisy places. Businessmen and bankers went to coffeehouses to do their business, as well as to drink coffee. In fact, the London Stock Exchange（股票交易所）is believed to be started from these coffeehouses.

1.Anna introduced the idea of drinking afternoon tea because she ____________.

A．enjoyed chatting with her friends at home

B．loved tea and beautiful china tea cups

C．wanted to share nice food with her friends

D．found people felt hungry during the long wait between the two meals

2.What does “social occasions” mean in Chinese?

A．集体婚礼         B．社交活动          C．社区表演         D．公共场合

3. If someone says to you “Will you come for coffee?”, you ___________.

A．will be offered coffee only

B．will be asked what you would like to drink

C．will be asked to have a chat with him or her

D．are invited to take part in an afternoon tea party

4. From the last paragraph we can see ____________.

A．a new business was started in coffeehouses

B．coffeehouses are still used by businessmen and bankers

C．businessmen and bankers went to coffeehouses just for coffee

D．most people wouldn’t like to go to coffeehouses because of the coffee

5.Which is the best title（标题）for this article?

A．British and Chinese Culture

B．The Beginning of Tea and Coffee

C．Coffeehouses and Business

D．English Tea and Coffee Culture