Planning a visit to the UK? Here we help with ways to cut your costs.

AVOID BIG EVNENTS big sporting events, concerts and exhibitions can increase the cost of accommodation and make it harder to find a room. A standard double room at the Thistle Brighton on the final Friday of the Brighton Comedy Festival(19 Oct.) cost ￡118.15.

If you can be flexible and want to know dates to avoid—or you're looking for a big event to pass your time­check out sites such as Whatsonwhen.com, which allow you to search for events in the UK by city, date and category.

STAY AWAY FROM THE STATION If traveling to your destination by train, you may want to find a good base close to the station, but you could end up paying more for the sake of convenience at the start of your holiday.

Don't be too choosy about the part of town you stay in. Booking two months in advance, the cheapest room at Travelodge's Central Euston hotel in London for Saturday 22 September was ￡95.95. A room just a tube journey away at its covent Garden hotel was ￡75.75. And at Farringdon, a double room cost just ￡62.95.

LOOK AFTER YOURSELF Really central hotels in cities such as London, Edinburgh and Cardiff can cost a fortune, especially at weekends and during big events. As an alternative consider checking into a self­catering flat with its own kitchen. Often these flats are hidden away on the top floors of city centre buildings. A great example is the historic O'Neill Flat on Edinburgh's Royal Mile, available for ￡420 for five days in late September, with room for four adults.

GET ON A BIKE London's ‘Boris bikes’ have attracted the most attention, but other cities also have similar programmes that let you rent a bicycle and explore at your own pace, saving you on public transport or car parking costs.

Among the smaller cities with their own programmes are Newcastle (casual members pay around ￡1.50 for two hours) and Cardiff (free for up to 30 minutes, or ￡5 per day)．

56．The Brighton Comedy Festival is mentioned mainly to show big events may________．

A．help travelers pass time

B．attract lots of travelers to the UK

C．allow travelers to make flexible plans

D．cause travelers to pay more for accommodation

57．“Farringdon” in Paragraph 5 is most probably ________．

A．a hotel away from the train station

B．the tube line to Covent Garden

C．an ideal holiday desinationo

D．the name of a travel agency

58．The passage shows that the O'Neill Flat ________．

A．lies on the ground floor

B．is located in central London

C．provides cooking facilities for tourists

D．costs over ￡100 on average per day in late September

59．Cardiff's program allows a free bike for a maximum period of ________．

A．half an hour　　　　　　　 B．one hour

C．one hour and a half  D．tow  hours

60．The main purpose of the passage is ________．

A．to tell visitors how to book in advance

B．to supply visitors with hotel information

C．to show visitors the importance of self­help

D．to offer visitors some money­saving tips

Planning a visit to the UK? Here we help with ways to cut your costs.

AVOID BIG EVENTS  Big sporting events, concerts and exhibitions can increase the cost of accommodation and make it harder to find a room. A standard double room at the Thistle Brighton on the final Friday of the Brighton Comedy Festival (19 Oct.) cost £169.15 at Booking.com. A week later, the same room cost £118.15.

If you can be flexible and want to know dates to avoid—or you’re looking for a big event to pass your time—check out sites such as Whatsonwhen.com, which allow you to search for events in the UK by city, date and category.

STAYAWAY FROM THE STATION If traveling to your destination by train, you may want to find a good base close to the station, but you could end up paying more for the sake of convenience at the start of your holiday.

Don’t be too choosy about the part of town you stay in. Booking two months in advance, the cheapest room at Travelodge’s Central Euston hotel in London for Saturday 22 September was £95.95. A room just a tube journey away at its Covent Garden hotel was £75.75. And at Farringdon, a double room cost just £62.95.

LOOK AFTER YOURSELF Really central hotels in cities such as London, Edinburgh and Cardiff can cost a fortune, especially at weekends and during big events. As an alternative consider checking into a self-catering flat with its own kitchen. Often these flats are hidden away on the top floors of city centre buildings. A great example is the historic O’Neill Flat on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, available for £420 for five days in late September, with room for four adults.

GET ON A BIKE London’s ‘Boris bikes’ have attracted the most attention, but other cities also have similar programmes that let you rent a bicycle and explore at your own pace, saving you on public transport or car parking costs.

Among the smaller cities with their own programmes are Newcastle (casual members pay around £1.50 for two hours) and Cardiff (free for up to 30 minutes, or £5 per day). (358 words)

1.The Brighton Comedy Festival is mentioned mainly to show big events may __________.

A．help travelers pass time

B．attract lots of travelers to the UK

C．allow travelers to make flexible plans

D．cause travelers to pay more for accommodation

2.“Farringdon” in Paragraph 5 is most probably __________.

A．a hotel away from the train station          B．the tube line to Covent Garden

C．an ideal holiday destination                D．the name of a travel agency

3.The passage shows that the O’Neill Flat __________.

A．lies on the ground floor

B．is located in central London

C．provides cooking facilities for tourists

D．costs over £100 on average per day in late September

4.Cardiff’s program allows a free bike for a maximum period of __________.

A．half an hour                           B．one hour

C．one hour and a half                      D．two hours

5.The main purpose of the passage is __________.

A．to tell visitors how to book in advance

B．to supply visitors with hotel information

C．to show visitors the importance of self-help

D．to offer visitors some money-saving tips

   If you want to take the whole family on holiday，and keep everybody happy．then I have found just the place for you．I recently went with a group of friends to stay at the Greenwood Holiday Village, which is open from May until October．

    Built in the centre of a forest，Greenwood is a great place to stay whatever the weather is like, Its main attraction for families is the indoor World of Water，where young and old Can have fun in the different pools．Some of these，however，are for serious swimmers only．

    For sporty, people，the Country Club offers tennis，squash and badminton．If your children are too young to join in these sports，there are activity clubs．Greenwood is a good place for families as it is traffic-free――you explore on foot or by bike．Some people complained that this was inconvenient，but I was pleased to be out in the fresh air．For evening entertainment，there are shows and cinemas．

    Accommodation is in a variety of apartments of different sizes．These have up to four bedrooms，a kitchen and a bathroom，as well as a dining area．Before going，I thought the apartments might not be big enough for all of us，but I was pleasantly surprised―it was not too crowded at all．

    I'll definitely go back to Greenwood next year．Why don't you give it a try? Visit their website for further information now!

60．From the text，the reader can find out         ．

  A．the best way to get to the holiday village

  B．the best time of year to visit the holiday village

  C．what activities are available at the holiday village

  D．how to reserve accommodation at the holiday village

61．What does the writer think about the holiday village?

  A．The apartments there are not big enough

  B．It is not convenient because you cannot use your car．

  C．It can only be enjoyed in good weather．

  D．There is something there for all ages

62．Which of the following statements about the apartments is TRUE?

  A．There is not much space between them

  B．Each one has its own bathroom．

  C．They all have four bedrooms．

  D．Not all of them have dining areas．

63．Which postcard would somebody send from the holiday village?

                          A.                                                           B.    

                         C.                                                                 D.

Discouraged by reading bad news daily and with his marriage failing, Canadian Neil Pasricha  decided to try to focus on the positive and come up with 1,000 simple, free, awesome things, posting one each day on a blog.

       Pasricha said his blog aimed to highlight life's simple pleasures, which were often taken for granted, such as finding forgotten money in a pocket, or fixing a TV set with a heavy blow.

       Little did he realize his blog would strike a nerve and attract 40,000 people a day to join his discussions on how to enjoy the last triangle of a potato crisp, or the pleasure of laughing so hard that you cry.

       Pasricha, aged 30, was amazed to win two Webby awards, known as "the Oscars of the Internet," something positive at a time when his marriage broke up and one of his closest friends committed suicide.

       "I turned the worst year of my life into my best year by focusing on the positive. " Pasricha told Reuters in a telephone interview. "Every day I try to find something that is happy, free and universal to share, like the smell of a bakery or when a cashier opens up a new line at a store. "

       Pasricha said when he began his blog in June 2008 he thought he might have trouble coming up with 1,000 simple, happy moments in life but now he is more than halfway through and ideas keep flooding in, from himself and from followers of his blog.

       "These moments can start a huge conversation. Most of our life is really about hitting green lights on the way home from, or waking up before your alarm goes off and realizing you have more time in bed. But it is those small moments we forget about."

       Despite the success of his blog, Pasricha does not want to change his daily life. “I travel regularly for an hour a day to work in the suburb. I like work because I like the people in my office. I’m not a writer and I don’t know how to use punctuations correctly. I just like observing the world and putting it down,” he said.

Neil Pasricha determined to post positive feelings or things on his blog because          .

       A．daily bad news and broken marriage saddened him

       B．1,000 simple, free, happy things excited him

       C．he wanted to forget his marriage life

       D．he wanted to make his blog successful

Which of the following will Pasricha probably NOT post onto his blog?

       A．Coming across an old schoolmate.

       B．Finding his lost dog come back home.

       C．Falling off his bike and getting injured.

       D．Buying his favourite book at a special price.

According to the passage, Pasricha         .

       A．gets ideas for 1,000 simple, free, happy things with trouble

       B．gets ideas for 1,000 simple, free, happy things on his own

       C．is on his way to collecting 1,000 simple, free, happy things

       D．has finished collecting 1,000 simple, free, happy things

Which of the following might be the best title for the poassage?

       A．Hard life for a Canadian blogger    B．Busy life for a Canadian blogger

       C．Great awards for a Canadian blogger     D．Great success for a Canadian blogger