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. 
【小题1】After a short overseas holiday, people tend to _______.

Large companies need a way to reach the savings of the public at large. The same problem, on a smaller__1__, faces practically every company trying to __2__ new products and create new jobs. There can be little prospect of raising the sort of sums needed from friends and people we know. While banks may agree to provide short-term finance, they are generally __3__ to provide money on a permanent basis for long-term projects. So companies turn to public, inviting people to lend them money, or take a share in the business in __4__ for a share in future profits. This they do by __5__ stocks and shares in the business through the Stock Exchange. By doing so they can put into circulation the savings of __6__ and organizations, both at home and overseas.         
When the saver needs his money back, he does not have to go to the company with whom he originally placed it. __7__, he sells his shares through a stockbroker to some other saver who is seeking to __8__ his money.
Many of the __9__ needed both by industry and by each of us are provided by the government or by local authorities. Without hospitals, electricity, telephones, railways, this country could not __10__. All these require __11__ spending on new equipment and new development if they are to serve us properly, requiring more money than is raised through taxes alone. The government, local authorities, and nationalized industries __12__ frequently need to borrow money to finance major capital spending, and they, too, come to the Stock Exchange.
There is __13__ a man or woman in this country whose job or whose standard of living does not __14__ the ability of his or her employers to raise money to finance new development. In one way or another this new money must come from the savings of the country. The Stock Exchange __15_ to provide a channel through which these savings can reach those who need finance.

In this country it is required that anyone who wants to settle here ______ to pass this kind of test.

A. has                                   B. must have                        C. have                                 D. will have

About 30 years ago, I left Cuba for the United States with my son. After getting settled finally in Brunswick, New Jersey, I enrolled(注册) my son in kindergarten. Several weeks later, my son’s teacher asked me to meet him at his office.
In the teacher’s office, and exchange of greetings was followed by his questions: “ Is your son mentally retarded(弱智的)? Does he suffer from any kind of mental disability?”
Was he talking about my wonderful Scola? No, no, it can’t be. What a helpless, lonely moment! I told him that Scola was a quiet, sweet little boy, instead. I asked him why he was asking me all these questions.
My son could not follow the teacher’s directions, he told me, and thus, Scola was disrupting the class. Didn’t he know my son did not speak English yet?
He was angry: “ Why hasn’t your son been taught to speak English? Don’t you speak English at home?”
No, I didn’t speak English at home, I replied. I was sure my son would learn English in a couple of months, and I didn’t want him to forget his native language. Well, wrong answer! What kind of person would not speak in English to her son at home and at all times? “ Are you one of those people who come to this country to save dollars and sent them back to their country, never wanting to be a part of this society?”
Needless to say, I tried to tell him I was not one of “ those people.” Then he told me the meeting was over, and I left.
As I had expected, my son learned to speak English fluently before the school year was over. He went on to graduate from college and got a job, earning close to six figures. He travels widely and leads a well-adjusted, contented life. And he has benefited from being bilingual(双语的)。
Speaking more than one language allows people to communicate with others; it teaches people about other cultures and other places- something very basic and obviously lacking in the “educator” I met in New Jersey.
【小题1】The teacher asked the author to his office________.

Good afternoon, and welcome to England. We hope that your visit here will be a pleasant one. Today, I would like to draw your attention to a few of our laws.
The first one is about drinking. Now, you may not buy alcohol (酒) in this country if you are under 18 years of age, nor may your friends buy it for you.
Secondly, noise. Enjoy yourselves by all means, but please don’t make unnecessary noise, particularly at night. We ask you to respect other people who may wish to be quiet.
Thirdly crossing the road. Be careful. The traffic moves on the left side of the road in this country. Use pedestrian crossings (人行横道) and do not take any chances when crossing the road.
My next point is about litter (throwing away waste material in a public place). It is an offence (违法行为) to drop litter in the street. When you have something to throw away, please put it in your pocket and take it home, or put it in a litter bin.
Finally, as regards smoking, it is against the law to buy cigarettes or tobacco (烟草) if you are under 16 years of age.
I’d like to finish by saying that if you require any sort of help or assistance, you should contact your local police station, who will be pleased to help you.
Now, are there any questions?
【小题1】The main purpose of this speech would be to ____ .