WHAT TO HIRE A LONDON BUS?

London United Busways has been carrying Londoners by horse-tram, electric tramway and omnibus since 1894. Today, working for Transport for London, we have over 650 red London buses.

Getting married?

Why not hire a world famous Routemaster and make your wedding truly special. Our classic bus has been re-sprayed to its original condition and fitted out to look like it did in its heyday. Provided with a courteous, fully trained driver and conductor and PA system, we can carry up to 70 of you guests.

Have  a special occasion?

Whether it’s a company event, birthday or a sporting experience,we have a bus for every occasion .Our Double Decker buses will hold up to 72 of your guests and Single Deckers up to 30.

All of our buses come with a fully trained driver.

Need a Stadium Service?

We ferry fans to and from Richmond Station to Twickenham Stadium for matches and concerts throughout the year. We also operate services to the new Wembley Stadium.Download the pdf document for details of our Stadium Services.

HIRE A VEHICLE

Please note . passengers are not allowed to stand on any Private Hire vehicle. For a customized quotation: Please click Online Private Hire Quotation

Tel: 020 8400 5502      Fax: 020 8400 5101

Email:hireabus@lonutd.co.uk

1. All the following are the advantages of a Routemaster EXCEPT  _______.

A. being newly produced    B. a fully trained driver

C. a PA system             D. carrying up to 70 guests 

2.If you are having a birthday party with 71 guests , what kind of vehicle will you hire?

A. A Routermaster         B. A Double Decker bus

C. A Single Decker bus     D. A horse-tram

3. We can learn from the passage that ______.

A. London United Busways has a history of more than 200 years

B. London United Busways provides matches and concerts in Twickenham Stadium and Wembley Stadium throughout the year

C. all the passengers on the Private Hire vehicle’s should be seated 

D. the buses can only be hired through the Internet。

 

 

Welcome to my Message Board!
Subject: Slimming down classics?
Mr. Handsome 2007-5-12 6: 34 AM	Orion Books, which decides there is a market in creating cut-down classics (经典著作), is slimming down some novels by such great writers as L. Tolstoy, M. Mitchell and C. Bronte. Now, each of them has been whittled down to about 400 pages by cutting 30 to 40 pages per cent of original, with words, sentences, paragraphs and, in a few cases, chapters removed. The first six shortened editions, all priced at ￡6.99 and advertised as great reads “in half the time”, will go on sale next month, with plans for 50 to 100 more to follow. The publishing house believes that modern readers will welcome the shorter versions.
Mr. Edwards 2007-5-12 9: 40 AM	Well, I’m publisher of Orion Group. Thanks for your attention, Mr. Handsome. I must say, the idea developed from a game of “shame” in my office. Each of us was required to confess (承认) to the most embarrassing blanks in his or her reading. I admitted that I had never read Anna Karenina and tried but failed to get through Gone with the Wind several times. One of my colleagues acknowledged skipping (跳读) Jane Eyre. We realized that life is too short to read all the books you want to and we never were going to read these ones.    As a leading publishing house, we are trying to make classics convenient for readers but it’s not as if we’re withdrawing the original versions. They are still there if you want to read them.
Ms. Weir 2007-5-12 11:35 AM	I’m director of the online bookclub www.lovereading.co.uk    Mr. Edwards, I think your shortened editions is a breath of fresh air. I’m guilty of never having read Anna Karenina, because it’s just so long. I’d much rather read two 300-page books than one 600-page book. I am looking forward to more shortened classics!
Mr. Crockatt 2007-5-12 4:38 PM	I’m from the London independent bookshop Corckatt & Powell.    In my opinion, the practice is completely ridiculous. How can you edit the classics? I’m afraid reading some of these book is hard work, and that is why you have to develop as a reader. If people don’t have time to read Anna Karenina, then fine. But don’t read a shortened version and kid yourself it’s the real thing.

1.According to the message board, Orion Books ___________.

   A．opposes the reading of original classics         

    B．is embarrassed for cutting down classics

   C．thinks cut-down classics have a bright future     

    D．is cautions in its decision to cut down classics

2.In Mr. Edwards’ opinion, Orion Group is shortening classics to _________.

   A．make them easier to read           B．meet a large demand in the market

   C．increase the sales of literary books               D．compete with their original versions

3.By describing the shortened classics as “a breath of fresh air”, Ms. Weir ________.

   A．speaks highly of the cut-down classics          

    B．shows her love for original classics

   C．feels guilty of not reading the classics           

    D．disapprove of shortening the classics

4.Mr. Crockatt seems to imply that _________.

   A．reading the classic works is a confusing attempt      

   B．shortening the classics does harm to the original

   C．publishing the cut-down classics is a difficult job

   D．editing the classic works satisfies children’s needs

5.How many classics are involved in the massage board?

    A．Two. B．Three.   C．Four.    D．Five

 

When you’re an employee of a company, no matter the size, it’s common to see co-workers promoted, or transferred to a different department. But there is another way to move around—by creating a new position for yourself. I did this several years ago, though I wasn’t actively looking for a different job.
In 2007, I was hired at the Transamerica Life Insurance Company, as a customer service representative in the distributions services department. I processed requests for distributions from our annuity(养老金)policy holders around the country. Someone might have forgotten to sign a form, for example, or might have omitted security information. To solve the problem, I’d mail the person a letter.
The company had been through several combinations, so in our department alone we had a collection of about 140 templates(模板) for letters related to distributions. The longer I worked with the letters, the more I saw how they could be improved. Some had overlapping information and could be combined. Some had incorrect grammar or needed updating. I also noticed that industry terminology(专业术语) wasn’t standard across all the versions.
When I told my department supervisor about this in 2008, she agreed that the letters needed revamping. She said I should stop what I’d been doing and start the new work. In a relatively short time, I was able to make numerous improvements and reduce the number of letters to 70. It was an informal job change until a managers’ meeting several months later.
At that meeting, a vice president who was unaware of my new work mentioned that the division’s entire stock of 1,700 letters should be reviewed. My manager told her that she knew the perfect person for the job—me. The position was still considered temporary when I took on the extra tasks, but I was able to show that the work had value, and I was officially promoted and given a raise in November 2009.
【小题1】According to Paragraph 1, which of the following statements is true?    

A．The author admired those who got a promotion in his company.

B．It is no surprise to see people around us change their positions.

C．The author tried his best to get a promotion in his company

D．The author was eager to seek another job.

【小题2】Which of the following problems with the letters is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．Some information was overlooked.

B．Some information needed to be united.

C．Some had grammatical mistakes.

D．Industry terminology didn’t meet the standard.

【小题3】The underlined word “revamping” in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to        .

A．repeating

B．rebuilding

C．improving

D．strengthening

【小题4】The author started to review the letters when        .

A．he was hired by the company

B．he was promoted

C．he was recommended at a managers’ meeting

D．his department supervisor agreed his idea

【小题5】Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．Where there is will, there is a way.

B．Creating a position, and earning a promotion.

C．Don’t let the chance go, when it comes.

D．Ways to get a promotion.

Honesty may well be the policy, but it often deserts us when no one is watching, psychologists report today. Experiments with an honesty box to collect payments for hot drinks show that people are better at paying up when under the gaze(注视) of a pair of eyes. The surprise was that the eyes were not real, but photographed.

Researchers at Newcastle University set up the experiment in secret. They attached a poster to a cupboard of mugs above an-honesty box alongside a kettle ,with tea, coffee and milk. Over 10 weeks, they alternated each week between images of eyes and pictures of flowers.

Dr. Bateson, a behavioral biologist and leader of the study, said that even though the eyes were not real they still seemed to make people behave more honestly. They effect may arise from behavioral characteristics that developed as early humans formed social groups that increased their chances of survival. Individuals had to co-operate for the good of the group, rather than act selfishly.

"If nobody is watching us, it is in our interests to behave selfishly. But when we think we're being watched,we should behave better, so people see us as co-operative and behave the same way towards us, "Dr. Bateson said.

"We thought we'd get a slight effect with eyes, but it was quite striking how much difference they made. Even at a subconscious(潜意识的) level, it seems people respond to eyes, and that might be because eyes send a strong biological signal we have evolved(进化) to respond to."

The finding, which researchers believe sheds light on our evolutionary past, could be turned to practical use. The psychologists say images of eyes could promote ticket sales on public transport and improve monitor systems to prevent antisocial behavior.

1.This passage is mainly about _______________.

A. the policy of honesty               

B. an honesty box to collect money

C. evolution on honesty            

D. an experiment on honesty

2.The reason for doing the experiment secretly is that the researchers _____________.

A. wanted to get a comparatively more exact result

B. had known they wanted to do something illegally

C. meant to get the co-operation of their colleagues

D. intended to sell the hot drinks at a higher price

3.People behave honestly under watchful gaze of eyes because _____________.

A. they want to leave a good impression    

B. they fear to be laughed at by others

C. they've got the nature through evolution    

D. they take the photo for a real pair of eyes

4.The underlined phrase" sheds light on" in the last paragraph means _____.

A. causes somebody to become cheerful      

B. makes something easier to understand

C. comes upon something by accident        

D. brings something into the broad daylight

 

Gallows humor（黑色幽默）seem like a mistake, or at least in poor taste. But psychologists say that gallows humor can be an important way to relieve stress. “Humor makes you feel in control and it can give you that feeling that everything is okay even when it's not,” says James M. Jones, a psychology professor at the University of Delaware.

Psychologists say that just because you're laughing doesn't mean you’re wasting time. Occasional teasing among colleagues, particularly if it revolves around things associated with the job, can boost creativity, departmental cohesiveness（凝聚力）and performance.

“There are a lot of stressors out there,” says Ed Dunkelblau, a psychologist with the Institute for Emotionally Intelligent Learning in Chicago. “But gallows humor is a way of making difficult things a little less difficult.”

This is true as long as the humor is used for the right purpose. The main point of it should be inspiring people --- not laughing at them. “Anything that would lift morale（士气）in terms of the company would be good humor,” says Thierry Guedj, a professor of business and psychology at Boston University. “Before you say or do anything, think about, ‘How is this helping my employees’ morale?’”

You want to give your employees and co-workers a sense of belonging, so don’t make observations that are aggressive. Most obviously, Dr Guedj says, don’t make comments about people’s physical appearance, or faith. If you have any doubt, it's appropriate, don't go through with it.

Or you can take aim at the one person you know won't be offended（冒犯）:Yourself. “If there's going to be a joke or story, it should be you,” Mr. Dunkelblau says. For example, if you're a marketing manager reviewing a failed campaign that you led, begin with a line like, “The guy who gave permission to this deal might just be looking for work next week.”

“People with the ability to laugh at themselves can give other people permission to laugh at themselves too,” Mr. Jones says. “And if you can laugh at yourself, you feel better about yourself.”

1.According to the text, gallows humor has the following functions EXCEPT ________.

A．reducing pressure

B．improving performance

C．making people more creative

D．leading to a big mistake

2.What is Ed Dunkelblau’s attitude towards gallows humor?

A．Positive.          B．Negative.          C．Neutral.           D．Uncertain.

3.Which of the following would Dr. Guedj most probably agree with?

A．Gallows humor is the basic source of morale.

B．Gallows humor allows people to laugh at others.

C．Gallows humor may sometimes be used for the wrong purpose.

D．Anything that may lift morale can be called gallows humor.

4.When people use gallows humor, they should ________.

A．observe who is aggressive

B．show a sense of belonging

C．doubt about the result of humors

D．try to avoid irritating others

5.What can we infer from the text?

A．People tend to laugh at others rather than themselves.

B．Laughing at ourselves can help relieve the stress of others.

C．People can’t avoid offending others with gallows humor.

D．People who laugh at themselves are hard to be friends with.