Britain is facing a sharp rise in its rat population as growing numbers of people leave what they cannot finish of the fast food in the street, an environment group warned .Keep Britain Tidy said the rats were stopping their traditional hunts underground and were running across the streets, invited by burgers, pizzas and crisps left behind by man. “The rat population is on the rise and soon it’ll be as common to see a rat on our street as it is to see a dog or a cat,” said group Director, Sue Nelson. The practice of spreading fast food litter and scraps on the street rather than in the dustbin—with young men the worst group—was behind the rise. According to the National Rodent Survey in 2005, Britain’s rat population has grown by nearly one quarter since 2000 and is now estimated at 60 million, two million more than the human population. On average a rat can give birth every 24-28 days and just a single pair of rats can produce a family of 2,000 a year. Around 200 people a year get Weil’s Disease –an infection which can lead to liver or kidney（肝肾）failure and eventually death and which is carried in rats’ waste. To attract people’s attention to the problem, Keep Britain Tidy produced a cinema ad with a title “How close do you want them to get?” The ad gave a shocking image of a young woman sleeping in a bed of rats--reminding people of the terrible scene from James Herbert’s classic horror tale The Rats, in which rats begin to hunt for humans.

Where did the rats use to search for food? k*s5*u

       A. In the street                                          B. Under the ground

       C. From the dustbins                                 D. In burger shops

What was the rat population in Britain in 2000 according to the writer?

       A. Around 60 million                                B. Around 45 million           

C. Around 38 million                                 D. Around 2 million

We may infer from the passage that ______________.

       A. Weil’s Disease will finally end the world

       B. pizzas and crisps will become unpopular

       C. rats will put human beings’ life in danger      

       D. young people should take the responsibility for the rat population

By writing the passage, the author tries to _____________.

       A. close some of the burger and pizza restaurants

       B. draw the public attention to the problem of rats

       C. prevent the rats from growing up

D. making an advertisement for the classic horror tale The Rats

Although the New Year is already here, the great moments of the past year are still in the memory. Let’s look back at some of them.
United States
One of the world’s largest New Year’s Eve parties was held in Times Square, New York. The festival attracted hundreds of thousands of people to watch a brightly-lit ball drop on a landmark building at the stroke (击、打) of midnight.
A great amount of confetti (五彩纸屑) was released from the sky at zero o’clock.
Britain
Painted in shinning colors, blowing whistles, 50，000 party-goers arrived in London’s Millennium Dome to dance in the New Year. The Millennium Dome came to life at midnight as 50 DJs started up, competing on five separate dance floors to warm the crowd into the party mood.
Russia
New Year is the biggest holiday in Russia. It is traditional to put up a tree for celebrations with family and friends.
On the very last day of last year, Russians with a taste for a very cold swim braved freezing temperatures to plant traditional, festival trees on the bed of the Northern Ocean and at the bottom of Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest lake.
Malaysia
Brave skydivers threw themselves off the world’s tallest building near midnight and floated towards the New Year.
The jump from the 452-metre Petronas Twin Tower was called a real leap from one year to the next since the group took off in the last second of the old year and landed a minute later in the New Year. “That was really cool,” said Roland Simpson, “over crowds of onlookers to the landing spot.”
【小题1】In New York the brightly-lit ball dropped ____________.

A．form the sky onto the Times Square

B．into the hundreds of thousands of watchers

C．to welcome the arrival of Christmas

D．at the point between the old and the New Year

【小题2】Which of the following is NOT traditional to welcome a new year?

A．Sharing the happiness and excitement together.

B．Setting up a tree for celebrations.

C．Planting trees on the bed of a lake.

D．50 DJs’ competing on five separate floors.

【小题3】People jumping from the tallest buildings _________.

A．spent two different years in the air.

B．stayed in the sky for two minutes.

C．landed over people’s heads.

D．floated away to the new land

【小题4】The passage mainly shows that ________.

A．New Year has been the starting point for people to have dreams.

B．people in different countries welcomed New Year in different ways.

C．people’s ways of celebrations are exciting.

D．the New Year is better than the old year.

While small may be beautiful, tall is just plain uncomfortable it seems, particularly when it comes to staying in hotels and eating in restaurants.

The Tall Persons Club Great Britain (TPCGB), which was formed six months ago to campaign for the needs of the tall, has turned its attention to hotels and restaurants. Beds that are too small, shower heads that are too low, and restaurant tables with hardly any leg-room all make life difficult for those of above average height, it says.

But it is not just the extra-tall whose needs are not being met. The average height of the population has been increasing yet the standard size of beds, doorways, and chairs has remained unchanged.

“The bedding industry says a bed should be six inches larger than the person using it, so even a king-size bed at 6′6″ (6 feet and 6 inches) is falling short for 25% of men, while the standard 6′3″ bed caters for less than half of the male population.” Said TPCGB president Phil Heinricy, “seven-foot beds would work fine.”

 Similarly, restaurant tables can cause no end of problems. Small tables, which mean the long-legged have to sit a foot or so away from them, are enough to make tall customers go elsewhere.

Some have already taken note, however. At Queens Moat Houses′ Caledoman Hotel in Edinburgh, 6′6″beds are now put in as standard after requests for longer beds from taller visitors, particularly Americans.

1.What is the purpose of the TPCGB campaign?

A. To provide better services.

B. To rebuild hotels and restaurants.

C. To draw public attention to the needs of the tall.

D. To attract more people to become its members.

2.Which of the following might be a bed of proper length according to Phil Heinricy?

A.7′2″.         B.7′        C.6′6″          D.6′3″

3.What may happen to restaurants with small tables?

A. They may lose some customers.

B. They may start businesses elsewhere.

C. They have to find easy chairs to match the tables.

D. They have to provide enough space for the long-legged.

4.What change has already been made in a hotel in Edinburgh?

A. Tall people pay more for larger beds.

B. 6′6″beds have taken the place of 6′3″beds.

C. Special rooms are kept for Americans.

D. Guest rooms are standardized.

 

Although the New Year is already here, the great moments of the past year are still in the memory. Let’s look back at some of them.

United States

One of the world’s largest New Year’s Eve parties was held in Times Square, New York. The festival attracted hundreds of thousands of people to watch a brightly-lit ball drop on a landmark building at the stroke (击、打) of midnight.

A great amount of confetti (五彩纸屑) was released from the sky at zero o’clock.

Britain

Painted in shinning colors, blowing whistles, 50，000 party-goers arrived in London’s Millennium Dome to dance in the New Year. The Millennium Dome came to life at midnight as 50 DJs started up, competing on five separate dance floors to warm the crowd into the party mood.

Russia

New Year is the biggest holiday in Russia. It is traditional to put up a tree for celebrations with family and friends.

On the very last day of last year, Russians with a taste for a very cold swim braved freezing temperatures to plant traditional, festival trees on the bed of the Northern Ocean and at the bottom of Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest lake.

Malaysia

Brave skydivers threw themselves off the world’s tallest building near midnight and floated towards the New Year.

The jump from the 452-metre Petronas Twin Tower was called a real leap from one year to the next since the group took off in the last second of the old year and landed a minute later in the New Year. “That was really cool,” said Roland Simpson, “over crowds of onlookers to the landing spot.”

1.In New York the brightly-lit ball dropped ____________.

A．form the sky onto the Times Square

B．into the hundreds of thousands of watchers

C．to welcome the arrival of Christmas

D．at the point between the old and the New Year

2.Which of the following is NOT traditional to welcome a new year?

A．Sharing the happiness and excitement together.

B．Setting up a tree for celebrations.

C．Planting trees on the bed of a lake.

D．50 DJs’ competing on five separate floors.

3.People jumping from the tallest buildings _________.

A．spent two different years in the air.

B．stayed in the sky for two minutes.

C．landed over people’s heads.

D．floated away to the new land

4.The passage mainly shows that ________.

A．New Year has been the starting point for people to have dreams.

B．people in different countries welcomed New Year in different ways.

C．people’s ways of celebrations are exciting.

D．the New Year is better than the old year.

 

Britain is facing a sharp rise in its rat population as growing numbers of people leave what they cannot finish of the fast food in the street, an environment group warned .Keep Britain Tidy said the rats were stopping their traditional hunts underground and were running across the streets, invited by burgers, pizzas and crisps left behind by man. “The rat population is on the rise and soon it’ll be as common to see a rat on our street as it is to see a dog or a cat,” said group Director, Sue Nelson. The practice of spreading fast food litter and scraps on the street rather than in the dustbin—with young men the worst group—was behind the rise. According to the National Rodent Survey in 2005, Britain’s rat population has grown by nearly one quarter since 2000 and is now estimated at 60 million, two million more than the human population. On average a rat can give birth every 24-28 days and just a single pair of rats can produce a family of 2,000 a year. Around 200 people a year get Weil’s Disease –an infection which can lead to liver or kidney（肝肾）failure and eventually death and which is carried in rats’ waste. To attract people’s attention to the problem, Keep Britain Tidy produced a cinema ad with a title “How close do you want them to get?” The ad gave a shocking image of a young woman sleeping in a bed of rats--reminding people of the terrible scene from James Herbert’s classic horror tale The Rats, in which rats begin to hunt for humans.

1.Where did the rats use to search for food?

       A. In the street                                                 B. Under the ground

       C. From the dustbins                                 D. In burger shops

2.What was the rat population in Britain in 2000 according to the writer?

       A. Around 60 million                                B. Around 45 million           

C. Around 38 million                                  D. Around 2 million

3.We may infer from the passage that ______________.

       A. Weil’s Disease will finally end the world

       B. pizzas and crisps will become unpopular

       C. rats will put human beings’ life in danger      

       D. young people should take the responsibility for the rat population

4.By writing the passage, the author tries to _____________.

       A. close some of the burger and pizza restaurants

       B. draw the public attention to the problem of rats

       C. prevent the rats from growing up

D. making an advertisement for the classic horror tale The Rats