One thing that British and Chinese cultures share is a love for fine 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 18th and 19th 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 and sandwiches. And tea was served(供应) to wash down the food. In order to make this afternoon meal important, fine china cups and 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 the 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 17th 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(伦敦股票交易所) is believed to have 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 fine 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. are asked what you would like to drink

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

D. you 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 noise.

5. Which is the best title of the article?

   A. British and Chinese cultures.        B. The beginning of Tea and Coffee.

   C. Coffeehouse and Business.          D. English tea and coffee culture.  

短文填空。从下面方框中选出10个单词，用它们的适当形式填入短文空格内，使短文意思正确、通顺(每词限用一次)。按编号将答案依次填人题后的表格内。(共10小题，每小题1分；计10分)
 
The verb“chat”means to talk(to someone)in a friendly，informal(非正式的)way．Today there are many  1 on the Internet where you can chat．You can chat with people all over the world，in many languages and about many subjects or topics．These places  2 “chatroom”．Sometimes you need to register(注册)to enter a chatroom．You need to provide a username and possibly your e-mail  3 ．Your username does not have to be your  4 name．It can be any name you want．When you have your usemame，other people in the chatroom will call you by that name and 5 else can use it．
Chatting is a good way to  6 your informal English．Messages in a chatroom are usually short sentences．Sometimes  7 are not even sentences， 8 just a few words that are not really grammatically correct．It’s a typical way in which we speak in a  9 conversation with friends．To save time，people often use abbreviations like TTYL(talk to you later)or IDK(I don’t know)．So don’t go to a chatroom to practice“perfect”English．Go to a chatroom to practice informal English and find new  10 ．You can even use a chatroom to help improve your typing skills if you want．

Compared with other European countries, lifestyle in Italy is slower and more relaxing in its own way. Italians love to chat over a cup of coffee, go out for a walk in the middle of the day, and enjoy long lunches and dinners.

Family is important to Italians. They can’t think of spending a day without asking about their parents or children, and a weekend without a family lunch or dinner. Italians living outside their country also miss their family a lot.

  Italians like simple life. Their days start and end with a cup of coffee. A cup of coffee after every meal is a must. Italians love to spend time over a hot cup of coffee and even hotter conversation with friends. Topics are usually about family, football and politics(政治).

  Sport is a very important part in the lives of many Italians. Football is their favorite sport. There are hundreds of football clubs with top soccer teams in Italy. Also, many top players from all over the world play in Italy. Volleyball is also popular and so is rugby(橄榄球), with the top rugby team playing for the European Challenge Cup.

  Every Italian province, city, town and street has a historical(历史的) even that took place there and the Italian calendar is filled with national holidays that they love to celebrate(庆祝).

 1.We can learn from the first paragraph that ________.

     A. most European countries have slow and relaxing lifestyles

     B. the lifestyle in Italy isn’t much like that of the other countries in Europe

     C. Italians enjoy chatting over a cup of tea and long dinners

     D. Italians love to walk in the middle of the night

 2. What does the writer want to tell us in the second paragraph？

     A. Friends are very important to Europeans.

     B. Italians can’t spend a day without their parents.

C. Italians will never go to another country because they will miss their children.

D. Family is more important to Italians than any other thins.

 3. Which of the following sports is loved most by Italians?

     A. Football.            B. Basketball.         C. Volleyball.        D. Rugby.

  4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

     A. Italians love to spend national holidays, but there aren’t so many.

     B. Italians never talk about politics with their family.

     C. Italians like drinking coffee after every meal.

     D. Soccer is not very popular in Italy.

  5.What’s the passage mainly about?

A. Italian family.    B. Italian life.                   C. Italian sport.       D. Italian history.