Question

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. 

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

A. notice small changes

B. expect small changes

C. welcome small changes

D. exaggerate small changes

2.How does Debi look at the foreign settlers?

A. Cautiously.

B. Positively.

C. Sceptically.

D. Critically.

3.When arriving at the airport in Britain, Christine was shocked by _______.

A. the relaxed policemen

B. the messy arrivals hall

C. the tight security

D. the bank robbers

4.Which might be the best title for the passage?

A. Life in Britain.

B. Back in Britain.

C. Britain in Future.

D. Britain in Memory.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.D

2.B

3.B

4.C

【解析】

試題分析：本文主要講述的是一些人在離開英國(guó)以后再回來(lái)的時(shí)候，對(duì)于故鄉(xiāng)發(fā)生的變化的自己的理解。

1.D推理題。根據(jù)文章第二段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.可知短期出國(guó)的人在回來(lái)的時(shí)候，會(huì)對(duì)小的變化很驚訝。故使用動(dòng)詞exaggerate夸張。會(huì)夸大這些很小的變化。故D正確。

2.B 推理題。根據(jù)文章第五段最后2行I believe foreign settlers have improved this country because they’re more open-minded and often work harder than the natives.可知她對(duì)于外來(lái)的移民評(píng)價(jià)很高，認(rèn)為他們更開放更努力。故B正確。

3.B 推理題。根據(jù)文章倒數(shù)第2段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.可知她對(duì)于機(jī)場(chǎng)到達(dá)大廳里的混亂很驚訝，沒(méi)有想到會(huì)有如此多的人。故B正確。

4.C 主旨大意題。本題較難，文章主要講述的是離開英國(guó)的人在回來(lái)以后的感覺，屬于對(duì)未來(lái)的英國(guó)的感覺。從文章最后一段But anyway, this is still a green, beautiful country. I just wish more people would appreciate what they’ve got.也可知道是在對(duì)以后的英國(guó)的說(shuō)明。故C正確。

考點(diǎn)：考察人生百態(tài)類短文