Question

Bright red post boxes, the Queen and queuing—what do they all have in common? They are all important parts of British life. At least I thought so.

     However, the ability to queue for long periods of time, once believed to be a traditional characteristic of the British, is no longer tolerated by people in the UK, according to a survey done for British bank Barclays.

     Once upon a time, queuing was seen as normal. During World WarⅡ, everyone had to queue up to receive their daily supply of foods. In fact, if you didn't stand up and wait in line with all the others, it was seen as uncivilized.

     The famous English double-decker buses, with only one entrance, might also help explain why queuing was seen as a part of British life. Almost always, there is queue to get on. www.zxxk.com

     But perhaps the British are tired of being pushed past by the Spanish, the Italians or the French as they queue up to get a table at a restaurant. The people of these other European countries have more than one entrance to their buses, which explains their more relaxed attitude to the queue.

     Two minutes is now the longest time most British people are prepared to stand and wait. But could it be that the Internet, which allows us to carry out tasks quickly, is the main reason why British people are no longer prepared to queue?

     "Used to buying without delay, customers are even giving up purchases rather than wait their turn," says Stuart Neal of Barclaycard. "Shoppers are also less likely to queue for long if the item they are buying is of low value."

     Perhaps I will have to replace "queuing" with "impatience" in my list of things I relate to the British. 

1. What can we learn about the tradition of queuing in Britain? 

A. It was considered a symbol of a civilized behavior.

B. It was a long time tradition as old as the Queen.

C. It was a product of the slow pace of life.

D. It has made the Britain different from other Europeans. 

2. According to the passage, the British gradually stopped queuing because ______.

A. they prefer shopping online

B. the Internet has changed their way of life

C. what they are buying is of low value

D. they follow the example of foreigners

3. It can be learned from the text that ______. 

A. the British used to buy without delay

B. the British have to queue to receive food

C. the British get impatient with queuing for long

D. the British prefer to take double-decker buses 

4.The author's main purpose of writing the passage is _______.

A. to tell us the influence of the Internet on the British ways of life

B. to compare the cultural difference between Britain and other countries

C. to report his research on the British ways of life

D. to talk about the changes in the attitude to queuing in Britain 

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.A

2.B

3.C

4.D

【解析】

試題分析：英國(guó)人一向以紳士風(fēng)度而著稱，排隊(duì)等候也曾一度是英國(guó)特有的景象。然而隨著高科技的發(fā)展，網(wǎng)絡(luò)的便捷卻使英國(guó)人漸漸失去了耐心，有時(shí)候顧客寧愿放棄購(gòu)買(mǎi)的東西也不愿意排隊(duì)等候，他們最長(zhǎng)的等候時(shí)間是兩分鐘。

1.A推理判斷題。文章第三段介紹if you didn't stand up and wait in line with all the others, it was seen as uncivilized.如果人們不排隊(duì)，那么會(huì)被看作是不文明的，由此推斷在英國(guó)排隊(duì)等候是文明行為，故答案選A。

2.B推理判斷題。作者在文章倒數(shù)第三段提出could it be that the Internet, which allows us to carry out…..，然后再根據(jù)文章倒數(shù)第二段Used to buying without delay，推斷人們習(xí)慣了網(wǎng)上購(gòu)物的便捷，因此在生活中對(duì)排隊(duì)等候這種事情變得不再有耐心，因此可以說(shuō)是網(wǎng)絡(luò)改變了人們的生活方式，所以B選項(xiàng)正確。

3.C細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章倒數(shù)第三段Two minutes is now the longest time most British people are prepared to stand and wait，和倒數(shù)第二段Shoppers are also less likely to queue for long …..."可知英國(guó)人對(duì)長(zhǎng)時(shí)間排隊(duì)已經(jīng)變得不再有耐心，所以C選項(xiàng)正確。

4.D推理判斷題。作者在文章開(kāi)頭提出queuing和女王一樣是英國(guó)典型的一種現(xiàn)象，然后在第二段話題一轉(zhuǎn)，提到原屬于英國(guó)人傳統(tǒng)的這一特點(diǎn)卻不復(fù)存在了，然后對(duì)這種變化展開(kāi)分析，最后用Perhaps I will have to replace "queuing" with "impatience" in my list of things I relate to the British.來(lái)照應(yīng)開(kāi)頭，起到首尾呼應(yīng)的作用，由此可知文章中心內(nèi)容就是談?wù)撚��?guó)人對(duì)于排隊(duì)等候態(tài)度的轉(zhuǎn)變，故答案選D。

考點(diǎn)：考查社會(huì)生活類(lèi)短文閱讀。