第二部分 阅读理解(共两节，满分40分)

第一节 (共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

A

Welcome to Holker Hall & Gardens

Visitor Information

How to Get to Holker

By Car： Follow brown signs an A590 from JB6, M6.Approximale travel times: Windermere-20 minutes, Kendal-25 minutes, Lancaster-45 minutes, Manchester-I hour 30 minutes.

By Rail: The nearest station is Cark-in-Cartmel with trains to Carnforth, Lancaster Preston for connections to major cities & airports.

Opening Times

Sunday-Friday (closed on Saturday)11:00 am-4:00pm,30 March-2nd November.

Admission Charges

Hall & Gardens Gardens

Adults: ￡12.00 ￡8.00

Groups ￡9 ￡5.5

Producers: Market 13th April

Join us to taste a variety of fresh local food and drinks. Meet the producers and get some excellent recipe ideas.

Holker Garden Festival 30th May

The event celebrate its 22nd anniversary with a great show of the very best of gardening, making it one of the most popular events in gardening.

National Garden Day 28th August

Holker once again opens is gardens in aid of the disadvantaged. For just a small donation you can take a tour with our garden guide.

Winter Market 8th November

This is an event for all the family. Wander among a variety of shops selling gifs while enjoying a live music show and nice street entertainment.

21.How long does it probably take a tourist to drive to Holker from Manchester?

A.20minutes. B.25 minutes. C.45 minutes. D.90 minutes.

22.How much should a member of a tour group pay to visit to Hall & Cardens?

A.￡l2.00.B. B.19.00. C.A8.0 D.45.50

23.Which event will you go to if you want to see a live music show?

A. Producers' Market. B. Holker Garden Festival.

C. National Garden Day. D. Winter Market.

B[来

Cities usually have a good reason for being where they are, like a nearby port or river. People settle in these places because they are easy to get to and naturally suited to communications and trade. New York City, for example, is near a large harbour at the mouth of the Hudson River. Over 300 years its population grew gradually from 800 people to 8 million. But not all cities develop slowly over a long period of time. Boom towns grow from nothing almost overnight. In 1896, Dawson, Canada, was unmapped wilderness(荒野). But gold was discovered there in 1897, and two years later, it was one of the largest cities in the West, with a population of 30,000.

Dawson did not have any of the natural conveniences of cities like London or Paris. People went there for gold. They travelled over snow-covered mountains and sailed hundreds of miles up icy rivers. The path to Dawson was covered with thirty feet of wet snow that could fall without warming. An avalanche(雪崩) once closed the path, killing 63 people. For many who made it to Dawson, however, the rewards were worth the difficult trip. Of the first 20,000 people who dug for gold, 4,000 got rich. About 100 of these stayed rich men for the rest of their lives.

But no matter how rich they were, Dawson was never comfortable. Necessities like food and wood were very expensive. But soon, the gold that Dawson depended on had all been found. The city was crowded with disappointed people with no interest in settling down, and when they heard there were new gold discoveries in Alaska, they left Dawson City as quickly as they had come. Today, people still come and go — to see where the Canadian gold rush happened. Tourism is now the chief industry of Dawson City — its present population is 762.

24. What attracted the early settlers to New York City?

A. Its business culture.

B. Its small population.

C. Its geographical position.

D. Its favourable climate.

25. What do we know about those who first dug for gold in Dawson?

A. Two-thirds of them stayed there.

B. One out of five people got rich.

C. Almost everyone gave up.

D. Half of them died.

26. What was the main reason for many people to leave Dawson?

A. They found the city too crowded.

B. They wanted to try their luck elsewhere.

C. They were unable to stand the winter.

D. They were short of food.

27. What is the text mainly about?

A. The rise and fall of a city.

B. The gold rush in Canada.

C. Journeys into the wilderness.

D. Tourism in Dawson.