Every year New Zealanders living in London can be seen loading up Kombi vans and heading off to experience the "classic European holiday". The trip usually starts in the north of France, after crossing the channel from Dover in England to Calais, driving down through France, over the Pyrenees into Spain, west into Portugal and then across the Continent to Italy and often beyond.
There are numerous reasons young New Zealanders take this rite of passage—as well as seeing all the fantastic sights and tasting the delights of Europe’s food and wine, it’s relatively inexpensive. The Kombi is transport and accommodation all in one, cutting down significantly on costs.
There is just one problem. As the Kombis become "antique", these trips are usually punctuated with numerous roadside sessions as the van sits idle, in no hurry to start, while you swelter in the hot sun. But do not let this deter you. Travelling Europe in your own vehicle means no public transport schedules to cramp your style, the ability to explore the quaint, off-the- beaten-track villages where the "real" locals live, freedom to not have to book accommodation in advance—you can nearly always get a campsite and can load your vehicle with cheap, fantastic regional wines and souvenirs. With these bonuses in mind, here are some suggestions for planning the great Europe road adventure. The key to a pleasurable driving experience is a good navigator and a driver with a cool head. If you do not feel relaxed driving’ around New Zealand’s cities and highways, then you probably will not enjoy driving around Europe. As co-pilot to the driver, you need to read (and understand) maps, look out for turn-offs--and keep the music playing. Language is not a big problem once a few essential terms are mastered. The biggest challenge is in the cities, where traffic can be chaotic and elaborate one-way systems and narrow, cobbled alleyways can make finding your destination hard work. It can be easier to leave the vehicle on the outskirts of town or in a camping ground and use public transport. This also avoids paying for costly parking.
According to the passage, the trip usually starts in______.

A:France B:England C:Spain D:Italy

Every year New Zealanders living in London can be seen loading up Kombi vans and heading off to experience the "classic European holiday". The trip usually starts in the north of France, after crossing the channel from Dover in England to Calais, driving down through France, over the Pyrenees into Spain, west into Portugal and then across the Continent to Italy and often beyond.
There are numerous reasons young New Zealanders take this rite of passage—as well as seeing all the fantastic sights and tasting the delights of Europe’s food and wine, it’s relatively inexpensive. The Kombi is transport and accommodation all in one, cutting down significantly on costs.
There is just one problem. As the Kombis become "antique", these trips are usually punctuated with numerous roadside sessions as the van sits idle, in no hurry to start, while you swelter in the hot sun. But do not let this deter you. Travelling Europe in your own vehicle means no public transport schedules to cramp your style, the ability to explore the quaint, off-the- beaten-track villages where the "real" locals live, freedom to not have to book accommodation in advance—you can nearly always get a campsite and can load your vehicle with cheap, fantastic regional wines and souvenirs. With these bonuses in mind, here are some suggestions for planning the great Europe road adventure. The key to a pleasurable driving experience is a good navigator and a driver with a cool head. If you do not feel relaxed driving’ around New Zealand’s cities and highways, then you probably will not enjoy driving around Europe. As co-pilot to the driver, you need to read (and understand) maps, look out for turn-offs--and keep the music playing. Language is not a big problem once a few essential terms are mastered. The biggest challenge is in the cities, where traffic can be chaotic and elaborate one-way systems and narrow, cobbled alleyways can make finding your destination hard work. It can be easier to leave the vehicle on the outskirts of town or in a camping ground and use public transport. This also avoids paying for costly parking.

According to the passage, the trip usually starts in（）

A:France B:England C:Spain D:Italy

Passage Three
Today the official language of the United States and most of Canada is English. However, French almost became the official language because of a war.
The French and Indian War was fought between 1754 and 1763. The name of this war is not accurate because the war was actually between England and France. The Indians fought on the side of the French.
France and England were trying to gain control of North America. France held Canada, and England held part of what is now the United States. However, France tried to expand its land by moving southward into New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Virginia. When the French built a fort on the Ohio River, the residents in Virginia sent George Washington to attack the fort in 1754. How ever, the French defeated Washington.
The French, aided by the Indians, outsmarted the English and won many early battles. Later, the British began to do well against the French. In the final battle in Quebec, Canada, General Wolfe of England faced General Montcalm from France. Both generals died in this battle, but the English outlasted the French and won the battle. Thus, most of North America today has the English culture and language.

General Wolfe died in （）

A:England B:France C:Canada D:Virginia

No country in the world has more daily newspapers than the USA. There are almost 2,000 of them, as compared with 180 in Japan, 164 in Argentina and 111 in Britain. The quality of some American papers is extremely high and their views are quoted all over the world. Distinguished dailies like the Washington Post or the New York Times have a powerful influence all over the country. However, the Post and the Times are net national newspapers in the sense that The Times is in Britain or LeMonde is in France, since each American city has its own daily newspaper. The best of these present detailed accounts of national and international news, but many tend to limit themselves to state or cite news.
Like the press .in most other countries, American newspapers range from the "sensational", which feature crime, sex and rumor, to the serious, which focus on factual news and the analysis of world events. But with few exceptions American newspapers try to entertain as well as give information, for they have to compete with television.
Just as American newspapers give way to all tastes, so do they also try and apply to readers for all political persuasions. (80)A few newspapers support extremist groups on the far right and on the far left, but most daily newspapers attempt to attract middle-of-the-road Americans who are essentially moderate. Many of these papers print columns by well-known journalists of different political and social views, in order to present a balanced picture.
As in other democratic countries American newspapers can be either responsible or irresponsible, but it is generally accepted that the American press serves its country well and that it has more than once bravely uncovered political scandals (__) or crimes, for instance, the Watergate Affair. The newspapers drew the attention of the public to the fears of the Vietnam War.
There are fewer national newspapers in ______

A:Britain than in the USA B:France than in Britain C:the USA than in Britain or France D:France than in the USA or Britain

Passage Three
Some desert regions get no rainfall for months, and even years. Yet water can be found if you dig deep enough. For a long time this was a puzzling question. Then geologists found the answer. The underground water is rainwater--but the rain fell hundreds of miles away! It soaked into the ground and then flowed underground through a rock sandwich.
A rock sandwich with water in the filling has a scientific name: aquifer. An aquifer is composed of two or more layers of nonporous rock. That’s the bread of the sandwich. The filling is a layer of porous rock or sand. The whole sandwich, or aquifer, is titled at a slant. The higher end is in a region of good rainfall, where the rain soaks into the porous rock or sand. The rainwater flows down at a slant between the nonporous rock layers. If a well is drilled through the top layer, the water flows up into the well.
If the upper end of the aquifer is higher than the top of the well, the water is forced up without pumping. This convenient arrangement is called an artesian well because this kind of well was first developed in Artois, France.
The artesian well was first developed in ______.

A:France B:Spain C:England D:America

Passage Three Today the official language of the United States and most of Canada is English. However, French almost became the official language because of a war. The French and Indian War was fought between 1754 and 1763. The name of this war is not accurate because the war was actually between England and France. The Indians fought on the side of the French. France and England were trying to gain control of North America. France held Canada, and England held part of what is now the United States. However, France tried to expand its land by moving southward into New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Virginia. When the French built a fort on the Ohio River, the residents in Virginia sent George Washington to attack the fort in 1754. How ever, the French defeated Washington. The French, aided by the Indians, outsmarted the English and won many early battles. Later, the British began to do well against the French. In the final battle in Quebec, Canada, General Wolfe of England faced General Montcalm from France. Both generals died in this battle, but the English outlasted the French and won the battle. Thus, most of North America today has the English culture and language.

General Wolfe died in （）

A:England B:France C:Canada D:Virginia

Passage Three Today the official language of the United States and most of Canada is English. However, French almost became the official language because of a war. The French and Indian War was fought between 1754 and 1763. The name of this war is not accurate because the war was actually between England and France. The Indians fought on the side of the French. France and England were trying to gain control of North America. France held Canada, and England held part of what is now the United States. However, France tried to expand its land by moving southward into New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Virginia. When the French built a fort on the Ohio River, the residents in Virginia sent George Washington to attack the fort in 1754. How ever, the French defeated Washington. The French, aided by the Indians, outsmarted the English and won many early battles. Later, the British began to do well against the French. In the final battle in Quebec, Canada, General Wolfe of England faced General Montcalm from France. Both generals died in this battle, but the English outlasted the French and won the battle. Thus, most of North America today has the English culture and language.

Which of the following statements is not true according to the passage（）

A:France tried in vain to control what is now the United States. B:French was once the official language of the United States. C:The French and Indian War was actually fought between England and France. D:The Indians helped the French during the French and Indian Wet.

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According to the passage, the trip usually starts in______.

A:France B:England C:Spain D:Italy

Ninety years ago on a sunny morning in Northern France, something happened that changed Britain and Europe for ever. At half past seven on the morning of July 1, 1916, whistles blew and thousands of British soldiers left their positions to attack their German enemies. By the end of the day, 20,000 of them were dead, and another 30,000 wounded or missing. The Battle of the Somme, (51) it is called, lasted for six months. When it ended, 125,000 British soldiers were dead. They had gained five kilometers of ground.
This was one of a series of great battles during the WWI. The attack on the Somme was staged to relieve (52) on the French, who were engaged in a great battle of their own at a place called Verdun. By the time the battle ended, over a million French and German troops had been killed.
About 17 million people were killed in WWI. There have been wars with greater numbers of dead. But there has never been one (53) most of the dead were concentrated in such a small area. On the Somme battlefield, two men died for every meter of space.
Local farmers working in the land still (54) the bodies of those who died in that battle. The dead of all nations were buried in a series of giant graveyards along the line of the border (55) France and Belgium. Relatives and descendants of those who died still visit these graveyards today. What the French call the "tourism of death" (56) an important contribution to the local economy.
It took a second great conflict before Europe was to turn (57) war itself. Twenty-eight years after the Somme battle, a liberating army of British, American and Canadian troops took back (58) from another German invasion. More than 500,000 people were killed. New (59) were built.
Two great conflicts across two generations helped to change the European mind about war. Germany, once the most warlike country in Europe, is now probably more in (60) of peace than any other. One major cause of war in Europe was rivalry between France and Germany. The European Union was specifically formed to end that (61) .
According to US commentator William Pfaff, "Europeans are interested in a slow development of civilized and tolerant international relations, (62) on problems while avoiding catastrophes along the way. They have themselves only recently (63) from the catastrophes of the WWI and WWII, when tens of millions of people were destroyed. They don’t want (64) ."
The last British veteran of the Somme battle died in 2005, aged 108. And the WWI is passing out of memory and into history. But for anyone who wants to understand how Europeans (65) , it is still important to know a little about the terrible events of July 1, 1916.

A:America B:Britain C:Canada D:France