This year, like lots of other people, I'm going to try to make my own Christmas presents. It's not the first time that I've promised myself this. Being a milliner, and an all-round crafty type, I've often thought I should put my money where my mouth is. But this year I'm really going to stick to it. It's partly that I'm short of cash, but also that I've recently returned from an inspiring trip around Britain, looking into \
I dreamed up the trip a few months ago. The thought of traveling the country--making things as I went, meeting artists and craftspeople--sounded like the perfect way to spend the summer. I'd pack a tent and a sewing machine and off I'd go. But by the time I finalized my plans and hit the road, leaves were already crunching under foot. It seemed crazy to camp with winter on the way; instead, Newsnight viewers offered me board and lodging in return for help with a craft task. There was an overwhelming response.
My tasks ranged from darning (缝补) a moth-eaten monk's jumper to making trousers for a stilt walker. Textile students in Harpenden offered to pay for my petrol in return for a talk about hats. In Derby, Amy needed help to transform an old pair of curtains.
I was really struck by people's growing enthusiasm for making things. I asked a WI group in Sheffield how many could sew, and only a few put up their hands. But when I asked who wanted to learn, nearly everyone responded positively. At the Textile Workshop in Nottingham, the number of classes on offer has doubled in a year, and a knitting club in Leeds is growing by the week.
Craft is definitely fashionable at the moment. But over and above fashion, we're learning to appreciate effort and quality again. Perhaps once people rediscover the pleasure to be gained from making something unique, it may stick.
Sue Pilchard is curator (管理者) of quilts at the V&A, where next spring she'll be putting on the museum's first major quilting exhibition. Sue believes the return to crafting is wrapped up in how we are redefining ourselves. \towards a new domesticity. People, especially women, are starting to think about the way they live their lives. It's 40 years since the first women's liberation conference was held in Oxford. Since that time we've been in the workplace, and we've had the opportunity of choice. Now we're deliberately choosing to go back into the home.\
Whether you agree with that or not, there's something about Christmas that brings out the artistic streak in everyone. Whether it's baking mince pies or decking the halls, we're all prepared to have a go. So if you fancy pushing the boat out and making a few presents, try these really simple ideas, each inspired by my recent journey. They make ideal stocking fillers or small gifts, and take no longer than 30 minutes each. Play some carols, settle down with a steaming cup of cocoa, and forget the cold. You'll save yourself a bit of money and spread a little bit of love too!
1. The author promised to make herself a Christmas present this year mainly because
A. she wanted to save money.
B. she couldn't afford to buy one.
C. she was inspired by her trip for a BBC2 program. D. A lot of people make presents themselves.
2. Which of the following is CORRECT about the author's trip to Britain? A. She met many artists and craftsmen on her way to Britain.
B. She spent a whole summer in Britain making crafts.
C. She was asked to sew clothes, pants and curtains and made a fortune. D. Many people were found to be interested in making things themselves.
3. When was the author probably on her trip to Britain? A. Spring.
B. Late Summer. C. Late Autumn. D. Winter.
4. According to the passage, through crafting people learn to A. appreciate the efforts in manual things. B. keep up with fashion. C. stick to something interesting.
D. understand craft better.
5. What is the author's view on homemade Christmas presents?
A. Making Christmas presents can just convey a bit of your love. B. It would take long time to prepare a Christmas present.
C. You can drink a cup of hot cocoa when you make preparations. D. People can find their artistic talent in making Christmas presents.
文章概要】
本文描述了作者自制圣诞礼物及感想。首段介绍作者为何下定决心给自己制作圣诞礼物；第2段描绘她的旅程；第3-4段描述旅途中所发生的事情：她帮别人做手工艺品，同时也碰到了很多想学的人；第5-6段阐述作者及Sue Prichard对手工制品的观点；最后一段表明作者对于自制圣诞礼物的看法：即能省钱又能表达爱意。
【答案解析】
1．[C]因果细节题。考查作者决定自制圣诞礼物的原因，定位到第1段。根据第1段最后两句可知，作者之所以坚持今年自制圣诞礼物的真正原因是她的英国之旅(受BBC2一档节目之邀，到英国做某项调查)激励了她。故C是答案。
2．[D]细节判断题。第2段简述她的英国之旅远非所想象的一样浪漫，在旅途中她靠给别人
做手工活而解决了食宿。并且了解到很多人都想学做手工艺品。因此选项D符合题意。A、B是未启程之前作者自己的想象；她此行的目的不是赚钱，C错。
3．[C]细节判断题。第2段提到，作者最终定下旅行计划(finalized the plan)，开始上路时，已是深秋(落叶已在脚下作响)。C为正确答案。
4．[A]细节判断题。定位到第5段，根据第5段的第2句可知，手工艺品之所以受欢迎除了流行外，我们学会了珍惜劳动、领略手工艺品的价值。因此A符合题意。
5．[p]观点态度题。考查作者对自制圣诞礼物的看法，定位到最后一段。根据最后一段首句可知，作者认为自制圣诞礼物能激发个人艺术潜能，D正确。 A错在just；该段提到，有些小礼物在30分钟内便可制作完成，B与原文表述不符。C不是作者对制作圣诞礼物的看法。
At the age of twelve years, the human body is at its most vigorous. It has yet to reach its full size and strength, and its owner his or her full intelligence; but at this age the likelihood of death is least. Earlier, we were infants and young children, and consequently more vulnerable; later, we shall undergo a progressive loss of our vigor and resistance which, though imperceptible at first, will finally become so steep that we can live no longer, however well we look after ourselves, and however well society, and our doctors, look after us.
This decline in vigor with the passing of time is called ageing. It is one of the most unpleasant discoveries which we all make that we must decline in this way, that if we escape wars, accidents and disease we shall eventually \from person to person, so that there are heavy odds in favor of our dying between the ages of sixty-five and eighty. Some of us will die sooner, a few will live longer--on into a ninth or tenth decade. But the chances are against it, and there is a virtual limit on how long we can hope to remain alive, however lucky and robust we are.
Normal people tend to forget this process unless and until they are reminded of it. We are so familiar with the fact that man ages, that people have for years assumed that the process of losing vigor with time, of becoming more likely to die the older we get, was something self-evident, like the cooling of a hot kettle or the wearing-out of a pair of shoes. They have also assumed that all animals, and probably other organisms such as trees, or even the universe itself, must in the nature of things \
Most animals we commonly observe do in fact age as we do, if given the chance to live long enough; and mechanical systems like a wound watch, or the sun, do in fact an out of energy in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics (热力学) (whether the whole universe does so is a moot point at present). But these are not analogous to what happens when man ages. A run-down watch is still a watch and can be rewound. An old watch, by contrast, becomes so worn and unreliable that it eventually is not worth mending. But a watch could never repair itself--it does not consist of living parts, only of metal, which wears away by friction. We could,at one time, repair ourselves--well enough, at least, to overcome all but the most instantly fatal illnesses and
accidents. Between twelve and eighty years we gradually lose this power; an illness which at twelve would knock us over, at eighty can knock us out, and into our grave. If we could stay as vigorous as we are at twelve, it would take about 700 years for half of us to die, and another 700 for the survivors to be reduced by half again.
1. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?
A. Our first twelve years represent the peak of human development. B. People usually are unhappy when reminded of ageing.
C. Normally only a few of us can live to the eighties and nineties. D. People are usually less likely to die at twelve years old.
2. The word \ A. remaining alive until 65. B. remaining alive after 80. C. dying before 65 or after 80. D. dying between 65 and 80.
3. What is ageing?
A. It is usually a phenomenon of dying at an old age. B. It is a fact that people cannot live any longer. C. It is a gradual loss of vigor and resistance.
D. It is a phase when people are easily attacked by illness.
4. What do the examples of watch show?
A. Normally people are quite familiar with the ageing process. B. All animals and other organisms undergo the ageing process. C. The law of thermodynamics functions in the ageing process. D. Human's ageing process is different from that of mechanisms.
5. Which of the following best fits the style of this passage? A. Argumentation. B. Exposition. C. Narration. D. Description. 文章概要】
本文围绕“衰老”这一话题展开叙述。首段指出人体生命力变化的抛物线趋势，12岁最为旺盛；第2-3段讲到了人类衰老的不可抗拒性；最后一段以例证说明人类和手表等机械装置的“衰老”过程有较大的区别。
【答案解析】
1．[A]细节推断题。根据各选项内容定位到第1、2段。根据第1段第2句可知，人在长到12岁时身体各个方面包括身材、力量和智力都还有待发展和完 善，所以A(人在12岁发育
