Are the British people Europeans? This may seem a strange question to Africans and Asians, who tend to think of all white men as Europeans. But the British, when they are in Britain, do not regard themselves as Europeans. The Europeans, to them, are those rather excitable foreigners from the other side of the English Channel, who have never learnt how to speak English. Europe is "the Continent": a place full of interest for British tourists, but also the source of almost all the wars in which Britain has ever been involved. Thus, although geographically speaking Britain is a part of Europe, yet the fact that it is a separate island that has made its people feel very, very insular. They feel, and in many ways are, different from the rest of Europe and they sometimes annoy continental nations by failing to support them, or even to understand them, in time of need.

Where did the British people come from? This is an extraordinary interesting question, since they are a mixture of many different races, and all these races invaded Britain at various times from Europe. Nobody knows very much about Britain before the Romans came during the first century B. C. , but there had been at least three invasions before that. The first of these was by a dark-haired Mediterranean race called the Iberians. The other two were by Celtic tribes; first the Gaels, whose descendants are the modern Scots and Irish, some of whom still speak the Gaelic language; and secondly the Britons, who gave their name to the whole island of Britain. These were the people whom the Romans conquered. The Romans gave the Britons a good deal of their civilization, but they never settled in Britain in very large numbers, so the British race survived until the overthrow of the Ro man Empire by the "barbarians", i. e. the numerous Germanic tribes which overran the whole of Western Europe.

The purpose of the passage is to ______.

A．talk about Europeans

B．discuss the origin of British people

C．a(chǎn)rgue for the superiority of British people

D．compare the Europeans with Africans and Asians

Most people were in favor of going to Qingdao when discussing where to spend their summer holidays.

聽力原文：W: Michael, where abouts in China are you from?

M: I was born in Beijing, but I live in Shanghai now. How about yon?

W: I' m from Scotland.

M: Oh? What's it like?

W: Well, the weather is pretty cold there. Actually, most of Scotland is cold and often wet. I'm sure it's the coldest part of the British Isles.

M: Beijing is very cold in winter too, although it' s more of a dry cold, if you know what I mean. However, I like winter; it' s my favorite season. Summer is just too hot!

W: Well, I think you' re lucky to have a hot summer. Scotland' s summer is pretty miserable, wet and cold.

M: Do you think people's personalities are defined by the climate they live in?

W: Well, that's an interesting idea. I think there's definitely something in it, because when the weather is hot, I easily lose my temper, but when it's cooler, I feel much calmer.

M: If it' s raining I always feel depressed. I cry along with the weather!

W: Spring always makes me feel happy; the birds are singing and the whole atmosphere seems cheerful.

M: Hmm, I agree. I think spring is my favorite season too.

W: What about the winter blues? What are they?

M: Well, that means you' re down in the dumps, because the weather' s so gloomy and cold. You feel all sad and blue! I often get them.

W: Oh, I don' t I love winter, but I suppose you could say I get the summer reds! Because I always see red in the hot weather and get into arguments and stuff.

(23)

A．Beijing

B．Shanghai

C．Scotland

D．America

Riches and Romance From France's Wine Harvest

September is harvest time. And with bunches of grapes swinging （搖擺） in the wind,the vineyards of southern France are getting ready to celebrate it.

The yearly wine festival is held in honour of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine. It's a fun time with parties, music, dancing, big meals and, of course, lots of wine. French wine-making began more than 2,500 years ago. The world's oldest type of vine grows in France and always produces a good quality wine. Today France produces one-fifth of the world's wine, and some of the most famous varieties.

The top wine-producing areas are Bordeaux,Burgundy and the Loire Valley.Champagne, a drink used in celebrations, is named after the place where sparkling （有汽

泡的） wine was first produced in 1700.

Wine is made from the juice of freshly picked grapes. It is the sugars that turn into alcohol.

Traditionally, people used to take off their shoes and crush the grapes with their bare feet to bring out the juice. Nowadays, this practice is usually carried out by machines.

Each wine producing region has its own character, based on its type of grapes and soil.

The taste of wine changes with time. Until 1850, all French champagne was sweet.Now, both wine and champagne taste slightly bitter.

The drink has always been linked with riches, romance and nobleness. Yet the French think of it in more ordinary terms.

They believe it makes daily living easier, less hurried and with fewer problems.

"All its links are with. times when people are at their best; with relaxation, happiness,Iong slow meals and the free flow of ideas,".wrote wine expert Hugh Johnson.

第 16 題 All French people celebrate the grape harvest every September.

A．Right

B．Wrong.

C．Not mentioned