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Homestay provides English language students with the opportunity to speak English outside the classroom and the experience of being part of a British home.
What to Expect
The host will provide accommodation and meals. Rooms will be cleaned and bedcovers changed at least once a week. You will be given the house key and the host is there to offer help and advice as well as to take an interest in your physical and mental health.
Accommodation Zones
Homestays are located in London mainly in Zones 2, 3 and 4 of the transport system. Most hosts do not live in the town centre as much of central London is commercial and not residential. Zones 3 and 4 often offer larger accommodation in a less crowded area. It is very convenient to travel in London by underground.
Meal Plans Available
? Continental Breakfast
? Breakfast and Dinner
? Breakfast, Packed Lunch and Dinner
It’s important to note that few English families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast. Your accommodation includes Continental Breakfast which normally consists of fruit juice, cereal (谷物类食品), bread and tea or coffee. Cheese, fruit and cold meat are not normally part of a Continental Breakfast in England. Dinners usually consist of meat or fish with vegetables followed by desert, fruit and coffee.
Friends
If you wish to invite a friend over to visit, you must first ask your host’s permission. You have no right to entertain friends in a family home as some families feel it is an invasion of their privacy.
Self-Catering Accommodation in Private Homes
Accommodation on a room-only basis includes shared kitchen and bathroom facilities and often a main living room. This kind of accommodation offers an independent lifestyle and is more suitable for the long-stay student. However, it does not provide the same family atmosphere as an ordinary homestay and may not benefit those who need to practice English at home quite as much.
70. The passage is probably written for ______.
A. hosts willing to receive foreign students
B. foreigners hoping to know British culture
C. travelers planning to visit families in London
D. English learners applying to live in English homes
71. Which of the following will the host provide?
A. Room cleaning. B. Medical care.
C. Free transport. D. Physical training.
72. According to the passage, what does Continental Breakfast include?
A. Dessert and coffee. B. Fruit and vegetables.
C. Bread and fruit juice. D. Cereal and cold meat.
73. Why do some people choose self-catering accommodation?
A. To experience a warmer family atmosphere.
B. To enrich their knowledge of English.
C. To entertain friends as they like.
D. To enjoy much more freedom.
C
Are you an optimist? Do you look at your glass and see it as half full? Do you believe that every cloud has a silver lining and that things generally turn out for the best? Do you believe that if something is meant to be, it will be? If you reply “yes” to all of
these questions, then you are an optimist. You probably are
enthusiastic, cheerful and outgoing. You may
be successful at work and in love.
But you may be misguided because things don’t turn out for the best. You may believe that when one door closes another one opens (for example, you may fail to obtain a new job; another chance will come around soon). Wrong. When one door closes, another door slams (砰然关上) in your face. That’s bitter reality.
Now a book has been published which confirms what pessimists (悲观者) have suspected all along. It’s called The Positive Power of Defensive Pessimism. Its author argues that defensive pessimism can lead to positive results. Defensive pessimism is a strategy used to manage fear, anxiety and worry. Defensive pessimists prepare for the things by setting low outcomes for themselves. They carefully consider everything that may go wrong and plan for ways to handle these problems. And this gives them a sense of control. Lawrence Sanno, a psychology professor, says, “What’s interesting about defensive pessimists is that they tend to be very successful people, so their low opinion of the situation’s outcomes is not realistic. They use it to motivate themselves to perform better.”
So far, so good. This is not rocket science. Defensive pessimists prepare carefully and consider what might go wrong, whether at work, on date or even in a sports game. It makes sense to have a back-up plan. There are many sayings in English urging caution. For example, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” And “Don’t count your chickens until they hatch.” To have a confident and optimistic approach to life’s problems is good. But listen to what Woody Alien, the American comedian says, “Confidence is what you have before you understand the problem.”
There are pros and cons（利与弊） to being an optimist and a pessimist. Don’t feel bad if you see the glass half empty. You are a realist. But lighten up and hook up with someone who sees the same glass half full.
74. What’s the passage mainly about?
A. The benefits of defensive pessimism.
B. A book that has recently been published.
C. The dangers of being too optimistic.
D. How to become successful in life.
75. The underlined sentence “This is not rocket science” (Para. 4) means __________.
A. there is no real proof B. it is quite simple to understand
C. the cost is not so high D. it’s not a dangerous thing to do
76. Which of the following English expressions would a defensive pessimist believe?
A. Whatever will be, will be. B. The glass is half full not half empty.
C. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. D. Every cloud has a silver lining.
77. We can infer from the passage that the writer is probably __________.
A. a realist B. an optimist C. a defeatist D. a scientist
