Passage B 单项选择 根据短文内容， 从各题的四个选项中选出一个最佳答案，并将其代表字母涂（填）在答题卡（纸）的相应位置。

The taxi plays an important role in Britain. When thinking of London, many image （形象）come to mind: Big Ben, the Ferris Wheel（摩天轮）,red telephone boxes…and black London taxis.

But what is so special about a simple taxi? First of all, in shape and style, a London taxi is very different from an ordinary one. It looks like a half-car and half-van（半厢式货车）. It has plenty of room in the back. That means it's easy for disabled people to use. And the black color makes it special on the road.

Besides, taxi drivers play an important part in your travel. They have to pass a taxi driving test, and in London it is very difficult. As there are many tourists in London, drivers must know many roads by memory.

Apart from（除此之外）driving you to your destination, it is normal for the driver and the passenger to have a conversation. A taxi is a social space which the driver and you share. The image of a London taxi driver is one that friendly and talkactive. Every time I take a taxi, I ask how the driver is. Then we usually talk about sports or news events.

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    “I can't see clearly, because I don't wear my glasses today.” We always hear people saying something like this. Glasses are very important to many people. Do you know how they were invented and developed?

    Glasses took a long time to develop into what you can find in the glasses store today. The Chinese first used colored glasses as fashion. They thought that those glasses had magic, but they didn't think that glasses could help eyes to see clearly.

    In 1262, the inventor, Roger Bacon, discovered the amazing function(功能) of lenses(镜片), and he thought that glasses could be used to help people to see. Twenty years later, in Florence, Italy, the inventor, Alessandro di Spina, made the first pair of glasses that could help people to see.

Although these glasses worked, scientists didn't understand how glasses helped eyes to see. They thought that eyes sent out light onto whatever a person was looking at, and then the light came back to the eyes. Johannes Kepler finally found out how glasses worked.

Inventors continued to improve glasses. In 1784, Ben Franklin created glasses that had bifocal(双焦的) lenses. Many years later, in 1827, George Airy made circle-shaped glasses to correct astigmatism, an eye problem that stops the eyes from seeing things clearly.

It's December 28th New Year's Day is 1 Ma Li is in a 2 shop She wants to buy a blouse 3 her mother She is happy because she 4 a blue blouse It looks pretty She thinks it 5 her mother's trousers well So she asks the shopkeeper what the 6 is "198yuan, "says the shopkeeper Ma Li is suprised(吃惊的), "Too 7 ! What is it made of?"The shopkeeper tells her the bl ouse is made of silk "Good things always 8 much, "he says

"But I have only 190 yuan. Can it be cheaper(更便宜的)? I want to buy it for my mother. "

"9 198yuan is the last price But I will lend you 8 yuan "

"10 ? We don't know each other "

"Because I love my mother too, "says the shopkeep er with a smile.

Almost all cultures(文化) celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another year in some ways. Different cultures celebrate the beginning of a new year in different ways, and at different times on the calendar.

In Western(西方的) countries, people usually celebrate New Year at the midnight on December 31st to January 1st. People may go to the party, sometimes dressed in formal(正式的) clothes, and they may drink champagnc(香槟) at midnight. During the first minute of the new year, people cheer and wish each other happiness for the year ahead. But some cultures like to celebrate New Year by waking up early to watch the sunshine better. They welcome the new year with the first light of the sunrise.

Many cultures also do special things to say goodbye to bad luck at the beginning of the new year. For example, in Ecuador, families make a big doll and burn it to show the bad things from the past year are gone and the new year can start. Other common traditions to keep away bad luck in a new year include(包括) throwing things into rivers or seas, or sayıng special things on the first day of the new year.

Other new year traditions are followed to bring good luck in the new year. One Spanish tradition for good luck is to eat grapes on New Year's Day. The more grapes a person eats, the more good luck the person will have in the new year. In France, people eat pancakes for good luck at New Year. In the United States, some people eat black- eyed peas(黑眼豆) for good luck— but to get good luck for a whole year you have to eat 365 of them.