牛津上海版高二年级英语第一学期话题阅读(二)literature and art(有答案)

话题阅读（二）literature and art

(A)

A debate is spreading in Britain, from the far southern England to the northeast Scotland. The hunt is on to find a motto that sums up the nation in five words.

However, there is a small problem. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not, in fact, one nation. Britain is a union, and finding a national motto that combines that union is an almost impossible task.

What bright person dreamed up this hunt for a motto? British Prime Minister Gordon Brown started the debate: he suggested is as part of a public discussion to determine "the ideals and principles that combine us together as a nation".

Newspapers couldn't wait to get the game started. So they asked website readers to submit their own opinions.

Some of the best included "No motto please, we're British" and "Mathematically, we could still qualify", a reference to the England football team's recent surprising performances in the European championship qualifiers.

The first of these won a Times Online poll. You may wonder what it really means. The suggestion is that British people don't like to make a fuss. They would rather not go to the trouble of having a motto.

However, it also suggests that Britain is a place with an established historical and cultural heritage: "We don't need a motto to sum us up and we know who we are, and we have done quite well without one for over 2,000 years, thanks."

The second shows British people' s ability to make fun of themselves. The England team's failure to qualify angered a lot of people, but that doesn't mean they can't make a joke about it.

The press treated the motto ideas so unkindly that it was abandoned. Yet the debate it set off. While mainly lighthearted, also has a serious side. Britain is worried it is losing its cultural identity.

A large number of people arrived in Britain after World War II • The immigrants have a different sense of identity.

The question is: how can we redefine Britain to include these people, and make them feel included? This will have to involve serious changing the way communities work and the government operates. People will really have to feel like they can make a difference. Muttering a motto every now and again is not going to make that happen.

W ord Bank

motto n. 格言make a fuss 烦恼

poll n. 投票mutter v. 念叨

A. how the UK hunts for a national motto

B. how the British people react to finding the national motto

C. how media promote the finding of the national motto

D. how a debate about finding a national motto failed

10. By saying "No motto please, we're British", the website readers mean that .

A. there should be some ideals and principles to tie them together

B. they would rather not go to the trouble of having a motto

C. the England football team didn't give a surprising performance without the motto

D. the British motto is losing its cultural identity

11. We can infer that the people who said "Mathematically, we could still qualify" are .

A. serious

B. bitter

C. pleased

D. humorous

12. The writer seems to think that .

A. the motto will help the immigrants to develop their sense of belonging

B. the way communities work will make a difference to the motto

C. muttering a motto can't guarantee that people feel included

D. a motto can sum the UK up and help people know who they are

BBDC

(B)

Palmistry, or the art of reading the lines on a person's hand, is thousands of years old. It probably began in ancient India.