第1篇 Centers of the Great European Cities The centers of the great cities of Europe are meeting places by tradition. People gather there to drink coffee and chat late into the night. A mixture of locals and tourists make for an exciting, metropolitan atmosphere. Squares, plazas (广场) and arcades (拱廊) form the heart of Europe’s cities. Venice in Italy has the Piazza San Marco, a beautiful square surrounded by shops, churches, restaurants and cafes. In Barcelona, Spain, La Bosqueria is a lively market with hundreds of stalls selling all kinds of goods. London’s Covent Garden is filled with fruit and vegetable stalls by day and musicians, acrobats (杂技演员)and artists by night. The government buildings at the center of many cities often are architecturally impressive. In London, they serve as a beautiful backdrop (背景) to the coffee tables that line the streets and the banks of the Thames. These vibrant (有活力的) hearts are the product of centuries of evolution, social historian Joel Garreau told US News and World Report recently. "The reason people think Venice is so great today is you don’t see all the mistakes, "said Garreau, "Those have all been removed. " Most European cities were laid out before the invention of the car, so bars, restaurants and cafes were near to people’s homes. Today, the focus of many Europeans’ life has moved away from the centers. They live in the suburbs and outskirts, driving to supermarkets to get their supplies. But on a continent where people treasure convention, there are still those who hold onto traditional ways, living and shopping locally. These people together with tourists, provide the city centers with the reason for existence. Coffee culture plays a part in keeping these city centers flourishing. This is particularly true of Paris whose citizens are famous enthusiastic conversationalists. This skill is developed over many hours spent chatting over espressos (浓咖啡) and cigarettes. Religion also plays a role in developing sociable atmosphere. People in Roman Catholic countries used to visit the church on an almost daily basis. Entire communities would gather in the same building and then move out to the markets, cafes and bars in the surrounding streets. An enormous example of this relationship between church and society is the Duomo. The huge marble cathedral in Florence, Italy is surrounded by bakeries and coffee shops, and caters not only to the tourist crowds, but also the local community. It can be inferred from the first paragraph that each big city in Europe ______.
A. has many large squares
B. has many very magnificent sky-scrapers
C. draws tourists in large numbers every year
D. has a center where tourists meet their spouses
Almost every family buys at least one copy of a newspaper every day. Some people subscribe (订阅) to as many as two or three newspapers. But why do people read newspapersFive hundred years ago, news of important happenings-battles lost and won, kings or rulers overthrown (推翻) or killed-took months and even years to travel from one country to another. The news was passed by word of mouth and was never accurate. Today we can read in our newspapers of important events that occur in far away countries on the same day they happen.Apart from supplying news from all over the world, newspapers give us a lot of other useful information. There are weather reports, radio, television and film guides, book reviews, stories and, of course, advertisements. The bigger ones are put in by large companies to bring attention to their products. They pay the newspapers thousands of dollars for the advertising space, but it is worth the money, for news of their products goes into almost every home in the country. For those who produce newspapers, advertisements are also very important. Money earned from advertisements makes it possible for them to sell their newspapers at a low price and still make a profit.Newspapers often have information on gardening, cooking and fashion as well as a small but very popular section on jokes and cartoons (漫画). A few hundred years ago news did not().
A. receive attention
B. travel fast
C. spread to other countries
D. take long to reach other countries