A
Planning a visit to the UK? Here we help with ways to cut your costs.
AVOID BIG EVENTS Big sporting events, concerts and exhibitions can increase the cost of accommodation and make it harder to find a room. A standard double room at the Thistle Brighton on the final Friday of the Brighton Comedy Festival (19 Oct.) cost £169.15 at Booking.com. A week later, the same room cost £118.15.
If you can be flexible and want to know dates to avoid—or you’re looking for a big event to pass your time—check out sites such as Whatsonwhen.com, which allow you to search for events in the UK by city, date and category.
STAY AWAY FROM THE STATION If traveling to your destination by train, you may want to find a good base close to the station, but you could end up paying more for the sake of convenience at the start of your holiday.
Don’t be too choosy about the part of town you stay in. Booking two months in advance, the cheapest room at Travelodge’s Central Euston hotel in London for Saturday 22 September was £95.95. A room just a tube journey away at its Covent Garden hotel was £75.75. And at Farringdon, a double room cost just £62.95.
GET ON A BIKE London’s ‘Boris bikes’ have attracted the most attention, but other cities also have similar programmes that let you rent a bicycle and explore at your own pace, saving you on public transport or car parking costs.
Among the smaller cities with their own programmes are Newcastle (casual members pay around £1.50 for two hours) and Cardiff (free for up to 30 minutes, or £5 per day).
1. The Brighton Comedy Festival is mentioned mainly to show big events may __________.
A. help travelers pass time
B. attract lots of travelers to the UK
C. allow travelers to make flexible plans
D. cause travelers to pay more for accommodation
2. “Farringdon” in Paragraph 5 is most probably __________.
A. a hotel away from the train station
B. the tube line to Covent Garden
C. an ideal holiday destination
D. the name of a travel agency
3. The main purpose of the passage is __________.
A. to tell visitors how to book in advance
B. to supply visitors with hotel information
C. to show visitors the importance of self-help
D. to offer visitors some money-saving tips
【答案】1. D 2. A 3. C
【解析】
本篇是一篇说明文。主要给读者讲解了去英国节约开支的途径。
【1题详解】
D推理判断题。难度:中等。题干关键词为：The Brighton Comedy Feasival,定位第二段。根据句子: The Brighton Comedy Feasival cost £169.15….A week later, the same room cost £118.15,可以得知，主要是为了说明在有大事期间游客付费呀更高一些。干扰项排除：C选项提及flexible ,但是指如果游客时间灵活的话，根据具体情况而定。而本提及布莱顿的喜剧节的目的则能从上面的解析中可以看出。故选D。
【2题详解】
A推理判断题。难度:中等。题干已经明确告知第五段，所以，直接在第五段找答案。文中提及:at Farringdon, a double room cost just £62.95；再看前两个句子，只因为距离车站的距离不同，价格相差很大，从£75.75到£95.95，可知两个信息：Farringdon首先是旅馆；其次是相对来说离车站较远。故选A。
【3题详解】
C推理判断题。难度：较易。回到文章开头，Here we help ways to cut your costs不难看出答案。故选C。
【难句学习】
1. If traveling to your destination by train, you may want to find a good base close to the station, but you coule end up paying moer for the sake of convinience of your holiday.
翻译：如果乘火车去你的目的地，你可能会找一家离车站很近的旅馆，但这样你可能会因为图假期的方便而最终多花很多钱。
分析：If traveling…,这是一个省略的状语从句。end up doing,以。。。而告终，最终。。。for the sake of 为了----。
2 …but other cities also have similar programmes that let you rent a bicycle and explore at you own pace，saving you pubilc transport or car parking costs.
【翻译】---但其他城市同样也有类似的计划会让你租自行车按照自己的节奏来探索旅行，这样能节约公交费用或者是停车费。that…引导定语从句，修饰先行词programmes; saving……用分词短语在这里作状语，可以改为定语从句：which saves ……
