Passage 2
The island of Great Britain being small (compare the size of Australia), the natural place for holiday relaxation and enjoyment is its extensive coastline, above all its southern and eastern coasts, though Blackpool, which is probably the best known and more crowded seaside town, and the favourite resort of the mass-population of industrial Lancashire, is on the north-west coast. Distant and little-inhabited areas like Northern Scotland, are too remote for the development of large seaside resorts.
For most children, going to the seaside suggests a week or fortnight of freedom on the beach, ideally a sandy one providing ample opportunity for the construction of sandcastles, fishing in pools for stranded shrimps, padding in shallow water or swimming in deep. Children’s entertainments may include the traditional knockabout puppet show ‘Punch and Judy’, donkey rides, paddleboats in artificial ponds, mini-golf and the swings and roundabouts in local fairgrounds. Their parents spend sunny days swimming in the sea and sun bathing on the beach. Not that the British sun can be relied on and the depressing sight of families wandering round the town in mackintoshes and under umbrellas is only too common. However, there are always the shops with their tourist souvenirs, plenty of cafes and, if the worst comes to the worst, the cinema to offer a refuge.
The average family is unlikely to seek accommodation in a hotel as they can stay more cheaply in one of the many boarding-houses. These are usually three or four-storeyed Victorian buildings, whose owners spend the summer season letting rooms to a number of couples or families and providing three cooked meals a day at what they describe as a reasonable price, with the hope that in this way they will add enough to their savings to see the winter through. Otherwise there are the caravan and camping sites for those who prefer self-catering.
Nowadays, even when an increasing number of people fly off to Mediterranean resorts where a well-developed suntan can be assured, or explore in comfort Swiss lakes and mountains or romantic Italian or Spanish cities, the British seaside is still the main attraction for families, especially those with younger children. As they queue for boat trips, cups of tea or ice-cream under grey skies and in drizzling rain, the parents are reliving their own childhood when time seemed endless, their own sandcastle the most splendid on the beach, the sea always blue and friendly and the sun always hot.
A reason suggested in the first paragraph for the appeal of the British seaside is that ________.
文章第一段提到“...its extensive coastline, above all its southern and eastern coasts, though Blackpool...the favourite resort of the mass-population of industrial Lancashire, is on the north-west coast.”。由此 可知，英国海岸是非常受欢迎的旅游胜地。故选D。
Children enjoy the seaside because ________.
文章第二段第一句提到“For most children, going to the seaside suggests a week or fortnight of freedom on the beach, ideally a sandy one providing ample opportunity for the construction of sandcastles, fishing in pools for stranded shrimps, padding in shallow water or swimming in deep.”由此可知，海边对孩子们来说非常有吸引 力，因为他们可以在海边玩各种游戏，度过一段快乐的时光。故选D。
It is suggested that as a form of holiday entertainment the cinema ________.
文章第二段最后一句提到“However there are always the shops with their tourist souvenirs, plenty of cafes and, if the worst comes to the worst, the cinema to offer a refuge.”总是有许多纪念品店、咖啡店供游客们 消遣时光，实在不行还有电影院可以去。由此可知，只有当游客们实在没有哪里可去时，电影院才是一个 选择。故选A。
What reason is suggested for running a boarding-house?
文章倒数第二段倒数第二句提到“…with the hope that in this way they will add enough to their savings to see the winter through”。由此可知，房主靠为游客们提供住宿和食物来维持生计。故选D。
What attraction has the British seaside got for many parents in comparison with European resorts?
文章最后一段最后一句提到“...the parents are reliving their own childhood when time seemed endless, their own sandcastle the most splendid on the beach, the sea always blue and friendly and the sun always hot.”。由 此可知，父母在陪孩子们在海边玩的同时自己也很享受，仿佛回到了童年，过着美好而无忧无虑的日子。