Question

This may be sad to hear, but the number of Britain’s famous red telephone boxes has been falling for decades. The phone box is iconic (標(biāo)志性的) to foreign fans of Britain and visitors to the country. There are still many left to enjoy, however.

There is deep feeling for the bright red iron-and-glass boxes with the Queen’s coat of arms. The places that still have the red box are mostly small and in the countryside. In these places, the phone box may be a symbol of community, as well as a landmark.

But there are still several cities, including London, that still have original red phone boxes in place.

For tourists, they probably make the perfect background for a selfie (自拍照). Visit London any day in the summer and you’ll see people with their smart phones taking photos with the red box behind them. People who receive the photo will have no trouble guessing where the selfie was taken.

Ever since mobile phones became more widespread, there has been less and less point in public phones. But although the red boxes are no longer popular places to make a call from, new uses are being found for them all the time. The famous design created by Giles Gilbert Scott back in 1924 lives on, but in ways the British architect would never have imagined.

Some of the new ways the phone boxes are being used are quite unusual. For example, some have been changed into tiny coffee shops. Others are hat stores. In one remote area of the country, a red box that had not been used for a long time has been turned into a small lending library.

Even back in their heyday in the last century, phone boxes were put to other uses. Some people even used them as toilets in an emergency.

But for many, they were a safe place to hide if you were caught up in the rain. Britain’s weather is unpredictable: sun one moment, heavy rain the next. So if you are planning to visit the UK and want the perfect British selfie, standing inside a red telephone box in a rainstorm may be your best bet.

1.According to the author, the red phone boxes in Britain are special because .

A. they can be put into different kinds of use

B. they are only found in the British countryside

C. they hold great meaning to some British communities

D. they have a deep connection with the royal family

2.We can learn from the article that British red phone boxes .

A. are mostly made of wood and glass

B. first appeared in big cities such as London

C. were designed by a British architect in the 1930s

D. are not used much for phone calls these days

3.The underlined word “heyday” in the second to last paragraph probably means .

A. a popular time B. a bad time

C. an unusual time D. a happy time

4.The purpose of the last paragraph is to .

A. explain how to deal with Britain’s changeable weather

B. describe a common way of making use of a red phone box in the UK

C. advise visitors to take a selfie standing inside a red telephone box

D. show how to use a red phone box in the case of an emergency

Answer 1