【推荐1】Booking a vacation has never been more convenient. As your one-stop vacation planner, VME has everything you need to book an unforgettable getaway. If you aren’t sure where to go, check out our most popular destinations (目的地):

Nashville

Nashville is the capital of the state as well as the capital of country music. Nicknamed “Music City”, Nashville is where many of the most legendary performers got their start.

Things to do

There are many amazing activities to enjoy in Nashville. For country music lovers, there truly is nothing better than watching a show at the legendary Grand Ole Opry.

Pigeon Forge

Home to the Great Smoky. Mountains, the Pigeon Forge area of Tennessee is a must-see. This beautiful region is filled with natural wonders and amazing shows.

Things to do

The Smokies are known for the entertainment offered within its shadow! Be sure to head out to beloved dinner shows in Pigeon Forge such as Dolly Parton’s Stampede Dinner Show, Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Show, and the Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster (过山车).

Myrtle Beach

If coastal views and oceanic adventures are just what you want, then Myrtle Beach is the place for you! This city is known for its great beaches and adventures that offer up unique opportunities to create the most unforgettable memories.

Things to do

There are many awesome things to do in Myrtle Beach! Set out on the sparkling (波光粼粼的) waters to look for dolphins on the Myrtle Beach Dolphin Sightseeing Cruises (航行) before returning to the city to visit Ripley’s Aquarium (水族馆). No matter what sort of adventures you are looking to have, there is something for everyone.

San Antonio

Home to rich Texan and American history, San Antonio is a great place to visit for a combination of history and modern attractions.

Things to do

Whether you want to get in some thrills at SeaWorld or see the shops, restaurants and entertainment of the Riverwalk on the Go Rio San Antonio Riverwalk Cruise, your trip to San Antonio will be a blast (狂欢).

1. Who would most probably want to take a trip to Nashville?

A．Those who like hiking.

B．Those who love Texan history.

C．Those who are into country music.

D．Those who like oceans and beaches.

2. Which is an ideal destination for people who are fond of watching dinner shows?

A．Nashville.	B．San Antonio.
C．Pigeon Forge.	D．Myrtle Beach.

3. What can people do in Myrtle Beach?

A．Go on a cruise to watch dolphins.

B．Shop at bookstores of the Riverwalk.

C．Visit an aquarium and take a roller-coaster ride.

D．Visit some attractions to learn about American history.

4. Where are you most likely to read this article?

A．In a book review.

B．In a travel journal.

C．In a social magazine.

D．In a travel agency website.

【推荐2】Did you know that the United States has over 2,600 National Historic Landmarks? They serve as official markers of the country's, history by way of an event, person, time period, design or archeological finding and not just any old site will do. Here we’ve selected 4 with a story to tell and explore.

Birthplace of Helen Keller, Alabama

Ivy Green is a historic museum that honors Helen Keller, who was born here in 1880. Keller learned sign language and Braille and became the first deaf-blind person to earn a bachelor's degree. Keller was an advocate of blind rights and wrote 12 books, including her autobiography The Story of My Life.

Coca-Cola Bottling Plant, Georgia

Built in 1891, this plant served as the headquarters and bottling plant for the soda giant as it grew from soda shop to a manufactured brand. In 1966, Coca-Cola moved into something larger. Currently, it functions as part of Georgia State University’s campus.

Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.

Where is the largest library in the world? This is it. America t s Library of Congress is the oldest federal cultural institution. It' s also the current research library for the US Senate and is where US Patent and Trademark Office lies. Both real-life and virtual tours of this amazing space are available.

Brooklyn Bridge, New York City

Completed in 1883, Brooklyn Bridge is a famous sight and it has a rich history too. Due to its lengthy span, New Yorkers’ fear was heightened after 12 people were killed on the bridge. Circus man P. T. Barnum paraded 21 elephants across the bridge to prove it was safe. It’s been a National Historic Landmark since 1964.

1. Where should you go if you want to know about the soda giant?

A．Birthplace of Helen Keller.

B．Brooklyn Bridge.

C．Coca-Cola Bottling Plant.

D．Library of Congress.

2. What can we know about the Library of Congress?

A．It is the oldest cultural organization.

B．It is where Americans do the current research.

C．It can be visited only in person.

D．It is where Americans apply for a patent and trademark.

3. What is the purpose of writing the text?

A．To explore landmarks.

B．To introduce scenery.

C．To attract visitors.

D．To educate readers.

【推荐1】A Couch Potato

Forty-three-year-old Bob Black from Birmingham is sitting on his sofa and telling me about his perfect day.

When I wake up I don't get up immediately.

I turn on the television and watch the children's programmes and old movies until about half-past ten. Then I get up, go downstairs and switch on the TV in the living room. For lunch, I have biscuits and a glass of milk, and I watch the news. In the afternoon, I often watch another old film – they're showing some good ones at the moment. In the evenings, I often watch TV series or sport and the news again. I like the main news at six o'clock. At half past nine, if there is a good play on BBC 2, I switch over and watch it. Then at night, I watch more films and I usually switch off the TV at about two o'clock. I never watch TV all night.

I watch TV for sixteen or seventeen hours a day. I also do some exercise every day. I take Tina, the dog, for a walk every afternoon. I don't go far, of course. I walk to the wall outside my house. I always take my portable TV and I sit on the stone wall while the dog walks round in a circle.

Of course, I couldn't live this lifestyle without a good wife. She's not here now because she's working, but she always makes my meals. We haven't got much money, you know, but we're happy. Sit down and watch TV. Here's the remote control. You've got the world at your feet. And in your hand. Great!

1. Which of the following statements can best explain the title “a couch
potato” ?

A．Having a biscuit and a glass of milk for lunch.

B．Doing some exercise everyday.

C．Taking the dog for a walk every afternoon.

D．Watching TV for sixteen or seventeen hours a day.

2. When walking the dog, what does Bob Black always take?

A．A cellphone.	B．His portable TV.
C．Some books.	D．Plastic bags.

3. What can we know about Bob Black from this passage?

A．He loves his wife pretty much.	B．He often quarrels with his wife.
C．He likes his lifestyle.	D．He is a pet lover.

【推荐2】Everyone knows booking all your accommodation with the same hotel chain earns loyalty points, which can be traded for free stays and the occasional bottles of wine. Now a study shows that there could be performance benefits too.

People often experience trouble sleeping in a different bed in unfamiliar surroundings. This is a phenomenon known to psychologists as the “first-night” effect. This is because if a person stays in the same room the following night, he or she tends to sleep more soundly. Yuka Sasaki and her colleagues at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, set out to investigate the origins of this effect.

Dr. Sasaki knew the first-night effect probably has something to do with how humans evolved. The puzzle was in what way it can be beneficial. She also knew from previous work conducted on birds and dolphins that these animals put half of their brains to sleep at a time so that they can rest while remaining alert enough to avoid predators. This led her to wonder if people might be doing the same thing and feeling tired the next day as a result.

To take a closer look, the team studied 35 young and healthy people as they slept in the unfamiliar environment of the university’s Department of Psychological Sciences. The   participants each slept in the department for two nights and were carefully monitored each time with neuroimaging techniques that looked at the activity of their brains. Their heart rates, muscle and eye movements were also recorded.

Dr. Sasaki found that, as expected, the participants slept worse on their first night in the lab than they did on their second, taking more than twice as long to fall asleep and sleeping less overall. During deep sleep, the participants’ brains behaved in a similar manner seen in birds and dolphins. More specifically, on the first night only, the left brain did not sleep as deeply as the right brain did.

Wondering if the left brains indeed remained awake to process information detected in the surrounding environment, Dr. Sasaki re-ran the experiment while presenting the sleeping participants with a mix of regularly timed beeps of the same tone and irregular beeps of a different tone during the night. She worked out that, if the left brain stayed alert to keep guard in a strange environment, then it would react to the random beeps by waking people up and would ignore the regularly timed ones. This is precisely what she found.

Based upon these feelings, Dr. Sasaki argues in Current Biology that the first-night effect is a mechanism that has evolved to function as something of a neurological night watchman to wake people up when they hear noises when sleeping in an unfamiliar environment.

1. What puzzled the researchers about the first-night effect?

A．What role it has played in evolution.	B．What benefit can be gained from it.
C．To what extent it can affect people.	D．The relationship between it and circumstances.

2. When doing the new research, Dr. Yuka Sasaki     .

A．conducted studies on young and old people

B．got some idea from previous studies on birds and dolphins

C．found birds and dolphins had nearly the same sleeping patterns

D．found half of birds’ and dolphins’ brains remain awake while asleep

3. What did Dr. Sasaki do when she re-ran the experience?

A．She analyzed the negative effects of irregular tones on brains.

B．She recorded the participants’ adaptation to changed environment.

C．She exposed the participants to two different kinds of noises.

D．She compared the responses of male and female participants.

4. What did Dr. Sasaki find about the participants in her experiment?

A．They differed in their tolerance of irregular tones.

B．They tended to regard irregular beeps as a threat.

C．They felt sleepy when exposed to regular beeps.

D．They tended to enjoy certain tones more than others.

【推荐1】Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, has an ancient competition with Chongqing, a city to its south-east. Residents of Chongqing accused their Chengdu cousins of being pompous (自大的). The people of Chongqing were hotheads, Chengdu residents shot back. Both cities share a love of spice-laden Sichuan cuisine, which in recent decades has occupied Chinese dinner tables. But they are at war over which has the best Sichuan hotpot—a type of DIY-cooking that involves boiling vegetables and slices of meat with chillies and numbing peppercorns.

A private museum in Chongqing, opened several years ago, makes the case for the Chongqing-style hotpot. It describes how it developed from a method used to make cheap offcuts of meat taste delicious. But Chengdu is playing catch-up. In January the city sold a plot of land on condition that the developer build a hotpot museum on part of it.

The two cities are among many in China with their own styles of hotpot. Hotpot restaurants in China are more profitable than other kinds. Haidilao, a well-known Sichuan-based hotpot chain, raised nearly $1bn when it was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (股票交易所) in September.

Not all Chinese warm to hotpot. Some older Sichuanese refuse to be connected with it. They complain that it is causing overuse of chilli in other dishes that cover up the original genuine flavours.

But Chengdu’s plans for a museum suggest that Sichuan hotpot is not only growing in popularity, but is also becoming symbolic. If it can set the West on fire, officials may hope it will become a delicious new source of Chinese soft power. There will be plenty of glory for both Chengdu and Chongqing to take pride in if that happens.

1. Why are Chengdu and Chongqing competing with each other?

A．Because Chengdu people think Chongqing people are pompous.

B．Because Chengdu residents like to shoot back in battles.

C．Because they both think they are better at eating spicy food.

D．Because they both believe they have the best Sichuan hotpot.

2. What is the purpose of building a hotpot museum in Chengdu?

A．To compete with Chongqing.	B．To advertise Sichuan cuisine.
C．To show their love for hotpot.	D．To keep the hotpot tradition.

3. What can we infer about hotpot from the last paragraph?

A．The two cities have competed only in recent decades.

B．More hotpot museums will be built in the future.

C．Hotpot is already a source of Chinese soft power.

D．People hold a high expectation for hotpot culture.

4. Which can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Growing Popularity of Hotpot in Two Cities

B．Two Cities’ War Over Tastiest Sichuan Hotpot

C．“No Hotpot, No Happiness” True in Food Business

D．Private Museum in Chongqing Opened First

【推荐2】Disney World, Not To Be Missed!

Are you still looking for an amusement park to enjoy yourself? Then, Disney World is your best choice! Disney World has four theme parks. A single-day admission ticket to any of these four theme parks is $67 for adults and $56 for young children above three years. The very best time to come here includes middle of April to late May, and Labor Day to middle of November or early December. You’ll surely have a fantastic and memorable experience!

Magic Kingdom

This is the original Disney park from which the entire Disney World has expanded. Once you get here, you can pose for pictures with the Disney characters at the entrance. But if you want to save time, go straight to the Main Street. The children would almost certainly desire to see the Dumbo and Winnie. Just remember the parking lot is usually packed. You will need to walk to the entrance gate.

Epcot

Epcot is divided into two sections: World Showcase and Future World. Future World is all about futuristic rides and high-tech attractions like Test Track and Turtle Talk with Crush. World Showcase, which lies along a lake, shows international styles from different parts of the globe, including Germany, Canada, Mexico, China and a lot more.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

If you’re an animal lover, you’ll really like the Animal Kingdom. The newest addition to this part of Disney World is the Expedition Everest ride plus the Finding Nemo stage show. It’s very best to come here in the morning when animals are more active. The safari(游猎) is open but the opening hours depend on the animals, and how active they are during the day.

1. You think Epcot is worth visiting probably because you can __________.

A．see the most popular movies nowadays

B．go hunting wherever you like

C．take pictures with the Disney characters

D．enjoy the foreign styles along the lake

2. If your parents bring your 2-year-old little brother to visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the cost is ____.

A．$190	B．$255
C．$134	D．$179

3. Which theme park can you go if you want to take photos with Mickey Mouse and Winnie?

A．Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

B．Epcot and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

C．Magic Kingdom

D．Epcot.

4. What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?

A．To compare the advantages and disadvantages of the four theme parks.

B．To explain the reasons of traveling to Disney World.

C．To attract more people to pay a visit to Disney World.

D．To express his opinions about the popularity of Disney World.

【推荐3】In Africa, Christmas Day begins with groups of carolers (欢唱颂歌的人) walking to and from through the village, along the roadway, by the houses of the missionaries (传教士), singing the lovely carols known to the world around. Often people may be awakened by a group of carolers beginning to gather at the house of worship (敬神活动). They return home to make final preparations as to the clothes one must wear and also as to their offering for the Christmas service.

The most important part of their Christmas worship service is the love offering. This is the gift in honor of Jesus. At about 8 or 9 o'clock everyone goes to the celebration of the birthday of Jesus. Everyone who attends the service goes forward to lay down their gift upon the raised platform near the Communion table. No one will attend the service without giving a gift.

Christmas in South Africa is a summer holiday. There is no snow, but it has many flowers, many beautiful varieties of wild flowers being in their full pride.

In Ghana, most churches show the coming of Christmas by decorating the church and homes beginning with the first week in Advent, four weeks before Christmas. This season happens to be the time of cocoa harvest, so it is a time of wealth. Everyone returns home from wherever they might be such as farms or mines.

In Africa, it is the traditional dinner of turkey, roast beef, mince pies, or suckling pig, yellow rice with raisins, vegetables, and plum pudding, crackers. In the afternoon, families go out into the country and usually there are games or bathing in the warm sunshine, and then home in the cool of the evening. Boxing Day is also a proclaimed (正式宣布的) public holiday usually spent in the open air. It falls on December 26 and is a day of real relaxation.

1. The purpose of this text is to ______.

A．persuade us to have a holiday in Africa

B．describe some important holidays in Africa

C．tell us how people celebrate Christmas in Africa

D．introduce to us when Christmas came into being

2. If you visit South Africa on Christmas Day, you’ll find ______.

A．the church and homes are being decorated	B．there are flowers all over the country
C．everyone returns home to harvest cocoa	D．it is snowing heavily everywhere

3. What is the most important part of Christmas worship service?

A．One must sing a carol on the platform.	B．One must appear in fantastic clothes.
C．Food is shared among carolers.	D．Everyone carries a gift to the scene.