Death Valley is one of the most famous deserts in the United States, covering a wide area with its alkali（碱性的）sand. Almost 20 percent of this area is well below sea level, and Badwater, a salt water pool, is about 280 feet below sea level and the lowest point in the United States.
Long ago the Panamint Indians called this place “Tomesha”— the land of fire. Death Valley’s present name dates back to 1849, when a group of miners coming across from Nevada became lost in its unpleasantness and hugeness and their adventure turned out to be a sad story. Today Death Valley has been declared a National Monument(纪念碑) and is crossed by several well-marked roads where good services can be found easily. Luckily the change created by human settlement has hardly ruined the special beauty of this place.
Here nature created a lot of surprising, almost like the sights on the moon, ever-changing as the frequent wind moves the sand about, showing the most unusual colors. One of the most astonishing and variable parts of Death Valley is the Devil’ s Golf Course, where it seems hard for one to tell reality from terrible dreams. Sand sculptures(沙雕) stand on a frightening ground, as evening shadows move and lengthen.
1. _______ is the lowest place in the desert.| A．Tomesha | B．Death Valley |
| C．Nevada | D．Badwater |
| A．an Indian name | B．the death of the miners |
| C．the local people | D．a National Movement |
| A．no one had ever known the desert before the miners |
| B．it’s still not easy to travel across the desert |
| C．people can find gas-stations, cafes and hotels in the desert |
| D．people have changed the natural sight of the desert |
| A．appreciates | B．is fearful of |
| C．dislikes | D．is tired of |
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【推荐1】Salt Lake City Tour
Salt Lake City, UT
Utah’s capital city is surrounded by the mountains of the American Southwest on the shores of the breathtaking Great Salt Lake. The city is rich in history and architecture besides wonderful scenery.
Duration (持续时间): About 50 Minutes
The Utah State Capitol
As a member of the National Register of Historic Places, the Utah State Capitol has been opening since 1916. Decorated with columns and a dramatic dome (圆屋顶), the style is the same as the famous national Capitol building in Washington.
Duration: About 45 Minutes
The Salt Lake Temple
This temple took 40 years to build, and was opened in 1893. It sits in 10-acre Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, and it is a popular tourist destination even though the inside is off-limits.
Duration: About 30 Minutes
The Great Salt Lake
Located in the northern part of Utah, the Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere. Its level of salinity is actually even higher than the ocean.
Duration: About 1 Hour and 30 Minutes
Departure & Return
Departure: The free airport pickup is only available during 11 am-6 pm. Please wait for your tour guide at Terminal 2 Door 10. (the phone number for the pickup: 626-522-6791; suggested tips:$10)
Return: Please schedule flights to depart from Salt Lake City International Airport after 12 pm. If you want to return to Las Vegas from Salt Lake City on the last day, you shall pay $ 20 per person.
Price Includes: hotel accommodations for 3 nights
The airport pickup & drop-off: If arriving outside this period, you should take the free shuttle to the hotel on your own.
1. Which takes the most time to visit?| A．Salt Lake City, UT. |
| B．The Utah State Capitol. |
| C．The Salt Lake Temple. |
| D．The Great Salt Lake. |
| A．10 am. | B．11 am. |
| C．2 pm. | D．4 pm. |
| A．In 1840. | B．In 1853. |
| C．In 1916. | D．In 1933. |
【推荐2】Four Places Named After Scientists in Antarctica
There are many scientific breakthroughs made by women in Antarctic. Here are four landmarks in Antarctica and the female pioneers they’re named for.
Jones Terrace (梯田)
The ice-free terrace in eastern Antarctica’s Victoria Land bears Jones’ name. In 1969, geochemist Lois M. Jones led the first all-female research team from the U.S. to work in Antarctica. Jones and her team studied chemical weathering in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, an ice-free area of Antarctica. Through chemical analyses of rocks they had collected, Jones and her team discovered many geochemical characteristics of the valley’s ice-covered lakes.
Mount Fiennes
8,202-foot-high Mount Fiennes, located on Antarctica’s largest island — Alexander Island — is named for Ginny Fiennes. She established and maintained 80-foot-tall radio towers in the Antarctic. In 1985, Fiennes became the first female who was invited to join the Antarctic Club, a British supper club open to individuals who have spent extended time in the Antarctic region.
Francis Peak
The 3,727-foot-tall peak on Antarctica’s Adelaide Island is named after Dame Jane Francis, who is the first female director of the British Antarctic Survey, the national polar research institute of the UK. Her collection of fossils on Seymour Island helped conclude in a 2021 paper that Antarctica’s abundant plant fossils indicate the continent once had a much warmer climate than it currently does.
Peden Cliffs
Peden Cliffs near Antarctica’s Marie Byrd Land are proof of the labor of Irene Peden. She was the first American female scientist to both live and work in the Antarctic, where she used radio waves to study ice sheets. Peden and her team determined how very low frequency radio waves spread over long polar distances by measuring pathways in the ice. They also used varying radio wave frequencies to measure the thickness of Antarctica’s ice sheets.
1. Which place is named after a builder of radio towers in the Antarctic?| A．Jones Terrace. | B．Mount Fiennes. |
| C．Francis Peak. | D．Peden Cliffs. |
| A．Lois M. Jones. | B．Ginny Fiennes. |
| C．Dame Jane Francis. | D．Irene Peden. |
| A．She could judge the thickness of Antarctica’s ice sheets. |
| B．She discovered a lot of ice-covered lakes in the Antarctic. |
| C．She was the first female American to explore the Antarctic. |
| D．She correctly measured the spreading speed of radio waves. |
【推荐3】If documentary A Bite of China presented a feast for the eyes with its appetizing images of cuisines from around the country, Aerial China, a new series that was put on CCTV on Jan. 28, offers another visual treat with its footage (镜头) of the breathtaking beauty of the country's natural landscapes.
The series has 34 episodes, each featuring a different place. The first season's episodes feature scenery from Heilongjiang, Hainan, Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Shanghai and Jiangxi. According to Beijing Daily , it took one year to film the first season, with crew using 16 helicopters and 57 drones. The total distance they covered was about 150,000 kilometers - enough to circle the earth four times.
Their efforts have paid off, however. Aerial China currently has a score of 9.4 points out of 10 on douban. com, an influential rating and review website. The majority of viewers are impressed by the amazing view of nature the show presents. From the gleaming blue of the South China Sea to the vast grassland in Xinjiang, from centuries-old city walls in Shaanxi to busy ski resorts in Heilongjiang, "every frame of this show would make a desktop wall paper," commented Beijing Daily.
But amazing views are not the only thing Aerial China wants to show to the audience. " Every footage conveys the love of our motherland," chief director Yu Le said in an interview with CCTV. “The more you know about the place where we live, the more you feel obliged to protect it. " Yu also hopes that it can bring viewers some food for thought. "It allows audiences to see the world from above with brand new perspectives. It may occur to the audience that human beings are very tiny creatures in the universe and our life is very fleeting (短暂),so we should not dwell on the worries and losses. Just think outside the routine - you'll find an enriched life."
1. What subject does Aerial China deal with?| A．Chinese cuisine. | B．Natural scenery. |
| C．Chinese festivals. | D．Geographic features. |
| A．Reviews on Aerial China from media were critical. |
| B．The crew circled the earth four times to film Aerial China. |
| C．It took a lot of money and efforts to produce Aerial China. |
| D．Most audiences were impressed by an enriched life in the show. |
| A．Lifestyle. | B．National News. | C．Culture. | D．Natural Heritage. |
| A．To present views of China from above. |
| B．To reveal audience's love of our country. |
| C．To advise readers to live an enriched life. |
| D．To attract readers to a TV documentary. |
【推荐1】Whether in the home or the workplace, social robots are going to become a lot more common in the next few years. Social robots are about to bring technology to the everyday world in a more humanized way, said Cynthia Breazeal, chief scientist at the robot company Jibo.
While household robots today do the normal housework, social robots will be much more like companions(伙伴) than mere tools. For example, these robots will be able to distinguish when someone is happy or sad. This allows them to respond more appropriately to the user.
The Jibo robot, arranged to ship later this year, is designed to be a personalized assistant.You can talk to the robot, ask it questions, and make requests for it to perform different tasks. The robot doesn’t just deliver general answers to questions; it responds based on what it learns about each individual in the household. It can do things such as reminding an elderly family member to take medicine or taking family photos.
Social robots are not just finding their way into the home. They have potential applications in everything from education to health care and are already finding their way into some of these spaces.
Fellow robots is one company bringing social robots to the market. The company’s “Oshbot” robot is built to assist customers in a store, which can help the customers find items and help guide them to the product’s location in the store. It can also speak different languages and make recommendations for different items based on what the customer is shopping for.
The more interaction the robot has with humans, the more it learns. But Oshbot, like other social robots, is not intended to replace workers, but to work alongside other employees. “We have technologies to train social robots to do things not for us, but with us,” said Breazeal.
1. How are social robots different from household robots?| A．They can control their emotions. |
| B．They are more like humans. |
| C．They do the normal housework. |
| D．They respond to users more slowly. |
| A．A language teacher. |
| B．A tour guide. |
| C．A shop assistant. |
| D．A private nurse. |
| A．train employees |
| B．be our workmates |
| C．improve technologies |
| D．take the place of workers |
【推荐2】There have always been a lot of commonly believed but false ideas about being fat and doing exercise.Some people believe that they can't help putting on weight as they get older,while others hold that if they stop exercising,their muscles will turn into fat.Here are some more myths:
I' ll never lose weight-I come from a fat family
Wrong!While we can't change the body type we are born with,we can't blame our genes for making us fat.There's plenty of evidence that fatness runs in families, and the main reason is that they share the same habits of eating too much and exercising too little.
I am fat because I burn calories slowly
Wrong! Fatness is not caused by a slow metabolism(新陈代谢).In fact, although fat people consume more energy than slim people,they also fail to realize how much they eat!Keeping a diary can help you work out your daily food intake more accurately.
Exercise is boring
Wrong!Anything will become boring if you do it repetitively.The key is to develop a balanced and varied program that's fun as well as progressive.If you enjoy a Sunday walk,take a different route.If you do yoga,try a tai chi class.If you like swimming,set yourself a distance or time challenge.
No pain,no gain
Wrong!Exercise is not meant to hurt. Indeed, pain is your body telling you something's wrong, and continuing to exercise could lead to serious injury.You may experience mild discomfort as you begin to exercise regularly,but this is your body adapting to the positive changes in your lifestyle and the aches should disappear relatively quickly.If they don't,rest and seek medical advice.
1. What does the author think about being fat?| A．It is the family genes that make people fat. |
| B．People are fat because they consume too little energy. |
| C．A diary of exercise can prevent people from becoming fat. |
| D．It is the consequence of people's unbalanced lifestyle. |
| A．By taking varied exercise. | B．By choosing simple exercise. |
| C．By doing regular exercise. | D．By sticking to outdoor exercise. |
| A．Keeping fit is essentially a painful experience. |
| B．Exercise should be stopped if continuous pain is felt. |
| C．Pain in exercise is a precondition for reaching your goal. |
| D．Getting used to pain leads to positive changes in your body. |
【推荐3】Dinner customs are different around the world. If you are a dinner guest in Ghana(非洲的加纳), this information will help you.
In Ghana dinner is usually from four in the afternoon to six in the evening. But there are no strict rules about time in Ghana. Whenever a guest arrives, a family offers food.
When you go to a home, the host takes you to the living room first. At this time everyone welcomes you. Then you go to the dinner room. There you wash your hands in a bowl of water. All the food is on the table.
In Ghana you usually eat with your fingers. You eat from the same dish as everyone else. But you eat from one side of the dish only. It is not polite to get food from the other side of the dish. After dinner, you wash your hands again in a bowl of water.
Most meals in Ghana have a dish called fufu. People in Ghana make fufu from the powder of some plants. Sometimes they cut the fufu with a saw (锯) because it is very hard and like rubber（橡胶）. You must chew fufu well, or you can get sick. You eat fufu with fingers of your right hand only.
1. If you are a dinner guest to a family in Ghana, you’re first ________.| A．taken to the living-room | B．taken to the dinning-room |
| C．told some strict rules about dinner | D．told to wash your hands |
| A．the top of dish | B．the other side of the dish |
| C．the dish only for you | D．just one side of dish |
| A．what to eat in Ghana | B．how much time to spend on a dinner. |
| C．the way of eating | D．different food at a dinner |
| A．smell | B．taste | C．presses with your hands | D．crush with your teeth |
| A．dinner is always at six |
| B．rules for dinner time are not strict |
| C．a family offers food only at four |
| D．you don’t have to wash your hands again after dinner. |
