They say that "travel is the best teacher" and there is no better example of this idea than the Ming dynasty travel writer and geographer Xu Xiake (1587-1641). His book The Travel Notes of Xu Xiake, not only encouraged a love of travelling among Chinese people but provided important scientific information about the country's land and geography.
Born into a wealthy Jiangyin family, Xu became interested in books about different places at an early age and wanted to travel. When he was 18, however. Xu's father died and so, it seemed, did his travelling dreams. He now was responsible for the family farm and taking care of his 60-year-old mother as tradition required.
But his mother had different ideas. Understanding her son’s love of travel and valuing the knowledge he could get from such experiences, this modern-thinking woman refused to keep her son at home. She agreed that Xu could travel for three months every year, when there was less farm work.
So at the age of twenty and with his mother's support, Xu set off for the first time, leaving behind not only his mother but his new wife as well. He would repeat this goodbye each year for most of the next 30 years. During this time, he travelled throughout the Ming kingdom, carefully studying the lands he passed through and recording his experiences and many discoveries in a diary. This diary, which once had over 500,000 words, would eventually become The Travel Notes of Xu Xiake.
Although rich, Xu avoided comfortable travel, preferring to go almost everywhere on foot. This way he could research the environment in detail and get a true picture of the natural world. Many of his trips were to hard-to-reach mountain areas, and through wild forests where few people lived. His willingness to face hardships came at a cost however. Progress was slow and tiring and he was frequently sick, robbed and beaten during his journeys
Sadly Xu became seriously ill during his last and longest journey, a 4-year trip through the Southwest of China. He died in 1641, soon after returning to his hometown for the last time. When his diary was finally printed years after his death, much of it had been destroyed or lost. Although incomplete, it still made Xu a travelling legend around the world.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．The influence of Xu's book The Travel Notes of Xu Xiake. |
| B．The difficulties Xu Xiake faced in his travels. |
| C．The important discoveries made by Xu Xiake. |
| D．The general details of Xu Xiake's life story. |
| A．Supportive and open-minded. | B．Kind but uneducated. |
| C．Helpful and hardworking. | D．Strict but interesting. |
| A．It gave him the chance to meet different kinds of people. |
| B．It allowed him to see and study the environment in detail. |
| C．It helped him to save money and travel for a longer time. |
| D．It was the only way to reach the places he was interested in. |
| A．It was mainly about the different people of China. |
| B．It made Xu very famous during his lifetime. |
| C．It was the first travel book ever written in China. |
| D．It was only made public after Xu died. |
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【推荐1】Amazing Hotels in the World
Attrap Reves Hotel (France)
The hotel has special outdoor rooms in the shape of large bubbles (气泡) that allow to sleep under the stars with all the comforts of being in a hotel. The bubbles lie within а short walking distance from the nearest village and main building. You can enjoy star watching and all kinds of other fun activities.
The Ice Hotel (Sweden)
The hotel, which lies in a faraway village in Sweden, is about 125 miles north of the Arctic Circle and is made totally out of ice. The Ice Hotel in Sweden was started in the 1980s by a Swedish sculptor (雕塑家). The hotel is rebuilt every year, opening in winter and closing in spring. Ice sculptors from around the world are invited to take part in the creation of the hotel then.
Giraffe Manor Hotel (Kenya)
Giraffe Manor is a nice hotel built in the early 1930s and lies in Nairobi, Kenya. It is most well-known for its Rothschild giraffes. The giraffes sometimes poke (探出) their long necks inside the windows of hotel’s dining hall, hoping for a treat from guests. The Giraffe Manor is the only place in the world where people can get this up-close and personal contact with a giraffe.
The Manta Resort Hotel (Tanzania)
The underwater hotel is 273 yards off beach on Pemba Island in Tanzania. The rooms have large windows on all four sides so that guests can be part of the wildlife activities around the reef (礁石). Even at night when guests settle down in the bedroom, they can turn on special lights outside the bedroom windows that attract night-time sea life like octopus and stingrays (黄貂鱼).
1. In which hotel can guests enjoy star-watching in the room?| A．Attrap Reves Hotel. | B．The Ice Hotel. |
| C．Giraffe Manor Hotel. | D．The Manta Resort Hotel. |
| A．It was first built by а French artist. | B．It can be visited all the year around. |
| C．It is in the center of the Arctic Circle. | D．It is recreated by sculptors every year. |
| A．They are both built on land. | B．They both have a long history. |
| C．They both offer guests great fun with animals. | D．They both have large windows on all four sides. |
【推荐2】Tromso：the Arctic's most cosmopolitan（国际的）city
Tromso is a cosmopolitan place defined by pubs, a lively music scene and an events calendar that includes everything from traditional native festivals to the Arctic's largest pride celebration.
Mild temperatures and a 2-month-long night
Tromso, about 70, 000 permanent residents, has relatively mild temperatures, which might help explain Tromso’s current popularity as an Arctic destination. Like other places in the Arctic, Tromso experiences polar night, during which the sun never rises above the horizon. Polar night does have several hours of dark during the“daytime”, even on the shortest day of the year.
A gateway to the Arctic
Some people come here to cross"the Arctic"off their life list. For domestic tourists as well as international visitors, the attractions include the chance to go skiing in the mountains right outside the city. If you aren't a ski-jumping fan, the city also has some of the world's northernmost professional sports activities for you to take part in, including a soccer team that plays in Norway's top league. Snowshoeing, dogsledding and winter hiking are also on the agenda.
One of Europe's coolest music destinations
There are regular traditional music concerts in the Tromso Cathedral. The weekend-long Insomnia Festival takes place here each October and the DJ Music Festival each November. Though it began as（and remains） an electronic music festival, other genres （流派）from Norway and Europe are also represented.
Wintertime events and festivals
After the sun returns in January, Tromso hosts Sami Week to celebrate the region's native people. Films, reindeer racing and other cultural events are part of the activities. The Arctic Pride takes place each November in Tromso, calling itself the Northernmost Pride Festival in the world. It features lectures, shows, a parade, parties and concerts.
1. Why is Tromso popular as an Arctic destination according to the text？| A．It can broaden people's horizon. |
| B．The climate there agrees with tourists. |
| C．The shortest daytime appears there. |
| D．It has the same polar night as other polar cities. |
| A．Go skiing right inside the city. |
| B．Enjoy electronic music just from India. |
| C．Play soccer with some professional athletes. |
| D．Go hiking with their friends at home and abroad. |
| A．The Arctic Pride. | B．The Sami Week. |
| C．The Insomnia Festival. | D．The DJ Music Festival. |
【推荐3】Vacations are meant to be enjoyed and to explore new stuff and hobbies. Summer vacation offers everyone a lot of time and comfort to develop new skills.
We reached Srinagar Airport at 12 noon, after one hour, we finally reached our hotels. We were greeted with Kahawa（a famous Kashmir's (克什米尔) coffee）, Tired as we were, we got fresh and had lunch.
All the shops were decorated with wooden antiques and reproductions of famous paintings. We returned at 9 pm after having dinner in a famous restaurant. We went to attend the bonfire event which was organized by the hotel staff.
We then visited the botanical garden, apple farms, Nishat Gardens, and historical temples and castles, which were telling the Kashmir's beauty. We went to many other scenic spots and spent five days in Shikara in Dal Lake.
I want to revisit Kashmir. After returning from the Kashmir trip, I got engaged in my summer vacation homework and shared my travel experience with my friends. Also, I presented my friends with small gifts I have purchased for them from Kashmir.
| A．Then we went to the nearby market |
| B．Everything in Kashmir is new and exciting. |
| C．We also played cards before we went to bed. |
| D．Then the next morning we went to visit Gulmarg. |
| E．Last summer, I accompanied my parents on a 15-day trip. |
| F．Staying in the water for such a long duration was the best experience. |
| G．Last year, I visited Kashmir with my parents during my summer vacation. |
【推荐1】A very frightening thing happened on the weekend, but luckily a hero saved all. A New Jersey police officer safely caught a one-month-old baby dropped off a second-floor balcony over the weekend, authorities said.
The Hudson County prosecutor’s office said Officer Eduardo Matute was among those called to the Jersey City residence Saturday morning after reports that a man was threatening the baby.
NorthJersey.com reports that he and several officers were positioned below the second-floor balcony as the child was dangled over the balcony fence. Officials said the man dropped the baby after a long negotiation with the officers leader, and to the relief of everyone present, Matute caught the child on the spot.
City spokesperson Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said the child was taken to the hospital. Mayor Steve Fulop later posted a photo on social media of the officer holding the child, who was wrapped in a white blanket.
“Thankfully the baby wasn’t harmed physically,” Fulop said.
It wasn’t immediately clear what charges he would face. Other details weren’t available.
“Kudos to the JCPD and all the officers involved for their heroics and for bringing a safe conclusion to this dangerous situation,” the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.
1. What is the probable meaning of the underlined word “dangled” in Paragraph 3?| A．Hung. | B．Fastened. | C．Exhibited. | D．Thrown. |
| A．Amazed. | B．Relieved. | C．Frightened. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．It lost its father. | B．It was seriously hurt. |
| C．It was completely safe. | D．It was without physical damage. |
| A．An Unknown Hero | B．A Lucky Dog |
| C．A Police Officer Saving a Baby | D．A Policeman Making a Breakthrough |
【推荐2】Alexander Graham Bell was born in 1847 in Scotland, but when he was young his family moved to Boston, USA.
He believed that one should always be curious and his most famous saying was: Leave the beaten track occasionally and dive into the woods. Every time you do you will be certain to find something that you have never seen before. Follow it up, explore all around it, and before you know it, you will have something worth thinking about to occupy your mind. All really big discoveries are the result of thought.
It was this exploring around problems and his dynamic spirit that led to his most famous invention-the telephone in 1876. Bell never set out to invent the telephone and what he was trying to design was a multiple telegraph.
The original telegraph sent a message over distances using Morse code. But only one message could go at a time. Bell wanted to improve it so that it could send several messages at the same time. He designed a machine that would separate different sound waves and allow different conversations to be held at the same time. In searching to improve the telegraph, Bell had invented the first telephone!
The patent was given in 1876, but it was not until five days later that Bell sent his first telephone message to his assistant Watson. The words have now become famous:
“Mr Watson—come here—I want to see you.”
Alexander Graham Bell was not a man to rest and he interested himself in many other areas of invention. He experimented with helicopter designs and flying machines. While searching for a kite strong enough to carry a man into the air, Bell experimented putting triangles together and discovered the tetrahedron shape. Being very stable, it has proved invaluable in the design of bridges.
1. What does the author think is the key to Bell’s success as an inventor?| A．Curiosity. | B．Intelligence. | C．Good luck. | D．Inspiration. |
| A．In 1847. | B．In 1876. | C．In 1880. | D．In 1888. |
| A．kites | B．telephone | C．flying machines | D．tetrahedron shape |
| A．poor | B．rich | C．creative | D．kind |
【推荐3】The sun was shining quite brightly as Ms Grant left her house, and she saw no need to take an umbrella with her. She got on the bus to take her into the town and before long it came on to rain. It had not stopped raining when the bus arrived at the marketplace half an hour later. Ms Grant stood up and absentmindedly picked up the umbrella that was hanging on the seat in front of her. A cold voice said loudly: “That is mine, Madam!”
Suddenly remembering that she had come out without her umbrella, Ms Grant went red with embarrassment and apologized, trying at the same time to pay no attention to the unpleasant look the owner of the umbrella was giving her.
When she got off the bus, Ms Grant made straight for a shop where she could buy an umbrella.And it wasn’t long before she found a very pretty one. It was so pretty that she decided to buy another as a present for her daughter. She did the rest of her shopping and had lunch in a cafe.
In the afternoon she got on the homeward bus with the two umbrellas under her arm, and sat down. Then she saw that, by a curious coincidence , she was sitting next to the woman who had made her feel so uncomfortable that morning.
This woman now looked at her, then at the umbrellas, and said, “You’ve had quite a good day, I see!”
1. Ms Grant bought two umbrellas because ________.| A．it was raining and she liked the umbrella very much |
| B．her daughter had asked her for one |
| C．she wanted to give it to the woman on the bus |
| D．she believed that she needed two |
| A．For sightseeing. |
| B．To do some shopping. |
| C．To buy umbrella. |
| D．To steal some umbrellas |
| A．umbrella collector |
| B．absent-minded woman |
| C．thief stealing umbrellas |
| D．strange woman |
【推荐1】Born in Chengdu, Sichuan Province in 1915, Isabel Crook has lived a truly incredible life. Isabel witnessed many profound changes that the country has undergone, including the foundation of the People’s Republic of China.
Isabel’s parents were Canadian and arrived in China in 1912. They dedicated themselves to setting up schools and education institutions in southwest China. Crook herself was more interested in anthropology (人类学) and ethnic minorities in China. While Isabel’s parents left China in 1942, Isabel would remain and continues to call the country home to this very day. The 107-year-old has lived 90 years of her life in China.
As a foreign girl born in an Asian country that was undergoing significant changes, she had every reason to be curious about what was going on around her. At the age of 23, Crook graduated from a Canadian college with a master’ s degree and began carrying out field research in rural areas in Sichuan Province.
In the early 1940s, Isabel met the British communist David Crook and the two were married in 1942. Their life journey together would continue until David died in 2000. In 1947, the couple was warmly welcomed by the Communist Party of China (CPC) to observe and study the revolutionary land reforms taking place in China. In 1948, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the CPC asked Isabel and David to stay and teach at a newly established foreign affairs school. The school was the forerunner of today’s Beijing Foreign Studies University. The couple brought new Western teaching methodologies to the classroom, laying vital foundations for foreign-language education in China. Their passion for teaching lasted decades and their students have served as diplomats (外交官) to facilitate China’s peaceful engagement with other countries.
Considering the trials and difficulties Isabel has tackled during her lifetime, we imagine she is weathering the current global storm with the same determination and adventurous spirit that has kept her in China all these years. In a nod to Isabel’s devotion, in 2019 she was awarded the Medal of Friendship, China’s highest award for foreigners who have made economic or social contributions to the country.
1. What can we know from the second paragraph?| A．Isabel’s parents were born in China. |
| B．Isabel had a deep affection for China. |
| C．Isabel’s parents were attracted by the ethnic minorities in China. |
| D．Isabel left China with her parents for the domestic situation in 1942. |
| A．Because her parents nurtured her curiosity from an early age. |
| B．Because she gained her university education totally in China. |
| C．Because she was proficient in Chinese and knew Chinese history well. |
| D．Because she was a foreigner born in China and witnessed great changes. |
| A．She has carried out field research in rural areas in Sichuan Province. |
| B．She has laid vital foundations for foreign-language education in China. |
| C．She has combined Western teaching methodologies with traditional ones. |
| D．She has served as a diplomat to facilitate China’s peaceful engagement. |
| A．Proud. | B．Polite. | C．Independent. | D．Devoted. |
【推荐2】The beloved and longtime host of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Fred Rogers was born on march20, 1928, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
After graduating from Latrobe High school, Rogers was admitted to Dartmouth College, where he studied for a year before transferring(转学) to Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. Rogers, who’d begun playing the piano at a young age, graduated with high honour in 1951 with a degree in music composition.
During his senior year of college he visited his parents and was amazed by the family’s newest household addition: a television set. He could see a bright future for the medium and, as he’d later remembered, Rogers immediately decided he wanted to be a part of it.
Rogers’ first job in television came in 1953 when he was employed to work in programming by WQED in Pittsburgh, a recently launched community TV station that was the first of its kind in the country.
In the following year, he was co-producing a new program, The Children’s Corner. This allowed Rogers, who’d fallen in love with puppetry(木偶戏) as a child, to introduce some of his favourite puppets from his home to his young audience.
As his experience grew, so did his aspirations(抱负). He earned his divinity(神学) degree in 1962. After that Presbyterian Church asked him to serve children and families through television. Rogers made his first appearance the following year as Mister Rogers on a Canadian Broadcast System show called Misterogers. The program helped lay the foundation in its look and approach for Rogers’ later show.
Canada, however, was not where Rogers or his wife, Joanne, whom he’d met at Rollins, wanted to raise their two young sons. Soon, the Rogers family was back in Pittsburgh, where Rogers launched Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood in 1996.
1. What inspired Fred Rogers’ decision to enter a career in television?| A．His parents’ encouragement. | B．His major at college. |
| C．A television set in his home. | D．His deep love in music. |
| A．Misterogers in Canada. | B．The Children’s Corner |
| C．Rogers’ divinity degree. | D．Rogers’ first job. |
| A．Rogers planned to launch Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood there. |
| B．They thought Canada was unfit for bringing up their children. |
| C．They wanted to look after their parents back in America. |
| D．Presbyterian Church invited them back in America. |
| A．Rogers’ interests in music and puppets. |
| B．Early education Fred Rogers received. |
| C．Fred Rogers’ family and his experiences. |
| D．Fred Rogers’ early life and early career. |
【推荐3】Over the past 20 years, Zhang Bi has donated her blood more than 130 times to help people in need.
Zhang, 44, an employee of a company in Yichang, Hubei province, first donated blood in 1998 while studying at Wuhan University of Technology. “It was in the summer when I was with my classmates, and medical workers were promoting the idea of voluntary blood donations, ” she recalled. To mark her upcoming graduation with a degree in international trade and commerce, she decided to donate 200 milliliters of blood. “In fact, I was jittery at first, ”she said. “But with the nurse explaining things and providing guidance, I gained basic knowledge and finally calmly finished the blood donation.”
After graduation, she began to donate blood once or twice a year. In May 2001, an incident touched Zhang and deepened her understanding of voluntary blood donation. Her brother, a traffic policeman, was attacked and got hurt in a lung after dealing with an illegally operated motorcycle. He suffered blood loss and needed massive blood, but for lack of supplies in the blood bank, all the police officers in the city volunteered to donate blood. “Finally, with the help of the volunteers, my brother was saved, ”she said.
From then on, she began to donate blood every six months, the maximum allowed, according to the Blood Donation Law. In 2006, Zhang's father had a heart surgery and needed blood. Zhang had donated so much blood that she had earned enough “credits” for receiving the blood her father needed from the blood center.
Yi Xiaomei, an official at the Yichang Blood Center, said there are more than 400 regular blood donors in the city. “They have made great contributions to blood donation in the city, ” Yi said. “Zhang Bi, as a typical example, tries her best to guarantee the quality and quantity of blood.” Zhang said donating blood is not only good for the recipient Abut improves her own mental and physical well-being. “I hope I can continue as long as my physical condition can meet the donor requirements, ”she said.
1. What does the underlined word “jittery” mean in paragraph 2？| A．Excited. | B．Curious. |
| C．Nervous. | D．Embarrassed. |
| A．The blood in the blood bank. |
| B．The help of the police officers. |
| C．Zhang Bi’s donation of blood. |
| D．The contribution of an official at the Blood Center. |
| A．Blood Center has no limit in donating blood. |
| B．Yichang has the best and most blood donors in China. |
| C．Blood donors make a little money from blood donation. |
| D．Donating blood benefits both the recipient and the donor. |
| A．A Blood Donor Proves Love not in Vain. |
| B．Our Society Needs Women's Contribution. |
| C．An Accident Changed a Traffic Policeman. |
| D．Blood Donors Promoted Voluntary Blood Donation. |
