Travel allows us to experience the world. But as we travel, we are also leaving our footprint on every place we visit. This is why culturally immersive (沉浸) travel is so important. Because the wrong kind of travel negatively affects the world. One of the reasons we started this blog was to help others travel better and feel comfortable getting off the beaten path, interacting with locals, and take you “Beyond the traditional Bucketlist”, if you will.
People who only get 2-weeks off per year are often just looking for an easy destination with a beach to relax on. This isn’t travel. This is a vacation. But “Immersive Travel” or “Cultural Travel” is an entirely new type of trip. It is about experiencing and preserving the various traditions around the world. It’s about being open to new experiences and willing to step into another’s shoes. Cultural travel is jumping in with both feet and leaving your idea about what your trip should be behind you. It’s eating local dishes and sleeping in guesthouses. It’s building genuine connections with locals. It’s learning about the history of a country and leaving your trip with a greater understanding of the place you came to see and the people who live there.
Often times in today’s age, “travelers” will visit a country just to snap some photos of the famous sights to post on Instagram or to drink the night away, or even just to relax on a tropical beach. But that kind of vacation can be harmful to the very communities you’re traveling to.
Beyond supporting the local communities and the preservation of local customs and traditions, you’ll also experience some personal benefits through cultural travels. There’s simply no way to travel this way with a closed mind. You’ll get to know different cultures intimately and understand them a lot better. You’ll also become less judgmental of others the more you travel.
1. What’s the author’s purpose in writing the first paragraph?| A．To stress the negative influence of travel. |
| B．To describe the importance of cultural travel. |
| C．To recommend a totally different type of travel. |
| D．To convey his unique feelings about cultural travel. |
| A．establish close connections with the locals during the travel |
| B．choose a tourist attraction for adventure and exploration |
| C．show more interest in the history of a travel destination |
| D．post the photos taken in the journey on the social media |
| A．It is focused on studying local people's lifestyle. |
| B．Its travelers should be open-minded and understanding. |
| C．It is a specific way to make judgments of other cultures. |
| D．Its major concern is preserving local traditions and customs. |
| A．A travel brochure. | B．A blog post. |
| C．A historic magazine. | D．An encyclopedia website. |
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【推荐1】Brian arrived at the San Francisco airport two hours before the flight to Paris.He was wearing three shirts，a jacket，two pairs of socks，a pair of shorts，and two pairs of jeans.He was carrying one small backpack，which was very full，but he didn’t have any other luggage.Brian needed to meet a man named Tony before he checked in for his flight.He found Tony near the Air France counter.Tony gave him a round trip ticket and a small package.
“Give this package to Jean Paul at the airport in Paris.He will have a sign with your name on it.I think you can find him easily，”Tony said，“You don’t have any luggage，right？”
“Only this backpack，”Brian answered，“You said I could bring one carry on bag.”
“That’s right.One carry on bag is fine.Have a good trip.”
“Thanks.”
Is Brian a criminal？ Not at all.He is an aircourier.And he paid only $110 for the round trip ticket to Paris.Air couriers get cheap airline tickets because they take important packages and papers to foreign countries.Businesses sometimes need to get packages and papers to people in foreign countries by the next day.Often，the only way they can do this is to use an air courier company.It is not cheap for a business to send a package with an air courier，but it is quick.
Every year about 80,000 people worldwide travel as aircouriers.The number of tickets for courier travel is growing by about 10 percent a year.However，air courier travel isn’t for everyone.But if you have very little money，can be flexible about your travel plans，and don’t mind wearing the same clothes for a week，it can be a great way to take a vacation！
1. Why was Brian wearing so many clothes for his travel？| A．Because they were the uniforms for air couriers. |
| B．Because that made him easier to be recognized. |
| C．Because he would be charged for taking much luggage with him. |
| D．Because he was required not to have much luggage with him. |
| A．it costs less | B．it is flexible |
| C．it grows fast | D．it saves time |
| A．have much money |
| B．hate wearing the same clothes |
| C．have much personal luggage |
| D．are flexible about their travel plans |
| A．describes the activities of a law breaker |
| B．suggests a way to travel for everyone |
| C．talks about the air courier travel |
| D．tells us about a developing business |
【推荐2】I’ve come back to check on a baby. Just after dusk I’m in a car down a muddy road in the rain, past rows of shackled (戴镣的) elephants, their trunks swinging. I was here five hours before, when the sun was high and hot and tourists were on elephants’ backs.
Walking now, I can hardly see the path with my phone’s flashlight. When the wooden fence post stops me short, I point my light down and follow a current of rainwater across the floor until it washes up against three large, gray feet. A fourth foot twisted above the surface, tied tightly by a short chain and choked by ring of metal spikes (尖刺). When the elephant gets tired and puts her foot down, the spikes press deeper into her ankle.
Meena is four years and two months old, still a child as elephants go. Khammon Kongkhaw, her caretaker, told me earlier that Meena wears the spiked chain because she tends to kick. Kongkhaw has been responsible for Meena here at Maetaman Elephant Adventure, near Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, since she was 11 months old. He said he keeps her on the spiked chain only during the day and takes it off at night. But it’ s night now.
I ask Jin Laoshen, the Maetaman worker, why her chain is still on. He says he doesn’t know.
Maetaman is one of many animal attractions in and around tourist-crowded Chiang Mai. Meena’s life is set to follow the same track as many of the roughly 3,800 captive (被捕获的) elephants in Thailand. When Meena is too old or sick to give rides—maybe at 55, maybe at 75, she’ll die. If she's lucky, she’ll get a few years of retirement. She'll spend most of her life on a chain.
1. Why does the author decide to come back?| A．To check the baby elephant Meena. |
| B．To feed those shackled elephants. |
| C．To release those shackled elephants. |
| D．To help an injured worker in Maetaman. |
| A．The author is scared walking in the path. |
| B．Meena is treated badly and very painful |
| C．Meena only has three healthy legs. |
| D．One of Meena’s leg is badly broken. |
| A．Indifferent. |
| B．Critical. |
| C．Sympathetic. |
| D．Negative. |
| A．to describe those elephants to attract tourists around the world |
| B．to draw people’s attention to caring about the fate of those elephants |
| C．to tell readers the story of a baby elephant in Chiang Mai, Thailand |
| D．to tell the reason why the number of elephants is decreasing |
【推荐3】Top 3 Things to Do in Hong Kong
As one of the most prosperous(繁华的) cities in China, Hong Kong is famous for its booming economy and cultural diversity.
Victoria Harbor is the most prosperous area in Hong Kong and also a landmark located between Central and Kowloon Peninsula.
Hong Kong is one of the most famous shopping paradises（天堂） in the world. However, the real shopping heaven of the city should be Causeway Bay.
| A．The light show will surely give you a deep impression |
| B．The Victoria Peak is one of the best places to visit in Hong Kong |
| C．However, the weather will affect a lot if you plan to enjoy an overview on the peak |
| D．The Dim Sum, a typical local dessert, is definitely the food you cannot miss |
| E．Situated in the east to the Victoria Park, it is the second most expensive place in the world |
| F．This international city has many attractions, eye-popping skyscrapers and cultural landmarks |
| G．Tourists should not miss this fascinating destination which is famous for the beautiful night view |
This was a huge task, so Murray had to find volunteers from Britain, the United States, and the British colonies to search every newspaper, magazine, and book ever written in English. Hundreds of volunteers responded, including William Chester Minor. Dr. Minor was an American surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England. He gave his address as “Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire,” 50 miles from Oxford.
Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray. Over the next 17 years, he became one of the staff’s most valued contributors.
But he was also a mystery. In spite of many invitations, he would always decline to visit Oxford. So in 1897, Murray finally decided to travel to Crowthorne himself. When he arrived, he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell at the Broadmoor Asylum(精神病院) for the Criminally Insane.
Murray and Minor became friends, sharing their love of words. Minor continued contributing to the dictionary, sending in more than 10,000 submissions in 20 years. Murray continued to visit Minor regularly, sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds.
In 1910, Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum in his native America. Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable friend.
Minor died in 1920, seven years before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed. The 12 volunteers defined 414,825 words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient.
1. According to the text, the first Oxford English Dictionary ____.
| A．came out before Minor died |
| B．was edited by an American volunteer |
| C．included the English words invented by Murray |
| D．was intended to be the most ambitious English dictionary |
| A．He helped Murray to find hundreds of volunteers. |
| B．He sent newspapers, magazines and books to Murray. |
| C．He provided a great number of words and quotations. |
| D．He went to England to work with Murray. |
| A．Brave and determined. | B．Cautious and friendly. |
| C．Considerate and optimistic. | D．Unusual and scholarly. |
| A．The history of the English language. |
| B．The friendship between Murray and Minor. |
| C．Minor and the first Oxford English Dictionary. |
| D．Broadmoor Asylum and its patients. |
【推荐2】Music influences your emotions. In turn, your emotions influence your behavior. One of these is your food intake.
Researchers at the University of Arkansas studied how music influences people when they eat in a restaurant. For the study, they used four types of music: jazz, classical, rock, and hip-hop. Their results showed that people had more appetite when they listened to jazz music while they ate.
However, another study published in Psychological Reports suggests it isn’t only increased appetite that causes people to eat more.
Besides, the study conducted by the Journal of the Academy suggests that the volume of music can also have an effect on how you eat. More specifically, the study states that, with low-volume music, you eat better because you make healthier choices. On the other hand, the study claims that music at high volume increases stimulation and stress.
For this reason, restaurants should consider the fact when thinking about the optimization of their products and services.
| A．Does music influence how you eat? |
| B．Being in a rush to eat also plays a part. |
| C．Does your emotion boost your appetite? |
| D．However, they had less appetite when listening to hip-hop. |
| E．In fact, many catering establishments have already taken action. |
| F．This could prove to be quite an interesting concept for restaurants. |
| G．This means you’re more likely to order comfort food or other unhealthy options. |
【推荐3】Around 6,200 years ago, farmers living on the eastern edges of Europe, in what is now Ukraine, left their villages. They moved into an area between the modern cities of Kiev and Odessa. They built new settlements up to 20 times the size of their old ones. Scientists believe the civilization might be an early attempt at urbanization. But it isn’t clear whether the sites, or perhaps the earliest cities, were fully inhabited (居住) year round and there is heated debate over what they were for.
This puzzling culture, known as the Cucuteni-Trypillia, predates the earliest known cities in Mesopotamia. Researcher Monica Smith, the author of Cities: The First 6.000 Years, thinks the very large sites may have had something in common with Gobekli Tepe in modern Turkey. It is a building complex which is at least 10,000 years old and seems to have been a place where people gathered together periodically for special gatherings.
By contrast, scientist Johannes Muller believes the very large sites were fully occupied all year round. But the inhabitants left the lightest of footprints in the landscape, and no human remains have been found. “Not a finger, not a tooth,” says researcher Alexey Nikitin. The evidence is extremely difficult to collect because Trypillians periodically burned their houses down in a controlled way.
Uruk and Tell Brak, which arose in Mesopotamia early in the 4th millennium BCE, are usually considered the world’s first cities. Their remains point to an increased density (密度) of habitation and a hierarchical (等级制度的) social structure-two features that are considered essential to the definition of a city. But the Trypillian sites don’t meet either of those standards.
Scientists John Chapman and Bisserka Gaydarska agree, saying. “Trypillian sites were a social system based on the belief that everyone was equal.” These were cities, but of a very different kind from the slave-owning (拥有奴隶的) societies of Mesopotamia a few centuries later. And our definition of a city may need expanding, argue Chapman and Gaydarska.
1. What might have been the purpose of the Trypillian sites according to Monica?| A．Protecting cities. | B．Attracting settlers. |
| C．Holding events. | D．Entertaining villagers. |
| A．It has little clear evidence. |
| B．It is mainly based on unusual ideas. |
| C．The data he collected is not convincing. |
| D．The research method he used is unscientific. |
| A．Trypillia had more houses. |
| B．Trypillia was densely populated. |
| C．Trypillia was a society full of equality. |
| D．Trypillia created a greater civilization. |
| A．Prehistoric remains in Ukraine |
| B．A different urban life of Trypillians |
| C．Mesopotamia’s slave-owning societies |
| D．The mysterious culture that invented civilization |
