【推荐2】You can’t just rely on textbooks to learn English, if you want to learn a foreign language well. Actually, you need an excellent language environment. This does not mean that you have to move abroad or live with foreigners. It is also a good way to read the original books, and the best and most reliable ones are the classics. Here are four famous books. Let’s see which one you are most interested in.

Ulysses

Ulysses did “stream of consciousness” before the term existed, and it’s also a complicated (难懂的) novel filled with references, wordplay, confusing jokes, and intense, personal reflections by the characters.

Moby-Dick

Moby-Dick has a fame for being very dull. Melville’s novel wasn’t received well on publication (it took decades before people really started to realize how great it is), and the negative evaluation (评价) is repeated every year when students are forced to read it.

Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice is a masterpiece in the literary world, being the inspiration, basis, and model for so many modern novels. You’re probably more familiar with its plot (情节) and characters than you think. For a book written in the early 19th century, its modernity is surprising only until you realize this is the novel that in many ways defines what a modern novel is.

The Big Sleep

It’s true that the book is written in what seems to modern audiences like a self-consciously tough style, peppered with old-fashioned expressions, and the plot is famously complicated, even for a mystery. It actually has several loose ends that never get solved, but it doesn’t matter.

1. Which book failed to be popular at first?

A．Ulysses.

B．Moby-Dick.

C．Pride and Prejudice.

D．The Big Sleep.

2. What is special about Pride and Prejudice?

A．It is full of confusing jokes.	B．It is famous for its dullness.
C．It is a typical modern novel.	D．It has some mysterious (神秘的) ends.

3. Where is the text probably taken from?

A．A textbook.	B．An English magazine.
C．A travel brochure.	D．A novel.

【推荐1】Toys for Tickets Now Underway

Boston drivers are told that the City’s popular “Toys for Tickets” campaign (运动) is now underway. All non-public safety parking tickets (罚单) issued on Boston’s streets on December 1, 2 and 3, may be paid by providing a toy of equal or greater value than the fine on the ticket.

Toys are being accepted this week through Friday, December 17, between the hours of 9 AM and 4 PM, on the second floor of Boston City Hall as well as at the Transportation Department’s Enforcement Building at 200 Frontage Road. Parking is available at the 200 Frontage Road facility. To participate in the “Toys for Tickets” program, drivers must bring the parking ticket as well as a new, non-violent, unwrapped toy of an equal or greater value than the fine. A receipt must be provided for the toy.

The “Toys for Tickets” program began in Boston 16 years ago. Last year, the campaign resulted in over $3,000 in toys being donated to local families who would not otherwise have been able to provide presents to their children on Christmas.

Boston Named #1 Digital City

Mayor announced today that the City of Boston has been ranked #1 among the most advanced digital cities in America according to the Center for Digital Government’s 10^th Annual Digital Cities Survey. The survey recognizes municipalities that successfully use technology to better serve constituents and conduct government operations.

In September, the City of Boston website was named the #1 city government website in America in the Center for Digital Government’s Best of the Web Competition. Boston is the first city to win both awards in the same year.

“I am proud of the way that we are using technology to make government more accessible to Boston’s residents, businesses and visitors,” said Mayor.  “This recognition is an honor for the Department of Innovation and Technology and the entire City of Boston.”

1. We have learnt from the passage that Boston drivers can ______.

A．pay the fine with toys	B．park the car with toys
C．get toys as gifts for parking	D．get tickets for toys donated

2. Boston has just been ranked Number One among ______.

A．World’s most advanced digital cities

B．Departments of Innovation and Technology

C．Digital Government’s Best of the Web Competition

D．Digital Government’s 10th Annual Digital Cities Survey

3. You can read the above two messages in the official website when you click “______” in the catalogue.

A．News

B．Services

C．Business

D．Government

【推荐2】The tourism business in Hong Kong has been through some very hard times. Ten years ago, with all the economic problems in Asia, far fewer tourists were visiting Hong Kong. However, the SAR (特别行政区) was still one of the most popular destinations in Asia, and a favored location for international meetings and exhibitions.

The year 1997 was the best year for tourism in the 1990s. However in 1998, the figure was down by 8% from 10.4 million tourist arrivals recorded in the previous year.

Tourism was still big business, though. The mainland was Hong Kong’s largest source of visitors, making up over a quarter of all arrivals. Travelers from Taiwan Province, South and Southeast Asia and Japan made up the most of other visitors. Tourism remained a major source of foreign exchange, although tourists spending dropped.

Tourists often made short visits, staying an average of three to four days. Most tourists came to Hong Kong for business or leisure , or a mixture of both. Shopping was still the favorite thing of tourist activity and spending. The average visitor spent about HK$ 3,000 – not including accommodation (住宿) and food.

Hong Kong Tourist Association officials developed various plans to develop interest in Hong Kong as a tourist destination, and they hoped these policies would work.

1. What situation was Hong Kong facing in the passage?

A．The tourism business was developing quickly

B．Fewer tourists were visiting Hong Kong than before.

C．It was no longer a popular destination in Asia.

D．There were far fewer international meetings and exhibitions.

2. In 1998, ________.

A．the figure of visitors in Hong Kong was down by 8%

B．tourism in Hong Kong had its best year

C．10.4 million tourists visited Hong Kong

D．Hong Kong didn’t hold any international meetings

3. What is the largest source of the visitors to Hong Kong?

A．Japan.	B．Southeast Asia
C．U.S.A	D．The mainland of China

4. The underlined word “both” (in Para. 4) refers to   “________”.

A．short visits and long visits	B．Hong Kong and the mainland
C．business and leisure	D．shopping and other activities

5. Which of the following statement is NOT true?

A．The figure of tourists to Hong Kong was 10.4 million in 1997.

B．Tourists spending continued increasing.

C．Tourists preferred short visits to long visits.

D．Shopping was still popular in Hong Kong.

【推荐3】TEENAGE KICKS

Satisfy your teens’ appetite for the unusual in Bristol with classic shopping and immersive art.

MAKING THEIR MARK

While it can be tricky to persuade some teens to embrace art, you’ll find it easier in Bristol. You won’t have to look too hard to encounter the handiwork of the city’s talented son, Banksy — who was born here — on a walking tour and there are 200 other o dd street artists in the city. There are spray-painting workshops too if your teens want to try this type of art themselves.

A WHOLE NEW WORLD

If all that graffiti leads to a new-found interest in art, then the next step is Wake The Tiger, a new immersive art experience. Through a maze (迷宫) of creative works, installations, hidden forests and secret passageways, you and your family will enter the fictional kingdom of Meridia and follow a fascinating storyline involving the secrets of the world’s four great associations. It’s perfect for teen fantasy fans.

VINTAGE (老式的) FINDS

If your teen is keen to develop their emo or fairy core style, take them to Park Street to discover the junk and vintage shops, including Uncle Sam’s Vintage, perfect for everything from American distinctive jackets to Levi’s jeans as well as The Vintage Thrift Store, Loot Vintage and Sobeys.

MARKET FINDS

With dumplings to Caribbean-inspired wraps, St Nicholas Markets, or St Nick’s to the locals, has delicious lunch options. It’s Bristol’s oldest market, trading since 1743. When you’re finished, don’t miss the shopping: It’s also home to Bristol’s largest collection of independent retailers.

1. Who is the target audience of this article?

A．Teachers.

B．Shopkeepers.

C．Agents.

D．Parents.

2. Where should a teen go if he wants to dine and shop?

A．Levi.	B．Uncle Sam’s Vintage.
C．Wake The Tiger.	D．St Nicholas Markets.

3. What do the four themes have in common?

A．They can satisfy the teen’s fantasy taste.	B．They show the traditional features of Bristol.
C．They can give teens unique experience.	D．They come in many varieties but cost a lot.

【推荐2】The University of Amsterdam

The University of Amsterdam is a public research university located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Founded in 1632 as the Atheneaeum Illustre by the scholars Gerardus Vossius and Caspar Barlaeus, it is the third-oldest university in the Netherlands. The University is one of Europe’s largest research universities with 7,900 scientific publications each year. It is the largest university in the Netherlands by the number of students. The campus is located primarily in the City Center of Amsterdam, with a few faculties located in adjacent boroughs.

The National University of Singapore

The National University of Singapore is Singapore’s oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of the number of students and curriculum offered. It was formed with the merger (合并) of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University in 1980. The merger was done in part due to the government’s desire to pool the two institutions’ resources into a single and promote English as Singapore’s only main language. The university’s campus is located in southwest Singapore at Kent Ridge, with an area of approximately 1.5 square kilometers.

Simon Fraser University

Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Moutain in Burnaby. The main campus of 1.7 square kilometers, located 29km from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 35,000 students and 950 faculty members. The downtown campus has expanded to include several other buildings in recent years. Similar to most Canadian universities, SFU is a public university, with more than half of its funding coming from taxpayers and the remaining from tuition fees. It was named after Simon Fraser, a fur trader in North West Company.

Lomonosov Moscow State University

Lomonosov Moscow State University is the oldest and largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, the university was renamed in honor of its founder, Mikhail Lomonosov, in 1940. It also claims to have the tallest educational building in the world. Since 1953, most of the university’s faculties have been situated on Sparrow Hills, in the southwest of Moscow.

1. Which university has the longest history?

A．Simon Fraser University.	B．The University of Amsterdam.
C．The National University of Singapore.	D．Lomonosov Moscow State University.

2. Why did Singapore’s government merger the two universities?

A．To admit more students.	B．To honor the founder.
C．To raise more funds.	D．To integrate resources.

3. Who is the founder of Lomonosov Moscow State University?

A．Gerardus Vossius.

B．Mikhail Lomonosov.

C．Caspar Barlaeus.

D．Simon Fraser.