【推荐1】When it comes to travelling around Europe, it's important to have a budget in mind. Here are some tips for getting the most out of Germany while saving your money.

Transport

Transport is “the big one” and cycling may be the cheapest alternative among all the modes(方式) of transport.

Tom Bourlet, a Brighton-based travel blogger at Spaghetti Traveller, talked to us about transport in Germany and advised that slower, regional(区域的) trains will be more affordable in comparison to those that are high-speed.

He continued, “If choosing a train journey, buy the ticket several months in advance to get a great offer.”

If you intend to use the Eurostar train, keep in mind that you can save money by buying tickets at least a week in advance. Shopping around can also offer reduced prices. A daily or weekly card for a train or a bus may also be worth investing in. Bourlet continues, “While the trains run like clock-work with high efficiency, the buses run relatively slowly, often arriving late to their destination.”

Ask a travel agent

In an age of technology, we don't always consider going to a travel agent when booking on holiday. If you do, ask them for recommendations, they can give you insider tips. Make sure that they are aware of your set budget before signing up to anything.

Food

Region to region, Germany's cuisine will differ slightly. As a general rule, outside the city centre will be cheaper—the further you go, the less expensive it is. Bear this in mind when setting a daily budget for your meals.

Landmarks

Make sure you book your tickets for the landmarks before your trip as there's likely to be a discount when you do this. You may also want to consider a guided tour which is often free.

Before you go

Make sure you buy currency before you leave. This could prevent you being charged extra for withdrawing money and you're more likely to get a good exchange rate.

1. Which transport is probably the cheapest to travel in Germany?

A．Regional trains.	B．High-speed trains.
C．City buses.	D．Bicycles.

2. What can we know about the Eurostar train?

A．It runs relatively slowly.

B．The meals on it must be expensive.

C．Travelers can enjoy a discount when shopping around.

D．Booking tickets three days in advance may save your money.

3. In which section of a website may the text appear?

A．Travel.	B．Lifestyle.
C．Science.	D．Entertainment.

【推荐3】Things to Expect from Your Peer Tutoring Session

Peer (同龄人) tutoring is one of the most helpful tools to use during your college years.     1     There is probably no better way to get some efficient assistance than that from your fellow students. Peer tutors are understanding, helpful, and especially honest enough to help you out.

Expect constructive criticism. This will probably be the most uncomfortable part of the session. Tutors are being strict with you not because they want to be mean and ruin your existence.     2     The only way for them to ensure this is to be completely honest with you.

    3     Every tutor has a different learning style and teaching style that is unique to them, but it is up to you to use what they teach you to your best ability. If a tutor teaches you how to solve a math problem in a way that makes sense to you, but is also different from what you have learned in class, you will have to use that method because it works for you. Change is good and is nothing to be afraid of.

Expect discipline.     4     We are humans, it happens. It is nothing to be ashamed of. However, if a tutor notices that you have been slacking off (懈怠), don’t be surprised if they call you out on it. Your tutor wants you to use your potential to do the great things that they know you are capable of.

Expect improvement. Last but not least, expect to improve.     5     Once you practice what you have learned in the session, you will notice a rapid change in your grades and your learning ability.

A．Expect change.

B．Expect cooperation.

C．Sometimes, we all try to get by with a little less.

D．They simply want you to be the best with your ability.

E．Feel fortunate that your peer tutor is recognizing your mistakes.

F．Sometimes, you may meet some academic problems and need help.

G．Peer tutoring can be difficult, but its ultimate goal is for you to improve.

【推荐3】I was desperately nervous about becoming car-free. But eight months ago our car was hit by a passing vehicle and it was destroyed. No problem, I thought: we’ll buy another. But the insurance payout didn’t even begin to cover the costs of buying a new car—I worked out that, with the loan (贷款) we’d need plus petrol, insurance, parking permits and tax, we would make a payment as much as £600 a month.

And that’s when I had my fancy idea. Why not just give up having a car at all？I live in London. We have a railway station behind our house, a tube station 10 minutes’ walk away, and a bus stop at the end of the street. A new car club had just opened in our area, and one of its shiny little red Peugeots was parked nearby. If any family in Britain could live without a car, I reasoned, then surely we were that family.

But my new car-free idea, sadly, wasn’t shared by my family. My teenage daughters were horrified. What would their friends think about our family being “too poor to afford a car”？(I wasn’t that bothered what they thought, and I suggested the girls should take the same approach.)

My friends, too, were astonished at our plan. What would happen if someone got seriously ill overnight and needed to go to hospital？(an ambulance) How would the children get to and from their many events？(buses and trains) People smiled as though this was another of my mad ideas, before saying they were sure I’d soon realize that a car was a necessity.

Eight months on, I wonder whether we’ll ever own a car again. The idea that you “have to” own a car, especially if you live in a city, is all in the mind. I live—and many other citizens do too—in a place that has never been better served by public transport, and yet car ownership has never been higher. We worry about rising car costs, but we’d be better off asking something much more basic: do I really need a car？Certainly the answer is no, and I’m a lot richer because I dared to ask the question.

1. The author decided to live a car-free life partly because _____.

A．the cost of a new car was too much	B．he was hurt in a terrible car accident
C．most families chose to go car-free	D．the traffic jam was unbearable for him

2. What is the attitude of the author’s family toward his plan？

A．Supportive.

B．Optimistic.

C．Unconcerned.

D．Disapproving.

3. What did the author suggest his daughters do about their friends’ opinion?

A．Argue against it.	B．Take their advice.
C．Leave it alone.	D．Think it over.

【推荐1】There is one language that is used in every country in the world. The people who use it are young and old, short and tall, thin and fat. It is everybody’s second language. It is easy to understand, although you can’t hear it, it is sign language.

When you wave to a friend who is across the street, you are using sign language. When you smile at someone, you’re saying, “I want to be friendly”, but you are not using speech. You are using sign language. When you raise your hand in class, you are saying, “please ask me, I think I know the correct answer.”

Babies who can’t talk can point at things. They are using sign language. A policeman who wants to stop traffic holds up his hands, he is using sign language.

Many years ago, the French priest, Charles Michel de Epee, became interested in education for deaf people. He invented a finger alphabet (字母表). It is still in use. People can make the sign for letters and spell words with their hands. And the deaf people can read and understand them. Soon there were schools for the deaf in many countries. The only university for the deaf is Gallaudet College in Washington, D.C.

Today, in the United States, there are special TV news programs for deaf people. The newsreader tells the news in sign language. At the same time, the words appeal on the TV screen.

The actors in the Theatre of Deaf don’t spell every word, sometimes they use hand signs. When they put two hands together, it means sandwich. They make a roof with their hands when they want to show a house. One finger in front of an actor’s mouth can mean quiet, you can talk to people who are behind windows that are closed. And when you go swimming with your friends, you can have conversations under the water.

How many hands signs do you use every day?

1. Which of the following about sign language is NOT True?

A．It is a special language used in many countries in the world.

B．It is a way to express one’s ideas without words.

C．It is only used by deaf.

D．It can’t be heard.

2. If you want to express the idea that “please ask me, I think I know the correct answer”, you will        .

A．raise you hand

B．put one hand onto the other

C．smile to the person

D．make a roof with your hand

3. It may be concluded from this passage that        .

A．There are schools, colleges and universities for the deaf in the USA.

B．The French priest Charles invented sign language.

C．Even babies are using sign language.

D．Finger signs are used everyday.

4. The passage is mainly about        .

A．how to use sign language

B．a famous priest in France

C．an introduction to sign language

D．the importance of sign language

【推荐3】When learning a foreign language, most people fall back on traditional ways: reading, writing, listening and repeating. But Brian Mathias’ research team found out that if you gesture (做手势) with your arms while studying, you can remember the vocabulary better, even months later.

As Mathias describes, they had 22 German-speaking adults learn a total of 90 invented words over four days. While the test subjects first heard the new vocabulary, they were shown a video of a person making a gesture that matched the meaning of the word. When the word was repeated, the subjects performed the gesture themselves. Five months later, they were asked to translate the vocabulary they had learned into German. Those who performed better on the task showed a higher level of activity in their motor cortex—the part of the brain that is responsible for our body movements. The researchers concluded that the motor cortex contributed to the translation of the vocabulary learned with gestures. The effect did not occur when the subjects were only presented with matching pictures instead of gestures.

Another research group led by Leipzig had young adults and eight-year-old children listen to new vocabulary for five days, paired with matching pictures or videos of gestures. After two months, the two methods were still tied. But after six months, the adults benefited more from the gestures than the pictures, while the children were helped equally by both.

But it is not only the motor cortex itself that promotes learning. The meaning expressed by the gesture also figures in, “I think we underuse gesture in our classrooms,” Goldin-Meadow says. “Good teachers and good listeners use it, but not always in a systematic way. Others don’t necessarily bring it into the class —and it could be used more often and more effectively.”

1. What do we know according to Brian Mathias research?

A．Those only presented with matching pictures performed better.

B．The motor cortex had nothing to do with the vocabulary learning.

C．The research concluded that gestures benefited vocabulary learning.

D．22 German-speaking adults and children were chosen as the test subjects.

2. What does Leipzig’s research tell us about language learning?

A．Adults and children are equally good learners.

B．Pictures have little influence on language learning.

C．Pictures are found more helpful than videos for children.

D．Benefits of gestures are more obvious in adults in the long run.

3. What do the underlined words “figures in” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Makes a deal.

B．Plays a part.

C．Takes a chance.

D．Makes a proposal.

4. What does the author suggest teachers do in the classroom?

A．Make better use of gestures.	B．Teach listening in a systematic way.
C．Don’t use traditional teaching approaches.	D．Do some scientific researches on teaching.