【推荐1】Affordable Beach Vacation in Corfu

Corfu, an island off the coast of Greece, offers visitors sunkissed shores with clear water and lots of beaches.

Finding the Perfect Beach

Our first pick is Sidari Beach. It’s a blue flag beach perfect for couples looking for a more private feel, as it’s far from bigger tourist destinations. Issos Beach makes for the perfect place for watching the sunset. Dassia Bay has a bit more water sports. Paleokastritsa is an amazing West Coast village with six beaches on offer, including Rovinia Beach.

Getting around Corfu

Corfu offers bike rentals and bus service as a cheaper alternative (替代) to taxis. The best time to visit Corfu is during the “shoulder season” in April/May. The weather isn’t as warm as the high seasons but it remains perfect. It is not crowded in this period, but you still need to book ahead of schedule as Corfu stays popular throughout the year.

Eating Out For Less

There are a lot of well-priced restaurants but street food is also a big winner. Some popular choices are Souvlakia and Pita Gyros. There are also many cheeses special to Greece, including Tirokafteri and Ladotyri. Corfu also has many unbelievable desserts (甜食). Stazei Meli is a tourist favourite to give them a try.

1. Which place is probably the best choice for couples?

A．Sidari Beach.	B．Dassia Bay.
C．Issos Beach.	D．Rovinia Beach.

2. What are tourists required to do to visit Corfu?

A．Rent a bike.	B．Book in advance.
C．Wear warm clothes.	D．Set off in April/May.

3. What do we know about Stazei Meli?

A．It cooks popular dishes.	B．It severs well-priced food.
C．It produces special cheese.	D．It sells amazing desserts.

【推荐2】Driving to the airport in the early morning, I felt excited. Although I was heading abroad for my first time alone, I felt cheerful and enthusiastic. I was spending the summer in Paris.

While looking for more interesting things to do besides sleeping and eating, I found programs for learning languages abroad, and jumped at the chance to study French in this city known for its art, fashion, food, and culture. As I arrived at the airport where I would leave my family, I still felt only great happiness. I excitedly made my way through security, leaving my loved ones behind.

My connecting flight was in Frankfurt, Germany, 14 hours from Denver. Sitting in a crowded plane watching bad movies couldn’t dampen my excitement. When the woman next to me asked me where I was going, I happily answered and was pleased to note a tone of jealousy in her response.

But when I arrived in Frankfurt, fear and anxiety began to set in. Being in an enormous, busy building in a country where I couldn’t speak the language was frightening, but as I found my way, I gained confidence. When I boarded the second plane and discovered that the flight was less than an hour, I was filled with excitement as I thought of how I would manage in a country with a new language.

When I stepped on the ground of Pairs for the first time, I was extremely happy and excited. I gathered my bags and joined the crowd of people waiting for friends and family. I quickly had my first experience trying to communicate in a language that I had only practiced in school. As I left the airport, I looked for familiar monuments I had read about, but the landscape looked very- ordinary. Then, with one sharp turn, the Eiffel Tower came into view, and I was finally in Pairs.

1. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．It was the first time that the writer had traveled abroad.

B．In the new term the writer was to study French in Paris.

C．The crowded plane made the writer less excited.

D．The writer flew to Paris via another country.

2. What can we learn from the passage?

A．The writer was travelling with a woman friend of her parents’.

B．Arriving in Paris, the writer saw some family friends waiting for her.

C．The writer was not alone when travelling to the airport in Denver.

D．The writer had great difficulty communicating with people in French.

3. What is the passage mainly about?

A．The writer’s excitement and happiness on her journey to Paris.

B．The writer’s exciting experiences of studying French in Paris.

C．The writer’s expectation for French art, fashion, food and culture.

D．The writer’s excitement resulting from her first ride on a plane

【推荐3】Earlier this year, we asked our readers to vote for their favorite children’s museums. Shortly after announcing the winners, these museums had to close their doors to help protect their communities from the spread of COVID-19. But they also bring some of their programming online.

The Magic House|St. Louis, Missouri

The folks at The Magic House in St. Louis are sharing their expertise through their Magic at Home series. Each edition features a project that kids and their parents can do with household materials, like making a banjo or animal figures.

City Museum|St. Louis, Missouri

While City Museum is closed to visitors, the museum staff, artists and historians have launched City Museum on Air. This series takes place each weekday with an eclectic lineup of programming—everything from free art classes, storytelling sessions and museum tours at upcoming exhibits.

Kohl Children’s Museum|Glenview, Illinois

This winning children’s museum calls itself “The place where awesomeness lives”, and would-be visitors can bring that awesomeness into the home through its library of online teaching resources, story time sessions and “Home Zone” projects. Kids can learn how to fold paper airplanes, learn about the physics of wheels or make their own recycled paper.

1. When is online programming of City Museum accessible?

A．At weekends.	B．At any time.
C．On weekdays.	D．On holidays.

2. What do The Magic House and Kohl Children’s Museum have in common?

A．Stressing hands-on experience.

B．Demonstrating how wheels work.

C．Offering storytelling courses.

D．Teaching how to copy animal figures.

3. What results in the closing of children’s museums?

A．The spreading of a disease.

B．The decrease of would-be visitors.

C．The readers’ votes on museums.

D．The development of digital programming.

【推荐1】We all scream for ice cream! It tends to be a favorite frozen treat for anyone of any age. Ice cream may be universally appealing, but many countries have their own versions.

Gelato, Italy

Pasta aside, gelato is considered to be Italy’s food symbol. In fact, visiting the local ice cream shop called gelateria is a way of life for Italians. “Italians get together at gelaterias and socialize,” says Britton Bauer. “They’re popular hangouts and cultural icons.” Italian gelato is lower in fat than traditional ice cream, and crafted with whole milk, eggs, sugar and flavoring — chocolate, hazelnut, pistachio and stracciatella are the most beloved flavors.

Dondurma, Turkey

An ice cream that doesn’t melt? Yes, that’s exactly what dondurma or Turkish ice cream is. “Buying dondurma is like watching a performance,” says Fedorko Sefer, the founder of the travel company Sea Song Tours and an Istanbul resident. “The men who sell it wear traditional Turkish costume and a sultan hat and stretch, twist and turn the ice cream until it lands into a cone. Kids and adults get a kick out of the show.

Kakigori, Japan

Pastry chefs make kakigori, the Japanese version of ice cream, by shaving ice from ice blocks until it builds into a fluffy (蓬松的) pile. They then add syrups to the ice — usually crafted by hand with quality ingredients — in flavors such as green tea, strawberry, grape and melon. Kakigori is almost always served in a bowl.

1. What are the popular flavors of Italian gelato?

A．Hazelnut and Grape.

B．Pistachio and melon.

C．Green tea and strawberry.

D．Chocolate and stracciatella.

2. What is true about dondurma of Turkey?

A．It doesn’t melt at all.

B．It sells well only for flavors.

C．It is sold by a travel company.

D．It is made by an Istanbul resident.

3. Where is the text probably from?

A．A book review.

B．A life magazine.

C．A food safety report.

D．A geography textbook.

【推荐3】Standard English is the formal(正式的)English that you need to use when you write in coursework or in the exam. Standard English is the form of English you learn in school. All written English should be standard—that means it should be clear enough for anyone in Britain to understand it. Standard English developed as the main form of printed English in the 15th Century. At the time, every region of Britain used to spell words differently, but printers needed a fixed spelling. Printers like Caxton chose the East Midlands dialect form which was used in London and the South East. Soon Standard English replaced(取代) all written dialect forms – the other forms of English spoken around the country. It also replaced French and Latin in law and in academic(学术的) work. In the 18th Century, people wrote dictionaries and grammar books which standardized spelling — Dr Johnson’s Dictionary of 1755 fixed many of the spellings we still use today. All written English should be Standard English — any grammar rules you learn are for Standard English and you will definitely need to learn them to avoid making mistakes in your work. The rules of Standard English mean using the correct forms of words with the correct spellings.

Avoid slang words(俚语)—words that your teachers or friends wouldn’t understand. You’ll lose marks if the examiners can’t understand what you say or write. Don’t use dialect words. Every region has words or phrases that are only used there. Don’t use them in your coursework, because you won’t be understood. Make sure you revise grammar and punctuation(标点) you have learned, and learn the list of commonly misspelled words you have made. Clichés are ideas or sayings which have been used so often that they’ve become boring and unoriginal. Phrases like, “As good as it gets” “At the end of the day” “In the fullness of time” are all clichés. So are images like, “as fierce as a lion” “as cunning as a fox”. If you use them you will sound boring and unimaginative— that could mean you lose marks for writing and speaking style. So avoid clichés.

1. What three things do you have to think about when using English?
a. no slang word or dialect        b. no grammar and spelling mistake.   c. no phrase       
d. no cliché       e. no punctuation

A．abc.

B．bcd.

C．ade.

D．abd.

2. What is standard English?

A．the English spoken by British people.

B．the English spoken by American people.

C．the English used in London.

D．the English spoken by British people in 15th Century.

3. What is the cliché according to the passage?

A．the English full of slang words.

B．the boring ideas or sayings because of being used often.

C．the long phrases which are used often.

D．all the English which is used outside of London and the southeast of Britain.

4. Why do we need to use Standard English?

A．Because no one can understand dialect words.

B．Because there are many kinds of English in the world, we need Standard English to make communication easier.

C．Because local dialect belongs to certain region, not every one can understand it.

D．Because standard English has been used for a long time.

5. Which statement is true?

A．Written English should be formal and standard.

B．Standard English means people should use the words from Dr Johnson’s Dictionary.

C．All the spoken English should be Standard English.

D．Standard English replaced all written dialect forms in the 18th century.