【推荐1】Festival of Light, Longleat Safari Park, Wiltshire

Longleat is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Giant lanterns take the shape of some of the park’s animals, and there are also lots of characters in Beatrix Potter’s book, such as Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle Duck, Squirrel Nutkin, to mark the 150th anniversary of the author’s birth. There is also a 20-metre-high birthday cake.

▲£27.85, adult/£20.65, child/under-threes, free.

▲15Dec. to 2 Jan.

Festival of Light, Enchanted Park, Gateshead

Enchanted Park is an interactive walk through Saltwell Park, just south of the town centre, along a trail(小径)of light with performances and sculptures. The story being told is a Midwinter Night’s Tale, inspired by the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death. Visitors can join stories and songs with Santa, and attend decorating workshops.

▲£&, adult/£2, child/under-fours, free.

▲11-27 Dec.

Christmas Glow, RHS Wisley, Surrey

The garden is glowing with giant lighted flowers. Some of the trees are brilliant, too. The glasshouse is decorated like a gingerbread house, and displays seasonal plants. There are lanterns around the lake. The cafe serves hot chocolate and apple juice.

▲£9.90, adut/£3.60, child.

▲20 Dec. to 2 Jan.

Christmas at Kew Gardens, London

Kew is a special place to visit at any time of the day or year, but the festive light show gives it a magical twist, as the mile-long trail through the garden is decorated with 60,000 lights. Some of the garden’s oldest and tallest trees are also beautifully lit along the way.

▲£l6, adult/£l0, child/£48, family/under-fours, free.

▲24 Dec. to 2 Jan.

1. Who are probably attracted by Longleat Safari Park?

A．Shakespeare fans.	B．Garden lovers.
C．Lovers of fictional animal characters.	D．Big fans of magic shows.

2. How much is the admission to Kew Gardens for Mr. Green and his five-year-old twins?

A．£36.

B．£26

C．£42

D．£16

3. What do the parks mentioned above have in common?

A．They are located in Canada.	B．They are in the cheerful atmosphere.
C．They are free for kids under four.	D．Their opening and closing dates are the same.

【推荐2】Here are a few interesting facts about Teachers’ Day around the world.

China celebrates Teachers’ Day on September 10. The tradition began in the 1980s to improve teachers lives and status and encourage everyone to respect teachers.

In India, Teachers’ Day is celebrated on September 5, in honor of Dr. Radhakrishnan. He was India’s second president and a person who believed in good education. Traditionally on this day, the teaching is done by the senior students while the teachers get a much-deserved break from their work.

The United Nations (联合国) has made October 5 World Teachers’ Day. This special day was started to let the world see what teachers have done and listen to the teachers’ worries and the things they want to change.

In the United States, National Teachers’ Day is always on the Tuesday of the first week of May, so the actual date is different every year. The history of celebrating this day goes back to 1944.

In Germany, Teachers’ Day is celebrated on June 12 every year. People will express their respect to teachers with many activities. Teachers always receive prizes, presents, beautiful cards and other things.

Teachers’ Day is celebrated in Brunei (文莱) on September 23.

January 15 is Teachers’ Day in Venezuela (委内瑞拉).

North Korea celebrates Teachers Day on September 5.

1. How many countries mentioned in the passage have their Teachers’ Day?

A．7.

B．8.

C．6.

D．9.

2. What can we infer from Paragraph 3?

A．Radhakrishnan was the first president of India.

B．Radhakrishnan attached great importance to education.

C．On Teachers’ Day the teachers in India are still working hard.

D．Teachers’ Day is celebrated on December 5 in India.

3. What purpose did the United Nations create World Teachers’ Day for?

A．To encourage everyone to respect and honor teachers.

B．To let the world realize teachers’ contributions and encourage people to care about and help teachers.

C．To see what teachers have done in the year.

D．To have a dialogue with teachers.

4. In which country do teachers receive prizes and other things from the text?

A．India.	B．Germany.
C．Brunei.	D．Venezuela.

【推荐1】We spoke to three students from around the world about different national holidays. There are different customs for each festival.

Tan Xiaodong, 15, Hong Kong, China

“It’ll soon be the Chinese New Year. Before it, we’ll clean the house and decorate (装饰) it for good luck. Every shop is going to close for a few days and we’ll go out a lot to celebrate on the streets. We might go and see the lion and dragon dances in the city center. I love this festival.”

Wendy, 16, Sydney, Australia

“Australia Day is on 26th January and it’s an important holiday here. We always have a Monday off, so we celebrate for three days. My parents and I go to the countryside for a picnic and friends always come over. Many people go to beach parties or street parties and there’s lots of music and dancing. What fun!”

Amy, 14, New York, the USA

“The first Thanksgiving was celebrated hundreds of years ago when Europeans who came to America thanked God for his help. It’s still a very important day for family members to be together. This year we’re going to visit my grandparents and we’ll eat a delicious meal of turkey. Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday in November every year.”

1. How many festivals are mentioned in the passage?

A．Two.	B．Three.
C．Four.	D．Five.

2. During the Chinese New Year, tourists might________according to the passage.

A．do a lot of shopping	B．eat turkey
C．go to beach parties	D．see lion and dragon dances

3. On Australia Day, Wendy and her parents often________.

A．have a picnic in the countryside

B．go to a swimming pool

C．have a party at school

D．clean the house and dance

4. What do you think “turkey” is in this passage?

A．A country.	B．A festival.
C．A kind of food.	D．A kind of drink.

5. From the passage, we can learn that________.

A．Amy is from Sydney, Australia

B．different festivals have different customs

C．many people go out for a picnic with friends before the Chinese New Year

D．Thanksgiving Day is on 26th January in the USA

【推荐3】The Qingming Festival is usually celebrated with a three-day national holiday, whose name originates (起源) from the saying “Plants start to revive (复活) and prosper at Qingming in a clean and bright way.” Thus, the festival is called Qingming, which means “clean and bright”.     1    Tomb sweeping is aimed at commemorating family ancestors, while going on a spring outing allows everyone the chance to enjoy the beautiful scenery and enjoy the season.

Traditional customs

Tomb sweeping.     2     On this day, the whole family gathers in front of their ancestral tombs. They offer fruit and wine to their ancestors and clear the weeds from around the tomb. Finally, they kowtow and pray, hoping for their ancestors’ blessing for the rest of the year.

Spring outings. The time around the Qingming Festival is one of the most suitable seasons for a spring outing, as plants are thriving and flowers are blooming. People can have a great time outdoors with their friends and family.     3    

Traditional food

Qingtuan is a green rice ball tiny enough to fit into your hand.     4     It is a mixture of sticky rice powder and green vegetable juice. Stuffed (装满) with sweetened bean paste, Qingtuan tastes sweet with the fresh fragrance of Aicao, a green spring vegetable. In celebration of Qingming, people from Shaanxi make steamed buns known as Huamo, which are made into different shapes.     5     Some are for peaceful family life, while others represent (象征) the wish for health.

A．Each different look brings a good blessing.

B．The tradition of tomb sweeping originates from the Qin Dynasty.

C．The two main activities over the festival include tomb sweeping and going on a spring outing.

D．Family members gather together to celebrate and taste the food.

E．Playing football and flying kites are popular activities.

F．Many traditional customs are practiced to show respect for our ancestors.

G．It is popular in Jiangnan.

【推荐1】"Can I get a light?" This question is among the most common between smokers. What if this question was to come from an unusual source? In April 2014, the National Health Promotion Foundation uploaded an anti-smoking advertisement onto YouTube. The anti-smoking ad has quickly been known as the "most powerful anti-smoking ad."

The anti-smoking video, called the "Smoking Kid," features children walking up to adult smokers asking for a light. The children in the ad are actors but the adults smoking are unsuspecting participants in the project.

The video begins with the statement "adults know that smoking is harmful, but don’t remind themselves of this fact " Once a "smoking kid" approaches the adults, every adult asked is shocked that a child with a cigarette in hand is asking for a light. The first adult starts by saying, "I’m not giving it to you," and the video goes on to state "every adult filmed said no and reminded the children that smoking is bad."

Before going away, the kid hands each adult a booklet after being turned down for a light. The booklet says, "You worry about me, but why not about yourself?" Each adult looks around for the child as their faces are filled with confusion and discomfort.

The video shows that a few of the smokers quickly threw away their cigarettes or put their cigarettes away, showing that this experiment was affective at that moment.

The most influential element in the ad isn't the use of children or the responses from the smoking adults. It comes down to something much simpler than that. Why is it that we worry about other people, forgetting to worry about ourselves?

1. The underlined word "unsuspecting" (in Para. 2) probably means “______”

A．uninformed

B．unwilling

C．unfortunate

D．unacceptable

2. What are the adults, reactions to the children asking for a light?

A．They pay no attention to children's request.

B．They reject kids，request and educate them.

C．They look around for children's parents.

D．They quickly throw children's cigarettes away.

3. According to the last but one paragraph, the anti-smoking ad is __________.

A．unusual

B．shocking

C．influential

D．encouraging

4. The purpose of this passage is to __________.

A．advice people to give up smoking

B．advice adults to keep away from smoking

C．advice parents to tell their children not to smoke

D．reject a child asking for a light

【推荐2】Along the river banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like a fat chicken, eats green leaves, has the stomach of a cow and has claws (爪) on its wings when young. They build their homes about 4.6m above the river, an important feature (特征) for the safety of the young. It is called the hoatzin.

In appearance, the birds of both sexes look very much alike with brown on the back and cream and red on the underside. The head is small, with a large set of feathers on the top, bright red eyes, and blue skin. Its nearest relatives are the common birds, cuckoos. Its most striking feature, though, is only found in the young.

Baby hoatzins have a claw on the leading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip. Using these four claws, together with the beak (喙), they can climb about in the bushes, looking very much like primitive birds must have done. When the young hoatzins have learned to fly, they lose their claws.

During the drier months between December and March, hoatzins fly about the forest in groups of 20 to 30 birds, but in April, when the rainy season begins, they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes.

1. What is the text mainly about?

A．Hoatzins in dry and rainy seasons.

B．The relatives and enemies of hoatzins.

C．Primitive birds and hoatzins of the Amazon.

D．The appearance and living habits of hoatzins.

2. Young hoatzins are different from their parents in that        .

A．they look like young cuckoos

B．they have claws on the wings

C．they eat a lot like a cow

D．they live on river banks

3. Why do hoatzins collect together in smaller groups when the rainy season comes?

A．To find more food.

B．To protect themselves better.

C．To keep themselves warm.

D．To produce their young.

【推荐3】I believe that my country, Poland, is a perfect example for a place where food is particularly important. When we were little children, we began to understand how much a loaf of bread meant to our parents—to some it might sound silly but for me the custom of kissing bread before you started cutting it was simply amazing. It’s not so common nowadays to treat food that way, since you hardly ever bake your own bread. Besides, everyone would call you crazy if you tried to kiss every bread roll before you ate them!But though we no longer make our food from scratch (起点), some customs have been kept—that’s why I feel so sorry every time I have to throw any food away—even though I no longer live with my parents and nobody would blame me for this anymore!

Many people of our nation are still working as farmers, eating what they grow and harvest and therefore enjoying everything more. It’s widely known that you value more anything that needs your effort in the first place. In most homes in Poland, especially those of farmers, the whole family would try and have their meals together—extremely difficult now, but so rewarding (值得)! You can share other members’ troubles and successes, give your children some attention, or just sit down for a moment instead of rushing through life aimlessly. Furthermore, your body, and stomach in particular will be very grateful (感激) for such a time!

In Poland, a wedding, Christmas or even a birthday is celebrated with a great meal. Women in the house get together and cook, sometimes for a few days before the event, and the extremely good or unusual food will be remembered and widely talked about.

You cannot over-value the importance of food in the country. What’s more, almost everyone in Poland will be as interested in the topic as I am.

1. When the writer was a child, he/she______.

A．found people were crazy about bread

B．began to realize the importance of food

C．thought that cutting bread was amazing

D．learned people hardly baked their own bread

2. The writer feels very sorry when he/she has to throw away any food because______.

A．he/she makes food from scratch

B．his/her parents would blame him/her

C．some customs still have effect on him/her

D．many people are still working hard as farmers

3. From the text, we can learn that, in Poland, _______.

A．most meals can be interesting topics for a long time

B．the whole family often have meals together nowadays

C．it’s common for women to get together to cook for a few days

D．family members can know more about each other by having meals together