【推荐1】Every year on April 1, April Fools’ Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. In France, it’s called “Poisson d’ Avril” or “Fish of April”. In Scotland, the holiday is often called “Gowkie Day”. In Iraq, the holiday is called “Kithbet Neesan” or “April Lie”.

History experts say people have celebrated April Fools’ Day for a long time. Some believe the tradition comes from the ancient Romans more than two thousand years ago. It was a day of playing games and pretending to be someone else.

Others say the day for fooling began in France in 1564, when King Charles changed the yearly calendar. He moved New Year’s Day from April 1 to January 1. Many people did not know about the change because of communication problems back then. Some people continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on April 1. Other people called them April Fools and played jokes on them.

In the United States, April Fools’ Day is just a day of joking and making fun of friends. These kinds of jokes are also called pranks. These jokes typically end in the prankster shouting “April Fools’!”

Simple pranks, like telling a friend a funny lie or making prank phone calls, are still common. But, major companies also get in on April Fools’ Day fun in a much bigger way. A few years ago, on April 1, Starbucks announced it was introducing new coffee cup sizes — Plenta and Micra. The very large cups, bigger than a human head, remained useful for customers even after finishing all that coffee. According to Starbucks, the cups could be used as a rain hat, a pot for plants, or a lampshade (灯罩). It did not take long for customers to catch on to the prank!

1. What did the French people do on April 1 before 1564?

A．They celebrated New Year’s Day.

B．They played jokes on others.

C．They celebrated April Fools’ Day.

D．They dressed up as others.

2. What does the underlined word in paragraph 5 mean?

A．Comments.

B．Means.

C．Tricks.

D．Styles.

3. What can we know about Plenta and Micra?

A．They were cups of many uses.	B．They were bigger coffee cups.
C．They didn’t exist at all indeed.	D．They helped make more money.

4. What column of a newspaper may this passage be taken from?

A．Travel.

B．Culture.

C．Science.

D．Fashion.

【推荐2】I had always wanted to see England, Scotland and Wales. So when my brother suggested that we take a week — long vacation together somewhere, I immediately did an Internet search. It was at that time when I found Expat Explore. It was a travel agency that could offer just what I wanted at an acceptable price. In fact, I was afraid that it was too good to be true! So I went back to Google to look for evaluations (评价) of Expat Explore. And I could only find positive things.

My second trip with Expat Explore was my first solo trip. I met several people travelling alone on my first trip and after talking with them, I decided to give it a try. When I landed in London by myself for the first time. I wondered why I had thought this was a good idea. My fears didn’t go away until the next morning I met up with the tour group.

I have lived my entire life in the U.S. , so it is so amazing to visit a place like the Colosseum (角斗场) in Rome that was built over 1, 500 years before America was discovered! Many buildings I have always considered historical in the U.S. are very modern in comparison to those in Europe. The more of the world I see, the more I want to discover the rest of it.

There are my tips for travelling to a place that you never have been to. You’d better plan your vacation through a combination of suggestions from travel agencies and relevant information from the Internet. And there are still many things you couldn’t expect before the trip. I still remember the day when I first visited London, I couldn’t find my way to the hotel I booked before. I felt really anxious at first, but later I tried to keep calm and ask the locals how I could go to the hotel. They were friendly to give me several ways to choose. You can also download apps such as iTranslate and Google Maps on your phone, so that you could understand people who only speak their native language.

1. What did the author find about Expat Explore according to Paragraph 1?

A．It provided free travel choices.

B．It mainly focused on travels in Europe.

C．It offered satisfying services at affordable prices.

D．It allowed tourists to design special travel programs.

2. How did the author feel when she travelled alone for the first time?

A．Satisfied.	B．Excited.
C．Frightened.	D．Bored.

3. According to Paragraph 3, what does the author think of travelling?

A．Travelling encourages her to broaden her view.

B．Travelling gives her more chances to make friends.

C．Travelling develops her interest in modern America.

D．Travelling increases her desire to learn foreign languages.

4. What’s the author’s purpose by mentioning her travelling experience in the last paragraph?

A．To tell us the importance of translation tools.

B．To teach us how to communicate with the locals.

C．To warn us about the common accidents when travelling.

D．To show how to plan for unexpected situations during travelling.

【推荐3】

Unique travel experiences to make your London trip unforgettable and fun! Santander Cycles London’s self-service, bike-sharing scheme. You only need a credit or debit card（借记卡）to get started. It costs £2 to access the bikes for 24h, with the first 30 minutes of each journey included. Journeys over 30 minutes have additional charges. River Bus and River Tours A relaxing way to see the sights. The River Bus is a great alternative to the Tube or bus, while River Tours offer a variety of experiences from trips with commentary to high speed adventure. You can only use your contactless（非接触式的）or Oyster card to pay as you go on the River Bus. Emirates Air Line cable car A unique way to see the city from heights of almost 100m above the Thames. Only 15 minutes from central London Book online for advanced tickets. Discounts are available with Oyster cards. Taxi (black cabs) Get around the city in one of London's iconic black taxi cabs. Call a taxi on the street when the yellow ‘Taxi’ sign is lit. You can now use your credit or debit card to pay for your ride. Contactless cards If your credit, debit, charge card or wearable device has the contactless symbol, you can use it for pay as you go travel on London's public transport. Android Pay and Apple Pay are also accepted. Oyster cards To get an Oyster card, you have to pay f5, which will be returned to you if you do not lose or damage the card; then you add pay as you go credit or a season ticket to pay for your journeys. We recommend keeping it for your next visit to London, as the credit doesn't runout. Don't forget to enjoy the special offers available for Visitor Oyster card customers in restaurants, shops, museums, galleries and entertainment venues in London.

1. If you want to cycle around London, you should know that ________.

A．£2 will be enough for you to ride for 24 hours

B．bikes can only be accessible with credit cards or debit cards

C．journeys within 30 minutes have additional charges

D．charges for the service are determined by time

2. What do we know about River Bus and River Tours?

A．The River Bus allows visitors to pay as they please.

B．The River Bus is likely to take the place of The Tube or bus in time.

C．Diverse experiences can be offered through River Tours.

D．The Tube or bus can provide exactly the same experiences as River Tours.

3. The advantage of using Visitor Oyster cards is that ________.

A．visitors may have reduced prices during their London trip

B．visitors can enjoy the special offers wherever they go

C．visitors need to pay nothing to get a Visitor Oyster card

D．visitors can have f10 back if they don't lose the card

【推荐1】The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

Hours:   9:30 am—5:00 pm daily

Closed:   January 1, July 4, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day

Driving

Plan extra driving time for your visit. The area surrounding the museum will be busy before being opened. We advise you to arrive a few hours before or several hours after the opening time to avoid high traffic times.

Directions

From the 110 Freeway, take the Exposition Boulevard exit and head west toward Vermont Avenue. Turn left on Bill Robertson Lane. The museum’s newly opened Car Park will be on your left hand side and cost $12.

Parking

The museum’s parking lot fills up quickly on game days. We suggest arriving early in the day. All guests and members who plan to visit the museum may park in the museum’s Car Park. If the museum’s Car Park is full, parking is also available in the state-run Lot 3 across the street. Parking in this lot will cost $12 (cash only). Remember that cars parked in Lot 3 after 5: 30 pm will be issued a parking citation (罚单).

Where to eat

If you are bringing your own food, we invite you to picnic under the trees on the grass in front of the museum. Food and drinks are not allowed inside any of the museum halls and exhibits. We appreciate your help in preserving our museum.

At the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, you can see more than just walls and fossils. We provide not only a typical museum experience, but also hands-on exhibits. You can stay indoors, outdoors, and all over Los Angeles. We inspire the widest possible audience to become keepers of the living Earth.

1. What do we know about parking when driving to the museum ?

A．Visitors should leave Lot 3 before 5: 30 pm.

B．Members will have a special place to park.

C．People have to park in the museum’s Car Park.

D．Visitors must pay for the museum’s Car Park in cash.

2. Which are visitors not allowed to do according to the passage?

A．To park in other lots.

B．To eat in the museum.

C．To come to the museum in the whole year.

D．To touch the exhibits in the museum.

3. What is the purpose of the last paragraph?

A．To advertise coming events.

B．To introduce special exhibits.

C．To tell about the museum’s history.

D．To encourage more people to come.

【推荐3】Should swimming lessons be mandatory in schools?

Guangdong province is set to make swimming lessons compulsory in primary schools starting from 2020, and proposing the courses be given from the fourth grade. Do we need to make swimming compulsory in schools? Forum readers share their opinions.

White Bear (Poland)

In Poland swimming lessons are not compulsory, but most of the schools have them. I think that when it is only possible—there should be the swimming lessons for kids. It is a lifesaving skill.

Mister Panda (France)

I come from France where swimming lessons in school are compulsory. I even got my lifesaving certificate in school.

Jet Feng (China)

As a boy born in a rural area, I learnt swimming in a river near my home when I was 7 or 8 years old. I used to play in the river with boys my same age every summer, which was also the only entertainment we could make at that time, but we enjoyed it so much! I just learnt how to dog paddle because no one taught us. Until I entered university, I got a chance to enhance my swimming skills in PE lessons. Compared with my classmates, I felt lucky because most of them couldn't swim.

I think it's a good idea for schools to teach students to swim. But as a matter of fact, not every school in China has the conditions to do that. In some less-developed areas, there is not even a swimming pool.

Boilermaker21 (Expat in China)

There are swimming lessons in my city, but I was very disappointed in how they were taught. The kids spent 45 minutes of the one-hour lesson practicing strokes ON DRY LAND. They only spent 15 minutes in the water. All of the children panicked and sank immediately to the bottom. Then all of the parents berated the children, telling them that they weren't paying attention to the teacher and that they were failures.

Cecilia Zhang (China)

It is a pity that many Chinese athletes won world championships in swimming while most schools don't have the swimming facilities. Swimming is an essential lifesaving skill that everyone should access to. The earlier, the better. The government needs to put money into the popularity of the sport.

1. What can be concluded from White Bear's opinion?

A．In Poland, swimming lessons must be given at school.

B．In Poland, the swimming sport is very popular.

C．Most of the schools have swimming pools in Poland.

D．In Poland, students are required to swim every day.

2. What do we know about Jet Feng when he was a child?

A．He didn't know how to swim.	B．He was brought up .1n a city.
C．He lived a colorful life in his childhood.	D．He didn't receive formal swimming training.

3. How did Boilermaker21 feel about the swimming lessons in his city?

A．Disappointed.

B．Satisfied.

C．Excited.

D．Bored.

4. What can be indicated from Cecilia Zhang's words?

A．Chinese athletes won world championship in swimming events.

B．Chinese schools have not paid any attention to the swimming lessons.

C．The government hasn’t spent enough money on the popularity of the sport.

D．It is a pity that few Chinese athletes won world championships in swimming.

5. In which section of the newspaper can you find the passage?

A．Entertainment.

B．Advertisement.

C．Education.

D．Technology.