【推荐2】US cosmologist (宇宙学家) Carl Sagan once said: “Across the sea of space, the stars are other suns.”

For centuries, human beings have dreamed of traveling into space, orbiting (围绕......运行) our little blue planet, and appreciating incredible views of sunrises and sunsets. And soon, it seems that our dream will finally come true, as US startup Orion Span announced on April 6 that it planned to launch the first hotel in space in 2021. It will be ready to welcome guests the following year.

The space hotel, Aurora Station, will orbit 320 kilometers above Earth, circling it every 90 minutes. It’s capable of housing two crew members and four guests. The crew members will likely be former NASA astronauts who worked on the International Space Station. However, there’s a catch: Each guest must pay at least $9.5 million (60 million yuan) for a 12-day stay at the hotel.

Once aboard the Aurora Station, guests will find many exciting things to do. According to Orion Span, guests can enjoy the excitement of zero-gravity as they fly throughout the space hotel. They can watch 16 sunrises and sunsets every day and view the northern and southern auroras (极光) through the many windows. They can take part in research experiments like growing food, and even take it home as a souvenir. And they can stay in touch with their families and friends via a high-speed internet connection.

But most importantly, the trip will offer a real sense of what it’s like to live in space. “The premise (前提) of Aurora Station is for guests to live, feel, and [breathe] what it’s like to be an astronaut,” Frank Bunger, founder of Orion Span, told the Robb Report. “The food and drinks are freeze-dried products. It’s not going to be five-star dining … Fire and gas don’t work the same way in space as they do on Earth.”

To better prepare guests for space travel, the company will require a health screening and provide a three-month training program that helps guests understand basic spaceflight, orbital mechanics (轨道力学) and life in the pressurized environment of space.

Some may have doubts about the project, but the company even has plans to turn part of Aurora Station into private apartments. “Future Aurora owners can live in, visit, or sublease (转租) their space [apartment],” Bunger said in a news release. “This is an exciting frontier (待开发的领域) and Orion Span is proud to pave the way.”

1. What can we learn about Aurora Station?

A．It will be open to guests in 2021.	B．It can only serve four guests at a time.
C．It costs every guest $9.5 million a week.	D．It will invite NASA to train the guests.

2. What can guests do on Aurora Station?

A．View beautiful auroras.	B．Fly outside the space hotel.
C．Buy various souvenirs.	D．Enjoy five-star meals.

3. According to Bunger, what is the main purpose of Aurora Station?

A．To help people learn more about space.

B．To offer comfortable space travel experiences.

C．To provide real experiences of living in space.

D．To prepare people for future space exploration.

4. What can be inferred about Aurora Station from the last two paragraphs?

A．It’s ready for guests to book their first trip.

B．Few people are optimistic about its future.

C．Its guests must have a basic knowledge of space travel.

D．Private apartments are the most popular choice among its guests.

【推荐3】For the British, the home is a private place in which he or she goes to hide away from the troubles of life. It is very seldom that one would be invited to a British person's home. It is rude to knock on a person's door if you are not invited. If you are invited, don't ask to see more than the downstairs that your British host invites you into. Never ask how much the house or any of the items in it cost.

To the American，most of them want their home to be a place where they can entertain (款待) and share their lives with their friends. They may be delighted to give you a full tour of their houses. They may also be pleased when you show your interest and pleasure in their houses.

Both British and American people will engage in quite a bit of chat and a drink or two before the meal is served. After the first mouthful, you should say how delicious the food is and ask something about it. Remember, never eat with your mouth open and make very little noise while eating. It would be nice of you to help your host in any way. Maybe offer to pour some drinks or clear up after the meal.

1. British people _____ invite friends to their home.

A．often

B．always

C．seldom

D．never

2. If your British friend invites you to his home, you can_____.

A．see anything you like

B．ask how much his house is

C．ask the cost of any of the items in it

D．only see the downstairs that you’re invited into

3. When you show your interest and pleasure in American people's houses, they may be_____.

A．angry

B．happy

C．sad

D．worried

4. What does the underlined phrase “engage in” mean in Chinese?

A．陷入

B．参与

C．回避

D．限制

5. What's the main idea of this passage?

A．Some manners on visiting British and American people's home.

B．Different table manners between British and American people.

C．Different ideas about the home between British and American people.

D．Different ideas about how to get along well with neighbors between British and American people.

【推荐1】There is an old saying that America and Britain are “two nations divided by a common language.” No one knows exactly who said this, but it reflects the way many Brits feel about American English. But are American and British English really so different?

Vocabulary

The most obvious difference between American and British English is vocabulary. There are hundreds of everyday words that are different. For example, Americans go on vacation while Brits go on holidays; New Yorkers live in apartments while Londoners live in flats. There are far more examples than we can talk about here. Fortunately, most Americans and Brits can usually guess the meaning through the context of a sentence.

Past Tense Verbs

You’ll also find some differences with past forms of irregular verbs. The past tense of “learn” in American English is “learned”. British English has the option of “learned” or “learnt”. The same rule applies to “dreamed” and “dreamt”, “burned” and “burnt”, and “leaned” and “leant”. Americans tend to use the -ed ending; Brits tend to use the-t ending.

Spelling

There are hundreds of slight spelling differences between British and American English. Noah Webster, an author, politician and teacher, made an effort to reform English spelling in the late 1700s.

Webster wanted to spell words the way they sounded. You can see Webster’s legacy(遗产) in the American spelling of words like color (from colour), honor (from honour), and labor(from labour).

Not So Different After All

British and American English have far more similarities than differences. With the exception of some regional dialects, most Brits and Americans can understand each other without too much difficulty. They watch each other’s TV shows, sing each other’s songs and read each other’s books. They even make fun of each others’ accents.

1. Which of the following is a group of American words?

A．Vacation; holiday.	B．Apartment; flat.
C．Vacation; apartment.	D．Holiday; flat.

2. The underlined word “option” in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by ________.

A．choice	B．change
C．structure	D．use

3. What do we know about British and American English from the last paragraph?

A．They both have some strange words.

B．They are affecting people using them.

C．They connect people of the two countries.

D．Their differences have little effect on communication.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Ways to tell British English from American English

B．Differences between British and American English

C．Development of British and American English

D．Difficulty for Brits and Americans to understand each other

【推荐2】MarineLand Theme Park

With numerous rides, a variety of wildlife from both land and sea and shows filled with action-packed excitement, no wonder it's a hit with visitors from all over the world. Whether riding on the world's biggest steel roller coaster, Dragon Mountain, or enjoying a show filled with fun-loving dolphins and intelligent whales, you’re sure to have the time of your life at MarineLand. Having been in business for more than 50 years, this park has something for every member of the family!

Highlights＆Attractions:

The King Waldorf Stadium Show：This entertaining, educational and heart-warming show features dolphins, white whales, sea lions, and walruses and is sure to leave you in awe as well as help you understand and appreciate these wonderful marine mammals(海洋哺乳动物).

Arctic Cove: It featuring one of the largest white whale collections in the world, visitors are able to purchase a pass to Arctic Cove where they can touch and feed the whales as well as view them underwater.

Friendship Cove: Breathtaking underwater viewing allows you to enter the magic world of the killer whale below the water surface or on a surface level walkway.

Hotels：

Villager Lodge: It is located in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Diplomat Inn: Within half a mile of the Skylon Tower, it is the choice for an inexpensive location.

Marriott Niagara Falls Fallsview Hotel&Spa: It is close to popular attractions and the Scotiabank Convention Center.

Days Inn Lundy's Lane: It is located just two miles from the gorgeous Niagara Falls and the Skylon Tower Observation Deck.

Hours of Operation:10:00 am-5:00 pm(Sept. 11th—Oct. 13th)

Phone:417—823—0981

1. What can be learned about MarineLand Theme Park?

A．It is only suitable for kids.

B．It was opened fifty years ago.

C．It has both land and marine animals.

D．It has the world's biggest roller coaster.

2. What is special about Arctic Cove?

A．It has the largest white whale collection in the world.

B．It allows visitors to enter the magic world of the killer whale.

C．It features an entertaining show starring various marine mammals.

D．It provides visitors with a chance to interact with white whales personally.

3. Which hotel suits you best if you have a tight budget?

A．Diplomat Inn.

B．Villager Lodge.

C．Days Inn Lundy's Lane.

D．Marriott Niagara Fails Fallsview Hotel&Spa.

【推荐1】When people travel abroad, they may get the anxiety and feelings of surprise and confusion(困惑) felt when they have to operate within a different cultural and social environment. Besides, maybe when they come back to their own country, they will meet the reverse cultural shock. There is no doubt that people are experiencing cultural shock. So, what is cultural shock? And what causes cultural shock? We interviewed John Robb, Cristal and Jim about their feelings of facing cultural shock abroad.

John has been in China for 24 years. In his opinion, he thinks people wail a long time to make decisions in China. And in his culture, they usually make most decisions far in advance. So, that's a big difference.       

Cris has been in Australia for 2 years. He thinks people from different countries speak different languages. And he usually speaks English with them. In learning, there are many people who are willing to communicate with him about different regional cultures. Australians eat more meat and high-calorie foods. And some raw vegetables go with their diet.

Jim has been in Britain for 7 years. He liked that freedom very much at first in Britain And he traveled to a lot of places and met a lot of people. But over time he found he had to say goodbye to them. Therefore, he became sad little by little. After wandering for a long time, he really looked forward to finding a sense of belonging.

As John said, " Every culture does things differently. So, you have to learn the new ways. ” Facing differences, the most important thing is to make changes. After staying in China, John enriched his experience, learned to think about his future and wanted to open a new life. After studying in Britain, Jim became independent, sensible and learned many life skills.

1. Which is one of the feelings of culture shock?

A．Being sorry.

B．Being homesick.

C．Being free.

D．Being puzzled.

2. How is Jim's experience of culture shock different from John's and Cris's?

A．He stayed abroad for the longest time.	B．He experienced the reverse culture shock.
C．He was the one who felt homesick,	D．He was the youngest among the interviewees.

3. What's the author's attitude towards John's experience of culture shock?

A．Pessimistic.

B．Doubtful.

C．Supportive.

D．Shocked.

4. What's the last paragraph mainly about?

A．The conclusion of culture shock.	B．The introduction to culture shock.
C．The cause of culture shock.	D．The process of culture shock.

【推荐2】Nearly all of us have a bad habit, whether we know it or not. Some people say they want to get rid of it but don’t know the proper ways. Here’s some advice on how to get rid of bad habits.

Make a list. Write down why you want to stop a certain behavior, how it’s hurting you and how to get rid of it. This will help a lot. Look at that list regularly.

Join in other activities. It’s wise of you to do something else when you want to stop your bad habits. If you get angry easily, for example, you can practice having a deep breath or going for a walk.

Give yourself a present. Before you take action against a bad habit, decide what you’ll do to celebrate it if you reach your goal.

Keep off bad habits. If you are fat and want to lose weight, keep junk food out of your house. If you are a heavy smoker with coffee, turn to tea and keep away from friends who like smoking.

Be patient. Bad habits develop over years, so you probably won’t be able to get rid of them quickly. In fact, people often give up several times before being successful, so you should be patient.

Find support. Don’t be afraid to ask for support from friends, family or other people who have the same bad habits as you. When you talk to others, they might be able to provide advice or encouragement that you usually wouldn’t get from yourself.

1. If you want to lose weight, you should ______.

A．drink more coffee.	B．refuse the junk food.
C．find support from friends.	D．find a heavy smoker.

2. Which of the following is WRONG according to the passage?

A．it’s not easy to get rid of bad habits in a short time.

B．You can write down the reasons for getting rid of bad habits.

C．When talking to others, you can get what you can’t get from yourself.

D．When you want to stop your bad habits, don’t do anything.

3. From the passage you can learn ______.

A．how to get rid of bad habits.	B．why we have some bad habits.
C．what to do to have a bad habit.	D．where to find some support

【推荐3】Do you want to travel back in time? What about traveling into the future? There’s an easy way to do it.

One way you can make a time travel journey is by writing a letter to your future self to be opened in the future. To your future self, the letter will be a visit to the past. What can be gained by writing a letter to yourself? It depends on how good your letter is. You have the chance to say something to your future self. What would you want to communicate? You’ll be able to talk to yourself 5, 10, 15 years down the road. There may be instructions for your future self, or you may have goals that you will want to check up on.

There are a lot of things you could include in your letter or letters to yourself. The more you include, the better the letter will be to you. Here are some ideas of things to include in your letter:

Your thoughts and feelings about life, religion, politics, society, etc; Your feelings for your family; Your likes and dislikes; Your dreams; The type of person you want yourself to become...

Be creative with what you put in your letter. Include a picture of yourself or family to show the period from which the letter came.

You can store your letter in a number of different ways. You can give your letter to a friend or family member to keep and mail to you. If you can get others to take part, have them write letters to themselves as well and ask someone to be the letter holder until it’s time to send the letters. You can also use a service online to store your letter and e-mail it to you.

Make the most of your letter writing, and you’ll help your future self make the most of the present.

1. How can you travel into the future?

A．By traveling back in time.

B．By writing a letter to your future self.

C．By opening a letter from the past.

D．By paying a visit to the future.

2. If you want to gain more in the future, what should you do?

A．Have the chance to say something to your future self.

B．Talk to yourself 5,10,15years down the road.

C．Write more about instructions for your future self.

D．Include as many things as possible in your letter.

3. Why had you better put a picture in your letter?

A．To check up on your goals.

B．To prove your feelings for your family.

C．To show the time when the letter was written.

D．To find out your thoughts and feelings now.

4. Which could be the best title for the passage?

A．How to Write a Letter to Your Future Self.

B．What to Communicate with Your Future Self.

C．What to Include in a Letter to Your Future Self.

D．How to Make the Most of Your Letter.