【推荐2】Heritage Day is around the corner, so here at TravelGround we make a list of the top public spots for you.

Wolwespruit Nature Reserve

It’s about 22 kilometres south of Leeudoringstad. It offers great birding chances and visitors can angle in the rapids of the Vaal River surrounded by unmatched natural scenery. This park is also a favorite among mountain bikers. There are special picnic areas and various kinds of wildlife can be seen.

Prices: R30 per adult and free for children

Tel: 018-5819705

Modjadji Nature Reserve

It’s close to Modjadjiskloof. It is the world’s largest concentration of the Modjadji palm(棕榈), and offers a perfect setting for day visitors, such as overlooking the Kruger National Park. Visitors can expect to see large games such as blue wildebeest. Picnic areas are available, of course.

Prices: R10 per person

Tel: 074-8340383

False Bay Park

It lies along Lake St Lucia’s western shore and within the Simangaliso Wetland Park, which covers a 280-kilometre of the coastline. Swimming is forbidden, but other recreational activities such as hiking, fishing and boating on Lake St Lucia are available. There’s a special picnic area where visitors can enjoy favorite amusements and seek the riches of nature.

Prices: R25 per person

Tel: 021-9752189

The Mac Mac Pools

It’s a popular picnic spot in a shallow rocky river which drops into some natural swimming holes. It lies in the Sabie area on the Panorama Route and there’s a beautiful nature path for guests’ enjoyment. This lovely walk winds its way to the base of the amazing Mac Mac Falls, which is also a great picnic spot.

Prices: R30 per person

Tel: 013-7542724

1. Which number should you call if you want to enjoy bird-watching?

A．018-5819705.	B．013-7542724.
C．021-9752189.	D．074-8340383.

2. Which of the following lies in a park?

A．Modjadji Nature Reserve.	B．The Mac Mac Pools.
C．False Bay Park.	D．Wolwespruit Nature Reserve.

3. What do the four places have in common?

A．They charge everyone an entrance fee.

B．They are all good spots for the picnic.

C．They all have special wildlife reserves.

D．They are mountain bikers’ favorites.

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1. We can learn that the Silver Dollar is ______.

A．newly designed	B．currently in circulation
C．issued in limited quantity	D．intended for top collectors

2. What makes the Silver Dollar most worth collecting?

A．It is made of precious metal.	B．It is government guaranteed.
C．It is popular with customers.	D．It is beautifully designed.

3. To secure your Silver Dollar, you’d better ______.

A．contact the United States Mint	B．visit GovMint.com first .
C．call at 1-888-835-8675 now	D．buy eight or more at a time

4. The main purpose of the passage is to ______.

A．present and argue	B．inform and persuade
C．introduce and analyze	D．compare and evaluate

【推荐3】What is a GPA?

A GPA, or Grade Point Average, typically ranging from one to four, is a number reflecting your course performance on average. It’s used by universities to determine whether students meet academic standards and by students to enhance job prospects or secure admission into post-graduate programs.

Example: Academic Transcript of Jane Smith       Winter 2023
Courses	Letter Grade	Grade points	Credit hours	Total points	GPA
Creative Writing	A+	4.0	3	12	-
Psychology	A-	3.7	3	11.1	-
History	B+	3.3	3	9.9	-
Computer Science	F	0.0	2	0	-
Total	-	-	11	33

How to calculate a GPA?

● Determine the letter grade and the number of credit hours for each course you take in a term:

● Translate the letter grade to grade points using your school’s grading system:

● Multiply the grade point s by the credit hours for that course;

● Add up all the credit hours for the courses:

● Divide the total number of grade points by the total credit hours and you get the GPA.

What are the consequences of failing college courses?

● Every failing grade (F) significantly impacts your GPA for that academic year, limiting clubs, organizations and program choices, as competitive programs require top GPAs.

● Most financial aid programs require a specific GPA. A sharp drop in GPA due to several course failures may lead to removal from financial aid programs, unless you retake the courses and pass.

1. What is Jane Smith’s GPA this term?

A．3.3.

B．3.0.

C．2.8.

D．1.0.

2. What would be a result if you get one F in college?

A．School removal.	B．Loss of financial aid.
C．Choice limitation.	D．Disqualification from sports.

3. Where is this text probably taken from?

A．An academic course guide.	B．A campus job fair poster.
C．A graduate application form.	D．An athletic team schedule.

【推荐1】The Impossible Burger is a burger that tastes exactly like a beef, but is made using vegetables and science. There are many kinds of plant-based burgers for people who don’t eat meat, but this one is made for meat lovers. The company that makes this burger, Impossible Foods, wants to produce all foods that we get from animals to protect the environment.

At the Impossible Foods lab in California, scientist Celeste Holz-Schietinger works on the taste of the burger. She looks for the key points of beef - its smells, sound, and look. Then those points are copied using plant-based ingredients. The key ingredient is heme(血红素), which is taken from plants and looks and tastes like blood. This ingredient gives the burger its red color before it is cooked. After cooked with these ingredients, the burger will have a crispy(脆的) and meaty taste.

The Impossible Burger has the same nutrition as beef. In fact, taste, nutrition, and reducing greenhouse gases are all important for creating the burger.

Cows are actually terrible for the environment. They need lots of land and water, and they create greenhouse gases. To make a burger, it takes as much water as a 10-minute shower, 75 square feet of land, as well as creating 18 driving miles of greenhouse gasses. However, an Impossible Burger uses 95% less land, 75% less water, and creates 85-87% less greenhouse gasses than a beef burger.

That’s why this burger was made for meat lovers. The purpose is for them to less eat meat in order to protect the environment. At the same time they can still eat delicious burgers that taste like real meat.

Want to try the Impossible Burger? It can be found in Texas, Nevada, California, and New York. Click here the Impossible Foods website for the full list of restaurants and cities.

1. What is the feature of Impossible Burger?

A．It’s environmentally friendly.	B．It’s only for meat lovers.
C．It’s based on plants.	D．It’s a substitute for common burger.

2. What is the second paragraph mainly about?

A．Production of the Impossible Burger.	B．Ingredients of the Impossible Burger.
C．Research for the production.	D．Work on the taste of the burger.

3. How is the fourth paragraph developed?

A．By drawing a conclusion	B．By making a comparison.
C．By doing an experiment.	D．By listing important statistics.

4. Where can we probably read the passage?

A．In a travel journal.	B．On a farm.
C．On a website.	D．At a restaurant.

【推荐2】With smart technology increasingly influencing all aspects of our lives, it is only a matter of time before someone invents “smart” shoes—ones that can be made based on personal needs. Called “ShiftWear”, the sneakers are the brainchild of a team of businessmen, and engineers led by New York-based designer David Coel.

The adaptable shoes can be customized by using a smart phone app. Shoe owners will have the option of selecting a design from a variety of HD pattern by famous artists or creating one themselves. The company’s founders imagine a marketplace where artists can not only share but also sell their designs to others. Despite being electronic, the designs are clearly visible even in the brightest sunlight. What’s even cooler is that by switching on a backlight, users can even show off their designs in the dark!

According to Coel, the sneakers will keep their charge “forever” if only images are displayed. Though they will need periodic recharging, active users have nothing to worry about. That’s because the shoes are equipped with special walk-n-charge technology that powers the shoes—with every step. Inactive users also have options of charging the sneakers without using wires.

The bottom part of the shoes is covered with Kevler fibers, a kind of strong material, reducing normal wear and tear. Even better? They are completely waterproof (not let water through) and can even be thrown into an ordinary laundry machine for a quick wash! The company predicts that the shoes will range the price from $150 to $1000 depending on the size of the E-panels where the designs are displayed.

This is not the first time that electronics and shoes have combined. Lithuania-based iShuh Technology has come up with a similar concept that connects e-reader panels to a smart phone app via the Bluetooth. Whether these smart shoes become as popular as our smart devices remains to be seen, though they surely are attractive.

1. What can we know about the smart shoes from the text?

A．The electronic designs can not be seen clearly at night.

B．The designers make sure every pair of sneakers are unique.

C．The bottom of the shoes can last longer due to special materials.

D．The shoes have to be washed by hand to protect the electronics.

2. What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk about?

A．How the sneakers are charged.

B．How the sneakers can work well.

C．What images the sneakers show.

D．What technology the sneakers carry.

3. The varied prices of the sneakers mainly depend on ________.

A．the length of the shoes

B．the size of their e-panels

C．the designers of the shoes

D．the materials of their bottoms

4. How does the author feel about the sneakers’ future market?

A．Negative.	B．Anxious.
C．Uncertain.	D．Confident.

【推荐3】Alaska state officials are hosting Walmart executives in the state capital this week in an effort to resolve a months-old argument over Alaskan salmon fisheries’ sustainability qualifications.

The seeds of the quarrel were planted several years ago when several Alaskan fisheries decided to end their relationship with the Marine Stewardship Council—the famous global organization that states and proves the truthfulness of sustainable fishing—to seek out other means assuring customers of their sustainable practices. But last June, Walmart told Alaskan fisheries that it would not be buying salmon sourced from fisheries not certified by the Marine Stewardship Council.

Now Walmart is caught between two forces–Alaska fisheries and “buy American” enthusiasts who think the company’s first responsibility should be to American industry, and environmentalists who think Walmart should make as strong a commitment to environmentally sustainable industry as possible.

But from a broader perspective, this latest noise is an object lesson in why the concept of corporate (公司的) responsibility has shortcomings to begin with. Walmart—like most successful corporations—is pretty good at offering products their customers want at low prices. When it tries to promote broader public goods, like a clean environment, or lower unemployment for veterans, it’s nowhere near as successful. Here’s a few of Walmart’s more notable corporate-responsibility confusion:

The Buy-American Debacle: Walmart’s first major corporate responsibility push was an effort in the 1980s to promote American-made products. But the campaign ran aground (搁浅) after a NBC investigation revealed that the company was actually selling products manufactured in India as “Made American.”

The Going Green Campaign: Walmart launched on a sustainability campaign aimed at making the retail giants operations much more environmentally friendly. Though Walmart and the media have done much to raise visibility of these efforts, the actual results have been lacking. According to a recent report from the Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR), Walmart’s sustainability campaign is much more focused on making its operations appear green to customers than stopping doing things that would actually help the environment, like reducing emissions.

In reality, these examples simply show that one can’t realistically expect corporations to behave in a way that is opposite to making profits. But that doesn’t mean that the goal of fishing sustainability isn’t achievable. It’s just that the corporate structure isn’t our best means of achieving them—the government is.

1. What is the function of the Marine Stewardship Council?

A．To advocate sustainable fishing practices.

B．To persuade supermarkets to buy its products.

C．To solve disagreements between fisheries and supermarkets.

D．To guarantee the safety of goods supplied by supermarkets.

2. According to the author, Walmart’s corporate responsibility is ________.

A．confusing	B．heavy
C．environmental-friendly	D．unsatisfying

3. From Paragraph 5, we know ________.

A．Walmart’s sustainability campaign worked well

B．Walmart might have profited at the cost of the environment

C．ILSR’s report was part of Walmart’s campaign plan

D．Walmart had no intention to protect the environment at all

4. Who should be mainly responsible for achieving the goals of fishing sustainability?

A．The company structure	B．Walmart
C．The government	D．The Marine Stewardship Council

【推荐1】Have you ever thought of getting away from the present life and doing something completely different?Well,here are some people who have done just that.

Back to the land

In his early forties,Peter Van Der Groot was a successful salesman.He had a large beautiful home.But Peter worked long hours,and he saw little of his home and family.He enjoyed his job,but he was never there to see his children growing up.Then last year,the firm(公司)he worked for closed down,and,unexpectedly,Peter had the chance to do something different.

So Peter and his family sold their house in London and moved to the countryside.They bought a smaller house with some land.Today,Peter is more relaxed.He spends time with his children,and he has seen them change into healthy,happy kids.He’s started working on his land,growing fruit and vegetables.Now he and his family have a common,but comfortable life.

Life in the sun

Husband and wife Rob and Manda Brent used to be teachers,but they have both given up their jobs,and neither of them plans to return to the school where they worked in Birmingham’s city centre.Now they live in Italy,where they’ve bought a farmhouse in Tuscan Hills.“We’re going to offer bed and breakfast,”said Rob.“We’ve never had our own business before,so it’ll be quite a challenge(挑战).And we’ve borrowed a lot of money from the bank to get started.”

“In this first three-month period,we’re settling in and repairing the farmhouse,”said Manda.“Then we’ll open our doors to guests.”Bed and breakfast will not be the only way for them to get money,though.“The farm has got olive(橄榄)trees and the equipment(设备)for producing olive oil.”

1. What caused Peter to change his life?

A．He lost his job.	B．He led a hard life.
C．He had to care for his kids.	D．He wasn’t satisfied with his job.

2. What change has taken place since Peter moved to the countryside?

A．He lives a busier life.	B．He has set up his own firm.
C．He has built a large beautiful house.	D．He spends more time with his family.

3. What experience have Rob and Manda had?

A．Selling farm produce.	B．Running a school in Italy.
C．Serving breakfast for months.	D．Teaching in a Birmingham school.

4. What will Rob and Manda’s farmhouse be mainly used as?

A．A farm.

B．A hotel.

C．A school.

D．A restaurant.

【推荐2】Though the harmful effects of plastic on wildlife and human health are well-documented, this material is hard to avoid. Nearly everything we touch, from grocery bags to drink bottles, to food packaging, contains plastic. Now, Amsterdam’s Ekoplaza supermarket is making it a little easier for consumers to reduce consumption of single-use plastic bags and containers, which are blocking our landfills at alarming rates, with a special plastic-free aisle (通道). Believed to be the world’s first, the aisle has 700 products on sale including rice, beans, yogurt, chocolate milk, cereal, snacks and meat.

While items still require packaging, everything is housed inside reusable or recyclable containers made of glass, metal or cardboard. The unique idea was given to the grocery-chain officials by UK-based environmental group A Plastic Planet, which takes the lead to advocate for at least one plastic-free aisle in supermarkets around the globe. The non-profit has even created a signature “plastic-free” mark to help consumers identify eco-friendly packaging. “This is a consumer-led campaign,” said a group co-founder Sian Sutherland. “We’re a grassroots organization. So obviously we’re working with industry and the government, but most importantly, we represent the public.”

Ekoplaza, which plans to roll out the plastic-free aisles across its 74 stores by the end of the year, is not the only company trying to reduce plastic waste. In Berlin, the Original Unverpackt grocery store has been trying to change customer habits since 2014 by selling everything, from grains to produce and even soaps without plastic packaging. The supermarket, which requires customers to bring their own reusable containers, even sells chewable toothpaste that needs no tubes.

Though it is encouraging to see companies trying to make a difference, for real change to happen, consumers have to avoid products encased in plastics, even if it means giving up their favorite food or drink. As Sutherland put it, “Plastic food and drink packaging remains useful and yet a destructive presence on the earth for centuries afterwards.”

1. What does Ekoplaza want to do by setting up a plastic-free aisle?

A．Cut down managing cost.	B．Reduce plastic-packaging.
C．Make shopping much easier.	D．Increase the amount of sales.

2. Which of the following can make a real difference?

A．Consumers.	B．Supermarkets.
C．Organizations.	D．Companies.

3. What does Sutherland think of plastic packaging in the future?

A．It will be of no use to consumers.	B．It will exist for a long time.
C．It will disappear in this century.	D．It will replace other containers.

4. What might be the title of the passage?

A．Plastics are Harmful to the Environment.

B．Non-profits Can Help the Supermarkets.

C．Consumers Should Change Shopping Habits.

D．Supermarkets Take Action for a Cleaner Planet.

【推荐3】Since we’ve headed into the snowy part of the year, it seems like a good time to solve a language puzzle that Eskimos have a huge number of words for snow. The idea was popularized by the now well-known expert Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s. His number was approximately five Eskimo words for snow, but somehow the story was so wide spread and romantic that it got out of control and grew bigger and bigger.

There are two problems with the concept of Eskimos having tons of words for snow.

First, Eskimos speak at least two different languages—Inuit and Yupik. Just as we have talked about how English and many other languages developed from a common language called Proto-Indo-European, Inuit and Yupik come from a different common language called Eskimo-Aleut. So saying Eskimos have 100 words for snow is like saying Europeans have 100 words for kings or queens. It might be telling you something broad about culture, but it isn’t really telling you much about language.

The second problem is “What is a word?” The Inuit and Yupik languages make words in different ways from how we make words in English. For example, the West Greenlandic word ‘siku,’ (sea ice), is used as the root for ‘sikursuit (pack ice),’ Sikuliaq (new ice), and ‘sikurluk’ (melting ice). But I’'s not that West Greenlandic has so many more words for describing snow than English, it’s just that West Greenlandic expresses ideas by combining meaningful units of language together into one word while English uses more phrases and compounds. We express all the same ideas; we just do it a little differently because of the way our language is built.

So you’re probably still wondering, “If it’s not 50 or 100 or 400 words, how many is it?” Well, Woodbury lists 15 that are present in a Yupik dictionary published in 1984, but he says that depending on how you look at it this is not an exact number. It could be 12; it could be 24. But it’s certainly not 100.

Sometimes, the “hundred words for snow” puzzle is used to argue that because Eskimos have so many words for snow, they think about snow in ways that we can’t even begin to imagine—that your language decides or limits your thoughts. Languages are just different. They don’t decide what we are able to think about or are not able to think about. I can think about snow floating on water even if we don’t have a word for that in English.

So when you’re out skiing or snowboarding or just shoveling your driveway this winter, don’t believe the people who try to tell you that Eskimos have 100 words for snow.

1. Why are Eskimos thought to have so many words for snow?

A．Because snow is everywhere where Eskimos live.

B．Because the story about it got enriched and believed.

C．Because snow is of great importance to Eskimos.

D．Because Eskimos have great affection for snow.

2. How does the writer explain the first problem?

A．By presenting figures.	B．By making comparisons.
C．By quoting sayings.	D．By adopting idioms.

3. The example of the west Greenlandic word ‘siku’ shows that ________.

A．the making of words varies from language to language

B．the Inuit and Yupik languages have more words for snow

C．the richness of words and phrases leads to different ideas

D．more phrases about snow are found in the English language

4. What conclusion can we safely draw from the last two paragraphs?

A．Eskimos better understand snow than other people.

B．Languages deeply influence people's ability to think.

C．There is no point counting Eskimo’s expressions for snow.

D．What comes into our mind is limited by our language.