Patrick and Rachel Hugens have biked around the world. The Hugenses, who live in Boise when not on their bikes, are 25 months into their latest round-the-world adventure, scheduled to end in March. They've visited 36 countries on this tour, touching Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. “Traveling by bike is the greatest freedom," Rachel said via email. “You can see people's daily lives and can communicate with them.”
Rachel warns, “Cycle touring can become addictive.” Bike tourism is on the rise in the United States and around the world, according to the Adventure Cycling Association. The U. S. Bicycle Route System has grown 66 percent in the past two years and now has a presence in 24 states, including Idaho, and the District of Columbia.
Dennis Swift，secretary of the Southwest Idaho Mountain Biking Association, rode across the U.S. last year- from Seattle to Salem, Mass. Six people started the tour and three finished, riding 52 out of 56 days. They averaged about 60 miles per riding day. Swift also rode through the Basque Country with a group of Boise cyclists last year. He's planning to participate in a Virginia bike tour this year. “When you get older, your health is most important,” he said. “My mom had Alzheimer's disease. They say what's good for health is good for the brain, so riding is one thing to be first in my life.”
This is the third time that the couple have quit their jobs to tour. Rachel is a nurse; Patrick is an architect. Both regained their former jobs when they returned home in 2000 and 2007. They're uncertain what will happen this time. They've given themselves a chance to save extra money by going to work by bike and avoiding some bills that are basic for most ( cell phones, cable TV).“Traveling changes your view of money and what it can do for you,” Rachel said. “We've met some cyclists traveling long term. They have many reasons to spend wisely.”
“The fellow cyclists we meet mostly come from Britain, Germany, Spain, Holland, Australia or New Zealand," Rachel said, “It is so nice to see that people all over the world are friendly and welcoming.”
1. How many countries have the Hugenses visited on their latest tour? (不多于2个单词)2. Why does Dennis Swift ride bikes? (不多于2个单词)
3. How do the Hugenses save extra money for their bike tours? (不多于10个单词)
4. What is the passage mainly about? (不多于3个单词)
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【推荐1】From picture—perfect beaches to mountains, wildlife and iconic structures, New South Wales (NSW), Australia, offers plenty to enjoy. This beautiful state is located on Australia’s breathtaking eastern coast. Sydney is the capital of New South Wales and Australia’s most populated city.
No trip to Sydney would be complete without a visit to Australia’s most famous landmark, the Sydney Opera House. Designed to be like a ship’s sails, it is nowhere else to be found and is recognized by people all over the world. In 2007, the structure was declared a World Heritage site. The Opera House welcomes more than 8 million visitors each year, making it the country’s most popular tourist spot. It is also one of the world’s busiest performing arts centers, featuring more than 2,000 performances each year. There are six different performance areas for dance, opera, theater and music. No matter what kind of entertainment you’re in mood for, there’s always an opera to fit the bill.
“Stunning natural beauty” describes the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. The name comes from the blue color that occurs when the region’s eucalyptus (尤加利树) forests release drops of oil These drops mix with water vapor and sunlight, creating a blue mist. This wilderness area, home to a great number of Australia’s birds and other forms of wildlife, is a large, mountainous region. The Blue Mountains’ scenery and closeness to Sydney make it a very popular tourist destination.
Off the coast of New South Wales lies Lord Howe Island. Created by a volcano, the island is surrounded by beautiful reefs. Two mountains tower over a bay with sandy, white beaches. After fully enjoying beach walks, mountain hikes, water activities, bird watching and more, visitors feel they are on cloud nine.
New South Wales can offer you lots of experiences to choose from memories that will last a lifetime.
1. What is unique to the Sydney Opera House according to the text?| A．It’s a world heritage site. |
| B．It features its appearance. |
| C．It provides 6 kinds of performances. |
| D．It’s the least visited tourist attraction. |
| A．they like the food there |
| B．they can enjoy themselves on the beach |
| C．they are attracted by its scenery and location |
| D．they want to see the flowers with different colors |
| A．Content. | B．Confused. | C．Awkward. | D．Bored. |
| A．Wildlife. | B．World culture. | C．Agriculture. | D．European architecture. |
【推荐2】The Greek historian Herodotus is said to have made one of the earliest lists of Seven Wonders of the World. These were man-made structures, including the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. More recent times saw natural alternatives to these wonders of classical architecture proposed: waterfalls, mountains, canyons, reefs. Dramatic landscapes, features and wildlife, and the pleasure and excitement they offer to visitors, are basics of tourism.
As environmental consciousness has risen, attitudes to such sightseeing have changed. Yes, it is exciting to visit remote forests or spot rare species. But travelling to distant destinations is carbon-intensive (碳密集的) when flights or long road journeys are involved, and conservation can be made more difficult as well as assisted by sightseers. There is a balance to be struck, and some governments and businesses around the world try to increase the benefits while reducing the harm. Colombia, for example, recently introduced laws aimed at promoting sustainable tourism. Based on this, its economy got prosperous (繁荣的) as well as the tourism.
Most of us understand better than ever that there are costs as well as benefits associated with exploring. One of the commitments made by an environmental campaign launched last month, “The Jump”, is to “holiday local”, taking short flights once every 3 years and long flights very rarely. Fortunately, the UK’s 15 national parks, 86 areas of outstanding natural beauty, and countless other landscapes that are without formal status, but still beloved, mean that there is no shortage of special places for domestic nature tourists to visit, while a lot of European beauty spots are accessible by rail.
One recent survey found that Windsor Great Park and Kew have become Britain’s most popular attractions. Visitor numbers at wildlife trusts are high, with waiting lists for beaver-spotting. Some companies that formerly ran foreign trips have adapted to the pandemic by taking people to watch dolphins and other marine life off British coasts instead.
As we face an environmental emergency that grows ever more dangerous, it is essential to develop appreciation for nature that surrounds us. In a small way, holiday outings to watch dragonflies, kingfishers or seals, or be surrounded by trees that are coming into leaf, could help us to focus on what matters.
1. Why are the lists of Seven Wonders mentioned?| A．To bring natural wonders into focus. |
| B．To show changes in architectural styles. |
| C．To reveal the rising popularity of tourism. |
| D．To compare historic and modern structures. |
| A．It made efforts to conserve rare species. |
| B．It banned sightseers from going to remote forests. |
| C．It introduced laws to increase the income of tourism. |
| D．It tried to make its tourism develop healthily and stably. |
| A．Relaxed. | B．Doubtful. | C．Critical. | D．Optimistic. |
| A．Nature tourism: “travel local” |
| B．Discovery of European beauty spots |
| C．International tourism: wait before setting out |
| D．Sightseeing leads to environmental emergency |
【推荐3】Perhaps now so more than ever, it's important to take time to appreciate the beauty of our natural world. In the US, all you have to do is turn to the national parks for inspiration.
Not only do these parks offer hiking, camping and wildlife-spotting service, but they each have interesting stories to tell that make them truly unique from others designated by the National Park Service. Just check it out for yourself with these fun, fascinating facts about each national park.
Acadia
Location ： Maine
Size ： 65 square miles
Fact： Sprawling across Mount Desert Island, off the coast of eastern Maine, Acadia became the first national park east of the Mississippi River in 1929 and, today3 is still the only national park in the northeast.
American Samoa
Location ： South Pacific
Size： 21 square miles
Fact ： Located outside of the continental US, the American Samoa territory is spread out across three islands and happens to be the country's only national park in the southern hemisphere.
Arches
Location ： Utah
Size ： 119 square miles
Fact： There are more than 2,000 natural rock arches in （the appropriately named） Arches National Park, which is the biggest concentration of formations in the country.
Badlands
Location ： South Dakota
Size ： 379 square miles
Fact： At Badlands National Park, in the vast plains of South Dakota, visitors can witness a geological wonder； The rocks here are still eroding（被侵蚀）at a rate of 1 inch per year, which is a rapid rate for rocks, according to the National Park Service.
Big Bend
Location ： Texas
Size ： 1,252 square miles
Fact： At remote Big Bend National Park, geological history runs deep： Hundreds of millions of years ago, two inland seas flowed through the region, and as a result, there are thick stores of limestone and shale （页岩）throughout the park.
1. In all the national parks mentioned, visitors can experience the following except____.| A．hiking | B．swimming | C．camping | D．wildlife-spotting |
| A．Acadia | B．Arches | C．American Samoa | D．Badlands |
| A．It has ever-changing rocks. |
| B．It has large amount of limestone. |
| C．It is the only national park in the northeast. |
| D．It has a history of hundred of million years. |
【推荐1】I got my first bike when I was nine years old. Jimmy, the bike, was my first love. I rode it everywhere. The suburb, the back lanes, the fields and forests, the river paths and swampland were far more exciting than any adventure novel or television series.
There’s nothing quite like the relationship between a child and his bicycle and the endless happiness two wheels and a pair of strong legs offer. No video or computer game can replace the liberation of being alone on a bicycle.
As parents, to deny children the simple pleasure of riding a bike is a failure of our responsibilities to raise independent and stable young citizens. We should offer our children a healthy alternative to hours in front of an addictive screen. Studies have shown that cycling promotes not only muscle growth but brain growth. Guess which country has children with the best mental health outcomes and is regularly the top of listings of the happiest young people. No surprise it’s the Netherlands, the unquestioned leader among industrial countries in encouraging bicycle use.
Our dependence on cars has degraded the public transport system, polluted our sky, led to the untimely death of thousands every year, and denied children safe access to their suburbs. A recent study found that 69% of children were accompanied to school. The same study found that a similar number of parents drove to work.
In some regions of Japan, when children start their first year of school, parents are expected to walk with them for the first few weeks, introducing them to residents and shopkeepers along the chosen route, letting the community take care of these children. However, driving children to school is proscribed. Children can choose to ride a bike or walk to school after they are familiar with the community, and it’s the community’s role to keep them safe.
Therefore, I strongly advise the government to provide better infrastructure (基础设施). Build separated cycle lanes, decrease speed limits, and design street scapes that favour people over cars. The results will be less pollution, quieter suburbs, a healthier population and, best of all, happy and independent children.
1. What can we infer about the author from the text?| A．He was addicted to computer games. |
| B．He liked taking adventurous trips in nature. |
| C．He had great fun exploring the outside by cycling. |
| D．He got his first birthday present at the age of nine. |
| A．To introduce his good way of raising independent children. |
| B．To illustrate the great influence riding has on mental health. |
| C．To stress the importance of being physically and mentally healthy. |
| D．To explain cycling does best in city development in the Netherlands. |
| A．Recommended. | B．Protected. | C．Delayed. | D．Forbidden. |
| A．By analyzing causes. | B．By listing examples. |
| C．By giving definitions. | D．By analyzing scientific data. |
【推荐2】Metro Pocket Guide
Metrorail（地铁）
Each passenger needs a farecard to enter and go out. Up to two children under age five may travel free with a paying customer.
Farecard machines are in every station. Bring small bills because there are no change machines in the stations and farecard machines only provide up to $5 in change.
Get one day of unlimited Metrorail rides with a One Day Pass. Buy it from a farecard machine in Metro stations. Use it after 9: 30 a.m. until closing on weekdays, and all day on weekends and holidays.
Hours of Service
Open: 5 a m. Mon - Fri. 7 a.m. Sat - Sun.
Close: midnight Sun -Thur. 3 a.m. Fri -Sat nights
Last train times vary. To avoid missing the last trai, blease check the last train times posted in stations.
Metrobus
When paying with exact change, the fare is $1.35. When paying with a 
card, the fare is $1.25.
Fares for senior/disabled customers
Senior citizens 65 and older and disabled customers may ride for half the regular fare. On Metrorail and Metrobus, use a senior/disabled farecard or 
card. For more information about buying senior/disabled farecards, cards and passes, please visit MetroOpensDoors,com or call 202-637-7000 and 202-637-8000.
Senior citizens and disabled customers can get free guide on how to use proper Metrobus and Metrorail services by calling 202-962-1100.
Travel tips
•Avoid riding during weekday rush periods—before 9: 30 a.m. and between 4 and 6 p.m.
•If you lose something on a bus or train or in a station, please call Lost &Found at 202-962-1195.
1. Children under age five can have free Metrorail rides________.| A．with a farecard | B．with a One Day Pass |
| C．with someone who has paid for the ride | D．with one of customers |
| A．They start selling tickets at 9:30 a.m. |
| B．They are connected to change machines. |
| C．They offer special service to the elderly. |
| D．They make change for no more than $5. |
| A．at any time | B．after 3:30 a.m. |
| C．before 5 a.m. from Mon. to Fri. | D．all day on the weekend |
| A．At 5 a.m. | B．At 7 a.m. |
| C．At midnight | D．At 6 p.m. |
cards pay for Metrobus rides?| A．$2.5. | B．$2.7. |
| C．$1.35. | D．$1.25. |
| A．202-962-1100 | B．202-962-1195 |
| C．202-637-7000 | D．202-637-8000 |
【推荐3】For those who make journeys across the world, the speed of travel today has turned the countries into a series of villages. Distances between them appear no greater to a modern traveler than those which once faced men as they walked from village to village. Jet plane fly people from one end of the earth to the other, allowing them a freedom of movement undreamt of a hundred years ago.
Yet some people wonder if the revolution in travel has gone too far. A price has been paid, they say, for the conquest (征服) of time and distance. Travel is something to be enjoyed, not endured (忍受). The boat offers leisure and time enough to appreciate the ever-changing sights and sounds of a journey. A journey by train also has a special charm about it. Lakes and forests and wild, open plains sweeping past your carriage window create a grand view in which time and distance mean nothing. On board a plane, however, there is just the blank blue of the sky flying the narrow window of the airplane. The soft lighting, in-flight films and gentle music make up the only world you know, and the hours progress slowly.
Then there is the time that is spent being “processed” at a modern airport. People are conveyed (运输) like robots along walkways; baggage is weighed, tickets produced, examined and produced yet again before the passenger move again to another waiting area. Journeys by rail and sea take longer, yes, but the hours that are devoted to being “processed” at departure and arrival in airports are luckily absent. No wonder, then, that the modern high-speed trains are winning back passengers from the airlines.
Man, however, is now a world traveler and cannot turn his back on the airplane. The working lives of too many people depend upon it; whole new industries have been built around its design and operation. The holiday maker, too, with limited time to spend, patiently endures the busy airports and limited space of the flight to gain those extra hours and even days, relaxing in the sun. Speed controls people’s lives; time saved, in work or play, is the important thing—or so we are told. Perhaps those first horsemen, riding free across the wild, open plains, were enjoying a better world than the one we know today. They could travel at will, and the clock was not their master.
1. What does the author try to express in Paragraph 1?| A．Travel by plane has speeded up the growth of villages. |
| B．The speed of modern travel has made distances relatively short. |
| C．The freedom of movement has helped people realize their dreams. |
| D．Man has been fond of travelling rather than staying in one place. |
| A．Because they pay less for the tickets. |
| B．Because they feel safer during the travel. |
| C．Because they can enjoy higher speed of travel. |
| D．Because they don’t have to waste time being “processed”. |
| A．They would enjoy free and relaxing travel. | B．They needed the clock to tell the time. |
| C．They preferred travelling on horseback. | D．They could travel with their master. |
| A．Air travel benefits people and industries. |
| B．Train travel has some advantages over air travel. |
| C．Great changes have taken place in modern travel. |
| D．The high speed of air travel is gained at a cost. |
