【推荐2】SHORTLIST OF LONDON'S BEST

If you have limited visiting time we recommend you follow this list.

1) Houses of Parliament. The guided tours of the Houses of Parliament are excellent, in any language you want, and get you to places that even normal Brits can't. However, when Parliament is sitting, they are not running, but you can still get in.

2) Hampton Court. We rate this as one of the best attractions in Europe. A whole succession of kings and queens have added to Henry VIII’s original palace. There lie a fantastic park (by Capability Brown) and gardens (including the famous maze), and Tudor kitchens and one of the last remaining Real Tennis courts. Lots of free (once you've paid the admission) guided tours, some in costume, by people who know and love the place. It's also surrounded by   a series of parks and makes a great destination for a bike trip — train out (30 minutes from Waterloo), bike back (12 miles) along the river. We prefer it to the Tower of London — you'll probably want to visit both, it knocks the spots off Buckingham Palace.

3) The River. Walk along the South Bank from Tower Bridge to Lambeth. The best of London is spread out for you: The Tower of London & Tower Bridge, The Houses of Parliament, Lambeth Palace (residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury), Shakespeare's Globe theatre, Both Tate Galleries, St Paul's Cathedral, The South Bank Centre, The Temple, The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Somerset House. (A 2 hour walk if you don't stop for long). Or you can take a boat out to Greenwich, the Thames Barrier or the Dome.

4) Westminster Abbey. Where they crown Kings. An unreasonable admission charge (should really be free or voluntary donation), but a masterpiece anyway. If you get bored of waiting in the queue, or packed down by the crowds, hurry yourself off to the City where there's more square space of historic church, and empty.

5) The Theatre. It'd be a crime to visit London and not take in a show. Londoners have been passionate about theatre for centuries. Not only is the quality high, but the price is low - one third the price of Broadway. Classical Music and Opera is of a similarly high standard and low price.

1. A foreign student studying the history of British Royal Family would most probably prefer the tour of _______.

A．Westminster Abbey

B．Tower Bridge

C．Somerset House

D．Hampton Court

2. The underlined statement “when Parliament is sitting” in paragraph 2 refers to the time _______.

A．when the Parliament is not officially in session.

B．when the members of Parliament are debating over a hot issue.

C．when the Parliament is staying idle for repairs.

D．when the members of Parliament are taking a break after some exercise

3. Where do you think one can probably meet with a man as a guide wearing the eighteenth century royal clothing?

A．In Lambeth Palace.

B．In Buckingham Palace.

C．In Hampton Court.

D．St Paul’s Cathedral.

4. Part of the reasons why Londoners are fond of theatre is that they enjoy _______.

A．the criminal drama plots

B．the inexpensive admission

C．the Classical Music and Opera

D．the scene of Shakespeare’s Globe theatre

【推荐3】Stargazers can visit famous dark-sky parks in the world and enjoy unpolluted views of night skies. Let's take a deeper dive into what you'll see at the dark-sky parks.

Joshua Tree National Park, California

Joshua Tree National Park is a popular attraction for stargazers living on the west coast. Despite being influenced by light pollution on its western borders from Coachella Valley cities, its relative isolation from major cities in the east(with Phoenix being the closest city area some 300 miles away), provides it with some of the darkest skies in California.

Elqui Valley, Chile

A popular wine region centered on the Elqui River in northern Chile, the Elqui Valley also offers ideal conditions(high-altitude, low-population, limited cloud cover) for uncorking a bottle and toasting the heavens above. Spanning some 90,000 acres, the region has the distinction of being named the first-ever Dark Sky Sanctuary by the International Astronomical Union in 2015.

It's also home to nearly a dozen observatories, boutique stargazing hotels and a large variety of tours that cover both cosmic and daytime spectacles.

Wadi Rum, Jordan

One of Jordan's most valuable tourist destinations, Wadi Rum is an otherworldly mountain desert featuring dramatic rock formations and wind-swept rust-colored dunes. Wadi Rum is an incredible landscape too (used for a lot of sci-fi movies like Rogue One, Prometheus and The Martian) and it's one of the dark places where you can just sit and look up at the wonder of the night sky with very little interruption.

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, America

It's no surprise that Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve has been building a reputation for good night sky viewing. The dry air, high elevation, and lack of light pollution all make the park an ideal dark-sky destination.

The Sangre de Cristo Mountains block much of the sky glow coming from nearby cities, shrouding(遮蔽，笼罩)the park-with its 149,164 acres of dunes, wetlands, grasslands, forests and alpine tundra-in darkness.

1. What do we know about Joshua Tree National Park?

A．It is relatively separated from major cities.

B．It is the first dark sky park in the world.

C．It is affected by no light pollution.

D．It is named as the darkest sky in the world.

2. What helps prevent Great Sand Dunes from light?

A．The wetlands.	B．The sand dune.
C．The forests.	D．The mountains.

3. Who are the intended readers of the text?

A．Park goers.	B．Space explorers.
C．Star observers.	D．Adventurous campers.

【推荐2】When we’re in trouble, we always turn to our parents for help. But would you like them to hear the conversations you have with your friends on the school playground or lunch queue? Social networking sites have become extensions (延伸) of the school hallways, so would you add your parents as “friends” and allow them to view your online activities and conversations with friends?

In the past the generation gap included a technology gap, where children were up to date with the latest technology and parents were left behind, content to continue their day-to-day lives as they always had because they had no need to know more about technology. However, more and more parents are beginning to realize just how important social networks are in their lives. This realization has given many parents the motivation (动机) to educate themselves about social networking sites.

These days many people are attracted to social networking sites because they can choose who they have around them, there’s also a certain amount of control over privacy (隐私) that we don’t get in real life. Sometimes we feel that privacy is violated (违背) when we must accept a “friend” request from a parent or family member.

It’s a difficult choice whether or not to allow a parent to become a part of our online lives. On the one hand we don’t want to “refuse” their request because that might hurt their feelings or make them feel you have something to hide. On the other hand if you do accept, then you could have a sense of being watched and no longer feel free to comment or communicate the way you did before.

A recent survey suggested that parents shouldn’t take it personally if their children overlook (忽略) their requests. When a teenager overlooks a parent’s friend request, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he is hiding something, but it could mean that this is one part of his life where he wants to be independent.

Perhaps talking with parents and explaining would help soften the blow if you do choose not to add them to your friend list.

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Privacy online.	B．Parents’ friend requests.
C．The generation gap.	D．Social networks.

2. What can we infer from Paragraph 2?

A．Parents have realized the importance of social networks.

B．Parents feel secure about their privacy online.

C．Social networks successfully fill the generation gap.

D．Social networks offer a chance for parents to communicate.

3. What maybe the reason for teenagers to refuse a parent’s friend request?

A．Their parents make negative comments on them.

B．They hide something from their parents.

C．They are unwilling to be watched by parents.

D．Their parents tend to fall behind in technology.

4. What does the underlined “that” in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A．Online lives.	B．The difficult choice.
C．Parents’ request.	D．Teenagers’ refusal.

【推荐3】Stopping teens from smoking is a big challenge many communities face today. Many communities can only watch without being able to act while local businesses continue to sell tobacco products to children, even under the risk of punishment by law.
Recent studies show that a large percentage of teens today are getting their cigarettes from stores, mostly gas stations or convenience stores. As teens continue to be able to buy their own cigarettes, more and more communities begin to punish those who sell cigarettes to the teens.
One community has experienced success in their attempts to stop the sale of tobacco products to children. Woodridge, Illinois, started a program seven years ago which forbade and strictly punished the sale of tobacco products to children. The entire program includes local licensing of vendors (小贩), repeated undercover inspections to see if the sale to children has stopped, and education programs in schools. Woodridge has become a model community as other communities are moving to stop teen tobacco use.
A recent national study showed that 36.5% of females, and 40.8% of males buy their cigarettes from stores, whether it is a gas station or a supermarket. Hopefully, as more and more sellers see the trouble they face if caught selling to children, they will stop selling.
True, tightening down on stores that sell tobacco to children isn’t going to completely stop the problem of teen tobacco use. Teens continue to get them from other sources. But it definitely does prevent their efforts. With more education in schools, and perhaps stronger punishments for teens caught with tobacco, more and more teens will see the problems with the tobacco usage, and will stop the habit.
1. To stop teens from smoking, more and more communities are ________.

A．punishing those who sell cigarettes to teens more severely

B．punishing teens caught with tobacco more severely

C．educating those who sell cigarettes about the danger of teen smoking

D．stopping the sale of tobacco products in stores

2. Which of the following is NOT a way Woodridge uses to stop tobacco sale to children?

A．Local licensing to tobacco sale.	B．Repeated undercover inspections.
C．Education programs in schools.	D．Stronger punishment of teens caught smoking.

3. It can be inferred from the passage that _____________.

A．teens can only buy cigarettes from gas stations and convenience stores

B．more communities have succeeded in stopping teen tobacco use

C．More males than females have the habit of smoking in America

D．Punishment alone cannot solve the problem of teen tobacco use

4. What attitude does the writer have towards stopping teen tobacco abuse?

A．Negative

B．Optimistic

C．Uncertain

D．Uncaring

【推荐1】The term “bird brain” is frequently used to describe a person’s lack of intelligence and good decision-making ability. However, some scientists believe it should be considered a compliment (恭维), given that many birds can perform tasks that were once considered uniquely within humans. These include manufacturing and using tools, solving problems. and planning for future needs. Now, Griffin, an African Grey parrot, has proved that birds may even have better visual memories than human adults and children.

The study, led by Hrag Pailian, a postdoctoral (博士后)fellow at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, had the parrot compete in the shell game against twenty-one undergraduate students and twenty-one 6-to-8-year-old children. For those not familiar, the popular challenge involves hiding a small object under one of three, or more, upturned cups or nutshells, which are moved around. Participants are required to accurately identify the cup or nutshell under which the object lies.

The Harvard team began by placing different-colored pom-poms (绒球)under four cups and moving them randomly around. To make the task more challenging, the researchers required participants to track two, three, and four pom-poms at the same time. The cup positions were moved between zero to four times far each of the combinations. Griffin and the undergraduate students conducted 120 tests, while the children did 36.

An analysis of the results showed that Griffin outperformed the 6-to-8-year-olds across all levels on average. Even more impressive, the “bird brain” performed as well as, or slightly better than, the 21 Harvard students on 12 of the 14 trials! It was only in the final two tests, which had the most pom-poms and most movement, that the parrot lagged behind the adults. However, Griffin’s performance never dipped below that of the children. “Think about it: Grey parrot outperforms Harvard undergraduates. That’s pretty awesome.” said a delighted Pailian.

1. What is a person with “bird brain” usually like?

A．Clever.	B．Stupid.
C．Unique.	D．Active.

2. What do we know about the test?

A．Easy.	B．Normal.
C．Complex.	D．Accurate.

3. Which of the following words can be used to replace “outperformed”?

A．did better than	B．did as good as
C．did worse than	D．did as bad as

4. Who has better visual memory?

A．The undergraduate.	B．The child.
C．The postdoctoral fellow.	D．The grey parrot.

【推荐2】I must have always known reading was very important because the first memories I have as a child deal with books. There was not one night that I don’t remember mom reading me a storybook by my bedside. I was extremely inspired by the wonderful way the words sounded.

I always wanted to know what my mom was reading. Hearing mom say, “I can’t believe what’s printed in the newspaper this morning,” made me want to grab it out of her hands and read it myself. I wanted to be like my mom and know all of the things she knew. So I carried around a book, and each night, just to be like her, I would pretend to be reading.

This is how everyone learned to read. We would start off with sentences, then paragraphs, and then stories. It seemed an unending journey, but even as a six-year-old girl I realized that knowing how to read could open many doors. When mom said, “The C-A-N-D-Y is hidden on the top shelf,” I knew where the candy was. My progress in reading raised my curiosity, and I wanted to know everything. I often found myself telling my mom to drive more slowly, so that I could read all of the road signs we passed.

Most of my reading through primary, middle and high school was factual reading. I read for knowledge, and to make A’s on my tests. Sometimes, I would read a novel that was assigned, but I didn’t enjoy this type of reading. I liked facts, things that are concrete. I thought anything abstract left too much room for argument.

Now that I’m growing and the world I once knew as being so simple is becoming more complex, I find myself needing a way to escape. By opening a novel, I can leave behind my burdens and enter into a wonderful and mysterious world where I am now a new character. In these worlds I can become anyone. I don’t have to write down what happened or what technique the author was using when he or she wrote this. I just read to relax.

We’re taught to read because it’s necessary for much of human understanding. Reading is an important part of my life. Reading satisfies my desire to keep learning. And I’ve found that the possibilities that lie within books are limitless.

1. Why did the author want to grab the newspaper out of mom’s hands？

A．She wanted mom to read the news to her.

B．She couldn’t wait to tear the newspaper apart.

C．She couldn’t help but stop mom from reading.

D．She was eager to know what had happened.

2. According to Paragraph 3, the author’s reading of road signs shows___________.

A．her own way to find herself

B．her eagerness to develop her reading ability

C．her growing desire to know the world around her

D．her effort to remind mom to obey traffic rules

3. The author takes novel reading as a way to___________.

A．explore a mysterious land

B．develop an interest in learning

C．get away from a confusing world

D．learn about the adult world

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

A．The Pleasure of Reading	B．Growing Up with Reading
C．The Magic of Reading	D．Reading Makes a Full Man

【推荐3】Last summer, more than 12,000 fans packed London's Wembley Arena. Thousands more watched online. They shouted and cheered. Were they watching soccer? No, they were watching esports, or competitive PC gaming.

Millions of people in the United Kingdom play PC games for fun. Some of them have become professionals, playing games as their full-time job. The prize at the Wembley event totaled 3 million pounds.

It's not easy being a professional gamer, though. They practice for 10 or more hours a day, five or six days a week. They do exercises like typing something and then trying to type it faster and faster. They also study videos of other players and plan ways to beat them.

Many people who play games also enjoy watching them. They often watch games on video sites like Twitch and YouTube, and in the UK there's even a TV channel showing esports 24 hours a day. Matches can be exciting to watch. Just like in other sports, there are close games, last-minute victories and creative strategies. Sometimes online viewers can interact with the players through instant messaging. For example, some pros (支持者) rename characters in the game with the names of their biggest supporters.

But are esports really sports? Are the players athletes? It's easy to say, ''No way. '' After all, professional gamers don't need to run, jump or throw a ball. At the moment, the UK government classifies esports as a kind of game, not as a sport.

But many people think that esports are sports. They say that players do need physical skills, especially hand-eye coordination, quick reflexes (反应能力), accuracy and timing. If darts (掷镖游戏) and snooker (斯诺克) are classified as sports, then perhaps esports should be too. In fact, the governments of China and South Korea do classify esports as sports, and pro gamers will soon be able to compete for medals at the 2022 Asian Games.

For many esports fans and players, though, the most important thing is that esports are growing in popularity and prestige (声望). If esports are not important at the moment, they probably will be soon.

1. What are the first four paragraphs mainly about?

A．The fun of playing esports.

B．The popularity of esports in the UK.

C．How to start a career as a professional esports gamer.

D．How esports are different from traditional sports.

2. According to the text, why do some people believe esports are sports?

A．It takes players time and energy to learn them.

B．They excite people as much as other sports do.

C．They share rules and strategies with other sports.

D．Players need to develop physical skills to perform well.

3. What is the author's attitude toward the future of esports?

A．Optimistic.	B．Negative.
C．Doubtful.	D．Unconcerned.

【推荐1】DEAR Daughter,
We have not seen you for a while now, so I thought we might check in. Did you fall off the edge of the Earth? Your mother worries, you know, and I am just curious. Well, I am more than curious. I feel abandoned.
Apparently you’ve dumped us for your career. I can understand that, because you’ve always had a wonderful work ethic (道德).
Look, obviously your long absence has confused us. As we go about our daily routines, your mother and I are distracted – both by your absence and our pride in your career. The other day, I entered my work password into the microwave, then stood there cursing it for not working. And I was so off my game (状态差) that I actually used that cholesterol-free mayo (不含胆固醇的蛋黄酱) your mother insisted on buying in an effort to drive me from the house.
Listen, a lot has happened since you’ve been away. Abraham Lincoln was shot. We had two more children – a princess, now 23; a boy, now 12.
Yesterday I bought a very clean 2001 Camaro car from an older woman. Your mother is not happy about this. She says it is the kind of muscle car driven by ex-convicts (有犯罪前科的人) when they examine your house at 2 am.
In response, I tell her it was the car of my dreams (when I was 18). So that’s where your long absence has left us. Your long absence is not so bad, though we miss your roaring laughter ... the way your cheeks flush (晕红) when you eat Thai food. How you always march too hard into the house, like a Scotsman stepping on snakes.
Each evening, your mother now waits by the window the way she did when you used to step off the bus in first grade, your hair full of rubber bands.
Bet that drove you crazy even then, her running out on the porch (门廊) like you’d just returned from a month-long journey to the moon.
Look, parents are not easy people.
But should the urge ever hit you, feel free to stop by some time. Our house is your house. Our hearts are yours too.
And your mother is still waiting by the window.
Love, Dad
1. The author entered his work password into the microwave because __________.

A．all kinds of passwords made him confused

B．he was thinking too much about his work

C．he was affected by his daughter’s long absence

D．he was getting old and he had forgotten how to use the microwave

2. The author describes his and his wife’s current situation by __________.

A．comparing the past and present

B．talking about history and his dream

C．listing changes they have made to their routines

D．detailing strange things they have started doing

3. With the last six paragraphs, the author is trying to __________.

A．describe what kind of person his daughter is

B．show how much he and his wife care about their daughter

C．show how annoyed his daughter must feel about her mother

D．remind his daughter of the problems they had

4. From the article, we can conclude that the author is __________.

A．humorous

B．inspiring

C．serious

D．patient

【推荐3】Science is finally beginning to embrace animals who were, for a long time, considered second-class citizens.

As Annie Potts of Canterbury University has noted, chickens distinguish among one hundred chicken faces and recognize familiar individuals even after months of separation. When given problems to solve, they reason: hens trained to pick colored buttons sometimes choose to give up an immediate food reward for a slightly later (and better) one. Healthy hens may aid friends, and mourn when those friends die.

Pigs respond to human symbols. When a research team led by Candace Croney at Penn State University carried wooden blocks marked with X and O symbols around pigs, only the O carriers offered food to the animals. The pigs soon ignored the X carriers in favor of the O’s. Then the team switched from real-life objects to T-shirts printed with X or O symbols. Still, the pigs walked only toward the O-shirted people: they had transferred their knowledge to a two-dimensional format, a not inconsiderable feat of reasoning.

I’ve been guilty of prejudiced expectations, myself. At the start of my career almost four decades ago, I was firmly convinced that monkeys and apes out-think other animals. They’re other primates（灵长目动物）, after all, animals from our own mammalian class. Fairly soon, I came to see that along with our closest living relatives, whales too are masters of cultural learning, and that elephants express profound joy and mourning with their social companions. Long-term studies on these mammals helped to fuel a viewpoint shift in our society: the public no longer so easily accepts monkeys made to undergo painful procedure in laboratories, elephants forced to perform in circuses, and dolphins kept in small tanks at theme parks.

Over time, though, as I began to broaden out even further and explore the inner lives of fish, chickens, pigs, goats, and cows, 1 started to wonder: Will the new science of “food animals” bring an ethical (伦理的) revolution in terms of who we eat? In other words, will our ethics start to catch up with the development of our science?

1. According to Annie Potts, hens’ choice of a later and better reward indicates their ability of ______.

A．interaction

B．analysis

C．creation

D．abstraction

2. The research into pigs shows that pigs ______.

A．learn letter quickly	B．have good eyesight
C．can build up a good relationship	D．can apply knowledge to new situations

3. What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．The similarities between mammals and humans.

B．The necessity of long-term studies on mammals.

C．A change in people’s attitudes towards animals.

D．A discovery of how mammals express themselves.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．The Lifestyles of Food Animals	B．Science Reports on Food Animals
C．The Inner Lives of Food Animals	D．A Revolution in Food Animals