Plan a Palace Museum Trip

The Palace Museum is one of the largest ancient palaces in the world. A visit inside can be both eye-opening and challenging. When planning a Palace Museum trip, consider your schedule and physical endurance. Skip some less important spots if necessary.
Most visitors stick to the central axis. This route takes around two hours. It allows you to visit all of the most popular palaces.

Ticket information

	Ticket price	Hours	Last entry
April 1—October 31	60 yuan	8:30—17:00	16:10
November 1—March 31	40 yuan	8:30—16:30	15:40

*Free for children under 3 years old and disabled visitors.
*The museum is open on Tuesday through Sunday all year round and on national holidays which fall on Mondays.
*The Palace Museum is limiting the daily number of visitors to 80,000. As from October 2, 2017, all visitors must book their tickets online.
More tips for travelers
▲Bring plenty of water if you are visiting during the summer or early autumn. There is little shade inside the Palace Museum.
▲Be sure to wear comfortable shoes.
▲Travelers must enter the Palace Museum at the South Gate the Meridian Gate. After touring the museum, they must exit from the North or East Gate. There is no subway station near these two gates.
▲Jingshan Park is just opposite the North Gate. We advise climbing the hill inside the park to get a bird’s eye view of the Palace Museum.

Word Bank schedule日程安排 endurance耐力 axis轴线 shade阴凉处

1. Why do most visitors prefer the central axis? ________

A．Because it takes the least time to visit all.

B．Because it can make visitors get a bird’s eye view.

C．Because it includes all of the most popular palaces.

D．Because it can be both eye-opening and challenging.

2. The Greens will take their 2-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter to visit the Palace Museum on August 8. How much do they have to pay? ________

A．120 yuan.	B．160 yuan.
C．180 yuan.	D．240 yuan.

3. What can Mr.Li do if he plans to visit the Palace Museum this summer? ________

A．Visiting it without a ticket.

B．Visiting it on Wednesday afternoon.

C．Buying the ticket at the ticket office.

D．Staying in it for more than 9 hours a day.

4. Which of the following tips for travelers is NOT advised according to the passage? ________

A．Travelers must bring plenty of water.

B．Travelers can take the bus after their visit.

C．Travelers should remember to wear comfortable shoes.

D．Travelers must enter the Palace Museum at the North Gate.

5. Where is the passage mainly from? ________

A．A science book.

B．A history book.

C．A guidebook.

D．A textbook.

       

I sat with my friend in a well-known coffee shop in the town of Italy.

As we enjoyed our coffee, a man entered and sat down beside us. He called the waiter over, saying, “Two cups of coffee, one of them there on the wall.”

We heard his order with interest and saw that he was served with one cup of coffee, but he paid for two.

When he left, the waiter put a piece of paper on the wall, saying “A cup of coffee.”

While we were still there, two other men entered and ordered three cups of coffee, two on the table and one on the wall. They had two but paid for three. This time also, which made us feel so curious about what was going on there.

After a few days, we had a chance to enter this coffee shop again. While we were enjoying our coffee, a man who appeared homeless entered. He looked at the wall and said, “One cup of coffee from the wall.”

The waiter served a cup of coffee to this man with respect. The man had his coffee and left without paying. We were amazed to watch all of this as the waiter took off a piece of paper from the wall and threw it into the bin.

Now it was no surprise for us—the matter was very clear. The people of this town showed great respect for those who needed help.

Just think about what this man wanted. He didn’t have to lose his face to ask for a free cup of coffee. Without asking or knowing who was giving him this cup of coffee, he only looked at the wall, put an order, enjoyed his coffee and left.

It’s a truly beautiful thing—probably the most beautiful wall anywhere in the world.

Word Bank respect 尊敬

6. How many cups of coffee did the first man order? ________

A．None.

B．One.

C．Two.

D．Three.

7. What did the waiter do after the homeless person drank his coffee? ________

A．He served him another cup of coffee.

B．He threw a piece of paper from the wall.

C．He was amazed to watch the homeless person.

D．He asked the homeless person to pay for the coffee.

8. What does the word underlined “curious” mean in Paragraph 5? ________

A．兴奋的

B．恼火的

C．好奇的

D．无聊的

9. Why did people in the shop order more than one cup of coffee needed? ________

A．Because they were so rich people.

B．Because they ordered for the waiter.

C．Because they ordered for themselves next time.

D．Because they wanted to leave it to those who needed help.

10. What’s the best title for the text? ________

A．The Person without Home

B．The Coffee from the Wall

C．The Waiter in the Coffee Shop

D．The People in the Town

What will the world of tomorrow look like? Many people today believe that technology is going to help solve some of the most difficult problems we have on the earth today. New technology may solve old problems, and it may also create new ones.___________ Each has advantages and disadvantages, as these three examples.

       When we dream about the future, many of us think that we will be able to fly to the skies in our own personal flying car. We could fly at 480 km per hour, avoiding traffic lights and busy roads. However, there will be problems with traffic control.
       3D printing is another new technology for the future. 3D printers are already used to make life—size models of car parts, and man-made body parts, such as ears. As we move into the future, 3D printing will change the way we make things and the way we treat sick people. The disadvantage is that such a machine is very expensive.
       Finally, people are trying to build a robot suit. This is an electronic suit. It allows people to lift heavy things and walk a long way. It might help people walk again after an illness or an accident. However, one disadvantage at the moment is cost.
       Looking ahead, it is easy to imagine a future. We’ll be able to fly to work, print out a new pair of shoes or lift a car above our heads. Although there are some problems to solve before all of this is possible, we can certainly dream of a world. In this world, technology makes people’s lives easier and safer. It can solve some of the most difficult problems we have today.
11. Which might be the missing sentence in Paragraph 1? ________

A．No technology is perfect.

B．Technology causes lots of problems.

C．We can’t live well without technology.

D．New problems will be solved by technology.

12. What problems may people meet if the flying cars become popular according to Paragraph 2?________

A．More air pollution.

B．Harder traffic control.

C．More traffic lights.

D．Busier roads.

13. What can a robot suit help people do? ________
①Produce electricity.
②Lift heavy things.
③Walk a long way.
④Walk again after an illness.

A．①②③

B．②③④

C．①③④

D．①②④

14. What is the structure (结构) of the text? P:paragraph. ________

A．

B．

C．

D．

15. What does the writer think of new technology? ________

A．He doubts it.

B．He doesn’t mind it.

C．He can’t stand it.

D．He looks forward to it.

In the 13th century, Marco Polo, the world-known Italian traveler, saw many wonderful things in China. One of the things he discovered was money made of paper. People in the West did not have such kind of money until the 15th century.     16    

       Paper was invented by a Chinese man called Cai Lun almost 2000 years ago.     17     Four hundred years later, a German discovered that he could make the best paper from trees. After that, countries rich in forests, Sweden, America, and Finland became the most important ones in paper making.     18     The common uses include newspapers, magazines and books. But do you know that paper can be used for keeping warm? In Finland, the farmers wear paper boots to keep their feet warm in the snow. And even houses can be isolated from heat or cold with paper. However, there will not be any trees left on earth someday in the near future. Every day, people throw away about two 2800 tons of paper in our city.     19     This means that we’re cutting down nearly 48,000 trees every day. The fact is that it takes more than 10 years for a tree to grow.
       So we must start saving paper right now. We can use both sides of every piece of paper. We can make useful things out of used paper.     20     When shopping, we can use fewer paper bags and reuse them if we have some.
       In short, we should keep a balance between using paper and protecting trees, and do it now before it is too late.
根据材料内容，从下面五个选项中选出能填入文中空缺处的最佳选项，使文章意思通顺、内容完整。

Word Bank isolated       隔绝的 balance       平衡

A．Paper can be used in many ways.

B．It takes 17 trees to make one ton of paper.

C．We can use china cups instead of paper ones.

D．But it was not made in Europe until the year 1100.

E．However, the Chinese began to use it in the 7th century.