1 . As the Forbidden City approaches its 600th anniversary next year, a great change has been taking place, with dark and dusty corners of the palace brought back to their former glory for all to see. As recently as 2012, only 30 percent of the vast palace was open to the public. Now, 80 percent is accessible ― quickly filling with exhibition spaces, stylish restaurants and cafes, bookstores and highly profitable gift stores, as well as quiet walkways. Besides, great walls around it are now mostly open, allowing an overhead view of the grounds.
But even all that new space is not nearly enough to showcase(陈列) the treasures collected over the centuries by emperors. Now the Forbidden City can display only about 30,000 objects at a time, or 2 percent of its total.
By 2022, a new campus in the university district of Haidian, about 18 miles to the northwest, is scheduled to open to the public, a 153-acre area that will have room to show imperial carriages, carpets and regalia (礼服).
The museum staff members have also become more creative in using the space. During a visit, there was a show on how the imperial family celebrated the Chinese New Year, including reproductions of New Year’s couplets written by the Emperor Kang Xi, whose six-decade rule ended in 1722.
The new gift stores, which earned $220 million in sales in 2017, have also lifted their offerings. They once featured little more than key chains and ugly dolls; now, they have reproductions of porcelain (瓷器), textiles (织物) and even furniture.
Lisa Tan, a 38-year-old editor at a Beijing publishing house, said the new shops were attractive because they offered traditional porcelain made by government-recognized masters using traditional methods.
“It’s good that the Forbidden City is taking a lead in keeping these traditional practices alive,” Ms Tan said. “The gift store has even become fashionable in some circles.” And some of the more commercial activities are being limited, including photo studios where people can dress up like an emperor or empress.
Most visitors are still part of package tours that make people travel quickly through the central part of the palace. But taking a slower, more winding path through the Forbidden City is a better way to soak up the history and discover some of its secrets.
1. What’s the great change in the Forbidden City?| A．The great walls around it are open to the public. |
| B．The gift stores are a new visiting spot there. |
| C．It welcomes visitors on a large scale. |
| D．The new space is mainly for displaying treasures. |
| A．They bring in huge profits. |
| B．They focus on key chains and dolls. |
| C．They sell reproductions of furniture. |
| D．They offer a good variety of traditional items. |
| A．They create some quiet walkways. |
| B．They use the space for holding shows. |
| C．They manage the new gift stores successfully. |
| D．They guide visitors to find out history and secrets. |
| A．The Emperor Kang Xi ruled the country for 60 years. |
| B．The district of Haidian covers an area of 153 acres. |
| C．One can explore the Forbidden City fully on package tours. |
| D．About 1,500,000 objects are on display now. |
2 . World Heritage Sites (遗址) You Need to Visit
Los Glaciares National Park
Located in the southwest of Santa Cruz province of the Argentine part of Patagonia in a remote area known as the Austral Andes, Los Glaciares National Park is a heaven of mountains lakes. and countless glaciers ( 冰川) that cover half the 600, 000-hectare expanse. Travelling through this amazing scenery is a once- in-a-lifetime experience.
Jeronimos Monastery
Travel to the Belem district at the entrance to the port of Lisbon to find the Jeronimos Monastery, which dates back to the 15th century. This highly religious building was constructed and donated to the monks (和尚) of Saint Hieronymus to pray for sailors on their voyages. It’s the characteristic of Portuguese Gothic style.
Old Québec
Founded by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain in 1608, Québec is among the oldest settlements in North America and one of the most popular travel destinations in Canada. Centuries-old attraction is on full display in its perfectly preserved historic district, a shining example of a city built by early settlers with stone paths, churches. And landmarks like Chateau Frontenac and Place Royale.
Angkor Wat
Exploring Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia lops our list of unforgettable trips that won’t break the bank. It is part of one of the most significant archaeological (考古的) sites in Southeast Asia in the ancient capital of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 14th century. This great temple complex was originally constructed as a place of showing respect to the god Vishnu and is the largest religious structure on the planet !
1. If you’re interested in natural scenery, which of the four places would you visit?| A．Los Glaciares National Park. | B．Jeronimos Monastery. |
| C．Old Québec. | D．Angkor Wat. |
| A．Old Québce and Angkor Wat. |
| B．Jeronimos Monastery and Old Québec. |
| C．Jeronimos Monastery and Angkor Wat. |
| D．Los Glaciarcs National Park and Jeronimos Monastery. |
| A．Mountain views. | B．Great voyages. |
| C．Gothic style landmarks. | D．Low expenses. |
3 . It’s 2035. You have a job, a family and you're about 40 years old! Welcome to your future life.
Getting ready for work, you pause in front of the mirror.
“Turn red,” you say. Your shirt changes from sky blue to deep red. Tiny preprogrammed electronics( 智能电子元件)are rear-ranged in your shirt to change its color. Looking into the mirror you find it hard to believe you’re 40. You look much younger.
With amazing advances in medicine, people in your generation may live to be 150 years old. You’re not even middle-aged! As you go into the kitchen and prepare to pour your breakfast cereal into a bowl, you hear, “To lose weight, you shouldn’t eat that.” from your shoes. They read the tiny electronic code( 电子源码)on the cereal box to find out the nutrition details. You decide to listen to your shoes. “Kitchen, what can I have for breakfast?” A list of possible foods appears on the counter as the kitchen checks its food supplies.
“Ready for your trip to space?” you ask your son and daughter. In 2005 only specially trained astronauts went into space and very few of them. Today anyone can go to space for day trips or longer vacations. Your best friend even works in space. Handing your children three strawberries each, you add, “The doctor said you need these for space travel. “ Thanks to medical advances, vaccination shots(防疫针)are a thing of the past. Ordinary foods contain specific vaccines. With the berries in their mouths, the kids head for the front door.
It’s time for you to go to work. Your car checks your fingerprints and unlocks the doors. “My office. Autopilot! “ you command. Your car drives itself down the road and moves smoothly into traffic on the highway. You sit back and unroll your e-newspaper. The latest news downloads and fills the viewer. Looking through the pages, you watch the news as video films rather than read it.
1. What changes the color of your shirt?| A．The mirror | B．The medicine | C．The counter | D．The shirt itself |
| A．By pouring the breakfast into a bowl |
| B．By checking the nutrition details of the food |
| C．By testing the food supplies in the kitchen |
| D．By listening to the doctor's advice |
| A．vaccines | B．lunch | C．breakfast | D．nutrition |
| A．In order of preference |
| B．In order of appearance |
| C．In order of time |
| D．In order of importance |
4 . An earthquake is one of the most common natural disasters. It may cause great damage. So it is wise to learn some simple safety tips to protect yourself or your family members.
Fragile items like those made of glass are easily broken and should usually be placed on a lower surface, near the ground instead of placing them in the cupboards higher up. Never place them near your bed, sofas and other furniture where you would be sitting or lying down. When there is a strong movement, these pieces will fall on the floor directly and not on you.
There is a strong chance of short circuits (短路) and fire during an earthquake. Make sure you turn off electrical connections and gas immediately when an earthquake happens.
During an earthquake, lie beneath an object that is not easily damaged. Do not go near objects that could directly fall on you. Never use the elevator to go down. Stay inside until the shaking stops and it is safe to go outside. Research has shown that most injuries happen when people inside buildings try to go out. Use the staircases at all times.
If you are outdoors, do not take shelter under a tree, streetlights, electric poles or tall buildings. If you are driving, stop your car and stay in a safe place. Do not park your car under a tree or any tall object.
If trapped in debris (瓦砾堆), cover your mouth with a handkerchief or clothing. Tap on a pipe or the wall so that rescuers can find you. Use a whistle (哨子) if one is able to get. Never shout for help. Shouting can cause you to breathe in dangerous amounts of dust. Do not light a match(火柴) because you may burn yourself. Do not move about or kick up dust.
1. The purpose of the passage is to tell readers__________.| A．the damage caused by earthquakes | B．the rescue work after earthquakes |
| C．how to prevent earthquakes | D．what to do about earthquakes |
| A．Easily found | B．Easily broken |
| C．Expensive | D．Heavy |
| A．go out of the building at once | B．drive to a safe place quickly |
| C．take shelter under a tree | D．turn off electricity and gas immediately |
| A．shout for help aloud. |
| B．cover your mouth with a handkerchief or clothing. |
| C．tap on a pipe or the wall hard so that rescuers can find you. |
| D．use a whistle if possible. |
5 . Each year, about 7 million tons of trash (垃圾) is found in the ocean. This trash consists of cigarette ends, medical waste, plastic, mile-long nets, etc... Those items of trash choke (窒息) many species of ocean life so quickly that they eventually become extinct. Ocean pollution harms the earth and animals, and we should stop the problem.
Some other causes of ocean pollution are waste, poisonous chemicals, and the biggest cause is littering (乱丢垃圾). How do these items end up in the ocean? Waste flows through rivers and drains (下水道) directly to the ocean, so ocean pollution continues to step up. The estimated amount of ocean pollution that floated in the sea in 2012 was 288 million tons. This huge number continues to increase by 4% each year. That means 11, 520, 000 tons of trash increase each year. Imagine the future of our ocean. Will there be any room to swim? Also 80% of the ocean is composed of plastic: plastic bottles, plastic bags, and some plastic toys.
How can ocean pollution be solved? Use fabric bags instead of plastic bags. This would reduce the plastic pollution in the ocean. Also for the waste water problem, we could use waste water treatment system. Lastly using renewable energy sources such as wind power or solar power would limit offshore drilling.
If we don’t stop the causes of ocean pollution, water temperatures will continue to rise and ocean life will become endangered. Please be mindful that what we do affects the people around us, the animals around us, and the habitats around us. So will you pay attention to this problem or wait for the next generation to?
1. What leads to the ocean pollution worst?| A．Cigarette ends. | B．Littering. |
| C．Medical waste. | D．Plastic. |
| A．3 | B．4 |
| C．5 | D．6 |
| A．To introduce what’s ocean pollution. |
| B．To make a survey about ocean pollution. |
| C．To make us know more about ocean pollution. |
| D．To call on everyone to fight against ocean pollution. |
| A．The Seriousness of Ocean Pollution |
| B．The Solutions to Ocean Pollution |
| C．The Causes of Ocean Pollution |
| D．The Sorts of Ocean Pollution |
6 . Will people remember less with Internet users becoming more and more dependent on the Internet to store information? If you know your computer will save information, why do you store it in your own personal memory, your brain?
Professor Betsy Sparrow, together with her research team, has carried out some experiments in a recent study, wanting to know how the Internet is changing memory. In the first experiment, they offered people 40 unimportant facts to type into a computer. The first group of people understood that the computer would save the information. The second group understood that the computer would not save it. Later, the second group remembered the information better. People in the first group knew they could find the information again, so they did not try to remember it.
In another experiment, the researchers gave people facts to remember, and told them where to find the information on the computer. The information was in a specific computer folder( 文 件 夹 ). Surprisingly, people later remembered the folder locations better than the facts. When people use the Internet, they do not remember the information. Rather, they remember how to find it. This is called “transactive memory(交互记忆)”.
According to Sparrow, we are not becoming people with poor memories as a result of the Internet.
Instead, computer users are developing stronger transactive memories; that is, people are learning how to organize huge quantities of information so that they are able to access it at a later date. This doesn’t mean we are becoming either more or less intelligent, but there is no doubt that the way we use memory is changing.
1. Why does the text begin with two questions?| A．To make a comparison. | B．To introduce the main topic. |
| C．To show the author’s attitude. | D．To list some examples. |
| A．The Sparrow’s team typed the information into a computer. |
| B．The two groups remembered the information equally well. |
| C．The first group did not try to remember the information. |
| D．The second group did not understand the information. |
| A．They remember how to find the information. |
| B．They organize information like a computer. |
| C．They change the quantity of information. |
| D．They bear the information in mind. |
| A．Negative. | B．Passive. | C．Objective. | D．Doubtful. |
7 . Share with us!
Would you like to have your writing published in this magazine? Then let us know! We pay for stories, anecdotes and jokes.
Anecdotes and jokes $50
What’s made you laugh recently? A funny sign? A colleague’s behaviour? Got a joke? Send it in for Laughter is the Best Medicine!
Email: juliet@sws. com
Smart Animals Up to $100
Send us a tale about the strange behaviour of unique pets or wildlife in up to 300 words. Email: audrey@sws. com
Power of Love Up to $150
Acts of generosity can change lives or just give you that warm feeling full of love. Share your moments in 100-500 words.
Email: susan@sws. com
My Story $350
Do you have an inspiring or life-changing story to tell? Your story must be true, unpublished, original and 800-1000 words.
Email: nanjc@sws. com
For more information, please visit: http://www.sws.com/share
1. If you want to share a story of your pets with the readers, you need to send it to .| A．Anecdotes and Jokes. | B．Smart Animals. |
| C．Power of Love. | D．My Story. |
| A．juliet@sws. com. | B．nanjc@sws. com. |
| C．audrey@sws. com. | D．susan@sws. com. |
| A．describe strange behaviour. | B．include less than 800 words. |
| C．be published before. | D．be real and original. |
8 . When I was reading a post about taking someone to the movies, something happened a couple of years ago suddenly hit me.
I used to drink Cokes and they had a competition where there was a code inside the bottle cap. You might win something so long as you went to a website and entered the code. I won some free Cokes. But what astonished and delighted me was the Grand Prize I won then.
The Grand Prize was free movies for a year. They pointed out that one movie a week was what free movies for a year meant. All of the tickets were valid(有效的) for one year from the day I received them. So I must use them in the following year. I used quite a few taking friends to movies we all wanted to see.
But the best thing I did with them was that I donated 20 tickets (all I had left by that time) to the local Women’s Transition House, a place where women and children could go when avoiding a bad situation in general and get help to make a new start.
My workplace team had decided to help people in need, so we collected donations for that particular New Year’s Day. I knew that the Women’s Transition House provided some childcare for the women so they could go for job interviews and things like that.
I put those tickets in a box and wrote a note on the outside, asking the Women’s Transition House staff to give movie tickets to women there over the holidays to have some fun to do, with or without their children, which made me really happy.
1. How did the author get the tickets?| A．By visiting a website by chance. | B．By using some Cokes to get them. |
| C．By getting a code at the bottom of a bottle. | D．By winning the prize for drinking Cokes. |
| A．About 22. | B．About 32. | C．About 52. | D．About 365. |
| A．Lucky and caring. | B．Creative and careful. |
| C．Responsible and cheerful. | D．Thankful and generous. |
| A．The roses in their hands, the flavor in mine. |
| B．Good luck favors those who are always ready. |
| C．Actions speak louder than words. |
| D．God helps those who help themselves. |
9 . For those concerned about wrinkles（皱纹）in the skin, it might be a solution: a newly-invented “second skin” that can make aged skin look more youthful.
The wearable film（薄膜）developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (（MIT）) has shown promise in a series of experiments where it was used to wrinkles, under-eye- bags and dry skin.
When used to the face or body, the thin film reduced the appearance of wrinkles and under-eye bags, and helped keep moisture （水分）in dry skin, thus making the skin look like younger.
It is designed to be applied in the morning and removed at night. The "second skin” remained unharmed against normal daily wear, and the stresses of exercise and swimming, without falling off.
“You can rub it from the comer and remove it. But it doesn't do that under normal daily wear. We don't want something that falls off," an MIT researcher said.
While normal make-up can cover imperfection on the skin, the new coating changes the way skin behaves by giving it the moisture of young skin. It was developed with help from two companies: Living Proof a make-up firm, and Olivo Labs, a medical company. With more work, they believe the “second skin"' will be used to cover birthmarks, to protect the face from UV rays, or to treat skin diseases or wounds.
The most impressive results came when the researchers used the film to under-eye bags. By pressing the loose skin, the film improved the appearance of the under-eye bags to a level that had only been achieved before with operations.
1. How does the “second skin" make people look younger?| A．By removing make-up on the skin. | B．By helping the old skin fall off. |
| C．By making the skin less dry. | D．By protecting the face from the sun. |
| A．To mask birthmarks. | B．To treat skin diseases. |
| C．To protect wounds. | D．To better the under-eye bags. |
| A．people can wear the "second skin” on rainy days. |
| B．the "second skin" has been used to treat wounds. |
| C．the "second skin" is designed to fall off by itself at night. |
| D．two medical companies helped develop the "second skin". |
| A．A news report. | B．A science magazine. |
| C．A travel journal. | D．A make-up advertisement. |
10 . Community Service
Join Community Service camp and volunteers will receive 60 hours of community service credit this summer. Decide which community service program is right for you and try to have a lasting influence on other people's lives. Through their work with various non-profit volunteer organizations,
our teen community service volunteers will experience the joy of helping others while having the adventure of a lifetime.
River Preserve
River Preserve is a non-competitive summer camp getting children close to nature, which inspires campers to have a greater understanding of themselves, their environment and their fellow man.
Summer Leadership Camp
Each August, young men from across the country come to Military Academy Summer Leadership Camp to train, compete and learn. The summer camp experience is a rewarding opportunity for young people to learn leadership skills.
English Language Camp
In the camp, teens will build their confidence while also acquiring the basic skills of conversation, vocabulary and grammar. Our class sizes are small, allowing every child to receive the required personal attention from our fully qualified and professional teachers who all have a wealth of experience in coaching children from all over the world.
1. Which camp should a child choose if he likes nature?| A．Community Service. | B．Leadership Camp. |
| C．River Preserve. | D．English Language Camp. |
| A．those who want to be trained to be soldiers. |
| B．young people who want to develop leadership skills. |
| C．young people who want to compete with others. |
| D．those who are not good at expressing themselves. |
| A．competitive | B．brave and strong |
| C．confident | D．loving and caring |
| A．summer camps | B．nature protection |
| C．volunteer service | D．language and skills learning |
