1 . Like most couples, my husband and I dreamed of becoming homeowners. Sure, apartment living comes with its own set of advantages—less housework, shared comfort, less to clean up and care for, and usually cheaper rent. As a result, we decided to downgrade from our neat five-bedroom, 2,700-square-foot house on the water to a three-bedroom, 1,369-square-foot apartment, with two kids.
Once we arrived in our new apartment, we were surprised to find that things flowed relatively smoothly. There was so much less to keep up with—fewer floors to mop, fewer windows to clean, fewer walls to wipe, etc. Now I think of our home as our little playhouse, since it's much smaller and everything is closer together. That also makes it so much easier for me to keep up with as a mom. I collect laundry all on one floor comparing with having to climb stairs to the house's second floor!
In our new home, we use lots of shoe organizers inside of every closet door for more than just shoes—baby items, office items, and medicines. We also have a functional room that serves as an office and gym. Since both my husband and I work from home, we require at least one room to share as an office with fitness equipment fitted into a corner.
While many people choose to downsize for financial reasons, that actually wasn't a factor in our decision. We wanted to be in a lively area with like-minded young families. That was our first priority. Though we may still buy another house in this area at some point down the line, for now, we're thrilled with the concept of renting an apartment. Let me put it this way: We’re not really the “handy” types, so being able to call maintenance(维修)for any repairs is worth every rent coin!
1. What can we learn from Paragraph 1?| A．Our old house was upgraded. | B．Living in a house has advantages. |
| C．Our new apartment was downsized. | D．Smaller size means more housework. |
| A．Confused. | B．Amazed. | C．Tired. | D．Challenged. |
| A．To build up their body. | B．To create a home office. |
| C．To enlarge all the rooms. | D．To make full use of space. |
| A．Transportation. | B．Neighbourhood. |
| C．Repair work. | D．Money. |
2 . Growing Green Thumbs
Children's Community Garden
2200 Bowling Green Ave.,940/349-2883
www.cmga.com
LEARN:Join the weekend work at the community garden,where caregivers and master gardeners help kids aged 5 or older plant and water new vegetables,and harvest from the gardens. All harvested foods are either sold at the community's farmers' market or donated to the area food bank. The instructors also lead games about nutrition,beetles and butterflies and more. Work begins in May, 10 a. m. - 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
COST:Free
Coppell Community Garden
255 Parkway Blvd,Coppell
www.coppellcommunitygarden.org
LEARN: Kids(aged 6 but not turning 12 before Dec. 31 this year) with a parent can volunteer at either the Helping Hands Garden, 25 Parkway Blvd. or Ground Delivery Garden, 45 S. Denton Tap Road. Children will have the opportunity to till(耕）the ground, plant vegetables, ·harvest from the garden and more. Work begins every Saturday at about 9 a. m.
COST:Free
Callie's Kids by Calloway Nursery
Denton,940/591-8865; Flower Mound,972/691-2650
www.mytexasgarden.com..........
LEARN: Kids aged 5 to 10 years old can explore and plant in the Calloway gardens with a caregiver's supervision at 9:30 a. m. on the first or third Wednesdays from June to August. A garden expert will share tips and advice for the best gardening practices during the 45-minute session beginning on June 2. Preregistration online is required.
COST:Free
1. How is Children's Community Garden different from others?
| A．It is based in Denton. |
| B．Kids may take harvests home. |
| C．It is under supervision throughout the year. |
| D．It will cater to those who are fond of insects. |
| A．5-8. | B．5-10. | C．6-11. | D．6-12. |
| A．A food industry committed to charity.' |
| B．An institution offering learning programs. |
| C．A supermarket offering voluntary programs. |
| D．A website promoting kids' gardening facilities. |
3 . To the book lovers, nothing beats walking through a bookshop and looking at all the covers, picking large heavy books up and turning them over, the smell of ink on paper, conversations with strangers about authors. With the coming of the online book buying and e-books, many have predicted(预测) that the bookstores will disappear. And we’re grateful that there are plenty of beautiful bookstores still out there.
El Ateneo Grand Splendid
Designed for Max Glucksmann, a pioneer of the music and film industries, this wonderful theater space was opened in 1919. The former theater now serves as a flagship store; more than 1 million people visit El Ateneo Grand Splendid every year.
The Book Barge
The Book Barge is a 60-foot canal boat bookshop. Inspired by the Slow Food movement, the operator Sarah Henshaw says, “We hope to help develop a less hurried lifestyle of leisurely (慢悠悠的) pleasures, cups of tea, conversations, culture and something like these.”
Selexyz Dominicanen
For those who regard bookstores with great respect, welcome to Selexyz Dominicanen, which now offers many kinds of books. The big space was used to store bicycles not long ago. But then the building was given interior (内部的) decoration, and the result is really a great surprise.
La Caverne aux Livres
Few things make as romantic a pairing as books and trains. At La Caverne aux Livres in Auvers-sur-Oise, northwestern of Paris, an old postal train station and several train cars have become home to used books for sale. Visitors often spend hours looking at them, surrounded by an atmosphere (氛围) of old letters and dreams of faraway places.
1. What do the book lovers care much about in bookstores?| A．Getting certain experiences. | B．Having many more choices. |
| C．Getting the best service. | D．Finding the latest bestsellers. |
| A．El Ateneo Grand Splendid. | B．La Caverne aux Livres. |
| C．The Book Barge. | D．Selexyz Dominicanen. |
| A．It is set up on a boat. | B．It is a car-themed bookstore. |
| C．Its decoration style is modern. | D．It mainly sells second-hand books. |
4 . People who like travelling have their reasons. They believe that travelling can help them expand their field of view, especially in the geographical and historical sense. They also think that touring will give them more chances to enjoy different kinds of food and experience new things that would never be brought by other activities. But those who dislike travelling also have some reasons.
Travelling, in my opinion, does more good than harm. Most importantly, it broadens our mind. We can get in touch with other civilizations, cultures, customs and ideas.
Through history, most people travelled because of necessity (必要性)---not for pleasure. People travelled just in order to remain alive. They searched for food to eat or places to live in. They sometimes ran away from enemies. This is not to say that no one ever travelled just for the fun of it. In ancient times, for example, rich Romans travelled all the way to Greece to take part in the Olympic Games, and festivals. Of course, some people decided to travel just out of curiosity (好奇心). They wanted to find out what it looked like beyond the horizon (地平线). Also business travel has been going on for centuries. Traders could not only make money but also learn to speak several languages and be introduced to different cultures.
So, travelling does enrich our mind and draw new ideas to us. There is no doubt that we can get much from it.
1. According to the passage, in the past most people travelled________.| A．for fun | B．for knowledge |
| C．to get experiences | D．to make a living |
| A．Three. | B．Four. |
| C．Five. | D．Six. |
| A．expensive | B．funny |
| C．helpful | D．tiring |
5 . If you ever visit an English village, make sure to look out for morris dancing. Undoubtedly one of the strangest traditions of English culture, morris dancing is a form of folk dancing that dates back to the 15th century. If you ever get the opportunity, you really have to see it.
Men and women wearing old-fashioned, shabby（破烂的）clothing dance in the streets of towns and villages across the country during the holiday periods. Women wear long skirts and men wear short trousers with bells attached to them. They dance to traditional folk music which is often played on traditional musical instruments.
Some groups carry heavy black sticks with which they beat against each other while they dance. Other groups wave handkerchiefs in the air while they perform. The dances are usually performed near a pub so that when they’re over, the dancers and audience can sing some traditional folk songs over beer. The celebrations will often continue long into the night.
Morris dancing is a great English tradition but it’s facing a big crisis. As the years go by, fewer and fewer young people are joining morris dancing groups. The dancers are getting older and older and eventually, if not protected, the tradition will die out within the next few decades.
If you’ve ever had the fortune to see morris dancing, you may understand why teenagers aren’t rushing to sign up. Frankly, it’s not exactly the coolest thing for an 18-year-old to do. Why dress up in bells and funny costumes when you could be going camping, playing sports or doing anything else?
However, it would be a great shame to lose such a fun and lively part of England’s history and culture. So here’s a toast to the next generation of would-be morris dancers! Let’s hope they don’t leave it too late.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．The origins of moris dancing. |
| B．The popularity of morris dancing. |
| C．The protection of morris dancing. |
| D．The introduction of morris dancing. |
| A．They dance in pubs late into the night. |
| B．They perform with sticks or handkerchiefs. |
| C．They wear long dresses with bells attached. |
| D．They sing folk music while they dance. |
| A．It is losing appeal among young people. |
| B．It is keeping pace with people's demand. |
| C．It is witnessing great changes in history. |
| D．It is being criticized by modern people. |
| A．It helps stay healthy. |
| B．It is fun for teenagers. |
| C．It deserves more attention. |
| D．It is too old-fashioned. |
6 . Look at the map of Spain and point at the center. You've located the country's capital and one of Europe's most beautiful cities: Madrid. This popular destination is considered a city of contrasts with its abundant historic sites, resting in the shadows of modern skyscrapers.
History
This city of over 3 million people is proud of Western Europe's largest royal palace, and some consider it to be Madrid's most beautiful building.
Inside the Royal Palace 2,800 rooms are decorated in glory with museum-quality furniture and artworks. Tourists can tour 50 of these large and splendid rooms.
Art
The Internationally respected Prado Museum is the largest and most impressive art gallery in Spain. Opened in 1819, it is filled with works of art that feature the world's most comprehensive collection of Spanish paintings.
Shopping
Madrid has some of Europe's best shopping, and potential buyers love to look through the stores looking for bargains. But for 500 years, shoppers have gathered to an extremely large outdoor flea market known as the Rastro where they find everything from antiques to CDs.
Entertainment
No trip to Madrid is complete without seeing a performance of Spain's famous art form, flamenco. Every day, flamenco performers sing, dance or play the guitar in small cafes and grand theaters alike.
Food
Madrid has a wide variety of restaurants, but because the Spanish typically eat late at about 9 or 10 p.m., it's difficult to find good dinner food earlier. If you get hungry before then, the best solution is to try a tapas bar where light snacks are served. Be sure to try the jamon, a kind of dry-cured ham: Spain is famous for it.
1. What do we know about the Royal Palace in Madrid?| A．It has 50 rooms for visit. |
| B．It can hold 2, 800 people. |
| C．It's been visited by 3 million people. |
| D．It is thought to be the largest in Europe. |
| A．For discount. |
| B．For artworks. |
| C．To sell various goods. |
| D．To sell antiques and CDs. |
| A．Having dinner earlier. |
| B．Enjoying flamenco. |
| C．Visiting Prado Museum. |
| D．Drinking in a tapas bar. |
Juliano thinks that cooked food makes us sick. “Food is alive, like you and me. When you cook food, you take away some of the vitamins,” he says. Juliano never eats food that is over 50 degrees. His restaurant doesn’t have a stove（火炉）or a microwave（微波炉）. But he has lots of clever ideas for making raw food taste great. Instead of heat, Juliano uses water to prepare food. He puts foods in water to make them soft. For example, he places beans in water for a few days and rice in water for two to four weeks.
Everything at the restaurant is cold, and the pizza and the rice taste good. So do the fruit and vegetable juices made from carrots, apples, oranges and so on. Juliano’s restaurant doesn’t serve meat, but some people who eat raw food also eat raw meat. Juliano has three friends who ate raw meat. They all got very sick. One of them is still sick.
Juliano eats mostly fruits, vegetables, nuts, rice and beans. He says he feels very healthy. “Raw food gives you lots of energy,” he says. Juliano says he needs only six hours of sleep a night, and he never gets sick.
1. How is the food in Juliano’s restaurant prepared?
| A．Foods are heated on a stove to a certain degree. |
| B．Foods are cooled in a fridge. |
| C．Foods are put into water to make them soft. |
| D．Foods are boiled and then cooled. |
| A．Carrot juice. | B．Cold pizza. | C．Hot meat. | D．Raw rice. |
| A．Eating raw meat may make people sick. |
| B．People will like eating raw food in the future. |
| C．Juliano has not enough money to buy cooking equipment. |
| D．Restaurants like Juliano’s are very popular in America. |
| A．A special restaurant in San Francisco. |
| B．A man who eats only raw food. |
| C．Raw food is better than cooked food. |
| D．How to make raw food taste good. |
