2 . My Favorite Books

Jeffrey Archer, a well-known novelist and playwright in the UK , has spent a very famous and much admired 45-year-long writing career creating bestsellers such as Not A Penny More , Not A Penny Less, Kane and Abel and Paths of Glory. Here he lists his all-time favorite reads.

Sredni Vashtar

BY SAKI （H. H. MUNRO） ,Dover Publications ,150

I put Munro's short stories equal with R. K. Narayan's. They are my favorite short-story writers. Both write beautifully， but they are also pretty good stories. It’s that rare combination of both. This book is a gem（佳作），as is Narayan's Malgudi Days.

The Count of Monte Cristo

BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS, Rupa Publications , ₹ 295

This is a masterpiece. It’s too long by modern standards? of course. If Dumas was around today， he'd write books of 400 pages. With no television, no other distraction, he wrote books of 1，500 pages. And the surprising thing is that he wrote The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers in the same year! You couldn't do that today!

Reunion

BY FRED UHLMAN，Farrar ，Strausand Giroux ，₹ 864

A wonderful insight into two young Germans---one Jewish, one aristocratic — in 1939, when they're both at school. This is a very fine book, which would help anyone understand the problems the Jews were facing in the late 1930s.

A Tale of Two Cities

BY CHARLES DICKENS, Penguin Classics , ₹ 250

I think this is probably a book I have reread the most number of times. I love the idea of him (Dr Manette)sacrificing his life for something bigger and more glorious than himself. Quaintly old-fashioned in the modern world—I love it. This was Dickens' most successful book, possibly because it was story, story, story, and impossible to put clown!

1. Who does "I" refer to in the text?

A．Alexandre Dumas.	B．Fred Uhlman.
C．Charles Dickens.	D．Jeffrey Archer.

2. Which of the following is concerned with the Jews?

A．Reunion.	B．A Tale of Two Cities.
C．Sredni Vashtar.	D．The Count of Monte Cristo.

3. How much will you pay if you buy Charles Dickens' most successful book?

A．₹ 150.

B．₹ 295.

C．₹ 864.

D．₹ 250.

3 . Art Institute of Chicago

Overview

Explore the Art Institute, Chicago’s world-class art museum and the second-largest in the United States, with this Fast Pass Admission ticket. Situated in Grant Park, the museum is listed as one of Chicago’s must-see sights owing to the incredible range of impressionist, post-impressionist, modern and contemporary works.

What to Expect

Start your visit any time during the museum’s regular hours of operation. Once inside, download the new Art Institute of Chicago mobile app, using the museum’s free Wi-Fi. Explore the Art Institute’s unsurpassed collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces (杰作).

Explore JourneyMaker, a new digital tool that allows your family to create its very own tour of the museum, located at the Ryan Learning Center.

Then head over to the museum’s celebrated Modern Wing, a quick stroll (溜达) across an eye-catching bridge from the main building. Inside you’ll have the chance to admire one of the world’s premier collections of modern and contemporary art, including celebrated creators like Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Jackson Pollock, Marc Chagall and Gerhard Richter.

Continue your visit with a look at the museum’s range of European and American decorative art items, Asian art and a collection of architectural, graphic (书画的) and industrial design.

Cancellation (取消) Policy

The admission is 30 dollars. If you cancel at least 7 days in advance of the scheduled departure, there is no cancellation fee. If you cancel between 3 and 6 days in advance of the scheduled departure, there is a 50 percent cancellation fee. If you cancel within 2 days of the scheduled departure, there is a 100 percent cancellation fee.

1. What makes Art Institute of Chicago a must-see sight?

A．Its special location.

B．The unique buildings.

C．The large range of its works.

D．The Fast Pass Admission ticket.

2. What are you expected to do first when you enter the museum?

A．Download a mobile app.

B．Explore Journey Maker.

C．Take part in art activities.

D．Explore the website of the museum.

3. How much cancellation fee will you pay if you cancel 4 days before the scheduled departure?

A．15 dollars.	B．20 dollars.
C．25 dollars.	D．30 dollars.

4 . London is a real treat for museum lovers and museums are a popular destination among London's many attractions. Below is a list of London's top museums.

London Transport Museum

Travel through the museum, which hosts exhibitions （展品展示）about transport with the social and cultural history of London. Inside, you'll find more than 80 vehicles covering 200 years of London's history, including a red Routemaster bus and the world's first underground steam train. There are great posters and artworks too!

Price: Adult ticket: £18.50 per ticket, child ticket: Free. Save £1.50 when purchasing tickets online in advance.

Opening time: 10:00 -18:00 daily.

British Museum

Spend hours wandering the world-famous British Museum, which exhibits the works of man from prehistoric to modern times, collected from around the world. Don't miss the Rosetta Stone and the mummies in the Ancient Egypt collection.

Price: Free. A donation of £5 is recommended. Entrance fee for special exhibitions and some events.

Opening time: 10:00 - 17:30 daily. Open late on Fridays until 20:00.

Natural History Museum

As well as the dinosaur exhibition, the Natural History Museum keeps a collection of the biggest, tallest and rarest animals in the world. See a life-sized blue whale and a 40-million-year-old spider.

Price: Free. Entrance fee for some of the special exhibitions and events.

Opening time: 10:00 - 17:50 daily. Open late on the last Friday of each month. Closed 24 - 26 December.

The Design Museum

The Design Museum is the world's leading museum devoted to contemporary design in every form. Check out the regular exhibitions showcasing the rich creativity found in all forms of design, and its importance to our world.

Price: Adult ticket: £10.00, child ticket: £5.00 （children under 6 go free）.

Opening time: 10:00 - 18:00. Open except Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

1. Which museum attracts fans of Ancient Egypt most?

A．British Museum	B．Natural History Museum
C．London Transport Museum	D．The Design Museum

2. What is special about the Natural History Museum?

A．It is free of charge.

B．It closes on Christmas Day.

C．It collects special animals in the world.

D．It exhibits rarest mummies in the world.

3. How much do tickets of the Design Museum cost for children aged 3 and 7?

A．Free

B．£5

C．£10

D．£15

5 . POETRY CHALLENGE

Write a poem about how courage, determination, and strength have helped you face challenges in your life.

Prizes

3 Grand Prizes:Trip to Washington, D. C. for each of three winners, a parent and one other person of the winner’s choice. Trip includes round-trip air tickets, hotel stay for two nights, and tours of the National Air and Space Museum and the office of National Geographic World.

6 First Prizes:The book Sky Pioneer:A Photobiography of Amelia Earhart signed by author Corinne Szabo and pilot Linda Finch.

50 Honorable Mentions:Judges will choose up to 50 honorable mention winners, who will each receive a T-shirt in memory of Earhart’s final flight.

Rules

Follow all rules carefully to prevent disqualification.

■Write a poem using 100 words or fewer. Your poem can be any format, any number of lines.

■Write by hand or type on a single sheet of paper. You may use both the front and back of the paper.

■On the same sheet of paper, write or type your name, address, telephone number, and birth date.

■Mail your entry to us by October 31 this year.

1. How many people can each grand prize winner take on the free trip?

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Four.

D．Six.

2. What will each of the honorable mention winners get?

A．A plane ticket.	B．A book by Corinne Szabo.
C．A special T-shirt.	D．A photo of Amelia Earhart.

3. Which of the following will result in disqualification?

A．Typing your poem out.	B．Writing a poem of 120 words.
C．Using both sides of the paper.	D．Mailing your entry on October 30.

4. When is the proper time for you to mail your entry?

A．before October 31 this year	B．after October 31 this year
C．before October 31 next year	D．after October 31 next year

6 . How many coins have you got in your pocket right now?Three?Two?Or one? With a phone card you can make up to 200 calls without any change at all.

What do you do with it?

Go to a telephone box marked “Card Phone”.Put in your card,make your call and when you’ve finished,a screen tells you how much is left on your card.

It costs no extra for the cards,and the calls cost 10p per unit,the same as any other payphone call.

You can buy them in units of 10,20,40,100 or 200.

Now appearing in a shop near you

Near each Card Phone place you’ll find a shop where you can buy one. They’re at bus,train and city tube(地铁) stations.

At many universities,hospitals and clubs,restaurants and gas stations on the highway and shopping centers.

At airports and seaports.

No more broken payphones

Most broken payphones are like that because they’ve been vandalized(破坏了的).There are no coins in Card Phone to excite thieves’interest in it. So you’re not probably to find a vandalized one.

Get a phone card yourself and try it out.Or get a bigger wallet.

1. There are three parts in the passage.Which section do you think is about why card phones are good?

A．Part 1.

B．Part 2.

C．Part 3.

D．None.

2. According to the information you get from the passage,how much does a card with 40 units cost?

A．4 pounds.	B．40 pounds.
C．400 pounds.	D．100 pounds.

3. Choose the right order of the steps under “How you use phone card”.
a.Put in your phone card.
b.Look at the screen to find out how many calls you can still make.
c.Go to the telephone box marked “Card Phone”.
d.Make your call.

A．a,b,c,d

B．c,a,d,b

C．a,d,c,b

D．c,d,a,b

4. The last sentence “Or get a bigger wallet” means “　　　”.

A．Phone cards are cheap	B．You cannot use all payphones
C．Thieves will not break card phones	D．Or people have to carry much money

5. The passage is most probably 　　　.

A．a warning	B．a note
C．an advertisement	D．an announcement

7 . Is there something strange high up in the world’s tallest mountains? If so, is it a big bear? Is it a monkey? Or is it a kind of man?

No one knows. This mystery (谜) has puzzled the world for years.

In 1887, a mountain climber found large footprints (脚印) in the snow. They looked like the footprints of a very large man. But men don’t walk without shoes in the snow!

In 1906, other climbers saw more than footprints. Far away they saw a very large animal standing on two legs. As they watched, it ran very quickly.

Fifteen years later, newspapers had new stories about the “something”. A mountain climber said he had seen the “snowman” walk slowly across the snow, far below him.He said it looked like a very large man.

From then on, more and more people had stories to tell. But not until 1951 did a mountain climber bring back pictures of large footprints. His pictures showed clearly that the snowman walked on two legs, so it was not a bear or a monkey. Could it be an ape (猿) man? The mystery grew! And the mystery keeps growing. Some day we may find out just what it is that makes the large footprints.

1. Why were people interested in the footprints?

A．They were footprints of a large bear.

B．They looked like the footprints of a large man.

C．They were found in the snow.

D．They were found in the world’s tallest mountains.

2. The pictures of large footprints were taken by a mountain climber in 　　　.

A．1887

B．1906

C．1921

D．1951

3. Why did the mystery grow when a mountain climber brought back pictures of the large footprints?

A．They were footprints of an ape man.

B．They were footprints of a snowman.

C．The pictures showed clearly how the snowman walked.

D．The pictures showed clearly how an ape man walked on two legs.

4. Since a mountain climber first found the large footprints in the snow, the mystery of the snowman has puzzled the world for 　　 years.

A．over one hundred

B．ninety-five

C．eighty

D．fifty

5. The passage is about 　　　.

A．some mountain climbers	B．some strange animals
C．some large footprints	D．the mystery of the snowman

8 . The Hearst Castle

Hearst Castle is a park on the central California coast and a National Historic Landmark.It was designed by Julia Morgan for William Randolph Hearst from 1919 until 1947.Despite its location far from any urban center, the site attracts roughly one million visitors per year.

Guided Tours

Tour 1 is recommended for first time visitors.It now includes the movie, Hearst Castle Building the Dream.

Tour 2 gives visitors a closer look at the main house's upper floors, Mr Hearst' s private suite, the libraries,and the kitchen.

Tour 3 looks at the Castle's North Wing,guest rooms and guest house Casa Del Monte.

Tour 4 includes the impressive gardens and grounds, the largest guest house,the wine basement,and the Hidden Terrace.

The evening tour is a special tour that allows visitors to experience the Castle at night as one of the Hearst 's own visitors might have.

Ticket Prices

Hearst Castle accepts VISA,Master Card,American Express and Discover.Free day use parking is available for automobiles,motorcycles,tour buses and recreational(休闲的）vehicles.

＊Children under 6 are free when accompanied by a paying adult.
Reservation(预订）Information

While tickets may be purchased at the Visitor Center upon arrival, tour reservations can be made online now or by calling 1-800-444-4445,see below for time.

Reservation Call Center Hours

Dates                                                                        Monday-Friday                                             Saturday-Sunday

March-September                                      8 am-6 pm                                                          8 am-6 pm

October-February                                   9 am-5 pm                                                            9 am-3 pm

Visit www.hearstcastle.org for more information.

1. If you are quite interested in wine,which tour will you choose?

A．Tour 1.

B．Tour 2.

C．Tour 3.

D．Tour 4.

2. If a couple take Tour 1 with their 5- year- old son, how much will they pay for the tickets?

A．36.

B．48.

C．60.

D．75.

3. Which of the following is the available time to book tickets by phone?

A．At 8 am on Monday in February.

B．At 6 pm on Saturday in October.

C．At 7 pm on Friday in September.

D．At 9 am on Sunday in March.

9 . In an experiment to track the effects of insecticide (杀虫剂) on birds in the wild, scientists caught 24 sparrows as they migrated(迁徙) north from Mexico and the southern United States to Canada. The team fed half of those birds on a low amount of the commonly used agricultural insecticide and the other half with a slightly higher amount. An additional 12 birds were caught and fed on only sunflower oil. Within hours, the birds fed insecticide began to lose weight and ate less food. Birds given the higher amount lost 6 percent of their weight within six hours.

The findings suggest that insecticide, already effective in dropping bee populations, could also reduce bird populations. There is clear evidence that since 1966, the populations of nearly three-quarters of farmland birds have dropped.

The researchers fed the birds with carefully measured amounts of insecticide mixed with sunflower oil.   In the wild, birds might feed on seeds coated with insecticide. Christy Morris-sey, a biologist at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada says, "Though the birds fed with the insecticide continued their migration, there's still much we don't know about how repeated exposures to the insecticide might affect a bird. "

After observing the birds in the lab, Morrissey and colleagues tracked the birds with lightweight trackers and kept records as they continued their spring migration. The highest fed birds stayed 3. 5 days longer near the site where they were caught-possibly to recover and regain strength than birds that weren't fed with the insecticide. Birds given the lower amount of insecticide stuck around for three days, and those which weren't fed with insecticide flew away after half a day. Tracking the tested birds showed that they all fell behind the others in their migration.

1. Why did the researchers catch the birds?

A．To protect them from their enemies.

B．To study the rules of their migration.

C．To study how insecticide influences them.

D．To give them a complete medical examination.

2. How many birds were tested for the experiment?

A．12.

B．24.

C．36.

D．48.

3. Which of the following may Christy agree with?

A．People should be prevented from using insecticide.

B．Researchers should observe the migration of birds further.

C．More research is needed on the seeds coated with insecticide.

D．More research is needed on the ill effects of insecticide on birds.

4. What happened to the birds fed on the insecticide?

A．They lost the ability of flying.

B．Their desire for food all increased greatly.

C．They stayed 3 days where they were caught.

D．They arrived at their migration place later than usual.

10 . Here are some libraries in Shandong province.Have a look and visit them in your spare time.

Shandong Provincial Library

Shandong Provincial Library, well known for its long history and luxurious collections,is one of the top 10 libraries in China.The library holds 6.12 million volumes.It has 44 service stations,with an average daily reception of 5,000 visitors.It also exchanges documents and literature works with Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom at irregular intervals.Opening Hours: 8:30 am-7:00 pm, closed every Monday afternoon (except for national holidays)

Add:2912, Erhuan East Road, Licheng district (at the intersection of Hualong Road)

Qingdao Library

Qingdao Library is a cultural landmark in Qingdao.It is an intelligent and modern library with 100 staff and 1.23 million volumes.It consists of a total of 32 halls and rooms, as well as newly-developed lecture halls, exhibition centers and electronic reading rooms, with more than 1,900 seats.The library remains open every day.

Opening Hours:8:30 am-5:30 pm

Add:109 Yanji Road, Qingdao, East China's Shandong province

Lijin Library

Lijin Library was founded in 1956 and rebuilt in 1993.It has 56,000 books, more than 1,000 bound volumes of newspaper, 5,000 bound volumes of journals, 120 thread-bound（线装的）ancient Chinese books and more than one TB of digital books.The library has three service stations, receiving more than 92,000 visitors every year.

Opening Hours: From Monday to Sunday 8:00 am-11:00 am; 2:00 pm-5:00 pm

Add:568 Jin'er Road, Lijin county, Dongying city, East China's Shandong province

1. What is special about Shandong Provincial Library?

A．It ranks the tenth in China.

B．It keeps open from Monday to Sunday.

C．It has the largest book collections in China.

D．It exchanges resources with some foreign countries.

2. How long does Qingdao Library run per day?

A．6 hours.

B．9 hours.

C．10 hours.

D．10 hours and a half.

3. What do we know about Lijin Library?

A．It opens all day long.

B．It has many ancient Chinese books.

C．It has 100 staff with three service stations.

D．It has the most volumes of books among the three.