1 . Four interesting festivals :

Grand Old Days:

Phone numeber: (651) 699-0029          E-mail address: fo@grandave.com

Grand Old Days is one of the Midwest’s largest one-day festivals. It’s held every year on the first Sunday in June. It starts at 7:45 am until 5:00 pm. You should pay $8 for a ticket to enter the live music festival gardens and you must be at least 21 years old. There are a lot of interesting activities for the whole family.

Uptown Art Fair:

Phone numeber: (612) 823-4581     E-mail address: info@uptownminneapolis.com

There is a wide variety of artwork you can buy from only a few dollars to thousands of dollars. There are also activities held by some artists. Uptown Art Fair starts on August 5th and ends on August 7th. It is free to attend. The opening time and closing time are Friday 11 am-8 pm, Saturday 10 am-8 pm, and Sunday 10 am-6 pm.

Minnesota State Fair:

Phone numeber: (651) 288-4400       E-mail address: fairinfo@mnstatefair.org

It is one of the most popular fairs in Minnesota. It starts on August 25th and goes through Labor Day on September 5th. Tickets for adults (aged 13-64) are $11, seniors (aged 65 and older) $9, kids (aged 5-12) $8 and children under 5 are free of charge. It opens at 6 am and closes at midnight. The State Fair has lots of fun activities, bands, games, and rides.

Nativity County Fair:

Phone numeber: (651) 696-5401       E-mail address: info@nativitycountyfair.com

The Nativity County Fair is a kid’s fair, but it has some fun things for adults as well. You can buy tickets for the rides and games, and the price depends on how many tickets you want to buy. It starts from September 16th to September 18th.

1. Which of the following lasts the longest?

A．Grand Old Days.

B．Minnesota State Fair.

C．Uptown Art Fair.

D．Nativity County Fair.

2. How much should a couple with their 4-year-old son pay to attend the Minnesota State Fair?

A．17 dollars.

B．19 dollars.

C．22 dollars.

D．30 dollars.

3. The author’s main purpose in writing this passage is to           .

A．advertise some popular festivals.

B．introduce some festival activities.

C．give advice on kids’ festival safety.

D．compare the costs of different festivals.

4. Where can you probably find the passage?

A．In a museum guide.

B．In a business report.

C．In a book review.

D．On a tourist website.

2 . Driving in Canada is similar to driving in many parts of the United States. Distances and speeds, however, are posted in kilometers per hour and some signs, particularly in Quebec, may only be in French.

Unless otherwise posted, the maximum (最大限度的) speed limit in Canada is 50km/hr in cities and 80km/hr on highways. On rural highways, the posted speed limit may be 100km/hr. It is illegal to take automobile radar detectors (汽车雷达检测器) into Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and the Yukon. In Canada, seat belt use is required by law for all people, and child car seats must be used by children under 40 pounds. Some provinces require drivers to keep their vehicles’ headlights on during the day and some have banned (禁止) driving while using a hand-held cell phone. Motorcycles cannot share a lane (车道), and safety helmets for motorcycle riders and passengers are necessary. Running a red light is a serious crime throughout Canada and drivers are advised to stop before starting when a light turns green.

Winter travel can be dangerous due to heavy snowfalls and icy conditions. Some roads and bridges are often closed in winter. Snow tires are required in some provinces. Travelers should also be careful about animals while driving at night in rural areas.

Highway 401, from Detroit to Montreal, is one of the busiest highways in North America. It has been the scene of many deadly traffic accidents due to sudden and severe weather changes, high rates of speed, and heavy truck traffic. Thus drivers should be alert while travelling here.

Please refer to our Road Safety page for more information. Also, we suggest that you visit the website of Canada’s national authority responsible for road safety.

1. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A．All signs on the roads in Quebec are in English.

B．Automobile radar detectors are allowed to be used in Manitoba.

C．People may choose not to wear seat belts while in a car in Canada.

D．The speed of cars in Canadian cities should be less than 50km/hr.

2. The underlined word “alert” in Paragraph 4 could best be replaced by _____.

A．careful	B．relaxed
C．nervous	D．pleased

3. In which part of a newspaper may this text appear?

A．Entertainment.

B．Travel.

C．Education.

D．Science.

3 . Our mother earth is going through a very tough situation and we, the entire human race, are destroying our environment or unconsciously without even realizing its consequences. Now we have to act very smartly and plan something to sustain what we still have, getting all necessary support from nature to lead healthy lives.

Gardening is always an excellent and environmentally friendly idea. If you can go for sustainable gardening, then it will be even more useful for all. Gardening is a favorite hobby for many. It is time to channelize your hobby towards a more meaningful motivation.

When we do gardening we need to use different ingredients(材料) to grow plants. Some of them are natural resources like water, soil, sunshine, and many things like this. Using these resources smartly is a part of sustainable gardening. Some simple techniques include: use less water and organic things to grow plants; try to store rainwater so that you can use them for gardening; try using less energy to drive devices; avoid using plastics in any form while gardening; reuse the leaves from your garden to fertilize them. These are the basic sustainable measures. To do so we need to have proper knowledge about gardening and its requirements so that we can use proper resources without wasting any of them.

In today’s busy life we don’t get much time to spend on our environment. Gardening gives us a chance to do so. We can also have some pesticide-free(无农药的) and fresh food if we grow them in our garden. This is the right time to do some good to protect our own environment and gardening is one of the easiest ways. Do you want to start gardening, but you’re not sure how? Click here: http://www. gardenhowto. com.

1. What does the underlined word “channelize” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Cause.	B．Transform.
C．Direct.	D．Associate.

2. Which of the following belongs to a sustainable measure?

A．Using advanced electrical machines.

B．Avoiding fertilizers.

C．Watering plants with collected rainwater.

D．Clearing away the leaves.

3. What is the benefit of sustainable gardening?

A．It requires little water.	B．It needs no fertilizer.
C．It breaks up plastics.	D．It doesn't waste any resource.

4. Where is the passage probably taken from?

A．A newspaper.	B．The Internet.
C．A guidebook.	D．A science report.