1 . Imperial Bricks
Imperial bricks were made completely for imperial buildings, especially palaces, in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. They have a fine quality, and are strong and hard. They have a pure blue-green color like a mirror and produce a metal sound when knocked. Because they are very valuable, they are called the golden bricks. The craft (工艺品) has been on the national-level cultural heritage (遗产) list since 2006.
Peking Duck
Peking duck has been a famous dish from Beijing. The cooked duck is cut into pieces and eaten with green onion, cucumber and sweet bean sauce, often with pancake rolled around fillings. It was selected as a national -level cultural heritage in 2008.
Shadow Play
Shadow play (皮影) is an ancient form of storytelling that uses flat cut-out figures or shadow play between a source of light and a screen. Various sight effects can be achieved by moving both the dolls and the light source. In 2011, Chinese shadow play entered the list of Cultural Heritage by UNESCO(United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization)which is located in Paris, France.
Kunqu Opera
Kunqu Opera, one of the oldest existing forms of Chinese opera, came from Kunshan, Jiangsu province. Using emotional lines from classic poems and through sweet and beautiful singing, it made progress in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and naturally reached other parts of the country via the Grand Canal.
1. Which makes Imperial Bricks get the name of golden bricks?| A．Their value. | B．Their shape. |
| C．Their color. | D．Their history. |
| A．Peking Duck. | B．Imperial Bricks. |
| C．Kunqu Opera. | D．Shadow Play. |
| A．Theater writers. | B．Famous magazines. |
| C．Ancient stories. | D．Classic poems. |
2 . Vehicles on our roads are now mostly petrol and diesel (柴油) cars, but their days cannot continue for much longer. A recent university study found that current electric cars could be used for 87 percent of daily car journeys in the US. That figure could rise to 98 percent by 2020.
One hurdle to the widespread adoption of electric cars has been “range anxiety” — drivers concerns about running out of electricity on a journey. While petrol stations are conveniently located across national road systems, the necessary network of electric charging stations is still being developed. That said, charging points are becoming increasingly common throughout the USA.
Attitudes towards electric vehicles have changed greatly over the last few years. Not that long ago, electric cars were met with distrust, and their high prices drove customers away. Thanks to improvements in battery capacity, recharging times, performance and price, the current generation of electric cars are starting to persuade picky consumers. Plug-in cars will soon give internal combustion engine (内燃机) models a run for their money.
As well as development on the road, electric vehicles are taking to the seas and skies. Electric boats are among the oldest methods of electric travel, having enjoyed several decades of popularity from the late 19th to the early 20th century before petrol-powered outboard motors took over. Now, the global drive for renewable energy sources is bringing electric boats back. Steps towards electric air travel are also being made, with Airbus and NASA among the organizations developing and testing battery-powered planes. The experiments could soon make commercial electric flight a reality.
Electric vehicles do not produce any emissions (排放). If the US could replace 87 percent of its cars with electric vehicles, it would reduce the national demand for petrol by 61 percent. However, because of the production processes and the generation of electricity required to charge these vehicles, they cannot claim (声称) to be completely emission-free. That said, as many countries continue to increase their use of renewable energy sources, electric vehicles will become even cleaner.
1. The underlined word “hurdle” in Paragraph 2 probably means________.| A．aim | B．difficulty | C．result | D．step |
| A．They were very poorly made. | B．They were not widely promoted. |
| C．They were expensive. | D．They couldn’t travel at a high speed. |
| A．To introduce the history of electric travel. |
| B．To explain why the world needs more electric cars. |
| C．To show why more people have interest in electric cars. |
| D．To describe different ways electric vehicles can be used. |
| A．Driving into a Cleaner Future | B．History of Electric Cars |
| C．Problems with Petrol and Diesel Cars | D．Best Means of Transportation |
3 . Have you ever had the strong wish to open a book and stick your nose straight into the pages? The smell of old books can refresh any book lovers. We don’t know why, but it is just pleasant to us.
Describing the smell can be a challenge. And mere adjectives will likely be of little use to future generations of historians trying to record, understand or reproduce the scent (气味) of slowly destroyed books. Now, that task may have just become easier thanks to the Historic Book Odor Wheel (气味轮).
In one experiment, researchers asked visitors at the historic library to describe the scents they smelled. All the visitors selected words like “woody”, “smoky” and “earthy” from the list, and described the smell’s intensity (浓度) and pleasantness. In another experiment, the study authors presented visitors to the Birmingham Museum with eight smells — one of which was an unlabeled (未贴标签的) historic book scent and seven were non-bookish, such as coffee, chocolate, fish market and dirty clothes. The researchers then had those museumgoers describe the historic book smell. The top two responses? Chocolate and coffee. “You tend to use familiar associations to describe smells when they are unlabeled,” study author Cecilia Bembibre says.
The team even analysed the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (挥发性有机化合物) in the book and the library. Using the data from the chemical analysis and visitors’ smell descriptions, the researchers created the Historic Book Odor Wheel to record the “historic library smell”. Main categories, such as “sweet/spicy”, fill the inner (内侧的) circle of the wheel; descriptors, such as “chocolate/cream”, fill the middle; and the chemical compounds likely to be the source with bad smells, like furfural, fill the outer circle. The researchers want the book odor wheel to be a tool that “untrained noses” can use to recognize smells and the compounds causing them, which could deal with historic book protectors’ concerns about material composition and historic paper protection. And hopefully, smells of the past can be reproduced in the lab someday and museums and historians can use it to rebuild a past we can no longer smell.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?
| A．To introduce the main topic. | B．To describe different book smells. |
| C．To show the author’s attitude. | D．To encourage people to read books. |
| A．using adjectives | B．linking them with food smells |
| C．analyzing chemical components | D．connecting them with familiar things |
| A．To test different smells. | B．To store book smells. |
| C．To describe smells. | D．To collect history books. |
| A．Creating a whole new smell. |
| B．Improving people’s sense of smell. |
| C．Getting rid of bad smells of old books. |
| D．Reproducing smell of historic books. |
4 . The New York See It All Tour is exactly what it sounds like: an all-inclusive guided tour of New York City.
Central Park
One of the most famous parks in the world, Central Park is a man-made wonder. Not only is it the first public park built in America, but it is also one of the most frequently visited parks, with over 25 million guests per year. Set in the middle of busy Manhattan, its grounds serve as a safe harbor, not only for athletes, and musicians but also for lots of migratory birds each year. One can spend an entire peaceful day wandering its grounds, gazing upon nearly 50 fountains, monuments, and sculptures or admiring its 36 bridges.
Hudson River Park
Hudson River Park is a waterside park on the Hudson River that extends from 59th Street south to Battery Park in the New York City district of Manhattan. Bicycle and pedestrian paths, including the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway, span the park north to south, opening up the waterfront for the public to relax. The park includes tennis and soccer fields, children’s playground, dog run, and many other features.
Washington Square Park
Washington Square Park, located in the heart of Greenwich Village, is a very popular and often crowded square. People from all backgrounds gather to this large square dotted with trees.
Central Park Zoo
The Central Park Zoo is a small 6.5-acre zoo located on Central Park in New York City. The zoo began in the 1860s, making it the first official zoo to open in New York. The zoo was improved in 1934, with the addition of many new buildings ranged in a quadrangle around the sea lion pool. Finally, the zoo was repaired in the mid-1980s and reopened in 1988, replacing the old-fashioned cages with naturalistic environments.
1. What can we learn about Central Park?| A．It is the first public park built in the world. |
| B．It is a man-made park. |
| C．It especially attracts pedestrians and artists. |
| D．It was the most crowded park when first built. |
| A．Central Park. | B．Central Park Zoo. |
| C．Washington Square Park. | D．Hudson River Park. |
| A．In the 1860s. | B．In 1934. |
| C．In 1988. | D．In the mid-1980s. |
5 . Christmas in the United States is traditionally a time of gift-giving and family gatherings. But small towns across the country have their own traditions.
Middleburg, a small town in the state of Virginia, is known for its horses. For more than 50 years, Middleburg has organized a yearly Christmas parade. Men and women ride horses through the woods and fields. They follow hunting dogs as they search for a wild fox. But first, these hunters ride in the yearly parade, wearing their bright red hunting clothes and hats.
John Hale, a citizen of Middleburg says many city people visit his town. “We have a lot of people from an urban area that come to visit, but it incorporates a lot of the old traditions.” The night-time hayride is one such tradition. Small groups gather under the moonlight on an open wagon (四轮马车) filled with hay (干草). The passengers sing as farm horses pull the wagon slowly across the fields.
There are some newer traditions, too. Trey Matheu works at the nearby Salamander Resort. He says a visit to Middleburg is a chance to slow down for a day. He says Middleburg can be a calming, peaceful place without tension.
“Middleburg is an opportunity to take a step back, to take a deep breath, and understand that even though life is moving on at a very fast pace, there’s really an opportunity where you’re allowed to step off for a little bit.”
Parade organizers say more than 13,000 people attend even in below freezing weather. But if you ask, you will hear many different reasons why people come to watch the parade:
“I come here because I’m from a small town. I like how everybody comes together.”
“I live right down that street, right there. And that’s my dog.”
Middleburg looks its best at Christmastime. That may be why so many people return each year.
1. At Christmas, people in Middleburg usually ________.| A．visit friends and families | B．ride in the annual parade |
| C．feed farm horses with hay | D．hunt for dogs in the woods |
| A．To enjoy the fresh air. | B．To escape competition. |
| C．To relax themselves. | D．To challenge themselves. |
| A．It attracts many people each year. | B．It makes a large money from tourism. |
| C．It doesn’t respect Christmas traditions. | D．It is a good place for family gatherings. |
| A．Middleburg’s Christmas Parade | B．A Small Town Known for Horses |
| C．Newer Traditions at Christmastime | D．Christmas Traditions in Middleburg |
6 . Choose Your One-Day-Tours!
Tour A - Bath &Stonehenge including entrance fees to the ancient Roman bathrooms and Stonehenge -￡37 until 26 March and ￡39 thereafter. Visit the city with over 2,000 years of history and Bath Abbey, the Royal Crescent and the Costume Museum, Stonehenge is one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments dating back over 5,000 years.
Tour B - Oxford & Stratford including entrance fees to the University St Mary’s Church Tower and Anne Hathaway’s -￡32 until 12 March and ￡36 thereafter. Oxford: Includes a guided tour of England’s oldest university city and colleges. Look over the “city of dreaming spires(尖顶）” from St Mary‘s Church Tower. Stratford: Includes a guided tour exploring much of the Shakespeare wonder.
Tour C - Windsor Castle &Hampton Court: including entrance fees to Hampton Court Palace -￡34 until 11 March and ￡37 thereafter. Includes a guided tour of Windsor and Hampton Court, Henry VILL’s favorite palace. Free time to visit Windsor Castle(entrance fees not included).With 500 years of history, Hampton Court was once the home of four Kings and one Queen. Now this former royal palace is open to the public as a major tourist attraction. Visit the palace and its various historic gardens, which include the famous maze(迷宫) where it is easy to get lost!
Tour D –Cambridge including entrance fees to the Tower of Saint Mary the Great -￡33 until 18 March and ￡37 thereafter. Includes a guided tour of Cambridge, the famous university town, and the gardens of the 18th century.
1. Which tour will you choose if you want to see England’s oldest university city?| A．Tour A | B．Tour B |
| C．Tour C | D．Tour D |
| A．Windsor Castle & Hampton Court | B．Oxford & Stratford |
| C．Bath & Stonehenge | D．Cambridge |
| A．It used to be the home of royal families | B．It used to be a well-known maze |
| C．It is the oldest palace in Britain | D．It is a world-famous castle |
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Two years before, I traveled to Brazil and I rented for a car. Unfortunate, I had an accident and hit another car, and I needed to stay in a hospital for at least two week. I called my parents, so I did not tell them what had happened. I knew that they will be worried about myself because I was so farther away, and that my mother would not sleep if she knew. Therefore, I told them interested stories and how I was enjoying Brazil. As a result, nobody knew truth. I still think that it was the right thing to do.
