1 . The city of Amsterdam is one of the best preserved in all of Europe. When visiting this remarkable city, you tend to forget your troubles just for a moment. With this travel guide, you will be able to discover the real Amsterdam.

Best Time to Visit Amsterdam

To see the tulip(郁金香)flowers you can visit from mid-April to early May. For the New Year's celebration, there're a lot ofparties going on then. However,if you want to enjoy a quieter and more relaxing Amsterdam, visit from October to March.

Getting Around Amsterdam

You can rent a bike to go wherever you want to go. Public transportation is also convenient. You can get a chip card for about$9.

What You Should Know Before Visiting Amsterdam

Plan ahead since most ofthe attractions are usually busy and be careful with your wallets as the city is well-known for pickpockets, Also be cautious when you are buying something in the markets.

The Best of Amsterdam
Rijksmuseum

This museum is one of the finest in the world. Make sure you arrive before 10 am to avoid big crowds.

Vondelpark

If you are looking forward to relaxing and enjoying some peace and quiet, make a trip to this top choice park in the city.

Van Gogh Museum

The Van Gogh Museum is very fascinating; you will definitely be moved as you see Vincent van Gogh's life and how he developed through art.

A'DAM Tower

If you want to get the inspiring views of Amsterdam, take the lift to the top of this tower. You can also climb aboard the giapt four-person swing for some fun rides.

1. In which month can visitors feel more at ease in Amsterdam?

A．June.	B．July.
C．September.	D．November.

2. What is the purpose ofthe part "What You Should Know Before Visiting Amsterdam"?

A．Providing help.	B．Giving warnings.
C．Explaining situations.	D．Expressing disappointment.

3. Where should you go to get a bird's-eye view ofAmsterdam?

A．Rijksmuseum.	B．Vondelpark.
C．The Van Gogh Museum.	D．A'DAM Tower.

2 . 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.

2. What kind of market is “the Rastro”？

A．For discount.

B．For artworks.

C．To sell various goods.

D．To sell antiques and CDs.

3. What is a must when travelling in Madrid?

A．Having dinner earlier.

B．Enjoying flamenco.

C．Visiting Prado Museum.

D．Drinking in a tapas bar.

3 . Draper, the owner of a secondhand bookstore, was sorting through a pile of old books when an envelope fell from one. Inside was an undated ______ and a faded photo of a woman holding a little girl on her lap. The letter said if Bethany was ______ it, it meant the author had died.

Tears were welling up in Draper’s eyes. These were a ______ woman’s last words to her child. He had to _____ Bethany. “Whoever it is will ______ this,” he thought. “You wouldn’t ______ a letter like that.”

He supposed if the ______ ended up in his shop then Bethany was likely from around Bishop Auckland. And he thought he ______ recognized the little girl’s face. Even if she’d since left the area, there might be someone in town who would recognize the ______.

He started with the local newspaper. The Northern Echo ran the story of the _______ letter.

____, Bethany Gash, now 21 and a(n) ______ herself, was on Facebook about 10 miles away when a close friend messaged her to check out the ______. As she read her mother’s ______, which she thought had been lost forever, she said she thought she must be ______.

Gash was only 4 when her mother ______. Five years later, her family moved to a new home and the letter, put away in the pages of a book for safe keeping, was unintentionally ______.

She remembers unpacking and looking for the letter, and then ______ searching through everything in the hope that it was there. “That’s when I realized it was ______ gone by now and I’d never see it again,” she said.

Draper ______ the letter in person. He also brought her a children’s book for her son. Gash was greatly moved to have the letter back, and also touched by the stranger’s kindness.

1.

A．message

B．email

C．postcard

D．letter

2.

A．reading

B．destroying

C．forgetting

D．copying

3.

A．determined

B．kind

C．selfish

D．dying

4.

A．find

B．introduce

C．phone

D．comfort

5.

A．enjoy

B．avoid

C．want

D．like

6.

A．tear open

B．cut up

C．throw away

D．pull out

7.

A．girl

B．book

C．reporter

D．news

8.

A．hardly

B．actually

C．unfortunately

D．accidentally

9.

A．author

B．teacher

C．picture

D．stranger

10.

A．lost

B．valuable

C．wet

D．broken

11.

A．Meanwhile

B．Therefore

C．However

D．Eventually

12.

A．editor

B．mother

C．daughter

D．assistant

13.

A．ticket

B．magazine

C．article

D．homework

14.

A．vocabulary

B．terms

C．languages

D．words

15.

A．writing

B．joking

C．playing

D．dreaming

16.

A．came back

B．passed away

C．died out

D．calmed down

17.

A．donated

B．burned

C．dirtied

D．robbed

18.

A．secretly

B．suddenly

C．madly

D．regularly

19.

A．almost

B．never

C．still

D．long

20.

A．kept

B．delivered

C．composed

D．published

4 . Each Indian（印第安人）was supposed to keep his birth name until he was old enough to earn one for himself．But his playmates（游戏伙伴）would always give him a name of their own．No matter what his parents called him, his childhood friends would use the name they had chosen．Often it was not pleasing, such as Bow Legs or Bad Boy．But sometimes a name fit so well that the youngster found it difficult to shake it off．If he could not earn a better one from a war later, he could be stuck with a name like Bow Legs for the rest of his life.
The Indian earned his real name when he was old enough for his first fight against the enemy．His life name depended on how he acted during this first battle．When he returned from the war, the whole tribe would gather and observe the ceremony in which he would be given his name by the chief．If he had done well, he would get a good name．Otherwise he might be called Crazy Wolf or Man-Afraid-Of-a-Horse．So an Indian’s name told his record or described the kind of man he was.
A man was given many chances to improve his name, however．If in a later battle he was brave in fighting against the enemy, he was given a better name．Some of our great fighters had as many as twelve names—all good and each better than the last.
An Indian’s names belonged to him for the rest of his life．No one else could use them．Even he himself could not give them away because names were assigned by the tribe, not the family．So no man could pass on his name unless the chief and the tribe asked him to do so.
Sometimes an Indian would be asked to give his name to a son who had performed a noticeable deed．I know of only three of four times when this happened．It is the rarest honor for a person—the honor of assuming（承担） his father’s name.
1. An Indian could be given the second name by__________.

A．his father	B．the enemy
C．the chief of the tribe	D．his childhood friends

2. The greatest honor an Indian could earn was____________.

A．a victory in his first battle against the enemy

B．a name given by the chief

C．a ceremony to get his real name

D．the right to use his father’s name

3. If an Indian had more than ten names, it meant that____________.

A．many people in the tribe liked him	B．he was a great fighter
C．he had a lot of friends	D．he had fought in fewer than ten battles

4. Which of the following statements is not true according to the passage?

A．The names given by the playmates of an Indian were usually not pleasant

B．The life name of an Indian was earned in battle

C．An Indian could throw away his birth name when he was old enough to earn one for himself.

D．The Indians themselves were not allowed to give their names away.

5 . Have you ever thought of taking a train and having an adventure(奇遇)？Riding the train can be a real adventure. That is how I feel every time I take Amtrak. I often take a four－hour trip to visit my children. Every time I take this trip I never know what will happen.
Last week when I was on the train and over an hour into the train ride，there was a man sitting by himself in the back of the train carrying on a mobile phone conversation－in another language. It was loud and disturbed most of the people on the train. I think it was annoying.
Fortunately I sat next to a wonderful old lady who was taking a two－day trip by train. She said her two daughters were distraught at the thought of her driving for three days to reach her home，although she had no trouble driving. The train ride was the only choice for her. She loved to look out of the window and watch the world go by on the train.
She was fun to talk to and asked me when my children started being parents. That is a very good question. Both of us are old and have children. She asked that same question from time to time.
There are always many people on the train from all walks of life，different countries，and many   languages. Riding the train is a great way to increase your knowledge and take in all kinds of cultures. If you get hungry，you can buy food in the food car at any time. If you need to use the restroom there is always one available.
It sure beats driving the car，which has to stop for food and restrooms. And it is better than taking the bus.
1. According to the passage，the purpose of the author’s train ride was .

A．to do business	B．to see her children
C．to visit places of interest	D．to see her old friends

2. Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined word “distraught” in Paragraph 3?

A．Disappointed.

B．Satisfied.

C．Worried.

D．Pleased.

3. Which of the following is TRUE about the old lady sitting next to the author?

A．She is too old to drive now.

B．She does not like to take trains.

C．Although she is old，she has a good memory.

D．Her daughters live far away from her home.

4. What is the best title for this passage?

A．Train ride－a cultural experience	B．A painful experience on the train
C．The history of Amtrak	D．A wonderful lady