1 . 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 |
2 . The Boy Made It!
One Sunday, Nicholas, a teenager, went skiing at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine. In the early afternoon, when he was planning to go home, a fierce snowstorm swept into the area. Unable to see far, he accidentally turned off the path. Before he knew it, Nicholas was lost, all alone! He didn’t have food, water, a phone, or other supplies. He was getting colder by the minute.
Nicholas had no idea where he was. He tried not to panic. He thought about all of the survival shows he had watched on TV. It was time to put the tips he had learned to use.
He decided to stop skiing. There was a better chance of someone finding him if he stayed put. The first thing he did was to find shelter from the freezing wind and snow. If he didn’t, his body temperature would get very low, which could quickly kill him.
Using his skis, Nicholas built a snow cave. He gathered a huge mass of snow and dug out a hole in the middle. Then he piled branches on top of himself, like a blanket, to stay as warm as he could.
By that evening, Nicholas was really hungry. He ate snow and drank water from a nearby stream so that his body wouldn’t lose too much water. Not knowing how much longer he could last, Nicholas did the only thing he could he huddled (蜷缩) in his cave and slept.
The next day, Nicholas went out to look for help, but he couldn’t find anyone. He followed his tracks and returned to the snow cave, because without shelter, he could die that night. On Tuesday, Nicholas went out again to find help. He had walked for about a mile when a volunteer searcher found him. After two days stuck in the snow, Nicholas was saved.
Nicholas might not have survived this snowstorm had it not been for TV. He had often watched Grylls’ survival show Man vs. Wild. That’s where he learned the tips that saved his life. In each episode (一期节目) of Man vs. Wild, Grylls is abandoned in a wild area and has to find his way out.
When Gxrylls heard about Nicholas’ amazing deeds, he was super impressed that Nicholas had made it since he knew better than anyone how hard Nicholas had to work to stay alive.
1. What happened to Nicholas one Sunday afternoon?| A．He got lost. | B．He broke his skis. |
| C．He hurt his eyes. | D．He caught a cold. |
| A．He found a shelter. | B．He lighted some branches. |
| C．He kept on skiing. | D．He built a snow cave. |
| A．returned to his shelter safely | B．was saved by a searcher |
| C．got stuck in the snow | D．stayed where he was |
| A．did the right things in the dangerous situation |
| B．watched Grylls’ TV program regularly |
| C．created some tips for survival |
| D．was very hard-working |
In many countries of the world people do what is called house sitting. It means that if owners of the house are going away, they want someone to come into their home and look after the house and maybe pets while they are away.
In Australia, many people travel. After people retire, they might buy a van and travel all over the country.
So if someone wants to travel or go away for some reason, they might want someone in their home to care for it and keep the gardens tidy. House sitters might have to care for pets. Also, quite a few people have swimming pools in their back yard and they need cleaning.
There are some requirements to be a house sitter. You must be a trusted person, so that the home owner knows you will not steal anything. You must be able to go when the house owner wants you to go, so you need lots of free time.
Some house sitting jobs are just for a few days or a couple of weeks while the house owners have a short holiday. Sometimes it is for much longer. We have had one house sit for six months, while the home owner travelled to Europe.
| A．I have done house sitting many times. |
| B．Thousands of people do this all the time. |
| C．It is also possible to do house sitting in other countries. |
| D．Generally you have many opportunities to get a house sitting job. |
| E．You must take a little care over what your description says about you. |
| F．This is an international house sitting service for all city and country areas. |
| G．You must have a good car, so you can travel to different parts of the country. |
Is achieving ZPG good or bad? What happens when a country’s population begins to drop? Many people，after all，believe that population decline is a good thing．But is it good for everyone? Does everyone agree?
An aging population can create many problems．Senior citizens require more health care and medical attention．Rather than paying into retirement programs，they begin to draw from their pensions．In the US，the Social Security program，according to many experts，will be used up by 2018．It will pay out more money than it takes in．Additionally, a great number of jobs go begging in search of people willing or entry。level positions that pay low wages．With an able to do them．Many of these jobs are aging population，who will fill them? At the other extreme，some positions require a large number of training and highly specialized skills．Who will fill these positions as retirees leave the workforce?
The answer to the problem of declining and aging population is simple：increased migration．Today many people，particularly those from less developed countries，are migrating in search of employment．Many are willing to take jobs that cannot(or will not) be filled by the domestic population．Others are well educated and highly skilled．Both groups contribute to a country’s economy progress in many ways．Further, they add to the richness of a country’s culture．Of greatest importance，perhaps，is the fact that they have become absolutely necessary to the economy of many lands．As you can see，for many countries and for most immigrants，migration is a win—win situation．
1. In the writer’s view，which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Not everyone agrees that achieving ZPG is absolutely good． |
| B．Achieving ZPG is every country’s aim in spite of its side effects． |
| C．Achieving ZPG is bad for senior citizens． |
| D．Achieving ZPG is good for employment． |
| A．to improve the health care system | B．to increase RNI |
| C．to increase employment | D．to increase migration |
| A．people within the country | B．people from developing countries |
| C．people without a college education | D．people living abroad |
| A．the advantages of increased migration |
| B．the problem of declining and aging population |
| C．how to increase migration |
| D．some ways to enrich a country’s culture |
5 . Can dogs and cats live in perfect harmony in the same home? People who are thinking about adopting a dog as a friend for their cats are worried that they will fight. A recent research has found a new recipe of success. According to the study, if the cat is adopted before the dog, and if they are introduced when still young (less than 6 months for cats, a year for dogs), it is highly probable that the two pets will get along well. Two-thirds of the homes interviewed reported a positive relationship between their cat and dog.
However, it wasn’t all sweetness and light. There was a reported coldness between the cat and dog in 25% of the homes, while aggression and fighting were observed in 10% of the homes. One reason for this is probably that some of their body signals were just opposite. For example, when a cat turns its head away it signals aggression, while a dog doing the same signals means giving up.
In homes with cats and dogs living peacefully, researchers observed a surprising behaviour. They are learning how to talk each other’s language. It is a surprise that cats can learn how to talk “dog”, and dogs can learn how to talk “cat”.
What’s interesting is that both cats and dogs have appeared to develop their intelligence. They can learn to read each other’s body signals, suggesting that the two may have more in common than was preciously suspected. Once familiar with each other’s presence and body language, cats and dogs can play together, greet each other nose to nose, and enjoy sleeping together in the sofa. They can easily share the same water bowl and in some cases groom(梳理) each other.
The significance of this research on cats and dogs maygo beyond pets----to people who don’t get along, including neighbors, colleagues at work, and even world superpowers. If cats and dogs can learn to get along, surely people have a good chance.
1. Some cats and dogs may fight when_________.| A．they are cold to each other |
| B．they look away from each other |
| C．they misunderstand each other’s signals |
| D．they are introduced at an early age |
| A．They eat and sleep together |
| B．They observe each other’s behaviors |
| C．They learn to speak each other’s language |
| D．They know something from each other’s voice |
| A．have common interests |
| B．are less different than was thought |
| C．have a common body language |
| D．are less intelligent than was expected |
| A．We should learn to live in harmony |
| B．We should knows more about animals |
| C．We should live in peace with animals |
| D．We should learn more body languages |
6 . An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year-old highly educated son.
Suddenly a crow (乌鸦) perched on the tree near their window.
The father asked his son, "What is this?"
The son replied, "It is a crow."
After a few minutes, the father asked his son the 2nd time, "What is this?"
The son said, "Father, I have just now told you it's a crow."
After a little while, the old father again asked his son the 3rd time, "What is this?"
"It's a crow, a crow, a crow. "said the son loudly.
A little after, the father again asked his son the 4th time, "What is this?"
This time the son shouted at his father, "Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again. ‘IT IS A CROW'. Are you not able to understand this?"
A little later the father went to his room and came back with an old diary, which he had kept since his son was born. On opening a page, he asked his son to read that page. When the son read it, the following words were written in the diary:
"Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa when a crow was sitting on the window. My son asked me 23times what it was, and I replied to him all 23times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question again and again for 23times. I did not at all feel annoyed. I rather felt affection for my innocent child."
1. In what tone did the son say to his Father "It's a crow, a crow,a crow."?| A．Impatient | B．Excited |
| C．Hurried | D．Surprised |
| A．Because he wanted to make his son angry. |
| B．Because he was too old to remember anything. |
| C．Because he couldn't understand what his son said. |
| D．Because he wanted to see how patient his son would be. |
| A．35years old. | B．38years old. |
| C．45years old. | D．80years old. |
| A．A crow | B．Father's love |
| C．An old dairy | D．An old man |
7 . Making friends is a skill like many other skills. It improves with practice. If you want to meet people and make friends，you must be willing to take some actions. You must first go where there are people. You won’t make friends staying home alone. Join a club or a group. Talking with those who like the same things as you do is much easier. Or join someone in some activities. Many people are nervous when talking to new people. After all meeting strangers means facing the unknown. And it’s human nature to feel a bit uncomfortable about the unknown. Most of our fears about dealing with new people come from doubts about ourselves. We imagine other people are judging us or finding us too tall or too short，too this or too that. But don’t forget that they must be feeling the same way. Try to accept yourself as you are and try to put the other person at ease. You’ll both feel more comfortable.
Try to act selfconfidently even if you don’t feel that way. When you enter a room full of strangers, such as a new classroom，walk tall and straight, look directly at other people and smile.
If you see someone you’d like to speak to, say something. Don’t wait for the other person to start a conversation.
Just meeting someone new does not mean that you will make friends with that
person—friendship is based on mutual liking and “give and take”. It takes time and effort to
develop.
1. The best title of the text may be________.
| A．Friendship | B．How to Make Friends |
| C．Meeting New People | D．Facing the Unknown |
| A．take some actions | B．go to where there are people |
| C．avoid meeting people | D．won’t start a conversation |
| A．selfconfidence |
| B．meeting more unknown people |
| C．more talking and smiling to people |
| D．taking from and giving to people |
| A．Making friends needs practising. |
| B．Making friends needs to be more active in starting a conversation. |
| C．When meeting someone, make him feel nice and starting a conversation. |
| D．Before making friends with someone, judge if he’s too this or too that. |
My wife Laura and I were on the beach, with three of our children, taking pictures of shore birds near our home in Alaska when we spotted a bear. The bear was thin and small, moving aimlessly.
Just a few minutes later, I heard my daughter shouting, "Dad! The bear is right behind us!" An aggressive bear will usually rush forward to frighten away its enemy but would suddenly stop at the last minute. This one was silent and its ears pinned back — the sign (迹象) of an animal that is going in for the kill. And it was a cold April day. The bear behaved abnormally, probably because of hunger.
I held my camera tripod (三脚架) in both hands to form a barrier as the bear rushed into me. Its huge head was level with my chest and shoulders, and the tripod stuck across its mouth. It bit down and I found myself supporting its weight. I knew I would not be able to hold it for long.
Even so, this was a fight I had to win: I was all that stood between the bear and my family, who would stand little chance of running faster than a brown bear.
The bear hit at the camera, cutting it off the tripod. I raised my left arm to protect my face; the beast held tightly on the tripod and pressed it into my side. My arm could not move, and I sensed that my bones were going to break.
Drawing back my free hand, I struck the bear as hard as I could for five or six times. The bear opened its mouth and I grasped its fur, trying to push it away. I was actually wrestling (扭 打) with the bear at this point. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the fight ended. The bear moved back towards the forest, before returning for another attack — the first time I felt panic.
Apparently satisfied that we caused no further threat, the bear moved off, destroying a fence as it went. My arm was injured, but the outcome for us could hardly have been better. I'm proud that my family remained clear-headed when panic could have led to a very different outcome.
1. The brown bear approached the family in order to _______.| A．catch shore birds | B．start an attack |
| C．protect the children | D．set up a barrier for itself |
| A．felt safe | B．got injured |
| C．found some food | D．took away the camera |
| A．pride | B．patience |
| C．calmness | D．cautiousness |
9 . Should we allow modern buildings to be built next to older buildings in a historic area of a city? In order to answer this question, we must first examine whether people really want to preserve the historic feel of an area. Not all historical buildings are attractive. However, there may be other reasons—for example, economic (经济的) reasons—why they should be preserved. So, let us assume that historical buildings are both attractive and important to the majority of people. What should we do then if a new building is needed?
In my view, new architectural styles can exist perfectly well alongside an older style. Indeed, there are many examples in my own home town of Tours where modern designs have been placed very successfully next to old buildings. As long as the building in question is pleasing and does not dominate (影响) its surroundings too much, it often improves the attractiveness of the area.
It is true that there are examples of new buildings which have spoilt (破坏) the area they are in, but the same can be said of some old buildings too. Yet people still speak against new buildings in historic areas. I think this is simply because people are naturally conservative(保守的)and do not like change.
Although we have to respect people’s feelings as fellow users of the buildings, I believe that it is the duty of the architect and planner to move things forward . If we always reproduced what was there before, we would all still be living in caves. Thus, I would argue against copying previous architectural styles and choose something fresh and different , even though that might be the more risky choice.
1. What does the author say about historical buildings in the first paragraph?| A．Some of them are not attractive. |
| B．Most of them ate too expensive to preserve. |
| C．They are more pleasing than modern buildings. |
| D．They have nothing to do with the historic feel of an area. |
| A．We should reproduce the same old buildings. |
| B．Buildings should not dominate their surroundings. |
| C．Some old buildings have spoilt the area they are in. |
| D．No one understands why people speak against new buildings. |
| A．destroy old buildings |
| B．put things in a different place |
| C．respect people’s feelings for historical buildings |
| D．choose new architectural styles |
| A．To explain why people dislike change. |
| B．To argue that modern buildings can be built in historic areas. |
| C．To warn that we could end up living in caves. |
| D．To admit how new buildings have ruined their surroundings. |
10 . Low-cost Gifts for Mother’s Day
Gift No. 1
Offer to be your mother’s health friend. Promise to be there for all doctor’s visits whether she has a disease or needs a regular medical check-up. Most mothers always say there is no need, but another set of eyes and ears is always a good idea at a doctor’s visit. The best part? This one is free.
Gift No. 2
Help your mother organize all of her medical records, which include the test results and medical information. Put them all in one place. Be sure to make a list of all of her medicines and what time she takes them. “Having all this information in one place could end up saving your mother’s life,” Dr. Marie Savard said.
Gift No. 3
Enough sleep is connected with general health conditions. “Buy your mother cotton sheets and comfortable pillows to encourage better sleep,” Savard said. “We know that good sleep is very important to our health.”
Gift No. 4
Some gift companies such as Presents for Purpose allow you to pay it forward this Mother’s Day by picking gifts, 10 percent of whose price you pay goes to a charity (慈善机构). Gift givers can choose from a wide variety of useful but inexpensive things — many of which are “green” — and then choose a meaningful charity from a list. When your mother gets the gift she will be told that she has helped the chosen charity.
1. What are you advised to do for your mother at doctor’s visits?| A．To take notes. | B．To be with her. |
| C．To buy medicines. | D．To give her gifts. |
| A．In Gift No. 1. | B．In Gift No. 2. |
| C．In Gift No. 3. | D．In Gift No. 4. |
| A．enjoy good sleep | B．be well-organized |
| C．get extra support | D．give other help |
