1 . Central Park
Explore Central Park, one of the largest city parks in the world and one of the most famous symbols of New York. Let’s have a look at its main sights.
Central Park is New York’s largest city park and one of the biggest in the world, with an area of 843 acres (about 3.4km2). This park is home to man-made lakes, waterfalls, grass and wooded areas. You will also find the Central Park Zoo, among other attractions in this greenspace of New York.
Besides being the city’s primary green lungs, Central Park is also a favorite spot for many New Yorkers. It is perfect for sunbathing, going for walks, or doing any outdoor sports. Something that we found curious is seeing so many people running with their babies in prams (婴儿车).
On Foot or by BicycleTo get to know some of the wildest parts of Central Park we suggest walking. However, to get a general feel for the whole park, the best thing to do is hire a bicycle and enjoy the scenery.
If you decide to hire a bike, you will find lots of bike rental stores around Central Park that are not very expensive.
Open TimeFrom 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends.
From 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekdays.
PriceEntry to the Park is free. But if you visit some parts like Central Park Zoo, you need to buy a ticket.
TransportSubway: Line 5, 6, 7, A, B, C and D．
Bus: Line M1, M2, M3, M4 and M10.
Nearby placesMetropolitan Museum of Art (447 m)
Guggenheim Museum (564 m)
American Museum of Natural History (688 m)
Whitney Museum of American Art (1 km)
The Frick Collection (1.3 km)
1. What can we learn about the Central Park from the text?| A．It is home to lakes and waterfalls. |
| B．It is perfect for doing outdoor sports. |
| C．It is the largest city park in the world. |
| D．It is the most famous symbol of New York. |
| A．Hiring a bicycle. | B．Entrance to Central Park. |
| C．Visiting Central Park Zoo. | D．Going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
| A．In a science report. | B．In a geography book. |
| C．In a fashion magazine. | D．In a travel guide. |
2 . Events at Hamilton Civic Museums
We host a variety of events, workshops and exhibitions at our city-owned museums throughout the year.No two trips are ever the same! The following are on in November and December.
※ Exhibit: Stories from the edge
Using 31stories and artworks, this exhibition presents Ancaster’s history from the earliest human occupants to the present day.
This Exhibit runs Tuesday to Saturday, 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM
For all ages
Cost: Adults:$4, Children:$3, Family:$12
Location: Fieldcote Memorial Museum, 64 Sulphur Springs Road.
※ Morning Quilting Workshop Series
Participants of all skill levels are welcome to engage in this make-a-quilt project.Sewing machine in working order is required.
The project takes place every Monday from 9:30 AM to 12:00 AM.
For ages 18 years and older.
Cost: $20 for the series. Pre-registration is required.
Location: Ancaster Old Town Hall, 310 Wilson Street East.
※ An Evening with Jane Austen
Join us on November 23, 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM as we celebrate the writings of author Jane Austen and help bring the charm of the early 19 th century to life with fashion,music, dancing, and refreshments.
For adults.
Cost:$25. Online payment is accepted.
Location: Battlefield House Museum & Park, 77 King Street West.
※Victorian Christmas
Bring your family to share a Hamilton holiday tradition and enjoy the beauty of a mid-19th century family Christmas celebration at Dundurn Castle, in which the impressive beauty of the Victorian Age will be produced.
The event happens Tuesday to Sunday, 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM.
For all ages’
Cost: Adults: $30, Children: $14, Family: $40
Location: Dundurn National historic Site, 610 York Boulevard.
1. How is Morning Quilting Workshop Series different from the others?| A．It is fit for people of all ages. | B．It lasts the longest each time. |
| C．It needs signing up in advance. | D．It gives orders through a machine. |
| A．310 Wilson Street East. | B．64 Sulphur Springs Road. |
| C．Dundurn National historic Site | D．Battlefield House Museum & Park |
| A．Victorian Christmas | B．An Evening with Jane Austen. |
| C．Exhibit: Stories from the edge | D．Morning Quilting Workshop Series |
3 . A Service Trips for High School Students
Are you a high school student who loves to be outdoors and is eager to experience new challenges, learn new skills and meet new people? WTA offers first-time participants country trips and returning students have the option to go on trips in the back country (边远地区).
Front Country Trips
Our front country trips provide opportunities for people to experience projects near the ocean, in the scenic Cascade Mountains and in northeast Washington. Our trips also provide you with experienced leaders, a great project, some camping tents, sleeping bags and all your meals for the week.
Advanced Back Country Trips
On these trips you will be backpacking to the work site and will have a chance to advance your trail and leadership skills under the supervision(监护) of a WTA leader.
Trip Details
In 2015, trip fees for WTA members will be $195 for the first trip and $145 for each additional trip. Non-members will pay an additional $40 for their first trip and can be qualified to be members in the second trip. Due to the popularity of our trips, please submit your payment and application within two weeks. If a trip is full and you would like to be added to the waiting list, please call us at 206/625-1367 or email trail-teams@wta.org.
Scholarships
We believe no student should have to stay at home this summer because he or she can’t afford to go outside. Thanks to donations from members and supporters, WTA is proud to announce that we are able to offer a limited number of scholarships. Application Deadline: May 1, 2016.
1. If you are going on Front Country Trips, you can’t go on trips ________.| A．near the ocean | B．in northeast Washington |
| C．in the Cascade Mountains | D．in the back country |
| A．$145. | B．$185. | C．$235. | D．$195. |
| A．must submit your payment and application within two weeks. |
| B．can cancel your trip and get all your money back. |
| C．will be added to the waiting list. |
| D．will naturally become a WTA member |
4 . The measure of a good night's sleep is usually based on two things—the amount of time spent sleeping and the quality of that sleep. But now researchers say there is a third thing that matters even more than the other two when it comes to keeping good sleep habits, and that is having a regular bedtime.
A study has found that going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day have an important effect on one's health. Adults who stick to a regular bedtime tend to weigh less, have lower blood sugar and reduced risk of heart disease.
The researchers studied the sleeping habits of 2,000 adults with an average age of 69. They found that people with greater irregularity in their sleep patterns tended to go to sleep later at night,feel sleepy and sleep more during the day, and experienced reduced light exposure. These people were also more likely to be stressful. Among the three kinds of sleep problems, sleep regularity was the most strongly associated with health.
Of course ,there are many people for whom this may be impossible, such as night-shift workers or those with late-night duty. But for those who don't have mandatory(强制的) reasons to stay up late, they should make an effort to go to bed at the same time every night. Skip the late afternoon coffee.Get off the phone.Try this calculator to figure out the best bedtime.
As Matthew Walker, a scientist, wrote, "The shorter your sleep, the shorter your life. "Surely that's reason enough to go to bed on time.
1. What can we infer from the research?| A．Adults enjoy sleeping late. |
| B．The old often have less sleep. |
| C．Poor sleep has a lot to do with our health. |
| D．The older you ar , the more stressed you feel. |
| A．Giving up jobs. | B．Drinking coffee. |
| C．Turning off our cell phones. | D．Using a clock to wake us up. |
| A．To show the importance of the good sleep. |
| B．To tell us how to make our life colorful. |
| C．To tell us how long we should sleep every day. |
| D．To present disadvantages of going to bed on time. |
| A．The Importance of Sleep | B．The Suitable Time for Sleep |
| C．Ways to Have a Good Sleep | D．Stick to a Regular Bedtime |
5 . Johnny Cash was born in 1932 in the southern state of Arkansas. His parents were poor cotton farmers. As a school boy, he began writing songs and he performed on radio programs. After high school, he joined the United States Air Force and served as a radio operator in Germany.
He returned to the United States in 1954 and formed a band with two friends and performed at local events. They began recording for Sun Records in Memphis. One of the songs Cash wrote became the first country music hit record for the company. It was “Cry, Cry, Cry.”
Johnny Cash performed all across the United States and Canada. By 1958, Johnny Cash was a successful recording artist, songwriter and singer. He was invited to perform at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.
Johnny Cash won many awards, including eleven Grammy Awards and the Kennedy Center Honors. He was elected to both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He also received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
He died on September 12, 2003, in Nashville at the age of seventy-one.
Fans say that Johnny Cash's music was important because it told simple stories about life and death. They say he cared about social issues and continued to express support for those who are poor and without political power. One of the last songs he recorded was one made popular by the rock and roll group Nine Inch Nails. It is called “Hurt.”
1. Johnny Cash returned to the United States after ________.| A．he finished high school | B．he formed a band |
| C．he served in US Air Force in Germany | D．his song Cry, Cry, Cry became famous |
| A．Johnny Cash performed his famous song Cry, Cry, Cry at the Grand Ole Opry |
| B．Johnny Cash didn't care about social problems |
| C．Johnny Cash's music was only loved by his fans |
| D．the Grand Ole Opry is a place where famous singers hold their concerts. |
| A．Beat | B．Failure | C．Strike | D．Success |
| A．he won many awards in his lifetime |
| B．he often performed in the Grand Ole Opry |
| C．his songs expressed support for the poor people with no political power |
| D．his songs were sung by the rock and roll group Nine Inch Nails |
6 . The bed should be reserved as a place for sleep，but people tend to read an iPad a lot in bed before they go to sleep．
Charles Czeisler，a professor at Harvard Medical School，and his colleagues got a small group of people for an experiment．For five days in a row，the people read either a paper book or an iPad for four hours before sleep．Their sleep patterns were monitored all night．Before and after each trial period，the people took hourly blood tests to paint a day-long picture of just how much melatonin（褪黑激素）was in their blood at any given time．
When subjects read on the iPad as compared to the paper books，they reported feeling less sleepy at night and less active the following morning．People also took longer to fall asleep on the iPad nights，and the blood tests showed that their melatonin secretion（分泌）was delayed by an hour and a half．
The researchers conclude in today's journal article that gives the rise of e-readers and the increasingly widespread use of e-things among children and adolescents，more research into the"long-term consequences of these devices on health and safety is urgently needed．"Czeisler and colleagues go on，in the research paper，to note"Reading an iPad in bed may increase cancer risk．"
However，software has been developed that can reduce some of the blue light from the screens of phones and computers according to time of day，and there are also glasses that are made to filter（过滤）short wavelengths．While they seem like a logical solution for the nighttime tech users，it needs more research．
1. In Charles Czeisler's experiment，all the subjects were asked to ______ ．| A．sit in a row and receive the strict tests |
| B．have their sleep patterns observed all night |
| C．read a paper book and an iPad at the same time |
| D．have their blood tested per hour during the trial |
| A．feel less sleepy and tired in the day |
| B．fall asleep more easily after reading |
| C．have a lot more melatonin secretion |
| D．become less energetic the next morning |
| A．remove the blue light from your devices completely |
| B．help prevent eyes being harmed by short wavelength |
| C．weaken the harm done by doing nighttime e-reading |
| D．be used in all the e-things widely and safely |
| A．No e-reading in bed before sleep |
| B．New software for night e-readers |
| C．Wrong behaviors before bedtime |
| D．No games on iPad in bed． |
7 . I have well travelled in Spain and visited a good number of Spanish cities. However, no city will ever quite match Cadiz, where I spent six months studying as a student.
Before that, I knew very little about Cadiz but I decided to take a risk and explore it. Well, the risk certainly paid off.
Cadiz, Europe’s oldest city, hangs off Spain’s southern coast on a peninsula (半岛), surrounded almost entirely by water. As you leave the shady streets of the historical old city and explore more of it, you are met with vast areas of the blue Atlantic Ocean and white sandy beaches, which in my opinion are some of the best in Spain!
One of the great things about Cadiz is the wonderful, rich culture of food and drink. There are little tapas (小吃) bars lining every street and most will serve tapas for around 1.50~2 euros, meaning you can try a whole variety of Andalusian dishes.
Cadiz has also come to be known as “The Singing City”. It comes from the annual carnival (狂欢节), one of the biggest in Europe. A very large number of people go to Cadiz to see it. During those ten days, Cadiz’s narrow streets are filed with the sound of singing as musical groups fight for a place in the contest, which takes place on the last Saturday of carnival. The songs perfectly show the sense of humor of the Gaditanos, who, besides being so warm and welcoming, are said to have the best sense of humor in Spain!
That is my experience of Cadiz: a wonderful, typically Andalusian city which is often overlooked but well worth a visit. I can currently living in Huelva, just a short drive from Cadiz, so please pay attention to my next sharing!
1. What dose the word “that” underlined in paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Studying in Cadiz. | B．Competing in a match. |
| C．Teaching a student. | D．Becoming an explorer. |
| A．The unknown origin and long history of Cadiz. | B．The beautiful life of people living to Cadiz. |
| C．The geographic position and scenery of Cadiz. | D．The author’s complex attitude towards Cadiz. |
| A．A number of local people enjoy humorous songs. |
| B．Singing is everywhere during a big annual carnival. |
| C．Many grand carnivals attract well-known singers. |
| D．A lot of singing competitions take place each year. |
| A．A post on the Internet. | B．A geography textbook. |
| C．A travel brochure. | D．A biography. |
8 . For decades, China had wanted a Nobel Prize in science. Tu Youyou, a researcher who helped to develop a malaria（疟疾）medicine, finally won the country that honor.
In fact, Tu is not the only scientist in China who is catching the world’s attention. In 2016, the Nature journal published a list of the top 10 science stars in China. Gao Caixia and Cui Weicheng are two of them.
Gao Caixia has been devoted to genetic engineering for her whole career. She is known for using CRISPR-Cas9, the revolutionary gene-editing technique that is sweeping through biology labs around the world – in crops.
At first, Gao was unwilling to take up gene editing using CRISPR-Cas9 because her lab at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology in Beijing had already created mutations（变异）in 82 genes using an older type of technology. But after thinking carefully about it, she decided to give it a try.
After a year of hard work, her lab finally succeeded. Gao worked on genetic engineering in wheat, a crop that is famous for being difficult to work with. Now she is considered one of the best in the world at engineering wheat.
Cui Weicheng is the developer of China’s record-setting Jiaolong submersibl（e 潜水器）. He is now a professor at Westlake University. In 2012, Cui rode inside China’s Jiaolong submersible and reached a depth of more than 7,000 meters in the Pacific.
Thanks to Jiaolong and the 57-year-old developer, China is now one of only a few nations that can explore the deep sea. Jiaolong can travel deeper than any other manned research submersible currently in use, which shows China’s increasing ambition and leadership in deep-sea research.
1. Why is Tu Youyou mentioned at the beginning of the passage?| A．To show one of China’s long-held dreams. |
| B．To stress the importance of the Nobel Prize. |
| C．To praise Tu Youyou for her contributions. |
| D．To introduce more top Chinese scientists. |
| A．Because she failed in her attempt to study other crops. |
| B．Because she was expert at wheat engineering. |
| C．Because wheat is hard to be genetically engineered. |
| D．Because wheat is the most widely planted crop in China. |
| A．He teaches about sea at a university. |
| B．He developed Jiaolong submersible. |
| C．He is devoted to genetic engineering. |
| D．He reached the bottom of the ocean. |
| A．China’s Science Stars | B．China’s Nobel Prize Dream |
| C．Gao Caixia－China’s Crop Engineer | D．Cui Weicheng－China’s Deep Diver |
9 . Below are the international days currently playing a more and more important role across the world.
World Earth Day.
Every year on April 22, People all over the world celebrate Earth Day. It is a time to work to keep our earth clean. U.S. Senator (参议员) Gaylord Nelson first thought of the idea for Earth Day in 1962 when he saw polluted rivers and cities with smoke. He needed to get support from Americans to clean up the earth. Finally, on April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans celebrated the first Earth Day! It is a day that is meant to raise awareness (意识) and appreciation about the Earth’s natural environment.
World Book Day.
World Book Day is a celebration to improve the enjoyment of books and reading. Each year, on April 23, celebrations take place all over the world. April 23 marks the anniversary (周年纪念日) of the birth or death of a number of well-known writers, including William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes and Manuel Mejía Vallejo. World Book Day is an occasion to pay a worldwide respect to books and authors and to encourage people to discover the pleasure of reading.
World Autism Awareness Day (世界自闭症关注日)
World Autism Awareness Day aims to increase people’s awareness about people, especially children, with autism. This condition affects the brain’s functions and remains with a person for his or her whole life. The first signs usually appear before a child is three years old. On December 18, 2007, the UN General Assembly (联合国大会) determined April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day. It was first observed in 2008.
1. What made Gaylord come up with the idea for Earth Day at first?| A．Polluted water and cities with smoke. |
| B．Support from Americans. |
| C．Serving as a Senator. |
| D．The Earth’s natural environment. |
| A．To help children with autism. |
| B．To discover the pleasure of reading. |
| C．To honor some well-known writers. |
| D．To sell more books. |
| A．The Days raise the awareness of protecting the earth. |
| B．The Days took place in the same month. |
| C．The Days are only celebrated in America. |
| D．The Days were all first celebrated in 2008. |
10 . Volunteering abroad is a great way to help others，improve your skills and become a more confident，independent person. If you are interested in volunteering abroad，here are some places to go.
Australia
If you seek a life on the beach，in a great climate with friendly people，Australia might be your best bet. With thousands of volunteers already signing up to leave for Australia during the holidays，it will be a very popular option.
Brazil
This vast country has some great opportunities on offer and is especially popular this year. A lot of volunteer work is available in Brazil centers on conservation and ecological projects. With the world's largest rainforest in Brazil，of which huge part is in danger，there are lots of different jobs you can do.
Kenya
Kenya is the destination for those seeking an African experience. Generally volunteers in Kenya work in orphanages (孤儿院) or with local children living in slums. There is a great demand for volunteers in Africa because many people live in poverty，so if you truly feel like making a difference to a community，Kenya should be at the top of your list.
Costa Rica
Golden sandy beaches，clear coastlines and beautiful cities are what Costa Rica is all about. Because of its small size，you can see a lot of the country in just a short time. You can really make the most of your time as a volunteer. A lot of work is needed with wildlife and ecological work，so if you want to look after turtles on the beach，Costa Rica could be just the place for you.
1. If you are interested in protecting the environment，you will probably go to .| A．Australia | B．Brazil | C．Kenya | D．Costa Rica |
| A．animals | B．plants | C．the elderly | D．children |
| A．take care of trees in the forests | B．surf with children in the water |
| C．work with animals on the beach | D．look after children who have lost their parents |
