3 . People often wonder about some of the best places to see. A good point of reference is to first look at attractions labeled as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These sites are culturally or physically significant places listed by the United Nations for their importance to humanity as a whole. Let’s see some of them!

The Mogao Caves, China

Also known as the Mogao Grottoes, the caves are located along the cliffside (峭壁) above the Daquan River in Gansu province. First built in 366 and comprising 492 caves, the Mogao Caves are known as the biggest collection of Buddhist art in the world. As a landmark or the historic Silk Road, the Mogao Caves are a perfect display of Chinese art history over a period of a thousand years.

Redwood National Park, US

Lying in the mountainous region north of San Francisco in California, US. the Redwood National Park is significant for its collection of redwood trees — the tallest and oldest trees in the world — as well as its variety of sea and land wildlife. Once abundant throughout the temperate (气候温和) regions of the world, the Redwood trees of California are among the only living examples left of this old plant species, a biological group which has existed for 160 million years.

Machu Picchu, Peru

Situated in the Andes Mountains, this fascinating ancient city is remarkable both for its beautiful setting as well as its use of complex city planning. Standing at 2,430 meters above sea level, the city of Machu Picchu is covered with both mist and mystery. Researchers have yet to uncover the city’s role in the Incan (印加族的) empire’s use of astronomy and plant domestication (驯化).

1. What can you learn from the Mogao caves?

A．They were built on steep cliff.

B．They have the largest art collection.

C．They were built five centuries ago.

D．They perfectly exhibited art history.

2. Why is Redwood National Park important?

A．Because it lies in the mountainous region.

B．Because it has a number of redwood trees.

C．Because it has a temperate and mild climate.

D．Because it has various tallest and oldest trees.

3. What do we know about Machu Picchu?

A．Its high altitude makes the place well-known.

B．Its complex city planning enjoys the best fame.

C．The mist surrounding the city added to its beauty.

D．The Incan culture is still a mystery for researchers.

4 . To understand the effect of ice melting (融化) around the world we first have to understand what an ice sheet actually is. Covering 5.4 million square miles in Antarctica (南极洲) and 656,000 square miles in Greenland, an ice sheet is actually a huge land of ice from the Ice Age. These sheets form in areas where snow that falls in winter does not melt entirely over the summer. This ice, home to different species of animals, is now melting at a rate that cannot support the life it currently holds.

Many of these creatures rely on ice sheets as land for resting, hunting and protection, yet as the size decreases, they are forced out of their homeland in search of other land on which to live. Often this means journeys to search for food and an imbalanced ecosystem happens when different species are forced together onto the coast.

Since the 1990s, the deer population has dropped by 56 per cent—climate change has caused warmer temperatures over winter setting off rainfall instead of snow, which freezes more quickly underfoot and makes it harder to walk and search for food. In the summer, frozen layers of land melts and releases trapped diseases which bring death to animals. A similar situation has fallen on the polar bears who suffered a 40 per cent population loss between 2001—2010.

Quite apart from these problems, the threat of sea levels rising if the ice caps were to disappear is approaching. If the Greenland Ice Sheet melted, the sea level would rise around six meters, and if the Antarctic Ice Sheet melted, sea levels would rise by around 20 feet. As a matter of fact, sea levels have risen about eight inches since 1880, three of which we’ve gained over the last 25 years. This seemingly small amount has already caused dangerous flooding, loss of farmland and more deadly storms.

While we’re still a long way from losing the ice sheets all together, we’ve already lost too much and if we don’t take climate change seriously now, we will certainly hit the point of no return.

1. What is an ice sheet according to the passage?

A．It is an area where ice never melts in summer.

B．It is a land of ice that covers all Greenland.

C．It is a large area of ice that exists for centuries.

D．It is an ice world for animals to live on.

2. How does the melting of ice sheets affect animals?

A．It makes it easier to travel to other land.

B．It increases the population of sea animals.

C．It makes their surroundings more comfortable.

D．It causes hunger and illness among animals.

3. What can we infer from Paragraph 4?

A．Ice sheet will soon disappear from the Earth.

B．Sea levels are rising faster in recent years.

C．Greenland will be the first to lose all its ice.

D．All natural disasters happen due to sea level rise.

4. What could be the best title for this passage?

A．Effect of Melting Ice Sheets	B．Ice, Sea and Animals
C．Greenland and Antarctica	D．Changes of Sea Levels

5 . Researchers have solved a long-standing mystery: why rocks on a flat lakebed in Death Valley National Park in California sometimes move. Racetrack Playa, the waterless lakebed, is named for the long trails (痕迹) that the rocks, some of which weigh hundreds of pounds, leave in the earth.

What was one of the world’s natural wonders now appears to be the perfect combination of rain, wind, ice and sun, scientists have found. Dr. Norris and James M. Norris, a cousin and co-author, actually saw the rocks moving in December when they went to check on the project.

For their study, they used special global positioning system tools, designed by James Norris, in rocks of various sizes brought from outside the park. They were not allowed to move or change anything of the existing playa (盐湖) stones.

No river flows into the playa, though rainwater sometimes fills part of it to a depth of a few inches. It’s when this happens, and the nights are below freezing and the days are fine, that the rocks may “sail”, the researchers said. On those occasions, the cold night air leaves a sheet (薄片) of ice only an eighth of an inch thick. Then the warmth of the sun causes the sheet to break up. As more ice melts (融化), some of these lesser sheets have room to move. Driven by light winds, the sheets push up against rocks. The wind drives the water, too, which also helps push the ice to some degree. The movement is slow, no more than about 15 feet a minute.

The movements are episodic — the conditions may be just right for a few minutes, and then the sun causes more ice to break and the movement stops. And once the water disappears, it may be years before the rocks move again, even if the playa floods again, because the right temperature and wind conditions may not occur.

1. What do we know about Racetrack Playa?

A．It has flat rocks in the earth.	B．It is covered by rocks.
C．It has some valleys.	D．It is usually dry.

2. What was the park’s attitude to using GPS in the lakebed’s stones?

A．It doubted the method.	B．It was against doing so.
C．It felt it was worth a try.	D．It thought it was useless.

3. Why do the stones “sail” according to the Norrises?

A．They are moved by big floods.

B．They move just because of strong winds.

C．They are mainly pushed by wind-driven ice.

D．They move very slowly on smooth ice sheets.

4. What does the underlined word “episodic” in the last paragraph probably mean?

A．Amazingly big.	B．Extremely slow.
C．Happening sometimes.	D．Going on without stopping.

6 . 阅读下面材料, 在空白处填写1个适当的单词或用括号内单词的正确形式。

In Hebei Province lies a vast forest called Saihanba. This green Great Wall,     1     at its peak during the Qing Dynasty covered thousands of hectares, had by the 1950s     2    （virtual）disappeared. This allowed sand to blow into Beijing from the northern deserts.

Saihanba is a combination of Chinese and Mongolian,     3    （mean）“beautiful highlands". Until the Qing Dynasty, it was a royal hunting land because of its cool summer weather and beautiful surroundings. However, most of the area had turned into a desert by the end of the Qing Dynasty.

In fact 56 years ago there was only one tree left. But without that tree, there     4    （be）no miracle of Saihanba today. In the early 1960s, over 350 foresters     5    （send）to this area to fight the desert. They were required     6    （rebuild）the forest in Saihanba. Few people, including the foresters themselves, believed they would succeed.

Their doubt disappeared, however, when they found the 200-year-old tree, swaying alone in     7     wind. If one tree could survive here,     8     could millions of trees, they thought.

After decades of hard work, three generations of the foresters have restored almost 80% of the original Saihanba forest. Recently, they were awarded the     9    （high）environmental honor from the United Nations for their great     10    （contribute）to creating a greener world.

7 . Spend any time in London, England’s capital, and you’ll quickly gather that it’s a multicultural (多元文化的) community. Look around at your fellow passengers on the Tube(地铁) or the bus. They’re of every skin color and dress differently to one another. Listen, and you’ll hear many other languages besides English spoken. Some of these people, no doubt, will be tourists who are in London to see the sights. But others — in fact probably most — will be living their lives there, along with millions of others.

Along with white British people, there are Britons from, or with parents and grandparents from, the Caribbean, India, China and most other places. This makes London a fascinating place in which to live. The reason is that when people settle in a place, they don’t just buy a house and live there, but bring aspects of the culture of their “old country” with them.

The most visible sign of this is the number of restaurants offering dishes from different parts of the world. In a city in which it’s estimated 250 different languages are spoken, you can expect a similarly wide range of foods to be available. You would expect in one of the world’s leading cities to encounter(遇到) French, Italian, Chinese and Indian eateries. But in London you’ll also find Polish, Patagonian and Palestinian restaurants.

However, London’s multiculturalism isn’t just about food. Many types of people are gathered in one space, but the way they live differently shows in that space. They worship(崇拜) differently, for one thing. Alongside the famous old English churches by Nicholas Hawksmoor and Christopher Wren — responsible for one of the capital’s most famous landmark, St Paul’s Cathedral—you’ll find mosques(清真寺), temples and synagogues (犹太教堂).

London even speaks its own special kind of English. Language experts created the term “Multicultural London English” to identify the dialect of English that appeared at the end of the last century.

All of this makes London a very surprising and varied place to call your home. But, in a way, this has long been true. In the 18^th century, the compiler(编纂者) of the first English dictionary, Samuel Johnson, once said: “ He who is tired of London is tired of life.”

1. By describing the situation on the Tube and bus, the author intends to ________.

A．show that London is a multicultural city

B．explain why London appeals to tourists

C．prove that London is a great place to live in

D．inform us of how the population of Britain is made up

2. According to the article, people who settle in London from other places ________.

A．are forced to give up their native language

B．find it easy to buy a house in the city

C．bring in cultural practices from their original country

D．make up the majority of the population in the city

3. Which of the following could be used as proof of London’s multiculturalism?

A．The city is home to the famous building St Paul’s Cathedral.

B．The city has become a favorite destination for tourists abroad.

C．There are a variety of French restaurants in the city.

D．A new London dialect has appeared in recent years.

4. Samuel Johnson is mentioned in the last paragraph to ________.

A．show what London was like in the 18th century

B．prove the cultural diversity of London from a historical aspect

C．inform the readers what to expect in London

D．introduce the first English dictionary he compiled

8 . National parks across the USA offer visitors more than just hiking paths and points of interests. Park guests can now get to know their beautiful landscapes and rich histories in a whole new way with these adventure ideas.

• Golfing in Death Valley National Park

You’ve played the world’s best golf courses, but have you played the world’s lowest? Put the ball at the Furnace Creek Golf Course located in California’s remote Death Valley National Park. In addition to golf, the course also sets the stage for a horse-drawn carriage sightseeing offered through the resort’s Furnace Creek Stables.

• Luxury Camping in Yellowstone National Park

Want to experience sleeping under the stars? Far and Away Adventures serves up luxury-camping trips into Yellowstone National Park, covering States of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, complete with comfortable bedding and tents, delicious meals, and backcountry adventures. Guests are guided to a remote campsite along Yellowstone Lake by boat, and spend several days boating along its shores, fishing, and hiking among some of the park’s most original landscapes.

• Dog sledge in Denali National Park

Experience a dog sledge trip through one of the last wild frontiers (边疆), Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. A team of dogs and experienced guides from EarthSong Lodge lead guests into the remote and calm land inside Alaska. Although day trips are available, multi-day sledge travels allow visitors to learn the art of dog dragging, not to mention enjoying grand views of Mt. McKinley.

• Canyon Vistas Mule Ride in Grand Canyon National Park

Take in the Grand Canyon, located in State of Arizona, by four-footed mule (骡子) for breathtaking views along the edge and into its depths. Mule rides have been offered at the Grand Canyon since 1887, and are a rich part of the canyon’s history. A new four-mile tour along the edge, the Canyon Mule Ride, takes approximately three hours to complete. Along the path, riders speak to the geologic shapes and human history of the area.

1. Among the national parks mentioned above, how many of them offer animal service for guests to enjoy beautiful natural scenery?

A．One	B．Two
C．Three	D．Four

2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The four national parks are located in different states of the USA.

B．In Death Valley National Park, guests can play the world’s best golf courses.

C．Of the four national parks, Yellowstone National Park covers the largest area.

D．Park visitors have recently been offered mule rides in Grand Canyon National Park.

3. If you are keen to learn about the geologic features of the park, you may choose to visit ________.

A．Death Valley National Park	B．Yellowstone National Park
C．Denali National Park	D．Grand Canyon National Park