4 . After spending a term in Spain, I have been trying to work out which common impressions on Spain have some truth in them and which don't.    1    

Spain is always warm and sunny. This is not true. The city I stayed in, which is in central Spain, often becomes colder than London in winter. However, the city receives little rain all year round and gets very hot in summer.    2    In Andalusia of southern Spain, for example, temperature can be cool but pleasant in winter, but becomes very high in summer.

The Spanish love to have fun.    3    The Spanish people I meet tend to be very warm and open. Spaniards love to celebrate life through different festivals throughout the year. As well as religious festivals, they celebrate others such as La Tomatina, a festival in Valencia where people throw tomatoes at each other.

    4    This is true. Both locals and tourists enjoy watching Flamenco shows just as much, especially in Andalusia. It is also possible to see them in Madrid and Barcelona, but they tend to be more for tourists. I recommend seeing a Flamenco show in Cadiz or Jerez de la Frontera. The flamenco in Cadiz takes on a more cheerful style. Maybe this is because the people of Cadiz live by the sea and have access to beautiful sandy beaches.

Spain is a fascinating country, in which you are sure to have lots of fun. I find that a lot of the common impressions on Spain hold some truth.    5    Spanish culture is very complex and the traditions and culture, as well as food and weather, can vary between regions.

A．Spain is famous for its Flamenco.

B．Here’s what I have discovered so far.

C．But the country is not limited to them.

D．I have seen a lot of evidence that this is true.

E．The following are correct impressions on Spain.

F．Southern Spain tends to be warmer than northern Spain.

G．Northern Spain is colder in summer and also colder in winter.

5 . 语法填空

Antarctica is the coldest continent on Earth. It's also among the driest.     1    (cover) about 14 million square kilometers around the South Pole, it is the fifth     2     (large) continent in the world. A high mountain range, the Transantarctic Mountains,     3     (run) from east to west, cutting the continent into two. There are    4    (volcano) too, but they are not very active. Antarctica holds about 90% of the world's ice, and most of its fresh water is in a frozen state, of course. Approximately 98% of the surface is covered     5     (permanent) by the ice cap. On average it is around two kilometers thick, but in some places it reaches a     6     (deep) of about five kilometers. Strong winds driven by gravity blow from the pole to the coastline, while other winds blow round the coast. It is difficult     7     (imagine) a more inhospitable place.

Yet Antarctica is full of wildlife, which has adapted     8     its extreme conditions. But the Antarctic winter,     9     involves a period of over three months of complete darkness, as well as the extreme cold and lack of rainfall, means that few types of plants can survive there. Only two types of flowering plants are found,     10     there are no trees on the large continent.

6 . In the middle of the Pacific Ocean lies the tiny island nation of Tuvalu，the fourth smallest country in the world. This group of four islands and five atolls (islands made from coral) is famous for its sandy beaches and turquoise (蓝绿色的) waters and has long been a popular tourist destination for nearby New Zealanders. However, the nation of Tuvalu is at risk of soon no longer existing; not because of war or political change, but because it will be covered by the rising ocean.

Tuvalu is experiencing the harmful effects of global warming. As global temperatures rise, so does the ocean temperature. Due to the scientific law of “thermal expansion,” when water heats it get bigger.     1     Most experts claim that the effects of climate change will make Tuvalu uninhabitable within the next 50 years. Problems are already emerging. As sea levels rise, ocean water containing high levels of salt is travelling further and further inland destroying the little amount of soil Tuvaluans have to grow crops.

Even before Tuvaluans began to suffer from the effects of climate change, lift on Tuvalu was tough.     2     Most of the land on an atoll is rock-hard arid any soil that exists on it is usually thin and poor for growing crops. The nation has always had to import food apart from fish.

More serious than Tuvalu’s lack of home-grown food has been its lack of drinking water.    3     Therefore, Tuvaluans depend almost entirely on rainwater for their water needs. Unfortunately, due to a geographical phenomenon known as La Nina, Tuvalu often suffers from long periods of drought. In autumn 2010, after seven months of no rain, the Prime Minister had to declare a state of emergency riot only because of a lack of drinking water, but also because the water left was polluted with cholera (霍乱)     4    

Tuvalu’s problems have led some of its 11, 000 inhabitants to consider migrating to Australia or New Zealand.    5     They know they’ll have to someday, but for as long as possible, they want to remain and make the world aware of what is happening to their homeland due to chimate change.

A．It was a desperate situation and, but for emergency shipments from New Zealand and Australia, many Tuvaluans would have died.

B．This is largely due to the geological makeup of atolls.

C．Unlike normal islands, atolls have no rivers or streams, which means that most of Tuvalu has no groundwater to use for drinking.

D．Tuvalu’s representatives demanded that nations should take a more responsible rote in reducing gas emissions.

E．Therefore, sea levels are rising and for low-lying Tuvalu, this spells disaster.

F．However, they ate not willing to abandon the land of their forefathers so easily.

G．And as a member of the United Nations, they are doing just that.

7 . Mapping Antarctica

Antarctica was on the map long before anyone ever laid eyes on it. Nearly 2,400 years ago, ancient Greek philosophers such as Aristotle believed that a great continent must exist at the bottom of the world. They though it was needed to balance out the continents at the top of the world. In the 1500s, mapmakers often included a fanciful continent they referred to as Terra Incognita(Latin for “unknown land”) at the bottom of their maps. But it was not until the 1800s -----after explorers had sighted and set foot on Antarctica----- that mapmakers got down to the business of really mapping the continent, which is one—and—a –half times rhe size of the U.S..

While the coastline could be mapped by ships sailing around the continent, it took airplanes—and later, satellites---to chart Antarctica’s vast interior(内陆). That job continues today. And it is a job that still require a mapmaker, or cartographer, to put on boots and head out into the wild.

Cole Kelleher is familiar with that. He is a cartographer with the Polar Geospatial Center(PGC), which is based at the University of Minnesota and has a staff at McMurdo Station. PGC teamed up with Google to use the company’s Trekker technology to capture images of Antarctica for the Internet giant’s popular feature, Street View. A Trekker camera, which is the size of a basketball, is set about two feet above a backpack. The camera records image in all directions. “It weighs about 50 pounds. I was out for two and a half days, hiking 10 to 12 hours each day,” says Kelleher. It was hard work, but really an incredible experience.” According to Kelleher there are plans to use the technology to create educational apps for museums.

The PGC staff at McMurdo Station provides highly specialized mapmaking services for the U.S. Antarctic Program. For one project, Kelleher used satellite images to map huge cracks in the ice. That helped a team of researchers know whether they could safely approach their field camp on snowmobiles. Another recent project was to help recover a giant, high—tech helium(氦气) balloon used to carry scientific instruments high into the atmosphere. These balloons are launched in Antarctica because there is no danger that they will hurt anyone when they fall back down to Earth. Using satellite images, Kelleher and colleagues created maps of where the balloon could be found.

Antarctica may no longer be Terra Incognita, but it still holds countless mysteries. Cartographers and the maps they make will continue to be essential in helping scientists unlock those secrets.

1. From the passage, we can infer that Antarctica was on the map in the 1500s when________.

A．mapmakers knew it was much larger than the U.S.

B．Aristotle named the continent Terra Incognita

C．no one had ever seen or been to the continent

D．it was such an interesting continent as was often referred to

2. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A．It needs much work for the mapmakers to head out into the wild.

B．The interior can only be mapped by planes and satellites.

C．It is relatively easy to map Antarctica’s coastline by ship.

D．Antarctic is a vast but still mysterious continent.

3. The Polar Geospatial Center (PGC) works with Google initially_________.

A．to capture images of Antarctica for Street View

B．to test the company’s Trekker technology

C．to create educational apps for museums

D．to hike for an incredible experience

4. The fourth paragraph mainly talks about _______.

A．satellite images which are used to map huge cracks in the ice

B．a high-tech helium balloon for carrying scientific instruments

C．how to safely approach the researcher’s field camp and the balloon

D．the specialized mapmaking services provided by the PGC staff

8 . 语法填空

The Dujiangyan is the oldest man-made water system in the world, and a wonder in the development of Chinese agriculture.     1     （build）over 2,200 years ago in what is now Sichuan Province in Southwest China, this amazing engineering     2    （achieve）is still used today.

In ancient times, the region where Dujiangyan now stands     3    （suffer）from regular floods from the Minjiang River.     4    （help）the victims of the flooding, Li Bing,     5     region governor, together with his son, decided to find a solution. Li designed a series of channels built at different levels along Mount Yulei that would take away the floodwaters while leaving the river flowing naturally.     6    （good）still, the extra water could be directed to the dry Chengdu Plain, making     7     suitable for farming.

Once the system     8    （finish）, no more floods happened and the people were able to live     9    （peaceful）. Today, Dujiangyan is admired by scientists from around the world because of one feature. Unlike modern dams,     10     the water is blocked with a huge wall, Dujiangyan still lets waterflow through the Minjiang River naturally, making the ecosystem（生态系统）and fish populations exist in peace.

9 . Famous Modern Chinese Buildings

Beijing International Airport

The first place most visitors see when they arrive in China is Beijing International Airport. The airport was constructed in the 1950s. It has an indoor garden, a children’s playground, and over 70 food businesses in Terminal 3 alone.

Shanghai World Financial Center

Completed in 2008, SWFC took over 10 years to complete due to financial shortages and construction delays. Since its completion, it has won countless architectural awards.

Tourists are welcome at SWFC's viewing platform, which at 474 meters above ground is the worlds highest closed viewing platform.

The Water Cube

It was constructed for use during the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. Now visitors can express surprise at the architecture of the building. They can enjoy the indoor atmosphere as well.

Among the offerings of the Water Cube are a restaurant and bar, a shopping area, and Water World, a family water park

The Bird's Nest, Beijing

It was designed mainly for the 2008 Summer Olympics. It can hold up to 80,000 people and has been used for a winter theme park. Nowadays, its main income is as a tourist attraction. It draws more than 20,000 tourists every day.

National Center for the Performing Arts

It was completed in 2007. The building is surrounded by a man-made lake, requiring guests to enter via an underground hallway. It is home to an Opera Hall, Music Hall, and Theater.

1. Which of the following buildings was first constructed?

A．Beijing International Airport.	B．Shanghai World Financial Center.
C．The Water Cube.	D．The Birds Nest, Beijing.

2. Why was the construction of Shanghai World Financial Center delayed?

A．It needed more construction workers.	B．It was short of money.
C．It added an extra viewing-platform.	D．It faced too much terrible weather.

3. How does the bird's Nest operate daily?

A．By renting the winter theme park.	B．By increasing its opening time.
C．By charging tourists for admission fees.	D．By giving some live concerts.

4. What can you do in National Center for the Performing Art?

A．Enjoy sports events.	B．Play musical instruments.
C．Attend science lectures.	D．Watch different performances.