1 . What to See in Dujiangyan City

Dujiangyan Irrigation (灌溉) System

Dujiangyan water conservancy (保护) project makes full use of local geographical conditions of high northwest and low southeast, according to the special natural feature of mountains and rivers and according to water potential to draw water without dam to irrigate by gravity. What is great is that it exists for more than 2,250 years, and it produces more and more benefits. After the completion of Dujiangyan Irrigation System, the Chengdu plain became a vast rich land.

Two Kings Temple

Two Kings Temple is located in the Minjiang River right bank slope (斜坡) and it closes to Dujiangyan in the front. It was Emperor Temple originally in memory of the king of Shu and later, it was offered sacrifices to Li Bing and his son, renamed the “Chongde Temple”. In the main hall, there is the statue of Li Bing and his son and there was water conservancy quotes, poet inscriptions (题词) and so on.

Fulong Temple

Fulong Temple is located in the Lidui Park. It is said that Li Bing and his son were here to prevent floods by water control. So in the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, in order to honor Li Bing, it was named “Fulong Temple”. In the middle of front hall there is Li Bing stone figure carved in the Eastern Han.

Anlan Suspension Bridge

Anlan Suspension Bridge is also known as “Anlan Bridge” and “Couple Bridge”. It is located in Dujiangyan Fish Mouth, known as the one of the five bridges of ancient China and is the most typical landscape of Dujiangyan. It was built before the Song Dynasty. The original bridge used wood block as base, hanging a thick bamboo cable cross the river.

1. By what was Dujiangyan water conservancy project mainly built?

A．Wide plains.	B．High dams.
C．Artificial rivers.	D．Geographical conditions.

2. What do Two Kings Temple and Fulong Temple have in common?

A．They were built in parks.

B．They have statues of Li Bing.

C．They were located on the left bank of the Minjiang River.

D．They were the most typical landscape of Dujiangyan.

3. What do we know about Anlan Suspension Bridge?

A．It was built in the Ming Dynasty.	B．It is the earliest bridge in China.
C．It was originally built on stones.	D．It is one of the five bridges in ancient China.

2 . Four Beautiful Gardens in the World

Giardini Botanici Villa Taranto, Italy

This beautiful garden lying in Southwest Italy is a large garden spread over 39.6 acres of land. It is one of the largest gardens in Europe and has over twenty thousand plant varieties of over one thousand species. Like French gardens, this garden too has many beautiful fountains, canals, statues and waterfalls that add to the visual appeal (视觉吸引力). There are long walkways built across the garden to let visitors walk through the flower beds.

The Longwood Garden, the United States

The Longwood Garden is one of the largest in the United States and is spread over an area of 1,077 acres. Within the area, there are over forty different types of gardens having flowers and trees from different parts of the world. There are many fountains, ponds and canals in this garden and animals like deer, beavers and many birds are permanent residents (永久居民) here.

Yuyuan Garden, China

One of the beautiful gardens of China, it was finished in 1577 by a government officer of the Ming Dynasty (1368—1644) named as Pan Yunduan. It is simplified as Garden of Happiness and is a beautiful garden lying beside the City God Temple in the northeast of the Old City of Shanghai. In the name of the garden, Yu means peace and satisfaction and it was specially planned for Pan’s parents. It is popular among tourists as “city amid mountains and woods”.

Jardin Majorelle, Morocco

One of the top tourist attractions of Morocco is a botanical garden and artist’s landscape garden lying in Morocco. The garden was created by Jacques Majorelle (French Orientalist artist) in a span of 40 years and he started it in 1923. The cubist villa (别墅) of the garden was designed by the French architect, Paul Sinoir in the 1930s. It was used as a residence (住宅) by the artist and his wife from 1923 until they get their divorce in the 1950s.

1. What is special about Giardini Botanici Villa Taranto?

A．It covers an area of 1,077 acres.	B．It is the largest garden in Europe.
C．It was created by a French artist.	D．It has long walkways through the flower beds.

2. Whom was Yuyuan Garden specially designed for?

A．Pan Yunduan himself.	B．Pan Yunduan’s parents.
C．A government officer.	D．A Chinese artist.

3. When was Jardin Majorelle built at first?

A．In 1577.

B．In 1923.

C．In 1930.

D．In 1950.

3 . Arouca Geopark in Portugal has announced that visitors are free to visit its record-setting bridge, the 516 Arouca Bridge. Though it’s quite high, it’s the length of the bridge that has set a record. It’s the world’s longest hanging bridge for walkers.

The bridge runs between two mountains in Arouca Geopark. The “516” in its name comes from the fact that it’s 516 meters. Until the 516 Arouca Bridge was completed, the longest hanging bridge for walkers was the 494-meter-long Charles Kuonen Bridge in Randa, Switzerland. To replace an older crossing that was damaged by falling rocks, it was opened to the public five years ago, as the website for what is now the world’s second longest hanging bridge says.

The 516 Arouca Bridge, started in May, 2018, is made mainly of metal. It cost $2.8 million and took two years to complete. However, it was not until one year later that the bridge was officially opened. It is a little scary to walk on. The sides and bottom of the bridge are built with a metal grid (网格) and it’s easy to see through it. At its highest point, the bridge is 175 meters off the ground. Far, far below is the rushing Paiva River.

Arouca Geopark is famous for its beautiful natural scenery and the many outdoor activities. Arouca’s leader, Margarida Belém, says proudly, “There’s no other bridge like this one in the world.” All of the city leaders think the bridge can attract people from all over the world for a lot of different reasons. Some might come for the scenery. Others might come to see how the bridge was built. But perhaps most will come to enjoy the safe, but scary experience of walking across. Its website describes the walk as “the most exciting 516 meters of your life”.

1. What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Arouca Geopark.	B．The 516 Arouca Bridge.
C．The Charles Kuonen Bridge.	D．The website for the bridge.

2. In which year was the 516 Arouca Bridge opened officially?

A．In 2018.

B．In 2019.

C．In 2020.

D．In 2021.

3. What do the Arouca’s leaders expect of the 516 Arouca Bridge?

A．It can offer exciting experiences.	B．It can boost local tourism.
C．It can be protected well by visitors.	D．It can make walkers safer.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．World’s Longest Hanging Bridge Is Opened	B．Two Hanging Bridges Have Been Finished
C．Countries Are Eager to Build Hanging Bridges	D．Hanging Bridges Are Beneficial to Visitors

4 . Iceland is Europe's westemmost country,with the world's most northerly capital city. Reykjavik. Iceland has a population of about 340,000, spreading over more than 100,000 square kilometers. Despite its small size, there are many reasons to visit this amazing country.

City of Culture

Most visitors' first destination is Reykjavik, a small and clean city known for its colorful and stylish buildings. The city's downtown area is lined with shops, art galleries,cafes and bookstores. In 2000, Reykjavik was awarded the title of Europe's City of Culture, thanks to its art museums for true art lovers.

Hot Springs

Iceland has a number of hot springs around the island. All are heated naturally by underground volcanic activity. In fact, this energy is tumed into electricity, which powers and heats people's homes and businesses. As a result, Iceland burns very little fossil fuel, such as oil and gas. Iceland has some of the cleanest air in the world.

Caves and Monsters

In Iceland, one of the most popular outdoor activities to enjoy is caving. Exploring Iceland's special lava caves or ice caves is challenging and requires special clothes and hiking tools. The best-known ice caves are in Vatnajökull, which, at 8,000 square kilometers, is Europe's largest ice cave. Outside the town of Reykjavik, the huge rocks were once believed to be monsters. These are dramatic scenery on a magnificent black-sand beach.

The Golden Circle

No trip to Ieeland would be complete without a visit to the Golden Circle, which connects Gullfoss, the hot springs region of Geysir, and Thingvellir National Park. The Mid-Atlantic Fault that runs through Iceland is literally pulling the island apart. No place is more obvious than Thingvellir Valley, where the land is actually separating and the stony ground frequently changes.

1. What made Reykjavik win the name of Europe's City of Culture?

A．Its typical art museums.	B．Its creative buildings.
C．Its special ice caving.	D．Its dramatic scenery.

2. What contributes to Iceland's cleanest air according to the text?

A．Its geographical feature.	B．The less need for electricity.
C．Plenty of fossil fuel.	D．The use of volcanic energy

3. Which part of the Mid-Atlantic Fault can be most easily seen?

A．Gullfoss.

B．Vatnajökull.

C．Geysir.

D．Thingvellir Valley.

5 . The ruins of a huge Maya city have been discovered in Guatemala with the help of the remote sensing technique LiDAR, according to the National Geographic on Thursday.

This breakthrough was possible thanks to LiDAR sensors, which can survey landscapes in 3D by reflecting laser pulses off the ground from unmanned air vehicles and others. LiDAR is exceptionally useful for detecting archeological sites (考古遗址), as it gets through jungles and other features that hold up exploration on the ground. The technique has been the activator (催化剂) of many discoveries in recent years. For instance, major finds at Angkor, Cambodia and Caracol, Belize can explain what it did.

This large lost city envelops sites like Tikal, Holmul, and Witzna—known for their temples and pyramids—but shows that these famous heritage areas are the tip of the iceberg of this lost urban network.

Hidden under the jungles of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, more than 60,000 human-made features—homes, canals, highways, some of which can even reach the modernized standard—have been identified by an international cooperation of researchers headed by the PACUNAM Foundation, a Maya cultural and natural heritage organization. Those have experts rethinking the outlines and complexity of the Maya empire.

These ancient peoples obviously established these imaginative cultures based on their known relics, but the new research has shown that the scale of this lost society is far beyond what experts had imagined. The findings will be explored in an hour-long documentary called Lost Treasures of the Maya Snake Kings, premiering (首映) Tuesday, February 6 on the National Geographic Channel.

“There are entire cities we didn’t know about now showing up in the survey data,” said Francisco Belli, one of the lead archeologists on the project. “There are 20,000 square kilometres more to be explored and there are going to be hundreds of cities there that we don’t know about, and we will push the frontiers,” he added.

1. What can we know about LiDAR?

A．It’s a breakthrough in archeology.	B．It’s major equipment in air forces.
C．It was first used in discovering a Maya city.	D．It’s a remote sensing technique using laser pulses.

2. What does the underlined word “Those” in paragraph 4 refer to?

A．The jungles of the Reserve.	B．The outlines of the Maya empire.
C．The researchers of the organization.	D．The man-made projects of the Reserve.

3. Which of the following words can best describe the Maya empire?

A．Famous and dangerous.	B．Vast and highly developed.
C．Mountainous and aggressive.	D．Enormous and traditional.

4. What do archeologists hope to do next?

A．Restudy the history of Maya.	B．Use the LiDAR sensors as usual.
C．Continue to explore the unknown.	D．Study the documentary more carefully.