1 . Lonely Planet Trips
Here are some travel destinations by Lonely Planet. Reading them, you’ll be in a flash.
Bhutan
The Kingdom of Bhutan, located on the Silk Road in South Asia, claimed the No. 1 spot partly for its majestic beauty and because it had become the first fully organic nation by 2020. The kingdom has lush subtropical plains in the south and sub-alpine Himalayan mountains in the north, which include Gangkhar Puensum, Bhutan’s highest peak and is believed to be the highest unclimbed mountain in the world.
North Macedonia
If you want an alternative to Europe's more popular travel spots, North Macedonia could be for you. Its mountains and their trails are “blissfully quiet” and the locals are “unfailingly helpful” according to Lonely Planet. Among its destinations is Ohrid, a charming, old town dotted with medieval ruins and churches, lined with cobblestone streets, and overlooking Lake Ohrid.
Eswatini
The kingdom offers multitudinous climate and topography differences, and is known for its wide varieties of wild animals, which include more than 500 bird species and 107 mammal species. The nation has seven nature reserves, four frontier conservation areas and three wildlife reserves.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica is beloved for many reasons, from its coffee to its epic surfing. It’s also notable for its reliance on green energy sources. In fact, 90% of its energy is created by regenerative sources such as wind and hydro. It is also one of the world’s most biodiverse countries — home to half a million species. Of course, no trip to Costa Rica is complete without a visit to the Sloth Sanctuary.
1. What can tourists appreciate in both Bhutan and North Macedonia?| A．Organic products. | B．Subtropical jungles. |
| C．Medieval architecture. | D．Mountain scenery. |
| A．Pleasant quietness. | B．Topography varieties. |
| C．Abundant wildlife. | D．Cobblestone streets. |
| A．Renewable resources. | B．Biodiverse plants. |
| C．Frontier preserves. | D．The Silk Road. |
The Shard was designed by the famous Italian architect Renzo Piano. When he began designing the Shard for London, Piano wanted a very tall building that looked like a spire (尖顶)• He wanted the glass surfaces to reflect the sky and the city. The sides of the building aren’t regular. So the building has an unusual shape. It looks like a very thin，sharp piece of broken glass. And that is how the building got the name: the Shard. Piano says that the spire shape of the Shard is part of a great London tradition. The shape reminds him of the spires of the churches of London or the tall masts (桅杆）of the ships that were once on the river Thames.
The Shard has 87 floors. At the top, there is an observatory. At the moment the building is empty, but eventually there will be a five-star hotel. There will also be top quality restaurants, apartments and offices.
Before building work began, a lot of people didn’t want the Shard though the plans were approved. Now they are still unhappy about the Shard. Some critics say that such a tall skyscraper might be good in a city like New York, but not in London. They say that the best thing about the Shard is its spire shape. But that is the only thing. There is no decoration, only flat surfaces. The Egyptians did that 4,500 years ago. They also think the Shard is too big for London. It destroys the beauty of the city.
Other critics don’t like what the Shard seems to represent. They say that the Shard shows how London is becoming more unequal. Only very rich people can afford to buy the expensive private apartments and stay in the hotel. But the people who live near the Shard are among the poorest in London. So the Shard seems a symbol of the division in society between the very rich and the poor.
The Shard now dominates the London skyline. It is not certain, however, that ordinary London citizens will ever accept it as a valuable addition to the city.
1. London’s newest skyscraper is called the Shard because of ._____
| A．its cost |
| B．its size |
| C．its shape |
| D．its height |
| A．change London’s skyline |
| B．inherit London’s tradition |
| C．imitate the Egyptian style |
| D．attract potential visitors |
| A．is only preferred by the rich |
| B．is intended for wealthy people |
| C．is far away from the poor area |
| D．is popular only with Londoners |
| A．The Shard: Cheers and Claps |
| B．The Shard: Work of a Great Architect |
| C．The Shard: New Symbol of London? |
| D．The Shard: A Change for the Better? |
3 . Rainforests are home to a rich variety of medicinal plants, food, birds and animals. Can you believe that a single bush（灌木丛）in the Amazon may have more species of ants than the whole of Britain! About 480 varieties of trees may be found in just one hectare of rainforest.
Rainforests are the lungs of the planet-storing vast quantities of carbon dioxide and producing a significant amount of the world's oxygen. Rainforests have their own perfect system for ensuring their own survival; the tall trees make a canopy（树冠层）of branches and leaves which protect themselves, smaller plants, and the forest animals from heavy rain, intense dry heat from the sun and strong winds.
Amazingly, the trees grow in such a way that their leaves and branches, although close together, never actually touch those of another tree. Scientists think this is the plants' way to prevent the spread of any tree diseases and make life more difficult for leaf-eating insects like caterpillars. To survive in the forest, animals must climb, jump or fly across the gaps. The ground floor of the forest is not all tangled leaves and bushes, like in films, but is actually fairly clear. It is where dead leaves turn into food for the trees and other forest life.
They are not called rainforests for nothing! Rainforests can generate 75%of their own rain. At least 80 inches of rain a year is normal-and in some areas there may be as much as 430 inches of rain annually. This is real rain-your umbrella may protect you in a shower, but it won't keep you dry if there is a full rainstorm. In just two hours, streams can rise ten to twenty feet. The humidity（湿气）of large rainforests contributes to the formation of rainclouds that may travel to other countries in need of rain.
1. What can we learn about rainforests from the first paragraph?| A．They produce oxygen. | B．They cover a vast area. |
| C．They are well managed. | D．They are rich in wildlife. |
| A．Heavy rains | B．Big trees. |
| C．Small plants. | D．Forest animals. |
| A．For more sunlight. | B．For more growing space. |
| C．For self-protection. | D．For the detection of insects. |
| A．Life-Giving Rainforests | B．The Law of the Jungle |
| C．Animals in the Amazon | D．Weather in Rainforests |
4 . Thanks to world-famous Colombian writer Garcia Marquez, many people think of Latin America as a land of magic. In his books, impossible things happen.
Latin America includes more than 30 countries and areas located south of the United States in the American continent. From north to south, it starts from Mexico in North America, goes through the Caribbean and ends at the southernmost tip of South America.
There is also diverse mix of people in Latin America.
Latin America is an open and romantic place. Its impressive natural environment, historical contributions and cultural traditions have made it unique and influential.
| A．It has natives, Africans and Europeans. |
| B．Latin America’s environment is quite diverse. |
| C．Where does the magic in his books come from? |
| D．They are cheerful and can bring strangers together. |
| E．Many people in Latin America have open and romantic hearts. |
| F．The music and dance of Latin America are quite well-known. |
| G．To most people, Latin America is a land of happiness and passion. |
5 . The huge Florida wetland known as the Everglades is a slow﹣moving river 80 kilometers wide but only a few centimeters deep. People call the Everglades a "river of grass" because sawgrass covers most of it. Sawgrass is not really grass. It is a plant that has leaves edged with tiny sharp teeth that can easily cut through clothes ﹣and skin!
Travel in the Everglades is difficult. You cannot walk through shallow water because the sawgrass will cut you. The water is too shallow for regular boats. So， we use an airboat. An airboat is a flat， open boat. Like an airplane， it has a big propeller to move it. The propeller is fixed on the rear of the boat. It makes a loud noise but it does the job. The boat skims along the water's surface. Although we can still get lost in an airboat， at least we are above the alligators （短吻鳄）.
For a long time， dangers have threatened the Everglades. Around 1900， some people felt this precious wetland should be drained（排干）. They said it was just a big swamp and not good for anything. In the 1920s， there was a land boom in Florida. People wanted to build homes everywhere， including in the Everglades. They built canals， levees， and other water systems that stopped the rivers flowing into the Everglades. Factories were built near rivers that flowed into the wetland. These factories poured poisonous waste that damaged the environment of the everglades.
People are now working to preserve the Everglades National Park for the future. Right now one big problem is the paperbark tree. This tree is an invader from Australia.
Paperbark trees soak up a lot of water. In the early 1900s，people brought them to Florida because they thought they would help drain the Everglades. However， the invaders adapted too well. Paperbark trees have taken over hundreds of thousands of acres of the everglades and killed other trees. Scientists are cutting down these trees or spraying them with herbicides to kill them.
1. What possibly cause（s） airboats to get lost in the Everglades？| A．The sawgrass. |
| B．The vast river. |
| C．The alligators. |
| D．The shallow water. |
| A．Because they can move faster. |
| B．Because their noise frightens the alligators. |
| C．Because they have flat bottoms. |
| D．Because they carry more passengers. |
| A．By cutting down trees |
| B．By building factories. |
| C．By growing sawgrass. |
| D．By digging water channels. |
| A．Seeds. |
| B．Poisons. |
| C．Crops. |
| D．Paints. |
6 . Deep in the middle of Sri Lanka, a massive column of rock reaches out from the green tropical forest. It is 660 feet tall and features frescoes (壁画), graffiti, and landscaped gardens.
The rock is known as Sigiriya and holds a special place in the island's cultural history.
It was established as the stronghold of a king over 1,500 years ago, and today the Sigiriya complex stands as one of the earliest preserved examples of ancient urban planning.
Located in the Central Province, the column of rock is somewhat central to the country. The rock is known as Sihagiri, meaning "Lion Rock", a nod to the giant animal carved from stone which greeted visitors at the entrance.
In 476 BC. King Dhatusena ruled over Sri Lanka. One of his illegal sons, Kashyapa, wanted the throne (王位). Kashyapa overthrew Dhatusena and drove his brother Moggallana to Southern India. Kashyapa crowned himself king in 477 BC.
King Kashyapa chose Sigiriya as his palace because its position was an advantage to the defensive stronghold, offering fantastic 360-degree views. Plans to build a city quickly unfolded and after several years, the Sigiriya complex had become a business center for the new King.
Sigiriya was both a palace and a fortress (堡垒); the overall complex featured five gates and measured just under 3 km by just over 1 km. The site plan consisted of a fort，an upper palace on the top of the rock,and lower palaces at ground level. The king also constructed gardens throughout，and for protection a river with walls surrounded the complex.
Frescoes decorate the western side of the rock, along with the mirror wall, a brick face covered in a highly-polished white plaster. When new, the wall was said to be able to produce Reflections.
Over time the Mirror Wall became a graffiti board, covered in verses written by visitors. Known as "Sigiri Graffiti", some of the messages date to the 8th century CE.
1. It is implied in the passage that Sigiriya was built to ______________.| A．preserve the culture of Sri Lanka | B．prove the ancient urban planning |
| C．keep the King from being attacked | D．protect the green tropical forest |
| A．have a reflection before the Mirror Wall |
| B．leave comments on the Mirror Wall |
| C．draw beautiful paintings of girls on the wall |
| D．be lost in thought before the Mirror Wall |
| A．Its entrance is carved like a lion. | B．Its gardens are at ground level. |
| C．Its western side is a mirror. | D．Its palaces are on the top of the rock. |
| A．The giant lions in Sri Lanka. | B．The pearl of the Indian Ocean. |
| C．The Lion Rock of Sri Lanka. | D．The mirror wall in a rock. |
7 . The following properties which the World Heritage Committee （世界遗产委员会）has decided to include on the List of World Heritage are under threat.
Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley （Afghanistan）
The cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley stand for the artistic and religious developments which from the 1st to the 13th centuries characterized ancient Bakhtria. The area contains a number of Buddhist monastic ensembles, as well as strong buildings from the Islamic period.
Historic Centre of Vienna （Austria）
Vienna developed from early Celtic and Roman settlements into a Medieval and Baroque city, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It played an important role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural buildings, including Baroque castles and gardens, as well as the late-19th-century Ringstrasse lined with grand buildings, monuments and parks.
Okapi Wildlife Reserve （Democratic Republic of the Congo）
The Okapi Wildlife Reserve occupies about one-fifth of the Ituri forest in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Congo river basin, of which the reserve and forest are a part, is one of the largest drainage systems in Africa. The reserve contains threatened species of primates and birds surviving in the wild. It also has some amazing scenery, including waterfalls on the Ituri and Epulu rivers. The reserve is inhabited by traditional nomadic pygmy Mbuti and Efe hunters.
1. Which of the following heritage sites is located in Asia?| A．Okapi Wildlife Reserve. |
| B．Historic Centre of Vienna. |
| C．The Austro-Hungarian Empire. |
| D．Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley. |
| A．Music composers. |
| B．Birds researchers. |
| C．Modem building lovers. |
| D．Natural Scenery Photographer. |
| A．They are all in danger. |
| B．They are closed to the public. |
| C．They feature lots of ancient buildings. |
| D．They are to be removed from the World Heritage List. |
8 . Record fires sweeping across the Amazon recently have been making the headlines as scientists and environmental groups are worried that they will worsen climate change crisis and endanger biodiversity(生物多样性）。
As the largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon is often called"the lungs of the world”. It is also home to about 3 million species of plants and animals, and 1 million local people. The vast area of rainforest plays an important role in the world's ecosystem because it absorbs heat instead of reflecting heat back into the atmosphere. It also stores carbon dioxide and produces oxygen, ensuring that less carbon is released, reducing the effects of climate change.
＂Any forest destroyed is a danger to biodiversity and the people who use that biodiversity," Thomas Lovejoy, an ecologist at George Mason University told National Geographic."The great danger is that a lot of carbon goes into the atmosphere,"he stressed."In the midst of the global climate crisis, we cannot afford more damage to a major source of oxygen and biodiversity.The Amazon must be protected,"UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said.
Data from the National Institute for Space Research(INPE)show that the number of forest fires in Brazil quickly increased by 82 percent from January to August a year ago.A total of 71,497 forest fires were registered in the country in the first 8 months of 2019,up from 39,194 in the same period in 2018,INPE said.＂We estimate that the forest areas in the Brazilian Amazon have decreased something between 20 and 30 percent compared to the last 12 months," Carlos Nobre, a researcher at the University of Sao Paulo, told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
Brazil owns about 60 percent of the Amazon rainforest,whose degradation(恶化）could have severe consequences for global climate and rainfall.The extent of the area ruined by fires has yet to be determined, but the emergency has gone beyond Brazil's borders.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?| A．The great role of the Amazon rainforest. |
| B．The effects of consistent climate change. |
| C．The causes of the decreasing biodiversity. |
| D．The results of the Amazon rainforest fires. |
| A．To explain the process of the research. |
| B．To present the bad influence of forest fires. |
| C．To prove the great importance of the rainforest. |
| D．To show the emergency of protecting the rainforest. |
| A．The dry weather leads to the rainforest fires. |
| B．The biodiversity makes the rainforest unique. |
| C．The rainforest fires result in serious consequences. |
| D．The global climate crisis brings more rainforest fires. |
| A．Climate and life. |
| B．Nature and geography. |
| C．Humankind and society. |
| D．Science and technology. |
9 . Today we know Antarctica as an extreme environment containing ice and snow. But new research provides evidence that the area was very different in the past.
The evidence was found inside a piece of earth sediment(沉积物) collected by researchers from a depth of about 30 meters below the ocean floor off the coast of Antarctica. In the sediment, they found forest soil estimated to be about 90 million years old. This would have been in the Cretaceous Period, when dinosaurs were the main land animals.
Johann Klages is a geologist, working in the Institute's Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research in Germany. He said an examination showed that the material formed on land, not in the ocean.
The researchers estimate that the area – about 900 kilometers from the South Pole – had average yearly temperatures of about 12 to 13 degrees Celsius. During the warmest summer months, average temperatures likely reached between 20 to 25 degrees Celsius. The average yearly temperature in that area is about 40 degrees below zero Celsius.
The examination results showed “a dense network of roots that spread through the entire soil layer,” the Helmholtz Center said in a statement.
The dark brownish-gray soil included fine dirt particles and hard clay, as well as substances linked to at least 65 different kinds of plants, the study found. Klages put that the plants included trees, ferns and flowering plants and while no animal remains were found, there were likely dinosaurs, flying reptiles and many insects in the environment.
The researchers said that the rainforest environment in Antarctica was especially surprising because each year, the area experiences a four-month polar night when there is no sunlight to fuel plant life.
1. According to the passage, we can learn that ________.| A．dinosaurs were from Antarctica |
| B．Antarctica was always extremely cold |
| C．the ocean floor is made up of sediment |
| D．the area has been experiencing climate changes |
| A．No animals left. |
| B．No fertilizer to fuel plants. |
| C．Roots spreading through the soil. |
| D．The rainforest experiencing polar night. |
| A．Science. | B．Entertainment. | C．Society. | D．Fiction. |
| A．Antarctica, Once a Warm Rainforest |
| B．Earth Sediment Found in Antarctica |
| C．Antarctica - an Extreme Environment |
| D．New Antarctica Found by Researchers |
10 . The Hope Diamond is one of the world’s most famous jewels. It was in the possession of a series of people: kings, bankers, rich women and thieves, before its arrival 60 years ago at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
As a rare blue diamond, it has a complex social history, to be sure. But, far more so is its geological history, researchers say in a new report. This is the first time anyone has come up with a fact-based study or model for how blue diamonds form.
The group looked at 42 blue diamonds, including one from South Africa that recently sold for $25 million in 2016. Researchers could tell where the stones were formed based on the very small minerals trapped inside.
Diamonds are a hard, clear form of pure carbon called a crystal (结晶). They form under extreme heat and pressure. Blue diamonds crystallize alongside water-bearing minerals that long ago were part of the floor of the sea. But these minerals were pushed deeper underground during the movement of the Earth’s plates.
Scientists already knew these diamonds received their blue color from the element boron (硼). The study says that boron had once been in ocean water but was eventually pushed into the seafloor rock. Over millions of years, the boron continued to move deep underground.
Many diamonds appear colorless. Often, however, they have some yellow color. Still others have a light brown, pink or green color. About 99 percent of all diamonds form somewhere between 150 to 200 kilometers underground, a far shallower birthplace than their blue relations. “These diamonds are among the deepest ever found,” Carnegie Institution for Science geochemist Steven Shirey said of the blue diamonds.
The public can see the Hope Diamond at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C.
1. By saying the underlined part in Paragraph 2, the researchers mean the blue diamond ________.| A．was formed in extreme weather |
| B．has a very complex forming history |
| C．has a far-reaching influence in society |
| D．used to be very popular among rich people |
| A．By observing their colors. |
| B．By studying their structures. |
| C．By referring to where they were found. |
| D．By examining tiny substances in them. |
| A．The water. | B．Extreme heat and pressure. |
| C．A special matter. | D．The seafloor rock. |
| A．They contain several colors. |
| B．They form in much deeper underground. |
| C．They come into being in a different way. |
| D．They are found near the earth’s surface. |
| A．The social status of the Hope Diamond. |
| B．The discovery of the Hope Diamond. |
| C．The formation of the blue diamond. |
| D．The diversity of diamonds. |
