1 . I’m interested in the Renaissance (文艺复兴), so I like visiting ancient Italian cities. Ferrara is called City of the Renaissance. When I learned about this city on the Internet, I decided to pay a visit to it.

The city has a certain charm, but I find it isn’t as great as other Italian cities like Verona, let alone Venice or Rome. The Michelin Green Guide gives it two stars, which is right.

I first visited the city centre. The Cathedral and Castello Estense are at the heart of the city. Both have striking appearances. I visited the Cathedral first. Castello Estense is also worth visiting, which owes its name to the powerful Este family. It was built with bricks and surrounded by a moat (护城河). At the lower levels, the history of the city and the Este family are told through displays, and in another part the ceilings are shown through mirrors on the ground.

In the north, we can appreciate the Renaissance extension of the town, with straight streets and monumental houses. The famous Palazzo dei Diamanti lies here. When I was visiting it, it started to rain, so after taking a few photos quickly, I cut my visit there short. It had been raining for a few days. When the rain ceased, I went to visit the historical centre and the Renaissance buildings.

After leaving there, I visited several other interesting places such as palaces and the narrow streets of the downtown. After four hours in Ferrara I left by train to Mantua. There I had a much better time.

1. Why did the author pay a visit to Ferrara?

A．Because it is related to the Renaissance.	B．Because it is full of charm.
C．Because it is a very famous city in Europe.	D．Because it is strongly recommended by a website.

2. What did the author think of The Michelin Green Guide’s comment on Ferrara?

A．Subjective.

B．Reasonable.

C．Unacceptable.

D．Unbelievable.

3. How could Castello Estense probably get its name according to the text?

A．It came from the historical buildings.	B．It originated from the straight streets.
C．It was named after the powerful Este family.	D．It was connected to the surrounding moat.

4. What can we infer from the text?

A．The writer thought Ferrara was as great as Venice.

B．The writer visited Palazzo dei Diamanti for a long time.

C．The writer was much more satisfied with the tour in Mantua than in Ferrara.

D．The writer was disappointed with the visit to the Cathedral and Castello Estense.

2 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

China’s annual Ice and Snow Festival, with its fairy-tale ice sculptures, opened late last week,     1     (attract) crowds of tourists who shuffle(拖着脚走) carefully over the slippery snow     2     drag their children in sledges around the park.

This year the ice park covers 810, 000 square meters with 250, 000 cubic meters of sculptured ice,     3     (harvest) from the nearby frozen Songhua River, and lights up at night with colorful lights. The sculptures, some a few-storey-high, feature Chinese-style-buildings, fairy-tale castles, and one fashions after Beijing’s Temple of Heaven. Several ice slides     4     (build)for children and adults around the park. The average number of people visiting the park daily has increased     5     (significant) to around 30, 000 this year, and hotel rooms in the city have been booked past the Spring Festival in February. Over the New Year’s holidays, the festival park received over five times more visitors a year ago, with     6     63, 200 people visiting.

This year’s winter has proven to be     7     important season for Harbin, as interest in the icy destination rises quickly after social medium     8     (post) show many people from the warmer south crowding into the snowy city, seen as key in jump-starting the “ice and snow” economy there. The tourists from the south,       9     wrap themselves up tightly to brave the sub-zero chill and wear cute furry eared hats, win an adorable nickname from the locals, “     10     (south) little potatoes”.

3 . I started to worry when the golf car taking me, Steve, and our suitcases stopped in the middle of the Maine forest. A yurt (蒙古包) is a tent tall enough to stand in and wide enough to fit a big family. But I didn’t see it anywhere.

“You hike from here,” said the driver, pointing down a weedy (杂草丛生的) path. The woods were darkening, and Steve encouraged me to pick up the pace. My summer sandals (凉鞋) slipped on the wet leaves. Steve and I spent a good hour until we spotted the light of the yurt.

Steve skillfully lit a fire. We ate some sandwiches, had a few beers, and settled in for a good night’s sleep. But I couldn’t relax. I shook Steve awake. “The door to the yurt doesn’t lock,” I said. “What if a bear wanders into the camp?”

“Don’t worry. Moose (驼鹿) are a bigger problem here than bears,” he said.

“Well, what if someone decides to rob us? Or what if one of the locals wants to teach us a lesson?” “OK,” Steve said with a heavy sigh. He forcefully placed a chair under the door handle. “There, additional protection.” He smiled. “And even if someone gets through the door, you’ll have time to grab that book and use it as a weapon.” I laughed. Sleep moved in. We could enjoy our weekend.

When we “checked out” three mornings later. I was the first one up. That’s when I realized that the door opened ... out. The chair had been serving no purpose other than to keep me quiet.

“So,” I said, as we walked heavily back to meet the golf car. “How else have you been ‘handling’ me this weekend?”

He smiled. “Well. I decided not to tell Von about the snake that lived in the firewood.”

1. What can be learned from the first two paragraphs?

A．I was quite looking forward to the trip.	B．It was convenient to get to the yurt.
C．I felt nervous and anxious about the trip.	D．The golf car sent us directly to the yurt.

2. What might be the real reason for Steve to put a chair under the door handle?

A．To make it safer to sleep inside.	B．To stop me from worrying.
C．To protect them from locals.	D．To have fun.

3. What can we infer about Steve?

A．He was worried about moose and bears.

B．He might have some experience in sleeping in a yurt.

C．He put the snake in the firewood.

D．He had learned a lesson from the locals.

4. What’s the best title of the passage?

A．A Meaningful Trip to Yurt	B．The Importance of Getting Close to Nature
C．More to Know about Yurt	D．The Time I Survived a Yurt

4 . Metropolitan Museum Member Morning Hours

Every Thursday morning, just before the Museum opens to the public, Members are ivied to experience the newest exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum without the crowds. Member Morning Hours are held from 9 to 10 am. Members are also invited to bring guests. Timed Tickets are not required for entry.

The Balcony Lounge(酒廊) Service

The Balcony Lounge will be open for breakfast during Member Morning Hours. All Members can swing by for coffee and a cake for free after early morning exhibition viewing.

Entry for Member Morning Hours

Please enter at the 81st Street and Fifth Avenue entrance. Once inside, Members may go directly to the Museum galleries.

Health and Safety

To ensure a safe and enjoyable environment for all, the Museum is following guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), New York State, and New York City for increased health and safety procedures. Masks are required. A full list of the Museum’s health and safety guidelines is available online. Learn more here.

Member Pro Tip!

Your Membership card is your passport to the Museum! When you arrive at the Museum, present your Membership card at any Member desk on the ground floor at 81st Street.

For Membership questions, please contact us at membership@metrmuseum.org or call 212-731-1753(M-F, 10 am-5 pm EST).

1. When does the Museum most probably open to the public on Thursday mornings?

A．At 8:00 am

B．At 8:30 am.

C．At 9:30 am.

D．At 10:30 am.

2. What is provided to all members at no cost?

A．Breakfast.

B．Lunch.

C．Afternoon tea.

D．Supper.

3. What is true about Member Morning Hours?

A．Advance booking is required.

B．Once entering the museum, members can visit any part of it.

C．Members without Membership card are not allowed to enter

D．Members are permitted to enter for exhibitions only during 9-10 am.

5 . Coming into the town of Santa Catarina Palopó, in the highlands of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, the first thing you notice is the bright colors. Most of the buildings along the main street are eye-catching, deep blues and greens, dotted with red and yellow to form diverse patterns and designs.

Santa Catarina Palopó was once a sleepy town of 5, 000 people, most of them dependent on agricultural work. But as agriculture began to dry up here, poverty came. To deal with poverty and promote econ on growth through tourism, a small but creative group of laborers, artisans, domestic workers and stay-at-home moms created the Pintando Santa Catarina Palopó project.

The project aimed to paint all 850 homes and buildings in bright colors to change the hillside town into a work of art. “We wanted to paint the houses with colors and figures that represent the community” says the project’s executive director Stephany Blanco. “Families can choose designs for their house that are representative of the family.”

One of the most representative characteristics of the region is the blue huipil, a traditional blouse which has been worn commonly by local women since the 16th century. That deep sky blue was chosen the primary color-for the Pintando project, with secondary colors found in the sunsets and the nearby lake to make the design more attractive. Inspiration was also found in local culture, symbols such as volcanoes, flowers, and the national bird of Guatemala.

Each week, local artists, community members and tourists pick up paintbrushes to make buildings colorful. “At first, the idea of the project was uncertain, but now you can see a considerable difference in the town,” Melissa Whitbeck said. “The color of the buildings is believed to improve the quality-of life of the people. It uplifts the people’s mood and encourages them to be proud of their hometown.”

1. Why was the Pintando Santa Catarina project started?

A．Because of a workforce shortage.	B．Due to the poor economic conditions.
C．Thanks to the increase in population.	D．For the old-fashioned farming ways.

2. What is the project about?

A．Building family art galleries in Guatemala.	B．Creating job opportunities for local artists.
C．Developing local tourism by selling artworks.	D．Changing the town into a cultural destination.

3. What is the inspiration of the primary color for the project?

A．The surrounding volcanoes.	B．Mayan-styled butterflies.
C．A type of traditional clothing.	D．The national bird of Guatemala.

4. What is Melissa’s attitude towards the project?

A．Positive.

B．Reserved.

C．Concerned.

D．Negative.

6 . China is one of the world’s ancient civilizations and has the earliest outstanding bronze casting (青铜冶铸) technology. Here we’ve created a list of 4 museums where you can gain an in-depth understanding of Chinese bronze.

Sanxingdui Museum Address: Sanxingdui Ruin Site, 133 Xiangxin Road, Guanghan, Deyang, Sichuan province Hours: Comprehensive Gallery (the first exhibition hall): 8: 30-18: 00;Bronze Gallery (the second exhibition hall): 8: 30-18: 30.(no entry after 17: 00). Closed Mondays Ticket booking: 0838-5651526 General admission: Gallery ticket 80 yuan Note: Children shorter than 1.2m (including 1.2m ) can visit the gallery free of charge. The ticket must be used on the day it is sold.

National Museum of China Address: East side of Tian’ anmen Square, Dongcheng district, Beijing Hours: 8: 30-17: 00(no entry after 16: 30) General admission: Free (passport required for entry). Closed Mondays (except for national holidays) E-mail: webmaster@chnmuseum.cn

Shanghai Museum Address: 201 Renmin Avenue, Huangpu district, Shanghai Hours: 9: 00-17: 00(no entry after 16: 00). Closed on the morning of Chinese New Year’s Eve E-mail: webmaster@shanghai-museum.org General admission: Free(a max of 8,000 admitted daily).

Hunan Museum Address: 50 Dongfeng Road, Changsha, Hunan province Hours: 9: 00-17: 00(no entry after 16: 00). Closed Mondays (except for national holidays) and the eve of Chinese New Year Tel: (+86-731) 84415833,84475933 E-mail: web@hnmuseum.com General admission: Free(passport required for entry).

For more information, click here.
1. Which museum should you choose for your family to visit next Monday?

A．Shanghai Museum.	B．Hunan Museum.
C．Sanxingdui Museum.	D．National Museum of China.

2. What do Hunan Museum and National Museum of China in this passage have in common?

A．They are free to children under 12.	B．They close on national holidays.
C．They can be reserved through e-mail.	D．They need a passport for entry.

3. Where is the text probably come from?

A．A website.

B．A newspaper.

C．A travel journal.

D．A history book.

7 . After my family got comfortably settled in Hotel Ramada in Bangkok, we started exploring the city. After endless hours of shopping, it was finally time to go back.

This was when the trouble started. We forgot there are two Ramada hotels in the opposite directions. Absolutely unaware of this, we started searching for the way back. Google maps suggested us the shortest route, which was just 20 minutes away by walk.     1    

Bangkok felt different after sunset. Walking along the heavily-crowded roads with the dark-red sky felt beautiful. Lost in our talk, we didn’t realize that we passed onto the quieter part of the town.

    2     It was closed for redecoration. Unluckily, nobody around us then spoke English. Worse still, we stepped in a local tuk-tuk (三轮车), which took us to an unknown area for an enormous pay. We had no clue where we were, our mobile phones nearly out of power.

    3     He was a taxi driver. Recounting the day’s events proved to be a great conversation starter. We ended up talking through the way. He was so kind as to offer to drive us around for the rest of our stay.     4     For the next four days, from floating markets to the temples of Wat Pho, our trip wouldn’t have been so trouble-free without him.

Sometimes when things don’t go according to plan, I think about the stranger we met on the streets and how a tiny mistake on our part led to unexpected results.     5    

A．That was when our hero arrived.

B．Our thankfulness was beyond description.

C．We reached a completely different Hotel Ramada.

D．We set off into the city with little research on transport.

E．We decided not to waste our money but our time instead.

F．He then reminded us that our hotel was just a few blocks away

G．The trip rings as a reminder that every cloud has a silver lining.

8 . One might expect that the ever-growing demands of the tourist trade would bring nothing but good for the countries that receive the holiday-makers. Indeed, a rosy picture is painted for the long-term future of the holiday industry. Every month sees the building of a new hotel somewhere. And every month another rock-bound Pacific island is advertised as the last paradise (天堂) on earth.

However, the scale and speed of this growth seem set to destroy the very things tourists want to enjoy. In those countries where there was a rush to make quick money out of sea-side holidays, over-crowded beaches and the concrete jungles of endless hotels have begun to lose their appeal.

Those countries with little experience of tourism can suffer most. In recent years, Nepal set out to attract foreign visitors to fund developments in health and education. Its forests, full of wildlife, and rare flowers, were offered to tourists as one more untouched paradise. In fact, the nature all too soon felt the effects of thousands of holiday-makers traveling through the forest land. Ancient tracks became major routes for the walkers, with the consequent exploitation (开采) of precious trees and plants.

Not only can the environment of a country suffer from the sudden growth of tourism. The people as well rapidly feel its effects. Farmland makes way for hotels, roads and airports; the old way of life goes. The one-time farmer is now the servant of some multi-national organization; he is no longer his own master. Once it was his back that bore the pain; now it is his smile that is exploited. No doubt he wonders whether he wasn't happier in his village working his own land.

Thankfully, the tourist industry is waking up to the responsibilities it has towards those countries that receive its customers. The protection of wildlife and the creation of national parks go hand in hand with tourist development and in fact obtain financial support from tourist companies. At the same time, tourists are being encouraged to respect not only the countryside they visit but also its people.

The way tourism is handled in the next ten years will decide its fate and that of the countries we all want to visit. Their needs and problems are more important than those of the tourist companies. Increased understanding in planning world-wide tourism can preserve the market for these companies. If not, in a few years' time the very things that attract tourists now may well have been destroyed.

1. The example of Nepal is used to suggest _______.

A．its natural resources are untouched	B．its forests are exploited for farmland
C．it develops well in health and education	D．it suffers from the heavy flow of tourists

2. What can we learn about the farmers from Paragraph 4?

A．They are happy to work their own lands.

B．They have to please the tourists for a living.

C．They have to struggle for their independence.

D．They are proud of working in multi-national organizations.

3. The author’s attitude towards the development of the tourist industry is _______.

A．optimistic

B．doubtful

C．objective

D．negative

9 . 假如你是李华，元旦期间，你打算和家人去北京旅行。请你给好友Richard写一封邮件，分享你的旅行计划。内容包括：
1. 写信目的；
2. 具体的旅游景点；
3. 出行方式及希望。
注意：1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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