2 . Which is more important when an architect designs a building: beauty or function?

At the start of the twentieth century, Louis Sullivan, one of the creators of modern architecture said that “form follows function.” Functionalism is used to describe the idea behind architecture which primarily focuses on the purpose of a building. However, many people disagree with this and feel that beauty is a more important factor （因素）in architectural design. In the modern world, it seems that most architects combine both ideas: aiming to create buildings which are both functional and beautiful.

The reason for creating a building in the first place is clearly very important. For example, when building an airport terminal, you need to think of the needs of passengers as well as planes. Passengers want to get to their plane as quickly as they can, and planes need to be parked in a more efficient way. As such, many airport terminals have a circular shape with satellite areas. Residential homes need to have enough space for a family, art galleries need wall space to show pictures, and factories need to manufacture goods as efficiently as possible.

Beauty, however, is also important when it comes to the construction of a building. Living or working in an ugly place creates a depressing and uninspiring environment. On the contrary, an attractive building can make people feel happier and increase their motivation to work. There is also a wider responsibility to society which architects have to consider. Beautiful, well-constructed buildings are a symbol of a civilized society, and reflect well on the business or reputation of the owner.

In theory, there seems to be no reason why architecture cannot be both functional and beautiful. Yet in practice, this can cause problems. The Guggenheim Museum in New York, was supposed to combine beauty with function. Many consider the museum's white spiral ramp (螺旋坡道) beautiful, but there have been complaints that it is impractical, as it is difficult to stand back to view the art. Also, the ramp is so narrow that it can become overcrowded. It seems that even a celebrated design has problems with functionality.       

If architects focus only on function, buildings may be cold, ugly and uninteresting. On the other hand, if they focus only on making it look beautiful, the building may be completely impractical. Therefore, combining these two ideas is necessary to create the perfect piece of architecture.

1. From paragraph 3, what is the form of a building closely connected with?

A．Its specific function.	B．Its exceptional beauty.
C．The architect's idea.	D．The changing world.

2. Why is beauty an important factor in architectural design?

A．It is a guarantee of people's work efficiency.	B．It can give people spiritual satisfaction.
C．It suggests the fine reputation of an architect.	D．It is a reflection of ancient civilization.

3. The Guggenheim Museum serves as an example to tell us ________.

A．it is function rather than beauty that architects should focus on

B．world famous buildings must be beautiful as well as practical

C．there is no chance at all to have function and beauty connected

D．it can be difficult to have function and beauty perfectly combined

4. What is the suitable title for the article?

A．Architecture: beauty or function?	B．Argument: theory or practice?
C．Preference: abstract or concrete?	D．Conflict: Fantastic or realistic?

4 . Traveling is what makes your life complete. You may often complain that there is too much work and no time to travel.     1     There are hundreds of reasons why you should travel. Here are only 4 of them:

There is no tomorrow, take a break now.

Be spontaneous and travel whenever you feel like leaving your daily routine. Waiting for certain time of the year so that you could spoil yourself is wrong.

Your company won’t bankrupt or disappear if you leave it for a week or two.

There are plenty of people who can substitute you and do your job while you are away.     2     Here the point is to plan a week ahead. If you work hard you can play hard. Always remember that the quality of your work will improve if you have a good rest and let yourself relax and recharge with energy and positive emotions

You cannot be a good employee if you are unhappy and tense.

Your family suffers, too. When your mind is free you can perform at 200 percent.     3     You lose balance and harmony if you experience too much stress, perform a lot of demanding routine and constantly take responsibilities. Take care of yourself. Make sure that your well-being does not suffer.

    4    

We all want to excel in our profession. We want to be in charge even at home. We like to be appreciated by the community. Being such a person requires several important qualities. To gain the required qualities you must have a multi-dimensional personality. The more new activities you practice, the more chances you can become a better leader.     5    

A．Making excuse is much easier than acting.

B．Finding balance isn’t easy yet it is worth trying.

C．Have a richer life if you want to be a better leader.

D．Traveling is also a means of broadening your horizons.

E．You are useless as a worker if your body does not feel great.

F．You can do some of it in advance or you can keep it in on hold.

G．Be an instructor, inspire others and do what you would like others to do.

5 . The Notre Dame (巴黎圣母院) fire has been put out, but its wooden roof have been largely damaged. The terrible accident causes a sudden sharp pain to people around the world, “What a pity that we cannot see the damaged parts of the wonder anymore.”

But the good news is that there is at least one way of seeing them, namely via a video game called Assassin's Creed: Unity. In this game, the player can travel to one city after another and enter the buildings exactly like what they are in reality, and see Notre Dame as it was before the fire. In addition, with VR technology, which is already quite mature, one can even look around the undamaged Notre Dame as if it is still there. Maybe digital technology could help to better protect architectural cultural heritage (建筑文化遗产).

The idea of digitizing ancient buildings, making digital models of them so their data can be saved, dates back to the 1990s and the necessary technology has continued to advance since then. By scanning the ancient buildings with lasers, building 3D models with hundreds of images, as well as measuring (测量) everything precisely, engineers can make a copy as “same” as the real one.

As computers and smartphones are hugely popular，the digital replica or digital copy has great pratical value. First, it allows tourists to feel the cultural relics (文物) without touching them, which helps protect them. The virtual tour of Dunhuang Grottoes in Gansu Province is a good example of this as tourists can view the paintings without standing near them. Furthermore, it can make the digitized cultural relics more famous by spreading awareness about them via the Internet. In 2000, a virtual tour of the Great Wall became very popular at the Hannover World Expo, which increased the number of foreign tourists visiting it in the following years. Above all, it preserves all the information of the cultural relics. Even if the original ones are damaged one day, people can still know what they were like and can build a replica if desired.

Time is the biggest problem to architectural heritage. Maybe we will have better technologies in the future, but the digital technology offers a practical way to preserve architectural cultural heritage at the moment.

1. What can we see about Notre Dame in the video game?

A．The big fire.	B．Its original look.
C．The damaged parts.	D．Its wooden shape.

2. What will engineers do to create a digital replica of the ancient buildings?

A．Improve the technology needed.	B．Build 3D models of full size.
C．Scan the photos of the buildings.	D．Measure all the parts precisely.

3. How does the author prove the digital copy has great practical value?

A．By comparison.	B．By listing data.
C．By giving examples.	D．By classification.

4. What is the best title of the passage?

A．The Damage of Notre Dame

B．The Value of Digital Replica

C．VR Technology Helps Repair the Cultural Relics

D．Digital Technology Helps Protect Ancient Buildings

6 . Theme Park Tourist is your essential source for news, reviews and park guides for theme parks in Orlando, Florida and beyond. We offer a special perspective (观点) on all the latest news from Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and other parks and resorts, and are proud to deliver some of the most in-depth, well-researched articles about theme parks available anywhere on the web. Here are a few of the features we have to offer:

● Latest news — regular updates from theme parks around the world, including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and many more.

● In-depth features — fascinating articles about almost every aspect of theme parks- behind the scenes information and more.

● Park reviews and guides — all of the key information for over 90 theme parks, including reviews of attractions, restaurants and hotels.

● Rehab schedules — listings of temporary attraction closures that could affect your theme park visit.

Contact us

We are always keen to receive details of upcoming new attractions, ride repair news, special offers and any other theme park news—click here to get in touch by e-mail.

Learn more

Advertise with us — information for companies interested in advertising on Theme Park Tourist.

Donate (捐赠) to us — Are you interested in donating to Theme Park Tourist? Click here to learn more.

1. Theme Park Tourist is probably a(n) ________.

A．person guiding people to theme parks

B．website offering information about theme parks

C．organization providing service for theme parks

D．magazine collecting pictures of theme parks

2. Which of the following can you refer to if you want to know whether a theme park is available?

A．Latest news.	B．In-depth features.
C．Park reviews and guides.	D．Rehab schedules.

3. Which can not be found on Theme Park Tourist?

A．People’s donation to theme parks.

B．Up-to-date news about Walt Disney World.

C．Tourists’ comments on restaurants of Universal Orlando.

D．Newly-opened attractions of theme parks.

7 . Tourism is a leisure activity, whose prework means just the opposite. Acting as a tourist is one of the clear characteristics of being "modern" and the popular concept of tourism is that, it is organized within particular place and occurs for a period of time, which is arranged beforehand. Tourist relationships arise from a movement of people to, and their stay in, various destinations. This necessarily involves some movement, that is the journey, and a period of stay in a new place or places. The journey and the stay are by definition outside the normal places, of residence and work, and are of a short-term and temporary nature, and there is a clear intention to return home within a relatively short period of time.

Modern societies engage in such tourist practices. New socialized forms of transportation and hotel facilities have developed in order to cope with the mass character of the gazes of tourists, as opposed to the individual character of travel. Places are chosen to be visited and be gazed upon because there is an anticipation (期望) especially through daydreaming and fantasy of intense pleasures, either on a different scale or involving different senses from those who have been there. Such anticipation is also constructed and stays through a variety of non-tourist practices, such as films, TV, literature, magazines, records and videos which construct and reinforce this daydreaming.

Tourists tend to visit features of landscape and townscape which separate them off from everyday experience. Such aspects are viewed because they are thought to be in some sense out of the ordinary. The viewing of these tourist sights often involves different forms of social patterning with a much greater sensitivity to visual elements of landscape or townscape than is normally found in everyday life. People hang around these sights in a way that they would not normally do in their home environment and the vision is objectified or captured through photographs, postcards films and so on which enable the memory to be endlessly reproduced and recaptured.

One of the earliest research paper on the subject of tourism is Boorstin's analysis of the "pseudo-event" (1964) where he argues that contemporary Americans cannot experience "reality" directly but are happy with "pseudo-events". Isolated from the host environment and the local people, the mass tourist travels in guided groups and finds pleasure in fake or man-made attractions, and is cheated into enjoying the pseudo-events and disregarding the real world outside. Over time the images generated of different tourist sights lead to a closed self- perpetuating(自我延续的)system of a false belief that provides the tourist with the basis for selecting or deciding potential places to visit. Such visits are made, says Boorstin, within the "environmental bubble" of the familiar American style hotel which keeps the tourist from the strangeness of the host environment.

1. In the 1^st paragraph, the author wants to say that before you travel to a new place _______.

A．making a careful travel plan is necessary

B．planning travel involves time and thought

C．getting travel tips from your friends may save time

D．choosing unusual tourist attractions makes a trip memorable

2. The sentence “the viewing of these tourist sights often involves different forms of social patterning” in the 3^rd paragraph means ________.

A．traveling to an unfamiliar place is a pleasant change from everyday routine

B．new environmental scenes in a different place will become more attractive

C．tourists should find the native people and share with them ideas and experience

D．travelling is to see landmarks and discover unknown ways of life and values

3. We can infer from the last paragraph that ______.

A．when travelling, many tourists will miss their homes and friends

B．visiting popular tourist attractions is only a waste of time

C．the virtue of travel is to interact with a culture different from your own

D．American tourists like to visit familiar places when they travel outside

4. Which of the following can serve as the best title of the passage?

A．Tourism, an Outlook on Different Life

B．Tourism, a Direct Hug of Nature

C．Tourism, a New Relation to Familiar Sights

D．Tourism, a False Belief about the World

8 . Villa d’Este, Tivoli (Italy) --- Official Site Useful Information

Call Center 199766166

Number to dial from all of Italy for pre-sales and reservations for: tickets, guided tours, school groups, instructional visits.

Bookings from abroad:

email: villadestetivoli@teleart.org fax: 0039 0412770747

Visiting Hours:

Opening 8.30 – closed one hour before sunset.

The ticket office closes one hour before the closing of the monument.

The hydraulic organ of the Organ Fountain is active daily, from 10.30 am, every two hours.

The Fontana della Civetta functions daily, from 10.00 am, every two hours.

Ticket Prices:

(from May 17 to October 20, 2015)

Full ticket (exhibition + villa and gardens, not divisible): €11.

Reduced ticket: €7.

These prices will be valid during the daytime openings of the Villa until the closure of the exhibition, due on the 20^th of October, 2015 (From the 22^nd of October, 2015)

Full ticket: €8 Reduced ticket €4

These fares may vary in conjunction with exhibitions set inside the Villa. The right to purchase reduced price tickets belongs to all citizens of the European Union between the ages of 18 and 24 as well as permanent teachers of state schools (upon presentation of identity documents).

School Visits:

Reservations are required. The management of Villa d’Este, in the aim of preserving the monument and better distributing the flow of students, has limited the number of students allowed into the Villa to 100 students per hour. Should any school group arrive at the Villa without having made a reservation, it will be admitted to the Villa according to space availability at a particular time and asked to wait until such space becomes available. Right of reservation cost: €1,00.

Notices:

Certain areas of the villa may be closed for restoration: for information inquire at the ticket office. Please pay particular attention to the areas marked with signs indicating danger (in Italian: pericolo).

1. How can a visiting Chinese professor of architecture in Rome make a booking?

A．By dialing 199766166.

B．By writing an email to villadestetivili@teleart.org.

C．By calling 0039 04127 19036.

D．By sending a fax to 0039 0412 770747

2. The receptionist at the ticket office may recommend you to see ______first, if you arrive at 10.25 am.

A．the exhibition inside the villa	B．the Organ Fountain
C．the gardens	D．the Fontana della Civetta

3. Why are reservations essential for school visits?

A．Reservations are more economical.

B．Reservations enable as many students as possible to visit the monument.

C．Reservations ensure a pleasant visit for students and a manageable one of the Villa.

D．Reservation fees can help preserve the site.

9 . An enjoyable trip
On October 28th, we began our exciting trip to the world-famous sand island—Fraser Island, which is said to be the world largest sand island and it is one of the world cultural heritages (遗产). We were really amazed by the spectacular view there.
The road to the island is really tough and bumpy. The bus driver, who was also our guide was a very strong man. He was optimistic (乐观的) and helpful. I found he was all smiling on the way though the ride was not very smooth. We stopped for several times because the cars in front of us were blocked by sand. The road was completely sand about 50 centimeters high. We were thrown back and forth like taking a rollercoaster (过山车). All of us couldn’t help laughing when we were shaken from side to side. It took us more than an hour to arrive there. I guess this road is one of the most impressive things.
The beach is so wonderful and terrific! This was my first visit to the seaside. The broad sea made me speechless. We were really thrilled by the amazing view. We couldn’t stop taking so many pictures. The bus ran along the beach with the sea water on one side and bushes on the other side. The view outside the bus was really fantastic! The driver told us there were dingoes (野犬) in the bush. When we were sitting on the bus, we kept on searching the faraway bush for a dingo. Unfortunately, we didn’t see one.
The lake is the next destination we went to. This lake which is ringed by white sand beaches lies peacefully on the hill, which is 18 meters above the sea level. The crystal clear water from the rainfall is sparkling (闪光). Male students jumped into the lake without taking off the clothes. They played with water like small children. Nowhere else in the world can you find such a wonderful fairly land.
The forest is the last place we visited. Those towering rainforests grow on sands. There are many varieties of species. Some trees are so tall and have a history of 500 years. Some gum trees are quite strange because their barks (树皮) fall. The driver told us that this was because they wanted to protect themselves from worms or fires. This forest is home to many animals. We could hear bird singing when we were walking in the shade from the trees.
The tour to Fraser Island makes a deep impression on us. It provides us magnificent views. It is well worth a visit.   

1. __________
2. __________
3. __________
4. __________
5. __________
6. __________
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8. __________
9. __________
10. __________

10 . Swim-with-dolphins

Humans have always been fascinated by dolphins and there has been a long history of association between the two.     1    . The “swim-with-dolphins” tourist industry is becoming more popular every year. The chance to see dolphins in the wild is often a lifetime dream for many people and tour operators are always on the lookout to give their tourist swimmers the best experience they can. After all, it can cost a large amount of money to have this kind of holiday experience.     2    

Research has shown that while dolphins can move away if they do not want to interact with human swimmers , they do not like it at all if the swimmers slip into the water directly on top of them or if humans are in their path of travel. However, if swimmers enter the water to one side of them, the dolphins do not avoid the swimmers to the same extent.     3    

In all cases, the dolphins seem to have become more sensitive to the presence of the swimmers. For dolphins, swimming with humans is not necessarily a high priority(优先权).     4     It is a new and unusual experience for them .

    5     The advice is that dolphins should be given adequate periods of time throughout the day when they are not exposed to tourism. Humans’ lifelong dreams of swimming with dolphins in the wild have severely affected them, leaving not enough time for them to rest and take care of their own babies.

If we are to enjoy these remarkable animals and not just use them for our entertainment, then we must carefully monitor the “swim-with-dolphins” industry worldwide.

A．They cannot fulfill their lifelong dreams .

B．This possibly seems like less threatening behavior to them.

C．In the long term there could be harmful effects on the dolphin’s well-being.

D．It is frequently asked whether “swim-with-dolphins” tourism should be stopped.

E．So tour operators try to place eager swimmers as near as possible to the dolphins.

F．Over time this has turned into a worldwide tourist activity--swimming with dolphins.

G．In fact , only some baby dolphins will be relatively willing to participate in the interaction.