1 . Suspension bridges, with their high towers and elegant spans (跨度), are achievements of engineering. This list covers the longest main spans of suspension bridges around the world, not longest total lengths, as those main central spans are where the real engineering magic happens.

Osman Gazi Bridge, Türkiye

The Osman Gazi Bridge is a splendid suspension bridge. The bridge was finished on July 1, 2016, and at the time, it was the longest suspension bridge in Türkiye and the fourth longest in the world by the length of its main central span, which measures 1,550 meters. It reduced travel time between Istanbul and Izmir from six hours to around five.

Great Belt Bridge, Denmark

The Great Belt Bridge connects the Danish islands Zealandand Funen. The suspension bridge has a total length of 6,790 meters and a main central span of 1,624meters, making it the world’s sixth longest main span — for now. It enabled a direct driving route from mainland Europe to Sweden through Denmark.

1915 Çanakkale Bridge, Türkiye

The bridge’s construction, which began in March 2017 and concluded in March 2022, was ambitious from the get-go. Spanning the historic Dardanelles Strait in northwestern Türkiye, the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge is a symbol of national pride. Officially the world’s longest suspension bridge, it stretches a remarkable 2,023 meters in its main central span.

Yangsigang Yangtze River Bridge, China

Opened to traffic in October 2019, the Yangsigang Yangtze River Bridge in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, is the longest suspension bridge in China and the third longest suspension in the world. It spans 1,700 meters across the famous Yangtze River. The bridge notably has the world’s longest double-level bridge span, accommodating various forms of transportation on its two levels.

1. What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To praise the engineers of suspension bridges.

B．To introduce some suspension bridges fit for tourism.

C．To present the challenge of building suspension bridges.

D．To show suspension bridges with the longest main spans.

2. Which bridge has the longest main central span?

A．Osman Gazi Bridge.	B．Great Belt Bridge.
C．1915 Çanakkale Bridge.	D．Yangsigang Yangtze River Bridge.

3. What is special about Yangsigang Yangtze River Bridge?

A．Its name’s origin.	B．Its double-level design.
C．Its splendid views.	D．Its construction difficulties.

2 . About Byron

Whether you’re in Byron for fun or work, there are plenty of things to do to fill your spare time.

Byron, Georgia makes travel sweeter with its slower pace and breathtaking attractions. It’s full of historic sites, museums, shopping malls, and more. In this city at the center of Georgia’s peach industry, you can take a vacation that leaves you rested, not annoyed.

Events

Georgia Peach Festival—June                    Fall Market Days—September

Georgia National Fair—October                 Byron Christmas Parade—December

Local attractions

Byron Welcome Center

Located in the Peach Shops, the Byron Welcome Center is your first stop in our area. The Byron Welcome Center is ready to help you make the most of your stay in Byron, Georgia.

North Peach Park

North Peach Park is the place for traditional festivals, movies in the park, and many other events. The park has picnic shelters, playgrounds, football fields and soccer fields all year round. North Peach Park also has an indoor, climate-controlled multi-purpose room.

The Big Peach Shopping Mall

One of Georgia’s major shopping malls, and Central Georgia’s biggest and best variety of goods, the Big Peach has something for everyone! Open seven days a week and located directly off 1-75, the Big Peach is Central Georgia’s favorite shopping destination.

Party Playground Indoor Fun Center

Let the kids work out some energy with an hour or two at the Party Playground Indoor Fun Center. This room full of safe and soft play equipment will let your little ones run, jump and play, rain or shine. It’s also a great place to have a birthday party.

Contact us

For more information, contact us at (478) 956-2409

Email: byronwelcomecenter@gmail.com

1. When is the best time to enjoy delicious peach in Byron?

A．June.

B．September.

C．October.

D．December.

2. Which attraction best suits people with children?

A．North Peach Park.	B．Byron Welcome Center.
C．The Big Peach Shopping Mall.	D．Party Playground Indoor Fun Center.

3. Where is the text probably taken from?

A．A course plan.

B．A travel brochure.

C．A journal.

D．A novel.

4 . Three days’ Dunhuang bike tour

Going on a bike is a great way to explore the natural beauty of Dunhuang. Our tour is spent riding along the country road and the edge of town where we’ll pass by country houses, farmland and vineyards (葡萄园) to show you the beauty of the little oasis (绿洲) in the desert.

Day 1

Meals: none. Accommodation (住宿): in Dunhuang. You will be picked up at the train station and moved to the hotel once you arrive in Dunhuang. Free for the rest of the day. Dunhuang is located on the western end of Hexi Corridor, at the meeting point of Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang in the north-west of China. Known as Shazhou in ancient times, Dunhuang served as a rest stop for traders and due to its special geographical location, it was the gateway through which many religions (宗教) like Buddhism, Islam and Christianity entered China.

Day 2

Meals: breakfast and lunch. Accommodation: in Dunhuang. You need to get up and start biking early in the morning. First, we will ride 30 minutes to the Mogao Caves (10 km) and visit the biggest Buddhist art gallery of the world. After lunch, we will ride the bike to the White Horse Pagoda which is located in the countryside (12 km) and was built in 386 AD in memory of the white horse of the greatest Buddhist translator, Kumarajiva. Then we will have dinner at a local farmer’s restaurant. In the evening, we will ride the bike to the famous Singing-Sand Dunes and Yueyaquan (6 km). Finally, we will ride back to the hotel.

Day 3

Meals: breakfast. Accommodation: none. Be dropped off at the airport and call it a day.

1. What can the riders do during the tour?

A．Enjoy the beauty of the countryside.

B．Find the best way to visit Dunhuang.

C．Have to put up with the heat in the desert.

D．Go cycling in downtown Dunhuang.

2. Dunhuang once had various ________.

A．horse races	B．tourism programmes
C．business activities	D．Buddhist arguments

3. What does “Islam” mentioned in Paragraph 2 probably refer to?

A．A person.

B．A religion.

C．A gateway.

D．A country.

4. What can we know about the Mogao Caves and the White Horse Pagoda?

A．They hold art exhibitions.

B．They have places for horses.

C．They have religious backgrounds.

D．They are tourist information centres.

6 . Slow travel is about connecting deeply with your travels. Rather than rushing from one place to another, slow travelers treat each experience as an opportunity to learn and feel more deeply to the people, culture, and food they want to explore.     1    .

Relax and enjoy

Once, a vacation provided relaxation from the stress of everyday life. But over time, we began trying to put everything we want into a checklist.     2    . Slow travel exchanges checklists for the chance to really enjoy a place. It’s amazing how much more involved you can be when you’re not in a rush. It’s easier to relax and look forward to whatever the day brings.

Have more memorable experiences

    3    . If so, the idea of slow travel may feel like you’ll miss the latest Top 10. In fact, you free yourself from scratching the surface of everything without enjoying anything. Slow travel allows you the time to feel a destination and you will have more memorable experiences.

Meet people and actually get to know them

When you decide to take the slow travel route, you free yourself up to meet and spend time with others. You can meet locals at a park or restaurant and enjoy a conversation. Learn about the people on your food tour. You may even decide that you like someone enough to meet him/her later for lunch or a coffee.     4    , because you are not rushing to the next big thing.

    5    

Traveling by plane, train, and bus has a bad effect on the environment. We can transport ourselves to one location and spend more time exploring it on foot, by bike or on horseback. That’s less harmful to the planet than rushing to the next thing on the list with whatever vehicle that will get us there in a hurry.

A．Be more eco-friendly

B．Experience different means of transportation

C．This created more stress than we were escaping

D．Making a checklist makes your journey more organized

E．Here are some reasons we think you need to try slow travel

F．Your communication tends to be more relaxed and more real

G．Maybe you’re used to jumping from one attraction after another

7 . I’ve lived in Cardigan Bay (卡迪根海湾) in West Wales since I was a few months old. You’ve got everything you need here. Hills, stunning beaches, nice coastal paths. As someone who loves the countryside, I’ve never wanted to leave.

I was lucky to find work I could do in this area. A lot of people do have to move away in order to find work. I started Adventure Beyond here about 30 years ago and we work all over the UK. We go up to Scotland, we work along the Thames. We’ve also taken groups to Canada, the Himalayas, places like that. But honestly, West Wales has got everything. We can do everything we need right here.

Cardigan Bay is pretty huge, but I find having grown up here there’s a definite sense of belonging. There’s an awareness that we’re lucky to have these incredible sandy beaches, pebbly beaches, beautiful rivers, and hills. It’s peaceful, and it’s not overdeveloped. Of course, there are periods when it gets busy, but then the second schools go back and you pretty much get the beaches to yourself. There is a sense of community (群体) too, with a lot of good community-based clubs, such as the Poppit Sands Surf Lifesaving Club.

I set up Adventure Beyond to make my own work in the area. I love the outdoors, and I wanted to be in Cardigan Bay, so it was perfect. I’ve tried to always keep that personal touch. The clients (客户) will pretty much always meet myself and all the staff. We took a lot of people on through the Kickstart scheme (启动计划) and they’ve been employed with us for a few years. A lot of our clients have been with us since we started, too. There’s a sense of family, which is quite special.

I won’t mention a specific favorite place, but in general the beaches are just amazing. It’s just a sort of wild west, really.

1. What can we know from Paragraph 2?

A．The author is 30 years old.	B．The author has to work in another city.
C．The author’s job requires a lot of travelling.	D．The author can do everything in West Wales.

2. What is Cardigan Bay like in the author’s eyes?

A．It’s undeveloped but beautiful.	B．Its beauty hasn’t been noticed.
C．It has the most peaceful beaches in the world.	D．It gives a sense of belonging and community.

3. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A．Keeping that personal touch.	B．Getting the beaches back to the locals.
C．Enjoying outdoor activities with clients.	D．Starting Adventure Beyond in Cardigan Bay.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The author’s simple life in Cardigan Bay.	B．The author’s deep love for Cardigan Bay.
C．The author’s exploration of Cardigan Bay.	D．The author’s hope for the future Cardigan Bay.

9 . Should we allow modern buildings to be built next to older buildings in a historic area of a city? In order to answer this question, we must first examine whether people really want to preserve the historic feel of an area. Not all historical buildings are attractive. However, there may be other reasons —for example, economic reasons —why they should be preserved. So, let us suppose that historical buildings are both attractive and important to the majority of people. What should we do then if a new building is needed?

In my view, new architectural styles can exist perfectly well alongside an older style. Indeed, there are many examples in my own hometown of Tours where modern designs have been placed very successfully next to old buildings. As long as the building in question is pleasing and does not dominate (影响) its surroundings too much, it often improves the attractiveness of the area.

It is true that there are examples of new buildings which have spoilt the area they are in, but the same can be said of some old buildings too. Yet people still speak against new buildings in historic areas. I think this is simply because people are naturally conservative (保守的) and do not like change.

Although we have to respect people’s feelings as fellow users of the buildings, I believe that it is the duty of the architect and planner to move things forward. If we always reproduced what was there before, we would all still be living in caves. Thus, I would argue against copying previous architectural styles and choose something fresh and different, even though that might be the more risky choice.

1. What does the author say about historical buildings in the first paragraph?

A．They are more pleasing than modern buildings.

B．Most of them are too expensive to preserve.

C．Some of them are not attractive.

D．They have nothing to do with the historic feel of an area.

2. Which statement will the author probably agree with?

A．Some old buildings have spoilt the area they are in.

B．Buildings that affect their surroundings are attractive.

C．People should protest against new buildings.

D．We should reproduce the same old buildings.

3. By“move things forward”in the last paragraph,the author probably means“

A．destroy old buildings

B．respect people’s feelings for historical buildings

C．put things in a different place

D．choose new architectural style

4. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To explain why people dislike change.

B．To argue that modern buildings can be built in historic areas.

C．To warn that we could end up living in caves.

D．To make a comparison between modern buildings and historic buildings.

10 . 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.