2 . Have you heard of Yangshi Lei? For some 200 years, the Lei family provided their design and architectural talent to the Qing Dynasty as imperial builders. Spanning seven generations, their skills along with excellent craftsmanship ensured that they rose to great fame and influence in China. In their later work, they incorporated details of the southern architectural style and garden design ideas in their designs.

One of the places showing this is the Summer Palace. Situated in Haidian District, northwest of Beijing, it shows the beauty and the grandeur of royal gardens. In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List and described it as “a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design.” With over 3,000 man-made structures, which include bridges, pavilions, and corridors, even the lake area alone is a showcase of many of the Lei family’s excellent designs.

Kunming Lake is designed to represent the traditional Chinese gardening practice of “one pond, three hills.” There are three small islands within Kunming Lake: Nanhu Island, Zaojiantang Island, and Zhijingge Island.

Many features of Kunming Lake are inspired by the scenery from the region south of the Yangtze River. In particular, the West Dike is a recreation of the famous Sudi Dike on West Lake in Hangzhou. The causeway, which can be walked across, cuts diagonally through the southern part of the lake. Like the Sudi Dike, the West Dike is connected by six bridges, each with its own distinctive style. The largest bridge on Kunming Lake, however, is the 17-Arch Bridge. It combines features of the Precious Belt Bridge in Suzhou and the Lugou Bridge in Beijing. The entire bridge is 150 meters long and eight meters wide.

If you can’t go further than Beijing, then don’t miss the National Library of China. This is where most of the Lei family’s architectural design drafts are kept. These include projective drawings, front and side elevations, revolving drawings, and even some architectural models which look remarkably like digital models made today. This shows the advanced drawing technology and skill of the Lei architects. Their architectural ability was way ahead of their time.

Like the Summer Palace, many others of the Lei family’s structures have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Also, in 2007, their architectural drawings and models were included in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register. The Lei family’s significant influence on Chinese imperial architecture ensures that their work is still remembered and appreciated.

1. What can we learn from this passage?

A．There are three small ponds within Kunming Lake.

B．The Summer Palace was put on the World Heritage List in 1998.

C．West Lake is described as a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design.

D．The 17-Arch Bridge on Kunming Lake is a copy of the Precious Belt Bridge in Suzhou.

2. What does the underlined word “incorporated” in Paragraph I mean?

A．Contained.

B．Ignored.

C．Compared.

D．Described.

3. The author suggests visiting the National Library of China to ________.

A．see the drawings of famous painters

B．know about the new digital products

C．learn the history of the Qing Dynasty

D．see the design drafts of the Lei Family

4. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To compare the architectural style between the north and the south.

B．To present the wonderful design and beautiful scenery of Kunming Lake.

C．To stress the Lei family’s great influence on Chinese imperial architecture.

D．To call on people to protect the scenery and architecture of the Summer Palace.

3 . This summer has been a chance to appreciate nature and everything it offers up. It’s a perfect opportunity to take a look at some of the world’s unspoiled places that are beautiful because they have been left untouched and remember the importance of keeping their original appearance.

Bhutan

Officially known as the Kingdom of Bhutan, this little visited country is on the Himalayas’ eastern edge and known for its dramatic landscapes that range from subtropics to towering cliffs with wild flowing rivers, crystal blue lakes, snow capped peaks and glaciers, and jungles. There are no traffic lights in this country which, so far, has managed to escape the claws of mass tourism and keep its culture.

Rock Islands, Palau

The 445 uninhabited limestone islands were formed from volcanic activity. The islands have a huge diversity of plants, birds, and wildlife, alongside more than a dozen shark species. The area contains the highest concentration of marine lakes anywhere in the world. The only sign of human habitation is from 3100 BC.

Fiordland, New Zealand

One of the most dramatically amazing regions of New Zealand, Fiordland can be seen on foot, by air, or by water. The Milford Track is one of the most famous walks, with the 33m-long four-day journey taking travelers past the lakes, the tallest waterfall in the country, and glacier-carved valley views. Lake Monowai is a glassy, mirrorlike body of water surrounded by mountains and best explored by raft on a quiet day.

Namib Desert, Namibia

A coastal desert in the southern area of Africa, it is known for its burnt orange-golden sands. The Namib has been dry for at least 55 million years and possibly as many as 80 million. The name means “vast space”, and it stretches for more than 1200 miles along Angola, Namibia and South Africa. Incredibly, the temperatures colliding with cold currents create a fog belt that often envelops the desert.

1. If your friend is interested in sharks, which of the following can be recommended?

A．Bhutan.	B．Rock Islands, Palau.
C．Fiordland, New Zealand.	D．Namib Desert, Namibia.

2. What can we learn about the Namib Desert, Namibia?

A．It is located at the eastern edge of Africa.

B．It covers more than 1200 miles along Angola.

C．It is famous for its burnt orange-golden sands.

D．It was formed from volcanic activity 80 million years ago.

3. We can probably read the passage from ________.

A．a travel guide	B．a science website
C．a biology magazine	D．an environmental report

4 . It is 10 in the morning, and I am travelling by raft down the Li River. The sun is already burning hot even though it has not yet reached full strength, but a calm breeze cools my skin. So far the day is wonderful, but the purpose of my trip is not just to have fun: I am following in the footsteps of Xu Xiake (1587 - 1641), the famous Chinese travel writer and geographer. Though Xu was from Jiangsu, he spent more than 30 years travelling throughout the country, and greatly admired my destination today - Ox Gorge.

As we flow down the river, we are surrounded by steep hills sticking up into the sky - karsts. Unique among mountains, karsts were formed over thousands of years as rain drained into the acidic soil and melted the soft rock, leaving the harder rock behind. Guangxi is full of karsts, giving it some of the most interesting - and beautiful - scenery in the world. Xu was one of the first people to make a careful study of Guilin's karsts and their related cave systems. He, like many people today, found them fascinating.

Suddenly, our raft hits some rapids, and I find myself covered in water. I turn to my raftsman and we share a laugh. The water not only keeps us cool, but it is all part of the adventure.

What made someone like Xu spend years travelling thousands of kilometres away from home? Perhaps it’s the same reason as mine: to explore the world and to discover new things. Yet, perhaps no one in China travelled farther or longer than Xu Xiake. At least, if anyone did they did not write about it.

When our raft reaches Ox Gorge, it proves to be every bit as beautiful as I expected - a watery heaven on earth. The raft is tied up, and then I head out to explore. That afternoon, I find a cave on the river. I wade into it and the water grows shallower, until finally I am walking on dry land. Up ahead I see a light and hear laughter echoing off the cave walls. There is a large pool of mud, and a group of young people are jumping into it and swimming around. I run and join them. Soon, like my new friends, I am covered in gray mud from head to toe. After an hour of play, I head back out of the cave and take a swim in the river to get clean. And I wonder, when Xu Xiake came here nearly five hundred years ago, did he examine the mud like a scientist? Or did he jump in? Of course he jumped in. You know he did.

1. Why did the author decide to go to Ox Gorge?

A．To have fun in unique mountains.

B．To make other people greatly admire him.

C．To travel farther and longer than Xu Xiake.

D．To explore the world and discover new things.

2. How did the author feel when he was covered in water?

A．Worried.

B．Satisfied.

C．Delighted.

D．Annoyed.

3. What did the author do in the cave?

A．He took a swim to get clean.	B．He researched the cave walls.
C．He explored the shallow water.	D．He jumped into the mud to play.

4. The author wrote the passage mainly to _________.

A．share his travel experience with readers

B．introduce the beautiful scenery of Guilin

C．remember the famous writer and geographer Xu Xiake

D．stress the importance of protecting the fascinating karsts