1 . Four Best Outdoor Winter Activities Around the Midwest
Don’t let winter freeze you out. When the outside ices over, Midwesterners should take advantage of it. Look through our list and find the season’s coolest activities.
Walk on (Not) Thin Ice, Wisconsin
Once you walk, the ice talks, or rather, sings. When you step onto a frozen lake (remember, the ice must be at least 4 inches thick), it responds with different sounds. Even in the stillness of winters, the lake reminds you it’s still here—and still alive.
Let It Go, Minnesota
To all Queen Elsa’s fans: Your palaces are waiting for you. Ice artists here have carved walk-through castles with underground passages, slides and frozen fountains looking like natural formations. At night, colorful LEDs light up the ice. Take a seat on an ice throne—the cold never bothers you anyway.
Sled(乘雪橇) like an Olympian, Muskegon, Michigan
Live out your Beijing 2022 fantasies at the Muskegon Luge Adventure Sports Park. Three-time Olympian Frank Masley designed an 850-foot long track where green hands are accepted. Sleds can reach speeds of up to 30 mph on it. Come and enjoy this unique experience!
Fly a Kite, Clear Lake, Iowa
In the clear blue sky, a school of fish is streaming in the wind, tailed by a hungry, fierce dragon. Look up, and you’re floating in a fantasy world. Look down, and you realize you’re grounded—on solid ice. Clear Lake’s Color the Wind kite festival began about 20 years ago to brighten up dull winter days.
1. What do Activities 1 and 4 have in common?| A．They feature the beauty of winter. | B．They make the lake more attractive. |
| C．They are done on the ice. | D．They include a special festival. |
| A．In Minnesota. | B．In Wisconsin. | C．In lowa | D．In Michigan. |
| A．Sled with an Olympian. | B．Design their own track. |
| C．Celebrate the Winter Olympics. | D．Try sledding with no experience. |
2 . Travel is one of the most exciting experiences a human being can have. Imagine how Italian traveler Marco Polo must have felt when he found himself on Chinese soil, seeing a way of life quite different from anything he’d seen before.
And how great must it have been to listen to Zhang Qian when he returned to China from his journey through Central Asia and West Asia? His brain must have been packed with everything he’d seen and heard, leading to the founding of the Silk Road.
Some people have traveled all over the world, and travel is a way of life to them. They perhaps know what to expect before they travel. That’s why the best travel is when it’s for the first time. Imagine a person who has always wanted to travel to the United States. Of course, they’ve probably seen the Statue of Liberty a thousand times on TV, and the White House, and all the other famous sights. But none of that would compare to the excitement of looking out of the window as the plane lands, watching the cities and streets of the real America come into view.
Although travel is often just for recreation, it’s also educational. We may not know that we are getting an education, but we still are.
We’re learning every day: new words in a new language, new people, and new ways of life. But this learning takes place in the school of the world, not the classroom. As we get to know foreign places, we come to understand that there are many different ways to live, and that the way we live isn’t necessarily the best way.
1. The author uses Marco Polo and Zhang Qian as examples to .| A．explain how the Silk Road was founded | B．present travel as an amazing experience |
| C．show how the way people travel has changed | D．describe important cultural exchanges in history |
| A．one’s first trip is usually the most challenging |
| B．no other trip is better than one’s first trip |
| C．there is always much to learn on one’s first trip |
| D．people usually make better preparations for their first trip |
| A．fun | B．risk | C．learning | D．knowledge |
| A．traveling should be included in formal education |
| B．traveling improves people’s confidence in their lifestyle |
| C．foreign journeys can enrich people’s knowledge of the world |
| D．foreign ways of life are better than our own way of life at home. |
