1 . Four destinations for electric-bike tours across Canada
Banff by e-bike
White Mountain Adventures and Banff Cycle both launched guided e-bike tours of Canada’s first national park this summer. The former’s offerings include a 50-kilometre there-and-back ride along the Bow Valley Parkway, and a 50-km return ride along the car-free Rocky Mountain Legacy Trail. Banff Cycle, meanwhile, adds a three-hour “Banff and Bow Valley” guided trip to the mix.
Fat-biking in Yukon
This new ride from the luxurious Mount Logan EcoLodge on the Alaska Highway near Haines Junction provides an exception to the rule that Canadian e-bike tours are unavailable in winter. Equipped with oversized tires to allow riding on snow and other unstable surfaces, the electric fat bikes can be booked for two-hour guided tours that explore the wilderness bordering Kluane National Park.
Sipping and e-cycling in Niagara
Niagara Cycling Tours hosts group outings of at least four e-bike riders that range in length from 65 to more than 110 kilometres. The offerings include a two-day “Niagara Introductory Ride,” which can be customized to visit local attractions, and a new “Beers and Bikes” tour, which rides between more than a dozen craft breweries (啤酒厂).
Gardens and gouda on Vancouver Island
Based in pretty Qualicum Beach, the new Electric Bike Co. offers a three-hour “Home and Garden Tour” highlighting high-design private houses and seaside flowers; and a four- to five-hour ride and ferry (轮渡) voyage to Hornby Island, home of the Helliwell and Tribune Bay provincial parks.
1. Where is this text probably taken from?| A．A sports poster. | B．A travel brochure. |
| C．An academic article. | D．A geography textbook. |
| A．Banff by e-bike. | B．Fat-biking in Yukon. |
| C．Sipping and e-cycling in Niagara. | D．Gardens and gouda on Vancouver Island. |
| A．Tasty Beer. | B．Local cuisine. |
| C．Seaside flowers. | D．Mountain scenery. |
2 . Ferries (渡船) have clear advantages over cruises: you don’t keep bumping into the same people, and they are more environmentally sustainable. Plus, a passage on a Greek ferry costs just a tiny part of the price of a cruise voyage.
Some trips are economical: Piraeus to Rhodes takes 15 hours, but costs only £58 one-way. It pays to familiarize yourself with Greece using a good map and then start planning with a ferry booking site such as greekferries.gr, ferryhopper.com or UK-based directferries.com. You will see all the main tour operators (公司) and be offered fast boats which compete with traditional, slow-paced ferries; the former are sometimes sealed like aeroplanes, while the latter allow deck walks and views.
If you want to hop around, please have a look at the followings.
Top Tips
Going deck (economy) — which is even available on overnight trips — is a surefire way to save money.
When to go
The shoulder seasons of spring and autumn are ideal for a holiday in southern Europe. It isn’t the peak time for holidays; it has fewer tourists and lower accommodation prices.
Do it yourself
Wizz Air (wizzair.com) is offering flights from London to Athens in October from £34 return. A Ferryhopper booking for Athens-Paros-Mykonos-Kea-Athens over eight days in October came in at £101.
Perfect package
Med Experience (020 45717689; medexperience.com) is quoting (要价) £790 for a nine-day island-hopping holiday, including shared B&B accommodation, ferry tickets, tour manager and parties. Flights not included.
1. How many advantages of taking ferries are mentioned compared with cruises?| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
| A．Accommodation and flights. | B．Ferry tickets and flights. |
| C．Souvenirs and ferry tickets. | D．Accommodation and tour manager. |
| A．To guide visitors to save money. | B．To compare ferries with cruises. |
| C．To introduce a travel route to Greece. | D．To recommend a travel agency. |
Pingyao County is located in central Shanxi Province, China. It
As the birthplace of the Jin Businessmen during the Ming and Qing
Its City Wall is rated
Pingyao is no longer very prosperous (繁荣的),
4 . Astypalea, a butterfly-shaped island in the central Aegean, hopes to become Greece's first carbon-free tourist destination. Under a deal with the government, Volkswagen, a carmaker, has donated several new electric vehicles for use by Astypalea's public services; it will sell others at cost price to its 1,200 residents. In return, the government has largely increased subsidies (补贴) for the islanders to buy electric cars and will build a hybrid solar and wind power plant to replace those polluting generators.
Unlike other nearby islands, Astypalea is not connected to Greece's electricity system. With only 3, 000 rooms for visitors in small hotels or flats, tourism is still low-key. Many residents make a living the old-fashioned way: raising goats, keeping bees and fishing. The island was selected for Volkswagen's e-mobility experiment after Nikos Komineas, the go-ahead mayor. contacted the transport ministry for help in finding an electric bus to try out on its rough roads.
Most islanders sound enthusiastic about the project. Mr Komineas expects the number of private cars on Astypalea to fall by a third over the next five years. Its residents, he says, will get around on e-scooters and electric minibuses, which will be free. linked to a mobile-phone app and available round the clock.
Some observers detect a bit of green washing. Building a solar park that would generate the island's electricity will not get started before the tourist season ends. A single wind turbine (涡轮)will not be fixed before 2026 even if the licensing process goes smoothly. On the other hand, the islanders worry that tourists will go elsewhere if the view is destroyed by a turbine 200 metres high. And even then, the hybrid power unit is planned to cover only about 80% of summer demand. But it is a start.
1. What common measure do Volkswagen and the government take?| A．Offering financial support. | B．Developing a mobile-phone app. |
| C．Making electric cars. | D．Establishing a power plant. |
| A．Tourism prospect and heavy traffic. |
| B．Location and government’s efforts. |
| C．Islanders’ demand and road conditions. |
| D．Islanders’ lifestyle and large population. |
| A．The complex licensing process. | B．Environmental damage. |
| C．Loss of tourists. | D．The influence on their daily life. |
| A．The experiment will come to nothing. |
| B．There are barriers in conducting the project. |
| C．Green tourism will become a trend in Greece. |
| D．The islanders are unwilling to change their lifestyle. |
