1 . Featured Bike Tours in Italy

Lake Como & the Italian Lake District

Italy’s Lake Com o tour is deeply loved by cyclists. Among dramatic hills and waters, riding is relatively easy along flat bike paths and breathtaking valleys. The beautiful waters of three major lakes — Garda, Iseo and Como — are never far from sight as you sample good wines in Franciacorta.

Daily Mileage:7 — 32 miles
Cycling Level: Moderate
Cost: $395
Tuscany, Lucca to Siena

On this self-guided bicycling vacation, you’ll ride from Lucca to Siena at your own pace. Visit Leonardo da Vinci’s hometown of Vinci. Ride into the famous wine region of Chianti. Stay in welcoming hotels along the way.

Daily Mileage: 3 — 40 miles
Cycling Level: Moderate /Challenging
Cost:$265
Valleys of the Dolomites

Road cycling the Dolomites was never easier, as you ride along mostly flat or downhill bike paths. Along the way, you’ll explore historic cities, and meet an ancient culture found nowhere else on Earth. You’ll also be fueled by local meals and end each day in 4-star accommodations!

Daily Mileage: 4 — 36 miles
Cycling Level: Easy
Cost: $595
Coastal Villages of Tuscany

Tuscany’s amazingly beautiful coast begs to be explored by bicycle. Beautiful towns dot (星罗棋布于) the countryside, surrounded by trees that hug the waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea. At the end of each day, you can relax in the natural pool and springs of an Etruscan caldarium (高温浴室).

Daily Mileage: 8 — 39 miles
Cycling Level: Moderate
Cost:$475
1. Which of the following tours charges the lowest fee?

A．Valleys of the Dolomites.	B．Coastal Villages of Tuscany.
C．Tuscany, Lucca to Siena.	D．Lake Como & the Italian Lake District.

2. What can cyclists do in Valleys of the Dolomites?

A．Bathe in natural springs.	B．Enjoy beautiful lake scenes.
C．Stay in 4-star accommodations.	D．Visit Leonardo da Vinci’s hometown.

3. Where can the text be found?

A．In a travel brochure.	B．In a research paper.
C．In a science magazine.	D．In a geography textbook.

2 . Andrew Kirby was used to sitting alone at lunch. The high school sophomore was never especially social and making friends hasn’t been easy. He was born with a neurological disorder and has undergone several major surgeries over his life.

“A lot of times at lunch I’ll text Andrew,” explained his mom, Kay Kirby. “I said, ‘Are you eating with anyone?’ And he said ‘No.’ And I sat at my desk at work and just prayed ‘Good Lord, please send somebody to eat with him.’”

But that changed on the first day of school this year when members of the Student Council noticed that Andrew was eating alone and invited him to join them.

“If we were sitting by ourselves, we would want someone to sit with us so we didn’t want kids to have to sit by themselves,” one student said. Added another, “Everyone needs to have someone and anyone can be a help with that.”

“It’s very encouraging to know that there are teenagers out there that took their time. They weren’t being in their own clique, they weren’t being selfish, and they took their time to reach out to somebody who might be different. And you know, you never know what a child is going through—maybe they’ve got a bad home life, maybe they’re depressed, and there’s a kid sitting by themselves and they noticed that,” Kay said. “I have peace at lunch now. I don’t feel like I need to text him and check on him.”

What started as a small act of kindness has even gone beyond the lunchroom. The group invited Andrew to go to the movies with them a couple weeks ago.

What’s more, he’s been eating lunch with them every day since.

1. What problem did Andrew have at school?

A．He wasn’t easy-going to deal with.	B．He liked to eat alone at lunch.
C．He was joked more by his classmates.	D．He had trouble spending time with others.

2. What does the underlined word “that” refer to?

A．Sitting alone at lunch.	B．Undergoing major surgeries.
C．Texting at lunchtime.	D．Making friends.

3. What does Kay feel now?

A．Worried.

B．Pleased.

C．Puzzled.

D．Embarrassed.

4. What does Kay think of the teenagers?

A．They belong to their own groups.	B．They are difficult to understand.
C．They are actually full of love.	D．They are different in character.

3 . Ladybug celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary this month. For twenty-five years, the magazine has been trying to reflect the world of young children — and make it a little broader — through stories, poetry, art, and various activities.

Each issue of this magazine encourages kids to take a closer look at the people and places around them. Ladybug invites children to bring their whole selves — their acute (敏锐的) ear for language and keen eye for illustrations (插图), as well as their wonderful sense of play and great power of imagination — when they sit down and start to put their heart into reading.

The significance of Ladybug’s long history is clearest to me, a man who is in charge of the edition of this magazine, when I talk to parents of children who have grown up. They often respond with surprise: “ Ladybug? With the poems, and the stories, and the crafts to cut out, what will you do next? We used to read that magazine when the kids were little. ” And then there is a moment of silence, as if the father is searching for a particular poem, or the mother is remembering the feel of a restless child’s head when it finally settled against her shoulder. It is a great pleasure to contribute to a magazine that families have put in their memory.

Some anniversaries are formal, but at Ladybug, we approached the September issue as if it had been a birthday party. It is full of lively company, jokes, music, stories and poems that celebrate special days and growing up.

In this spirit, we offer one of our favorite birthday stories, “ Big Bear and Skinny Rabbit ” , from an issue that came out a few years ago. It is part of a series about two friends who couldn’t be more different in temperament (气质), yet more perfect for one another.

1. What does Ladybug concentrate on?

A．various stories, poetry and activities	B．some beautiful people and places
C．the great power of imagination	D．the development of little kids

2. What does the author probably do according to the passage?

A．An editor.

B．A businessman.

C．A professor.

D．An artist.

3. We can infer from the third paragraph that ______ ?

A．Only with the stories in Ladybug being read can many children fall asleep.

B．Some parents can remember Ladybug with affection.

C．some parents are concerned about the development of Ladybug.

D．It is expected that more contents should be contained in Ladybug.

4. ______ will probably be talked about in the following paragraph?

A．An introduction of Ladybug’s birthday.	B．The new issue of Ladybug.
C．A collection of poems.	D．A story published before.

4 . Both apps have a number of functions and ________ the steps we take.
这两个应用程序都有一些功能，可以追踪我们所采取的步骤。

5 . Some people feel that high school students can ________ taking part in organized sports.
一些人认为中学生可以从参加有组织的体育活动中获益。

6 . When I ________ tough times last year, it was my teacher who offered me help.
当我去年经历艰难时期时，是我的老师给予我帮助。

7 . I stopped at a local store the other day after a fitness class to buy some food. After I got the food, I got in ________ behind a lady who looked about twenty years old. She had quite a lot of things in her shopping basket. She ________ her credit card to the shop assistant but the shop assistant told her it had been refused. The young lady ________ she had paid it off the day before. The shop assistant replied, “Maybe it hasn’t got through the system yet. Do you want to ________ someone?” The young lady took out her cellphone and was looking through it. ________, they opened another counter (柜台) to let me ________ out.

I was walking out to my ________ when I thought, “Okay! You’re always wishing you could help someone. Now it is time for you to do it!” Immediately, I made a ________ to help her. I got out of my car and ________ with my bank card in my hand. The young lady was still looking through her phone. She looked a little ________. I returned to the counter, handed my card to the shop assistant and said, “I will pay her bill.” She ________ her head and took the card.

As the shop assistant gave the card to me, the lady was still ________ her phone. And I didn’t think she had even ________ what had happened! And I told her that I had paid her bill and then I left before she expressed ________   to me.

The bill was about $52. However, the feeling inside me was ________! I realized that helping others did make me happy.

1.

A．public

B．need

C．crowd

D．line

2.

A．sent

B．handed

C．displayed

D．held

3.

A．hoped

B．insisted

C．suggested

D．required

4.

A．call

B．search

C．beg

D．visit

5.

A．Otherwise

B．Meanwhile

C．Instead

D．However

6.

A．help

B．pull

C．count

D．check

7.

A．car

B．bike

C．home

D．store

8.

A．decision

B．mistake

C．fortune

D．promise

9.

A．came

B．returned

C．walked

D．dropped

10.

A．silly

B．worried

C．mad

D．tired

11.

A．shook

B．covered

C．lowered

D．nodded

12.

A．looking at

B．looking up

C．looking for

D．looking over

13.

A．guessed

B．realized

C．thought

D．remembered

14.

A．satisfaction

B．regret

C．thanks

D．concerns

15.

A．worthless

B．harmless

C．priceless

D．helpless

8 . When Hanadi was 4, her school was destroyed in the civil war. Soon after, her family left Syria to live as refugees(难民)   in nearby Lebanon. Hanadi joined a school there but was fearful to go. Her experience is not unusual. There are now nearly 25.4 million refugees around the world, according to the United Nations refugee agency. About half are children. Most refugees today are from Syria, where civil war broke out in 2011.

To help kids affected by the situation, Sesame Street and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) have teamed up to create a new version (版本) of Sesame Street especially for Syrian refugees using Muppets（木偶）as teachers．“we don' t just want to help children learn letters and numbers, "said Sherrie Westin, who works at Sesame Workshop. “We want to help them feel less alone."

There are more than 150 international versions of Sesame Street. In Germany, kids watch Sesamstrasse, while Mexico has Plaza Sesamo. Each version includes math and spelling lessons. Some characters are the same as in the American version. But other things are different: The Muppets speak the local language and wear local clothes.

The new version will include situations that are familiar to Syrian refugee kids. Some of the Muppets, for example, may have been forced to leave their home. "Kids can watch the Muppets work through big problems the kids are dealing with themselves, "the IRC’ s Sarah Smith says.

For the world ’s 12 million refugee children, there is little chance to receive good education. And even if kids go to school, they may have fallen behind in their studies. Often, they are traumatized(使受精神创伤) by what they’ve been through.

The new Sesame Street will meet the public in 2019. Sesame Workshop expects that more than 9 million children will be able to watch the show on a TV, computer, or mobile phone. Hanadi may be one of them.

1. What happened to 4-year-old Hanadi?

A．She dropped out of school.	B．She was injured in the war
C．She fell behind in her studies.	D．She became afraid to go to school.

2. Why was the new version of Sesame Street created?

A．To increase the show' s popularity.

B．To improve education in poor areas.

C．To help refugee kids get through hard times.

D．To teach kids who can't afford to go to school

3. What do different versions of Sesame Street have in common?

A．They all teach math and spelling.	B．They were all named Sesame Street.
C．The characters are exactly the same.	D．The characters wear the same clothes.

4. What can we learn about the new version of Sesame Street?

A．The story happens in Syria.

B．It will appear on the screen in 2019.

C．It will hopefully reach 12 million children.

D．The idea was brought up by Sherrie Westin.