1 . Bike Rental & Guided Tours

Welcome to Amsterdam, welcome to MacBike. You see much more from the seat of a bike! Cycling is the most economical, sustainable and fun way to explore the city, with its beautiful canals, parks, squares and countless lights. You can also bike along lovely landscapes outside of Amsterdam.

Why MacBike

MacBike has been around for almost 30 years and is the biggest bicycle rental company in Amsterdam. With over 2,500 bikes stored in our five rental shops at strategic locations, we make sure there is always a bike available for you. We offer the newest bicycles in a wide variety, including basic bikes with foot brake (刹车), bikes with hand brake and gears (排挡), bikes with child seats, and children’s bikes.

Prices

	Hand Brake, Three Gears	Foot Brake, No Gears
1 hour	€7.50	€5.00
3 hours	€11.00	€7.50
1 day (24 hours)	€14.75	€9.75
Each additional day	€8.00	€6.00

Guided City Tours

The 2.5-hour tour covers the Gooyer Windmill, the Skinny Bridge, the Rijksmuseum, Heineken Brewery and much more. The tour departs from Dam Square every hour on the hour, starting at 1:00 pm every day. You can buy your ticket in a MacBike shop or book online.

1. What is an advantage of MacBike?

A．It gives children a discount.	B．It offers many types of bikes.
C．It organizes free cycle tours.	D．It has over 2,500 rental shops.

2. How much do you pay for renting a bike with hand brake and three gears for two days?

A．€15.75.

B．€19.50.

C．€22.75.

D．€29.50.

3. Where does the guided city tour start?

A．The Gooyer, Windmill.	B．The Skinny Bridge.
C．Heineken Brewery.	D．Dam Square.

2 . We journalists live in a new age of storytelling, with many new multimedia tools. Many young people don’t even realize it’s new. For them, it’s just normal.

This hit home for me as I was sitting with my 2-year-old grandson on a sofa over the Spring Festival holiday. I had brought a children’s book to read. It had simple words and colorful pictures — a perfect match for his age.

Picture this: my grandson sitting on my lap as I hold the book in front so he can see the pictures. As I read, he reaches out and pokes (戳) the page with his finger.

What’s up with that? He just likes the pictures, I thought. Then I turned the page and continued. He poked the page even harder. I nearly dropped the book. I was confused: Is there something wrong with this kid?

Then I realized what was happening. He was actually a stranger to books. His father frequently amused the boy with a tablet computer which was loaded with colorful pictures that come alive when you poke them. He thought my storybook was like that.

Sorry, kid. This book is not part of your high-tech world. It’s an outdated, lifeless thing. An antique, like your grandfather. Well, I may be old, but I’m not hopelessly challenged, digitally speaking. I edit video and produce audio. I use mobile payment. I’ve even built websites.

There’s one notable gap in my new-media experience, however: I’ve spent little time in front of a camera, since I have a face made for radio. But that didn’t stop China Daily from asking me last week to share a personal story for a video project about the integration of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province.

Anyway, grandpa is now an internet star — two minutes of fame! I promise not to let it go to my head. But I will make sure my 2-year-old grandson sees it on his tablet.

1. What do the underlined words “hit home for me” mean in paragraph 2?

A．Provided shelter for me.	B．Became very clear to me.
C．Took the pressure off me.	D．Worked quite well on me.

2. Why did the kid poke the storybook?

A．He took it for a tablet computer.	B．He disliked the colorful pictures.
C．He was angry with his grandpa.	D．He wanted to read it by himself.

3. What does the author think of himself?

A．Socially ambitious.	B．Physically attractive.
C．Financially independent.	D．Digitally competent.

4. What can we learn about the author as a journalist?

A．He lacks experience in his job.	B．He seldom appears on television.
C．He manages a video department.	D．He often interviews internet stars.

3 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

I've always loved the ocean. In the    1     (seven) grade,I started volunteering at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. I was upset to learn that many sea animals eat plastic garbage,     2     (think)it is food.

I decided to do something     3     (educate) people about this problem. I held presentations at schools to teach kids about plastic waste. I wanted to reach businesses too. I decided that if I learned of a company    4     used a lot of plastic, I'd send it an email urging it to cut back.

One day, I saw a commercial for a health-care company. People in the ad were using plastic straws （吸管）.   I found the contact information of the company    5     emailed its president. I told him how     6     (harm) plastic could be to the environment and asked him to consider using more eco-friendly options. I was so    7     (excite) when he wrote back to me.He said he would make sure that the company cut its use of plastic straws in half.

I kept going. Whenever I heard of businesses using plastic, I'd send an email. One of the biggest companies I wrote to     8     (be) Alaska Airlines Paris. A company     9     (represent) wrote back and told me the airline was switching over     10     plastic to paper cups on all of its 1,200 daily flights.

6 . If the only reading you ever do is the novel or magazine, the speed at which you read -probably does not matter very much. But if you have to read a great deal for study, you will appreciate the benefits of being able to read more quickly.     1    

·Before you open the book, make sure that you are comfortable. You need a seat which supports your back and the book should be at the right distance from your eyes.     2    

    3     Look at the table of contents, the preface, the chapter heading,etc.This will help you to decide whether you really need to read the whole book or only certain parts of it. Ten minutes spent in this way could save you quite a lot of time in the long run.

If you decide that you need to read the whole book, decide how much you can read at a time.     4     A history book which may contain the facts in story form will be easier to read than one dealing with scientific subjects. In the former case you may be able to read a chapter. In the latter you may only be able to read one page.

Always keep a pencil and paper beside you.     5    Note also the facts important for your purpose as well as anything which leads you to further research. You don't have to write these things in detail. It is enough to put the page number and one or two words as a reminder .

A．Stop to have a rest now and then.

B．Spend a few minutes looking through the book.

C．This depends on the type of book you are reading.

D．Here are some tips to help improve your reading speed.

E．Make a note of any page which is of special importance.

F．You may find yourself having to learn something by heart.

G．Keep the room cool rather than warm to avoid feeling sleepy.

10 . By my mid-20s, I’d finished my master in psychology, and I was working in Dublin as a health researcher. It was mostly data and statistics work staring at a screen. I was earning more than most of my friends, living the city life, going out at weekends. I had a good pension (养老金) and annual leave but it caused a lot of anxiety and worry.I was really unhappy.

I wanted to get back to feeling passionate about something so I started thinking about the things I used to love. As a child, I’d always been involved in the outdoors, and I used to love hiking but all that had stopped after secondary school. I decided to volunteer with a local youth group and within a month, I’d gone camping with them. I absolutely loved it. It was like switching on a lightbulb. This was what I’d been missing.

I started taking courses in mountain skills and wilderness first aid, and by August I was working my usual job in the week, and I was a climbing club leader at weekends. I loved connecting with nature, connecting with other people.

Through all this, I learnt about the whole field of nature-based therapies (疗法). It was the perfect fit to combine my psychology background with my passion for the outdoors. I began taking courses in wild therapy, forest bathing and ecopsychology. I left my government job and in July 2020 I launched my business Nature Therapy Ireland, which is booming now.

I’d thought I’d always live in a city but last year, I moved to Tipperary to live at the foot of a mountain, surrounded by nature. If I’m feeling stressed, I can step outside in my bare feet and stand on the grass to ground myself. In Dublin, the front door felt like a barrier—I had to have my keys, my phone, my jacket before I could even go out and find a green space. My life now is leading nature connection hikes and forest bathing walks. My salary has halved for the moment but I’ve adjusted. I’ve never looked back.

1. What did the writer think of her job in Dublin?

A．Stressful.	B．Valueless.
C．Insecure.	D．Demanding.

2. What does the underlined sentence mean in Paragraph 2?

A．She enjoyed her voluntary work.

B．She realized what she really loved.

C．Recalling the past made her happy.

D．A bright future was in store for her.

3. What drove the writer to launch her business Nature Therapy Ireland?

A．Her adventurous experience.

B．Her leadership and background.

C．Her connection with other people.

D．Her major and passion for nature.

4. Why did the writer compare her life in Dublin with that in Tipperary?

A．To highlight how boring city life was.

B．To call on people to get back to nature.

C．To show her satisfaction with her change.

D．To indicate how successful her business was.