The best time to visit Toronto is typically in the spring (April and May) or during the fall (September to early November). At these times, you’ll likely find fewer crowds, cheaper accommodations, and the best weather for sightseeing as it is neither too hot nor too cold.
Getting AroundThe Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) makes it easy to get around the city via many buses, subway, and streetcars. Figuring out how to get where you want to go is easily done using the TTC’s convenient Trip Planner.
Travel TipWhile you may choose to base yourself near many of the city’s main landmarks, it’s also worth taking some time to explore some great neighborhoods that each offer their own unique charms, including colorful Kensington Market, the Junction, Leslieville, and Little India.
Things to DoGet a Dose of Art & Culture: The Royal Ontario Museum is Canada’s largest museum and showcases everything from art and archaeology to natural science in over 30 galleries. Or, stop by the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), one of the largest art museums in North America with a collection of more than 90,000 works of art.
Take in the Views From the CN Tower: High-speed elevators send visitors to the top of the tower in just 58 seconds for full views over the city. You can even try EdgeWalk to experience a hands-free walk around the main pod of the tower, 116 stories above the ground.
Spend a Day in the Distillery District: Explore the historic Distillery District to walk casually among Victorian-era buildings on pedestrian-only cobblestone streets filled with shops, cafes, and restaurants.
1. If a tourist travels to Toronto in October, what is he likely to find?A.Free attractions. | B.Discounted hotels. |
C.Extreme weather. | D.Crowded scenic spots. |
A.Help people buy tickets. | B.Help tourists in urgent situations. |
C.Guide people to their destinations. | D.Introduce scenic spots to tourists. |
A.It is home to over 90,000 artworks. |
B.It’s noted for its Victorian-era buildings. |
C.It’s one of the largest museums in Canada. |
D.Its displays range from art to natural science. |
A.Little India. | B.EdgeWalk. | C.The Junction. | D.The Distillery District. |
A.Planning Your Trip in Toronto |
B.Some Hidden Truth about Toronto |
C.The Main Tourist Attractions in Toronto |
D.The Reasons for the Popularity of Toronto |
2 . Feeling overwhelmed by your to-do list can certainly make you unhappy, but new research suggests that more free time might not be the magic medicine many of us dream it could be.
In a new study, researchers found that people with more free time generally had higher levels of subjective well-being, but only up to a point.
People who had up to two hours of free time a day generally reported they felt better than those who’d had less time. But people who had five or more hours of free time a day generally said they felt worse. So ultimately the free-time “sweet spot” might be two to three hours per day, the findings suggest.
Part of finding the “sweet spot” has to do with how people spend the extra time they have. The researchers conducted several smaller online experiments. In one they asked participants to imagine having 3½ to seven free hours per day. They were asked to imagine spending that time doing “productive” things (like exercising) or to imagine doing “unproductive” activities (like watching TV). Study participants believed their well-being would suffer if they had a lot of free time during the day, but only if they used it unproductively. In other words, how people use their free time matters.
Of course, what feels “productive” is up to you. If watching two hours of Real Housewives in your free time increases your happiness, you should do that. And even more traditionally productive or purposeful activities can be easy and fun. Engaging in a bit of low-key cardio, like walking, can help burn stress. Free-time activities like reading, cooking or gaming are also known to put people in a state of flow.
In cases when people do find themselves with huge amounts of free time, such as retirement or having left a job,” Sharif said, “our results suggest these individuals would benefit from spending their newfound time with purpose.”
1. According to the study, how many hours of free time brings the best feelings?A.3 to 7 hours. | B.5 hours or more. | C.Up to 2 hours. | D.2 or 3 hours. |
A.The busier, the happier. |
B.The more free time, the better. |
C.Purposeful activities increase happiness. |
D.Retirement makes people depressed and unhappy. |
A.Getting stuck in silence. | B.Having a poor-quality sleep. |
C.Struggling with a dull book. | D.Enjoying classic music. |
A.To make a new schedule. | B.To do more housework. |
C.To watch more TV. | D.To find a new job. |
A.Stories. | B.Life. | C.Science. | D.Sports. |
3 . A common claim states that a sheet of paper cannot be folded in half more than seven times. But is this true?
In 2002, Britney Gallivan, then a junior in high school in Pomona, California, folded a single piece of paper in half 12 times. She currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most times to fold a sheet of paper in half.
The prompt that led Gallivan to accomplish these feats was an extra-credit challenge in math class to fold anything in half 12 times. Her teacher asked the students to fold something thicker: a piece of paper.
Gallivan said “it was very frustrating, as I had many unsuccessful attempts at trying to fold different papers in half. I began to question if folding paper in half more than eight times could be impossible.” However, Gallivan recalled. “I knew I needed to understand what was limiting the folding progression.”
The equations that Gallivan came up with calculated how many times a sheet of paper could be folded. She found that in order to fold many times, a long thin sheet is needed — the more a sheet is folded, the thicker the resulting stack becomes, and once the stack becomes thicker than it is long, there is nothing left to fold. She ultimately set her record with a sheet of tissue paper she found online that was 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) — more than three-quarters of a mile, or over a kilometer — long, Guinness World Records noted.
“Working on the problem took a tremendous amount of time and effort,” Gallivan said. “As frustrating as it was at times, I learned an immense amount from the experience, which has been valuable to me throughout my life in more capacities than one would expect.”
Since Gallivan set her record, others have made claims of folding a sheet of paper more than 12 times. Still, “I anticipate that my current record will be surpassed,” Gallivan said.
1. Which was commonly considered the most times that paper can be folded in half?A.7. | B.8. | C.9. | D.12. |
A.the stack is as thick as its length | B.the paper is neither long nor thin |
C.the stack is thicker than its length | D.the paper is longer than its thickness |
A.It’s risky. | B.It’s fruitless. | C.It’s meaningless. | D.It’s energy-consuming. |
A.Worthwhile. | B.Unsuccessful. | C.Miserable. | D.Regretful. |
A.Gallivan’s record is impossible to break. |
B.Folding paper in half is merely a math problem. |
C.Folding things in half may not be limited to 12. |
D.Folding paper 12 times is a required credit in maths class. |
There was a state
But the king didn’t agree with him. “I think we should treat the prisoners of war
Then another one said, “Your majesty, I think all the prisoners should be set free and sent back home to work in the fields and support
The king thought the official’s proposal was quite reasonable so he accepted and followed it. As a result,
5 . I received a phone call from a credit card company. With the craziness of the holidays, I had missed a
A few days later, as I’m walking to
I take it inside. And I’m not going to
The agent has sent me flowers with a note of
To that
A.chance | B.payment | C.shot | D.conference |
A.embarrassed | B.tolerant | C.understanding | D.delightful |
A.motherhood | B.childhood | C.likelihood | D.neighborhood |
A.average | B.strange | C.expected | D.total |
A.hours | B.minutes | C.seconds | D.weeks |
A.reach | B.take | C.check | D.answer |
A.flower | B.food | C.snack | D.toy |
A.sent | B.posted | C.claimed | D.misdelivered |
A.account | B.postbox | C.package | D.address |
A.credit | B.name | C.resume | D.status |
A.complain | B.boast | C.lie | D.explain |
A.card | B.secret | C.item | D.article |
A.loser | B.stranger | C.winner | D.visitor |
A.appreciation | B.warning | C.apology | D.encouragement |
A.confused | B.depressed | C.touched | D.amused |
A.call | B.send | C.owe | D.assign |
A.agent | B.offer | C.case | D.manager |
A.achieved | B.spoiled | C.made | D.accomplished |
A.request | B.advise | C.demand | D.remind |
A.love | B.modesty | C.passion | D.integrity |
6 . It is never too late to develop great study habits. However, starting to make some changes is hard. Even if you want to do well enough in school and improve your grades, you’re probably having trouble getting started in the first place!
Plan your time carefully. Make a list of your weekly tasks. Make a schedule of your time. Then decide on good, regular time for studying.
Find a good place to study. Choose one place for your study area. It may be a desk or a chair at home or in the school library, but it should be comfortable and quiet. When you begin to work, you should be able to concentrate on the subject.
Skim before you read.
Develop a good attitude to tests. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject.
There are other skills that might help you with your study. Share with your classmates some of the skills you have found to be helpful.
A.Study regularly |
B.Make good use of your time in class |
C.There are several ways that can help you |
D.Develop a positive lifestyle by setting realistic goals |
E.This weekly schedule may not solve all of your problems |
F.This means looking over a passage quickly before you begin to read it more carefully |
G.The world won’t end if you don’t pass a test, so don’t worry too much about your grade |
Water flowing, birds singing and leaves rustling (发出沙沙声), a woman moves around a cottage…… This is the opening scene of Rainforest Time, a large-scale live performance in the city of Wuzhishan, Hainan Province.
The show,
The first audience
Much practice
The event first appeared in Wuzhishan because “the city’s government has a great
8 . The joys of getting lost
Most of us like to know where we are and where we’re going. It can feel
When I was twelve, my family were
So at 5 am the following morning we
After about an hour, I turned to him. “Dad,” I asked “where are we?” He said,“I have no
His
Finally, after hours of
These days we have so many things to
A.nervous | B.silly | C.strange | D.curious |
A.step into | B.think of | C.respond to | D.dream of |
A.on holiday | B.on business | C.on the way | D.on the go |
A.notes | B.videos | C.exercise | D.pictures |
A.would | B.shall | C.will | D.should |
A.reached | B.booked | C.left | D.called |
A.large | B.small | C.old | D.broad |
A.decision | B.plan | C.opinion | D.idea |
A.stuck | B.done | C.lost | D.troubled |
A.watch | B.camera | C.film | D.food |
A.laughter | B.praise | C.confidence | D.encouragement |
A.disappearing | B.escaping | C.gathering | D.appearing |
A.came up | B.turned up | C.went up | D.rose up |
A.to | B.on | C.around | D.behind |
A.fluent | B.terrible | C.difficult | D.creative |
A.driving | B.riding | C.covering | D.walking |
A.carefully | B.anxiously | C.eagerly | D.hopefully |
A.sweet | B.awkward | C.wide | D.silent |
A.stop | B.discourage | C.free | D.ban |
A.teach | B.understand | C.solve | D.enjoy |
9 . Don’t get me wrong-I love my parents very much. I know they love me too and would do anything to help me but sometimes they can be really embarrassing. Dad wanting to pick me up from school, Mum getting overexcited when she watches me playing football for the school team.
Choose the behaviour you find most embarrassing
When you’ve decided which issues you want to talk about, keep a diary of all the times your mum or dad do the things that embarrass you most. When, where and how you felt - make a note of all these things. They’ll help you put your case across.
Have a family meeting
It’s time for a little face-to-face chat.The chances are that even if your parents are aware of doing these things, they prob-ably don’t realize how embarrassing they are. Keep calm.
Try and be more understanding
Hopefully your parents will listen and be willing to change their ways, especially if you say you’re happy to change too. Of course, sometimes they might not. Re-member that they once had their own embarrassing parents, and the chances are many of us will be embarrassing parents ourselves one day.
A.Discuss the issues |
B.Collect the evidence |
C.And I know it’s not just me |
D.Let them know how you feel and why |
E.Maybe we shouldn’t be too hard on them |
F.Write down the things that you feel happy |
G.Write a list of all the things you find embarrassing |
10 . For centuries, the power of Chinese emperors rose and fell with their control of the Grand Canal. Today, this waterway is shorter than it once was, but it is still the longest man-made river in the world. Importantly, the Grand Canal continues to provide a significant cultural and economic link for modern China.
The original canal system began around the year 605. China’s Emperor Yang realized that he needed a better way to move food quickly to his army from China’s southern rice-growing region to the country’s north. So about one million people-mostly farmers-worked on the construction of the first section of the Grand Canal, which took six years.
Over the next 500 years, the canal’s importance grew. However, by 1127 , parts had begun to deteriorate. In 1279, Kublai Khan began to repair and build new parts of the canal, which created a more direct north-south route to and from Beijing. Future rulers continued to expand and improve the waterway, and it eventually became an important national lifeline.
In addition to moving rice around China, the Grand Canal was an important cultural connection. Soldiers, businessmen,and artists transported ideas, regional foods, and cultural practices from one part of China to another. According to ancient stories, this is how Beijing acquired two of its best-known trademarks. Peking duck,a dish from Shandong Province, and the Peking opera, from Anhui and Hubei regions,were both brought north by the canal.
For more than a thousand years, goods have been transported along the Grand Canal.Even today, the country’s watery highway plays an important economic role in China. Boats continue to carry tons of goods. In addition, local governments-eager to in-crease tourism and real estate (房地产) development-are beautifying areas along the canal.
In 2005, a group of citizens proposed that the historic Grand Canal be made a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was officially granted (批准) in 2014. The hope now is that the Grand Canal-one of the world’s great engineering achievements -will continue to link north and south China for centuries to come.
1. Why was the Grand Canal originally built?A.To enable more people to visit distant parts of China. |
B.To allow the army to move quickly from the north to the south. |
C.To promote the cultural and traditional connection of south China. |
D.To transport food from the southern regions of China to the north. |
A.It took six years to complete its first section. |
B.Even today, it is the longest man-made river in the world. |
C.Around a million people worked on the first part of the canal. |
D.It allowed Peking duck and the Peking opera to spread to southern China. |
A.Get worse. | B.Get destroyed. | C.Get shorter. | D.Get repaired. |
A.Renewed Importance. | B.Cultural Connections. |
C.The Army’s Highway. | D.The Origins of the Peking Opera. |
A.Construction of the Canal began. |
B.New parts of the Canal were built. |
C.The Grand Canal became a World Heritage Site. |
D.The Grand Canal was proposed as a UNESCO Heritage Site. |