1 . In the heart of the Cyclades, Mykonos has long been an attraction for visitors. The beaches on the island’s southwest coast are among the Mediterranean’s best wild-party scenes, but head east and travelers will find something quite different. Here, the crowds slowly fade away, revealing what originally made the island famous: its beauty with rocky coastline and sandy bays.
Fokos Bay
Park your vehicle in the dirt lot and climb over the low dunes (沙丘) to find perfect little Fokos Bay, where deep, sheltered waters offer delightful swimming for all ages. Once you’ve worked up a bit of an appetite, head on over to the famous Greek cafe overlooking the sand for a lazy seafood lunch.
Mersini Beach
Head west around the headland to the next beach along — the Mersini Beach, which is usually the least-crowded on Mykonos. Bring your own sun mat and even an umbrella as this beach is completely wild and raw.
Agrari Beach
If getting your own wheels isn’t an option, Agrari is only a 15-minute walk east of the more famous Elia Beach and on the south coast beach ferry(渡轮) route. It’s one of the closest uncrowded beaches to Hora, Mykonos’ main town, and home to a restaurant that provides sunbeds and drinks and snacks.
Kalafati Beach
In the far southeast, about seven miles from Mykonos town, the Kalafati Beach is beloved for its steady winds that blow the sails of windsurfers and kite surfers. Rent boards and get lessons right at the beach at Windsurfing Mykonos.
1. What can be done in Fokos Bay?A.Get surfing lessons. | B.Take car rides on dirt tracks. |
C.Rent sun mats and umbrellas. | D.Sample the delights of seafood. |
A.It’s service-free. | B.It’s heavily populated. |
C.It’s on a coast beach ferry route. | D.It’s within easy reach of Hora. |
A.Fokos Bay. | B.Mersini Beach. |
C.Agrari Beach. | D.Kalafati Beach. |
2 . Social welfare programs, including quality early education, earned-income tax credit and health care, can change children’s lives. More importantly, recent studies show the benefits from these programs strongly influence the next generation, lifting them out of poverty.
The long-term impact of prekindergarten is well established and widely known. 50 years ago, 123 three-and four-year-old African Americans from low-income families in Ypsilanti, Michigan took part in an experiment. About half attended a pioneering early education program called Perry Preschool, while the control group did not. Researchers have been able to track the lives of most of these children ever since. The kids who went to Perry Preschool did better in school, made more money, and were healthier than the control group.
The benefits of Perry Preschool didn’t just stop with those children. A study published last summer by Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman and his colleagues takes the implications of Perry a giant step further. This research shows that the children of the Perry preschoolers are also better off because of their parents’ experience.
As the Perry preschoolers grew up, they became better educated and developed greater socio - emotional skills than the control group. They became better parents. Their children grew up in harmonious two-parent families that made, on average, about $ 10,000 more a year. It was enough to lift many of them out of poverty. This healthy upbringing has had a long-lasting effect on the children of the Perry preschoolers. Compared to the children of the control group, they were much less likely to have dropped out, and more likely to have graduated from high school.
Here’s another example. A Norwegian study demonstrated the decades-long impact on babies who, during their first year, benefited from their mothers’ having had the opportunity to sign up for free mother and child health care centers. In the following years, these youngsters grew taller and stayed in school longer than those whose mothers did not receive the same support. At 40, they are in better health.
1. What do we know about Perry Preschool?A.It provided early quality education. | B.It divided the kids into two groups. |
C.It received kids from all backgrounds. | D.It continued to track half of the kids’lives. |
A.Truths. | B.Assumptions. |
C.Effects. | D.Suggestions. |
A.Perry preschoolers received less education. |
B.It had no impact on the participants’ children. |
C.Early education could bring economic benefits. |
D.The children of the control group became healthier. |
A.Early quality education matters most. |
B.Social welfare can break the cycle of poverty. |
C.Wealth can be passed down through generations. |
D.Parents are important in shaping future generation. |
3 . I opened the door: the morning dishes weren’t in the sink, and the floor had been cleaned. The pile of junk mail on the counter disappeared, replaced by a single
I picked up the letter,
“I’m tired of being
I glanced through our
The letter continued in the same
I
A.flower | B.envelope | C.paper | D.book |
A.comment | B.update | C.decision | D.assessment |
A.issuing | B.anticipating | C.accepting | D.publishing |
A.scared of | B.amazed at | C.ashamed of | D.concerned about |
A.suspected | B.cured | C.informed | D.accused |
A.notice | B.quit | C.agree | D.mind |
A.fancy | B.spotless | C.soiled | D.frosted |
A.emissions | B.repairs | C.maintenance | D.registration |
A.tone | B.breath | C.situation | D.sense |
A.temporarily | B.seemingly | C.painfully | D.completely |
A.credit | B.envy | C.comfort | D.sympathy |
A.intended | B.promised | C.failed | D.attempted |
A.put down | B.reached for | C.took apart | D.picked out |
A.similar | B.plain | C.priceless | D.hurtful |
A.admiration | B.encouragement | C.forgiveness | D.mention |
1. Why does the man talk to the woman?
A.To confirm the address of the bank. |
B.To ask about the operating hours. |
C.To get an identification form. |
A.At 3 p.m. | B.At 4:30 p.m. | C.At 5 p.m. |
A.By making a reservation. |
B.By filling out a form in advance. |
C.By opening the bank account online. |
1. What stimulated the woman’s interest in lighting?
A.The lighting in a play. |
B.A light show at a rock concert. |
C.A fireworks display at an event. |
A.It’s simple to operate. |
B.It’s highly thought of by many people. |
C.It’s important for people to understand a play. |
A.She acted on a dark stage. |
B.She made a lighting plan for a play. |
C.She assisted the teacher to write a play. |
6 . There’s no doubt that loneliness hurts. Functional MRIs show that the area of the brain triggered by social rejection is the same area that’s triggered by physical pain. To understand why loneliness hurts, let’s take a closer look at friendship through the eyes of two heavyweight philosophers.
In one corner we have Aristotle, who wrote that without friends, there’s no reason to live. The Greek great believed that friendships are based on the virtues of the friend.
So as a sharp counterpunch to Aristotle, let’s turn to the renowned Enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant, who said that all people have value regardless of their virtues. Since we view our true friends with this kind of unconditional love and respect, we can assume they view us the same way.
A.This may sound fine at first. |
B.They last through thick and thin. |
C.This tells us why loneliness hurts. |
D.These acts may not make you a lifelong friend. |
E.The more friends you have, the happier you’ll be. |
F.We feel like we’re not accepted by the people around us. |
G.Thus, the cure for loneliness can be found in other people. |
7 . Profits from cutting down rainforests are surprisingly small. A freshly cleared square kilometer of the Amazon rainforest fetches an average price of only around $ 12. By contrast, the social costs of clearing it are huge. Some 500 tons of carbon dioxide are pumped into the atmosphere. By an estimate, that does $ 25,000 of harm by accelerating climate change.
Yet still the world’s trees are disappearing. The senseless men cutting down trees receive the profits, but all 8 billion people on the planet pay for the costs. Clearly, if the owners of the rainforest were paid not to destroy it, everyone would be better off. If rainforests were in places with clear landownership and a firm rule of law, the world would no doubt already have funded such a deal. Sadly, they are not.
Local officials are often in league with the loggers, and may be loggers themselves. Consider Brazil. It had a leader, who sided with illegal loggers and ranchers (大农场主). He stopped fining forest criminals and told illegal miners on local reserves he would legalise the mining. On his watch the pace of deforestation rose by 60%. Local communities often refuse to follow the law and order since they see more benefit from deforestation than protecting it. And the land ownership is a mess. When it’s unclear who owns a piece of land, it’s unclear whom to pay to protect it, or whom to fine for destroying it.
Leadership matters. But even under better leaders, people living there should see benefits in protecting them. That will require a big, reliable flow of cash which should come from rich-country governments and from private firms buying carbon credits to make up for their emissions (排放).
Such carbon credits could be used to promote a greener local economy, and clean up local land registration. If there’s enough cash, conditionally paid, locals will be encouraged to protect trees and less likely to elect irresponsible leaders. To preserve such a huge carbon sink — never mind the biodiversity it contains — this would be a bargain.
1. What does the author intend to tell in Paragraph 1?A.Climate change is accelerating. | B.Rainforest clearing is rather profitable. |
C.Carbon dioxide is harmful to the atmosphere. | D.The costs of deforestation outweigh the profits. |
A.Clear landownership. | B.The absence of related law. |
C.Profit-driving logging. | D.People’s willingness to buy trees. |
A.More landownership funds. | B.Bringing in more private firms. |
C.Awareness of saving biodiversity. | D.Paying the locals for the preservation efforts. |
A.Cash for Saving Rainforests | B.Fight Illegal Logging in Brazil |
C.Dilemmas of Rainforest Protection | D.Rainforest Deforestation and Climate Change |
Imagine a vehicle that can pick you up outside your home, drive to the nearest railway line, and change itself into a train. It may sound like a story from “Thomas the Tank Engine,”
With a capacity of 23, the DMV is a diesel-powered (柴油驱动的) bus fitted with a set of retractable (可缩进的) rail wheels
Tokushima government hopes that the DMV buses
1. Who did Sam go to the fashion show with?
A.A family member. | B.Some friends. | C.A designer. |
A.The sports clothes show. | B.The children’s fashion show. | C.The costume show. |
A.Sam and Anna. | B.Sam and Melissa. | C.Emma and Anna. |
1. Why does the speaker give this talk?
A.To introduce the guests. |
B.To explain the change to the plan. |
C.To make the procedure clear to the listeners. |
A.About one hour and a half. | B.About one hour. | C.About half an hour. |
A.Sarah Smith. | B.Robert Price. | C.Kenji Nakamura. |
A.Lunch will be served in Victoria Hall. |
B.People can enjoy tea and juice after 6 p.m. |
C.Sally Connor will make a conclusion of the conference. |