1 . Not many people are comfortable going deep underground. There’s something pretty scary about diving into the pitch-black abyss (深谷), towards the mysteries at the centre of the Earth. But humans have been going underground — mining, caving, living and the like. All over the world you’ll find all manner of superb underground phenomena. Here are our favourites.
1. Salina Turda, Romania
A Transylvanian underground theme park sounds kind of like something out of ScoobyDoo. But it actually exists—and isn’t frightening at all. Built deep below the Earth’s surface in a salt mine, Salina Turda features attractions like a panoramic (全景的) wheel, mini-golf, bowling, table tennis and even boating on a mine lake.
2. Derinkuyu, Turkey
The underground city at Derinkuyu, in Turkey’s Cappadocia region, dates back thousands of years. It’s the deepest of its kind in the region, a web of winding passages over eight levels, reaching a depth of 85 metres. Living underground allowed the citizens of Derinkuyu to avoid extreme temperatures and more easily fight against invaders. Though not inhabited today, the site features the remains of schools, shops and churches.
3. Ajanta Caves, India
Considering that they’re cut deep into a rock face, the 30 or so caves of Ajanta are surprisingly well lit. All that light makes it much easier to admire this remarkable series of Buddhist temples and monuments (纪念碑) that date from the first and second centuries BC. They contain some of the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian wall-painting.
4. Thrihnukagigur, Iceland
Sometimes climbing up to a volcano crater (火山口) or viewing it from afar just isn’t enough. Some people need to go that step further and adventure inside a volcano. You can do exactly that at Thrihnukagigur in Iceland. A lift takes visitors 700 feet down into the volcano’s magma chamber (岩浆室). We’re assured that Thrihnukagigur is safely dormant (休眠的), having not erupted in 4,000 years, but even so, it takes a certain kind of thrill-seeker to actively want to get up close and personal with a volcano.
Click www.timeout.com/arts-and-culture for more.
1. Which of the following most probably attracts adventurers?A.Salina Turda, Romania. | B.Derinkuyu, Turkey. |
C.Ajanta Caves, India. | D.Thrihnukagigur, Iceland. |
A.They both have a long history. | B.They are of the same depth. |
C.They share the same features. | D.They both contain wall-paintings. |
A.A textbook. | B.A magazine. |
C.A website. | D.A newspaper. |
2 . It’s a Friday morning in Boston, which means Dr Jim O’Connell is making his rounds. He might be more comfortable inside an exam room, but that’s not where his patients are. O’Connell is one of a handful of physicians making house calls to the homeless in the city. More than 550,000 Americans are homeless, and many have health problems but no access to care. O’Connell and his team are doing something about it. They spend their days walking around where the homeless live — in parks, under bridges, and outside town. They treat about 700 regular patients. During these rounds, O’Connell himself usually sees about 20 patients. He knows where most of them sleep and whom to ask if they are missing.
O’Connell went to Harvard Medical School and was on his way to a famous oncology (肿瘤学) scholarship when his chief suggested he take what was supposed to be a one-year position as the founding physician of a new health-care programme for Boston’s homeless people. That turned into a 33-year career at the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Programme, one of the country’s largest of its kind.
O’Connell provides just everything, from stitches (缝线) for an arm to surgery for the soul. If patients can’t be treated on the street, he finds them a treatment bed at the organization’s medical respite (暂缓) facility, a place for patients who are too sick to be on the streets but not ill enough for a hospital stay.
“Everything I had been taught to do in medical school — go fast, be efficient (高效的) — was counterproductive when you take care of homeless people” O’Connell told Harvard Magazine. “When you see somebody outside, you get them a cup of coffee and sit with them. Sometimes it took six months or a year of offering a sandwich or coffee before someone would start to talk to me. But once they form a good relationship with you, they’ll come to you anytime because they trust you.” When asked about how his life might have turned out, had he become a highly paid physician, O’Connell said “I never think about it anymore.”
Some things are more valuable than money. Just ask O’Connell who gets everything from patients who have nothing material to give.
1. What do we know about the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Programme?A.It has been founded for 34 years. |
B.It offers a high salary to its involvers. |
C.It, provides everything for the homeless. |
D.It aims to care about the health of Boston’s homeless people. |
A.High-efficient. |
B.Being more productive. |
C.Achieving the opposite result to the one that you want. |
D.Achieving the excellent result to the one that you want. |
A.hardworking, kind, patient and selfless |
B.warm-hearted, brave, honest and confident |
C.easy-going, successful, famous and fortunate |
D.good-tempered, believable, inspired and happy |
3 . Nowadays, we know how to work with al old items. Many of them can be reused after being properly processed. Instead of sending them to the trashcan, we have new choices.
Participate in the Give the Gift of Sight Program. Run by Lions Club International, the program makes it easy for you to donate your old eyeglasses and sunglasses to needy people in developing countries. After you drop glasses off, they are cleaned, repaired, and grouped, then distributed.
Donate your used computer to computers for Kids, a non-profit organization.
Recycle sneakers (运动鞋) and athletic shoes. Since 1990, NIKE has sponsored the Reuse-A-Shoe program.
Never throw away books or magazines. Books and magazines are a great aid to help those who’ve been sent to prison. Some of them quit school at an early age.
A.Recycle holiday and greeting cards. |
B.Find one near you by searching online. |
C.So don’t forget the “early reader” books. |
D.Here are some ways to recycle worn - out items. |
E.It aims to improve the computer skills of youth. |
F.It takes in used sneakers and breaks them into pieces. |
G.Over 1.5 million pairs of shoes are recycled and repaired. |
4 . One of the world’s most productive wildlife sound recordists (录音师) has released a large collection of his most treasured recordings of wild places to listen to for free on Soundcloud.
“Martyn Stewart has recorded nearly 100,000 pieces, consisting of 30,00o hours of materials. They have been spread across 40 countries and used in 150 films,” Krause, a friend of Martyn said. “Some of these include sounds that can’t be heard anymore, as they belong to extinct animals or disturbed habitats.”
Martyn is one of the key recordists who helped set the standards that gave the work standing in the world of sound. Few can match the quality of his life-long efforts. Throughout his life, since he recorded his first bird at the age of 11, it was easy to record the sounds of faraway places. But times are changing, and the growing presence of noise pollution has made his job a lot harder.
Among his “treasured” recordings include Hurricane Dorian on a remote beach, thunderstorms in Australia, Denali National Park and Arctic Wildlife Home in Alaska, dawn in Zimbabwe, and so much more. He’s also recorded sounds and calls of certain animals, some of which are extinct like the white rhino and the golden frog.
“I hope the free project, called Martyn Stewart’s Listening Planet, is meant to inspire people to try and protect a more delicate part of the world — the auditory (听觉的) part. They have the connection between sound and the animal making the sound,” said Martyn. “I think we have to become the voice of the voiceless. If we can get these beautiful sound recordings out and let people in the world listen to them, maybe we can start protecting what we’ve got left.”
1. What can be learned from Krause’s words?A.Martyn’s work deserves praising. |
B.Recording is a time - consuming job. |
C.Martyn loves to record rare animals. |
D.The recordings are intended for films. |
A.The standard of recordings. |
B.The loss of natural habitats. |
C.The increase of noise pollution. |
D.The extinction of certain animals. |
A.To meet fans’ requests. |
B.To make himself more famous. |
C.To stress difficulty of his recordings. |
D.To raise concern for sounds in nature. |
A.Determined and humorous. |
B.Generous and devoted. |
C.Curious and friendly. |
D.Creative and honest. |
5 . The following are some of the most recognizable names in art history.
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci, born in 1452 in Tuscany, Italy, was a genius. His one-of-a-kind gift was expressing human emotions, which earned him a name from an early age. He kept painting until his death in France in 1519. His Mona Lisa is a painting that was originally left incomplete but has become the world’s most famous picture.
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh, born in the Netherlands in 1853, is widely regarded as one of the finest post - impressionist painters of all time. He did not become an artist until he was in his late twenties. In 1886, he traveled to Paris, where he met Paul Gauguin, who encouraged Van Gogh to develop his own style. He died in 1890 after suffering from mental health problems. Van Gogh became famous after his death.
Claude Monet
Claude Monet, born in Paris in 1840, was a talented French artist who is widely considered as one of the most important painters. He was recognized for his talents when he was young and he was the first to employ oil and outdoor methods. The word “impressionism” was created after his picture Impression, Sunrise. Monet died at age 86.
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain, in late 1881. He began drawing at a young age and had gotten his first lessons in the use of oil paints from his father by the time he was seven. In 1900, he moved to Paris and sold his first painting there. He made significant contributions to the progress of modern art. He passed away in 1973.
1. Which of the following painters lives the longest?A.Leonardo da Vinci. |
B.Vincent van Gogh. |
C.Claude Monet. |
D.Pablo Picasso. |
A.He inspired Van Gogh. |
B.He was taught by his father. |
C.He suffered mental health problems. |
D.He led to the birth of impressionism. |
A.They are all impressionists. |
B.They liked painting outdoors. |
C.They all had experiences in France. |
D.They were recognized in their life time. |
You might not have heard of the “fresh start effect”, but if you’ve ever made a New Year’s resolution (决心), you’re familiar with it. It refers to the human tendency to take action towards achieving a goal after a special occasion or key date has passed.
The fresh start effect is simple. Most people want to improve themselves in some way. When we hit important milestones (里程碑), we’re often likely to reflect: was this year a successful year, or did we waste it? Annual landmarks like birthdays, or the start of a new year, signify a new time period and an opportunity to leave mistakes behind and to set new goals for better behavior.
Research shows that expectation of a new beginning is a key motivator for the fresh start effect. For example, people aged 29,39,49 etc. were 48% more likely to run a marathon for the first time. When they were approaching a new decade, they were more likely to search for meaning in their lives and try to improve themselves. The reason is simple. When we see our past self as separate from our current self, we feel it easier to introduce new goals and take action.
What’s interesting about the fresh start effect is that we don’t need to wait for big milestones to take advantage of this sudden motivation (动力). Studies show that the first day of each month and even each week can also inspire us. These days, known as “temporal landmarks”, encourage us to step back and think about our current situation. And when we do this, we gain the motivation to be better: we become more driven and more productive. That is why people are more likely to start diets or exercise plans on Monday, rather than the next day.
Fresh starts are exciting opportunities to learn from your mistakes and move forward. So, if you’re currently experiencing loss of motivation, questioning the meaning of your work, or just feel like you’re stuck in a rut (一成不变的生活), why don’t you use the fresh start effect in your own life?
1. According to the passage, what is “fresh start effect”?2. Why is expectation of a new beginning a key motivator for the fresh start effect?
3. Besides the fresh start effect, in what other way(s) do you motivate yourself in your life? (In about 40 words)
7 . Awe is not an everyday emotion. You don’t wake up awestruck. A satisfying lunch doesn’t leave you filled with awe. Even a great day is unlikely to leave you in a state of breathtaking, all-knowing fear and trembling.
Then what is-awe? Psychologists Dacher Keltner and Jonathan Haidt suggested that awe(typically includes feelings of grandness. That means awe is inspired by something larger than a person’s self or experience. And it usually helps expand the person s understanding of the world. For example, awe might come from seeing a mountain taller than you thought a mountain could be. Or it might come from listening to a symphony that contains both shockingly 4oud and touchingly quiet notes. People can be awe-inspiring, too: think of meeting a political leader whose power seems limitless.
In order to find out more about the mysterious feeling, the psychologists laid out a research plan. In the years since, they and other researchers have been testing awe. What is it? How does it work? What seems awesome, and why? For the first time, they’re starting to understand both what a we does to us and what it might do for us.
When psychologists first started studying awe, one of the unanswered questions was: What do we look like when we’re feeling it? Emotions come with facial expressions.
Keltner and two workmates guessed that an awe-filled person would widen her eyes and raise her head, eyes and eyebrows, just a bit. And they were on track. When they asked people to perform awe, they found that people indeed often raised their eyebrows and widened their eyes. They also opened their mouths and dropped their jaws.
Another question was the purpose of the emotion. “We developed emotions to help us deal with and survive certain dangers,” explains Craig Anderson, a student in Keltner’s lab, “When people are scared, they freeze or run away. People that behaved like that tended to survive long enough.” In the same way, awe should have some sort of reason for existing.
So far, it seems that the purpose of awe might draw people together. When people are awestruck, they feel like time has slowed. down somehow, and when they feel so, they are more willing to use it to help others. The study also shows that awe promotes generosity. It improves people’s moral decision making. A paper still under review indicates that a we can make people more modest, too.
“We actually experience awe a lot more often than we think,” says one of the researchers, Rudd, “We meet something in the big wide world, our minds open as we look for an explanation, and as a result we open up to connecting to other people. But if you are keeping yourself in your own small world, it’s going to be hard to experience that feeling. Just go out into newness and you’re going to be more likely to run into something that’s awe-inspiring.
A.Eating Beijing duck at Quanjude Restaurant. |
B.Listening to a pleasant flute solo in a famous bar. |
C.Enjoying a sound sleep after an extremely tiring day. |
D.Seeing a huge elephant up close in its natural setting. |
A.We should try to avoid awe because it can fill people with fear. |
B.Awe is a complex feeling and no one can understand it. |
C.Awe is socially beneficial and we should be open to it. |
D.We should try to feel awe because it helps us survive. |
A.To move readers with touching stories about awe. |
B.To explain what awe is and what it brings to people. |
C.To show awe functions differently from other emotions. |
D.To persuade readers to experience awe as much as possible. |
8 . Self-improvement doesn’t have to be a terrifying task. It can be a fun and exciting adventure that takes you on a journey of discovery and growth. With some simple tricks, you can transform yourself into a better version of you.
First off, remember that self-improvement is a marathon, not a dash.
Start with small, achievable goals. Whether it’s reading a book a week, going for a daily walk, or learning a new skill, these little milestones will help you stay motivated and feel accomplished.
Don’t be afraid to fail. Failure is part of the learning process. If you stumble or fall short of your goals, don’t beat yourself up.
And finally, don’t forget to celebrate your progress.
A.Choose your circle wisely. |
B.Seek support and inspiration. |
C.Instead, dust yourself off, and start out again. |
D.Make time for activities that will fuel your soul. |
E.No one can expect to change everything overnight. |
F.Remember, every step counts, however small it is! |
G.Every little win is well worth acknowledging and rewarding. |
9 . Tonight, our family was going out to play under the full moon.
My husband Todd and I first started going on full moon walks for ourselves, as we needed these little doses of moonlight to stay happy, though sometimes we had to hike through the forest to find a perfect spot. But after we became parents, we did this for our children. We wanted to show Sierra and Bryce that it was not necessary to travel far from home to have an adventure and learn something new, and that there was much magic in the natural world, available to all.
Once we arrived at our location, Sierra and I stood holding hands, waiting to cheer the full moon in its rising — a thin sliver of the moon emerged above the ridge of the mountain afar. Soon, more of the moon came out until it turned into a brilliant orange sphere (球体). Todd explained to Sierra and Bryce that the moon generates no light, but simply acts like a mirror, reflecting the sunlight back to us. “Does the moon’s face change?” Bryce asked. I told him that the moon moves around the earth, but does not spin (旋转) by itself, so the same side of the moon is always facing the earth. Sierra remarked that the moon looked larger when it was rising. I explained that it is a visual illusion (错觉) because it is so close to the horizon that the moon magically tricks our eyes into comparing it with nearby objects.
Much of the knowledge that I shared with the kids was learned from my parents. During my childhood, they would take me on educational adventures out in the woods, and as I later found, so did their parents. So every time I go for a full moon walk with my beloved family, I thank those wise educators who came before me.
To educate, sometimes all it takes is going outdoors and gazing up at the heavens.
1. What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 2 refer to?A.Traveling far from home. |
B.Learning something new. |
C.Hiking through the forest. |
D.Going on full moon walks. |
A.The children were unwilling to participate. |
B.Todd mentioned a mirror to explain the sunlight. |
C.The children showed great curiosity about the moon. |
D.The author used a magic trick to explain the larger moon. |
A.Proud and stubborn. |
B.Learned and inspiring. |
C.Confident and determined. |
D.Adventurous and ambitious. |
A.Nature is the best classroom. |
B.It takes a village to raise a child. |
C.It is good to learn at another man's cost. |
D.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. |
10 . Whether you’re a thrill-seeker looking for the world’s most intense roller coasters or a family planning a vacation filled with fun for parents and kids, theme parks have something for everyone. Here are some fantastic options for you.
Tokyo DisneySea, Japan
Tokyo Disney Resort tops the must-visit list for many Disney theme park fans. Tokyo Disneyland is very similar to Magic Kingdom in Florida or Disneyland Park in California, but Tokyo DisneySea is unique with its nautical (海上的) theme, fantastical lands and beautiful sections inspired by the Mediterranean, Arabian and American coasts.
Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
This primarily indoor Ferrari-inspired theme park in Abu Dhabi is a must-visit for car and thrill lovers. It’s home to the world’s fastest roller coaster Formula Rossa, which reaches speeds of 149 mph. When visiting, make sure you also take advantage of the driving experiences, on which you can go around Yas Island behind the wheel of a Ferrari.
Tivoli Gardens, Denmark
One of the world’s oldest operating amusement parks, Tivoli Gardens is a must-visit attraction in the heart of Copenhagen. The park dates back to 1843, and it has rides, theaters, and restaurants spread across its charming grounds and gardens. During the holidays, the park is extra magical with its annual festival when the scene lights up with decorations.
Efteling, Netherlands
Efteling is the Netherlands’ largest and one of Europe’s most-visited amusement parks. Its imaginative rides, gardens and attractions are themed to Dutch folklore and fairy tales, including a 15-acre Fairytale Forest with more than two dozen scenes. For example, thrill-seekers can line up for a thrill ride on the Flying Dutchman water coaster.
1. Where should you go if you are into beaches?A.Tokyo DisneySea. | B.Ferrari World Abu Dhabi. |
C.Tivoli Gardens. | D.Efteling. |
A.It is mostly visited by thrill lovers. |
B.It offers driving experiences to visitors. |
C.It has the fastest roller coaster in the world. |
D.It is the only indoor theme park in Abu Dhabi. |
A.They boast a long history. |
B.They hold annual festivals. |
C.They provide water coasters. |
D.They include rides and gardens. |