1 . Tax Refund for Visitors to Canada
There is refund (偿还) of the tax money (GST) paid on such items as: clothes; electronic products; cosmetics and short-term accommodation (住宿).
Any goods about food; tobacco products; alcohol; entertainment and goods that you consume in Canada do not qualify for refund.
You can claim a refund of the tax money if you meet the following conditions:
◆You are not a citizen of Canada at the time you apply for a refund.
◆The goods you purchase are for personal use.
◆You have paid GST on these purchases.
◆Only original receipts (收据) of the goods you purchase are available. No photocopies are accepted.
◆Each receipt indicates a minimum purchase amount of Canadian dollars $50, not including GST.
◆The total amount of your purchases should reach Canadian dollars $200, not including GST.
◆The receipts should be stamped by the customs officers in the customs offices in one of the Canadian international airports.
You can mail us your receipts of purchases within one year with your original plane boarding pass back home and your home address. We will mail back your tax money in cash within six weeks after we get your receipts. Any false claim will cause a serious offence.
Please fill up the tax refund application form if you fully understand the information with your signature. Mail the form to:
Canada Customs and Revenue Agency Suite 104, 275 Pope Road Canada.
For more information: Call Canadian customs service at 1-800-461-9999
1. All the tax money spent on the following goods or items can be refunded except on _______.| A．cameras and CD players | B．hotel living expenses |
| C．pants and jackets | D．movies and concerts |
| A．pay for their purchases in cash |
| B．buy goods and use them outside Canada |
| C．travel or work in Canada as foreigners |
| D．are interested in making shopping trips abroad |
| A．before the buyer leaves Canada |
| B．after the buyer leaves Canada |
| C．when the buyer is in the Canadian International Airport |
| D．after the buyer has the receipts stamped at the airport |
2 . I have a strong faith that the pain is almost gone but the feeling of success will stay forever. I was among the 38,000 runners who participated in the marathon (马拉松赛跑), the largest event of its kind in Asia.
My decision to participate in the marathon was because of the insistence of my wife, who had run the half-marathon previously. This year, she wanted me to participate along with her. Unexpectedly, her application got rejected while mine got accepted.
Though I had been into fitness training before, it seemed to be a daunting task to run 21 km. I started training about 10 weeks before the day. I had made up my mind to finish the run. So I tried my best to accommodate training into my busy schedule whenever I could.
What’s more, I remembered that four weeks into my training, my shoes were worn. I searched and hunted and literally spent a fortune on a new pair of shoes. However, right on the first day of running with them, I felt that they were not for me. I preserved, thinking that my discomfort was because the shoes were new. Eventually, I gave up on them. I even tried looking for another new pair of shoes, but couldn’t find that were as comfortable as my old ones.
Finally, on 16th January 2011, I ran and completed the half-marathon. And I did it in my old shoes.
Now, when I think about it, it all seems so easy. All I had to do was to picture completing the run in good time in my mind.
What I have learned from the experience is that completing a marathon is like any other goal in life — largely a mind-over-matter phenomenon. In other words, unless you believe you can reach your goal, you’ve lost even before you begin. No doubt, factors such as hard work, experience and talent help to a greater or lesser degree. But without your belief that you will get there, every goal remains difficult to achieve.
1. Why did the writer participate in the marathon at first?| A．It was the largest event of its kind. |
| B．He had run the half-marathon previously. |
| C．His wife insisted on him participating. |
| D．He had been training for a long time. |
| A．The writer was the best among all the runners. |
| B．The writer tried his best to do some marathon training. |
| C．The writer’s fitness training before was only a little help to him in the run. |
| D．The writer’s old shoes were very expensive. |
| A．self-confidence is the primary factor in a marathon. |
| B．to win a marathon depends on your mind, not on your shoes |
| C．it would be easy if you made up your mind to begin it |
| D．belief can bring you success in a marathon |
| A．Practice Makes Perfect. | B．Insist on Your Decision |
| C．The Pain before Success | D．A Running Lesson |
3 . There is a man who I’d like to tell you about. His name is Sandy Greenberg. Sandy was a very good student, but he came from a poor family. And so he went to Columbia University, but while there, he became blind.
But something else happened to Sandy that may surprise you. Sandy said that when he lost his sight, his roommate would read his textbooks to him, every night. As a result, Sandy went on to graduate. He got a scholarship, and he went off to study at Oxford.
One day, Sandy got a call at Oxford, and his former roommate said, “Sandy, I’m really unhappy. I really don’t like being in graduate school, and I don’t want to do this.”
So Sandy asked, “Well, what do you want to do?”
And his roommate told him, “Sandy, I really love to sing. I have a high school friend who plays the guitar. And we would really like to try the music business. But we need to make a record, and in order to do that I need $500.”
So Sandy Greenberg told me he took all his life savings and sent it to his roommate. He told me, “You know, what else could I do? He made my life; I needed to help make his life.”
I almost forgot. You probably are wanting to know who Sandy’s roommate was. I think you’ve heard of him. Sandy’s roommate was a fellow by the name of Art Garfunkel, and he teamed up with another musician by the name of Paul Simon. That $500 helped them make a record that eventually became “The Sound of Silence.”
I hope you’ll remember the power of doing well by doing good. Each of you, in your own lives, will be faced with challenges and problems that you didn’t expect. How you are able to deal with adversity will be influenced by how you deal with others along the way. What you get will depend a lot on what you give. And that’s the end of the story of doing well, by doing good.
More importantly, when you get to be my age, you will find yourself beginning to ask, did my life make a difference? I think the only way to face this question is to consider, every day of your life: How can I do something for somebody else? How can I give back to others? It may be teaching, it may be becoming a doctor, you may be successful in business — no matter what your career path, there will always be the opportunity to give back. The chance will present itself to give your time, give your money, but mostly, to give your own heart and soul.
1. When Sandy Greenberg lost his sight, ____________.| A．he had thoughts of quitting college | B．he overcame the difficulties on his own |
| C．he borrowed a friend’s notes | D．a friend helped him with his study |
| A．Sandy had a difficult time at Oxford |
| B．Sandy and his roommate both went on studying after their graduation |
| C．singing was one of Sandy’s hobbies |
| D．Sandy’s roommate was a great success at graduate school |
| A．to encourage us to face difficulties bravely |
| B．to tell us to change our path in life if we want to |
| C．to show that disabled people can succeed with help |
| D．to tell us that by helping others, we can also help ourselves |
| A．difficulty | B．generosity | C．kindness | D．friendship |
| A．helping others to make sure that we are successful |
| B．using our life to make a difference to others |
| C．being a teacher so that we can give back to others |
| D．starting to be generous when we become older |
4 . The clock rules our lives. The more we try to save time, the less time we seem to have. In every area of our lives we are doing things faster. And many of us live in towns and cities which are getting noisier and more stressful as each day passes. But now a worldwide movement, whose aim is to slow life down, has started. Its supporters are people who believe that a happier and healthier way of life is possible.
The Slow Food movement was founded the day that an Italian journalist, Carlo Petrini, saw that McDonald’s had opened a restaurant in a beautiful square in Rome. He thought it was sad that many people today live too quickly to sit down for a proper meal and only eat much fast food. He decided that he had to try to do something about it and so he started the Slow Food movement. Slow Food has become a global organization ever since and now has more than 80,000 members in 100 countries.
Slow Food also encourages people to eat local and regional food, to use local shops and markets, to eat out in small family restaurants, and to cook with traditional recipes.
The idea of Slow Cities was inspired by the Slow Food movement. The aim of Slow Cities is to improve people’s quality of life. Towns which want to become a Slow City have to reduce traffic and noise, increase the number of green areas, plant trees, build pedestrian zones, and promote local businesses and traditions. Now it has spread to other countries all over the world, from the UK to Japan and Australia. There are now 135 Slow Cities in 24 countries across the world that have been named since founding of the organization in 1999. Gao Chun County, in east China’s Jiangsu Province, is expected to be named the first “Slow City” in China next year.
“Slow Cities are about having a community life in the town,” said a local resident. “It is not ‘slow’ as in ‘stupid’. It is ‘slow’ as in the opposite of ‘worried’ and ‘stressful’.”
But not everybody is happy. For teenagers, who have to go 25km to Norwich, the nearest city, to buy CDs, living in a Slow City is not very attractive. “It’s all right here for adults,” says Lewis Cook, 16. “But if you want excitement, you have to go to Norwich. We need more things here for young people.”
1. What’s the aim of the Slow Food movement?| A．To call on people to eat out. | B．To make people enjoy cooking. |
| C．To drive McDonald’s out of Rome | D．To encourage people to slow down. |
| A．reducing traffic and noise | B．increasing the number of green areas |
| C．building more department stores | D．promoting local businesses and traditions |
| A．Slow Food was founded in 1999 | B．there is no Slow City in China now |
| C．Slow Cities are mainly in the UK | D．there are about 24 Slow Cities in the world |
| A．Satisfied. | B．Excited. | C．Happy. | D．Dissatisfied. |
| A．Slow down and you’ll move fast. | B．Time flies never to be recalled. |
| C．Eat slowly and you’ll be healthy. | D．Pay attention to the quality of life. |
5 . I was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, and it was a shock to my parents that I arrived without arms or legs. My parents did their very best to keep me in the mainstream school system and give me every opportunity to live to the fullest.
We later moved to Brisbane, Australia. At age eight, I could not see a bright future ahead and I became depressed. When I was ten years old, I decided to end my life by drowning myself in a bathtub. After a couple of attempts, I realized that I did not want to leave my loved ones with the burden and guilt (愧疚) that would result from my suicide. I could not do that to them.
I wasn’t depressed my entire childhood, but I did have ups and downs. At age thirteen I hurt my foot, which I use for many things like typing, writing and swimming. That injury made me realize that I need to be more thankful for my abilities and less focused on my disabilities.
A cleaner at my high school inspired me to start speaking about my faith and overcoming adversity when I was seventeen. Then, I found myself in front of three hundred sophomore (grade 10) students and I was very nervous. My knees were shaking. Within the first three minutes of my talk, half the girls were crying, and most of the boys were struggling to hold their emotions together. One girl in particular was sobbing very hard. We all looked at her and she put her hand up. She said, “I am so sorry to interrupt, but can I come up and hug you?”
She came and hugged me in front of everyone, and whispered in my ear, “Thank you, thank you, thank you. No one has ever told me that they loved me and that I am beautiful the way I am.” Her gratitude inspired me to go across 44 countries and speak 2,000 times. I realized that we all need love and hope.
I spoke on motivational topics after creating the company ‘Attitude is Altitude’ to spread my messages of faith and hope around the world.
Dream big, my friend and never give up. We all make mistakes, but none of us are mistakes. Take one day at a time. Embrace (拥抱) the positive attitudes, perspectives (思考方法), principles (原则) and truths I share, and you too will overcome.
1. Nick first became depressed when ____________.| A．he was ten years old | B．he decided to end his life |
| C．he thought his future wouldn’t be bright | D．he realized he had no arms and legs |
| A．his faith in God | B．an injury to his foot |
| C．the advice of his parents | D．a talk with his teacher |
| A．his parents | B．a girl | C．a cleaner | D．a boy |
| A．she felt sorry about Nick’s disability | B．she realized her mistakes after hearing Nick |
| C．she was sad that Nick could never pull through | D．Nick moved her with some encouraging words |
| A．With a positive attitude, any dream can be achieved. |
| B．Those who are disabled live happier lives than normal people. |
| C．By focusing on our disabilities, we can overcome them. |
| D．We should focus on what we can do, not what we can’t. |
6 . Species (物种) can actually go extinct (灭绝的) more than once. In a biological sense, species become extinct when the last animal of a species stops breathing. But when the species disappears from our shared memory and cultural knowledge, it becomes extinct in a different way — society (与社会有关的) extinction.
The researchers looked at dozens of previous studies to look into how societal extinction happens, finding out contributing factors such as symbolic or cultural importance, how long ago a species was last alive, and how much of a connection it had to humans.
Societal extinction usually but not always happens after biological extinction. Sometimes, both extinctions can happen at the same time, depending on how well and widely known a particular species is.
Most species — such as those far removed from culture, or those too small to be noticed except through a microscope (显微镜) — never have a societal presence to begin with. Meanwhile, for other species, the societal presence can break with reality after a biological extinction.
“Species can remain widely known after they become extinct, or even become more popular,” says conservation biologist Uri Roll. “However, our awareness and memory of such species gradually becomes transformed, and often becomes incorrect, or disassociated from the actual species.”
Take the Spix’s macaw(金刚鹦鹉) for example, currently extinct in the wild: A 2013 conservation report from Brazil surveyed 242 children from the bird’s former habitat, and almost all of them incorrectly believed the species originated from Rio de Janeiro, because of its appearance in the 2011 cartoon movie Rio.
Finally, the researchers found various links between societal extinction and a lack of support for biodiversity protection. So, ifs important to keep the memories and the records of extinct species in order to realize what’s been lost.
1. When does a species most probably become societal extinct?| A．When it has difficulty in breathing. |
| B．When it faces some biological changes. |
| C．When it disappears unexpectedly in nature. |
| D．When it no longer exists in our memory and culture. |
| A．Relationship with humans. | B．Average length of life. |
| C．Biological importance. | D．Shape of the body. |
| A．They are not big enough to be seen. |
| B．They are closely linked to a specific culture. |
| C．They are in the process of societal extinction. |
| D．They are cleared away from scientific studies. |
| A．To draw a conclusion. | B．To prove an opinion. |
| C．To introduce a topic. | D．To make a prediction. |
7 . National Parks, Wyoming
A bike tour is a great way to access busy national parks. This six-day trip is a big loop out of Jackson 5s Rustic Inn Creekside Resort and Spa, with stops along the way to check out hot springs, moose (驼鹿) and the grizzly bear. Available June to September 2022; $3,095, vbt.com
Death Valley, California
This three-day trip starts with a meet and greet in Las Vegas before exploring a ghost town, on foot. Then the biking starts through the desert, heading to a hotel in time to catch a Death Valley sunset. The next day ifs a nearly 50-mile ride to the edge of a crater (火山口). Available October 2021 through December 2022; $1,649, rei.com
Finger Lakes, New York
This 121-mile bike tour snakes its way around Canandaigua lakes and rolling hills over five days. It starts with a wine tasting, then lunch and a ride through farmland. With only about 30 miles a day of riding, there’s plenty of time to try local wines and have a spa. Available June to July 2022;$5,499, trek travel. com
Florida Keys
Unless you book a custom trip, tours that include teens and kids can be difficult to find. Keep younger travelers engaged by mixing bike rides with other activities, like kayaking (独木舟), snorkeling, hiking and stand-up paddle boarding. This five-day trip heads south from Miami, through the Everglades National Park, and out to Key West. Along the way kids can learn to fish like the locals while parents can relax in excellent accommodations. Available December 2021 and December 2022;from $3,999, backroads. com
1. Which tour is the most suitable for families?| A．National Parks, Wyoming | B．Death Valley, California |
| C．Finger Lakes, New York | D．Florida Keys |
| A．Learning to fish. | B．Seeing wild animals. |
| C．Appreciating the sunset. | D．Trying local wines. |
| A．Seeing the world from a bike seat. | B．Having a taste of farm life. |
| C．Exploring local food on a bike trip. | D．Getting the most out of national parks. |
8 . The green and red watermelon is a sweet, refreshing summer snack. But it wasn’t always so sugary or brightly colored. So what did watermelons originally taste and look like, and from where did they come?
The fruit isn’t from the Fertile Crescent of ancient Mesopotamia, as so many other domesticated (家养的) crops are, research shows. Susanne Renner, a scientist, and her colleagues carried out comprehensive genetic sequencing (基因测序) of the domesticated watermelons — the kind you might find on supermarket shelves — along with six wild watermelon species.
“We found the modern genomes (基因组) of the domesticated watermelon are more closely related to the Sudanese wild type than any other that we analyzed,” she said. The Sudanese wild watermelon has some obvious differences from the domesticated version. “The flesh is white and not very sweet, and it’s mainly used as animal feed,” Renner said. Nevertheless, the genetic similarity between the two species led the researchers to conclude that the Sudanese fruit is probably a precursor (前身) to the red and sweet domesticated watermelon.
It’s likely that ancient farmers grew non-bitter varieties of the wild watermelon and thus increased its sweetness over many generations through the domestication process. The red color is probably also thanks to artificial selection, in which farmers likely favored and selectively bred red fruit.
We already knew that the ancient Egyptian king Tutankhamun was buried with watermelon seeds 3,300 years ago, yet that isn’t sufficient proof of a domesticated, sweet watermelon. But then, Renner found an image of a watermelon-like fruit on an ancient Egyptian tomb painting, thought to be more than 4,300 years old. In a separate tomb, another image showed the watermelon cut up in a dish alongside other sweet fruits. This realization, coupled with Renner’s genetic findings, suggests that the watermelon was most likely domesticated around that time either in Egypt or within trading distance of the ancient empire.
“Historically speaking, that’s a very significant finding,” said Hanno Schaefer, a professor of plant biodiversity. “It’s becoming clearer that we’ve greatly neglected the North African region. We’ve focused too much on the Fertile Crescent and we need to invest more resources into studying the agriculture of North Africa.”
1. What can we learn about the Sudanese wild watermelon?| A．It is brightly colored and sugary. |
| B．It is consumed mainly by animals. |
| C．It has no connection with the domesticated type. |
| D．It has more differences than similarities to the domesticated type. |
| A．More resources will be devoted to agriculture research in South Africa. |
| B．The domesticated watermelon has a history of at least four thousand years. |
| C．The domesticated watermelon probably developed from the Sudanese type. |
| D．Few domesticated crops are from the Fertile Crescent of ancient Mesopotamia. |
| A．The history of the Sudanese wild watermelon. |
| B．Where wild watermelons actually come from. |
| C．The characteristics of domesticated watermelons. |
| D．How domesticated watermelons came into being. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Doubtful. | C．Critical. | D．Tolerant. |
40,000 people cross Tower Bridge each day. Now you can see inside it.
Glass Floor
The Glass Floor measures 11 metres long and 1.8 metres wide, including panels (嵌板) weighing 530 kilograms each. It is no wonder the installation (安装) took a 20-strong team to complete it!
See London life through the Glass Floor, from a unique viewpoint 42 metres above the River Thames, and 33.5 metres above road level. Watch the hustle and bustle (熙熙攘攘) of the city right beneath your feet.
Engine Rooms
Immerse (沉浸) yourself in this atmospheric space, where exciting interactivities, films and photographs will explore and explain the role of this workplace at the heart of Tower Bridge.
Family Activities
Our family activities are FREE with entry and are offered throughout the day. Drop in and join in on the flu. It is open to children of all ages but is particularly appropriate for those aged 6 to 10.
Relaxed Opening
Once a month on a Saturday. We host Relaxed Opening for anyone who would like to explore the Bridge in a atmosphere, including people with autism (自闭症) and any other needs.
Time: 10:30, 10:50 and 11:10. Please note that Tower Bridge will open to the general public again at 11:30 but you are welcome to stay for as long as you like.
Tickets & Prices
| Ticket type | Price |
| Adult | £10.60 |
| Child (aged 5-15) | £5.30 |
| Senior (aged 60+ with ID) | £7.90 |
| Disabled child (aged 5 — 15) | £4.00 |
| Under 5s | Under 5s |
Open daily from 9:30 to 18:00.
1. What is the distance between the Glass Floor and the River Thames?| A．11 metres. | B．20 metres. | C．33.5 metres. | D．42 metres. |
| A．Exploring the bridge until 7 p.m. | B．Seeing films about the bridge’s history. |
| C．Enjoying family activities free of charge. | D．Experiencing a quieter bridge on Sundays. |
| A．£18.50. | B．£15.90. | C．£14.60. | D．£13.20. |
10 . Inakadate, a Japanese village of around 7, 000 people, is considered the home of a rice field art form. In the early 1990s, local authorities realized that youths were moving to big urban centers in large numbers, and started brainstorming for ways of breathing new life into the village. One of the proposed ideas was an art form inspired by the local’s traditional rice planting, done by hand for hundreds of years. Called Tanbo Art, it involved the use of different rice varieties to turn local rice fields into giant canvases (画布).
The first rice field artwork was displayed in 1993, when purple and yellow rice plants were used to create a detailed picture of Mt. Iwaki. The project was such a huge success that Inakadate authorities decided to turn it into a yearly event. Nowadays, a viewing platform is often set up somewhere above the rice field, from which people can admire the unique artwork.
To create the impressively massive field artworks, the locals use a technique unique to Japan, which involves surveying the rice fields, perspective drawing, and the planting of various types of rice plants to create the desired visual effect. Tanbo Art has come a long way in the last three decades, with designs gradually becoming larger and more complex.
Some of the most elaborate (精心制作的) rice field artworks created in Inakadate have required the use of no less than 10 rice plants in color. The process starts in the spring months, and by early summer, the fruits of this labor become clearly visible. July and August are the best months to visit this famous Japanese village.
There are many locals who say that rice field art has saved Inakadate, bringing in impressive numbers of tourists from all over the world every year, and boosting the local economy. The success of Inakadate inspired other rice cultivating communities to borrow the Tanbo Art concept, and today you can find this sort of impressive rice field artworks all across Japan.
1. The rice field art was originally built to ______.| A．promote its traditional rice planting | B．turn local rice fields into giant canvases |
| C．promote the tourist industry of the village | D．make the village more lively and energetic |
| A．farming | B．population | C．tourist industry | D．rice consumption |
| A．early spring is the best months to visit Inakadate |
| B．many countries also follow the example of Inakadate |
| C．a viewing platform can help tourists enjoy the rice field artworks |
| D．no less than 10 rice plants were used to create the first rice field artwork |
| A．Travel. | B．Economy. | C．Technology. | D．Local news. |
