1 . Like many parts of modern life, you can go digital when it comes to food scales (秤). If you want digital scales with an LCD display, then obviously you’ll need batteries which can run out at the most inconvenient of times. But the advantages of digital scales are many, including an accurate button which allows you to instantly remove the weight of an empty bowl, so you don’t need to do any maths calculations (计算). Mechanical (机械的)scales on the other hand have a pleasingly old-school reliability about them and undoubtedly add a touch of the style of the past to any kitchen. Read on for our top picks of mechanical scales, and digital scales, and balance scales.
EK backlit scales
A backlit display is an attractive feature. In addition to its good looks, it has an oversize digital display that is easy to read.
CN folding kitchen scales
When space is limited in your kitchen, you sometimes don’t want to buy another kitchen item. Folding kitchen scale is your best choice.
DM traditional cast iron balance kitchen scales
Cooking and baking isn’t all about time efficiency. It’s also about memories and the simple enjoyment of doing something that connects you.
MF 3-in-1 digital scales
We love the one that makes life easier by performing many functions. One part is a traditional balance, one part is a mixing bowl, and one part is a measuring pot, and the grade of the bowl itself allows accurate measurement of the liquid.
There are plenty of good reasons to prepare the best kitchen scales for your kitchen set up. More importantly, the sense of loss because of inaccuracy can be avoided. If you’ve got young kids, using scales is also a great way to add to their knowledge of weights and measures and to do some basic maths with them.
1. What is the feature of a mechanical scale?| A．It has LCD display. |
| B．It needs batteries |
| C．It is a little inaccurate |
| D．It shows an old-fashioned style. |
| A．EK backlit scales |
| B．CN folding kitchen scales |
| C．DM traditional cast iron balance kitchen scales |
| D．MF 3-in- 1 digital scales |
| A．Mechanics. | B．Mathematics. | C．Chemistry. | D．Physics. |
2 . Best French Castles to Visit
Palace of Versailles
The palace was built as a small hunting house by Louis XII in 1624. Eight years later, he expanded it to a castle. Later, his successors also expanded it, causing it to become one of the largest palaces of the world. The Museum of the History of France is located inside the Palace of Versailles, where guests may explore the past of the castle and its residents.
Mont Saint-Michel
Constructed during the 8th century, it is located on a rocky island off the north coast of France. It is said that the Archangel Michael had pressured Aubert, bishop (主教) of the nearby hilltop town of Avranches, into having a church built atop the island. Its special position made it readily defensible as an incoming tide blocked or drowned would-be attackers.
Chateau de Chantilly
Located in the town of Chantilly, this beautiful castle was built between 1528- 1531 for the Duke Anne de Montmorency by Pierre Chambiges. Every two years, a splendid fireworks competition is held in the castle gardens. This popular event brings many visitors in from around the world.
Chateau de Chenonceau
The castle was built on the River Cher during the 11th century, but its true history began after HenryⅡgifted the castle to his lover, Diane de Poitiers. From then on, it was a long succession of female owners. More recently, a female-led team of restorers have made it truly shine once again. Head inside to see its brilliant furnishings and tapestries (挂毯)and outside to enjoy its gardens on a sunny day.
1. Who originally built the Palace of Versailles?| A．Louis XII. | B．HenryⅡ. | C．Aubert. | D．Pierre Chambiges. |
| A．In Mont Saint-Michel. | B．In Chateau de Chantilly. |
| C．In Palace of Versailles. | D．In Chateau de Chenonceau. |
| A．It is on a rocky island. | B．It has the longest history. |
| C．It includes a museum in it. | D．It is a female-owned castle. |
3 . What comes to mind when you think of a museum? Valuable exhibits? Relaxed atmosphere? Here let's encounter some special museums.
The Museum of Bad Art
The Museum of Bad Art based in Boston, Massachusetts, will bring you a quite different visual experience. As its name implies, all pieces have made their way to the museum for being too bad to be ignored.
All the paintings have been found in yard sales, rescued from the trash or donated to the museum. When viewing such a large collection of failed art, be prepared to laugh your head off.
Luoyang Ancient Tombs Museum
Established in 1984 and opened to the public in 1987, the Luoyang Ancient Tombs Museum sits in a complex of grand buildings in the architectural style of the Han Dynasty.
The distinctive museum consists of two sections. The aboveground part features models of tombs from the Stone Age to the Han Dynasty. The underground one contains 22 tombs from Henan Province. The tomb of Emperor Xuanwu of Northern Wei is the highlight of the museum.
The Underwater Museum
Fancy an undersea exploration but have no idea where to go? Then the Underwater Museum at the bottom of Lake Grublsee in Austria can be a good choice.
This incredible museum is perfect for adventurous divers, which surely gives visitors a unique experience. It houses not only copies of ancient people and cultural relics, but also fun, strange pieces like the Statue of Liberty, aliens and skeletons (骨架).
Upside Down House
Another strange museum is the Upside Down House in St. Petersburg. It features an apartment where everything is turned upside down.
When you walk into the house, you will feel quite confused and find the entire museum very impressive. With each item in the apartment turned head over heels, you would experience the illusion (错觉) that comes with standing on the ceiling.
1. Which museum best suits diving enthusiasts?| A．Upside Down House. | B．The Museum of Bad Art. |
| C．The Underwater Museum. | D．Luoyang Ancient Tombs Museum. |
| A．Enjoy a big collection of failed art. | B．See several copies of cultural relics. |
| C．Experience visual illusion in person. | D．Visit historical and grand buildings. |
| A．They are located in Europe. | B．They focus on human nature. |
| C．They show respect for life. | D．They are special museums. |
1. Where is the table?
| A．In the middle of the restaurant. | B．On the band platform. | C．Near a window. |
| A．Much noise from the street. |
| B．Loud music from the band. |
| C．Bad service of the restaurant. |
1. When will the meeting be held?
| A．On the 2nd. | B．On the 5th. | C．On the 7th. |
| A．A small one. | B．A mid－sized one. | C．A large one. |
6 . Best Libraries in London
British Library
Opening times: Mon — Thu 9:30 am — 8 pm, Fri 9:30 am — 6 pm, Sat 9:30 am — 5 pm, Sun 11 am — 5 pm
British Library is the second largest library in the world, offering one of the greatest literature collections. It is a public library. The collection includes well over 150 million items. Its collection “The Treasures of British Library” presents the most precious historical documents stored in the library, including Leonardo da Vinci’s original notebook.
Maughan Library
Opening times: Mon — Sat 8:30 am — 1 pm, Sun 8:30 am — 12 am
Inside Maughan Library, you can discover a famous reading room, known as “the Round Room”. The library holds a large collection of books (almost 750,000) covering various topics. It also holds a collection of rare (稀有的) books, called the Foyle Special collection, which includes a variety of books dating from the 15th century to the present day.
National Art Library
Opening times: Tue — Thu, Sat 10 am — 5: 30 pm, Fri 10 am — 6: 30 pm, Sun — Mon Closed
The library’s resources specialise in art and art history literature. The library is relatively small and is open to the public only 5 days a week. Those who consider using the library on a regular basis can fill in a simple registration form and provide any ID to get a membership.
Senate House Library
Opening times: Mon — Thu 9 am — 8:45 pm, Fri 9 am — 6:15 pm, Sat 9:45 am — 5:15 pm, Sun Closed
This is the tallest library on the list — the building has 19 floors, and the library itself takes up 14 of them. The collection includes arts, humanities and social sciences books. The library offers different memberships, with free access for students of the University of London. The Senate House also holds manuscripts (手稿) by the famous British.
1. At which library can you find Leonardo da Vinci’s original notebook?| A．British Library. |
| B．Maughan Library. |
| C．National Art Library. |
| D．Senate House Library. |
| A．8:30 am — 1 pm. | B．9:30 am — 5 pm. |
| C．9:45 am — 5:15 pm. | D．10 am — 5:30 pm. |
| A．It’s rather small in size. |
| B．It’s only open five days a week. |
| C．It holds the rare Foyle Special collection. |
| D．It offers free access for the University of London students. |
| A．They don’t like the flat. |
| B．They can’t afford the high rent. |
| C．The landlord doesn’t keep his word. |
8 . A castle was the fortress(堡垒)and home of a king or nobleman.
Most of the castles we think of today were built in Europe. They were constructed from about 1,000 AD to about 1,500 AD, during a period known as the Middle Ages.
Castles played an important role after the fall of the Roman Empire. When a king granted land to nobles, the nobles promised in return to serve the king and provide him with soldiers. Nobles built castles on the lands given to them. But some nobles simply claimed land as their own and built a castle on it. That was asking for trouble. There were many power struggles between nobles and kings, and among the nobles themselves.
A typical stone castle had several main parts. At the centre of the castle was a tall and very strong building called the keep. This is where people in the castle made their last stand if the outer defences failed. The keep was set in a courtyard, where there were workshops, stables, and a kitchen.
High, thick walls surrounded the keep and the courtyard. Strong, round defensive towers stood at the corners of the walls. Guards walked along the tops of the walls and towers.
Many stone castles were surrounded by a wide ditch called a moat. Some moats were filled with water, but many were not. The only way into the castle was across a wooden drawbridge over the moat. If enemies attacked, the defenders raised the bridge. Then they lowered a heavy iron-and-wood barrier called a portcullis to block the entrance to the castle.
A well-built castle was a pretty safe place to be. Attackers had a hard time getting in. But they still had some options. They could go over the walls using ladders. They could smash (撞碎) through the walls or doors. Or they could dig under the walls and try to get part of the wall to fall down. If none of those things worked, they could just camp outside until the defenders ran out of food.
Attackers sometimes brought large machines called siege engines with them to break through castle doors or walls. This was a heavy wooden beam with a metal cap. In the early 1500s, cannons entered wide use in warfare. Cannonballs could dig into the base of stone walls and weaken them. The walls then fell under their own weight. As a result, castles were no longer needed.
1. The underlined word “That” refers to the fact that ________.| A．nobles built castles on the lands given to them |
| B．the nobles promised to serve the king in return |
| C．some nobles simply claimed land as their own |
| D．the nobles provided the king with soldiers |
| A．3 | B．4 | C．5 | D．6 |
| A．Some castles were built to attract more visitors. |
| B．Kings in ancient Europe were more generous. |
| C．Portcullises were used to break through castle doors. |
| D．Warfare must be frequent from 1,000 AD to about 1,500 AD. |
| A．Attacking a castle |
| B．Weakness of a castle |
| C．Pretty safe place |
| D．Siege engines |
9 . You know by now that dirt is good for lots of things: growing plants, feeding worms, even the occasional mud bath. But building houses? Absolutely.
People build houses with dirt because it is plentiful, really cheap, and fireproof. Thick dirt walls keep you warm in winter and cool in summer. And you can build a whole house with few tools other than your own two hands.
In fact, dirt is so good for building things that half the people in the world live in houses made of mud. Maybe even you!
Mud works best for building where it’s dry for most of the year. If there’s too much rain, the walls of your mud house could melt like ice cream on a warm day.But in places that don’t see many storm clouds, mud bricks (砖块),which are baked hard in the sun or in a hot oven, can be as strong and durable as stone. In Africa, some mudbrick buildings have been standing for thousands of years.
In the southwestern United States, American Indians built fourstory apartment buildings from mud bricks called adobe (土坯). And on the Great Plains, the first white settlers saw an ocean of grass as tall as oxen, but few trees for building houses. So they made their houses out of sod, dirt held together by the thick, tangled roots of prairie grass.
Most sod houses became worm food years ago, but many of the buildings you see every day are pure dirt.The bricks that may make up the walls of your house or school are made of clay that’s been baked in a fiery kiln (炉). So the next time someone says a building is made of bricks, correct them. You know it’s really made of plain old dirt.
1. What does the second paragraph mainly tell us?| A．The way to build houses of dirt. | B．The best time to build houses of dirt. |
| C．The reasons to build houses of dirt. | D．The places to build houses of dirt. |
| A．Places where it rains most of the year. |
| B．Places where there are many storm clouds. |
| C．Places where there is little rain all the year around. |
| D．Places where it is cold in winter and hot in summer. |
| A．the grass was as tall as oxen | B．they were as strong as stones |
| C．they could make a garden on the roof | D．they were lack of wood |
| A．Sod houses could be destroyed by worms. | B．Sod houses could last as long as stone ones. |
| C．Sod bricks are baked in the oven. | D．Sod bricks are really made of pure dirt. |
10 . In 1670, two Scottish doctors set up a garden in the city of Edinburgh to find out connections between plants and medicine. That first garden wasn’t very big — about the size of a tennis court. Fast-forward 350 years, and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) now covers an area bigger than 1,000 tennis courts. The RBGE’s goal is to “explore, conserve and explain the world of plants for a better future”.
After doctors and distant cousins Robert Sibbald and Andrew Balfour graduated from university in the mid-17th century, they shared the goal of improving Scottish medicine by looking into botanical (plant-related) research. They found some land near Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh and started to collect plants. They taught students how to grow exotic (外来的) plants and use them to make medicines. As the collection expanded (增加), the garden moved to different sites, including what is now Edinburgh’s Waverley Station.
In 1823, the garden was moved to its current location in Inverleith, a suburb of Edinburgh. It took three years to move the collection of plants and trees using specially built machines. The Tropical Palm House was built in 1834, and it was joined by the larger Temperate Palm House in 1858. Both are still popular with visitors. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the RBGE continued to search for new specimens (标本) from around the world.
The RBGE has about 13,500 species of living plants in its collection today. The herbarium — a collection of dried and protected species — includes more than three million plant samples, which represent more than half of the world’s known plants. The oldest specimen dates back to 1697. Experts continue to recognize new species each year, as well as growing plants that are extinct in their own habitats. The RBGE also works with botanical gardens around the world, including in Africa and South America, and supports them with conservation projects, education and training.
1. Why did Robert and Andrew build up the garden?| A．To teach people some knowledge about exotic plants. |
| B．To do research on plants and medicine. |
| C．To protect endangered wildlife. |
| D．To practice their tennis skills. |
| A．In the mid-17th century. | B．In the 20th century. |
| C．In1834. | D．In1858. |
| A．It has made achievements in growing extinct plants. |
| B．It has collected less than half of all known plants. |
| C．It is going to expand its sites in other countries. |
| D．It collects native plants only. |
| A．How the RBGE has expanded. | B．The progress of saving endangered plants. |
| C．Why a botanic garden was built. | D．An introduction to the RBGE. |
