1 . San Francisco has some of the best restaurants anywhere — and one of the most unique, the top pizza restaurant in the city, is also one of the first to be owned and operated totally by deaf people.
Melody and Russell Stein opened the place in 2011. Their 900-degree wood-fired oven (炉) is the best they could find, and so is every ingredient, from sauce to sausage, to cheese, some of which come from Italy. “We also make it in-house,” said Melody. “And if that doesn’t make you hungry, I don’t know what will,” added Russell.
And for the customers who show up there night after night, food is only part of the experience. Unlike other restaurants, noise isn’t a problem, and neither is communication; pointing at the menu works just fine. And you can even phone in a takeout order. A green light on the wall signals an incoming call. An operator picks it up, and translates your order in sign language by a special TV. But this is about a lot more than serving hungry customers.
Tracy Smith, a reporter, asked Melody, “How important is it to you to have an all-deaf staff?” “Oh, it’s very important,” she replied. “If a hearing person, say, doesn’t get on well here, they can find a job tomorrow, while all the deaf people here have to look for years and still can’t find a job. That’s when I decided I would have a totally deaf team, even if they have no work experience.”
Melody comes from a restaurant-owning family from Hong Kong, and she met Russell at Gallaudet University.
Now they’re looking to franchise (获得特许经销权), with a little help from the Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD). It’s a good investment (投资), says CSD’s Brandi Rarus.
Rarus said, “People often think that deaf people don’t have much to offer, or are less valuable, or less worthy in some ways. But when you come to this place, you see that’s not true.”
1. How does Russell feel about the food in his restaurant?| A．Confident. | B．Disappointed. |
| C．Surprised. | D．Uncertain. |
| A．A food journalist. |
| B．A top university graduate. |
| C．A deaf girl with little work experience. |
| D．A man good at communicating with others. |
| A．It tops the local restaurants. |
| B．It will close down sooner or later. |
| C．It needs to employ hearing workers. |
| D．It makes people see things differently. |
| A．Enjoying Pizza in Russell’s Restaurant |
| B．The Rise of Deaf-owned Business |
| C．All-deaf Pizza Restaurant Is All-good |
| D．Building Bridges Through Communication |
2 . Can you imagine the bad guy Megatron (威震天) chatting non-stop about small household affairs with a human being? Well imagine no longer as Universal Studios Beijing’s newest “employee,” Megatron himself, has earned social media fame on Chinese platforms such as Sina Weibo and Douyin for doing just this.
Searches for videos featuring the giant Transformer have increased. as Chinese netizens enjoy seeing him joke and amuse visitors at Universal Studios Beijing. “It must be a comedian who was from some stand-up comedy club and took a part-time job at Universal Studios,” one Sina Weibo user commented, representing the voices of many others.
Visitors who have had the chance to enter the park have recorded many videos of their experience and recommending interesting sights to netizens, who have been eagerly waiting to try out the park for themselves.
“Why are you alone here? Where is your boyfriend? Why did he stand so far away? Does he refuse to tell others about your relationship?” Megatron says in one video clip as he talks with a young woman standing in front of him to take pictures.
The Megatron suit is actually quite complicated. The performer wears the mechanical armor(盔甲)and interacts with the outside world via a remote control with a voice-changing microphone, according to 36kr.com.
The popularity of Megatron online has made many people more interested in visiting the park. “When I visited the Universal Studios during the weekend, there was a huge line of visitors waiting to take photos and talk with Megatron in the Transformers section,” a Beijing father of a 3-year-old boy said.
Many people who are still waiting to get into the park have said that the robot will be their first stop. “He is so different from the bad guy image in the movie. He’s cute.” a university student who has been won over by Megatron’s charm noted.
1. What do we know about the Megatron in Universal Studio Beijing from the passage?| A．Tourists are scared of its bad guy image. |
| B．It is a part-time comedian from a stand-up comedy club. |
| C．People who didn’t visit the park don’t know about Megatron. |
| D．Its personalities are different from those in the movie Transformers. |
| A．It likes talking with young women. |
| B．The Movie Transformers is of great popularity. |
| C．It is very entertaining and approachable to the visitors. |
| D．Its armor and voice are cool with full sense of technology. |
| A．Humorous. | B．Enthusiastic. | C．Appreciative. | D．Delightful. |
| A．A science fiction. | B．A travelling column. | C．A movie magazine. | D．A TV interview. |
3 . Are you fond of watching films? Does the colorful, natural, or spectacular scenery in the films attract you to travel to their locations? Although many films nowadays use many special effects, most scenes are captured in natural places, which can create lasting impressions on audiences. We have selected four beautiful film locations in China. Check them out!
Xixi National Wetland Park & If You Are the One
Lying in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang province, less than 5 kilometers from West Lake, Xixi National Wetland Park covers a total area of 11.5 square kilometers. It has rich ecological resources, beautiful natural scenery, and profound culture. Rivers, ponds, and lakes make up over 70 percent of the park, which is China’s first national wetland park integrating (合并) urban, agricultural, and cultural wetlands.
Great Bamboo Sea of China & Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
The Great Bamboo Sea of China, commonly known as the Anji Bamboo Sea, is a national 4A-level tourism attraction dominated by Moso bamboo forests located in Anji county, Huzhou, East China’s Zhejiang province. It has been recognized as the largest ecological leisure and tourism area featuring bamboo culture in southeastern China.
Moso bamboo grows all over the mountains in the scenic area, creating a magnificent landscape. The largest bamboo stalk (茎), which has been exhibited at the National Agricultural Exhibition Center, has a diameter of 17 centimeters, with most stalks having a diameter of more than 10 centimeters.
Kaiping Diaolou Cultural Tourism Area & Let the Bullets Fly
Located to the southwest of the Pearl River Delta in South China’s Guangdong province, Kaiping Diaolou Cultural Tourism Area is a well-known scenic spot that also serves as a base for scientific education. The magnificent and distinctive gardens, traditional and simple folk houses, and the diaolou (a multi-story folk residence) complexly joined with Chinese and Western architectural forms are wonderfully integrated with the surrounding mountains and rivers, ponds, farms, and rice fields in the tourism area.
With a long history and profound cultural resources, Kaiping Diaolou was on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2007.
Wulong Karst Tourism Area & Curse of the Golden Flower
Wulong Karst Tourism Area, located in Chongqing’s Wulong district, has unique karst landscapes including three sections and also impresses visitors with distinctive folk customs of the Tujia, Miao, and Mulam ethnic groups.
The Three Natural Bridges in Wulong is a rare geological wonder of typical karst landforms and is home to three magnificent natural limestone arch bridges. They span the Yangshuihe Canyon in parallel and connect the mountains on both sides, forming an unusual landscape of “three bridges sandwiched by two pits”.
1. Who will be most interested in the places above according to the text?| A．Cyclists and tourists. | B．Film fans and outdoor enthusiasts. |
| C．Actors and geologists. | D．Educators and writers. |
| A．It offers a well-known scenic spot. |
| B．It provides wonderful Western architectural forms. |
| C．It is a rare geological wonder of typical land-forms. |
| D．It was on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2007. |
| A．They are open to special events. |
| B．They enjoy convenient transportation. |
| C．They offer unique and spectacular scenery. |
| D．They are located in the same part of China. |
4 . Four Historic American Theatres
Today, theatres remain a key part of a city’s lifeblood. The following are four historic theatres in America.
Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
The Pantages Theatre, which now seats 1,014, opened in 1916 as part of Alexander Pantages’s well-known group of theatres. It was designed by the local firm Kees and Colburn. In 1922, the theatres was rebuilt by Scottish theatres architect Benjamin Marcus Priteca. After going through several owners, in 1984, it was closed and remained unopened until 1996. Some theatre supporters had it repaired and improved, resulting in its reopening in 2002.
Saenger Theatre, New Orleans, LA
New Orleans’s Saenger Theatre was built two years before the Great Depression, in 1927, and cost a then unheard-of $ 2.5 million. It was designed by Emile Weil, featuring a 15th-century Florentine courtyard and gardens, and Greek and Roman statues. Although the theatre was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, after a $ 53 million renovation (修葺), it reopened in 2013.
Thalian Hall, Wilmington, NC
Thalian Hall has been in almost continuous use since its opening in 1858. It is the only surviving theatre designed by John Montague Trimble, one of America’s foremost 19th-century theatre architects, and originally housed the town government, a library, as well as an “Opera House”, seating 1, 000 people. Some repairs in 1909 led to the removal of the side balconies and the installation of electric stage lights.
Providence Performing Arts Center, Providence, RI
It was originally opened as a movie palace in 1928, and the silent movies it showed were accompanied by a $ 90, 000 Robert Morton organ. After several decades, the theatre suffered from the increased popularity of television, as well as damage by two hurricanes. Over the past decade and a half, it has undergone extensive renovations and modernization.
1. What can we know about the Pantages Theatre?| A．It has a seating capacity of 1, 916. | B．It will be turned into a movie house. |
| C．It was designed by Alexander Pantages. | D．It was once shut down for over a decade. |
| A．Pantages Theatre. | B．Saenger Theatre. | C．Thalian Hall. | D．Providence Performing Arts Center |
| A．They went through major renovations. |
| B．They were hit by terrible natural disasters. |
| C．They were built by American theatre architects. |
| D．They belong o Alexander Pantages’s group of theatres. |
5 . Libraries are the temple for book lovers, the main source of knowledge and wisdom. Here are the biggest libraries in the world.
The Library of Congress
The Library of Congress in the US is the biggest library in the world, whose collections are from all around the world. The library has a collection of 32 million cataloged books. It receives 22,000 copies per day from the publication produced in the US. Some of the major works stored in the library are Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence, the world’s most famous architectural designs and so on.
The British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is the second biggest library in the world. It holds 150 million items from different countries. It receives 8,000 copies per day from the publication produced in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its collection includes 14 million books. Every year over 3 million items are added to the library. The major highlights of the library collection are Diamond Sutra and Alice’s Adventures under Ground.
Library and Archives (档案馆) Canada (LAC)
Canada has the third biggest library in the world. The library holds 20 million books, 24 million photographs and a lot of digital works. Its collection includes The Proclamation of the Canadian Constitution Act, the British North America Act and many more precious works.
The New York Public Library (NYPL)
It is the fourth largest library in the world. It is the public library having 87 branches. The library has a collection of 53 million items. It also has four research libraries which are open to the general public. You can ask and discover about anything on the official website of NYPL.
1. Which of the following works is stored in the Library of Congress?| A．The British North America Act. |
| B．Alice’s Adventures under Ground. |
| C．Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence. |
| D．The Proclamation of the Canadian Constitution Act. |
| A．About 22,000. | B．More than 8,000. |
| C．About 14 million. | D．More than 3 million. |
| A．Library and Archives Canada. | B．The Library of Congress. |
| C．The New York Public Library. | D．The British Library. |
6 . The best restaurants for outdoor dining in Greater Boston
Beehive Restaurant (541 Tremont St., Boston)
If you want to have fun while you enjoy your meal, head to Beehive, where you get specialized brunch, cocktails, and live music with your patio(露台) dining.
“Great food and service, fun atmosphere in and out.”
—Esta E., Back Bay
Brighton Bodega (328 Washington St., Brighton) and Devlin’s Bistro & Bar (332 Washington St., Brighton)
Although these are two separate eateries, they share a patio space in Brighton. Visit Brighton Bodega for its Asian-inspired small plates and Devlin’s for the drinks menu. While you’re there, you may get to experience some live jazz.
“These sister restaurants share a lovely patio area with a good atmosphere and excellent food! I love the constantly changing and always creative Brighton Bodega menu, and the steady favorites menu of Devlin’s.”
—Wendy, Cambridge
Chart House (60 Long Wharf, Boston)
Chart House has served hungry customers in the Boston area for more than 60 years and continues to do so with its patio dining experience and “perfect views”.
“It is not in a too-crowded area. It’s not amidst cars and too many passers-by, so you can hear the water and the silence once in a while. There is parking at the back so I can drive in, dine, and drive out.”
—Lissa W., Uxbridge
Frenchie Wine Bistro (560 Tremont St., Boston)
Outdoor dining is becoming more popular in Boston, but there’s something about it that feels very European. especially at this South End spot. Sit out on the patio for its modern French menu and wide selection of wines.
“It’s just the best. Great views, food and drink, and THE BEST people watching!”
—Chris H., Boston
1. What do Beehive Restaurant and Brighton Bodega have in common?| A．Both share one patio. | B．Both have great views. |
| C．Both provide live music. | D．Both are in the same street. |
| A．Chart House. | B．Devlin’s Bistro &Bar. |
| C．Beehive Restaurant. | D．Frenchie Wine Bistro. |
| A．It is in the south of America. |
| B．It has a European flavor. |
| C．It changes its menu frequently. |
| D．It allows customers to drive in. |
7 . Most people who live in Seattle, Washington, love their city. There is a never-ending flow of fun things to do. But, people who live there do not always enjoy the day-after-day absence of sunshine during the winter months.
It is a documented fact that sunshine(or lack of it)plays a major role in how each of us greets the day. It also affects how we perform at school or work. When people are deprived of sunlight, they can develop seasonal affective disorder, which makes it difficult for them to feel happy or get things accomplished. No major city in the United States is more affected by the “sunshine factor” than Seattle.
To fight drizzle and fog during the winter months, Steve Murphy created a business that is very popular among the locals. The Indoor Sun Shoppe is more than a little ray of sunshine during the grey days of Seattle’s winter. His shop offers a huge source of plants and artificial lighting for people who are trying to overcome seasonal affective disorder.
Located in Fremont, Washington, The Indoor Sun Shoppe has an amazing collection of exotic(奇异的)plants and “good bugs” in a humid and well-lit environment. At The Indoor Sun Shoppe, you can spend up to $400 for artificial lighting that will chase away the winter blues. It will also keep your plants healthy. You can buy a dawn simulator(模拟器)that will gradually fill your room with a warming wake-up glow. What better way to greet a Seattle morning when real sunshine is nothing more than a happy thought!
Murphy’s in-home waterfalls are also popular with customers. But his plants and lights remain the “main course”. On a cloudy winter day, The Indoor Sun Shoppe is a bright spot in Seattle!
1. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?| A．Seattle is located in the state of Washington. |
| B．Citizens love Seattle for their colourful city lives. |
| C．Sunshine in Seattle is rare during the winter months. |
| D．People who live in Seattle are used to the sunshine absence. |
| A．Mild temperature and a general feeling of illness caused by grey winter. |
| B．Exhaustion, depression and lack of energy caused by lack of sunlight. |
| C．Winter-related illness caused by the low temperature and little sunlight. |
| D．Post-holiday depression that comes when relatives leave after Christmas. |
| A．attracts people from different parts of the whole country |
| B．aims to create a humid and well-lit environment during the winter months |
| C．brings only a little ray of sunshine during the grey days of Seattle’s winter |
| D．offers a variety of goods helping people overcome seasonal affective disorder |
| A．An alarm clock activated by the light rays of early morning. |
| B．A bringer of indoor artificial sunshine when there is none outside. |
| C．An automatic waterfall system helping make indoor plants healthy. |
| D．A better way to greet a Seattle morning with real warming sunshine. |
Many cities have live music in their parks during the summer. But there’s a park in Denmark
As part of
Since then, over 80 trees
All kinds of music from
手工绘制一张当地城市的公园地图
Make a park map of your city by hand
