1 .

Four Hotels That Will Make Your Life Easier By John Brandon For the business traveler who’s all about efficiency: check out these hotels that will get you in and out with minimum trouble. When you’re pressed for time on a business trip, nothing can infuriate you more than a slow hotel check-in process. On your next trip, try these hotels that offer a speedier check-in process. Yotel New York The self-service kiosks （一体机）at this high-tech New York hotel are open 24x7 and work just like the ones you’d see at an airport. There are just five-steps to register and obtain your card key. There’s even a robotic luggage bellboy. You tap in the number of bags you’re carrying and sizes, then wait for a robot arm to swing down and store your luggage in a locker (say, for a day trip). This also speeds up the check-in process if the first thing you need to do, like me, is head to a series of meetings. Marriott Detroit Airport Another option for business travelers in a hurry: Marriott is rolling out its mobile check-in app to 325 hotels this year, including the Marriott Detroit Airport hotel. (I’ve tested the app itself but not for a real visit quite yet.) here is the basic idea: you download the iPhone or Android app. The night before, you can “check-in” virtually. When you arrive, you get an alert that the room is ready and your key, which is already tied to your reservation, is waiting for you at the desk. Hyatt Regency Minneapolis I happened to stay at this hotel recently and liked how fast the kiosk check-in works. Like the Yotel, the kiosk asks you to insert your credit card, similar to an airport terminal. The whole process took about three minutes. When I left, I was equally impressed with the fast check-out. An agent meets you in the lobby with an iPad and asks for an email to use for a receipt. The big advantage is you never have to wait in line. Radisson LaCrosse The Radisson is trying to make the kiosk process even faster. At a few select hotels like the Radisson Lacrosse in Wisconsin, you use a mobile app to register and then receive a barcode （条形码）by email or text. When you get to the kiosk, you can scan the barcode to get your key without any other steps required. It’s super fast. You can find this new check-in system at the Radisson hotels in Salt Lake City, Seattle, and Phoenix as well.

1. What does the underlined word “infuriate” in Paragraph 2 most probably mean?

A．To annoy.

B．To remind.

C．To amuse.

D．To impress:

2. Which two hotels offer a mobile app for customers to check in?

A．Yotel New York and Marriott Detroit Airport.

B．Marriott Detroit Airport and Radisson LaCrosse.

C．Marriott Detroit Airport and Hyatt Regency Minneapolis.

D．Hyatt Regency Minneapolis and Radisson LaCrosse.

3. Which hotel will send you a receipt by email?

A．Yotel New York.	B．Marriott Detroit Airport. ’
C．Radisson LaCrosse.	D．Hyatt Regency Minneapolis.

2 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Where does the woman want to go?

A．To a supermarket.

B．To the post office.

C．To the Cross Bakery Building.

2. Where is the woman heading now?

A．East.

B．West.

C．South.

3. How far will the woman walk to get to her destination?

A．Two blocks.

B．Three blocks.

C．Five blocks.

3 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Where does the conversation take place?

A．At a gift shop.

B．At the post office.

C．At a printing store.

2. What should the man do first?

A．Weigh the item.

B．Give the item to the woman.

C．Write something on a piece of paper.

5 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Where are the speakers probably?

A．At the Customs

B．At a garage

C．At a police station.

2. What did the man buy for his sister’s wedding party?

A．Bottles of beer

B．Cigarettes

C．Red wine.

6 . If you've visited a museum, you've seen it.Maybe you've even done it - taken a picture of yourself with a piece of art.Perhaps it's because you love the painting or sculpture, or maybe it was just a famous piece of art and you wanted to share with the world that you’d seen it in person.But the majority of museums forbid photography at the museum.

The reasons for banning photography vary.Some museums have pieces lent to them that aren't allowed to be photographed according to the owner's wishes, like most of the exhibits at The Tate in London.Others are concerned about what camera flashes will do to the art; bright lights can damage certain paints.Some want to preserve a certain atmosphere.Sir John Soane's Museum, a small museum in London, states that it bans photography to “maintain the unique, magical atmosphere inside.”

For other museums, the "no photography" rule is based on observed behavior that seems to fly against the idea of what the museum is for: "Personally, what I've noticed is that people spend more time taking pictures than looking at pieces of art," said Benoit Parayre, the director of communications at the Center Pompidou in Paris."They take a picture, and don't even stop in front of the paintings."

For most museums, it's purely practical.People taking selfies (自拍照) are more concerned with getting their shot than paying attention to where their bodies are, some nearly backing into objects,”complained Heidi Rosenau, the Frick's communication director.What's worse, in a busy museum, people taking photos with the art causes traffic-flow issues.Sure, some people only take a quick shot, but we all have a friend or two who spends minutes getting the "perfect" photo - now just imagine them in a museum blocking people from seeing famous works of art that they've spent time and money to come and see.

A selfie can be fun and harmless, but it can also be rude and get in the way of other people's experiences.

1. What do we learn from the first paragraph?

A．Visitors can copy a famous piece of art.

B．Most visitors carry cameras in the museum.

C．Most exhibits of art are borrowed from others.

D．Taking pictures is not allowed in most museums.

2. The Tate in London bans photography with the purpose of_________.

A．ensuring safety

B．preserving art works

C．maintaining an atmosphere

D．following the owner 's wishes

3. Heidi Rosenau thinks that_________.

A．selfies takers may block others

B．selfies takers may steal the art pieces

C．selfies takers may damage the art works

D．selfies takers can better enjoy art exhibits

4. What's the writer's attitude toward selfie?

A．Supportive.

B．Neutral.

C．Critical.

D．Negative.

7 . The Palace Museum is limiting the daily number of visitors to 80,000 and recommending both individual visitors and tourist groups to book tickets in, advance online (booking address: https://gugong ktmtech.cn). foreign visitors are required to provide passport numbers during the online booking

ADMISSION

April 1st-October 31st            60 yuan

November 1st-March 31st.        140 yuan

●Free admission(入场费) for children under.2 meters in height.

●Free admission for disabled visitors.

●20 yuan for elementary, middle school, and undergraduate students with student I.D. (not including graduate and adult or continuing education students).     

●50% discount for people over 60 years with valid certificate or proof of age (passport, etc.)'

●Women's Day (March 8): Half-price admission for female visitors.

●Children's Day (June 1): Free admission for children 14 years old and younger. 50% discount on admission for one accompanying parent. legal guardian, or adult,

For detailed information and instruction, please click here.

1. How many people can visit the Palace Museum daily at most?

A．Eight hundred

B．Eighty thousand.

C．Eight million

D．Eighty million.

2. Among the four,who can get the lowest admission price?

A．A middle-aged woman visiting it on 13,Mar.	B．A middle-aged parent visiting it alone on lst, June.
C．A 65-year-old man visiting it on 7th,May.	D．A middle school student visiting it on 6th,Jan.

3. Where do you think the passage most probably comes from?

A．A website.

B．A magazine

C．A book.

D．A newspaper.

8 . 现在你校举办一次英文演讲比赛，主题是关于你所在城市的变化。
请根据以下要点，写一篇演讲稿。
内容要点:1、城市变化的简介；2、个人的感想。
注意:1、词数80-100左右；
2、可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3、开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。

The changes of my city

Ladies and gentlemen,
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for your attention!

9 . Public toilets are known for a number of things, and they’re almost all bad. They’re typically dirty, smelly and depending on where they’re located, crowded. There’s nothing worse than needing to use the restroom only to spot a public toilet and then walk up to see that it’s occupied. Tokyo is working to solve problems like this by renovating (翻修) dozens of public toilet locations around the Shibuya district, and they’ve hired professional architects to put their own spin on things. The “Tokyo Toilet Project” is an effort by the Nippon Foundation to revitalize the commonly used public toilets in Shibuya, and while each location will get its own unique trick, the transparent toilets are definitely getting the most attention from passersby.

“There are two concerns with public toilets, especially those located in parks,” the Nippon Foundation says. “The first is whether it is clean inside, and the second is that no one is secretly waiting inside. Using a new technology, we made the outer walls with glass, so that a person can check inside before entering. At night, they light up the parks like a beautiful lantern.” The toilets are lined with transparent glass, offering would-be bathroom users a hint as to whether they’re occupied or not.

The real trick, however, comes when you close and lock the doors. Nobody wants to have people watching them while they’re doing their business, and these transparent toilets have a very interesting trick up their sleeves. When you lock the doors, the specialized glass panels (嵌板) turn opaque, preventing anyone from peeping inside. When the door is unlocked, the glass becomes transparent once again.

Whether the good people of Tokyo will decide that these new and improved restrooms are worthy of use remains to be seen, but I can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t want to spend some time in them.

1. Why are the public toilets in Tokyo being renovated?

A．To inspire architects’ creativity.

B．To better meet users’ demand.

C．To attract passersby’s attention.

D．To improve the urban environment.

2. The transparent toilet is designed to________.

A．show if it is available

B．provide enough light inside

C．ensure it is easier to clean

D．create a novel appearance

3. What is the function of the transparent toilet’s trick?

A．It cuts the cost of power.

B．It protects the users’ privacy.

C．It stores personal belongings.

D．It locks the door automatically.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards the transparent toilet?

A．Indifferent.

B．Unfavorable.

C．Optimistic.

D．Neutral.

10 . One Dollar a Night in New York

When it comes to finding a place to stay for a night in New York, things don’t always come cheap. However, artist Miao Jiaxin, a Shanghai native who moved to New York in 2006, is offering people the chance to stay in his apartment in Brooklyn.     1    

Guests can easily book Miao’s room on the Internet. Nevertheless, although they will be housed in his apartment, it appears to have more in common with a jail cell（牢房）than a regular bedroom as a cage in the center of the room is where guests will stay.

    2     Guests must stay in the cage for three hours each morning. “From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., you can’t access the Internet, and there are no electronic devices, books, radio, pens or craftwork. You can’t talk to anybody. You can’t do Yoga or any other exercises. And you can’t even sleep,” writes Miao.     3    

Meanwhile, the cage is monitored and recorded by two cameras and the activity of guests is filmed for the whole time they stay in the cell.

    4     They can enjoy great views of New York on the roof deck outside the room.

The room is inspired by the alienation（疏离感）Miao felt as a new immigrant — feelings he believes are universal. “It’s not for fun. It’s for an experience.     5    ” said Miao.

A．It’s only one dollar a night.

B．It’s too expensive for common people to afford.

C．More like a psychological New York City experience.

D．If you break any of those rules above, you will be fined 100 dollars.

E．Actually, Miao’s room is so popular that you have to book three months in advance.

F．Despite the strict rules, guests are given a key to let themselves in and out as they please.

G．Miao says that to live in his jail cell, people don’t have to be a criminal, but there are several rules.