1 . Two years ago, a blind person, Jorge Spielmann started the Blind Cow in the city of Zurich, Switzerland. Almost all the people who worked there, as the restaurant was named, were also blind. Now, not just the blind, but even people who can see with their eyes gather together in groups to this restaurant for the special experience it provides, apart from the good food it offers. The restaurant is so popular that all the tables are always booked ahead of time.

The idea came to Spielmann while he was working as bartender (酒保) in 1998 at a public exhibit, where people with normal sight walked through completely dark passages by feeling with hands together along with blind people. Then Spielmann changed an unused house into a 60-seat restaurant.

The Blind Cow enables customers who can see to “see” a different world through the eyes of people with no sight. Besides, as no one can see what the others are doing, something like these is common: People put fingers into the meat, the wrong forks are used and people even wipe their mouths on their sleeves (袖子) instead of napkins!

Before entering the dining area, the customers are told the rules of the restaurant: no walking around, no smoking and no flashlights. When arriving, the customers are led in by a waitress with bells tied to her toes. Forming a chain led by the waitress, with hands placed on each others shoulders, the customers walk inside. When the customers want something, they shout to catch the attention of the waitresses.

The bells on the waitresses’ toes help prevent them from bumping (撞) into each other while carrying dishes. Though they admit to some unavoidable bumps, the workers at the Blind Cow say that they don’t have more broken things than any other restaurant. Customers to the restaurant are extra careful not to knock things over.

1. Why do many people with normal sight come to the Blind Cow?

A．To remember the past memories.	B．To show their hidden feelings.
C．To have a taste of the good dishes.	D．To go through something different.

2. What may the customers ignore at the Blind Cow?

A．The food price.	B．The table manners.
C．The social skills.	D．The taste of dishes.

3. What can we know about the rules of the Blind Cow?

A．Bells should be tied to the customers’ toes.	B．Flashlights mustn’t be used by the customers.
C．The customers can’t touch each other’s shoulders	D．The customers shouldn’t shout to the waitresses.

4. What’s the best title of the text?

A．Enjoy Meals with Strangers	B．Experience the Blind’s Life
C．A Special Dark Restaurant	D．A Blind Person’s Success

2 . When visiting a new place either for vacation, for a honeymoon, or for a function, one of the top things to look out for is the food and relaxation spots. In this list, we will highlight the most expensive restaurants in which you can enjoy great food when visiting Singapore.

Tamarind Hill

When you walk into Tamarind Hill, you get a feel of Thailand because the restaurant is located at the top of a forest reserve in Labrador Park and has a 19th-century black and white cottage that gives the impression of Thailand. The price of meals in this restaurant starts from $48 per person.

Alma By Juan Amador

Alma by Juan Amador is a fine dining restaurant that is situated at the Goodwood Park Hotel in the heart of Singapore. This restaurant specializes in modern European dishes and sometimes digs into Asian and Italian delicacies. Alma’s meals start from $78 per person.

Fat Cow

Fat Cow restaurant is a restaurant that is very popular among locals because it is popular for being the dining spot for business meetings and special social events. Fat Cow is a steakhouse designed according to Japanese style and culture, making it a mix of modern and traditional diners. Fat Cow is located in Camden Medical Centre, Singapore and the prices start from $138 per person.

Cure

Cure restaurant is an extremely beautiful British restaurant in Keong Saik Road, Singapore that serves food made from fresh ingredients for people with exquisite taste. Cure also serves their special dish, finger food cured in whisky then brined in bacon fat. This restaurant is the perfect place to relax and eat good food with a no-dress-code policy and the price starts from $70 per person.

1. Where can you enjoy the atmosphere of Thailand?

A．In the Goodwood Park Hotel.	B．In Labrador Park.
C．In Keong Saik Road.	D．In Camden Medical Centre.

2. Which restaurant will you choose if you organize a formal ceremony?

A．Fat Cow.

B．Cure.

C．Alma By Juan Amador.

D．Tamarind Hill.

3. What is special about Cure?

A．It serves European dishes.	B．It has special dishes.
C．Its expense is cheaper than other restaurant.	D．It allows customers to dress casually.

3 . Uncle Leo gives me a suspicious look when I call this place the ‘Scacchi Palace’. It is really a house, called Ca’ Scacchi in Venetian. Anywhere else in the world, this would surely be regarded as a palace, although it is one in need of a little care and attention.

Our house is by the side of the little San Cassian canal and a small square of the same name. We have a door which leads onto the street and two entrances from the water. One runs under a grand, rounded arch into the ground floor of the house, which, as is customary in the city, is used instead of a cellar (地下室) for storing things. The second is used for our commercial activities and it is situated in another building, which is three stories high, attached to the north side, towards the Grand Canal.

Finally, there is yet another exit: a wooden bridge, with handrails, runs from the first floor of the house between the two river entrances straight over the canal and into the square itself. Consequently, I can wander over it in the morning and find fresh water from the well in the centre of the square while still rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Or I may call a gondola (威尼斯小划船) from my bedroom window, find it waiting for me by the time I get downstairs and, just one minute later, be in the middle of the greatest waterway on Earth, the Grand Canal of Venice.

The house is almost 200 years old, I am told, and built of bricks of a rich dark brown colour. It has elegant arched windows and green-painted shutters (百叶窗) to keep out the cruel summer heat. I live on the third floor in the third room on the right with a view over the canal and square. When I lie in bed at night, I can hear the chatter and songs of the passing gondoliers and the conversations in the square nearby. I understand why Uncle runs his business here. The prices are not too steep. The location of the house is near the city centre and easy for our clients to find. Furthermore, the printing trade has many roots in this area of Venice, even if some of the old publishers from the area no longer exist.

1. According to the writer, in what way is the house typical of Venice?

A．People live and work in the same building.	B．There are several ways of entering it.
C．It consists of two separate buildings.	D．The storage area is not below ground.

2. What does the pronoun “it” (in paragraph 2) refer to?

A．The family business.

B．A floor.

C．An entrance.

D．A building.

3. What does the writer say about his uncle’s printing business in the fourth paragraph?

A．It has plenty of customers.

B．It is less expensive than others.

C．It’s the only printing business left in the district.

D．There are other similar businesses in the district.

4. It can be concluded from the passage that the writer regards Venice as          .

A．somewhere that could never be home	B．a strange and special place to live in
C．a city where it’s easy to get lost	D．a place dominated by money

4 . What’s the reason for the change of the city?

A．They have built more buildings.

B．They have built more parks.

C．They have planted more trees and flowers.

5 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. How large is the buyer’s family?

A．It consists of a couple and four children.

B．It includes a man and his wife.

C．It has four members.

2. What’s the man most worried about?

A．The size of the house.

B．The appearance of the house.

C．The down payment ( 首期付款 ).

6 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What’s the strongest reason why Englishmen often go to pubs?

A．To drink beer.

B．To see respectable women.

C．To relax themselves.

2. How long do pubs usually stay open?

A．13 hours.

B．3 hours.

C．11 hours.

3. What is a woman not supposed to do if she wants to visit an English pub?

A．Go there alone.

B．Go there with her family.

C．Go there with a man.

4. What are many men dreaming of?

A．Telling their troubles to a pretty girl.

B．Retiring from their jobs and buying a little country pub.

C．Leaving their homes.

7 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. Where can you often find national parks?

A．Along the rivers.

B．In the countryside.

C．In the mountains.

2. What do campers find in the national parks?

A．Many tigers.

B．Many elephants.

C．Many kinds of animals and plants.

3. What do campers enjoy most in the parks?

A．Hunting.

B．A change from the busy life.

C．Skating.

4. Where do most of campers stay in the parks?

A．In their tents.

B．In their cars.

C．In houses.

8 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What is the woman’s suggestion?

A．Buy two armchairs.

B．Sit on packing cases.

C．Get cheap chairs at a street market.

2. What day is it today?

A．Friday.

B．Saturday.

C．Sunday.

3. How will the woman deal with the curtains?

A．She will wash them.

B．She will mend the holes.

C．She will take them to a dry-cleaner’s.

4. What can we learn from the conversation?

A．The man gets upset with the woman in the end.

B．The Portobello Road doesn’t have any chairs.

C．The speakers have bought two cheap chairs.

9 . “Don’t forget your water!” This is a familiar______whenever I leave the house. Water indeed is______— especially when one is 69 years old and might forget the ______and get trapped on Long Island.

This makes me think back to my______. In the early 1960s, when I left to play outside all day, my mother______ said, “Don’t forget your water.” There was no way to bring water or buy a water bottle back then. How did I______?

I was______to live on Long Island. My family lived on more than 50 acres,______cows, horses, sheep, ducks and chickens. Some 60 acres of woods lie on the east side of our little farm. That’s______I followed my dad, uncle and grandpa as they hunted rabbits, squirrels and pheasants. We had only seven TV channels. I______the remote control, changing stations at my dad’s request. Life was______and good.

In my third-grade year, I______Mom to let me ride my bike up Jericho Turnpike to go to school. You can’t imagine a mother letting a 10-year-old bike every day three miles into town. She______and I met about 10 to 12 other guys for baseball or football. We played wildly without water. Not to say we didn’t get______. When we did, we went to drink from the electric cooler. It was cold, free and satisfying. Occasionally, we had money in our pockets and______ourselves to a Coke or Pepsi. What a fun, stress-free and safe place to grow up on Long Island even without water bottles.

1.

A．sound

B．request

C．word

D．name

2.

A．visible

B．harmless

C．unique

D．important

3.

A．bottle

B．demand

C．promise

D．blanket

4.

A．hometown

B．hobby

C．youth

D．education

5.

A．never

B．often

C．occasionally

D．sometimes

6.

A．change

B．escape

C．survive

D．struggle

7.

A．absent

B．lucky

C．bored

D．confused

8.

A．cooking

B．raising

C．counting

D．hunting

9.

A．when

B．how

C．why

D．where

10.

A．cut off

B．fell apart

C．served as

D．relied on

11.

A．simple

B．complex

C．hard

D．dramatic

12.

A．declared

B．guided

C．begged

D．cheated

13.

A．stood by

B．broke down

C．watched out

D．gave in

14.

A．hungry

B．thirsty

C．crazy

D．angry

15.

A．devoted

B．treated

C．addicted

D．taught

10 . Discover all the great Sydney attractions. You’ll find many memorable things to do and fascinating museums to visit in Sydney, Australia.

Australian Museum

The Australian Museum (AM) was founded in 1827 and is well-known as the nation’s first museum. The AM has been transformed and visitors can now enjoy transformed spaces and updated facilities. Free general admission includes entry to all permanent exhibitions and Prehistoric Playground, which is open daily on Level 2 and features a variety of activities for children of all ages including a fossil lab and interactive dinosaur design station.

Art Gallery of New South Wales

Explore five levels of art at one of Australia's most popular art museums, located within beautiful parklands overlooking Sydney Harbour, just 10 minutes’ walk from the city.

See an extensive collection of Australian art，including one of the largest galleries of aboriginal (土著的) art in the country, alongside Asian treasures and leading local and international contemporary art.

Museum of Contemporary Art Australia - MCA

The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia is Australia’s leading museum dedicated to exhibiting, interpreting and collecting contemporary art from across Australia.

Located at Circular Quay, the MCA is housed in the former Maritime Services building, a fine example of late Art Deco architecture.

Australian National Maritime Museum

Located at the waterfront of Darling Harbour, the Maritime Museum is an indoor/outdoor attraction and great entertainment for the whole family. The museum has one of the largest and most diverse in-water fleets (舰队) in the world. The museum hosts six permanent galleries, an ever-changing program of temporary exhibitions, and a 3D cinema, ensuring that there is something for everyone.

1. What is Australian Museum famous for?

A．The lowest price.	B．Contemporary art.
C．Outdoor attractions.	D．The longest history.

2. Where should you go if you want to appreciate treasures from Asia?

A．Australian Museum.

B．Art Gallery of New South Wales.

C．Australian National Maritime Museum.

D．Museum of Contemporary Art Australia — MCA.

3. Which of the following can be seen in Australian National Maritime Museum?

A．A 3D cinema.	B．A design station.
C．Local contemporary art.	D．Late Art Deco architecture.