1. What is the woman’s suggestion?
| A．Buy two armchairs. |
| B．Sit on packing cases. |
| C．Get cheap chairs at a street market. |
| A．Friday. | B．Saturday. | C．Sunday. |
| A．She will wash them. |
| B．She will mend the holes. |
| C．She will take them to a dry-cleaner’s. |
| 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. |
2 . “Don’t forget your water!” This is a familiar
This makes me think back to my
I was
In my third-grade year, I
| A．sound | B．request | C．word | D．name |
| A．visible | B．harmless | C．unique | D．important |
| A．bottle | B．demand | C．promise | D．blanket |
| A．hometown | B．hobby | C．youth | D．education |
| A．never | B．often | C．occasionally | D．sometimes |
| A．change | B．escape | C．survive | D．struggle |
| A．absent | B．lucky | C．bored | D．confused |
| A．cooking | B．raising | C．counting | D．hunting |
| A．when | B．how | C．why | D．where |
| A．cut off | B．fell apart | C．served as | D．relied on |
| A．simple | B．complex | C．hard | D．dramatic |
| A．declared | B．guided | C．begged | D．cheated |
| A．stood by | B．broke down | C．watched out | D．gave in |
| A．hungry | B．thirsty | C．crazy | D．angry |
| A．devoted | B．treated | C．addicted | D．taught |
3 . 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. |
| A．Australian Museum. |
| B．Art Gallery of New South Wales. |
| C．Australian National Maritime Museum. |
| D．Museum of Contemporary Art Australia — MCA. |
| A．A 3D cinema. | B．A design station. |
| C．Local contemporary art. | D．Late Art Deco architecture. |
4 . 4 Largest Art Museums in the World
Art museums offer the space to display a wide range of art, from sculptures to paintings. They are located all over the world. This article takes a look at the largest art museums by area.
The Louvre
The Louvre, located in Paris, is the largest art museum in the world. It is considered a historic monument. This building first served as a castle before becoming a royal residence. Under King Louis XIV, it was used to house two art academies. The Louvre Museum was opened with 537 paintings. Today, it is home to around 38, 000 pieces.
State Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage Museum, located in St. Petersburg, Russia, is the second largest art museum in the world. It has a total area of 719, 480 square feet. This museum, one of the oldest in the world, is home to a collection of over 3, million pieces, including the largest painting collection in the world.
National Museum Of China
The third largest museum is the National Museum of China. Located along Tiananmen Square in Beijing, it covers an area of 700, 000 square feet. Its chief objective is to educate the public and promote the history and arts of China. The National Museum of China houses 1. 05 million pieces in its collection, including the heaviest piece of bronze ware—the 1, 836-pound Simuwu Ding.
Metropolitan Museum Of Art
The fourth largest museum in the world is the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, which covers an area of 633, 100 square feet. Today, this museum is in a building that is 20 times larger than the original and located on the border of Central Park. It is home to more than 2 million pieces. Additionally, it is known for its large collection of musical instruments.
1. What can we know about The Louvre?| A．It was once a military base. |
| B．It has the largest collection of paintings. |
| C．Members of the royal family once lived there. |
| D．Students majoring in art can receive education there now. |
| A．Louvre. | B．State Hermitage Museum. |
| C．National Museum Of China. | D．Metropolitan Museum Of Art. |
| A．It is the oldest museum in the world. | B．It receives visitors most in the world. |
| C．It has the heaviest piece of bronze-ware. | D．It has a large collection of musical instruments. |
5 . A huge proportion of the world’s information and learning is still not available electronically, so libraries keep their importance for research and study. Here are FOUR libraries.
Bibliotheque Nationale de France (Paris)
It traces its roots to the library of King Louis XI, which he established in 1461. It became accessible to the public at the time of the French Revolution in 1792. Napoleon took a great interest in the library and enlarged its collection. At one time during the 19th century it was the largest library in the world.
British Library (London)
It was created in 1972; previously, the library had been part of the British Museum, where the famous circular reading room had accommodated researchers including Karl Marx, who worked on “Das Kapital” there, as well as Oscar Wide and Mahatma Gandhi. The British Library is now housed in a new building in St. Pancras, London, where its treasures include two Gutenberg Bibles, one of Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks and so on.
National Diet Library (Tokyo)
It opened in 1948. Until the Second World War and the subsequent American occupation, Japan did not have a national public library. The Diet Library was established because public access to information was seen as a vital part of the post-war democratization process. It serves as a national library, holding copies of every book published in Japanese.
Russian State Library (Moscow)
Founded in 1862 as the Moscow public library and museum, this collection became the State Library in 1925. Like many national libraries, the Russian State Library has encountered repeated problems of space shortage, and has had to move sections of its holdings to repositories(贮藏处)elsewhere.
1. Whose real notes are currently collected in the British Library?| A．Napoleon’s. | B．Karl Marx’s. |
| C．Leonardo da Vinci’s. | D．Mahatma Gandhi’s. |
| A．The British Library. | B．The Russian State Library. |
| C．The National Diet Library. | D．Bibliotheque Nationale de France. |
| A．The limited storage space. | B．The demand from the public. |
| C．The reconstruction of the library. | D．The development of the electronic book. |
6 . Gradually, the need for green space became a habit that changed my life. When I was staying with friends, I’d hunt out parks. Within a couple of months, I’d signed up as a volunteer at a local community garden and would get there early on Sunday mornings, as if it were my own kind of church.
It’s not surprising that being outdoors and surrounding myself with nature helped me through this difficult time. Studies by the Royal College of Physicians have found that gardening can lower blood pressure, relieve anxiety and depression, boost mood, and burn calories.
The underlined part in Paragraph 4 probably refers to
| A．praying to God in the church |
| B．the need for green space in life |
| C．hunting out as many parks as possible |
| D．the voluntary work in the community garden |
| ▲ Allerton, Liverpool £590,000 A large-area lawn would look at home on a traditional red-brick campus. Six miles south of the University of Liverpool and the “knowledge quarter”, it is part of Allerton Priory, designed and built by Victorian gothic architect Alfred Waterhouse in the early 1800s for a local merchant and now separated into apartments. There’s a three-bedroom duplex (复式) on the lower ground and ground floor. The living room has floor-to-ceiling windows and views of the grounds, and there’s a private gate for residents leading to Allerton Manor sports car club. Fine & Country, 0151-947-0810 |  |
| ▲ Halton, Lancashire £285,000 This environmentally-friendly home is in the eco-settlement of Forgebank in the village of Halton on the outskirts of Lancaster. It may suit the buyers—with conscience and cash—who have chosen to settle close to the city they studied in. The complex sits on the banks of the River Lune and next to the Forest of Bowland. A two-bedroom home covers 1,050 sq ft with a balcony. The funky yellow kitchen cabinetry is by local carpenters. The Modern House, 0203-795-5920 |  |
| ▲ Eddington, Cambridge £689,950 The local government of Cambridge is developing a new sustainable residential district two miles north of the city centre with 3,000 homes, 2,000 postgraduate rooms for the University of Cambridge, sports facilities, a market square and park lot. One of the newest phases is Knights Park. There’s a two-bedroom, two-bathroom luxury flat on the fourth floor of the Florey building with no stamp duty to pay. Hill, 01223-607-200 |  |
| ▲ City centre, Bristol £565,000 This two-bedroom, first-floor apartment is in a pastel-coloured, period townhouse (老式联排别墅指ancientness)on the waterfront in the heart of Bristol’s nightlife,(夜生活中心指modernity)with a parking space, a lift and views of the Floating Harbour and the Arnolfini arts centre. Beyond is the tree-lined Georgian gardens of Queen Square in the old town. The University of Bristol is a 30-minute walk away. Knight Frank, 0117-317-1996 |  |
| A．It enjoys an open and broad view of nearby grounds. |
| B．It is located on the campus of the University of Liverpool. |
| C．It houses the Allerton Manor sports car club on the second floor. |
| D．It was designed in the early 18th century by a local merchant. |
| A．Allerton, Liverpool | B．Halton, Lancashire |
| C．Eddington, Cambridge | D．City centre, Bristol |
| A．Fine & Country | B．The Modern House |
| C．Hill | D．Knight Frank |
The Life-Givers of the Desert: Oases throughout the World
Oases(绿洲) have had a strong influence on the development of society in desert regions. Aspects of trade as well as military and political power have all been impacted by oases. Merchants have relied on these fertile zones
It’s not surprising
Sitting in sharp contrast to the tough, dry conditions that surround
9 . Public toilets around the globe have a reputation for being dark, dirty and dangerous. Tokyo recently unveiled new restrooms in two public parks that aim to address those concerns. For one thing, they are brightly lit and colorful. For another, they are transparent. This way, those who need to go can check out the cleanliness and safety of the toilets without having to walk inside or touch a thing.
Japan has long experimented with toilets, resulting in lids that open, and close automatically and seats that warm up. But the new toilets—designed by Shigeru Ban, the Pritzker Prize-winning architect—are made out of a “smart glass.”
The toilets were installed in Tokyo in September. Set up in front of a cluster of trees in the Shibuya District, the toilets stand out like a Mondrian painting.
When occupied and locked properly, the colored glass toilets become frosted (磨砂的) and opaque (not transparent). When the door is unlocked, an electric current rearranges the crystals in the glass to allow more light to pass through, creating a transparent effect. The toilets were presented as another futuristic and aesthetically (美学地) pleasing example of the country’s technological advancements.
The predecessor to Tokyo’s transparent toilets appeared in Switzerland in 2002, when designer Olivier Rambert unveiled two glass restrooms in the city of Lausanne. They had a safety feature that automatically opened the doors and turned the glass transparent if sensors detected no motion for 10 minutes. That could possibly help users who fall unconscious and need medical attention.
1. What’s the purpose of the design of new restrooms?| A．To make the parks tourist attractions. |
| B．To settle the problems with public toilets. |
| C．To maintain the standards of public toilets. |
| D．To achieve a breakthrough in toilet construction. |
| A．By cutting off electricity. | B．By giving off colorful light. |
| C．By sensing the health of people. | D．By changing the order of crystals. |
| A．They cause the concerns about privacy. |
| B．They are decorated with artists’ paintings. |
| C．They are pioneered by Japanese architects. |
| D．They combine technological and artistic elements. |
| A．Conventional. | B．Humanized. |
| C．Simplified. | D．Recreational. |
10 . Best Things to Do in Boston
Boston is bursting with around-the-clock amusement and entertainment-from outdoor markets to museums.
Boston Public Garden
Sitting next to Boston Common, this large public park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted who was responsible for Central Park and Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. It’s the perfect place to chill out, take a walk in the green atmosphere and even rent a swan-shaped boat for a paddle around the pond.
Fenway Park
The oldest Major League Baseball stadium, Fenway is an atmospheric and unique place to watch a baseball game. Even if the Red Sox are having an off-year, it’s still worth buying a ticket to see a game, as it’s one of the most Bostonian activities you can do. One of the unique features of the 40,000-seat stadium is the “Green Monster”, the 37-foot green wall in the left field. When it’s not baseball season, you can take a tour of the stadium.
Faneuil Hall Market
Since 1742 this market has traded in fresh edible ingredients (可食用材料) and entertainment for Bostonians. There are dozens of stalls selling fruits and veggies as well as ready-to-eat dishes, along with street performers and some of the best people-watching in the city.
Museum of Fine Arts
The city’s main art museum is a good one. With nearly half a million art objects, it’s also one of the biggest museums in North America. There are works on display by the pantheon (名流) of history’s great artists, including Donatello, EI Greco, Renoir and Degas, just to name a few. There is also a nice collection of art and artifacts from Egypt, Nubia and the ancient Americas.
1. What do Boston Public Garden and Brooklyn’s Prospect Park have in common?| A．They are free for the public. | B．They are similar in size. |
| C．They are designed by the same designer. | D．They are next to Boston Common. |
| A．Its designer is well-known. | B．It is quiet and green. |
| C．It hosts exciting performances. | D．It is a baseball stadium. |
| A．See exhibitions of art works. | B．Learn about the history of the city. |
| C．Have hands-on art activities. | D．Meet world-famous artists. |
