1 . Sri Lanka is a beautiful island nation best seen slowly, even if you have only four days there like I did.
The train in the country was my preferred means of transport (交通方式). My ticket, from Colombo to Kandy, with comfortable seats and a big picture window, cost $19 for the 2.5 hours ride. I got a second-class seat on the Kandy-to-Ella route (路线) and paid about $ 22 for the nearly seven-hour trip through the green hills and tea gardens of central Sri Lanka.
Gentle rain said hello to us as we entered Kandy. The Gamage family in William Gopallawa Mawatha Street hosted (招待) me. The lovely family, including parents, children and other family members, put me up for two nights in their home for $13 every night. My room was basic but comfortable, and came with a delicious breakfast spread every morning. Mrs. Gamage told me I could easily find someone in a tuk-tuk(三轮摩的) to show me around town.
When I found Santha, a small, middle-aged man with a big smile, the next day, we quickly agreed on a price for a tour of the city: just $15. His tuk-tuk moved uphill slowly toward Sri Maha Bodhi Viharaya Buddhist Temple. The warm driver also took me to the Royal Botanic Gardens, a peaceful place away from the traffic and noise of the town.
The next morning, I got on a bright blue train to Ella. Ella Station isn’t far from the Sunnyside Holiday Bungalow, where I had booked a room for about $40 every night. The owners are nice and the hotel with gardens is beautiful.
My first morning in Ella, I visited the Nine Arch Bridge, a beautiful old railway bridge. In the afternoon, it started to rain heavily. I walked into a restaurant which sits atop a hill and provides a breathtaking view (风景) of the countryside. An hour later, the rain let up. And I set out to go for a long walk in Little Adam’s Peak. I loved the view of low-lying clouds resting gently on what seemed like an endless series of green hills.
1. Which shows the author's travel route in SriLanka?| A．Colombo → Ella → Kandy. | B．Kandy → Colombo → Ella. |
| C．Colombo → Kandy → Ella. | D．Kandy → Ella → Colombo . |
| A．13 dollars. | B．26 dollars. |
| C．41 dollars. | D．80 dollars. |
| A．They are kind. | B．They are talkative. |
| C．They are humorous. | D．They are hard-working. |
| A．He toured the town. | B．He stayed in the hotel. |
| C．He visited an old railway bridge. | D．He enjoyed the beautiful scenery. |
2 . Last month, my husband and I completed what some of our friends considered a foolish task: a 32-day, 5, 232-mile camping trip with children in our Volkswagen van, without ''high-tech'' to occupy the children.
It was the screen less journey that showered me with doubts. But is ''boredom'' senseless? My friend Renee, who has driven cross-country with her three kids eight times, calls boredom the mother of creativity. She's not the only one who sees virtue in blank time. In a recently published paper, researchers at East Anglia University in England concluded that the trance like (发呆的) state helps recharge the mind and is ''central to learning and creativity''. I wasn't trying to make my kids smarter. Neither do I dislike high-tech. But I understand too well the power of mini screens to transform our kids into zombies (木讷的人) .
On Day 1, our 7-year-old son announced ''Texas is so boring!''. The next day, struggling against his seat belt, he yelled he couldn't take much more of this. His 5-year-old sister was better at the long hours playing make-believe with the stuffed animals. On Day 3, he began count mountains and see pandas and dolphins in distant clouds in the Texas sky. I often joined the kids in the back, where we did thumb-and-toe wrestle. With well-known mountains ahead, my husband told the children the past legends of them. ''Arizona is not as boring as Texas,'' our son declared.
I hope the trip gave kids some lazy, unstructured time to learn something about valuing the trip instead of looking for the fastest way to burn it up. I don't always make the right call as a parent but I know that in banning the small screen we made the right choice this time.
1. Why did the author choose a high-tech free journey?| A．Her friends are highly against it. |
| B．She disliked advanced technology. |
| C．She feared the passive influence of mini-screens. |
| D．The researchers proved the harm of modern technology. |
| A．Their son got worse at boredom. |
| B．Her kids had a tough time riding in the vehicle. |
| C．Their son relieved himself by watching animals outside. |
| D．The time spent without screens strengthened the family bond. |
| A．the speediest route to finish the journey |
| B．the ability to observe the surroundings |
| C．the interest of playing games with others |
| D．the choice of killing time by playing digital devices |
| A．Is Driving Long Distances Good for Children? |
| B．A Touching Cross-country Trip of My Family |
| C．What's Wrong with Boredom without High-tech? |
| D．Creative Kids out of Parents' Reasonable Choice |
3 . On the morning of May 20, 1927, Charles A. Lindbergh Jr. took off from a muddy airfield in New York and headed for Paris. During the first fourteen hours of flying, he had had some anxious moments. Sleet had gathered on the wings of the plane and the fog was so thick that he could hardly see the tips of the wings. However, he had come across equally dangerous flying conditions before. Of course, now that he was over the ocean, his parachute(降落伞)was useless. He had only one choice: he had to go on.
Although he had waited a long time to make this trip, he did not feel strange or nervous. He was accustomed to flying alone, and he had flown this route in his imagination many times. The idea of flying across the Atlantic had occurred to him one night when he had been carrying the mail between St. Louis and Chicago. That night, he told himself that a solo non-stop flight between New York and Paris was possible. He knew that airplanes capable of making the long flight over the ocean could be built. A man of skill and endurance could make his dream come true.
As he was recalling that night, he reduced the altitude of the plane. Close to the surface of the ocean, he found that the ice on the wings began to melt and the fog disappeared. For the time being, at least, he was safe. The steady sound of the motor seemed like music in his ears. He had perfect confidence in his plane because he knew that there was not a more dependable plane than his. The Ryan Aircraft Company had constructed the plane to meet his special needs. He had worked with the chief engineer of the company, Donald Hall, to produce the airplane as rapidly as possible. Although Hall had worked with the basic design of the Ryan airplane, he had had to make many modifications. As a result, it was a very special airplane. He had named it “The Spirit of St. Louis,” in honour of the St. Louis businessmen whose financial backing had made the trip possible. Besides their money, he had invested all of his own savings, which came to two thousand dollars, in the venture.
At 12 :10 on the afternoon of May 21, Lindbergh caught sight of the coast of Ireland. Now that the flight was almost over, he began to relax a little. Finally, after thirty-four hours in the air without sleep, he arrived at Le Bourget Field, in Paris.
1. According to Paragraph 2, Lindbergh Jr. didn’t feel nervous about the flight because of the following reasons EXCEPT that _________.| A．he was used to flying alone | B．he had waited a long time for the trip |
| C．he had imagined flying the route many times | D．his plane was specially designed |
| A．The pilot listened to music as he reduced the altitude of the plane. |
| B．The trip was made possible thanks to the financial support from some businessmen. |
| C．The plane got its name in memory of a non-stop trip. |
| D．The chief engineer designed the airplane independently to meet the pilot’s needs. |
| A．beautiful decorations | B．regular repairs |
| C．small changes | D．careful arrangements |
| A．Wings Across the Atlantic |
| B．A Solo Non-stop Flight of 24 Hours |
| C．The Spirit of St. Louis |
| D．An Outstanding Pilot—Charles A. Lindbergh Jr. |
