Why Melbourne? Having long lived in the shadow of Sydney, Melbourne has become a Mecca(圣地) for fashion and design and cultural centre of Australia, with an enjoyable programme of festivals
What to see? The City center’s grid（格子） system of streets conceals a maze of lanes and turn-of-the-century arcades where you will find the best cafes, bars and boutique shopping. The hidden secrets tour(00613 9329 9665,hiddensecretstour.com) guides will make sure you find what you’re after, whether it is fashion, art and design or wine. From 34 per person .
Where to eat? Melbourne is a paradise for gourmands（美食家）. And its top chefs use fresh produce and have a talent for the experimental. But for something different, indulge your culinary senses with an Australian Wine Tour Company trip. Departing from the city centre daily. You will taste wines at four of the region’s best vineyards. It costs from 48 per person, including all wine tasting, lunch and a visit to Damien Chandon(00 613 9419 4444. austwinetourco.com.au) .
Where to stay? The nunnery is an old convent（女修道院） on the edge of the city. It has double rooms with breakfast from54 per night (00 613 9419 8637, nunnery.com.au).
How to get there ? Qantas(0845 7747 767, qantas.com. au) flies from Heathrow to Melbourne twice daily from 766 return, including taxes.
More information Contact the official tourism site for Melbourne at visitmelbourne. Com/uk.
Use the links below for more on
Destination guide: Melbourne
Click here for our Melbourne page
60. To get more information about Hidden Secrets Tour, you should call____________ .
A. 00 613 9419 4444 B. 00 613 9419 8637
C. 0845 7 747 767 D. 00 613 9329 9665
61.If you are interested in Australian wines, you will have to pay___.
A. 48 B. 54 C. 34 D. 766
62.Where can you find the passage?
A.In a magazine B.On the Internet C.In a guidebook D.In a newspaper
63.The passage is written to__________.
A.introduce places of interest in Australia
B. tell readers to travel to Australia
C. offer tourists some information about Melbourne
D. introduce the history and culture about Melbourne
Cities usually have a good reason for being where they are， like a nearby port or river．People settle in these places because they are easy to get to and naturally suited to communications and trade． New York City， for example， is near a large harbour at the mouth of the Hudson River． Over 300 years its population grew gradually from 800 people to 8 million． But not all cities develop slowly over a long period of time． Boom towns grow from nothing almost overnight． In 1896， Dawson， Canada， was unmapped wilderness（荒野）．But gold was discovered there in 1897， and two years later it was one of the largest cities in the West， with a population of 30，000．
Dawson did not have any of the natural conveniences of cities like London or Paris． People went there for gold． They travelled over snow﹣covered mountains are sailed hundreds of miles up icy rivers． The path to Dawson was covered with thirty feet of wet snow that could fall without warning． An avalanche（ 雪崩）once closed the path， killing 63 people．For many who made it to Dawson， however， the rewards were worth the difficult trip． Of the first 20，000 people who dug for gold， 4，000 got rich． About 100 of these stayed rich men for the rest of their lives．
But no matter how rich they were， Dawson was never comfortable． Necessities like food and wood were very expensive． But soon， the gold that Dawson depended on had all been found． The city was crowded with disappointed people with no interest in setting down， and when they heard there were new gold discoveries in Alaska， they left Dawson City as quickly as they had come． Today， people still come and go﹣ to see where the Canadian gold rush happened． Tourism is now the chief industry of Dawson City﹣ its present population is 762．
（1）What attracted the early settlers to New York City？
| A． |
Its business culture． |
| B． |
Its small population． |
| C． |
Its geographical position． |
| D． |
Its favourable climate |
（2）What do we know about those who first dug for gold in Dawson？
| A． |
Two﹣thirds of them stayed there． |
| B． |
One out of five people got rich． |
| C． |
Almost everyone gave up． |
| D． |
Half of them died． |
（3）What was the main reason for many people to leave Dawson？
| A． |
They found the city too crowded． |
| B． |
They wanted to try their luck elsewhere． |
| C． |
They were unable to stand the winter． |
| D． |
They were short of food． |
（4）What is the text mainly about？
| A． |
The rise and fall of a city． |
| B． |
The gold rush in Canada． |
| C． |
Journeys into the wilderness． |
| D． |
Tourism in Dawson． |
Welcome to Holker Hall Garden
Visitor information
How to Get to Holker
By car： Follow brown signs on A590 from J36， M6． Approximate travel times：Windermere﹣20 minutes， Kendal﹣25 minutes， Lancaster﹣45 minutes， Manchester﹣1 hour 30 minutes．
By rail： the nearest station is Cark﹣in﹣Cartmel with trains to Carnforth． Lancaster and Preston for connections to major cities & airports．
Opening times
Sunday﹣Friday（closed on Saturday）11： 00 am﹣4： 00 pm， 30th March﹣2nd November．
Admission Charges
Hall & Gardens Gardens
Adults： ￡12.00 ￡8.00
Groups： ￡9.00 ￡5.5
Special Events
Producers' Market13th April
Join us to taste a variety of fresh local food and drinks． Meet the producers and get some excellent recipe ideas．
Holker Garden Festival30th May
The event celebrates its 22nd anniversary with a great show of the very best of gardening， making it one of the most popular events in the gardening．
National Garden Day28th August
Holker once again opens its gardens in aid of the disadvantaged． For just a small donation you can take a tour with our garden guide．
Winter Market8th November
This is an event for all the family． Wander among a variety of shops selling gifts while enjoying a live music show and nice street entertainment．
（1）How long does it probably take a tourist to drive to Holker from Manchester？
| A． |
20 minutes． |
| B． |
25 minutes． |
| C． |
45 minutes． |
| D． |
90 minutes |
（2）How much should a member of a tour group pay a visit to Hall &gardens？
| A． |
￡12.00． |
| B． |
￡9.00． |
| C． |
￡8.00． |
| D． |
￡5.50． |
（3）Which event will you go to if you want to see a live music show？
| A． |
Producers' Market． |
| B． |
Holker Garden Festival． |
| C． |
National Garden Day． |
| D． |
Winter Market． |
As cultural symbols go，the American car is quite young．The Model T Ford was built at the Piquette Plant in Michigan a century ago，with the first rolling off the assembly line （装配线）on September 27，1908．Only eleven cars were produced the next month．But eventually Henry Ford would build fifteen million of them．
Modern America was born on the road，behind a wheel．The car shaped some of the most lasting aspects of American culture：the roadside diner，the billboard，the motel，even the hamburger．For most of the last century，the car represented what it meant to be American﹣going forward at high speed to find new worlds．The road novel，the road movie，these are the most typical American ideas，born of abundant petrol，cheap cars and a never﹣ending interstate highway system，the largest public works project in history．
In 1928 Herbert Hoover imagined an America with "a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage．" Since then，this society has moved onward，never looking back，as the car transformed America from a farm﹣based society into an industrial power．
The cars that drove the American Dream have helped to create a global ecological disaster．In America the demand for oil has grown by 22 percent since 1990．
The problems of excessive（过度的） energy consumption，climate change and population growth have been described in a book by the American writer Thomas L．Friedman．He fears the worst，but hopes for the best．
Friedman points out that the green economy（经济）is a chance to keep American strength． "The ability to design，build and export green technologies for producing clean water，clean air and healthy and abundant food is going to be the currency of power in the new century．"
（1）Why is hamburger mentioned in paragraph 2？
| A． |
To explain Americans' love for travelling by car． |
| B． |
To show the influence of cars on American culture． |
| C． |
To stress the popularity of fast food with Americans． |
| D． |
To praise the effectiveness of America's road system． |
（2）What has the use of cars in America led to？
| A． |
Decline of economy． |
| B． |
Environmental problems． |
| C． |
A shortage of oil supply． |
| D． |
A farm﹣based society． |
（3）What is Friedman's attitude towards America's future？
| A． |
Ambiguous． |
| B． |
Doubtful． |
| C． |
Hopeful． |
| D． |
Tolerant． |
Steven Stein likes to follow garbage trucks． His strange habit makes sense when you consider that he's an environmental scientist who studies how to reduce litter，including things that fall off garbage trucks as they drive down the road． What is even more interesting is that one of Stein's jobs is defending an industry behind the plastic shopping bag．
Americans use more than 100 billion thin film plastic bags every year． So many end up in tree branches or along highways that a growing number of cities do not allow them at checkouts （收银台）． The bags are prohibited in some 90 cities in California， including Los Angeles． Eyeing these headwinds， plastic﹣bag makers are hiring scientists like Stein to make the case that their products are not as bad for the planet as most people assume．
Among the bag makers' arguments： many cities with bans still allow shoppers to purchase paper bags， which are easily recycled but require more energy to produce and transport． And while plastic bags may be ugly to look at， they represent a small percentage of all garbage on the ground today．
The industry has also taken aim at the product that has appeared as its replacement： reusable shopping bags． The stronger a reusable bag is， the longer its life and the more plastic﹣bag use it cancels out． However， longer﹣lasting reusable bags often require more energy to make． One study found that a cotton bag must be used at least 131 times to be better for the planet than plastic．
Environmentalists don't dispute（质疑） these points． They hope paper bags will be banned someday too and want shoppers to use the same reusable bags for years．
（1）What has Steven Stein been hired to do？
| A． |
Help increase grocery sales． |
| B． |
Recycle the waste material． |
| C． |
Stop things falling off trucks． |
| D． |
Argue for the use of plastic bags． |
（2）What does the word "headwinds" in paragraph 2 refer to？
| A． |
Bans on plastic bags． |
| B． |
Effects of city development． |
| C． |
Headaches caused by garbage． |
| D． |
Plastic bags hung in trees． |
（3）What is a disadvantage of reusable bags according to plastic﹣bag makers？
| A． |
They are quite expensive． |
| B． |
Replacing them can be difficult． |
| C． |
They are less strong than plastic bags． |
| D． |
Producing them requires more energy． |
（4）What is the best title for the text？
| A． |
Plastic， Paper or Neither |
| B． |
Industry， Pollution and Environment |
| C． |
Recycle or Throw Away |
| D． |
Garbage Collection and Waste Control |
In 1812， the year Charles Dickens was born， there were 66 novels published in Britain． People had been writing novels for a century﹣most experts date the first novel to Robinson Crusoe in 1719﹣ but nobody wanted to do it professionally． The steam﹣powered printing press was still in its early stages； the literacy（识字）rate in England was under 50%． Many works of fiction appeared without the names of the authors， often with something like "By a lady．" Novels， for the most part，were looked upon as silly， immoral or just plain bad．
In 1870， when Dickens died， the world mourned him as its first professional writer and publisher， famous and beloved， who had led an explosion in both the publication of novels and their readership and whose characters﹣from Oliver Twist to Tiny Tim﹣were held up as moral touchstones． Today Dickens' greatness is unchallenged． Removing him from the pantheon （名人堂）of English literature would make about as much sense as the Louvre selling off the Mona Lisa．
How did Dickens get to the top？ For all the feelings readers attach to stories， literature is a numbers game， and the test of time is extremely difficult to pass． Some 60，000 novels were published during the Victorian age， from 1837 to 1901； today a casual reader might be able to name a half﹣dozen of them． It's partly true that Dickens' style of writing attracted audiences from all walks of life． It's partly that his writings rode a wave of social， political and scientific progress．But it's also that he rewrote the culture of literature and put himself at the center． No one will ever know what mix of talent， ambition， energy and luck made Dickens such a distinguished writer． But as the 200th anniversary of his birth approaches， it is possible﹣and important for our own culture﹣to understand how he made himself a lasting one．
（1）Which of the following best describes British novels in the 18th century？
| A． |
They were difficult to understand． |
| B． |
They were popular among the rich． |
| C． |
They were seen as nearly worthless． |
| D． |
They were written mostly by women． |
（2）Dickens is compared with the Mona Lisa in the text to stress ．
| A． |
his reputation in France |
| B． |
his interest in modern art |
| C． |
his success in publication |
| D． |
his importance in literature |
（3）What is the author's purpose in writing the text？
| A． |
To remember a great writer． |
| B． |
To introduce an English novel． |
| C． |
To encourage studies on culture． |
| D． |
To promote values of the Victorian age． |