Board, But Not Boring
Roll the Dice and Take a Chance on Something New…
Are you vacationed-out, tired of video-gaming, waterlogged by too many trips to the pool and ready to scream if you see one more “SpongeBob” rerun?
In other words, are you bored with summer?
We’ve got a suggestion: Kill that boredom with some great board boredom games. We went to game expert Lizzy Palmer of Barston’s Child’s Play in the District and ask for suggestions. All the games you see on this page are a ton of fun, she said, and there are sure to be at least one or two that you don’t already have.
Maptangle
Borderline Games
Ages 7 and older, 4 to 6 players, $24.95
This clever take on the classic game of Twister
challenges your gymnastic and geographic
skills at the same time. A huge floor map of
the world serves as the game board. There are
lots of geographic elements: countries, oceans,
rivers, deserts, even man-made landmarks. A
deck of cards tells you where to put one foot,
then the other. The round is over when someone falls.
Jungle Speed
Ages 7 and older, 2 to 8
players, $25.99
This is a fast-paced shape-
recognition game. A wooden totem
(图腾柱) sits in the middle. Players flip
(翻) over cards one at a time. When your
card matches another, be the first to grab
the totem so that you can give your card to the loser. But be careful: Some cards look the same but aren’t!
Enchanted Forest
Ravensburger Ages 6 and older, 2 to 6 players,
$24.99
A classic memory game. Take a winding path
through the forest and check under the trees for
fairy-tale treasure. Remember what you saw so
that when you need a particular treasure you can
go back to that tree to get it. Cool rule: You can split your dice (骰子) roll—for example, move five spaces in one direction and two in the other to land at the right tree.
Go fish for Wildlife Birdcage Press All ages, $9.95
Birdcage has several decks (副) of cards that are
more like trading cards. You fish for sea creatures,
reptiles, wild animals. Each deck has instructions
for several card games, and each card has great
photos and fun facts. Great for a trip.
HedBanz Funrise Ages 6 and older, 2 to 6
players, $13.99
Put on a headband and slip in a card that shows an
animal or thing. Everyone else can see it but you.
Ask questions until you guess what it is—but do it
before time runs out!
1. What’s the purpose of writing the article?
A. To advertise several board games to attract potential consumers.
B. To introduce several board games for readers to pass the summer.
C. To try to persuade readers to give up video games and choose board games.
D. To make some suggestions on how to spend the long summer.
2. Suppose Doris, a mother with a six-year old boy, wants to buy some board games for her child. How many kinds of board games can she choose?
A. 2 B. 3 C. 4 D. 5
3 Which of the following games will be the best choice for Mr Smith who wants to find an indoor game that can benefit both his daughter’s mind as well as her body?
A. Go Fish for Wildlife B. Jungle Speed
C. Maptangle Borderline Games D. Hedbanz
4. Which of the following can match the games with their benefits to players?
(1) Enchanted Forest a. to practice your quick response
(2) Maptangle Borderline Games b. to practice your memory
(3) Jungle Speed c. to practice your geographic knowledge
(4) Go fish for Wildlife d. to increase the knowledge about animals
A. bacd B. bcad C. cbad D. cdab
Perfectionists believe that not only is perfection achievable, but that it should be achieved whenever possible. They always try to make their work better, and often get pleasure from investing time and effort in their projects. They enjoy paying attention to detail and are often hard to please. After all, perfectionists almost always have nearlyimpossible standards for themselves, much higher than what outside parties would generally hope for.
Most perfectionists are also highlyorganized. They've perfected their work process along with everything else in their life. They have processes and patterns for handling almost anything that comes their way, from email to new projects and clients to bookkeeping. It can definitely add up to a more effective workday with less wasted time and effort.
Perfectionists can be thought of as overbearing(霸道的) by those who don't share their attitude. It can also be upsetting to clients who aren't interested in “perfect” and simply want their project done yesterday. When you strive for perfection, everything takes just a bit longer to get right. Even if you have a more efficient design and development process than many other designers, it is likely that you spend more time on each step than a lot of others do.
While most people who call themselves “perfectionists” do so in a lighthearted or positive manner, there are those out there to whom perfection becomes an obsession(痴迷). They consider anything less than perfect completely unacceptable. This can lead to obsessive behavior and can have damaging effects on their overall quality of life. Just feeling good about a job done to the best of your ability is entirely normal for a perfectionists and isn't something to worry about. But it becomes particularly dangerous when perfectionists feel they are never quite able to attain perfection, and so drive themselves crazy trying to always reach this unattainable goal.
These perfectionists often place their entire selfworth on their accomplishments and ability to reach perfection, and since they're never able to reach it, it creates a very negative selfimage and low selfesteem or depression. The good news is that there are trained psychologists who can help those who are nervously obsessed with perfection to overcome their obsession.Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of perfectionists?
| A．They enjoy investing time and efforts. |
| B．They are not easy to satisfy. |
| C．They have special ways of handling emails. |
| D．They set high requirements for others. |
Clients who are not satisfied with perfectionists think they need ________.
| A．better coworkers | B．bigger achievements |
| C．higher efficiency | D．less organization skills |
To perfectionists, their obsession with perfection is an act of ________.
| A．showing psychological sickness |
| B．realizing their own value |
| C．wasting time and energy |
| D．improving their selfimage |
Which of the following will the author probably agree?
| A．It's very normal to always do one's best in life. |
| B．Perfectionists should seek help as soon as possible. |
| C．Perfectionists should not be too proud of themselves. |
| D．People should not pursue perfection too much. |
A farmer grew some vegetables in his garden. One day his wife was ill and he had no money. He had to sell some cabbages and carrots in the market. The next morning he took two baskets of vegetables to town, but it was raining hard that afternoon and there were few people in the street. When his vegetables were sold out, it was dark. He bought some medicine and hurried to his village.
On his way home he saw a person lying on the ground. He placed his baskets on the ground and was going to help the person to get up. At that time he found it was a dead man and there was much blood on his body. He was so afraid that he ran away quickly, without taking his baskets.
The next afternoon the farmer was sent to the police station. Having shown the baskets, an officer asked, “Are these yours? ” “Yes, sir. ” The farmer answered timidly（胆怯地）. “Have you killed the man?” “No, no, sir.” The farmer said in a hurry. “When did you see the dead man?” “About seven last evening. ” “Did you see who killed the man?” “No, sir. ” The officer brought out a knife and asked, “Have you seen it yet?” “No, sir. ” The officer became angry and told the policemen to beat him up and sent him into prison(监狱)。
That evening the officer went on trying. Pointing to the knife, he asked again, “Have you seen it yet?” “ yes, sir.” The officer was happy and asked, “When and where?” “I saw it here this afternoon, sir.”Why did the farmer decide to sell the vegetables?
| A．To go to the market. |
| B．To go to see the doctor. |
| C．To buy some food for his family. |
| D．To buy some medicine for his wife. |
The farmer didn’t sell out his vegetables until the evening because ________.
| A．they were too bad |
| B．they were very expensive |
| C．it rained hard that morning |
| D．people wouldn’t go out on such a bad day |
Why did the farmer run quickly?
| A．He was afraid to see a dead man. |
| B．His wife was waiting for him at home. |
| C．The policemen were coming towards him. |
| D．It was so late and he had to buy some medicine. |
The officer tried（审讯）the farmer to _______.
| A．ask if he had seen the knife |
| B．know who had killed the man |
| C．ask when he saw the dead man |
| D．know if he had seen the dead man |
The value-packed, all-inclusive sight-seeing package that combines the best of Sydney’s harbour, city, bay and beach highlights.
A SydneyPass gives you unlimited and flexible travel on the Explorer Buses: the ‘red’ Sydney Explorer shows you around our exciting city sights while the ‘blue’ Bondi Explorer visits Sydney Harbour bays and famous beaches. Take to the water on one of three magnificent daily harbour cruises (游船). You can also travel free on regular Sydney Buses, Sydney Ferries or CityRail services (limited area), so you can go to every corner of this beautiful city.
Imagine browsing at Darling Harbour, sampling the famous seafood at Watsons Bay or enjoying the city lights on an evening ferry cruise. The possibilities and plans are endless with a SydneyPass. Wherever you decide to go, remember that bookings are not required on any of our services so tickets are treated on a first in, first seated basis.
SydneyPasses are available for 3, 5 or 7 days for use over a 7-calendar-day period. With a 3 or 5-day pass you choose on which days out of the 7 you want to use it. All SydneyPasses include a free Airport Express inward trip before starting your 3, 5 or 7 days, and the return trip is valid (有效的) for 2 months from the first day your ticket was used.
SydneyPass Fares
| Adult |
Child* |
Family** |
|
| 3-day ticket |
$90 |
$45 |
$225 |
| 5-day ticket |
$120 |
$60 |
$300 |
| 7-day ticket |
$140 |
$70 |
$350 |
*A child is defined as anyone from the ages of 4 years to under 16 years. Children under 4 years travel free.
**A family is defined as 2 adults and any number of children from 4 to under 16 years of age from the same family.A SydneyPass doesn’t offer unlimited rides on ________.
| A．the Explorer Buses | B．the harbour cruises |
| C．regular Sydney Buses | D．CityRail services |
With a SydneyPass, a traveller can ________.
| A．save fares from and to the airport |
| B．take the Sydney Explorer to beaches |
| C．enjoy the famous seafood for free |
| D．reserve seats easily in a restaurant |
If 5-day tickets were to be recommended to a mother who travelled with her colleague and her children, aged 3, 6 and 10, what would the lowest cost be?
| A．$225. | B．$300. | C．$360. | D．$420. |
Television has turned 88 years old on September 7, 2015, and it has never looked better. In its youth, television was a piece of furniture with a tiny, round screen showing unclear pictures of low-budget programs. In spite of its shortcomings, it became popular. Between 1950 and 1963, the number of American families with a television jumped from 9% to 92% of the population.
As the audience got larger, the technology got better. Television sets became more reliable through the 1960s. The reception (接收效果) improved. The picture improved. The major networks started broadcasting programs in color.
Even greater improvements were coming according to Sanford Brown, who wrote an article for the Post in 1967. Surprisingly, just about every prediction he made in the article became a reality. For example: All sets in the not-distant future will be color instruments. He also predicted that TV sets would become smaller, simpler, more reliable and less expensive and may forever put the TV repairman out of work. Smaller sets do not, of course, mean smaller screens. TV engineers expect screens to get much bigger. However, today’s 3-D TV is even farther away, if it’s coming at all. There is some doubt whether the public would be eager to pay for it, in view of people’s cold reception given to 3-D movies.
But the technology with the greatest potential, according to Brown, was cable television (有线电视), which was still in its early stages then. As he predicted, the future of cable television was highly interactive (互动的). It wasn’t cable television that gave Americans their electronic connection to the world, however. It was the Internet. He even foresaw the future office: using picture phones, big-screen televisions for conferences, and computers providing information at the touch of a button.
Brown ever said, “The future of television is no longer a question of what we can invent. It’s a question of what we want.”What can we infer about television sets in the 1960s?
| A．They were very popular with Americans. |
| B．The reception showed no improvement. |
| C．They showed black-and-white pictures. |
| D．They were out of order now and then. |
Which of the followings did Sanford Brown fail to predict?
| A．Television’s good quality. |
| B．The invention of 3-D TV. |
| C．The future office’s model. |
| D．The potential of cable TV. |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．The shortcomings of television. |
| B．The bright future of television. |
| C．The development of television. |
| D．The invention of television. |
Soup on my nose, a nearly spilled glass of wine and chocolate down my white blouse, as blind dates suggest, this was a really messy one. I have never made so much noise with plates and glasses, nor had I dined with a never-before-met companion. This blind date was quite different: we could see nothing. "Put your left hand on my shoulder, and then we'll take small steps forward," said Michael, the visually impaired(视力障碍的) server, in an East London accent. We three felt our way carefully bumping past heavy curtains before being arranged at the dining table, where we would eat and drink three completely secret and unseen courses.
Welcome to Alchemy in the Dark, Hong Kong's first full-time restaurant in total darkness. Upon arrival, diners briefly tell the chef on their allergies(过敏性反应), lock away their mobile phones and enter the windowless restaurant, which can seat 25. When the meal is over, the contents of the delicious menu are shown --- often to the diners' surprise. "This is definitely duck," my friend said, while eating chicken. "This soup," I declared, "is carrot and coriander." Even the too-close smell did not reveal the real tomato and cumin flavors. Dining in the dark changes everything: the sense of smell is heightened, manners go out of the window ----using your hands to feel around the plate becomes normal--- and there is a strange thrill in being able to ignore your facial expressions. Best of all? You don't have to spend hours beforehand(事先) wondering what to wear.
Alchemy in the Dark is at 16 Arbuthnot Road, Central, (tel: 6821 2801) and is open Monday to Saturday, from 7pm to 11pm. Reservations are required. A three-course meal with wine pairing costs HK$700 per person. Five per cent of all profits go to the Hong Kong Society for the Blind.How did the author and her companion arrive at their dining table?
| A．By using a map |
| B．By being led |
| C．By feeling their way. |
| D．By finding it by themselves |
According to passage, which of the following is true?
| A．The diners might eat what they are allergic to. |
| B．The author enjoyed a special lunch at Alchemy in the Dark. |
| C．The restaurant donated some money to the H. K Society for the Blind. |
| D．The diners aren’t allowed to take phones to the restaurant at any time. |
From the passage we can learn that the author ___________.
| A．had the table booked |
| B．shared the meal with a friend. |
| C．practiced how to eat in total darkness. |
| D．chose her clothes in advance for the meal. |
The last paragraph is intended to ____________.
| A．present some facts about eating in the dark. |
| B．inform what to do at Alchemy in the Dark |
| C．conclude the experience of eating at Alchemy in the Dark. |
| D．provide some information about Alchemy in the Dark. |