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Are you a big fan of pirate（海盗） stories? Do you know how to talk like apirate? You can have fun on September 19th. This special holiday is called International Talk Like A Pirate Day. It was invented in 1995 by two young Americans, John Baur and Mark Summers.
These two good friends came up with this idea when they were playing racquetball, and began to talk like pirates. At that moment,theythought, “Young people are interested in pirate. But there is no such a chance for people to gettogether to share it. Why not have a day when everybody talks like a pirate?” They decided to make September 19th the date. Since then, Baur and Summers have tried hard to promoteTalk Like APirate Day. As Baur said, “We've talked like pirates, and encouraged several of our friends to do so every September 19th.”
At first, this day was only known by a few people. In 2002, Baur and Summers sent a letter about their invented holiday to Dave Barry. This columnist（专栏作家）really liked their idea. He promoted the holiday and made it known to more and more people. Now, it has really become an international holiday. On Talk Like A Pirate Day, you need to dress like apirate. You should wear a big hat or maybe cover one of your eyes.You can pretend to be any kind of pirate that you can find in any story or movie.
Having fun and being relaxedare not the only best things aboutthe holiday. Young peopleshare the same interest and childhooddreams that day. That's whyit is welcomed by so many people, especially young people.
Unlike traditional holidays, International Talk Like A Pirate Day is a brand new holiday which is invented by the youth themselves and celebrated by themselves too. Because of Baur and Summers' imagination and creativity,thousands of young people's pirate dream come true. Next time, when you have a good idea, why not share it with your fiends and insist on your belief? Maybe you can create another wonderful holiday for the youth in the future.
1. How did John Baur and Mark Summers invent the special holiday?
A. Many young people asked them to do it
B. They did it just for pleasure
C. They thought out the idea by chance and imagination
D. They did it in order to honor pirates
2. Why are the holiday become more and more popular？.
A. You can have fun and relax yourself freely.
B. young people can exchange ideas and dreams on the day
C. young people can have fun and be relaxed.
D. you can play the role of the pirate in the movie on the day
3. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. It was Dave Barry who made more people know the holiday.
B. Talk Like A Pirate Day is a young, active and lively holiday
C. Thanks to John Baur and Mark Summers’ imagination and creativity, a lot of people realize their pirate dream.
D. The holiday has been popular since the birth of it.
4. According to the passage, which of the following can show that the holiday is special?
A. It has a long history.
B. It is a wonderful and instructive holiday.
C.It is a brand new holiday invented and celebrated by the youth themselves.
D. People can make their dream come true on this day.
5. Which of the following can serve as the best title of the passage？
A. Can you talk like a pirate?
B. Young people’s pirate dream
C. John Baur and Mark Summers
D. September 19th ,—a day in honor of pirates
LONDON－Scientists have found an unusual way to prevent our planet from overheating: move it to a cooler spot. All you have to do is send a few comets (彗星) in the direction of Earth, and its orbit will be changed too. Our world will then be sent spinning into a safer, colder part of the solar system.
This idea for improving our climate comes from a group of U. S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) engineers and American astronomers. They say their plan could add another six billion years to the useful lifetime of our planet－effectively doubling its working life.
The plan put forward by Dr. Laughlin, and his colleagues Don Korycansky and Fred Adams, needs carefully directing a comet or asteroid so that it passes close by our planet and sends some of its gravitational energy to Earth.
“Earth’s orbital speed would increase as a result and we would move to a higher orbit away from the Sun,” Laughlin said.
Engineers would then direct their comet so that it passed close to Jupiter or Saturn. The comet would pick up energy from one of these giant planets. Later its orbit would bring it back to Earth, and the process would be repeated.
In the short term, the plan provides an ideal way to global warming, although the team was actually concerned with a much greater danger. The Sun is certain to heat up in about a billion years and so “seriously compromise” our biosphere (生物圈) －by cooking us.
That’s why the group decided to try to save Earth.
The plan has one or two worrying aspects, however. For a start, space engineers would have to be very careful about how they directed their asteroid or comet towards Earth. The smallest miscalculation (误算) in orbit could fire it straight at Earth--with deadly consequences.
There is also the question of the Moon. As the current issue of Scientific American magazine points out, if Earth was pushed out of its current position, it is “most likely the Moon would be stripped away from Earth”. This would greatly change our planet’s climate.
What makes the scientists plan to move Earth?
| A．A few comets are moving to the direction of Earth. |
| B．Earth’s working life is coming to an end soon. |
| C．Earth will become too hot for mankind to keep alive. |
| D．The moon is moving farther and farther away from Earth. |
If the plan is successful, Earth will have a working life of years.
| A．12 billion | B．6 billion |
| C．18 billion | D．24 billion |
What serious problems might the plan cause according to the passage?
| A．The comet might hit Earth and man might lose the Moon. |
| B．Earth might be moved too far away and man might be frozen to death. |
| C．The comet might hit Jupiter or Saturn and never return to Earth. |
| D．Earth’s working life might be greatly shortened. |
What does the underlined word “compromise” mean?
| A．Provide. | B．Recover |
| C．Share. | D．Endanger. |
Huttopia
Created in Europe, but tailored to perfection in Quebec, Huttopia tents provide convenient, comfortable accommodation in 16 of Quebec’s 23 national parks. Built atop a 4 by 7 meters wooden platform, the walls and roof enclose a roomy space that can sleep up to 5 people. Beds, lighting, heating, a small fridge, dishes, and an outdoor twoburner stove provide comforts. Open summer through fall, Huttopia tents can be booked for as little as $ 99 per night.
Tree Sphere
This creative option takes wilderness camping to a whole new level. Setting up camp in a Free Spirit Sphere you can sleep among the trees and stretch your wings in Qualicum Bay, Vancouver Island. Part tree house, part space capsule, founder Tom Chudleigh’s handcrafted wooden spheres gently dangle in the breeze thanks to a series of ropes tied to the forest’s cover. Suspended at 3.1, 4.3 and 4.6 meters off the ground, each of the three spheres offers comfortable and unique lodging for adults age 16 and over.
Four-Season Tents
Gatineau Park’s Philippe Lake has the perfect winter accommodation for you. Standing above the freezing ground on wooden platforms, two four-season tents are attractive with amenities (便利设施) that will keep you comfortable. With sleeping space for up to four people, the park’s four-season tents feature double-sized beds, a fridge and a stove for cooking meals.
Houseboats
Why limit your camping adventures to dry land? Lakeway Houseboat Vacations in New Brunswick offers grand accommodation in their “cottages on the water”. Choose from three luxurious floating vacation homes with full kitchens, full bathrooms, multiple bedrooms ( one boat sleeps 14!) , TVs, hot tubs, fireplaces and even waterslides. Sail along the St. John River, sunbathe on the upper deck, or stop at picturesque Mactaquac Provincial Park for a round of golf. Do as little or as much as you desire.Which of the following is the most popular in the Province of Quebec?
| A．Huttopia. | B．Tree Sphere. |
| C．Four-Season Tents. | D．Houseboats. |
Which statement is correct about the houseboat?
| A．It has only one type. |
| B．It is large enough for four to live in. |
| C．It is supplied with some baked food. |
| D．By house boat, you can find a place to play golf. |
The underlined word “dangle” in the second paragraph probably means .
| A．move | B．swing |
| C．escape | D．quake |
Which of the following is not the advantage of the Four-Season Tents?
| A．The large wooden platforms. |
| B．Convenient facilities. |
| C．The sense of floating. |
| D．The large sleeping space. |
A food additive (添加剂) is any substance that is added to food. Many people are put off by the idea of “chemicals in food.” The truth is that all food is made up of chemicals. Natural substances like milk, as well as man-made ones like drinks on sale in the market, can be described by chemical formulas. Some chemical substances are indeed harmful, but a person who refused to consume any chemicals would find nothing to eat.
The things we eat can be divided into natural and man-made substances. Some people feel that only natural foods are healthy and that all man-made ingredients are to be avoided. But many natural chemicals, found in plants and animals, are harmful when eaten, and some laboratory-made substances increase the nutritional value of food. Other chemicals have natural and man-made forms that are exactly alike: vitamin C is vitamin C, whether it comes from a test tube or from an orange. Like “chemical”, “man-made” doesn’t necessarily mean “not fit to eat”.
Food additives are used for many reasons. We add sugar and salt and other things to foods we prepare at home to make them taste better. Food producers have developed a range of additives that stabilize, thicken, harden, keep wet, keep firm, or improve the appearance of their products. Additives can make food more convenient or nutritious, give it a longer shelf life, and make it more attractive to the consumer, thus increasing the sales and profits of the producers.
Food additives are presently the centre of a storm of serious argument. Food producers have been known to use additives that have not been proved safe; some substances in common use have been proved unsafe and have been taken off the market. Many people feel there’s a risk of eating food to which anything has been added. But food additives are now regulated by the FDA of the federal government, and new additives will go through strict testing before they can be placed on the market. For most people, the chances of developing serious side effects (副作用) from the long-term use of presently approved (批准) food additives are very small.From the passage we can learn that .
| A．natural foods are much safer than man-made ones |
| B．it is right to refuse chemicals in food |
| C．food additives are harmful to our health |
| D．all foods have chemical substances |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Food additives can improve the quality of foods in many ways. |
| B．To ensure food safety, the FDA will stop food additives. |
| C．Foods free of additives can keep a much longer shelf life. |
| D．Foods with more additives have higher nutritional value. |
We can infer from the regulation to the food additives by the FDA that .
| A．new additives will be approved more easily than before |
| B．food with common-used additives will be taken off the market |
| C．food additives will be used in a safer and more scientific way |
| D．food producers won’t be allowed to use new food additives |
According to the writer, the food additive is .
| A．worrying | B．acceptable |
| C．poisonous | D．avoidable |
The last five pounds. The vanity(虚荣) pounds. The dream weight. The fantasy weight. The high school weight. Yes, many names are given to the weight – the five pounds – that seems just out of reach no matter how much we exercise and improve our eating habits.
But why is it out of reach? Is it all in our heads? Or is it because the body has a set-point or ideal weight – a weight to which it doesn’t want to give in?
“There is no such thing as ideal body weight,” says James, author of “Weight Loss That Lasts.” “But your body does resist you when you are trying to lose weight. It gets used to a certain weight over a long period of time and then will defend that weight.”
In other words, the body’s “set point” can be lowered – or raised, he says, but it takes time to reset that new weight. That period of time is at least six months. “I often ask patients, ‘What is the lowest stable weight of your adult life?’ to get an idea of what is realistic” in terms of weight loss and maintenance(保持), James says.
He refers to the body’s refusal to change, weight-wise, as an “biological control system that prevents us from going hungry and dying – part of our primitive(原始的) biology.”
Some people might get down to their dream weight for a short period but then can’t keep it long because the calorie limits are too strict once the body starts defending itself against weight loss.
“That’s why it’s important to set realistic goals,” he says. “The idea of the ‘ideal weight’ or ‘dream weight’ is really just a useless exercise.”
But let’s say your goal is realistic and has been set by a nutritionist (营养师)or other weight-loss professionals and you are still plateauing. What could be going on? The reason is that you need fewer calories the less you weigh. So if you want to continue to drop weight, you have to drop calories and increase calorie-burn.
James encourages people to tell the difference between weight loss goals for health reasons and those to do with vanity. “They are different issues,” James says. “One is where important health benefits are seen and the other is about vanity – wanting to look good in a bathing suit.”What might a” set-point weight” refer to?
| A．A weight that the body doesn’t want to change. |
| B．A weight that you have kept for a long time. |
| C．A weight that you are trying to lose. |
| D．A weight that can be raised or lowered. |
People can’t keep their dream weight for a long time because_________.
| A．the body system stops us from hunger |
| B．the calorie limits are extremely strict |
| C．we haven’t turned to nutritionists for advice |
| D．we can’t keep the habits of dieting for six months |
What does it mean by saying “you are still plateauing” ?
| A．Your weight keeps increasing. |
| B．Your weight remains unchanged. |
| C．You are still worrying. |
| D．You are still dreaming. |
According to the passage, what is James’ most possible attitude towards t weight loss for vanity?
| A．Encouraging. | B．Critical(批判的). |
| C．Supportive. | D．Neutral(中立的). |
If you don’t think technology can improve your trip, meet Judy Williams. When she and her husband recently checked into Blu Hotel in Zurich, a clerk asked them to sign the dotted line on a room rate hundreds of dollars higher than their online offer.
“It was not a cheap stay,” says Williams, a lawyer from Billings, Mont. But it became more of one after her husband fired up the Booking.com app he’d used to book their room on his smartphone. “As soon as we showed him the cost, he honored it,” Williams says.
Technology may create challenges for travelers but it can also solve them. It’s more than making sure of a hotel cost. The latest Booking.com can help users select hotels by location, make a secure booking and view the confirmed(已确认的) cost so they never need to re-discuss their hotel price.
Another pain point for travelers is traffic that eats away precious vacation time. There’s a new app called Commute which is aimed at users who have to make the same trip every day. But if you’re headed to Los Angeles or Honolulu, where visitors can easily get stuck in hours of heavy traffic, Commute can help.
Just input basic information about your destination and expected leaving time, and the app will start sending you traffic information 15 minutes before you leave. Testing Commute proved to be a challenge for me, because my home address is about 900 miles from my place of work. But if you have only a short distance to travel through a heavily populated area, you can use Commute to avoid traffic jams.
Another source of travel-related problems is money. That’s particularly true when you’re dealing with a foreign currency. The latest Travel Money Tracker helps travelers prevent currency mix-ups. It immediately changes a country’s native currency to yours, so you know exactly how much that Espresso(浓咖啡) in Milan costs in dollars. It can also warn you when you’re overspending, which can sometimes be a problem when you’re on vacation. The only catch, of course, is that you have to remember to record all your purchases.
Taken together, these apps solve some of the most common travel problems. But not all of them. Some things, no smartphone can fix, which means I get to keep my job – for now.What does the writer want to tell through the example of Judy Williams?
| A．The cost of Blu Hotel was higher than that of others. |
| B．The clerk was very friendly and patient. |
| C．The smartphones have many functions. |
| D．Technology can make our trips better. |
Commute is not suitable for those who_________.
| A．have a long journey |
| B．go on the same trip every day |
| C．can easily get stuck in traffic jams |
| D．travel a short distance downtown |
What is the function of Travel Money Tracker?
| A．It tells people how much Espresso costs. |
| B．It changes the native currency to yours. |
| C．It warns people when they are shopping. |
| D．It records all people’s purchases. |
What is the purpose of this passage?
| A．To encourage people to travel. |
| B．To introduce some new apps. |
| C．To help people with technology problems. |
| D．To provide people with traveling information. |