Hee-haw! Scores of farms across the country are opening up to overnight guests. The best have all the appeal of a first-rate inn ----- plus here a moo, there a moo.
Sure, you and your kids plan to conquer the theme parks. In the meanwhile, why not make a little hay? Farm stays are fast becoming the great American alternative to the pre-packaged vacation.
LIBERTY HILL FARM
Rochester, Vt.; 802/767-3926; www.libertyhillfarm.com. Adults$75, teens $50,kids 12 and under $35, including breakfast and dinner; shared baths.
Beth and Bob Kennett run a farm straight out of a storybook. You’ll find Beth in the kitchen, rolling out dough（生面团） for a pie. Bob’s busy with other work. Guests sleep in seven sunny bedrooms right in the farmhouse and can participate in any of the farm jobs. Maybe you and your kids won’t be up at 6 a.m. to meet the milk truck, but you can help with the milking twice a day, collect eggs, and pick sweet corn and wild blackberries in season.
HULL-O FARM
Durham, N.Y.; 518/239-6950; www.hull-o.com; Adults $110, kids 10—14 $60, 5—9 $50, 2—4 $35, under 2 free, including breakfast and dinner; private baths.
It started in 1993 as a way to bring in some extra money at a time of falling milk prices. But soon after Frank and Sherry Hull opened their Catskill Mountains dairy farm to overnight visitors, they discovered they loved it. As you drive up, Sherry greets you on the porch（入口处）of the 1825 farmhouse with a cow-shaped cookie jar. Before long your kids are playing around with the cows, sheep, ducks, goats and getting ready for a hayride（乘坐装满干草的牛车出游）.
MERAMEC FARM CABINS
Bourbon, Mo.; 573/732-4765; http://www.wine-mo.com Doubles with private bath $75, $10 per additional person. Trail and riding fees extra.
Climb onto the back of the Ford pickup and catch up with the herd. One gentle cow named Cricket will even let the kids sit on her back. At the barn（牲口棚）, Carol will introduce you to the horses ---15 Missouri Fox Trotters --- and lead you on a trail ride over the hills and down along the spring-fed Meramec River, where everyone swims. Grab a fishing pole and head back to the river. When you have your fill of the wild, try Carol and Dave’s favorite restaurants or wineries（酿酒厂）, within 20 miles of the farm.The underlined sentence in the first paragraph implies that ___________.
| A．you can enjoy the best cuisine at the first rate restaurant |
| B．some farm provide country experiences as well as good accommodations |
| C．farm work is hard, but you can enjoy it a lot, playing with the animals |
| D．if you want to hear a cow’s cry, please stay on a best farm |
We can learn from the three ads that _____________.
| A．Hull-O Farm was not built for overnight visitors |
| B．Frank and Sherry Hull run a farm out of a storybook |
| C．kids can sit on a gentle cow’s back on Hull-O Farm |
| D．you can’t milk a cow if you get up late on Liberty Hill Farm |
The Browns have a 13-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter. If they stay on Liberty Hill Farm for one night, how much will they pay?
| A．$175. | B．$220. | C．$235. | D．$250. |
Who will be most likely interested in the webpage?
| A．Kids who want to find pleasure in the theme parks. |
| B．People who expect to be employed on the farm. |
| C．Researchers who are interested in raising cows on farms. |
| D．Those who plan to have family vacations on working farms. |
It was in October. I was aimlessly wandering down the street, heading into a most gloriously beautiful sunset. I had an urge to speak to someone on the street to share that beauty, but it seemed everyone was in a hurry.
I took the next-best action. Quickly I ducked into a department store and asked the lady behind the counter if she could come outside for just a minute. She looked at me as though I were from some other planet. She hesitated, and then seemingly against her better judgment, she moved toward the door.
When she got outside I said to her, “Just look at that sunset! Nobody out here was looking at it and I just had to share it with someone.”
For a few seconds we just looked. Then I said, “God is in his heaven and all is right with the world.” I thanked her for coming out to see it; she went back inside and I left. It felt good to share the beauty.
Four years later my situation changed greatly. I came to the end of a twenty-year marriage. I was alone and on my own for the first time in my life. I lived in a trailer park which, at the time, I considered a real come-down, and I had to do my wash in the community laundry room.
One day, while my clothes were going around, I picked up a magazine and read an article about a woman who had been in similar circumstances. She had come to the end of a marriage, moved to a strange community, and the only job she could find was one she disliked: clothing sales in a department store.
Then something that happened to her changed everything. She said a woman came into her department store and asked her to step outside to look at a sunset. The stranger had said, “God is in his heaven and all is right with the world,” and she had realized the truth in that statement. From that moment on, she turned her life around.The author asked the woman to go outside to ______.
| A．admire the sunset | B．cheer her up |
| C．offer some help | D．have a chat |
Four years later, the author ______.
| A．found her dream job |
| B．put an end to her marriage |
| C．worked in a laundry room |
| D．lived in the same community |
After reading the article in the magazine, the author was probably______.
| A．disappointed | B．puzzled |
| C．inspired | D．overjoyed |
Which of the following shows the right order of what happened?
a. I shared a few words and beautiful sunset with the woman.
b. The woman I met years ago got into frustration after divorce.
c. I got divorced and felt lost in my life.
d. I came across a beautiful sunset but had no one to share with.
e. The woman felt astonished by the invitation from a stranger.
f. I recognized the woman I met before in the magazine.
| A．b, d, e, f, a, c | B．d, e, a, c, f, b |
| C．d, e, a, f, b, c | D．b, d, e, a, c, f |
What can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Sharing Beauty | B．Never give up |
| C．Beauty of Life | D．An Unforgettable experience |
Taking a trip to Philadelphia can be rewarding experience or absolute disasters---it all depends on pre-trip homework. To make planning easier, Huffington Post Travel Series recommends attractions for those planning Philadelphia family vacations.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art
Located on 26th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the Philadelphia Museum of Art features more than 225, 000 pieces in its vast collection, dating back to the first century A.D. Guests can discover modern art exhibits, clothing collections gathered throughout time and classic posters. Audio tours are also available.
Price: adults, $ 16; children 12 to 17, $ 12; children 11 and under, free.
The Please Touch Museum
The Please Touch Museum on 4231 Avenue of the Republic offers kids the chance to explore, discover and learn in a fun environment. The museum features six interactive zones where kids and parents are encouraged to play and learn about science, the environment and more. Exhibits include Flight Fantasy, where kids learn about flying machines, and River Adventures, which teaches kids about science, nature and weather.
Price: adults, $15; children under the age of 1, free
The Philadelphia Zoo
The Philadelphia Zoo sits on a 42-acre Victorian garden. The zoo features 1,300 animals, including a number of rare and endangered species. While visiting the zoo families can see big cats, zebras, giraffes, endangered turtle species and penguins. The zoo also includes rides for kids, such as a Rainforest Carousel and Camel Safari.
Price: Adults, $ 18; children 2 to 12, $15; children younger than 2, free.
The Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is Philadelphia’s major science museum, and one of the oldest in the United States. The museum offers guests the chance to experience flight simulator(模拟器)and sky bikes. The first floor offers a large Kid Science exhibit, where children discover science through a fictional journey. The second floor features air shows.
Price: Adults, $ 12; children 4 to 11, $12.One of the features of the Philadelphia Museum of Art is that _______.
| A．visitors have access to River Adventures |
| B．visitors can learn about exhibits using pre-recorded voice introductions |
| C．it has the cheapest admission fees for adults |
| D．it offers kids tour rides to see more endangered animals |
The Please Touch Museum differs from the others mainly because _______.
| A．it boasts a number of rare and endangered species |
| B．it has a large collection of clothing |
| C．it combines learning with pleasure |
| D．it includes a large kid science exhibit |
Teenagers interested in aircraft will most likely to visit both_______.
| A．the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Please Touch Museum |
| B．the Please Touch Museum and the Franklin Institute |
| C．the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Franklin Institute |
| D．the Philadelphia Zoo and the Please Touch Museum |
Which group does the Travel Series mainly target?
| A．Families with kids |
| B．Newly-married couples |
| C．Individual visitors |
| D．Museum lovers |
Scientists from China, Sweden and the United Stated have developed a high-producing rice that can reduce methane emission(甲烷排放), a major greenhouse gas blamed for global warming, from rice fields, according to a paper published on the latest issue of Nature.
By inserting a barley(大麦) gene into rice, Sun Chuanxin and his colleagues created SUSIBA2 Rice, which stores more starch(淀粉) in the section of the rice above ground, according to a paper published on the latest issue of Nature.This means the grains will have more starch while the root will exude less nutrients that will later be turned into methane by microbes(微生物) in the soil, Sun, who works with Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, told Xinhua.
"It solves two major problems mankind faces at one time: environmental degradation and the need for increased grain output," Wang Feng, another scientist, said, adding that the rice can cut methane discharge by more than 90 percent during summer and more than half during autumn, as "the rice displays a greater emission reduction effect in high temperatures." Meanwhile, small-scale trials have also suggested an increased output: a single plant of the new breed has 300 more grains with a starch content 10 percent higher. Wang said the team is working on applications for the rice in different areas, seasons and using different farming techniques. "It's still far away from mass application, but at least we see the light of hope."
Human-induced methane, though less abundant than carbon dioxide in the air, is responsible for 20 percent of the global warming effect. Rice paddies are the largest single source of methane linked to human activity. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, China produces 209 million tons of rice in 2014, or 28 percent of the world's total of 734 million.SUSIBA2 Rice will be a major breakthrough because _______.
| A．it tastes with a barley flavor |
| B．it well balances environmental protection and grains increase |
| C．it contains more starch than the ordinary rice |
| D．it gives off less methane in summer than in winter |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Scientists will soon grow the new rice in large areas |
| B．Human-related methane contributes most to global warming |
| C．China may contribute greatly to global warming reduction |
| D．Rice fields will be reduced all over the world |
The purpose of this writing is to ________.
| A．ask people to cut down on their dependence on rice consumption |
| B．draw people’s attention to the serious consequences of global warming |
| C．introduce a new kind of genetically-modified rice and its possible benefits |
| D．indicate human-related methane alone is to blame for global warming effects |
Language changes all the time. The words used by young people in the UK can be very different to those used by adults. These extremely informal words and expressions are known as “slang”. Here are a few examples:
·Instead of using different tag question like isn’t it? Can’t you or don’t they? People use “innit”.e.g. It’s hot here, isn’t it?="It’s" hot here, innit!
·Instead of saying very, really or completely, they use “well”. e.g. I’m well tired.
· “Whatever” means “I don’t care”. e.g. A: But the teacher says we can’t leave until we’ve finished. B:Whatever. I’m going.
Nobody uses slang and not everybody likes it. A school in Sheffield, in the north of England, recently instructed its pupils to stop using slang words. The head teacher says that if young people learn to speak ‘correctly’ this will help them get a good job.
When British people use slang, it’s no surprise that some students say they can’t understand native speakers. But perhaps learners don’t need to worry about communicating with native speakers so much. Research shows that most of the English spoken in the world today is spoken between non-native speakers of the language. In fact, when we think about “International English”, there is no such thing as a native or non-native speaker.
How important is it to understand these slang words and expressions? If you watch films or TV, chat online in English, then understanding slang can be very useful. But you probably won’t see much slang in your English exam though. With over seven billion people living on our planet today, it’s easy to think one person’s actions won’t make a difference, however, from personal experience, I can say: each of us is capable of making a difference, however small, to someone’s life.Based on the slang mentioned above, what is the meaning of “I think you got me well wrong.”?
| A．I think you really hurt my feelings |
| B．I think you totally misunderstood me |
| C．I think you found the completely wrong person |
| D．I think you completely brought the wrong thing |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．It is essential to learn all the British slang |
| B．Native English speakers cannot understand each other well |
| C．English is used more between non-native speakers currently |
| D．Young people in Britain often use the same slang words as their parents |
In the author’s opinion, why shouldn’t English learners be concerned about slangs?
| A．British slangs can hardly come across to English learners |
| B．English learners won’t speak with the native speakers |
| C．English learners can make a difference in the world |
| D．There are more people who don’t use native slang to communicate |
The author may agree to the opinion that _______.
| A．individuals can play a part in others’ life |
| B．slang learning is an important part of language learning |
| C．one may express his doubt and disbelief by saying “Whatever” |
| D．English learners may feel difficult to communicate without slang |
At least once each winter I manage to get a good flight in the middle of a snowstorm. Last Sunday was that flight. My gliding(滑翔的) partners had looked at the weather reports of showers and decided to stay at home. People say that you shouldn’t fly by yourself, but on that day I felt the urge to go flying and so headed for my favorite gliding site.
I had the mountain ridge to myself. After a smooth lift-off, I floated stably in the breeze, feeling at peace with myself and the world. I looked across the valley to Bedford and a moment later saw the town disappear in a band of snow that was moving towards me.
The breeze remained strong enough for flying and I knew that as long as the visibility was good, it was OK for me to stay in the air. The snow moved in and swirled around me. It was a light dry snow. The day was already very quiet but, somehow, the light snow made it even more silent. I felt like a snowflake.
Two bald eagles joined me. They didn’t pay me any attention and spent a few minutes flying around the ridge before disappearing. I flew through another band of snow. I had been flying for about 45 minutes when I next looked across the valley. I could see there were more bands of snow to come and the breeze was dying too.
It was time to go home, get in a hot bath and warm up. I couldn’t wait to tell my gliding partners that they had missed out on a perfect flight.Why did the author’s gliding partners refuse to fly on that day?
| A．They preferred to fly alone |
| B．The weather did not permit |
| C．They did not like winter flights |
| D．The equipment was not adequate |
Which is closest in meaning to the underlined word “” in Paragraph 3?
| A．Weather |
| B．Skill |
| C．Possibility |
| D．View |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The bald eagle can cause damage to the author’s flight |
| B．The author will land and go home after the snow stops |
| C．Brand of snow will be a great threat to the author’s flight |
| D．The author will hesitate to share his experience with his partners |
What could be the best title for the article?
| A．The First Flight Alone |
| B．A Narrow-Escape Flight |
| C．One Never-Again Flight |
| D．An Impressive Winter Flight |