Sunday, October 5
Clear, 69°F
My wife, Eleanor , and I took the train from Paris to Strasbourg, where we were met by our driver and guide. And the minibus which goes along with the boat. We stopped off in Barn for an hour on the way. Then we were taken to Nancy where the boat was kept.
After the other passengers arrived, we had our first dinner on the boat. After dinner we walked into downtown Nancy, a village with a large square and wooden houses.
Monday, October 6
Rained last night, cloudy in the morning, 69°F
We spent about two hours in Nancy, then sailed on the Canal de la Marne au Rhine. Kind of a lazy day. Eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, after dinner we watched a tape on Baccarat, where we will visit tomorrow.
It was pleasant to sit out on deck （甲板）and watch the scenery go by at about 3 mph.
Tuesday, October 7
Light rain, 64°F
This morning we drove over to Baccarat and toured its museum and the church , which has this unbelievable lamp that is going on a world tour the next day. We did lots of shopping , then walked across the bridge to see a very , very modern Catholic church with special Baccarat windows.
We drove to the top of the Voges Mountains and started down t
he eastern side. Later we drove to Sorrenbourg to see the 13th century church at the Cordeliers. It contains the largest window by Marc Chagall — 24 feet wide by 40 feet high.
Wednesday, October 8
Cloudy, 65 °F
Today we sailed from Schneckenbush to Saverne. We went through two caves, an extremely unusual part of the journey. This river scenery is very different. We were in a mountain valley with grassland on one side and a forest beginning to show some color on the other.
Thursday, October 9
Cloudy, 66°F
Our dependable minibus was waiting to load the luggage and take us to the hotel where everyone went their separate ways. Our boating days are over until next time.Where did the author get off the train?
| A．Paris | B．Strasbourg | C．Nancy | D．Barn |
On which days did the tourists spend most of their time on the boat?
| A．Monday and Tuesday | B．Tuesday and Wednesday |
| C．Monday and Wednesday | D．Wednesday and Wednesday |
From the text, we learn that Baccar
at and Sorrenbourg are the names of_________.
| A．churches | B．towns | C．museums | D．mountains |
What does the author think of the tour?
| A．Tiring | B．Expensive | C．Enjoyable | D．Quick |
Nowadays, with the busy working hours, parents have no time left to spend with their children. However, spending time with children is of extreme importance. Giving some time for children will play an important role in their development. Therefore, it is a must for parents to spend time with children. Here are some tips for parents which will help them spend time with their little suns.
Having Dinner with Children
Even if you are not there at home for a whole day, you should make sure that you have dinner with your children. Moreover, you should make it a point that you are having dinner with your entire family. Also, you should avoid watching TV when you are having dinner with your family.
Helping Child Complete Homework
Helping your child complete homework will help you know how he/she is at studies. It is not that you have to spend hours regularly helping your child with homework. But, sometimes you can help your child solve some questions. In this way, you will get to spend time with your child as well as get to know about his or her studies.
Fun Activities
During weekends you can indulge your child in fun activities like gardening, painting etc. However, do not force your child to do so. You can also spend some time in teaching your child finger painting, vegetable painting and craft work. You may even help your child complete his or her art and craft assignments. These activities will help you improve creativity of your child as well as the interaction between you and your child.The passage is mainly about_________.
| A．the importance of spending time with children |
| B．the ways to spend time with children |
| C．the reasons to spend time with children |
| D．the activities children like to take part in |
In the second paragraph, the author suggests that parents should________.
| A．watch TV with their children |
| B．stay at home a whole day |
| C．spend time with the whole family |
| D．avoid listening to some music |
The underlined word “indulge” in the last paragraph means_______.
| A．push | B．put | C．ask | D．allow |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Spending time with children for parents is a must. |
| B．Parents should spend time regularly with children’s homework. |
| C．Helping children with homework will help improve their creativity. |
| D．Parents should pick up their children regularly. |
The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”
“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”
“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”
I noticed every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I looked down on the computer and asked her, “What do all you people do?”
“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”
“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”
“That’s good, sir.”
“How long will the computer be down? I wanted to know.”
“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”
After the girl told me they had no backup computer, I said. “Let’s forget the computer—What about your planes? They are still flying, aren’t they?”
“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”
“Maybe I could, just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he is flying to Washington,” I suggested.
“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.”
“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”
“I wouldn’t know,” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. It can’t tell me.”
By this time there were quite a few people standing in lines. The words soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.Where do you often hear the frightening words “Our computer is down”?
| A．at the airport. | B．At the gate. |
| C．On business | D．In the ticket office |
What could the girl in the ticket office do without asking the computer?
| A．She could do nothing. |
| B．She could write out a ticket. |
| C．She could still sell a ticket. |
| D．She could answer passengers’ questions. |
What does the underlined word “down” in Paragraph 1 mean?
| A．White | B．Broken |
| C．Black | D．Dark |
We can learn from the last paragraph that .
| A．a modern computer won’t be down |
| B．computers can take the place of human |
| C．there will be great changes in computers |
| D．sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people |
After I made it to the city center, I started to feel it might be easy for a foreigner to deal with the great size of Beijing. With growing confidence, I decided to take the subway to the hotel, not realizing that the network didn’t go that far. Impressed with the cleanliness of the station, I bought a ticket and boarded the first train that came along.
After a few minutes I asked in English of course a young man seated next to me where I should get off closest to the Friendship Hotel. Wearing a smart business suit and tie, he would surely speak English, wouldn’t he? Unfortunately, he couldn’t understand me but seemed very friendly. I showed him the room card with all the information of the Friendship Hotel in Chinese characters. He looked at it, and then his eyes moved quickly to the carriage （车厢） subway map. Next, he raised three fingers of his right hand.
In Australia, raising fingers at someone is not usually nice, but this man wasn’t smiling. At the next station he showed me two fingers. Now in Australia, that’s really rude, but I got the message. When we stopped at the third station, he didn’t just point to the door, but got up, took me out of the train, and led me to the top of the stairs, and out onto the street. Then he stopped a taxi and told the driver where to take me.
All this came from a man who couldn’t speak my language, and I couldn’t speak his. I was now speechless, especially when he refused my offer of money. I felt a little embarrassed having even thought he would accept a tip.
This experience made it clear I had to learn some Chinese quickly or my adventures might start turning into bad luck.The author decided to take the subway because ________.
| A．he lived near the city center |
| B．the network covered most of the stops |
| C．he believed in his ability to deal with the trip |
| D．he had a good impression of its cleanliness |
Having been shown the room card, the young man_________.
| A．understood the author well |
| B．still remained puzzled |
| C．answered the author directly |
| D．pointed at the subway map |
Which of the following can’t be used to describe the young man?
| A．helpful | B．rude |
| C．warmhearted | D．caring |
The author’s purpose of writing this passage is mainly to ________.
| A．prove the importance of being careful |
| B．appreciate the kindness of the young man |
| C．complain some cultural misunderstanding |
| D．describe one of his adventurous experiences |
You may have noticed something different when you ate at your favorite restaurant. Or perhaps you picked up on it while looking through your social media apps （社交媒体软件） . You guessed it ---we’re becoming a foodie （吃货） culture.
For some, that means photographing every dish, but others are taking it one step further. Sophia Hampton, a senior at Staples High School in US, chooses to make her own food. She has been published in Future Chefs, a cookbook of recipes （食谱） by teens.
Hampton’s best advice for those who want to be foodies is to get in the kitchen.
“Start cooking,” she said. “There are so many resources online, like recipes and articles about food. Go to your local farmers’ market and start cooking with them.
Besides blogs and online resources, there are also hands-on cooking classes for students. The Chopping Block, a Chicago cooking school, offers many different classes for teens, including courses on chocolate and French food.
By attending cooking classes, surfing online and going to restaurants, you can find endless recipes. But sometimes becoming a real foodie means being behind a camera. As our food-loving culture becomes more popular and teen-friendly, social media apps like Facebook, have become major players in food culture.
“Getting involved in foodie culture is as easy as having a camera and a social media app,” one foodie said. “I always go to streets and farmers’ markets to take beautiful pictures of food. Wherever food prices are expensive, the photos are free.”What does Hampton advise those who want to be foodies to do?
| A．Post their recipes online. |
| B．Cook food by themselves. |
| C．Eat at their favorite restaurant. |
| D．Take photos of every dish they eat. |
Where can students find new recipes, according to the article?
①cooking classes ②online resources
③new restaurant ④public libraries
| A．①②③ | B．①③④ |
| C．②③④ | D．①②④ |
What has made foodie culture more popular, according to the article?
| A．People’s growing interest in traditional culture. |
| B．The convenience of getting different food. |
| C．The use of cameras and social media. |
| D．The drop in food prices. |
The average British 22 year-old has more than 1,000 online friends on sites like Facebook, compared to those in their fifties who have fewer than 20, according to a new study.
The “Facebookgeneration gap” has been highlighted in a new piece of research which shows that the average 22 year-old claims to have 1,000 or more friends on sites like Facebook.
People in their twenties have more than 50 times as many digital friends as those who are over 50 years old, despite the popularity of sites like Facebook with the older generations, says a study conducted by consumer research group Intersperience.
The news comes during the same week Facebook's second-in command, Sheryl Sandberg, is visiting the UK to deliver a speech at the London School of Economics.
Facebook's chief operating officer is going to speak about how the social web has transformed people's friendships and relationships.
The survey found that there was a clear link between people's age and the number of online friends they have．The researchers found that those aged 13 to 16, have an average of 450 friends on social networks, with girls having slightly more friends that boys．People in their thirties tend to have between 100 and 200 friends, while those in their forties have between 50 and 100.
However, those using sites such as Facebook over the age of 50, tended to have 20 or less friends．The oldest person surveyed was 70 years old.
Paul Hudson, Intersperience's chief executive, said: "Our research underlines fundamental （根本的）changes taking place in British society as a result of finally entering the digital age．Half of the UK population are on Facebook now．In a social media context, a 'friend' means something different to a 20 year old than to a 50 year old."
He added: “Social networking activity is just one example of how different groups are adapting to the digital age at different paces．In this case, age is the determining factor - however in other instances it is not.”Which is the determining factor in social networking activity?
| A．Gender | B．Age |
| C．Relationship | D．Pace |
What can we learn from the survey?
| A．The older a person is, the less online friends he may have |
| B．Girls have remarkably more friends than boys |
| C．People in their thirties tend to have between 50 and 100 friends |
| D．The link between people’s age and the number of online friends they have is not clear |
According to the passage, the following statements are True except.
| A．The oldest people surveyed is 70 |
| B．Paul Hudson will deliver a speech at the London School of Economics |
| C．Different groups are adapting to the digital age at different paces |
| D．Facebook is popular in UK now |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Social networking activity |
| B．The digital age |
| C．“Facebook generation gap”—Facebook generation has more than 1,000 friends |
| D．Changes taking place in British society |