You are standing under the most famous neon lights in the centre of London, waiting to cross the road. Suddenly the traffic stops. You hear the distant sounds of cheering, clapping and shouting. Then, like a multi-colored （多彩的）train, 2, 000 people with wheels（轮子） on their feet zoom past you. You have just witnessed the London Skate, a twice weekly roller-skate event that attracts people in their hundreds and thousands London. Skate is a completely free tour of the streets of London -the only condition is that you go along on roller-skates. It lasts between two and three hours and by the end of it you have skated between 10 and 12 miles. The skate snakes sound the streets of London along several different routes. Many of the routes pass by tourist attractions such as Buckingham Palace and Big Ben. Marshals (交通协调员) go ahead of the group, stopping the traffic so that people can skate as safely as possible. Everyone is welcome to take part and people from the age of 4 to 63 years old join the fun. "I love it very much, it is amazing. It feels just like a carnival (狂欢节)，" said Celeste Beverage regular skater.
Roller-skating is really taking off across Europe and America. It is a very good way to keep fit and can be practised anywhere there is a smooth surface. Many big cities in Western Europe and
in the US now have a regular group skating event. The biggest skates take place in Paris and Munich（慕尼黑） and tens of thousands of fans show up on warm evenings. "Roller-skating is taking over the world," said Julian Grenoble, a 25-year-old ski shop employee from London. Grenoble went to the Paris-Roller (Paris skate) regularly until he moved to Britain.
"It's so exciting to skate in Paris. Everyone skates so fast and puts in their best efforts!" he said. The Paris Roller is well known because of the huge attendance, the presence of marshals and the police protection. Paris is a great city for roller-skating because of its long wide streets and smooth surfaces. Roller-skating is also becoming more popular in China among young people and children. Skating fans' favorite places to practise in China are big squares.
5. We can infer from the passage that London Skate Event ________.
A. is probably supported by the city government
B. attracts a great many tourists from all over the world
C. usually causes a lot of traffic problems
D. draws people of all ages into the sport
6. The underlined phrase "taking off " in the passage means________ .
A. rising from the ground B. becoming popular
C. setting out D. getting exciting
7. Paris is regarded as one of the most suitable places for roller-skating because ________.
A. a large number of roller players attend it B. the police protect the roller skaters
C. the streets are safe, wide and smooth D. the event usually takes place on warm evenings
8. This article mainly talks about________ .
A. places and streets for roller-skating B. roller-skating in big cities
C. London Skate Event D. roller skaters in different countries
Searching for airfares (飞机票价) often seems like a game that passengers are bound to lose.
Prices change from day to day, even minute to minute. Looking through multiple websites for the best deal can be a big challenge. Even when you do book, there’s no guarantee that you are going to get the best price.
“You just don’t know when to pull the trigger. It’s not like buying anything else I can think of,” said George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com.
Harriet Levy paid $179 for a recent round-trip flight on American Airlines between New York and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Sitting just one row behind her, Shirley Harrison paid $215. A few rows back, Ellis and Dianne Traub paid $317 each. There were at least 12 fares on the flight, ranging from $169 to $360.
There’s no reason for it, Harrison said.
Fares can fluctuate significantly in just a few hours. One Delta flight from New York to Los Angeles jumped from $755 to $1,143 from a Friday to Saturday in late April, then fell to $718 on Sunday.
The flight was one of a dozen the Associated Press followed over three months for a vacation between July 16 and 22. The number one finding: avoid booking tickets on weekends. It’s the most expensive time to buy.
There’s no way to guarantee the best fare. But before booking, travelers should pay attention to this additional advice:
• Book on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. That’s when airlines most often offer sales.
• Buy in advance, but not too early. The best time is four to six weeks before traveling. In general, prices for any given flight are highest eight to 10 weeks and two to three weeks in advance.
• Make use of social media. Airlines are giving more benefits like exclusive (独家) sales to travelers who interact (互动) with them on Twitter and Facebook. Those specials are often gone within hours.
• The so-called discount (折扣) airlines – JetBlue, Air-Tran, Southwest and Frontier – adjust their fares less frequently than other airlines, so you can feel more confident that the price will stay the same. But their prices aren’t always the lowest. Researching multiple airlines’ fares is the only way to get a good deal.What can we infer from the first sentence of the text?
| A．Passengers are unable to search for airfares. |
| B．Airlines often play games with passengers. |
| C．Airfares are set in different situations. |
| D．It’s difficult for passengers to get the best price. |
The underlined phrase “pull the trigger” in Paragraph 3 probably means _______.
| A．start searching | B．get the highest price |
| C．make a purchase | D．get on board the plane |
By using a lot of figures, the author intends to _______.
| A．show there is standard price for every single airline |
| B．discover the rules behind airfares |
| C．guarantee passengers a low price |
| D．prove airfares can vary widely |
Passengers are advised to book flights _______.
| A．in the middle of the week |
| B．on special websites |
| C．several months before traveling |
| D．with airlines which are famous for offering discount prices |
A few months ago as I wandered through my parents’ house, the same house I grew up in, I had a sudden, scary realization. When my parents bought the house, in 1982, they were only two years older than I am now. I tried to imagine myself in two years, ready to settle down and buy the house I’d still be living in almost 30 years later.
It seemed ridiculous. On a practical level, there’s no way I could afford to buy a house anytime soon. More importantly, I wouldn’t want to. I’m not sure where I’ll be living in two years, or what kind of job I’ll have. And I don’t think I’ll be ready to settle down and stay in one place.
So this is probably the generation gap that divides my friends and me from our parents. When our parents were our age, they’d gotten their education, chosen a career, and were starting to settle into responsible adult lives.
My friends and I – “Generation Y” – still aren’t sure what we want to do with our lives. Whatever we end up doing, we want to make sure we’re happy doing it. We’d rather take risks first, try out different jobs, and move from one city to another until we find our favorite place. We’d rather spend our money on travel than put it in a savings account.
This casual attitude toward responsibility has caused some critics to call my generation “arrogant”, “impatient”, and “overprotected”. Some of these complaints have a point. As children we were encouraged to succeed in school, but also to have fun. We grew up in a world full of technological innovation: cellphones, the Internet, instant messaging, and video games.
Our parents looked to rise vertically(垂直的)--starting at the bottom of the ladder and slowly making their way to the top, on the same track, often for the same company. That doesn’t apply to my generation.
Because of that, it may take us longer than our parents to arrive at responsible, stable adulthood. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In our desire to find satisfaction, we will work harder, strive for ways to keep life interesting, and gain a broader set of experiences and knowledge than our parents’ generation did.
By Ariel LewitonWhen the author walked through her parents’ house, she _______.
| A．was frightened that she had no idea what she wanted from life |
| B．started to think about her own life |
| C．realized I should buy a house. |
| D．wondered why her parents had settled down early |
What is the main “generation gap” between the author and her friends and their parents according to the article?
| A．Their attitude toward high technology. |
| B．Their ways of making their way to the top. |
| C．Their attitude towards responsibility. |
| D．Their ways of gaining experience. |
Which of the following might the author agree with?
| A．It’s all right to try more before settling down. |
| B．It’s better to take adult responsibility earlier. |
| C．It involves too much effort to rise vertically. |
| D．It’s ridiculous to call her generation “arrogant”. |
What can we conclude from the article?
| A．The author is envious of her parents enjoying a big house at her age. |
| B．Growing up in a hi-tech world makes “Generation Y” feel insecure about relationships. |
| C．“Generation Y” people don’t want to grow up and love to be taken care of by their parents. |
| D．The author wrote this article so that others would be able to understand her generation better. |
What is the main theme of the article?
| A．The sudden realization of growing up. |
| B．A comparison between lifestyles of generations. |
| C．Criticisms of the young generation. |
| D．The factors that have changed the young generation. |
Every child has written their names on the beach at some point.
But whereas most people’s “handwriting” is washed away, one super-rich Arab sheikh(酋长) has ensure that his graffiti(胡写乱画) will last a little longer.
Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, 63, has scrawled his name in sand on an island he owns with letters so big that they be seen from space.
The word “HAMAD” measures 1,000 meters high and is a staggering two miles long from the “H” to the “D” on the Al Futaisi Island.
And rather than allow the writing to be washed away by the ocean, the letters actually form waterways that absorb the encroaching(渗入) tide. The ruler’s name is even visible on Google’s map service.
Hamad dreamed up the idea and had his workmen work hard for weeks to craft the enormous piece of sand graffiti. It is not known how much it cost to make.
However, the sheikh boasts a personal fortune second to the Saudi king’s.
Hamad, also known as the “Rainbow Sheikh”, is a member of the Abu Dhabi Ruling Family.
He is understood to have some 200 cars including seven Mercedes 500 SELs painted in different colors of the rainbow which he stores in a giant pyramid.
The Arab sheikh had a taste for doing things on a large scale. He built the world’s largest truck—eight times the size of the Dodge Power Wagon, with four bedrooms inside the cabin.
Hamad constructed a motor home in the shape of a giant globe which is exactly 1 millionth the size of the actual earth.
Alongside his displays of wealth he has become a well-known philanthropist(慈善家) in medicine and supplied a complete Kinney stone operating theatre to a public hospital in Morocco where he continues to fund its stuff.Which of the following in NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Hamad is a man who wants himself to be well-known from apace. |
| B．Hamad is a super-rich person who always does something unusual. |
| C．Hamad is a man who is always so mean in his family |
| D．Hamad is a man who boasts his fortune is second to the Saudi king’s |
In what way could Hamad make his handwriting last longer?
A. The word “HAMAD” measures 1,000 meters wide and high.
B The word “HAMAD” is a staggering two miles long from the “H” to the “D”.
C. The word “HAMAD” actually forms huge waterways that absorb the encroaching tide.
D. The word “HAMAD” cost his workmen a lot of hard work for several weeks.Why does Hamad have his seven Mercedes-Benz500 SELs painted in different colors?
| A．Perhaps he hoped his cars were stored in a giant pyramid safely. |
| B．In some ways he could make a very strange rainbow. |
| C．Maybe he just wanted to show off his wealth. |
| D．He is always interested in making his cars like these. |
Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
| A．The Rainbow Sheikh’s name can be seen from space |
| B．The richest Arab sheikh’s name has made many funny things |
| C．A great person likes doing things on a large scale |
| D．A well-known philanthropist displays his wealth |
About 12,000 years ago- long before the famous UFO crash make headlines in America—an alien spaceship crashed in China. And their descendants are still living in a faraway Chinese village today! That is the mind-bending claim made in the new book Out of Time and Place, a collection of reports from the files of Fate, a magazine edited by Terry O’Neil.
The story first came to light in 1937 when an expedition led by Chi Pu-Tei came across a group of caves deep in the Bayan-Kara-Ula Mountains. In the caves were found strange-looking skeletons with big heads and small, slender bodies—closely matching typical descriptions of space aliens. The explorers also uncovered 716 mysterious stone discs with strange hieroglyphics(象形文字) on them.
In Qinghai Province, where the mountains lie, ancient stories tell of small, skinny beings with oversize heads who came from the sky long long ago. And to this day, locals live in fear of attack from strange-looking creatures from above.
And there is more. In 1947, British scientist Karyl Robin-Evans led an expedition into the mountains and discovered a group of dwarfs(侏儒) who called themselves the Droza. “They told him that their ancestors came from a planet in the Sirius（天狼星）system and crashed in this mountain area a long time ago,” writes Hausdorf, “Many of them were killed, but survivors adapted to living on this rough planet far from home.”
For decades, Robin-Evans’ claims were dismissed as nonsense. But in 1995, the Associated Press reported that in the region a village named Huilong had been discovered—populated by 120 dwarfs ranging from 3-foot-10 to 2-foot-1tall.Hausdorf asks, “Could these people be the last living descendants of the survivors of the legendary UGO crash—the Chinese Roswell?”Which of the following are the findings of Chi Pu-Tei?
a. strange-looking skeletons b. UFO crash
c. stone discs d. dwarfs
e. strange hieroglyphics f. skinny beings
| A．a, c, d | B．c, e, f | C．a, c, e | D．a, b, e |
Paragraph 3 and 4 mainly _____.
| A．introduce ancient stories in Qinghai Province |
| B．show evidence of the existence of aliens in Qinghai Province |
| C．express fears of attack from aliens |
| D．describe the spaceship crash in China |
What can be safely concluded from the passage?
| A．This passage is a piece of science news recently issued. |
| B．Chinese are descendants to the survivors of the alien spaceship crash |
| C．The UFO crash in the Byan-Kara-Ula Mountains has recently been seen |
| D．Many people are curious about aliens from outer space |
What is most likely to be discussed in the paragraph that follows?
| A．Recent research about the Chinese Roswell. |
| B．News stories about Roswell UFO Crash. |
| C．Chi Pu-Tei’s discovery in China. |
| D．Robin-Evans’ claims. |
The word doping is probably from the Dutch word dop, the name of an alcoholic drinks make of grape skins used by Zulu soldiers in order to encourage their bravery in battle. The term became current around the turn of the 20th century, originally referring to illegal drugging of racehorses. In 1928 the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) became the first to ban the use of doping. A reliable test method was finally introduced in 1974.
The practice of enhancing athletes’ performance through foreign substance or other artificial means, however, is as old as competitive sport itself. The most famous doping case of the 1980s concerned Ben Johnson, the 100-meter champion who tested positive for stanozolol(司坦咗醇) at the Olympic Games in Seoul, 1988.
The main front in the anti-doping war has rapidly shifted to blood doping since 1970s. Blood doping is the practice of adding red blood cells to the bloodstream in order to improve athletes’ performance. The blood is usually processed in order to create a concentration of red blood cells, and then freeze them until needed for transfusion(输血) back into the athlete shortly before the event. The extra red blood cells will deliver more oxygen and other essential elements to the athlete’s muscle tissues.
Just like any other problem, the only way to solve it is through education. Many high school sports programs now have people come in to talk to them about out the dangers of performance-enhancing drugs. Young players must be fully clear on the rules and what substances are banned. The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) has an easily accessible list of what substances are banned, how they are tested for and why they are banned on its website. This way, young players are clear on what they can put in their bodies. This is also a good way to educate players on the danger of the substances they may be tempted to use.The word “enhancing” in the first sentence of the second paragraph means “_____”.
| A．showing | B．directing | C．upsetting | D．improving |
What can we know from the third paragraph?
| A．Blood doping is transferring one man’s blood into another |
| B．Only blood doping exists in the anti-doping war in the 1970s. |
| C．Blood doping is easy to be found and controlled by organizations. |
| D．More oxygen in the blood helps improve an athlete’s performance. |
The word “people” in the second sentence of the fourth paragraph probably refers to _____.
| A．teachers who teach P.E. lessons at school |
| B．experts who do research in doping |
| C．young people easy to be addicted to doping |
| D．athletes involved in doping |
Which statement best matches the last paragraph?
| A．Prevention is better than cure. |
| B．Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. |
| C．The best horse needs breaking, and the cleverest child needs teaching. |
| D．A little learning is a dangerous thing. |