I was in a strange city and I didn't know the city at all, and what is more, I could not speak a word of the language. After having spent my first day in the town-centre, I decided to lose my way on my second day, since I believed that this was the simplest way of getting to know the strange city.
I got on the first bus that passed, rode on it for several stops, then got off it and walked on. The first two hours passed pleasantly enough. Then I decided to turn back to my hotel for lunch. After walking about for some time, I decided I had better ask the way. The trouble was that the only word I knew of the language was the name of the street in which I lived and even then I pronounced it badly.
I stopped to ask a friendly-looking newspaper-seller. He smiled and handed me a paper. I shook my head and repeated the name of the street and he put the paper into my hands. I had to give him some money and went on my way. The next person I asked was a policeman. The policeman listened to me carefully, smiled and gently took me by the arm. There was a strange look in his eyes as he pointed left and right and left again. I thanked him politely and began walking in the direction he pointed.
About an hour passed and I noticed that the houses were getting fewer and fewer and green fields were appearing on either side of me. I had come all the way into the countryside.
The only thing left for me to do was to find the nearest railway station.The writer believed that if you wanted to get to know a strange city, ______.
| A．you should go everywhere on foot | B．you should have a map |
| C．you should ask people the way | D．you should get lost |
The newspaper-seller ______.
| A．could understand what he said | B．didn't know what he said |
| C．laughed at him | D．didn't want to take the money |
The writer's real trouble was that _______.
| A．he couldn't speak the language | |
| B．he followed the policeman's direction | |
| C．he took the wrong bus | D．he left the town-centre |
The policeman ______.
| A．didn't help him | B．pointed at him |
| C．didn't understand what he really meant | D．didn't know the way |
The island of Port Cros is in the south of France. I first visited it about ten years ago with my wife. I had read that it was a magical place and it seemed fascinating (迷人的), but I couldn’t believe that it was true. In fact, it was much more magical than the tourist brochures (指南) had said.
The island is mountainous and covered in trees. The water around the island is transparent like glass. When I first visited it, there was mist rising from the trees. The little harbor looked mysterious and remote: tall palm trees, a few shops and restaurants, no cars, motorcycles or bikes.
It is not by chance that the island has kept its natural beauty. Once, it was privately owned and the owners always wanted to keep it in its natural state. In 1963, Port Cros became a national park. The park directors made some rules to protect the island. They didn’t allow any new building projects. There is only one hotel and no camping is allowed. Visitors can’t use mountain bikes or smoke on the island. Sailing boats that visit the island mustn’t damage the bottom of the sea or pollute the water around it.
When we arrived, we started walking to the beach of Port-Man, which was the furthest beach from the port. It took us two hours and when we arrived, the beach was deserted. It seemed that we were the only people on the island. Time seemed to stop. It was so beautiful that we stayed there all day. I visited there again last summer. Nothing had changed. The island still looked magical and mysterious, still with few tourists. It must be wonderful to stay the night on the island, I thought. After all the visitors have gone, the island must be so quiet—a real paradise (天堂)!The author got to know Port Cros at first due to _____.
| A．some tourist brochures |
| B．his wife’s introduction |
| C．his first visit there |
| D．some TV programs |
How has the natural beauty of the island been kept according to the text?
| A．Foreign visitors are not allowed to visit it. |
| B．Nothing has been built in the park there. |
| C．Only bikes can be used on the island. |
| D．Sailing boats mustn’t pollute the water. |
When the author first visited Port Cros, _____.
| A．it was very sunny |
| B．there were few visitors there |
| C．it took them a whole day to walk to Port-Man |
| D．the island was deserted and he stayed there for a whole night |
If you have a bad habit of losing things, a new device that can be connected to any item that you might lose may be the way to solve your problem. The Tile, a small square linked up to your iPhone or iPad via Bluetooth, lets you see how close you are to the missing item, within a 50-to 150-foot range . If the item goes out of your phone’s 150-foot range, it can still be detected (发现) on other smartphones with the same app.
When you log into the app on your phone, it shows you, with green bars that increase or decrease, how far away you are from the Tile. You can also program it to make a sound when you get close to the Tile. And you can link up your phone with up to ten Tiles. And if your lost item — a dog, for example, or a stolen bike — goes out of your own phone’s 150-foot Bluetooth range, you can set it as a “lost item”. If any of the phones with the Tile app comes within the range of your lost item, a message will be sent to your own phone, reminding you of its position. The Tile app also has the function to remember where it last saw your Tile, so that you can easily find where you left it.
Since the Tiles use Bluetooth rather than GPS, they never run out of battery or need to be charged, and they last for one year before needing to be replaced. The app, which will come into the market this winter, works with iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, iPad Mini, iPad 3rd and 4th generation, and iPod 5th generation.The Tile app can help you .
| A．find your missing items |
| B．use your phone more wisely |
| C．save your phone’s battery power |
| D．connect something to your phone |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The Tile needs to be charged after a year of use. |
| B．One smartphone can only be linked up to one Tile. |
| C．The Tile cannot work when linked up to a phone without Bluetooth. |
| D．A missing item can’t be found if it goes out of the needed range. |
What does the second paragraph mainly tell us?
| A．What the Tile app is. |
| B．How the Tile app works. |
| C．The advantages of the Tile app. |
| D．Why the Tile app was invented. |
Where does this passage probably come from?
| A．A science fiction novel. |
| B．An advertisement. |
| C．A personal diary. |
| D．A news report. |
Speed-reading is a necessary skill in the Internet age．We skim over articles, e-mails and WeChat to try to grasp key words and the essential meaning of a certain text．Surrounded with information from our electronic devices, it would be impossible to cope if we read word by word, line by line．But a new trend calls on people to unplug and enjoy reading slowly, listing benefits beyond the intelligent stimulation．
A recent story from The Wall Street Journal reported on a book club in Wellington, New Zealand, where members meet in a cafe and turn off their smartphones．They sink into cozy chairs and read in silence for an hour． Unlike traditional book clubs, the point of the slow reading club isn't exchanging ideas about a certain book, but to get away from electronic devices and read in a quiet, relaxed environment． According to the Journal, the Wellington book club is just one example of a movement started by book lovers who miss the old-fashioned way of reading before the Internet and smartphones．
Slow readers, such as The Atlantic's Maura Kelly, say a regular reading habit sharpens the mind, improves concentration, reduces stress levels and deepens the ability to sympathize． Another study published last year in Science showed that reading novels helps people understand other's mental states and beliefs, a fundamental skill in building relationships．
Yet technology has made us less attentive readers． Screens have changed our reading patterns from the straight and information．left-to-right sequence to a wild skimming and skipping pattern as we hunt for important words and information. Reading text punctuated with links leads to weaker comprehension than reading plain text. The Internet may have made us stupider, says Patrick Kingsley from The Guardian． Because of the Internet, he says, we have become very good at collecting a wide range of interesting news, but we are also gradually forgetting how to sit back, reflect, and relate all these facts to each other．
Slow reading means a return to an uninterrupted, straight pattern, in a quiet environment free of distractions． Aim for 30 minutes a day, advises Kelly from The Atlantic． “You can squeeze in that half hour pretty easily if only during your free moments, you pick up a meaningful work of literature,” Kelly said． “Reach for your e-reader, if you like． Kindles make books like War and Peace less heavy, not less substantive, and also ensure you'll never lose your place．”The book club in Wellington mentioned in Paragraph 2 shows____________．
| A．the new trend of slow reading |
| B．the decline of electronic devices |
| C．the importance of exchanging ideas |
| D．the increasing number of club readers |
According to Patrick Kingsley, people are stupider partly because of_____________．
| A．a non-stop reading pattern |
| B．the straight, left-to-right screen |
| C．a wide range of interesting news |
| D．the lack of reflection |
According to the passage, slow reading___________．
| A．contributes to understanding among people |
| B．promotes the current technology advances |
| C．provides people with a quiet environment |
| D．cures the memory loss of elderly people |
What's the best title for the passage?
| A．Benefit of Reading Clubs． |
| B．Return of Slow Reading． |
| C．Reading of the Internet Age． |
| D．Influence of Speed Reading． |
Time Travel
If you could travel in time, where would you go? Perhaps you would watch an originalperformance of a Shakespeare’s play in Elizabethan England?
What about hanging out with Laozi in the Spring and Autumn Period? Or maybe you’d voyage far ahead of the present day to see what the future holds.
The possibility of time travel is indeed appealing. Stories exploring the subject have been around for hundreds of years. Perhaps the best known example is science fiction novel The Time Machine, which was written by H.G.Wells and published in 1895 for the first time. It was adapted into at least two feature films of the same name, as well as two television versions, and a large number of comic book adaptations. It is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel using a vehicle that allows an operator to travel purposefully and selectively. The term “time machine”, coined by
Wells, is now universally used to refer to a vehicle transporting people into the far future.
But could time travel actually be possible? Some scientists say yes, in theroy. They propose using cracks in time and space called“wormholes”,which could be used as shortcuts to other periods．Einstein's theory of relativity allows time travel in extreme circumstances．And British physicist Stephen Hawking says you could travel into the future with a really fast spaceship—going at nearly the speed of light．Though building such a spaceship would of course be no simple task．
Even if you could travel into the past, there is something called the “grandfather paradox”．It asks what would happen if a time traveler were to go back in time and have his own grandfather killed for some reason, and therefore prevent himself from being born．If the time traveler wasn't born, how would he travel back in time？
And would you really like to visit the future？In H．G．Wells' book,the main character travels into distant time where he arrives at a beach and is attacked by giant crabs．He then voyages 30 million years into the future where the only living thing is a black object with tentacles（触角）.
If that's what's in store, maybe we are better just living in the present day after all．The novel The Time Machine mentioned in Paragraph 2 aims to show___________．
| A．People's interest in time travel |
| B．the special feature of the book |
| C．the long history of time travel |
| D．the contribution of H．G．Wells |
Einstein's and Hawking's theories_________．
| A．have similarities in many ways |
| B．push the invention of the first spaceship |
| C．have proved wrong by some time travelers |
| D．suggest the possibility to invent the time machine |
In Paragraph 4,“grandfather paradox”probably refers to the idea that__________．
| A．the traveler is prevented from meeting his grandfather |
| B．the traveler goes back in time to seek for his grandfather |
| C．the grandfather's death makes the traveler's birth impossible |
| D．The reunion of the traveler and his grandfather brings happiness |
According to the passage, what is probably the author's attitude towards time travel？
| A．Unclear． | B．Skeptical． |
| C．Supportive． | D．Unconcerned． |
Tips for Cycle Trips
Cycling has many advantages as a form of travel, as it is the fastest way to travel by human Power, and slow enough to allow the type of local involvement that is impossible with powered travel．Cycle travel is a cheap form of transportation．
Distance
On level terrain（地形）,without a headwind, a cyclist of average fitness on a touring bike can comfortably cover 60-120km a day．Distances of up to 250km a day are possible, but anything much beyond 120km will require considerable physical tension and not allow many stops to enjoy the places you visit．For many,80-100km a day will be the most suitable distance to aim for, as it
will give a sense of achievement and also leave plenty of time for meals and activities．
Geography
The gradient（坡度）of the trip will reduce your range．A basic rule is that for every 100 metres of altitude you climb, you should add an extra 15 minutes to your journey time．In hilly or mountainous areas, the easiest routes for cycling are downstream along major rivers, as overall they will be downhill．A long, roundabout route along a river will usually be easier than a short, direct route over a hill or mountain pass．However, it is worth bearing in mind that the most scenic routes often come from hilly terrain．
Eat
Food choice depends largely on where you are, so see the respective sections for more information about foods. As you will be working hard, it's important to get enough energy in your food. On long trips away from major towns-there may be little quality food available, so be prepared to live on candy bars, prepared meat products and the like if the need arises.
Sleep
While you can take a tent with you, many hotels and especially campsites can accommodate cyclists. However, there are also some hotels that may be less used to accommodating cyclists.If you are exploring an unfamiliar word, asking about the accommodation spares you the search for a new place to stay after a long exhausting day of travel.Which of the following distance does the author suggest to ordinary cyclists a day?
| A．50km. | B．90km. | C．130km. | D．250km. |
Form the passage, we can learn that_____________.
| A．high quality food is easy to get on long trips |
| B．hotels seldom provide accommodation for cyclists |
| C．cycling over a mountain is challenging but worthy |
| D．it takes cyclists 15 minutes to climb 100m of altitude |
We can probably read this passage in___________.
| A．a geography book | B．a research report |
| C．a science fiction | D．a travel magazine |