In the hit film The bucket List, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman meet in hospital in California after they have been diagnosed with cancer. Between them they cook up a “bucket list” – a to-do list of all they want to do before they kick the bucket. The movie makes you wonder what would be on your bucket list. So let’s pack up some and see what it would cost to go out and have a little fun.
THE PYRAMIDS, GIZA, EGYPT
On to the pyramids, surely on anyone’s bucket list. Exotik Tours can take you there on a variety of trips, including their popular Egypt Express which includes three nights in Cairo and a three-night Nile Cruise(乘船游览). From $1,384, including four-and five-star accommodation, 12 meals and a ton of sightseeing.
www.exotiktours.com 416-646-3347
TAJ MAHAL, AGRA, INDIA
One of the world’s most fascinating images, India’s Taj Mahal makes even Nicholson and Freeman look calm. Toronto’s Goway Travel has many suggestions for India, including a three-day independent visit to Agra. Stay at the attractive Oberoi AmarVilas overlooking the Taj. Include two breakfasts, touring and airport transfer from $1,420.
www.gowaytravel.com 416-322-1034
THE GREAT WALL, CHINA
If the Great Wall of China is on your bucket list, check into Tour East Holiday’s four-day Amazing Beijing Tour for $580 per person, four-star accommodation, sightseeing including the Forbidden City and the Great Wall, breakfasts and two lunches, transportation and guide.
www.toureastholidays.com 416-929-0888
THE HIMALAYAS, NEPAL
And on to the Himalayas. Talk about “something truly majestic(壮丽的). See the top of the world on GAP Adventures’ Everest Adventure tour, a 15-day exploration including Everest Base Camp, teahouse lodge stays, and walking through Sherpa villages. Incredibly affordable at just $665 plus local payment of $250. GAP Adventures warns that this is a physically demanding trip.
www.gapadventures.com 416-260-0999The underlined phrase “kick the bucket” in Paragraph 1 means ______.
| A．come to life | B．play a game | C．pass away | D．list interesting places |
If you take on the Everest Adventure tour, you should be aware that ____.
| A．the sights may not be so good. |
| B．It is a tiring trip |
| C．you may not be used to the food there |
| D．it is an expensive trip |
According to the passage, where can you enjoy a view of the whole Taj Mahal?
| A．In Sherpa village. | B．Near the Forbidden City |
| C．Through Egypt Express. | D．At Oberoi AmarVilas |
Which of the following websites may offer you more information about Agra?
| A．www.gowaytravel.com | B．www.exotiktours.com |
| C．www.gapadventures.com | D．www.toureastholidays.com |
Many people have to work on the weekend. Some people do not mind. Other people think it is terrible.
One man thinks that working on the weekend can be dangerous. He is Graham Coates. Mr. Coates worked in an office in Brighton, England.
On Saturday, May 24, 1986, he went to the office to do some work. When he got in the elevator to go home, it stopped between floors. Mr. Coates could not get out of the elevator. He was trapped! He started to shout, but no one heard him. Then Mr. Coates remembered that it was a holiday in England. No one was going to come to work until Tuesday!
There was nothing for Mr. Coates to do. He had to wait until one his coworkers came to work and found him. With nothing to eat or drink, Mr. Coates ended up sleeping for most of the time.
Early on Tuesday morning, the vice president of the company came into work and found the elevator was not working. When the elevator was opened, Mr. Coates came out cold, weak, and tired. He had been in the elevator for sixty-two hours!
Now Mr. Coates says, “I only uses elevators if they have telephones in them.”
1. Mr. Coates could not get out of the elevator because ______.
A. it was broken B. it was a weekend
C. it was a holiday D. it stopped on a wrong floor
2. How long did he stay in the elevator?
A. Twenty-four hours. B. From Saturday to Tuesday.
C. More than sixty-four hours. D. From Thursday to Saturday.
3. What did he do in the elevator most of the time?
A. Shouted and screamed. B. Slept and waited.
C. Telephoned his boss. D. Ate and drank.
4. How did he make his way out in the end?
A. The vice-president found him.
B. Some one opened the elevator.
C. The elevator began to work on Tuesday.
D. He found a door in the elevator.
5. What is the best title for this story?
A. An Interesting Elevator B. A Busy Weekend
C. Elevator Safety D. Trapped in an Elevator
People are so busy these days that many have no time to cook. This is a problem, because many families love home cooking! A family meal brings everyone together. In some families, meals are often the only time everyone sees one another at the same time.
Another reason people enjoy home cooking is that it is often a way of showing love. A parent who makes some cookies is not just satisfying a child's sweet tooth. She or he is sending a message. The message says,“I care about you enough to spend an hour making cookies that you will eat up in no time.”
There is also something about the smell of home cooking. The smell of home cooking pleases people of all ages. It makes most of us feel good and loved—even if we are the ones doing the cooking! Next time you smell a cake being cooked, stop for a moment and pay attention to your mood.
1. Fewer people cook now because _________.
A. they have no time. B. they are not busy.
C. many people don't like cooking. D. they don't like family meals.
2. A parent spends an hour making cookies __________.
A. just to satisfy her or his child's sweet tooth B. only to send a message.
C. so her child can eat them in 15 minutes D. to show her or his love
3. The writer thinks the smell of home cooking makes us _________.
A. feel happy B. interested in cooking
C. pay attention to our mood D. love others
4. What's the main idea of this passage?
A. Family meals are important. B. How to make cookies.
C. People are too busy to cook. D. Home made cookies taste better。
第三部分：阅读理解（每小题2分，满分30分)
第一节：阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 AM. When I arrived to collect, I found the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.
I walked to the door and knocked, "Just a minute," answered a weak, elderly voice.
After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her eighties stood before me. By her side was a small suitcase.
I took the suitcase to the car, and then returned to help the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the car.
She kept thanking me for my kindness. "It's nothing," I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated."
"Oh, you're such a good man." She said. When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"
"It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly.
"Oh, I'm in no hurry," she said. "I'm on my way to a hospice(临终医院). I don't have any family left. The doctor says I don't have very long."
I quietly reached over and shut off the meter(计价器).
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she had lived, and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she'd ask me to slow down in front of a particular building and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
At dawn, she suddenly said, “I’m tired. Let's go now."
We drove in silence to the address she had given me.
"How much shall I pay?" she asked.
"Nothing." I said.
"You have to make a living," she answered. "Oh, there are other passengers," I answered.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto earth tightly. Our hug ended with her remark, "You gave an old woman a little moment of joy."
1. The old woman chose to ride through the city in order to ______.
A. show she was familiar with the city
B. see some places for the last time
C. let the driver earn more money
D. reach the destination on time
2. The taxi driver did not charge (向……要价) the old woman because he ______.
A. wanted to do her a favor
B. shut off the meter by mistake
C. had received her payment in advance
D. was in a hurry to take other passengers
3. What can we learn from the story?
A. Giving is always a pleasure.
B. People should respect each other.
C. An act of kindness can bring people great joy.
D. People should learn to appreciate others' concern（关心）.
Put an ice cube from your fridge into a glass of water. You have a piece of string(线) 10 centimeters long. The problem is to take out that piece of ice with the help of the string. But you must not touch the ice with your fingers.
You may ask your friends to try to do that when you are having dinner together. There is a saltcellar on the table. You must use salt when you carry out this experiment.
First you put the string across the piece of ice. Then put some salt on the ice. Salt makes ice melt(融化). The ice round the string will begin to melt. But when it melts, it will lose heat. The cold ice cube will make the salt water freeze again.
After a minute or two you may raise the piece of string and with it you will raise your piece of ice!
This experiment can be very useful to you. If, for example, there is ice near the door of your house, you must use very much salt to melt all the ice. If you don’t put enough salt, the water will freeze again.
61. We must use _______ when we carry out this experiment.
A. fridge B. some food C. a table D. some salt
62. How long will it take to carry out this experiment?
A. More than three minutes. B. Five minutes or so.
C. Only one minute or two. D. About ten minutes.
63. What is the task of this experiment?
A. Put the ice 
cube into the glass of water with the help of the string.
B. Take out the ice cube in the glass of water with the help of the string.
C. Take out the ice cube in the glass of water with your fingers.
D. Put some salt on the ice cube and then put the string across it.
64. How many things at least are used in this experiment?
A. Three. B. Four. C. Six. D. Seven.
65. We can learn something about _______ from the passage.
A. physics B. biology C. chemistry D. maths
Have you ever been ill? When you are ill, you must be unhappy because your body becomes hot, and there are pains all over your body. You don’t want to work, and you stay in bed, feeling very sad.
What makes us ill? It is germs(细菌). Germs are everywhere. They are very small and you can’t find them with your eyes, but you can see them with a microscope. They are very very small and there could be hundreds of them on a very small thing.
Germs are always found in dirty water. When we look at dirty water under the microscope, we shall see them in it. So your father and mother will not let you drink dirty water.
Germs aren’t found only in water. They are found in air and dust. If you cut your finger, if some of the dust from the floor goes into the cut(割开处), some of the germs would go into your finger. Your finger would become big and red, and you will have much pain in it. Sometimes the germs would go into all of your body, and you would have pain everywhere.
56. Which of the following is true?
A. If things are very very small, they are germs.
B. If things can’t be seen, they must be germs.
C. Germs are only in dirty water.
D. Germs are everywhere around us.
57. What is a microscope used for?
A. Making very very small things look much bigger.
B. Making very big things look much smaller.
C. Helping you read some newspapers.
D. Helping you if you can’t see things clearly.
58. Why don’t your parents let you drink dirty water?
A. You haven’t looked at it carefully.
B. Water can’t be drunk in this way.
C. There must be lots of germs in it.
D. Water will make you ill.
59. Which of the following is not true?
A. Germs can be found both in water and in the air.
B. Germs can go into your finger if it is cut.
C. If your temperature is not OK, there must be germs in your body.
D. If your finger isn’t cut, there aren’t any germs on it.
60. What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. Germs may make us ill. B. Germs are in dirty water.
C. Don’t drink dirty water. D. Take care of your fingers.