WelcomeAboardYourPiccadillyFli-优题课

We all know, especially for me who like travelling very much, travelling can be a way to gain life experiences, especially during Spring Break----a week long school vacation in the United States. But what if you’re a student and don’t have enough money for a trip? Don’t worry. Here are some useful suggestions.
Save: this probably is the most important preparation for travelling. Cut expenses to fatten your wallet so you’ll have more choices about where to go and how to get there.
Plant ahead: Don’t wait until the last minute to plan your trip. Tickets may cost more when bought on short notice. Giving yourself several months to get ready can mean security(安全) and saving.
Do your homework : No matter where you go, research the places you will visit. Decide what to see. Travel books will provide information on the cheapest hotels and restaurants.
Plan sensibly, Write down what you expect to spend for food and hotels. Stick to your plan or you may not have enough money to cover everything.
Travel in groups: Find someone who is interested in visiting the same places. By traveling with others you can share costs and experiences.
Work as you go: Need more money to support your trip? Look for work in the places you visit.
Go off the beaten path: Tourist cities may be expensive. You may want to rethink your trip and go to a lesser-known area. Smaller towns can have many interesting activities and sights.
Pack necessary things: The most important things to take are not always clothes: Remember to take medicine in case you get sick and snacks in case you cannot find a cheap restaurant.
Use the Internet: The Net can help to save money. Some useful websites include www.Travelocity.com.; WWW. Bargains-lowestfare.com and www.Ecoomictravel.com. By planning sensibly, even students can enjoy the travel. Your travel experiences will be remembered for a lifetime.
This passage is about______.

A．how to plan your travel

B．how to travel with enough money

C．how to make your travel interesting

D．how to get life experience

Before your trip , the first thing you should do is ____.

A．to make a plan for the route

B．to get information on the Internet

C．to save money by spending less

D．to buy tickets in advance

During your trip,_______.

A．you need more shoes than clothes

B．you shouldn’t look for work all the way

C．you can gain valuable life experience

D．you should forget to do your homework

I’ve loved my mother’s desk since I was just tall enough to see above the top of it as Mother sat doing letters. Standing by her chair, looking at the ink bottle, pens, and white paper, I decided that the act of writing must be the most wonderful thing in the world.
Years later, during her final illness, Mother kept different things for my sister and brother. “But the desk”, she said, “is for Elizabeth”.
I never saw her angry, never saw her cry. I knew she loved me, she showed it in action. But as a young girl, I wanted heart-to-heart talks between mother and daughter.
They never happened. And a gulf opened between us. I was “too emotional”(感情易激动的). But she lived “on the surface (表面)”
As years passed and I had my own family. I loved my mother and thanked her for our happy family. I wrote to her in careful words and asked her to let me know in any way she chose that she did forgive (原谅) me.
I posted the letter and waited for her answer. None came.
My hope turned to disappointment (失望), then little interest, finally, peace—it seemed that nothing happened. I couldn’t be sure that the letter had even got to Mother. I only knew that I had written it, and I could stop trying to make her into someone she was not.
Now the present of her desk told me, as she’d never been able to, that she was pleased that writing was my chosen work. I cleaned the desk carefully and found some papers inside—a photo of my father and a one-page letter, folded (折叠) and refolded many times.
Give me an answer, my letter asks, in any way you choose, Mother, you always chose the act that speaks louder than words.
The passage shows that__________.

A．Mother wrote her daughter in careful words

B．Mother cared much about her daughter in words

C．Mother was too serious about everything her daughter had done

D．Mother was cold on the surface but kind in her heart to her daughter

The word “gulf” in the passage means________.

A．part of the sea going far in land

B．free talks between mother and daughter

C．different ideas between the mother and the daughter

D．deep understanding between the old and the young

What did Mother do with her daughter’s letter asking for forgiveness?

A．She had never received the letter.

B．She read the letter again and again till she died.

C．For years, she often talked about the letter.

D．She didn’t forgive her daughter although seeing it.

What’s the best title of the passage?

A．My letter to Mother	B．Mother and Children
C．My Mother’s Desk	D．Talks between Mother and Me

For high school leavers starting out in the working world, it is very important to learn particular skills and practice how to behave in an interview or how to find all internship（实习）. In some countries, schools have programs to help students onto the path to work. In the United States, however, such programs are still few and far between. Research shows that if high schools provide career-related courses, students are likely to get higher earnings in later years. The students are more likely to stay in school, graduate and go on to higher education.
In Germany, students as young as 13 and 14 are expected to do internships. German companies work with schools to make sure that young people get the education they need for future employment.
But in America, education reform programs focus on how well students do in exams instead of bringing them into contact with the working world. Harvard Education school professor Robert Schwartz has criticized education reformers for trying to place all graduates directly on the four-year college track. Schwartz argued that this approach leaves the country’s most vulnerable（易受影响的）kids with no jobs and no skills.
Schwartz believed that the best career programs encourage kids to go for higher education while also teaching them valuable practical skills at high school. James Madison High School in New York, for example, encourages students to choose classes on career-based courses. The school then helps them gain on-the-job experience in those fields while they’re still at high school.
However, even for teens whose schools encourage them to connect with work, the job market is daunting (使人气馁的). In the US, unemployment rates for 16-to-19-year-olds are above 20 percent for the third summer in a row.
“The risk is that if teenagers miss out on the summer job experience, they become part of this generation of teens who had trouble in landing a job.” said Michael, a researcher in the US.
In the author’s opinion, American high school leavers__________.

A．have enough career-related courses

B．need more career advice from their schools

C．perform better in exams than German students

D．can get higher earnings in later years

According to Robert Schwartz, _________.

A．there is no need for kids to go for higher education in the US

B．students should get contact with the working world at high school

C．education reform should focus on students’ performance in exams

D．teenagers in the US can’t miss out on the summer job experience

What can be learned from the text?

A．Unemployment rates for US teenagers remain high at the moment.

B．Students with career-based courses never have problems finding a job.

C．US companies work with schools to prepare young people for future employment.

D．High school leavers with no practical skills can’t find a job absolutely

What’s the main idea of the text?

A．Arguments about recent US education reform.

B．Tips on finding jobs for high school leavers.

C．The lack of career-based courses in US high schools.

D．Advice for American high school leavers.

Switzerland is the best place to be born in the world in 2013, and the US is just 16th. A new study produced by the Economist Intelligence Unit says American babies will have a dimmer future than those born in Hong Kong, Ireland and even Canada. The EIU, a sister company of The Economist, attempted to measure how well countries will provide the best opportunities for a healthy, safe and prosperous life in years to come.
People born in Switzerland will tend to be the happiest and have the best quality of life judged in terms of wealth, health and trust in public institutions, according to the analysis. The Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden and Denmark also all make the top five in a “quality-of-life” index（指数）where it is best to be born next year.
One of the most important factors is being rich, but other factors come into play including crime, trust in public institutions and the health of family life. In total, the index takes into account 11 factors. These include fixed factors such as geography, others that change slowly over time such as demography（人口学）social and cultural characteristics, and the state of the world economy. The index also looks at income per head in 2030, which is roughly when children born in 2013 will reach adulthood. Small economies dominate the top 10 countries, with Australia coming second and New Zealand and the Netherlands not too far behind.
Half of the top 10 countries are European, but only one, the Netherlands, is from the euro-zone. The crisis-ridden south of Europe, including Greece, Portugal and Spain, falls behind despite the advantage of a favourable climate. Interestingly, the largest European economies - Germany, France and Britain — do not do particularly well. Nigeria has the unenviable title of being the worst country for a baby to enter the world in 2013.
According to the passage, the happiest people live in .

A．Denmark

B．Switzerland

C．Germany

D．Nigeria

The factors of telling the best place to be born don’t include .

A．economy	B．geography
C．trust in public institutions	D．pollution

From the passage, we know .

A．the Economist Intelligence Unit is a company

B．the Economist attempted to measure the best place to live

C．the Scandinavian countries are hardly at the top of the list

D．half of the top 10 countries are from the euro-zone

The purpose of the text is to show people .

A．the best place to be born in 2013

B．a new study made by the EIU

C．the worst country to be born in 2013

D．the factors of measuring the best place to be born

Some people believe that international sport creates goodwill between the nations and that if countries play games together they will learn to live together. Others say that the opposite is true: international contests encourage false national pride and lead to misunderstanding and hatred. There is probably some truth in both arguments, but in recent years the Olympic Games have done little to support the view that sports encourage international brotherhood. Not only was there the incident of tragedy involving murders of athletes, but the Games were also ruined by lesser incidents caused principally by minor national contests.
One country received its second-place medals with visible anger after the hockey final. There had been noisy scenes at the end of the hockey match, as the losers disagreed with the final decisions. They believed that one of their goals should have been allowed and that their opponents’ victory was unfair. Their manager was in great anger when he said: “This isn’t hockey. Hockey and the International Hockey Federation are finished.” The president of the Federation said later that such behavior could result in the suspension(停赛) of the team for at least three years.
The American basketball team announced that they would not yield first place to Russia, after a disputable(有争议的) end to their contest. The game had ended in disorder. It was thought at first that the United States had won by a single point, but it was announced that there were three seconds still to play. A Russian player then threw the ball from one end of the court to the other, and another player popped it into the basket. It was the first time the US had ever lost an Olympic basketball match. An appeal jury (评审委员会) debated the matter for four and a half hours before announcing that the result would stand. The American players then voted not to receive the silver medals.
Incidents of this kind will continue as long as sport is played competitively rather than for the love of the game. The suggestion that athletes should compete as individuals or in non-national teams, might be too much to hope for. But in the present organization of the Olympics there is far too much that encourages aggressive patriotism (爱国主义).
According to the author, recent Olympic Games have _______.

A．created goodwill between the nations

B．hardly showed any international friendship

C．caused only false national pride

D．led to more and more misunderstanding and hatred

What did the manager mean by saying, “...Hockey and the International Hockey Federation are finished”?

A．Hockey and the Federation are ruined by the unfair decisions.

B．His team would no longer take part in international games.

C．There should be no more hockey matches organized by the Federation.

D．The Federation should be ended.

The basketball example implied that _______.

A．too much patriotism was displayed in the incident

B．the announcement to make the match last longer was wrong

C．the appeal jury was too hesitant in making the decision

D．the American team was right in receiving the silver medals

Which statement best summarizes this passage?

A．Athletes should compete as individuals.

B．Different teams often have disputes when fighting for the first place.

C．Any team that has disrespectful behavior should be suspended.

D．The organization of the Olympic Games must be improved.

A．expect a train every 5 minutes at the stop	B．get to the first stop no later than 23:30
C．get a discount once traveling in groups	D．get to the destination within 34 minutes