This selection of books and guides offers insight to hidden charm in many favorite cities and destinations and gives you the knowledge to uncover unusual sights to see and places to visit. We hope you enjoy our choices and welcome your comments. Email your feedback to books@ gounusual. com.
The following are taken from these books. You will find much more information about these hotels in the books.
Kakslauttanen Hotel
It is the home of the famous Igloo（冰屋）Village with the unique glass and snow igloos and the world’s largest snow restaurant. In addition , their guests can enjoy the winter activities including watching the Northern Lights visible generally from late August to late April. Guests can sample the peace of sleeping in snow. Their glass igloos are fantastic for lying on your bed at night, watching the Northern Lights in the warm. You can enjoy cold or warm night sleep as required.
Art Hotel in Ronda
Beautifully situated in the oldest paved street of Ronda and surrounded by historic buildings, Art Hotel is decorated with original and historical artwork and atmospheric lighting. There is lots of fun and funky touches, e. g. lights and birds nesting in old basketballs, wall murals（壁画）of Michael Jackson , car tyres converted to occasional tables.
During your stay, all drinks, breakfast and the use of all facilities are included in the price of the room.
Otter Creek Tents
The tents are separated from the rest of the world by a quiet salt-water creek. A coconut plantation dating back to 1886, the secret location preserves the privacy and peace of guests, with the salt water of the creek keeping even the mosquitoes away.
Each tent sleeps 2 in a four-poster double bed and has a western style toilet and bathroom with running water and hot shower. The tents use the dining facilities of the charming “Elsewhere” beach houses and enjoy over a mile of the pristine（处于原始状态的）beach where one can still see the footprints of fishermen , and during the season , possibly the prints of sea turtles.
The Original Icehotel
“Imagine a hotel built from thousands of tons of snow and ice, and rebuilt every winter”--that is ICEHOTEL in northern Lapland, Sweden.
This is the original ICEHOTEL, first created in the early 1990s. It has become the global ambassador for this genre and now licenses ICEBARs around the world too. With 80 ＋ rooms, the property is a huge undertaking to be rebuilt every year, and their expertise inspired other similar properties in North America and elsewhere.People staying in Kakslauttanen Hotel can watch the Northern Lights EXCEPT in ________.
| A．August | B．April | C．December | D．June |
What is special about Otter Creek Tents?
| A．You can sleep in a house made of ice there. |
| B．It is surrounded by a forest. |
| C．You can enjoy the scenes of a beach. |
| D．You can enjoy turtles cooked in a special way there. |
If you want to experience sleeping with snow or ice around, you can choose ________.
| A．Kakslauttanen Hotel and Art Hotel in Ronda |
| B．Otter Creek Tents and Icehotel |
| C．Art Hotel in Ronda and Otter Creek Tents |
| D．Kakslauttanen Hotel and Icehotel |
What’s the author’s purpose of writing the passage?
| A．To show us the advantages of staying in hotels. |
| B．To introduce and promote some books. |
| C．To encourage people to travel around the world. |
| D．To explain to us how people manage the hotels. |
There are many wetlands(湿地) in China and some of them have become the world’s important wetlands. The Chinese Yellow Sea Wetlands are among them. They are in Yancheng，Jiangsu Province. They are home of many different kinds of birds and animals. The world’s largest Milu Deer Nature Reserve(自然保护区) is in them. More than 700 milu deer live freely there.
The temperature in the wetlands is usually neither too high nor too low. There is a lot of rain and sunshine，too. They are really good places for wildlife. Offering food and home for some special kinds of animals and birds is not the only reason why we need to protect wetlands.
Wetlands are important because they also prevent flood. But some people want to change the wetlands to make more space for farms and buildings. This means there will be less and less space for wildlife.
Luckily, more and more people are beginning to realize the important of wetlands and wildlife. Every year, on February 2nd many activities are held to tell people more about wetlands around the world. Which animal is mentioned in the passage?
A B C DUsually the weather in the wetlands is ____.
| A．hot | B．mild | C．cold | D．dry |
The reasons for protecting wetlands are the following except that ______
| A．they are home of wildlife |
| B．they can prevent flood |
| C．they offer food to the wildlife |
| D．they will be good farmland |
What can be the best title for the passage?
| A．China’s wetlands –the Biggest One in the World |
| B．Wetlands --- Home of Wildlife and Human Beings |
| C．Special Animals --- Found in Yellow Sea Wetlands |
| D．Wetlands --- the Last Valuable Land on the Earth |
Welcome to our school. You can do a lot of things here. Come and join us.
| Timetable |
|
| Sunday 8:30---11:30 Personal Inventions You can see many inventions by the students; you may also bring your own inventions. |
Monday 19:00---21:00 Space and Man Dr. Thomas West If you want to know more about the universe. Dr. West will guide you on a travel into space. |
| Wednesday 19:30---21:00 Modern Medicine Mrs. Lucy Green Would you like to know medical science? Mrs. Green will talk about various diseases. |
Friday 18:30---21:00 Computer Science Mr. Harry Morison from Harvard University Learn to use Windows XP. |
The person who teaches Computer Science is from___________.
| A．Canada | B．Australia | C．America | D．New Zealand |
You may learn something about a disease called TB from __________.
| A．Dr. West | B．Mr. Morison | C．Mr. Thomas | D．Mrs. Green |
If you want to learn something about the universe, you can go to the class from______.
| A．19:00 to 21:00 on Monday |
| B．8:30 to 11:30 on Sunday |
| C．19:30 to 21:00 on Wednesday |
| D．18:30 to 21:00 on Friday |
A great French writer has said that we should help everyone as much as we can because we often need help ourselves. The small even can help the great. About this, he told the following story.
An ant was drinking at a small river and fell in. she tried her best to reach the side, but she couldn’t move at all. The poor ant got too tired but was still doing her best when a big bird saw her. With a pity, the bird threw a piece of wood. With it the ant reached the bank again. While she was resting and drying herself in grass she heard a man coming up. He was walking without shoes on his feet and carrying a gun in his hand. As soon as he saw the bird, he wished to kill her, and he would certainly do so, but the ant bit(咬) him in one of his feet and at that moment the bird flew away at once. It was an animal much weaker and smaller than the bird herself that had saved her life.According to the French writer, we often need help from others, so we should _____ .
| A．help others as much as we can |
| B．help the people who may be useful to us |
| C．get as much help as we can |
| D．first need to help ourselves |
Why could the bird fly away at once?
| A．Because the bird could fly very fast. |
| B．Because the man hurt his feet himself. |
| C．Because the man didn’t want to kill her. |
| D．Because the ant bit the man in one of his feet. |
The writer tells this story to show ____ _.
| A．how brave the bird is |
| B．even the small can help the great |
| C．how an ant saved a bird |
| D．how clever the ant is |
The title of this story can be “___ __”.
| A．The Ant | B．Pity | C．Help | D．The Bird |
Success is often measured by the ability to overcome adversity（逆境）. But it is often the belief of others that gives us the courage（勇气）to try.
J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, began writing at age 6. Her good friend-Sean became the first person to encourage her and help her build the confidence that one day she would be a very good writer.
“He was the first person with whom I really discussed my serious ambition（志向） to be a writer. He was also the only person who thought I was bound to（注定）be a success at it, which meant much more to me than I ever told him at the time.”
Though there were many difficulties, Rowling continued her writing, particularly fantasy stories. But it wasn't until l990 that she first came up with the idea about Harry Potter. As she recalls（回忆）, it was on a long train journey from London to Manchester that “the idea of Harry Potter simply fell into my head. To my great disappointment, I didn't have a pen with me, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one. I think, now, that this was probably a good thing, because I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details came up in my brain, and this thin, black-haired, bespectacled（戴眼镜的）boy who didn't know he was a wizard became more and more real to me.”
That same year, her mother died after a ten-year fight with serious diseases, which deeply affected her writing. She went on to marry and had a daughter, but separated from her husband shortly afterwards.
During this time, Rowling was diagnosed with depression（诊断患有抑郁症）. Unemployed, she finished her first novel in area cafes, where she could get her daughter to fall asleep. After being refused by l2 publishing houses, the first Harry Potter novel was sold to a small British publishing house.
Now with seven books that have sold nearly 400 million copies in 64 languages, J. K. Rowling is the highest earning novelist in history. And it all began with her friend’s encouragement as well as her ambition to write. Who believed J. K. Rowling was to be a good writer?
| A．Her friend Sean. | B．Her mother. |
| C．Her daughter. | D．Her husband. |
Rowling first came up with the idea about Harry Potter________.
| A．at the age of 6 |
| B．on a train journey |
| C．after her mother's death |
| D．in her secondary school |
She felt disappointed on the train because_________.
| A．her train was delayed for four hours |
| B．she didn't have a pen with her |
| C．her mind suddenly went blank |
| D．no one would offer her help |
It can be concluded from Paragraph 5 and 6 that Rowling is_________.
| A．open-minded | B．warm-hearted |
| C．good-natured | D．strong-willed |
The text mainly tells us_________.
| A．adversity makes a good novelist |
| B．the courage to try is a special ability |
| C．you can have a wonderful idea everywhere |
| D．encouragement helps one succeed |
Pets are popular. They’re good listeners, they encourage us to exercise, and they’re always on our side when we argue with others. They can bring people comfort and pleasure.
But it is important to keep in mind that pets can carry diseases that can make you sick. Washing your hands often — especially after you touch, feed, or clean up a pet — is the best way to keep yourself healthy and prevent the spread of disease. Be sure to clean your fingernails（指甲）carefully every time you wash.
You also can protect your health by wearing gloves while cleaning animal cages or cat litter boxes. Avoid washing your pet in the bathtub (浴缸), but if you do, always disinfect (消毒) the tub immediately afterward.
Be sure to bring your pet to the hospital for examinations every two weeks or month and whenever your pet is sick or injured.
You can do a few other things to keep yourself and your pet healthy. Only give your pet food that has been planned ahead for them. It’s not a good idea to share your food with your pet. Human food (like chocolate) can make animals sick. Never feed your pet raw meat because it can carry germs (细菌) that cause serious illness.
And funny as it can be to see your dog or cat drinking from the toilet, don’t let pets do this. It’s bad for your pet’s health! Give them clean, fresh water to drink at all times.
Never give milk to cats. The only milk an animal should drink is from its mother. Cow’s milk is not for pets, especially for cats, as it makes them sick.
Finally, some animals aren’t pets. Don’t take in a wild or abandoned (被抛弃的) animal as a pet because it may have diseases that could make you or your family sick. Instead, turn to an animal rescue group that is trained in helping sick or abandoned animals.The first paragraph mainly tells us that pets can ______.
| A．be great friends | B．bring us pleasure |
| C．help us keep healthy | D．do harm to us |
To keep healthy, the author may be against ______.
| A．washing your fingernails after touching your pet |
| B．wearing gloves when cleaning your pet’s cage |
| C．washing your pet in the bathtub |
| D．bringing your pet for examinations regularly |
The underlined word “it” in Para.7 refers to ______.
| A．the cow | B．the mother cat |
| C．cow’s milk | D．mother cat’s milk |
Which is the RIGHT way to feed your pet?
| A．Sharing your chocolate with your dog. |
| B．Letting your dog drink from the toilet. |
| C．Feeding your little cat with raw meat. |
| D．Giving your cat cooked fish. |
According to the text, when you meet an abandoned dog, you should ______.
| A．call an animal rescue group |
| B．bring it back to your home |
| C．give it first aid（急救）in time |
| D．help to find its owner |