DIY sailor Owen Warboys has finally launched his homemade boat — after spending nearly 30 years building it in his mum’s garden.
Owen, 66, a retired engineer from Hordle, New Milton, Hants, first started work on the 40ft—long boat in 1982 because he could not afford to buy his own. He told mum Edith that it would only take five years but after suffering “a few problems” it lasted nearly three decades.
When he finally finished, he was left with the head-scratching task of getting the 18-tonne boat out of the back garden. After some time he found a way. A huge crane (起重机) was brought in to carefully raise it 40ft in the air over his mother’s house and onto a lorry. It was then driven to the seaside and, to Owen’s delight, it floated and showed no signs of leaking when lowered into the water.
Now, 28 years after he first started, Owen is at last preparing to set sail in his beloved boat, Wight Dolphin, with his long-suffering wife Anne. Owen said, “I am so relieved that it’s finished. There were times when I thought it would never end but I’m the sort of person who likes to finish something once I’ve started.”
At first he persuaded his mum to let him do it in her garden and started taking in sheets of steel and pieces of wood. “My mother was happy for me to build it at her house but only bacause I told her it would only take five years.”Why did Owen decide to make his own boat by himself?
| A．He wanted to kill time after his retirement |
| B．He wished to set a new world record |
| C．He didn’t have enough money to buy a boat |
| D．He had a hobby of making things by hand |
What problem did Owen face when he finished his boat?
| A．It leaked when lowered into the water |
| B．It couldn’t be sent onto a truck |
| C．He couldn’t afford to hire a crane. |
| D．He didn’t know how to move it out. |
Which of the following is TRUE about the boat ?
| A．It was built by Owen and his supportive wife |
| B．It was in good condition after being put in the sea |
| C．Owen’s mother was relieved to see it was finished |
| D．Owen and his wife will sail around the world in it |
We can infer from the passage that _____.
| A．the boat will enter a race competition |
| B．Owen retired early in order to make his boat |
| C．Owen’s wife gave the boat the name of Wight Dolphin |
| D．It took 23 more years to finish the boat than expected |
Susan Boyle was just an ordinary middle-aged British woman before she appeared on the reality show（真人秀）.
She lives in a house with her cat Pebbles in a tiny Scottish town. Because of learning difficulties, she doesn’t have much education. But what she does have is a very good voice. As a kid, she sang in church and school plays. For a living, she sang at local pubs.
When she took the stage on April 10th, her hair was untidy and her clothes seemed just one step up from rags（破烂）.The audience laughed at her.
But then she opened her mouth. A few bars into the song and the laughing audience went silent. A beautiful voice was singing I Dreamed a Dream from the musical Les Miserables. Everyone was amazed. At the end of the song, the audience jumped to their feet and applauded wildly.
Almost overnight, Susan became a household name. She won fans and millions of admirers. Her online videos have drawn over 85.2 million hits.
Susan’s story proved the truth of an old saying: “Never judge a book by its cover.”The underlined phrase “just one step up from” in the third paragraph probably means “_________”.
| A．far from | B．close to |
| C．different from | D．the same as |
The audience jumped and applauded wildly because ___________.
| A．her hair was untidy and her clothes seemedjust one step up from rags |
| B．she looks very funny |
| C．she sang so well that everyone was amazed |
| D．she made a foolish mistake in the end |
Susan Boyle has many fans now because of _____________.
| A．her beautiful face |
| B．her knowing how to dress |
| C．her good education |
| D．her beautiful voice and courage |
The passage is mainly about____________.
| A．how to win fans | B．how to sing well |
| C．a woman’s sudden success | D．a woman’s simple life |
Searching for airfares 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 vary 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 (美国联合通讯社)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 ten 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 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 |
What will people die of 100 years from now? If you think that is a simple question, you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in bio-technology. With the help of new medicine, the human body will last a very long time. Death will come mainly from accidents, murder and war. Today’s leading killers, such as heart disease, cancer, and aging itself, will become distant memories.
In discussion of technological changes, the Internet gets most of the attention these days. But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times. How long can humans live? Human brains were known to decide the final death. Cells are the basic units of all living things, and until recently, scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond l20 years because the basic materials of cells, such as those of brain cells, would not last forever. But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine. Sometime between 2050 and 2100, medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so, people will be able to take medicine to repair their organs. The medicine, made up of the basic building materials of life, will build new brain cells, heart cells, and so on — in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones.
It is exciting to imaging that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic condition of human existence, but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future.According to the passage, human death is now mainly caused by.
| A．diseases and aging | B．accidents and war |
| C．accidents and aging | D．heart disease and war |
In the author’s opinion, today’s most important advance in technology lies in .
| A．the Internet | B．brain cells |
| C． medicine | D．human organ |
Humans may live longer in the future because.
| A．heart disease will be far away from us |
| B．human brains can decide the final death |
| C．human organs can be repaired by new medicine |
| D．the basic materials of cells will last forever |
We can learn from the passage that.
| A．much needs to be done before humans can have a longer life |
| B．human life will not last more than 120 years in the future |
| C．humans have to take medicine to build new skin cells now |
| D．we have already solved the technical problems in building new cells |
Danielle Steel, America’s sweetheart, is one of the hardest working women in the book business. Unlike other productive authors who write one book at a time, she can work on up to five. Her research before writing takes at least three years. Once she has fully studied her subjects, ready to divide into a book, she can spend twenty hours nonstop at her desk.
Danielle Steel comes from New York and was sent to France for her education. After graduation, he worked in the public relations and advertising, industries. Later she started a job as a writer which she was best fit for. Her achievements are unbelievable: 390 million copies of books in print, nearly fifty New York Times best-selling novels, and a series of “Max and Martha” picture books for children to help them. Deal with the real-life problem of death, new babies and new schools. Her l998 book about the death of her was shot to the top of the New York Times best-selling list as soon as it came out. Twenty-eight of her books have been made into film. She is listed in the Guinness Books of World Records for one of her books being the Times best-seller for 381 weeks straight.
Not content with a big house, a loving family, and a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, Danielle Steel considers her readers to be the most important resource and has kept in touch with them by e-mail. While she is often compared to the heroines of her own invention. Her life is undoubtedly much quieter. But if she does have anything in common with them, it is her strength of will and her inimitable style. There is only one Danielle Steel.Danielle Steel is different from other writers in that.
| A．she is one of the most popular American women writers |
| B．she often does some research before writing a book |
| C．she can write several books at the same time |
| D．she can keep writing for quite a long time without a break |
One of Danielle Steel’ achievements is that .
| A．her picture books attracted a lot of young men |
| B．one of her books became a best-seller in 1998 |
| C．some TV plays were based on her books |
| D．she wrote the Guinness Book of World Records |
We can learn from the passage that Danielle Steel.
| A．lives an exciting life |
| B．is pleased with her achievements |
| C．writes about quiet women |
| D．values her readers a lot |
What does the underlined word “inimitable” mean?
| A．hardworking | B．attractive |
| C．strange | D．unique |
Kuala Lumpur is an exciting capital city in Malaysia. Here are the top 4 budget hotels there:
The Chinatown Inn (About $30 per night)
Just a block from the railway station, located in Chinatown’s open market. It has clean beds, central air conditioning, hot water for coffee and tea, and a hall with a big screen TV. Wi-Fi is good on the first 4 floors, but a little weak on Floor 5. Many guests like the Chinatown Inn. Their complaint is that the air condition is too cold, so make sure you get a room with a window. You can open it to let some warmth in.
Ancasa Express (About $45 per night).
The hotel is above the sky-train station. That makes it convenient to get to other parts of the city. From the station, take the elevator to the 5th floor to reach the hotel lobby (大厅). The rooms are clean and nice. There is a flat screen TV, the strongest Wi-Fi, and a very hot rainfall shower. The guests’ complaint is that the cafe is only open for breakfast and dinner, and not 24 hours.
Central Hotel (About $35 per night)
This hotel is just two blocks from the Central Station, which is the heart of all transportation in the city—buses, trains and sky-trains all meet here. Central is where the airport-link trains will take you to the airport. From Central you can walk 2 blocks to the beautiful Central Hotel, in which rooms are small but nice and clean, and have common Wi-Fi.
Ocean 77 (About $25 per night)
On Petaling Street in Chinatown, this brand new hotel is most spotlessly clean. There is a flat screen TV and good Wi-Fi in each room. The location is good, in the heart of the Petaling Street market. No cafe in the hotel, but many nearby on the street.In the Chinatown Inn you are told to choose a room with a window .
| A．because the light in the room is dim |
| B．so that you can breathe the fresh air |
| C．so that you can let some warm air in |
| D．so that you can have a good view from it |
If a guest likes surfing the Net very much, which of the following would be his first choice?
| A．Ancasa Express | B．Central Hotel. |
| C．Ocean 77. | D．The Chinatown Inn. |
What is the unusual characteristic of Ocean 77?
| A．It is the cheapest, newest and cleanest. |
| B．Its location is in the heart of the city. |
| C．It is located in the street in Chinatown. |
| D．There is a flat screen TV and good Wi-Fi. |
What can we learn from this passage?
| A．Wi-Fi in the Chinatown Inn is good in each room. |
| B．Only one of the four hotels is air-conditioned. |
| C．The café in Ancasa Express is open all day long. |
| D．Central Hotel is in the heart of all transportation. |