Tourism probably started in Roman times. Rich Romans visited friends and family who were working in another part of the Roman Empire. But when the empire broke down, this kind of tourism stopped.
In the early 17th century, the idea of the “Grand Tour” was born. Rich young English people sailed across the English Channel. They visited the most beautiful and important European cities of the time, including Paris in France, and Rome and Venice（威尼斯）in Italy. Their tours lasted for two to four years, and the tourists stayed a few weeks or months in each city. The “Grand Tour” was an important part of young people’s education-but only for the rich.
In the 18th century, tourism began to change. For example, people in the UK started to visit some towns, such as Bath to “take the waters”. They believed that the water there was good for their health. So large and expensive hotels were built in these towns.
In the 19th century, travel became much more popular and faster. When the first railways were built in the 1820s, it was easier for people to travel between towns, so they started to go for holidays by the sea. And some started to have holidays in the countryside as cities became larger, noisier and dirtier.
Traveling by sea also became faster and safer when the first steamships were built. People began to travel more to faraway countries.
The 20th century saw cars become more and more popular among ordinary people. Planes were made larger, so ticket prices dropped and more people used them.
Thus tourism grew, in 1949, Russian journalist Vladimir Raitz started a company called Horizon Holidays. The company organizes everything-plane tickets, hotel rooms, even food-and tourists pay for it all before they leave home. The package tour and modern tourist industry was born and began to take off.When tourism first started in Roman times, people ______.
| A．just visited the countryside. |
| B．visited the most beautiful and important European cities of the time. |
| C．stayed in friends’ town for weeks or even months. |
| D．just visited friends and families within the Roman Empire. |
. In the early times, the travelers ______.
| A．all came from Roman. | B．were very young and strong. |
| C．had lots of money. | D．traveled by boat. |
______ played the most important role in the tourism development.
| A．Education. | B．Money. | C．Transportation. | D．People’s ideas. |
Package tour was born ______.
| A．in the 20th century. | B．in Roman times. |
| C．in the early 17th century. | D．in the 19th century. |
The underlined phrase “take off” means ______.
| A．a plane rising into the air. | B．develop very fast. |
| C．remove hats and clothes. | D．bring down the prices. |
Educating girls quite possibly harvests a higher rate of benefit than any other investment available in the developing world. Women’s education may be an unusual field for economists， but increasing women’s contribution to development is actually as much an economic as a social issue. And economics， with its focus on rewards， provides an explanation for why so many girls are deprived of(剥夺)an education.
Parents in low-income countries fail to invest in their daughters because they do not expect them to make an economic contribution to the family： girls grow up only to marry into somebody else’s family and bear children. Girls are thus seen as less valuable than boys and are kept at home to do housework while their brothers are sent to school — the predict becomes self-ffulfilling， trapping women in a vicious circle (恶性循环) of neglect.
An educated mother， on the other hand， has greater earning abilities outside the home and faces an entirely different set of choices. She is likely to have fewer but healthier children and can insist on the development of all her children， ensuring that her daughters and sons are given fair chances. The education of her daughters then makes it much more likely that the next generation of girls， as well as of boys， will be educated and healthy. The vicious circle is thus transformed into a virtuous circle(良性循环).
Few will argue that educating women has great social benefits. But it has enormous economic advantages as well. Most obviously， there is the direct effect of education on the wages of female workers. Wages rise by 10 to 20 per cent for each additional year of schooling. Such big returns are impressive by the standard of other available investments， but they are just the beginning. Educating women also has a significant impact on health practices， including family planning.
Topic： The significance of in developing countries
| Viewpoint |
Educating girls is more |
|
| From low-income families |
From educated mothers’ families |
|
| Attitudes |
Girls are of |
Development should be for |
| Practices |
●There is ●Girls are made to stay at home， |
Girls and boys are sure to have |
| Consequences |
A vicious circle |
|
| |
Educating girls contributes to social benefits， Educating girls in developing countries is important and rewarding. |
US military is attempting to develop a new style “insect robot” to replace the human soldier to go wherever he can’t. The greatest trouble this project has fallen across is how to enable the robot to fly freely like an insect， said an official of the Pentagon(五角大楼).
The Pentagon is seeking for the cooperation with scientists in hope of developing a new technique by which people can control the insect’s flight direction and pass on the information its eyes or other organs catch through the equipment set in its body， the official said.
It is thus designed that a tiny controlling chip will be equipped in an insect’s body when it is in chrysalis(蛹). As the insect grows， the cut made when fixing in the chip will be recovered. The chip will exist in forever. Scientists believe this won’t influence the insect， sound growth or the functions of internal organs.
The terminal target of the project is to set up a global system， in which the insect robots will be stationed in all parts of the world and stick to their posts till a new instruction is received. At that time the military can receive from all over the world clear image information within about 5 meters of the insects and that of a special target within 100 meters.
Years ago， Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of US DOD(国防部) spent $3,000,000 carrying out a plan for training bees to detect landmines. But， no new progress has so far been made.
“According to the scientists， there is still enormous difficulty in technology in turning it into reality， such as the insects reproduction(繁殖)， their adaptation to the surroundings and temperature and so on. However， this project is really challenging. If successful， it is equal to making countless small drone(无人机)，”said the official of DOD.According to the description of the passage， what is an insect robot like？
| A．An insect made of a certain metal. |
| B．A robot looking like an insect. |
| C．An insect with a chip in its body. |
| D．A tiny flying robot. |
As for the design that an insect robot can receive and send information， how do you infer(推测) it works？
| A．There must be a controlling chip well connected with the insect’s brain. |
| B．The insect’s eyes and other organs must be replaced by some special equipment. |
| C．All the insect’s concerned organs must be controlled by a chip. |
| D．The insect must be so well trained as to make full use of its organs. |
When the project is completed， US military will .
| A．have a clear picture of almost every part of the world |
| B．have insect robots from all over the world |
| C．see clearly the things within 10 to 100 meters |
| D．get many insects which obey their orders |
Of the following technical problems， which is the one the scientists can’t solve so far？
| A．They can’t keep sound growth of the insects. |
| B．They can’t ensure the insects to produce their young. |
| C．They can’t fix a chip in an insect. |
| D．They can’t make sure the internal organs function well. |
What does the underlined word “terminal” in the fourth paragraph mean？
| A．Leading. | B．Vital. | C．Moral. | D．Final. |
Many people tend to complain about not having good friends in their lives. Sadly， they seem to think that their own company is not enough to make them happy. Nothing could be further from the truth though. In order to get along with others， the first thing you need to do is learn to get along with yourself. Only in this way will you succeed in developing healthy， solid relationships with others.
Listen to your inner voice. Remember that inner voice that keeps whispering to you what you really want and need as well as what you do not really want and need. It is about time you started listening to it. In order to get to know yourself in depth， it is important to learn and accept what you want and what you do not want.
Learn to enjoy your own company. You will be surprised to find out how many things you can do by yourself and actually have fun in the process. Reading romantic novels， poetry or science fiction is only a few of the things that you can do by yourself， which not only can offer you hours of enjoyment， but also the chance to get to know yourself better.
Satisfy yourself. Pay special attention to your personal hygiene(卫生). Do your hair and nails often and experiment with new styles. Follow a healthy diet and exercise regularly to stay in good shape. No matter how busy your daily schedule is， always find at least an hour per day for yourself， when you can either relax doing absolutely nothing， or doing something that you enjoy.
Learn to respect your own boundaries. Find out what your boundaries are and learn to respect them. You are the only one who knows what you can and what you cannot accept；no one else can point that out to you， or force you to compromise(妥协).If you want to have a good relationship with others， you should first .
| A．get into the habit of living alone |
| B．make many friends in society |
| C．always tell the truth |
| D．learn to be your own best friend |
What is the purpose of listening to your inner voice？
| A．To keep a good state of mind. |
| B．To know more about yourself. |
| C．To enjoy the time by yourself. |
| D．To form a relationship with others. |
In order to please yourself， the writer gives some suggestions EXCEPT .
| A．eating healthily |
| B．exercise regularly |
| C．experimenting with new hair style |
| D．keeping on struggling |
The underlined word “boundaries” nearly means “ ”.
| A．weaknesses | B．aims | C．ambitions | D．limits |
What is the structure of the passage？
Farmer John and Farmer Bob were neighbors. For more than 30 years， they had been getting along very well.
Then their good relationship broke. It began with a small thing， then bitter words， and then weeks of silence. One morning Farmer John woke up to find a stream between the two farms. “It must be Bob，” John thought.
Then one day there was a knock on John’s door. He opened it to find a carpenter(木匠) standing at the doorway.
“I’m looking for a few days’ work，” the carpenter said.
“I do have a job for you，” John said. “Look across the stream at that farm. That’s my neighbor Bob. He dug a stream between the two farms. I want you to build a fence—an 8-foot fence. I don’t want to see his place or his face any more. I don’t have such a neighbor！”
The carpenter said， “I think I know what to do， sir， and I’ll be able to do a job that pleases you.”
Farmer John helped the carpenter get the materials ready and then he was off for the day.
About sunset when the farmer returned， the carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer’s eyes opened wide. There was no fence there at all！
It was a bridge！ And the neighbor， Bob， was coming across， with his hand outstretched(伸出). “Hi， John！ You’re quite a fellow to build this bridge！”
Then they met in the middle， taking each other’s hands. “I’m terribly sorry for what I have said and done. We should be good to each other，” said Farmer Bob.
Then they turned to see the carpenter， who was ready to go. “No， wait！ Stay a few days. I have a lot of other jobs for you，” said Farmer John. “I’d love to stay，” the carpenter said， “but I have more bridges to build.”Just before the carpenter came， John and Bob each other.
| A．didn’t speak to |
| B．were friendly to |
| C．often fought with |
| D．never had bitter words with |
Farmer John asked the carpenter to build a fence because .
| A．he wanted to protect his farm |
| B．he didn’t want to do it himself |
| C．he wouldn’t like to see Bob |
| D．he wanted to find him something to do |
What does the sentence “You’re quite a fellow to build this bridge！” mean？
| A．John was great to build this bridge. |
| B．John was not good at building bridges. |
| C．John was foolish to build such a bridge. |
| D．John should build the bridge earlier. |
What do you think of the carpenter？
| A．Shy. | B．Wise. | C．Proud. | D．Careless. |
What is the best title for the passage？
| A．What a Big Fence！ | B．Farmer and Bridge |
| C．Three Kind Men | D．A Fence or a Bridge？ |
To get cash out in the 21st century, you won’t need a bank card, a PIN(个人识别编号) or even have to move a finger. You will simply have to look the cash machine straight in the eye, declares National Cash Registers, a multinational company that makes automated teller machines, or ATMs. NCR has shown its first example machine that is believed to be the future of banking. Instead of asking you for your PIN on a screen, the Super Teller-Stella for short, asks you orally through a loudspeaker to look straight ahead while an infrared camera turns to your head, then your eye, and finally takes an infrared photograph of your iris(虹膜). For identification(识别) purposes, an iris picture is better than a fingerprint, with around 256 noticeable characteristics compared with 40 for fingerprints. This means that the chances of someone else being recognized in your place is about 1 in 1020. Once you’ve been identified, Stella greets you by name and says: “Would you like cash or a statement?” An infrared port allows the machine to send a bank statement straight to your pocket computer. What does this passage mainly talk about?
| A．A new medical instrument |
| B．A new type of talking machine |
| C．A new type of cash machine |
| D．National Cash Register |
What is this new machine called?
| A．Stella | B．ATM | C．PIN | D．NCR |
When you want to get cash out in the 21st century, you will _______.
| A．need a bank card | B．have to put in your PIN |
| C．move your finger | D．just look directly at the teller machine |