Thai authorities have been urged to see to it that condominiums (公寓), apartment houses and other lodgings available to tourists throughout the country will be of higher quality than today, a leading tourism businesswoman has said.
Piyaman Techapaibul, president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, called on the Ministry of Tourism & Sports as well as other government agencies concerned to have those places and accommodations for tourists improved and upgraded to meet international standards because, she said, today's tourists from around the world have more money to spend and prefer quality lodgings as well as quality services and accommodations at those places.
"Added by condos and apartment houses currently opening for daily rent, the number of lodgings for tourists throughout the country has increased over the years, but not the qualities. Many of today's tourists are so affluent and selective that they'd prefer quality places where personnel should be very responsible and experienced in taking care of them while security should be constantly and effectually maintained," she said.
Employees and staff in charge of providing accommodations to tourists should be expert in communicating with the foreigners, service-minded and speak fluent English, according to the council leader.
Thailand is seen to receive up to 23.1 million tourists from other countries around the world next year, compared to about 21.7 million, who have reportedly visited the country throughout this year, about 2.6 million of whom from China, while as much as two trillion baht (US$66.6 billion) is expected to be earned from tourist industry by 2015, compared to about one trillion baht (US$33.3 billion) this year.
Thailand's most favorite destinations for tourists include the world-famous beach resorts of Pattaya and Phuket, the Andaman Sea archipelagos of Krabi and Surat Thani and the capital city of Bangkok.
The council leader made her comments in response to news reports that the government might deregulate (撤销管制) businesses of running condominiums and apartment houses to the extent that they might not only serve as a place which collects monthly rent from the tenants but as a hotel where guests pay the room rates on a daily basis.
No parking lots or hotel-operating licenses might be legally required at such places nationwide only if they were practically turned into daily hotels or guesthouses.What can we learn from paragraph 1?
| A．Thai started to take measures to have the accommodations improved in the past. |
| B．Tourism is the leading industry in Thailand. |
| C．The accommodations in Thailand are of poor quality. |
| D．Tourists prefer hotels to apartment houses in Thai. |
What does the underlined word “affluent” in paragraph 3 mean?
| A．particular | B．prosperous | C．sensitive | D．restricted |
According to the passage, how many people went to Thailand for a trip except China this year?
| A．about 23,1 million | B．about 21.7 million |
| C．about 2.6 million | D．about 19.1 million |
Why did the authorities in Thai need to have the lodgings improved?
| A．Because tourists prefer better service and better living condition |
| B．Because tourists have plenty of money. |
| C．Because they want to meet the international standards |
| D．Because the condominiums in Thai are inferior to those in any other country. |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is not true?
| A．Piyaman advocated the authorities not to limit the development of the condos. |
| B．Bangkok is one of the most attractive destinations for tourists |
| C．Thailand has earned about one trillion baht from tourist industry this year. |
| D．Staff in condos should speak English fluently. |
NEW YORK CITY?A hurricane warning has been given for New York City．Forecasters say Hurricane Irene could cause widespread flooding, power failure and billions of dollars in damage．About 65 million Americans live in Hurricane Irene's projected path —many of whom have been evacuated．
In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has ordered the city's first-ever evacuation． Roughly 250,000 people have been told to leave their homes in low-lying areas, including the Wall Street financial district．
WASHINGTON D．C．—On Aug．24, 2011, Apple announced that Mr．Steve Jobs, who has battled cancer for several years, was stepping down as the CEO but would serve as chairman．
In January, he had announced that he was taking a medical leave of absence from Apple．In announcing his leave, he turned daily oversight of the company over to the chief operating officer, Timothy D．Cook, and it was Mr．Cook whom Apple named to succeed him as the next CEO of the company．
TRIPOLI—Opposition forces in Libya say they control more than 90 percent of the country．It is still not clear where Moammar Gadhafi is．The opposition has offered more than 1,600,000 dollars for his capture （逮捕）．The head of the opposition forces said his group supports a decision by local businessmen to provide the money in an effort to speed up the capture．Earlier Wednesday, government forces fired onto the former headquarters （总部） of Mr．Gadhafi, which is now controlled by opposition forces．Heavy fighting also continued near Tripoli's airport and in a town of Zuara．The underlined word "evacuated" probably means ________．
| A．sent away to safer places | B．gathered around to higher positions |
| C．flooded off to lower reaches | D．left behind to dangerous situations |
Who has been appointed as the new CEO of Apple?
A．Steve Jobs．B．Michael Bloomberg．
C．Moammar Gadhafi． D．Timothy D．Cook．From the news above, we know that in Libya _______．
| A．the local businessmen have offered money to catch hold of Gadhafi |
| B．the opposition forces suffered a thorough defeat near Tripoli's airport |
| C．the government forces are defending the headquarters of Mr．Gadhafi |
| D．the town of Zuara is the place where Moammar Gadhafi probably hides |
Most recently, it's very common in students who need a parent present for job interviews． Naturally, it's easy to blame the students in these situations, but the bigger problem is us． We—as parents—are so eager to shelter our kids that we fail to realize that this in itself is harming them．As the mother of two young sons, I have to remind myself constantly that the biggest responsibility I have as a parent is to help them develop the skills needed to live in, to live without me．So, I'll let them fail．
I'll let them fail because as long as they are safe and warm inside their comfort zones, they will never grow．And failure is along with loss, heartbreak, disappointment, etc．—will be part of growth for them．Call me the anti-tiger mom, but leaving them alone is my way of helping them become equipped to fit in this world as we know it today．From terrorism and seemingly endless natural disasters, to our national debt and beyond, if we expect the next generation to stand up to the very real problems of our time, we need to stop feeding them and start teaching them how to fish．
My children now are becoming little masters of compromise, but they try to negotiate （协商） everything now．It's a small price to help them learn a skill they'll use for the rest of their lives, including when I don't accompany them on job interviews．Why do parents accompany their kids on job interviews?
| A．Because they want to protect their kids from difficulties． |
| B．Because they think they can help them on the questions． |
| C．Because their kids are too shy to attend interviews． |
| D．Because their kids strongly request them to do so． |
According to the author, what is beneficial to kids' development?
A．Sheltering them． B．Keeping them safe．
C．Leaving them alone． C．Blaming them．Why does the author stress failure in kids' life?
| A．To make them stronger than other kids． | B．To help them grow in this tough world． |
| C．To help them develop all social skills． | D．To make them learn to compromise． |
Which of the following might be the best title for die text?
| A．Never Shelter Your Kids | B．Let Your Kids Fail |
| C．Be Eager to Grow Up | D．Live Without Parents |
When a storm is coming, most people leave the area as quickly as possible and head for safety…But there are a few people who will get into their cars and go straight for the center of the storm．These people are willing to risk being killed by floods or 100-Kilometer- an-hour winds for the excitement of watching the storm close up．
“Storm chasing (追逐)”is becoming an increasingly popular hobby，especially in the Midwest of the United States, where there are frequent storms between March and July．A storm chaser begins the day by checking the Internet for the latest weather reports, and then drives up to l,000 kilometers to where the storm will be and waits for it to develop．
Although anyone can do it，storm chasing is extremely dangerous．The power of a big storm can throw a cow into the air or destroy a whole house in seconds．Storm chasers are also often hurt in accidents caused by driving in a heavy rain．If you are a beginner, it is much safer to join a group for storm - chasing vacations during the storm season．
Even then，storm chasing is not all adventure and excitement．“Storm chasing is 95％driving，”says Daniel Lynch，who spends most of his summer storm-chasing．“Sometimes you
Can sit around for hours waiting for something to happen，and all you get is blue sky and a few light showers.”
However，for storm chasers，it is all worth it. “When you get close to a storm，it is the most exciting sight you will ever see in your life，”says Jasper Morley．“Every storm is an example of the power of nature．It is the greatest show on Earth．”For storm chasing，the first thing storm chasers do is to ．
| A．head straight for the center of the storm |
| B．get into the car for safety |
| C．wait patiently for the storm to develop |
| D．collect information about a coming storm |
Beginners of storm chasing are advised
| A．not to drive in a heavy rain | B．to do it in an organized way |
C．not to get too close to a storm | D．to spend more time on it in summer |
By saying “it is all worth it” in the last paragraph，the author means that
| A．storm chasing costs a lot of money |
| B．storm chasing is worth hours of waiting |
| C．storm chasing is worth hours of waiting |
| D．a storm presents the greatest show on Earth |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Sometimes storm chasers get nothing but disappointment． |
| B．Many storm chasers get killed in the storms． |
| C．Storm chasing is becoming popular around the world． |
| D．Storm chasing is only fit for young people |
A nine-year-old kid was sitting at his desk when suddenly there was a puddle（水潭、泥坑） between his feet and the front of his trousers was wet．He thought his heart was going to stop because he couldn't possibly imagine how this had happened．It had never happened before, and he knew that when the boys found out he would never hear the end of it. When the girls found out, they would never speak to him again as long as he lived．
He prayed this prayer, "Dear God, I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat!" He looked up from his prayer and here came the teacher with a look in her eyes that said he had been discovered．As the teacher was walking toward him, a classmate named Susie was carrying a goldfish bowl full of water．Susie tripped （绊倒） in front of the teacher and dumped （倒） the bowl of water in the boy's lap．The boy pretended to be angry, but all the while was saying to himself, "Thank you．Lord!"
Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy was the object of sympathy．The teacher rushed him downstairs and gave him gym shorts to put on while his trousers dried out．All the other children were on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk．The sympathy was wonderful．But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his had been transferred （转移） to someone else+—Susie．She tried to help, but they told her to get out．
When school was over, the boy walked over to Susie and whispered, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Susie whispered back, "I wet my trousers once, too!"The underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 means ____.
A．the boys would never play with him
B．the boys would treat him as usual
C, he would hardly hear any praise from the boys
D．he would be laughed at by the．boys endlesslyAfter Susie dumped water in his lap, the boy was in a state of ___ _.
| A．excitement | B．relief | C．anxiety | D．anger |
What did the other kids do after the incident?
| A．They offered him dry clothes． |
| B．They laughed at the boy rudely, |
| C．They helped the boy do the cleaning． |
| D．They urged the boy to get out angrily, |
Why did Susie dump water in the boy's lap?
| A．The boy asked her to do so． |
| B．She just did it by accident． |
| C．The teacher tripped her on purpose． |
| D．She knew the boy's embarrassment． |
Father Maurice Chase used a special way to celebrate his 90th birthday. The Catholic priest（神父） took $ 15,000 in cash to Los Angeles’ Skid Row (贫民区) and gave it away. Twenty wheelchair – bound people received $100 bills, while the rest received $1to $ 3 each.
“I come out here to tell them that God loves them and I love them and that some one is concerned about them,” Chase said.
Chase has given away cash and blessings every Sunday at the same corner for 24 years．Several hundred people wait for him every week.
He makes a point of coming on Thanksgiving and Christmas, too, but this is the first year he spent his birthday in the downtown neighborhood where people live mainly in shelters and on dirty sidewalks.
“ It’s the place that makes me the happiest. I just love it,” said Chase. “I look forward to coming here.”
The money comes from donations he receives from rich and famous people he met during his work as assistant to the president of Loyola Marymount University.
The crowd broke into choruses of “Happy Birthday” several times. Some people presented him birthday cards, to his delight.
Travis Kemp, a 51 – year – old disabled man with long black hair, was one of the lucky 20 to receive $ 100. He said he had no special plans for spending the money. “He has a lot of respect from me,” Kemp said. “I know I couldn’t do it.”On his 90th birthday, Chase.
| A．handed out cash to the needy | B．collected money for poor people |
| C．visited poor people’s homes with gifts | D．held a party at Los Angeles’ Skid Row |
Which of the following makes Chase feel the happiest?
| A．Celebrating his birthday with his neighbours. |
| B．Working in Loyola Marymount University. |
| C．Celebrating Christmas with the people he has helped. |
| D．Going to Los Angeles’ Skid Row to help people there. |
What’s the source of the money Chase used to help people?
| A．All his savings. |
| B．His earnings as a Catholic priest. |
| C．Donations from the wealthy and celebrities(名人). |
| D．Donations from Loyola Marymount University. |
Travis Kemp is mentioned in the text to show________.
| A．he was the luckiest person on that day |
| B．the disabled need to be taken care of |
| C．Chase is greatly appreciated by the needy |
| D．even old people came to celebrate Chase’s birthday |
Which statement is CORRECT according to the passage?
| A．Every recipient could get $100 in cash from Father Maurice Chase. |
| B．Father Maurice Chase gave the cash away not only on his birthday but also on other occasions. |
| C．Although Father Maurice Chase gave the cash away on his birthday, he didn’t receive anything in return. |
| D．Father Maurice Chase earned much money as assistant to the president of Loyola Marymount University. |