With eco-tourism on the rise, eco-hotels are fast becoming the darling of the travel industry. These days, however, staying at an eco-hotel doesn’t necessarily mean vacationing in a tree house in the Costa Rican jungle, although that is certainly a choice.
The majority of eco-hotels fall into several categories: hotels and resorts that conserve ecologically important habitats; “green” hotels that reduce, recycle, minimize waste, and protect water; sustainable hotels that harvest food from gardens on the hotel property or get part or all of their power from renewable energy; hotels that encourage community involvement such as guests taking part in trail clearing; and hotels that offer some form of environmental education to their guests.
As such, eco-hotels are a various group. Stylish urban hotels like the Willard Inter-Continental Washington focus on energy conservation whereas the Rosario Resort & Spa on Orcas Island in Washington State offers a wildly popular “green” vacation package where guests can “take a hike, clear a trail”.
No matter what you call them, eco-hotel, eco-lodge, eco-resort, or green hotel, they’re all part of the “greening” of the tourism industry.
Part of what drives this greening of the hotel industry is no doubt competition. Going green is another way to distinguish a hotel from the mass of other excellent hotels that consumers have to choose from. But for many hotels, it’s also part of their philosophy. With the concept of “going green” firmly rooted in consumers’ minds, eco-hotels have taken it to the next level, and whether or not money is the driving factor behind the greening of the hotel industry doesn’t matter so much as it’s good for the planet.According to the passage, which of the following can match the idea of eco-hotel?
A.It is comfortable and fashionable. | B.It uses renewable energy. |
C.It has walls of glass. | D.It is home to endangered species. |
From the passage, we know the Rosario Resort & Spa is a kind of hotel that _______.
A.encourages its guests to participate in its greening activities |
B.harvests food from its own garden |
C.has courses on the environment for its guests |
D.protects important habitats |
From the last paragraph, we can infer that _______.
A.money is the driving force behind eco-hotels |
B.the hotel industry cares more about money than the environment |
C.eco-hotels teach their guests the philosophy of eco-hotels |
D.eco-hotels have no advantages in competing for guests |
The purpose of communication is to get your message across to others. This is a process that involves both the sender of the message and the receiver. This process leaves room for error, with messages often being misunderstood by one or more of the parties involved. This causes unnecessary confusion.
In fact, a message is successful only when both the sender and the receiver perceive (感知) it in the same way. By successfully getting your message across, you convey your thoughts and ideas effectively. When not successful, the thoughts and ideas that you convey do not necessarily reflect your own, causing a communication breakdown and creating roadblocks that stand in the way of your goals — both personally and professionally.
In a recent survey of recruiters (招募者) in companies with more than 50,000 employees, communication skills were cited as the single more important factor in choosing managers. The survey, conducted by the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Business School, points out that communication skills, including written and oral presentations, as well as an ability to work with others, are the main factors leading to job success.
In spite of the increasing importance placed on communication skills, many individuals continue to struggle with this, unable to communicate their thoughts and ideas effectively — whether in oral or written form. This inability(无能) makes it nearly impossible for them to compete effectively in the workplace, and stands in the way of career progression. Getting your message across is essential to progressing. To do this, you must understand what your message is, what audience you are sending it to, and how it will be perceived. You must also weigh-in the circumstances surrounding your communication, such as situational and cultural context.
47. The underlined word “This” in the first paragraph refers to ______.
A. the purpose of communication
B. the process of getting your message across to others
C. the process of letting others know your purpose
D. the cause of unnecessary confusion
48. A communication failure occurs when ______.
A. the sender and the receiver understand the message in the same way
B. the receiver purposely understands the message wrong
C. the way you send the message creates problems with the receiver
D. the sender creates problems in a professional way
49. _______ make for job success.
A. Communication skills and ability to cooperate
B. Communication skills along with written presentations
C. Written presentations together with ability to work with others
D. The abilities to cooperate with others
50. What is the attitude of the writer towards the communication skills?
A. Neutral. B. Opponent. C. Supportive. D. Indifferent.
Jazz was originally sung or played by the African slaves in America. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Africans were sold in America as slaves to work in large plantations(种植园). After a hard day’s work, these people would gather together and sing, both to forget their worries and also to teach their children about the land and culture they came from. Early jazz music was basically the soulful and sad composition performed by black musicians who had little or no training in western music.
Many different kinds of music helped to create jazz. Jazz probably had its roots in the 19th century. African Americans created blues music from church music and sad songs from the times of slavery. In large cities, African Americans mixed these songs with music from other immigrants and then formed jazz. Sounds from West African, Spanish, French and even Arabic cultures can be heard in jazz music. In this way, jazz is like American culture. Jazz brings many ideas together from around the world to make something new.
There are many different ideas about where the word “jazz” came from.Some experts think that the word just borrows ideas from many different languages. They think that people may have made up their own word to describe the excitement of hearing and playing a new kind of music. Others think that the word comes from the Arabic word jazb. Middle Eastern jazb music and jazz have similar sounds. Several musicians from the Middle East have come to America to study jazz. They mix traditional jazz sounds with music from their own countries. This kind of jazz is called “fusion” and it is one of the most popular forms of jazz in America today.
43. African slaves in the plantations played early “jazz” to _____.
A. earn some money
B. entertain their slave owners
C. develop a kind of soulful and sad music
D. forget worries and keep their land in mind
44. Some experts think that the word “jazz” is a word for people to ______.
A. pronounce the Arabic word “jazb”
B. form a new kind of culture
C. express their inner feeling
D. create a way to explain themselves
45.What can we infer from the passage?
A. By comparison, African Americans have the greatest talent in the world.
B. American culture is a mixture of different cultural and social patterns.
C. The native Americans started jazz music in the time of slavery.
D. The music was created by some professional musicians from Africa.
46. The title of the passage could be ____.
A. Basic Information of Jazz
B. The Features of Jazz Music
C. Different Forms of Jazz Music
D. The Prospect of Jazz Music
Show Your Bones is the newest album from a musical group with an unusual name, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The energetic music made by these rock musicians is becoming very popular in America.
A singer, a guitar player and a drummer make up the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Their rock sound is creative, unusual, and full of personality. Their music is considered an example of “indie”(short for independent) rock. Indie musicians like to protect their independence and artistic freedom. One way to do this is to avoid using major record companies. The lead singer Karen O is known for wearing wild clothing and having wild hairstyles while performing. Sometimes she even pours beer over herself and the audience. Imagine Karen O dancing around on stage as you listen to her sing the song, Phenomena.
The words in the songs on Show Your Bones are poetic and also a little strange. It is not always clear what the songs mean. In the song called The Sweets, Karen O describes colors and the motion of water. Also, she wonders about meeting someone again.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs started playing music together in New York City.
Now Karen O has moved to Los Angeles, California. She says that she likes flying between the two cities and the band is now “bi-coastal”. Karen O also said that this album was the most difficult to make. The band was trying to find a different sound from their earlier albums. Their work seems to have been worth the effort. Critics say Show Your Bones might be one of the best albums of the year.
39. How many people are there in the Yeah Yeah Yeahs?
A. Two. B.One. C. Four. D. Three.
40. According to the passage, we know that_______.
A. Karen O usually drinks beer on stage while singing
B. The Sweets is an album made by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
C. Karen O doesn’t sing in New York any longer
D. the group had made more than one album before Show Your Bones
41. What can we infer from the passage?
A. Most major record companies follow certain The words on
B. Show Your Bones are all difficult to understand.traditions.
C. Show Your Bones has got a lot of criticism.
D. Show Your Bones is the best-seller of the year.
42. The writer’s attitude towards the Yeah Yeah Yeahs can be best described as _______.
A. indifferent B. curious C. positive D. negative
第三部分:阅读理解(共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项。
Robby was 11 when his mother dropped him off for his first piano lesson. I prefer students to begin at an earlier age. Robby insisted that it had always been his mother’s dream to hear him play the piano, so I took him on as a student.
Robby tried and tried while I listened and encouraged him and gave him more instructions. But he just did not have any inborn ability.
I only saw his mother from a distance. She always waved and smiled but never came in. Then one day Robby stopped coming to our lessons. I thought about calling him but I guessed he had decided to try something else.
I was also glad that he stopped coming for the sake of my career. However, several weeks before the recital (演奏会) of my students, Robby came,telling me that he never stopped practicing and begged me to allow him to take part in. I agreed, but I made him perform last in the program, so I could save his poor performance through my “curtain closer”.
I was surprised when he announced that he had chosen one piece of Mozart’s. Never had I heard a piece of Mozart’s played so well by someone at his age. When he finished, everyone was cheering.
I ran up and put my arms around Robby in joy. “I’ve never heard you play like that, Robby! How could you do it?”
“Well, Miss Hondorf. Do you remember I told you my mom was sick? Actually she died this morning. She was born deaf, so tonight was the first time she could hear me play in heaven. I wanted to make it special. I knew I could.”
That night, Robby was the teacher and I was the student. He taught me so many important things about life.
36. Why did Robby stop coming to piano lessons suddenly?
A. He lost heart and believed that he would never make it.
B. His mother might had been seriously ill.
C. He thought that his teacher disliked him.
D. His mother died and he didn’t need to play any longer.
37. We can know from the passage that ________.
A. the writer thought that students shouldn’t begin playing the piano too early
B. the writer thought that Robby had given up his piano lessons
C. only by practicing at home did Robby learn to play well
D. no one else could play the piece of Mozart’s as well as Robby
38. The writer made Robby perform last because ______.
A. the one who performs last always performs very well
B. Robby asked the writer to do so
C. she wanted to do something to save a poor performance
D. Robby thought his mother would come at last
Is your schoolbag too heavy to bear? The e-schoolbag will free you from the weight.
It is said that e-schoolbags are going to be brought into use in Chinese middle schools soon.An experiment with several hundred e-schoolbags will begin in seven cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Taiyuan and Shijiazhuang.And the e-schoolbags are going to cover all over China if the experiment shows to be successful.In fact, the e-schoolbag should perhaps be called an e-notebook.It is a small hand-held computers for school students.
Heavy schoolbags have long been a serious problem for school students.The average schoolbag of middle school students weighs up to 5 kilos.But the e-schoolbag will change everything.It is much lighter than a usual schoolbag, weighing under 1 kilo.Also, it is no bigger than a usual book, but it can still hold all the things for study, such as a textbook, a notebook and exercise book.They could be made into chips that are as small as a stamp.The students can read the text page by page on the screen.They can still take notes using a special electronic pen.If they want to know the meaning or the pronunciation of a new word, or even e-mail their teachers, it’s just a press of a button.
In some foreign countries, it is becoming common.But it is hard to tell when people will receive this new form of study.Some say that e-textbooks can easily be broken, some say that it is not good to students’ eyesight to look at the screen for long.But only time will tell.
69.The e-schoolbag has many functions EXCEPT ________.
A.It can pronounce the words. B.It can send e-mails.
C.It can be used as a dictionary. D.It can phone somebody.
70.According to the passage, the e-schoolbags ________.
A.are not heavy as before but still large
B.are used as an experiment in Tianjin
C.are made of metal
D.are going to cover China if it shows to be successful
71.Which of the following statement is TRUE?
A.All the students in China will use this new schoolbag.
B.We can do a lot of work based on the programmes of the chips.
C.The e-notebooks are very perfect.
D.We will not make notes because the e-notebook can make all by itself.