In the tour book below, four countries are missing. Try to identify them.
The combination of travel and volcanoes has not mixed well in recent times. Many thousands of holiday makers were left stranded in 2010 after the eruption of an Icelandic volcano created a dust cloud which covered much of mainland Europe and severely interrupted air travel. For some, though, volcanoes and travel are a combination made in heaven, with increasing numbers of enthusiasts booking specific excursions to visit volcanoes around the world.
So before you start digging out your passport, changing up your travel money and renewing your travel insurance, take a look at this list of the top 5 volcano travel break destinations and see what takes your fancy.
Italy
Italy is home to three active volcanoes, the largest of which is Mount Etna, situated on the east coast of the Italian island of Sicily. Etna is one of the ‘liveliest’ volcanoes on the planet and is almost constantly active – making it one of the best places in Europe to observe smoking craters and volcanic activity first hand. While in Italy you may also want to consider a trip to Pompeii, the ruins of a city decimated by the eruption of the Mount Vesuvius volcano and an impressive reminder of the true power that volcanoes hold.
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Situated on the boundary of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, it is an island whose very creation is a result of many undersea volcanic eruptions. Pay a visit to the beautiful landscape of its highlands and you can expect to see geysers, awe-inspiring glaciers and lava deserts alongside a selection of active volcanoes. You may also want to visit the site of the volcano that caused more pronunciation problems for newsreaders during the ash cloud crisis of 2010 than possibly any other name ever – Eyjafjallajokull.
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The mountainous Kamchatka region, located in Far East, is home to an incredible landscape of volcanoes and volcanic activity. One of the standout volcanoes of the region is the Mutnovsky Volcano, a combination of many merged craters that spew forth great jets of superheated water and plumes of sulphurous smoke.
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It is a group of islands said to have been ‘created by fire’ – formed after massive undersea volcanic activity in the Pacific. Quite apart from its reputation as a paradise island, which makes it a popular destination for many, it is undoubtedly a Mecca for volcano lovers. The Kilauea volcano on the Big Island is the most active volcano on the planet and – conditions permitting – you will be able to visit one of Kilauea’s active lava streams as it pours dramatically into the sea.
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Sitting on the border of the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, the Central American country is another beautiful place that has many areas of volcanic interest for you to discover. Hikes to see the volcanoes here will take you from jungle to peak, through some of the country’s magnificent national parks. There, you can visit landmarks such as the Irazu Volcano and its stunning green lake.
根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Hong Kong Bans Smoking
Do you plan to go to Hong Kong Disneyland with your family? If your dad smokes, you must ask him to be careful. The new law went into effect on Monday, and heavy fines(罚金) will be imposed on anyone who breaks it. The places include restaurants, workplaces, schools and karaoke rooms.
Public response has been mixed. Smoking is now banned in public spaces in Hong Kong.
Many Hong Kong residents are in favor of the new regulation, however. Hong Kong hopes the ban can prevent passive smoking. And it’ll be better if more people in Hong Kong give up smoking because of the ban.
Hong Kong has 7 million people.
Amy Choi, 27, a student, agrees to the smoking ban. ‘ I don’t like people smoking next to me. It’s so smoky and smelly,” she said.
Warning signs are now clearly visible in most public places such as beaches, stadiums, parks, and playgrounds. Some owners of bars and restaurants say that although the new ban may have negative effect on their business, they will still stop their customers from lighting up. If someone breaks the ban, he will have to pay up to HK$5,000.On January 1,2006, Singapore banned smoking in most public places.
A.Hong Kong is not the first Asian city to have a smoking ban. |
B.When you stay with a smoking person, you will feel light-hearted. |
C.From January 1,2007, Hong Kong bans smoking in most public places. |
D.Even smoking in some outdoor places like beaches, sports grounds, museums and parks is against the law. |
E.Among them, about 840,000 people aged 15 or above are smokers.
F.It does great harm to people’s health.-
G.You can smoke anywhere except Hong Kong in 2008.
根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
How can we all get more laughter into our lives? Here is what the experts suggest:Nancy Alguire, a teacher in Clifton Park, N. Y., was once painfully shy and had a hard time laughing. Then she married a circus clown (小丑). “I became interested in the clowns,” she recalls “One day I put on a costume and paint my face. That afternoon my whole life changed. I learned to laugh and enjoy life in a way I had never done before.”
To this day, she still makes it a rule to be with people who enjoy life and laughing.
It doesn’t take you too much time and can be easy. Collect favorite cartoons and jokes. Also, keep a paper for writing down humor you find in everyday life. “Good ideas come and go fast, you have to catch them quickly or they are gone,” says Virginia Tooper.
Laugh when you need it most. “” says comedian Bill Cosby. “And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might by, you can survive it,” he insists.
Gray Alan, a sociology professor at the University of Minnesota, claims that laughter is a skill we can all gain – because it comes naturally. Just remember: we are just here for a period, so get a few laughs.
A.Mix with people who laugh. |
B.You can lessen your pain through humor. |
C.Practise the art of laughing. |
D.But it’s also something that has to be developed. |
E.He who laughs last laughs best.
F.People’s joy can affect those around them.
G.Keep a laughter file (文档).
七选五There is an English saying: “
” Until recently, few people took the saying seriously. Now, however, doctors have begun to look into laughter and the effects it has on the human body.
Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films while doctors checked their hearts, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise
If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial. .
Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effect of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group that tolerated(
忍耐) the pain for the longest time was the group which listened to a funny program.
. They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter.
A.Laughter can prolong one’s life. |
B.As a result of these discoveries, some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics in which they help to improve their patients’ condition by encouraging them to laugh. |
C.The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce a kind of chemicals in the brain which diminish both stress and pain. |
D.It increases blood pressure, the heart beating and breathing; it also works several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach and even the feet. |
E.
Although laughter helps cure the disease, doctors still can not put this theory into clinic practice.
F.
Laughter is the best medicine.
G. They have found that laughter really can improve people’s health
Before going outside in the morning, many of us check a window thermometer(温度计)for the temperature. This helps us decide what to wear.__
__. We want our food to be a certain coldness in the refrigerator. We want it a certain hotness in the oven. If we don’t feel well, we use a thermometer t
o see if we have a fever. We keep our rooms a certain warmth in the winter and a certain coolness in the summer.
Not all the thermometers use the same system to measure temperature. We use a system called the Fahrenheit scale. But most other countries use the Centigrade scale.
Both systems use the freezing and boiling points of water as their guide._____.
The most common kind of thermometer is made with mercury(水银)inside a clear glass tube. As mercury (or any other liquid ) becomes hot, it expands. As it gets colder, it contracts(收缩). That is why on hot days the mercury line is high in the glass tube.___.
First. Take a clear glass juice bottle that has a cap ; fill the bottle with coloured water. Tap a hole in the center of the cap using a hammer and thick nail. Put the cap on the jar. Then stick a plastic straw(吸管) through the nail hole._______.
Finally. Place a white card on the outside of the bottle and behind the straw. Now you can see the water lever easily. _______.
As the temperature goes down, the water will contract, and the lever in the straw will come down. Perhaps you will want to keep a record of the water lever in the straw each morning for a week.
A.People use thermometers which are made by themselves when travelling around the world. |
B.We use and depend on thermometers to measure the temperature of many other things in our daily lives. |
C.Thermometers measure temperature, by using materials that change in the same way when they are heated or cooled. |
D.Now that you know this rule you can make a thermometer of your own that will work. |
E.The water will rise in the straw. As the temperature of the air goes up, the water will expand and rise even higher.
F.They label these in different ways. On the Fahrenheit scale water freezes at 32 degrees and boils at 212 degrees. On the Celsius scale water freezes at 0 degrees and boils at 100degrees.
G.Take wax (you may use an old candle if you have one) and melt some of it right where the straw is struck into the cap to seal(把..粘住) them together.
阅读下列材料, 从所给的六个选项(A、B、C、D、E、和F) 中,选出符合各小题要求的最佳选项。选项中有一项是多余选项。
________1. Jack just moved to a new place in Nelson. He wants to buy a house, but he hasn’t much money and his job is not well paid. So he needs a house whose price is about£50,000 and at least has two bedrooms.
________2. Lucy is now 65 years old. She is not very healthy and it is difficult for her to move. So she now wants to find a bungalow (平房) in Earby so that she can easily go out of the house to enjoy the sun in winter and fresh air outside in summer.
________3 Alice was very poor before, but recently she got a highly paid job and wanted to change her house into a better one. But the house should at least have four bedrooms and two reception rooms. What’s more, it should look like the house in the countryside.
________4. Peter now lives in Nelson. He dreams of having a house with at least three bedrooms. Besides, he doesn’t like high buildings.
________ 5 Lynne has lived in Newchurch for many years and now she wants to buy a house for a change. She wants the house to be semi-detached (半独立式) or detached. She also wants a separate garage.
A.Top Barn Lane, Newchurch, Lancashire, £49,950, flat on 30th floor.2 bathrooms with 3-piece suite in white, 1 reception room, 1 large lounge, 1 fully fitted kitchen,2 double bedrooms.
B.Queensway, Newchurch, Lancashire, £109,500, semi-detached house. 2 countryside view fronts, 2 double bedrooms, 1 modern fitted dining room, 1 detached garage opposite.
C.White Leys Close, Earby, Barnoldswick, £129,950, bungalow. 2 bathrooms, 1 reception room, 1 living room split into sitting and dining areas, doors to garden, a kitchen with a range of fitted bases. Outside of the front is a road for two cars and a garden area.
D.Birch Hall Lane, Earby, Barnoldswick, £180,000. 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3 reception rooms. Traditional stone built houses next to some cottages on one side. There is a small cycle store and a long, beautiful wildlife garden.
E.Craven View, Nelson, Lancashire, £185,000. Bungalow, 3 bedrooms with fitted wardrobe, 2 bathrooms, 1 reception room, 1 L-shaped living room with sitting and dining areas, fireplace around, French windows to back gardens, 1 kitchen with bright lighting.
F.Farrer Street, Nelson, Lancashire, £ 45,000. A stone built house. Although requiring a degree of refurbishment (刷新), this two bedroomed house does still offer a good deal. It includes 1 dining kitchen, two bedrooms, three-piece bathroom, gas fired central heating and the yard to the back.