Do you know the open-air art gallery in London's Blackall Street? Probably -not. Not many Londoners know it either, but Henri does and he is willing to show it to you.
Henri used to sleep in parks until he met a charity(慈善机构) that helps homeless people get back on their feet by becoming tour guides.
Rather than show traditional London sights, “Unseen Tours" take people off the beaten track. Henri has been teaching tourists about the history and architecture of Shoreditch, where he slept on public benches for three years.
When he felt separated from the society, contact with the volunteer network "The Sock Mob" gave Henri hope. "Not everyone just looked down on me," he said. The tours aren't the only actions trying to help those who have suffered a misfortune to stand tall again.
An innovative(创新的) college for homeless people in London, the first of its kind in the country, is attracting hundreds of students. The Recovery College, set up by St Mungo's charity, is providing courses designed to improve technical skills and life skills.
According to Andy Williams, who helps to organize the college, the most popular courses have proved to be about raising self-confidence and developing self-pride.
Steve, now in his 50s, told a reporter how much of a difference it makes to "have a bit of confidence". He had difficulty learning to read and had to leave school when he was 12. Because Steve's problem was not recognized at the time, he was "seen to be unable to read or write", and suffered with depression and alcohol addiction. He says the status of "student" is itself important for people who are used to being treated as outcasts（被遗弃者）
Some charities aim not only to help the homeless become independent but also to make them popular. The Homeless World Cup started ten years ago. Today the tournament draws teams from 48 countries made up of players-men and women-who are, or have been, living in the streets. It gives them a chance to become football heroes.The underlined part "take people off the beaten track" means "take people to______.”
| A．famous galleries | B．traditional sights |
| C．unusual places | D．public benches |
How does the Recovery College help the homeless people?
| A．By training them to be guides |
| B．By offering them different courses. |
| C．By keeping in contact with them. |
| D．By asking more students to help them. |
At the age of 12, Steve _______ .
| A．wasn't treated as a normal student |
| B．had much confidence in himself |
| C．didn't want to study at school |
| D．left school because of depression |
The purpose of the Homeless World Cup is to help the homeless people _______.
| A．become football stars | B．improve life skills |
| C．gain self-confidence | D．find proper jobs |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．Confidence Back Now. | B．London Tour. |
| C．The Popular Homeless. | D．Football Heroes. |
The Atlantic Ocean is one of the oceans that separate the Old World from the New. For centuries it kept the Americans from being discovered by the people of Europe.
Many wrong ideas about the Atlantic made early sailors unwilling to sail far out into it. One idea was that it reached out to “the edge of the world.” Sailors were afraid that they might sail right off the earth. Another idea was that at the equator the ocean would be boiling hot.
The Atlantic Ocean is only half as big as the Pacific, but it is still very large. It is more than 4,000 miles (6,000km) wide where Columbus crossed it. Even at its narrowest it is about 2,000 miles (3,200km) wide.
Two things make the Atlantic Ocean rather unusual. For so large an ocean it has very few islands. Also, it is the world’s saltiest ocean.
There is so much water in the Atlantic that it is hard to imagine how much there is. But suppose no more rain fell into it and no more water was brought to it by rivers. It would take the ocean about 4,000 years to dry up. On the average the water is a little more than two miles (3.2km) deep, but in places it is much deeper. The deepest spot is near Puerto Rico. This “deep” measures 30,246 feet-almost six miles (9.6km).
One of the longest mountain ranges of the world rises from the floor of the Atlantic. This mountain range runs north and south down the middle of the ocean. The tops of a few of the mountains reach up above the sea and make islands.
Several hundred miles eastward from Florida there is a part of the ocean called the Sargasso Sea. Here the water is quiet, for there is little wind. In the days of sailing vessels(船) the crew were afraid they would be becalmed(停滞不前) here. Sometimes they were.
Today the Atlantic is a great highway. It is not, however, always a smooth and safe one. Storms sweep across it and pile up great waves. Icebergs float down from the Far North across the paths of ships.
We now have such fast ways of traveling that this big ocean seems to have grown smaller. Columbus sailed for more than two months to cross it. A fast modern steamship can make the trip in less than four days. Airplanes fly from New York to London in only eight hours and from South America to Africa in four!Which world is the Old World?
| A．Africa | B．Europe | C．Asia | D．All of above |
What caused people to be unwilling to explore the Atlantic?
| A．There are no ships big enough to get across the Ocean. |
| B．Sailors were afraid of being lost in the Ocean. |
| C．The Atlantic Ocean was very unusual because it has few islands and the saltiest water. |
| D．Many incorrect ideas such as “the edge of the world”, “the equator with boiling hot water”, made people think the Ocean was full of danger. |
What is the topic of the fifth paragraph?
| A．How deep the water is |
| B．How to measure the water in the Atlantic Ocean |
| C．How much water the Ocean holds. |
| D．How rain affects the Ocean water. |
We can learn from the text that ______.
| A．the Atlantic is the largest ocean on earth |
| B．one of the longest mountain ranges lies in the Atlantic |
| C．the Atlantic has a lot of islands in it |
| D．sailing on the Atlantic Ocean is always quiet, smooth and safe |
The first time I saw Carlos I would never have believed he was going to change my life. I had my arms full of books and I was tearing into the classroom when I ran into something solid. It was Carlos.
“My, you’re tall,” he said.
Of course, the class began to laugh. Angry, I walked to my seat without a word.
I glanced back to see if Reed Harrington was laughing with the rest. That would be the last straw. But Reed was studying chemistry and did not seem to be aware of anything else. I didn’t know why I considered Reed my friend. Maybe just because he was a good two inches taller than I. Anyway, every time I blew out my birthday candles and made a wish, it was for a date with Reed Harrington. “Take that seat,” Mr. McCarthy told the proud newcomer Carlos, pointing to the only empty one, in the back of the room.
Carlos smiled broadly. “But I need a couple of dictionaries.” Again the class laughed, but now they were laughing with Carlos, not at him. He had been here only 10 minutes and already he had them on his side.
It was the school elections that made me think of Carlos again. Reed Harrington was voted president and Carlos vice president. “How come?” I kept asking myself. “How come this shrimp(虾) who’s only been in town for a little over a month gets to be so popular.”
So on that morning, I stopped Carlos and said, “It doesn’t seem to bother you—being short.” He looked up at me.“Of course I mind being short. But there isn’t anything I can do about it. When I realized I was going to have to spend my life in this undersized skin, I just decided to make the best of it and concentrate on being myself.” “You seem to get along great,” I admitted. “But what about me? Nobody wants to date a girl taller than he is.” “The trouble with you is you’re afraid to be yourself. You’re smart. And you could be pretty. In fact, you might be more than pretty.” I felt myself turning red... Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．The writer cared much about Reed’s attitude. |
| B．Carlos isn’t popular with the classmates. |
| C．The writer is always confident with herself. |
| D．Carlos always makes fun of the writer. |
From the passage, we can conclude _______________.
| A．Carlos is as tall as the writer |
| B．Carlos fell love with the writer later |
| C．the writer is very tall |
| D．Reed, Carlos and the writer became good friends later |
What can we use to describe Carlos’ character?
| A．Handsome and proud | B．Humorous and confident |
| C．Diligent and helpful | D．Hardworking and popular |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．A girl and a boy. | B．My shortcomings. |
| C．My helpful classmates. | D．A change in my life. |
Coffee has a history dating back to at least the 9th century and has been a catalyst for social interaction across cultures and eras. Originally discovered in Ethiopia, coffee beans were brought into the Middle East by Arab traders, spreading to Egypt, Yemen, Persia, Turkey, and North Africa by the 15th century. Muslim merchants eventually brought the beans to the thriving port city of Venice, where they sold them to wealthy Italian buyers. Soon, the Dutch began importing and growing coffee in places like Java and Ceylon (largely through slave labor), and the British East India Trading Company was popularizing the beverage in England. Coffee spread across Europe and even reached America.
Where there has been coffee, there has been the coffeehouse. From the 15th century Middle Eastern establishments where men gathered to listen to music, play chess, and hear recitations from works of literature, to Paris' Cafe le Procope where luminaries of the French Enlightenment such as Voltaire, Rousseau, and Diderot came to enjoy a hot cup of joe, coffeehouses have traditionally served as centers of social interaction, places where people can come to relax, chat, and exchange ideas.
The modern coffee shop is modeled on the espresso and pastry-centered Italian coffeehouses that arose with the establishment of Italian-American immigrant communities in major US cities such as New York City's Little Italy and Greenwich Village, Boston's North End, and San Francisco's North Beach. New York coffee shops were often frequented by the Beats in the 1950's. It wasn't long before Seattle and other parts of the Pacific Northwest were developing coffee shops as part of a thriving counterculture scene. The Seattle-based Starbucks took this model and brought it into mainstream culture.
Although coffeehouses today continue to serve their traditional purpose as lively social hubs in many communities, they have noticeably adapted to the times. Rediscovering their purpose as centers of information exchange and communication, many coffee shops now provide their customers with internet access and newspapers. It has become extremely common to see someone sitting at a Starbucks listening to music or surfing the web on his or her laptop. Coffee stores today also maintain a fairly identifiable, yet unique aesthetic: wooden furniture and plush couches, paintings and murals drawn on walls, and soft-lighting combine to give coffee shops the cozy feeling of a home away from home.
Today, big business retail coffee shops are expanding quickly all over the world. Starbucks alone has stores in over 40 countries and plans to add more. Despite its popularity, Starbucks has been criticized and labeled by many as a blood-sucking corporate machine, driving smaller coffee shops out of business through unfair practices. This has even spawned an anti-corporate coffee counterculture, with those subscribing to this culture boycotting big business coffee chains. Increasingly popular coffee stores such as The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf are also giving Starbucks some stiff competition. In any case, it seems pretty clear that coffee has weaved itself into the fabric of our consumer-oriented culture. Which of the following is the correct order of coffee spreading in history?
①Egypt②America③the Middle East④Netherlands⑤Venice
| A．①③④②⑤ | B．③①⑤④② | C．①⑤④③② | D．③②⑤④① |
We can infer from the passage ________.
| A．Starbucks has beaten all the competitors |
| B．there are no changes in the development of coffee culture |
| C．the taste of coffee has changed a lot |
| D．Starbucks has some effect on the development of coffee culture |
The famous coffeehouse “Starbucks” originally come from _______.
| A．Seattle | B．Ethiopia | C．Java | D．France |
Nowadays, if you come to a coffeehouse, you can _______.
| A．play chess with other customers |
| B．enjoy delicious dishes from South America |
| C．surf the internet |
| D．watch a TV play |
We supply the bike, panniers, all the support gear, easy to follow maps, cycle routes and either the accommodation or several accommodation suggestions depending on the tour.
All you need to do is bring your cycle gear. Book your accommodation off the detailed list if required, and you are all set for a cheap, environmentally friendly holiday in New Zealand.
We do all the hard work of sorting routes and where to stay — you just relax and enjoy the riding! Too easy.
There are more tours to come so if you don’t see a tour that suits your needs let us know!
| Tour |
Grade |
Cost from |
Options |
|
| 2 Day Self Guided Road Tour Banks Peninsula |
2 |
$182 |
 |
View Map |
| 2 days of self guided cycling on Banks Peninsula roads. Includes bike hire, trip notes, panniers and lots great riding around lyttelton Harbour. |
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| 3 Day Self Guided Road Tour Canterbury and the Southern Alps |
2 |
$215 |
|
View Map |
| An easy three day introduction to cycle touring to the inexperienced cyclist. From the high alpine passes of Arthur Pass cross the fertile Canterbury plains to the endless sandy east coast beaches. |
||||
| 5 Day Self Guided Road Tour Christchurch to Queenstown |
4 |
$480 |
|
View Map |
| The wonderful and wild West Coast in a flash! For the fit and keen cyclist |
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| 6 Day Self Guided Road Tour Christchurch to Queenstown |
2 |
$365 |
|
View Map |
| A tour that gets you from Christchurch to Queenstown a different way with far less hills! Cycling through the center of the South Island where great feast of fresh Salmon and breath taking views of Mt Cook await. |
||||
| 8 Day Self Guided Road Tour Christchurch to Queenstown |
3 |
$390 |
|
View Map |
| From Christchurch to Queenstown in eight days down the West coast. The Transalpine does the hard work for you across Arthurs Pass and drops you in Greymouth for the start of your tour. |
If you learned how to ride bike only a week ago, you should choose _______.
| A．2 Day Self Guided Road Tour | B．3 Day Self Guided Road Tour |
| C．5 Day Self Guided Road Tour | D．8 Day Self Guided Road Tour |
Where can we mostly see the passage?
| A．Newspaper | B．TV | C．Internet | D．Magazine |
What do you have to do when you want to enjoy your cycle tour?
| A．Bring your cycle gear. |
| B．Bring your support gear and book your accommodation. |
| C．Book your accommodation. |
| D．Bring your bike gear and do some hard work. |
For years experts have argued that poor households are consuming less nourishing food than the rest of the population.
But a survey of some of the lowest earners in Britain shows the nutritional value of what they eat is little different to everyone else.
In fact, the same deficiencies in diet were shared by all the population and the findings suggest that poor eating choices are far more widespread than previously suspected - affecting many wealthier families.
These included low fruit and vegetable consumption, not eating enough oily fish and eating too much saturated fat and sugar.
“This is a large and significant study and it shows we are all eating just as bad a diet as each other,” said Tim Lang, professor of food policy at City University.
The poorest families were eating only slightly more sugar and slightly less fruit and vegetables, according to the study of 3,728 respondents in the bottom of the population.
Alison Tedstone, head of nutritional science at the Food Standard Agency, said: “ Overall, people on low incomes have less than ideal diets, but their diets are only slightly worse than those of the rest of the population.”
The study also showed that low earners are choosing to eat unhealthily. Their food choices were not linked to their income, their access to shops or their cooking skills.
The findings appear to contradict assumptions that the poor cannot afford healthier foods or are too far away from shops that sell them.
The Low Income Nutrition and Diet Survey showed that like the rest of the population, the poor's daily fruit and vegetable intake on average is below the recommended five portions. Fewer than 10 per cent of respondents hit this target, while around 20 per cent ate less than a portion per day.
More than three quarters (76 per cent) of men and 81 per cent of women did less than one 30-minute session of moderate or vigorous exercise per week.
Some 45 per cent of men and 40 per cent of women were smokers.
This compares with 28 per cent of men and 24 per cent of women in the general population. According to the passage, which of the following is true?
| A．Whether the poor or the rich maybe have a bad diet. |
| B．Even the poor can enjoy enough fruit and fish consumption. |
| C．Only the poor have a bad diet. |
| D．The study was conveyed in both the rich and the poor. |
What kind of persons maybe eat most sugar?
| A．The rich. | B．Men. | C．The poorest. | D．Women |
From the passage, we can learn __________.
| A．the poor choose unhealthy food because of low income |
| B．having no access to shops also leads to the poor’s bad diet |
| C．the poor’s daily fruit intake is as much as general people |
| D．the number of smokers in the poor is bigger than that in general people |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．The poor’s healthy problem. | B．Keep off junk food. |
| C．How to have a good diet. | D．A diet survey. |