Much of European train is about efficiency and comfort --- leaving and arriving on time and having a comfortable seat. But the following European trains don’t necessarily offer the fastest journeys --- just the most memorable.
| Sweet Switzerland: The Chocolate Train Route: Montreux to Broc, Switzerland Time: 9 hours, 45 minutes, roundtrip www.raileurope.com This charming train, running in summer and fall, climbs from Montreux overlooking Lake Geneva to the old town of Gruyeres, population 1,600, home to the cheese of the same name. Tour the cheese factory and the local castle, have lunch, then reboard the train and continue on to Broc. There you’ll be bussed to the Cailler-Nestle chocolate factory, lying between Lake Gruyeres and mountains. |
| Tunnels Galore: The Bernina Express Route: Chur, Switzerland, to Tirano, Italy Time: 4 hours, 14 minutes www.visitflam.com This train takes on seven-percent inclines (斜坡), 55 tunnels, and 196 bridges --- reaching a height of 7,391 feet and then dropping to 5,905 feet before coming to a stop. It travels through the Alps south from Switzerland’s oldest town to an Italian town of just under 10,000 people. |
| A Hotel on Wheels: Francisco de Goya Route: Paris, France, to Madrid, Spain Time: 13 hours, 30 minutes www.elipsos.com Leave Paris in the evening, enjoy a three-course dinner and the increasingly rural scenery, sleep with the rhythm of the rails, and wake the next day as you arrive in Madrid, rested and ready to tour the most populous (人口密集的) city in Europe. First class includes a welcome drink, good dinner, breakfast, and an in-room bathroom with shower. |
| The Epic Journey: Trans-Siberian Railway Route: Moscow to Vladivostok, Russia Time: 19 days www.trans-siberia.com This route, a symbol of Russian culture, crosses eight time zones to connect the Russian capital with a port on the Pacific Ocean. On board, poor stay with rich, young with old, foreigners with locals. Social differences disappear as passengers share a unique rail experience. |
Travelling from Montreux to Broc on the Chocolate Train, you ____________.
| A．will spend about five hours |
| B．have to go in winter and spring |
| C．will see a famous chocolate factory |
| D．can have lunch on the train |
Which of the following websites offers more information about Francisco de Goya?
| A．www.trans-siberia.com | B．www.visitflam.com |
| C．www.raileurope.com | D．www.elipsos.com |
Which of the following trains can help you learn about Russian culture?
| A．Trans-Siberian Railway. | B．The Chocolate Train. |
| C．Francisco de Goya. | D．The Bernina Express. |
The passage is most probably taken from a _____________.
| A．news report | B．book review |
| C．travel magazine | D．geography textbook |
Zoe Chambers was a successful PR (Public Relations) consultant and life was going well — she had a great job, a beautiful flat and a busy social life in London. Then one evening in June last year, she received a text message telling her she was out of work. The first two weeks were the most difficult to live through." she said. "After everything I'd done for the company, they dismissed me by text! I was so angry and I just didn't feel like looking for another job. I hated everything about the city and my life."
Then, Zoe received an invitation from an old school friend, Kathy, to come and stay. Kathy and her husband, Huw, had just bought a farm in north-west Wales. Zoe jumped at the chance to spend a weekend away from London, and now, ten months later, she is still on the farm.
"The moment I arrived at Kathy's farm, I loved it and I knew I wanted to stay." said Zoe. "Everything about my past life suddenly seemed meaningless."
Zoe has been working on the farm since October of last year and says she has no regrets. "It's a hard life, physically very tiring." she says. "In London I was stressed and often mentally exhausted. But this is a good, healthy tiredness. Here, all I need to put me in a good mood is a hot bath and one of Kathy's wonderful dinners."
Zoe says she has never felt bored on the farm. Every day brings a new experience. Kathy has been teaching her how to ride a horse and she has learnt to drive a tractor. Since Christmas, she has been helping with the lambing — watching a lamb being born is unbelievable, she says, "It's one of the most moving experiences I've ever had. I could never go back to city life now." When working as a PR consultant in London, Zoe thought she lived a______life.
| A．satisfying | B．tough | C．meaningless | D．boring |
The most important reason why Zoe went to visit Kathy's farm is that______.
| A．Zoe lost her job as a PR consultant | B．Kathy persuaded her to do so |
| C．Zoe got tired of the city life | D．Zoe loved Wales more than London |
How does Zoe feel about the country life according to the passage?
| A．Tiresome and troublesome. | B．Romantic and peaceful |
| C．Mentally exhausting but healthy | D．Physically tiring but rewarding. |
Which of the following is closest to the main idea of the passage?
| A．A friend in need is a friend indeed. | B．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| C．A misfortune may turn out a blessing. | D．Kill two birds with one stone. |
ASK LASKAS
YOU’VE GOT QUESTIONS. SHE'S GOT ANSWERS
My children go to a primary school where they are not allowed to play football in the playground for fear that a child might be hurt. Besides, now the school says there must be no homework because the local secondary school can't keep up with the amount of homework given in the primary school. Can the school do this?Puzzled Dad
It can't if enough parents do something about it. It is not just schools. We live in a society which wishes to get rid of risk. However, schools should have a little common sense and courage. Children need risk if they arc to grow up self-sufficient and confident. They need homework, too, if they are to fulfill their academic potential. Complain, loudly.
I have a beautiful teenage daughter who spends an hour making up her face in front of the mirror every day. I tell her to go easy. She just gets mad or bursts into tears. How can I make her understand she's beautiful the way she is.Plain Mom
You can't. Your daughter is at the age when she's trying to look beautiful, trying on new masks. And if her friends all dress up as she does, you're in for an extra hard time. Support her and tell her she's beautiful — even if she looks ridiculous for now. Then invite her to join you for a day at a spa. Let her try various looks until she's comfortable in her own skin.Why are the children not allowed to play football in the playground?
| A．The school is afraid that children might be injured. |
| B．The school is not sensible and confident. |
| C．The children don't have enough time to do homework. |
| D．The children may fail to fulfill their academic potential. |
What disturbs Plain Mom is that her daughter______.
| A．becomes mad | B．cries a lot |
| C．spends much time before the mirror | D．is not beautiful enough |
The solution to Plain Mom's problem is to______.
| A．make her daughter look less ridiculous | B．let her daughter dress up like her friends |
| C．make her daughter go to a spa every week | D．let her daughter feel herself what beauty is |
What does the underlined word spa mean?
| A．a place where water with minerals in it | B．a place where people can relax |
| C．a beauty salon | D．a swimming pool |
Lillian Hanson, a college student, expects to graduate in about two years．What makes Mrs．Hanson different from her classmates is her age-----73 years．She has been studying at college, a few courses at a time, for 27 years．
When Lillian Hanson graduated from high school, she went to the bank to borrow money for further education．The banker gave her no encouragement．He didn’t think that a country girl should borrow money to go to college．He thought she should be at home doing work in the house or around the farm．So Lillian Hanson went home and raised a family of nine children instead of going to college．Mrs．Hanson never forgot her dream of getting a higher education．When her children were grown, she tried again．
She finds that it is the hardest part of going back to school at her age to sit in class for long periods of time．Because she is not as quick as she used to be, Mrs．Hanson often gets up and walks around classes to keep from getting stiff（不灵活）．At the beginning of a course in using the computer, the other students all stood up to give her a warm welcome when she introduced herself and explained why she was there and what her aims were．Mrs．Hanson couldn’t go to college immediately after she graduated from high school because ____
| A．she hadn’t got enough money |
| B．she was a country girl |
| C．the banker ordered her not to borrow any money |
| D．the banker thought she should raise a family of nine children |
The computer students welcomed Mrs．Hanson warmly because ______．
| A．she had got an excellent result in the exam |
| B．she was good at telling funny stories |
| C．they wanted to get her help in their studies |
| D．they were deeply moved by her spirit |
Mrs．Hanson is the sort of person who ________．
| A．cares for study very much |
| B．likes to borrow money from the bank |
| C．never misses a chance to talk |
| D．tries to save any money for her family |
In which order did Mrs．Hanson do the following things?
a．she began her studies at college．
b．She finished high school．
c．She got married and gave birth of nine children．
d．She had her 73 rd birthday．
e．She went to the bank to borrow money．
| A．a c b e d | B．b e c a d | C．b c e d a | D．e d a c b |
Many people will remember the flight of the space shuttle （航天飞机）Challenger , in June, 1993．The achievement of Sally Ride, America’s first woman astronaut to fly into space, made this flight especially memorable．Students from two high schools in Camden, New Jersey, however, are likely to remember Norma rather than Sally whenever they think about the flight．
Norma didn’t travel alone．She brought about 100 companions along with her．Norma was an ant, a queen ant who, with her subjects, made up the first ant colony （群体） to travel into space．The ants were part of a science experiment designed by the students to test the effects of weightlessness on insects．
The equipment designed by the students for their colony functioned perfectly throughout the long space trip．The young scientists and their teachers were very sad to find that their insect astronauts had all died at some point before the container was returned to the school and opened．The problem did not occur in space, but on the ground after Challenger had landed．The container remained in the desert for nearly a week before the ant colony was removed．The hot, dry desert air dried out the colony’s container and the ants died from lack of moisture （水分）．
The project was termed a success because it did provide useful information．Students will continue their efforts to find out exactly what went wrong．They will try to prevent the same difficulties from recurring （再发生） on future missions ．They don’t want to be discouraged either by the death of the ants or by the $10,000 shuttle fare they will have to pay to send the next colony of ants into space．The story is mainly about．
| A．Sally Ride’s first ride |
| B．space equipment for insects |
| C．a space experiment with ants |
| D．going to school in New Jersey |
The project wasn’t a failure because．
| A．some important things were learned |
| B．dead ants are better |
| C．everything went as expected |
| D．students wrote about it |
The ants died because．
| A．weightlessness harmed them |
| B．space caused too much pain |
| C．no one fed them in space |
| D．they dried out in the desert |
On the next space trip , ants．
| A．will be sent without people |
| B．should not be left in the desert too long |
| C．will have to pay double fare |
| D．will escape the trip completely |
Western New Bridge Library Announcement
2008-3-10
| Shortened Library Hours for Spring Break |
| Library Hours have been shortened to 7 hours a day（9∶00 a．m．-4∶00 p．m．） for Spring Break from March 24 to March 30． |
| Coming Events |
| ●On Monday, March 24,at 10∶30 a．m．, Scott Sutton, a children’s writer, will tell stories to kids over seven．Sutton’s attractive style will surely inspire everyone present! ●At 1∶00 p．m．on March 26, the Georgetown Musicians will present an Irish Folk Concert, which will be entertaining for the entire family．Come for the music and stay to check out（完成手续拿走） some relevant（相关） books for the rest of the week! ●On Thursday, March 27,at 2∶00 p．m．, the annual Children’s Gathering will take place in Room 201,the second floor ．Pick up an invitation in the Children’s Room and return your RSVP（回复） to reserve （预定）your seat at the table by 3∶00 p．m．on Tuesday, March 25．Only children are allowed in the Gathering． ●At 10∶30 a．m．on Friday, March 28, Enzo Monfre of the hit kids’ science show, ENZOology, will bring Fossils Live! Surely Enzo will take the audience back in time, deep beneath the surface of the earth, to uncover the mysteries of killer dinosaurs, and more．Enzo recently appeared on the Ellen De Generes Show—come and see him at the library! |
| Please note： In case of emergency, please call the Help Desk at 926-3736 and follow the procedures outlined on the voice message．The call-down service is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for emergencies．The Help Desk supplies service to you all the year round! For questions about all these, please contact hld@wnbl．org． |
| Come for the great fun; Stay for the relevant books! |
To attend the annual Children’s Gathering, one has to ________．
| A．buy a ticket | B．apply in advance |
| C．make a reservation | D．contact the call-down service |
According to the passage, Enzo Monfre will ________．
| A．show the children around a zoo |
| B．tell stories to children over seven |
| C．be present at the science show in person |
| D．lead the children to the Ellen De Generes Show |
The Help Desk in this library supplies service ________．
| A．only during the daytime | B．in case of emergency |
| C．till the end of the Spring Break | D．after 22∶00 p．m．every day |
We can learn from the passage that children can ________．
| A．attend all the activities with their parents． |
| B．borrow some relevant books for the activities． |
| C．participate in the activities from 8∶00 a．m．to 4∶00 p．m． |
| D．choose only one of the activities according to their interests． |