If you want to attend the hottest events of 2014, don’t waste your time looking through dozens of hotel options（选择）or vacation packages. Instead, look to cruise ships（坐航游）that can ferry you to and from the most expected holiday, sporting, and cultural events of the year.
Here’s a look at the some of the most popular:
Australian Open in Melbourne (January 13–26, 2014)
Tennis fans worldwide are eager for the tickets to matches at any one of the four annual Grand Slam events: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. In January 2014, luxury cruise line Silversea will offer fans a three-night pre-cruise package to the 109th Australian Open in Melbourne. Silversea passengers will attend third round singles matches at Rod Laver Arena on January 17 and 18 before taking the 382-passenger Silver Shadow for a special 15-night Melbourne to Bali voyage.
Carnival in Rio de Janeiro (February 28–March 4, 2014)
Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival is one of the most popular celebrations of its kind in the world, drawing two million visitors each and every day of the festivities that include parades, street fairs, and costume balls. Holland America’s Maasdam will spend three days in Rio during Carnival as part of its 26-day Amazon & Carnival Explorer journey.
2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil (June 12–July 13, 2014)
If you’re a soccer fan that came up empty in the search for a hotel room for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals in Rio de Janeiro, there’s still hope. Book MSC Cruises’ 18-night Miami to Rio voyage aboard Divina. The ship departs Miami on May 24 and arrives in Rio just in time for the World Cup.
New Year’s Eve in Hong Kong (December 31, 2014)
Hong Kong is a magical destination（目的地）and New Year’s Eve festivities and fireworks pull out all the stops to make a holiday trip to that city even more attractive. Crystal Cruises’ all-inclusive luxury ship, Symphony, will spend two nights in Hong Kong-- and celebrate New Year’s Eve Chinese-style—during its 15-night holiday voyage that leaves Bangkok on December 21. This roundtrip voyage also calls on Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi in Vietnam.According to the passage, which of the following ships will take the longest time of voyage?
| A．Silver Shadow. | B．Maasdam. | C．Divina. | D．Symphony. |
The events that will take place in Rio de Janeiro in 2014 are ___________.
| A．Carnival and FIFA World Cup |
| B．New Year’s Eve fireworks and Carnival |
| C．the Australian Open and Grand Slam events |
| D．New Year's Eve fireworks and FIFA |
Where does this passage probably come from?
| A．In a sports magazine. | B．In a textbook. |
| C．In a science report. | D．In a travel brochure. |
The main purpose of the passage is to ___________.
| A．give information about the hottest events of 2014 |
| B．introduce cruise ships to some big events of 2014 |
| C．describe the most popular tourist destinations in 2014 |
| D．persuade readers to take cruise ships for 2014 holiday |
HONG KONG — Hong Kong Disneyland is too crowded, a senior Chinese tourism official said today, hinting that another Disney Park is necessary to accommodate demand from China’s huge population.
The comments by Shao Qiwei, director of China’s State Administration of Tourism, came a day after Shanghai’s mayor Han Zheng said the city was preparing to build China’s second Disney theme park.
“China has a very large population. We now have 1.3 billion people. The market is very large. As far as I know, Hong Kong Disneyland is now very crowded,” said Shao, whose comments were broadcast on Hong Kong’s Cable TV.
The Hong Kong theme park, which opened in September, was widely criticized in January when it turned away（不准…入内） hundreds of Lunar New Year holiday makers from mainland China because the park was full. Chaos(混乱) erupted when angry crowds tried to force their way into the park.
The embarrassing incident prompted a public apology from Hong Kong Disneyland Managing Director Bill Ernest and a dressing down from Hong Kong’s leader Donald Tsang. Authorities are carefully studying the issue of overcrowding in preparation for the possible building of the Disney park in Shanghai, Shao said.
The official Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday that no agreement has been reached on the park in Shanghai, quoting senior vice president of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Leslie Goodman. Hong Kong Disneyland is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Co. and the local government, which shouldered the bulk of the park’s construction fees.Why is it necessary to build a Disney park in Shanghai?
| A．Hong Kong Disneyland is too small and very crowded. |
| B．Hong Kong Disneyland can’t meet the need of the large population. |
| C．Hong Kong Disney Park was criticized by tourists. |
| D．Hong Kong Disneyland is far from the mainland. |
Hundreds of visitors from Mainland China got angry because ________.
| A．the services in the park were not as good as expected |
| B．chaos happened at the entrance to the park |
| C．the park was too crowded |
| D．they were not allowed to go into the park |
The building of a Disney park in Shanghai ________.
| A．remains to be discussed with The Walt Disney Co. |
| B．is financed The Walt Disney Co. |
| C．will be in the charge of the Shanghai government |
| D．has been agreed to by The Walt Disney Co. |
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The purpose of the advertisement is ________.
| A．to help parents with their daily life |
| B．to collect more money for charity |
| C．to attract more subscribers |
| D．to introduce a new product |
Where can we most probably read the ad?
| A．On a website. | B．In the newspaper. |
| C．In a supermarket. | D．In a library. |
A reader subscribed(订阅)Parents® 3 months ago，but now he finds the magazine
dissatisfying. What can he do?
| A．He can cancel without getting his money back. |
| B．He can cancel and get all his money back without answering any questions. |
| C．He can email them to access his bank account to get all his money back. |
| D．He can cancel after answering a series of questions. |
From Parents® magazine，we can get the following things EXCEPT ________.
| A．advice from child experts |
| B．toys developing readertested products |
| C．suggestions on taking care of the children from doctors |
| D．tips on good habits of children's learning English |
“Love your neighbor as yourself" is a saying familiar to most of us. It means that you must have the ability to love and accept yourself in order to form and keep satisfying relationship with others. Self-esteem means accepting yourself for who you really are, and believing that you are indeed a worthwhile person who is deserving of love and respect from others.
Self-esteem is our sense of how good we feel about ourselves. It is based on our judgment of ourselves, not on other people's assessment, but simply on our own. Our self-esteem is not dependent on our talent. Some very ordinary people feel very good about themselves, while other extraordinarily high achievers hold low opinions of themselves.
Self-esteem is the primary key to long-term stress management. Why? The first three sources of stress are: predictable life event, unexpected changes and build-up of daily stresses. These are much easier to handle when we believe in ourselves. A positive, healthy self-esteem gives us the “hardiness” (强健) to deal with the difficulties of life, and to see them as challenges to be met, rather than threats to be feared.
The fourth category of stress is entirely the result of a low self-esteem. It is the category of stress that is most common and tiring over the long run. This kind of stress cannot be overcome, or even changed, until the self-esteem problems that cause it are corrected.
Learning to love yourself for who you are is the key to overcoming stress. Self-esteem comes from the self, and cannot be promoted by others. A person who feels that his self-esteem comes from the approval of those around him or her is bound to self-destruct (自毁). One cannot keep the level of “performance” required to please everyone else, especially if that performance disagrees with who you are and is simply a facade that makes you popular with the world. When the applause is gone, there is nothing left.
Only those who can feel the strength of knowing who they are and those who can feel good about that will survive the stresses of life. Self-esteem is the basis of contentment and positive living.What is the key to overcoming stress according to the passage?
| A．Removing yourself from stressful situation. |
| B．Learning to love yourself for who you are. |
| C．Facing the stress and dealing with it. |
| D．Getting help from friends. |
What does the underlined word "facade" (in Para 5) mean?
| A．A false appearance. | B．A big worry. |
| C．A wrong action. | D．A strange feeling. |
The passage is written to ______.
| A．tell people how to overcome stress |
| B．help people form good relationship with others |
| C．show the importance of feeling good about yourself |
| D．provide the different methods to get a clear view of yourself |
Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it? Just talking about it or writing it down causes you to make it clear in your own mind. How can you use this to increase your brain power? Start writing.
By putting thoughts into words, you are telling yourself the logic (逻辑) behind what you think, feel, or only partly understand. Often, explaining a thought is the process of understanding. In other words, you increase your brain power by exercising your “explain power.”
Try this experiment. Explain how you’ll increase your brain power, even if you have no idea how right now. Just start with anything, and create an explanation. For example, start with “I’ll learn chess,” or “I’ll read an article on the mind every week.” Explain how that will help. You’ll be surprised how often this becomes a workable plan, and if you actually do this, you’ll have a better understanding of your brain twenty minutes from now.
Another benefit of writing is that it helps you remember. Many, if not most, highly productive people are always taking notes. You can try keeping it all in your head, but if you keep a journal of your ideas the next time you’re working on a big project, you’ll probably have more success.
Want to understand a topic? Write a book about it. That’s an extreme example, but if you are learning something new, write a letter to a friend about it, and you will understand it better. Want to invent something? Write an explanation of the problem, why you want to solve it, and why it is worth solving, and you’re half-way there.
Writers don’t always write because they clearly understand something beforehand. Often, they write about something because they want to understand it. You can do the same. Writing will help bring you to an understanding. Give it a try.What would be the best title for the text?
| A．A Way on How to Write |
| B．Increase Your Brain Power through Writing |
| C．Brain Power Helps Improve Your Writing |
| D．How to Start Your Writing |
If a writer writes something, it means that he or she _______.
| A．has understood it very well |
| B．needs to understand it better |
| C．wants to remember it in his or her mind |
| D．is exercising his or her “explain power” |
The underlined sentence “you’re half-way there” in the fifth paragraph implies that ______.
| A．you are already successful |
| B．you still need to work hard |
| C．writing can help you walk half way |
| D．you have been on the way to success |
What’s the main purpose of the writer writing the text?
| A．To advise readers to start their writing. |
| B．To explain the importance of writing. |
| C．To persuade readers to become writers. |
| D．To increase readers’ brain power. |
Obama Still Smokes in Secret
US President Barack Obama has just made life more difficult for cigarette makers. He has just signed a law that will set tough new rules for the tobacco industry. The new law gives the US Food and Drug Administration the power to strictly limit the making and marketing of tobacco products.
At a White House signing ceremony Monday, Obama said that he was among the nearly 90% of smokers who took up the habit before their 18th birthday.
Obama, who has publicly struggled to give up smoking, said he still hasn’t completely kicked the habit. Every now and then he still smokes in secret.
“As a former smoker I struggle with it all the time. Do I still smoke sometimes? Yes. Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No.” Obama said at a news conference.
“I don’t do it in front of my kids. I don’t do it in front of my family. I would say that I am 95% cured, but there are times when I mess up,” he said.
“Once you go down this path, it’s something you continually struggle with, which is exactly why the law is so important. The new law is not about me, it’s about the next generation of kids coming up. What we don’t want is kids going down that path.” he said.
Nearly 20% of Americans smoke and tobacco use kills about 440,000 people a year in the United States due to cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases.The new law makes life difficult for ________.
| A．Obama | B．tobacco industry |
| C．White House | D．US Food and Drug Administration |
What do we know about Obama?
| A．He no longer smokes. |
| B．He still smokes as usual. |
| C．He began to smoke at eighteen. |
| D．He is trying hard to give up smoking. |
According to the passage, Obama is most concerned about ________.
| A．children | B．officials |
| C．his family | D．businessmen |