When it comes to hard, noisy traveling, we’ve found that sometimes we’d rather read about it than actually go. Here are some bestsellers for armchair travelers.
The Station by Robert Byron. In 1928, the 22-year-old man made a journey to Mount Athos, resulting in one of the best travel books ever written, matched only by Byron’s own, much more famous The Road to Osciana.
In Darkest Africa by Henry Monton Stanley. It’s about his great efforts to save an unlucky German doctor Eduard Schnitzer, who had no desire to be rescued at all.
A Traveler’s Alphabet: Partial Memoirs by Sir Steven Runciman. A to Z and around the world. He provides priceless information of long-gone princesses, priests, and places.
South: A Memoir of the Endurance Voyage by Sir Ernest Shackleton. As the planet started the global war, Shackleton and his brave group of explorers made an unsuccessful but heroic journey to cross Antarctica from 1914 to 1917.
The Michelin Red Guide: France 2005 Reading through this final listing of all the nice hotels and wonderful restaurants in France is better than going there, listening to Chirac talk about the poisonous American culture, and spending the price of this book for a tiny cup of tea and a cookie the size of your thumb.
The Past Is a Foreign Country by David Lowenthal. This great book of an armchair exploration tells us what has happened in the past and shows the relationship between us and the past travelers.The underlined phrase “armchair travelers” in the first paragraph refers to those who___________.
| A．can only travel with special equipment for the disabled |
| B．find fun teaching others how to travel to other places |
| C．like to write about their strange traveling experiences |
| D．like to read about travels instead of traveling themselves |
Which of the books has a very low price according to the passage?
| A．The Past Is a Foreign Country. |
| B．South: A Memoir to the Endurance Voyage. |
| C．The Michelin Red Guide: France 2005. |
| D．A Traveler’s Alphabet: Partial Memoirs. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．The Station is more famous than The Road to Osciana |
| B．Henry Monton Stanley, was saved by a German doctor in Africa. |
| C．It took Shackleton and his men 3 years to cross Antarctica. |
| D．In his book, Lowenthal focuses more on history than the present. |
This passage is written____________ .
| A．to warn readers against traveling |
| B．to sell more books about travels |
| C．as an introduction to famous travelers |
| D．to tell people where to travel |
Decreasing grain prices along with growing costs of production means Chinese farmers are unlikely to see a significant rise in income next year.
China’s economic planning chief Ma Kai expressed the concern as the government undertakes an ambitious program to improve rural people’s lives.
Grain prices have been dropping since April; and prices of wheat, corn and rice fell 5 per cent from August to October compared with the same period last year, Ma, minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, told an annual meeting on development and reform held over the weekend.
Meanwhile, prices of production materials rose 9.1 per cent year on year during the first 10 months.
The situation makes it difficult to achieve a “new socialist countryside,” which was last week highlighted（引起注意）as a new concept and “common action” of the whole Party and nation.
Vice-Minister of Agriculture Yin Chengjie also said China’s entry to the World Trade Organization also creates hurdles for income rises for the country’s 780 million farmers.
Farmers’ income is expected to increase by 5 per cent this year, hitting the target set by the central government at the beginning of this year.
Last year, per capita net income（个人平均纯收入）of Chinese farmers reached 2,936 yuan (US$362), up 6.8 per cent year on year, and the highest increase since 1997.
Ma also said China would continue to seek fast, steady economic growth in 2006 but more efforts will be made to deal with the challenges brought about by overheating in some industrial sectors (区域).
(from China Daily, December 5, 2005)The writer thinks it difficult to achieve a “new socialist countryside” because _____.
| A．grain prices decrease and production costs grow |
| B．“new socialist countryside” is a new concept |
| C．prices of production materials rose 9.1 percent |
| D．many farmers are working in industrial sectors |
The underlined word “hurdles” in Paragraph 6 means _____ .
| A．promotion | B．fear | C．difficulties | D．possibility |
From1997 to 2005, the highest increase in farmers’ income was achieved in _____.
| A．2004 | B．2002 | C．2003 | D．2005 |
Removing the sleeve (封套)，you will find a book that is entirely white，except for the names of its author and subject in elegant black type on the cover. It is the perfect design for the biography of a man who insisted that even the insides of his products be perfectly constructed，and that his factory walls flash in the whitest white.
The cover was the only part of the book Steve Jobs wanted to control，writes Isaacson in his introduction.Though Mr Jobs pushed the biographer of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin to write in his own way，generously allowing the writer more than 40 interviews，this book offers quite a different view of Mr Jobs，who won much praise from his fans after his death on October 5th at the age of 56.
As a biographer of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin，Mr Isaacson knows how to celebrate longdead genius，but he claimed that Steve Jobs would not be entirely praiseful words.The picture he paints，particularly in the first half of this book，is not nice. Mr Jobs emerges as a controlling and often coldblooded character.A child of the 1960s counterculture (反主流文化)，he hated materialism and lived in simply furnished houses (in part because he was too particular about furniture)．But when Apple went public in 1980，he refused to give any share to Daniel Kottke，a longtime supporter and soul mate from college.“He has to abandon the people he is close to”，observes Andy Hertzfeld，an early Apple engineer.
Mr Jobs was undoubtedly possessing an extraordinary ability to attract others and inspire a kind of faith that could not be questioned.But also he could be cold and cruel. If he disapproved of an employee’s work，he often shamed him.“This is who I am，” he once said after being challenged，“and you can’t expect me to be someone I’m not.” This disgusting personality wasn’t always helpful，but it served a purpose，writes Mr Isaacson，many would “end their chain of horror stories by saying that he got them to do things they never dreamed possible”．
Mr Isaacson treats Steve Jobs as the biography of record，which means that it is a strange book to read so soon after its subject’s death.The biography for Jobs is believed to have the perfect design because________.
| A．it follows Jobs’ style |
| B．its cover is entirely white |
| C．black and white are his favorite |
| D．it is designed by a famous biographer |
The picture of Jobs that Isaacson paints in his book is________.
①cruel ②humorous ③particular ④generousIt can be safely concluded that________.
| A．Jobs is highly spoken of in the book |
| B．Isaacson doesn’t think Jobs a good man |
| C．Jobs didn’t care about the design of the book |
| D．all descriptions of Jobs are not nice in the book |
This passage can be classified as________.
| A．a personal diary | B．a book review |
| C．a news report | D．a TV interview |
HOTEL INFORMATION
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Room Information
Rooms are equipped with Double, Queen , or King bed (s) , smoking or non-smoking based on location and availability. Provided in each spacious guest room is a hair dryer, coffee maker, iron, ironing board, 25’TV and guest voice mail．
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Beach Plaza Hotel
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The oceanfront accommodations at Beach Plaza Hotel are some of the most affordable on Fort Lauderdale Beach．Each room features direct-dial telephone, cable television and daily maid service．The very affordable efficiency studios even include full kitchens! All rooms surround the private poolside garden courtyard．
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Hotel Amenities：Air Conditioned, Coffee Maker in Room, 24 Hour Front Desk, Parking, Hairdryers Available, Pool, Television with Cable．
Fort Lauderdale Plaza Hotel
3711 N．Ocean Blvd, Ft．Lauderdale, FL 33308
Room Information
Guest rooms feature TVs, in-room movies, Internet access, in-room safes, alarm clock radios, hairdryers, refrigerators, microwaves, and balconies．
Check-in Time：7:00 A.M.
Hotel Amenities：Parking，Heated Pool, Television with Cable, and Coffee Maker in Room．Which hotel gives a promise?
| A．Beach Plaza Hotel． | B．Baymont Inn Ft . Lauderdale． |
| C．Baymont Inn Hotel． | D．Fort Lauderdale Plaza Hotel． |
In which hotel parking is the cheapest?
| A．Beach Plaza Hotel． | B．Baymont Inn Ft . Lauderdale． |
| C．Baymont Inn Hotel． | D．Fort Lauderdale Plaza Hotel． |
If you ______ , you will probably go to Beach Plaza Hotel．
| A．enjoy seeing films without leaving your hotel room |
| B．want to eat food cooked by yourself in the hotel |
| C．are fond of swimming in heated water |
| D．are a cigarette smoker |
Which of the following is NOT true to the ads?
| A．In Beach Plaza Hotel a 24-hour maid is available． |
| B．All of the three hotels provide television with cable． |
| C．You can keep your money in the room safe in Fort Lauderdale Plaza Hotel． |
| D．While staying in Fort Lauderdale Plaza Hotel, you can surf the Internet． |
I made a promise to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving. No ifs, ands or buts.
The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting a Biblical passage about husbands and their wives. Then he went on to say, “Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.” To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change.
And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said, “That new yellow sweater looks great on you.” “Oh, Tom, you noticed”, she said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled. After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, “Evelyn’s been alone here with the kids all week and now she wants to be alone with me.” We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites.
So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that’s how the whole vacation passed. I made a new promise to keep on remembering to choose love.
There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. On the last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.
“What’s the matter?” I asked her.
“Tom,” she said in a voice filled with distress, “ I don’t?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well…that checkup I had several weeks ago…our doctor…did he tell you something about me? Tom, you’ve been so good to me…am I dying?”
It took a moment for it all to be understood. Then I burst out laughing.
“No, honey,” I said, wrapping her in my arms. “You’re not dying; I’m just starting to live.”From the story we may infer that Tom drove to the beach cottage ______.
| A．with his family | B．with Evelyn |
| C．alone | D．with his children |
During the two weeks on the beach, Tom showed more love to his wife because ______.
| A．he was determined to be a good husband |
| B．he had made a lot of money in his Wall Street firm |
| C．she looked lovely in her new clothes |
| D．the doctor said his wife was seriously ill |
The author says, “There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment.” What does “one thing” refer to?
| A．He praised her sweater, which puzzled her. |
| B．She insisted on visiting a museum, which he hated. |
| C．He knew something about her illness but didn’t tell her. |
| D．He was so good to her that she thought she must be dying. |
By saying “I’m just starting to live,” Tom means that ______.
| A．he is just beginning to understand the real meaning of life |
| B．he is just beginning to enjoy life as a loving husband |
| C．he lived an unhappy life before and is now starting to change |
| D．he is beginning to feel regret for what he did to his wife before |
Northern Europeans spend a lot of time in their cold and cloudy winters planning their summer holidays. They are proud of their healthy color when they return home after the holiday. But they also know that a certain amount of sunshine is good for their bodies and general health.
In ancient Greece people knew about the healing(治疗) powers of the sun, but this knowledge was lost. At the end of the nineteenth century a Danish doctor, Niels Finsen, began to study the effect of sunlight on certain diseases, especially diseases of the skin. He was interested not only in natural sunlight but also in artificially (人造地) produced rays. Sunlight began to play a more important part in curing sick people.
A Swiss doctor, Auguste Rollier, made full use of the sun in his hospital at Lysine. Lysine is a small village high up in the Alps. The position is important: the rays of the sun with the greatest healing power are the infra-red (红外线的) and ultra-violet (紫外线的) rays; but ultra-violet rays are too easily lost in fog and the polluted air near industrial towns. Dr. Roller found that sunlight, fresh air and good food cure a great many diseases. He was particularly successful in curing certain forms of tuberculosis with his “sun-cure”.
There were a large number of children in Dr. Roller’s hospital. He decided to start a school where sick children could be cured and at the same time continue to learn. It was not long before his school was full.
In winter, wearing only shorts, socks and boots, the children put on their skis after breakfast and left the hospital. They carried small desks and chairs as well as their school books. Their teacher led them over the snow until they reached a slope which faced the sun and was free from cold winds. There they set out their desks and chairs, and school began.
Although they wore hardly any clothes, Roller’s pupils were very seldom cold. That was because their bodies were full of energy which they got from the sun. But the doctor knew that sunshine can also be dangerous. If, for example, tuberculosis is attacking the lungs, unwise sunbathing may do great harm.
Today there is not just one school in the sun. There are several in Switzerland, and since Switzerland is not the only country which has the right conditions, there are similar schools in other places.According to the passage, when did sunlight begin to play a more important part in the treatment of disease?
| A．From ancient times. |
| B．At the end of the nineteenth century. |
| C．Not until this century. |
| D．Only very recently. |
Why are a Danish doctor and a Swiss doctor mentioned in the second and third paragraphs?
| A．Because they both made use of sunlight to treat illness. |
| B．Because they were the first people who used sunlight for treatment. |
| C．Because they were both famous European doctors. |
| D．Because they used sunlight in very different ways. |
Dr Roller set up a “sun-cure” school probably for the reason that _______.
| A．most children could stay in his hospital |
| B．children could study while being treated |
| C．the school was expected to be full of pupils |
| D．the school was high up in the mountains |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph of the passage?
| A．“Sun-cure” schools are becoming popular everywhere. |
| B．Switzerland is the only country where “sun-cure” schools are popular. |
| C．Proper conditions are necessary for the running of a “sun-cure” school. |
| D．“Sun-cure” schools are found in countries where there is a lot of sunshine. |