Late that afternoon I took the train back to Sydney . There I found another surprise waiting for me . My room at the hotel had been given to somebody else and they had no room for me. Harkin had known my travel plans and had planned everything . How could he have booked the room only for three days ? There was nothing to be done but to find another hotel. The waiters were happy to find me a new hotel , and when I said that I was happy to stay at the airport , thinking it might be cheaper than staying in the city , they suggested the Holiday Inn at the airport . There was one small matter : the room rate was $ 300 per night . The best hotel in Katoomba had wanted only $ 145 . I asked if there was anything cheaper they might suggest but they warned that most hotels would already be full by this time.
The hotel was far from the train station , so I had to take a taxi , at $ 25 . On the way to the Holiday Inn , we passed a hotel just two blocks from the Holiday Inn that advertised a room rate of $ 104 . At the desk I asked if their room rate could go down a lot . “ No , this is a 4-star hotel,” the waiter told me . “ In that case ,” I replied , “ I’ll just walk the two blocks to the cheap hotel.” But she warned me that they were probably full and that if I didn’t take the room , it might not be available when I came back . Finally , I decided to take the room.
The room itself was big , but the air conditioning couldn’t keep up with the Australian heat . I couldn’t sleep until about 1:00 am. Why did the writer have to look for another hotel ?
| A．He didn’t book early. | B．Harkin made a mistake. |
| C．He was short of money. | D．He wasn’t well received. |
How did the writer feel when hearing the room rate at the Holiday Inn ?
| A．Nervous. | B．Happy. |
| C．Surprised. | D．Relaxed. |
Why did the writer take the room finally ?
| A．It’s a 4-star hotel . | B．It’s around the station. |
| C．It was mid-night then. | D．The room was in great demand. |
What does the text mainly talk about ?
| A．A hotel hunting experience. | B．An unforgettable day. |
| C．A warm-hearted waiter. | D．An introduction to hotels. |
The year of 2014 saw smart people always busy inventing useful things，which have helped to
make the world better，smarter and a little more fun. Now，let's take a look at some of the inventions.
Super banana
Australian biogeneticist（生物遗传学家）James Dale
visited Uganda，a poor African country，in the early 2000s，
where he found that 15％-30% of children under 5 were at
the risk of going blind because they didn't get enough vitamin
A. Dale also learned that people there love bananas. They
eat 3 to 11 bananas a day. So hecame up with an idea to
plant bananas containing added nutrition in order to improve
Ugandans' health ．With the help of Bill Gates' foundation，Dale developed the“super banana，’·He added a gene to the fruit，making it rich in vitamin A.
Which of the following statements would James Dale agree with?
| A．Children in Uganda should eat fewer bananas. |
| B．Vitamin A is largely found in fruits like bananas. |
| C．Super bananas are definitely a safe biological product. |
| D．People's eating habits can be used to develop new food. |
What is the biggest advantage of the 94Fifty Basketball?
| A．The sensors hidden inside can help players run faster in a game. |
| B．It can help players to improve their shooting and ball-handling skills. |
| C．It allows players to connect to their smartphones while playing basketball. |
| D．The Bluetooth chip inside allows its users to listen to music while playing basketball. |
What can we learn about the hovercraft from the text?
| A．It enables its users to float off the ground freely. |
| B．It can work on many different kinds of surfaces. |
| C．It still needs to improve its power and efficiency. |
| D．It is an affordable means of transport for a family. |
What do the hovercraft and wireless electricity have in common according to the text?
| A．They create magnetic fields to produce power. |
| B．They apply technologies to many things in life. |
| C．They are technologies which can produce electricity. |
| D．They use wireless technology to improve their products. |
When I began planning to move to Auckland to study，my mother was a little worried about the uncertainty of living in a place that was so different from India，where we lived. She worried particularly about the lack of jobs，the cultural differences and the chance that I would face racism.
Despite these worries，I came to New Zealand in July 2009. I have found the place and people very nice and supportive. Soon after I arrived，I realized the importance of getting a job to supply my living expenses.
Determined to do this on my own ，I spent a whole day going from door to door asking for a job. However，I received little or no response. This became my routine every day after college for
a few weeks.
One afternoon，I walked into a building to ask if there were any job opportunities. The people there were very surprised，and advised me not to continue my job search in that manner. As I was about to leave，a clerk in the building，who had been listening to what the others had said, approached me and asked if I would wait outside. Fifteen minutes later，he returned. He asked me what my plans were and encouraged me to stay confident. He then offered to take me to the Royal Oak area to search for a job.
I was a little surprised，but had a good feeling about him，so I went along. Along the way I realized that I had run out of copies of my resume（简历）．The man stopped at his business partner's office to make me 15 extra copies. He also gave me tips on dressing and speaking，and added that I should give him, a call if I ever needed anything. I handed out my resumes and went home feeling very satisfied. The following day，I received：call from。store in Royal Oak offering me a job.
It seems that the world always gives back to you when you need it. And this time，it was a complete stranger who turned out to be a real blessing.What wasn't the author's mother worried about?
| A．People might look down on the author. |
| B．The author couldn't speak the local language. |
| C．The author wasn't familiar with local customs. |
| D．It might be difficult for the author to find a job. |
After staying in New Zealand for a short time, the author
| A．decided to go back to his own country |
| B．felt the local people were not very friendly |
| C．had to find a job to cover his living expenses |
| D．wanted to get a job that needed practical skills |
When the author went into a building to look for a job
| A．a clerk gave him encouragement and advice |
| B．he was confident that he would find a good one |
| C．he found many college students like him already there |
| D．a clerk recommended him to the company he worked for |
What is the story mainly about?
| A．How a stranger offered the author a job. |
| B．How a stranger turned out to be a real blessing. |
| C．How the author adapted himself to a new situation. |
| D．How the author was helped to get a job by a stranger. |
In April 2014，the world's oldest known message in a bottle was discovered floating in theBaltic Sea. It had spent 101 years lost in the ocean！The message was finally sent to the author's granddaughter.
A German fisherman named Konrad Fischer found the brown bottle near Kiel，Germany. He said he nearly threw the bottle back into the water after pulling it out of a fishing net. Then he noticed something inside.
The bottle in good condition contained a Danish postcard with two German stamps，dated May 17，1913. Although dampness had made most of the writing illegible（字迹模糊的），thereadable part of the message asked whoever found it to return it to an address in Berlin. It even contained two stamps to pay for postage.
From the address，researchers found that the postcard was written by a man named Richard Platz，who was 20 years old when he wrote the message. While he was hiking on the Baltic coast with a nature appreciation group，he threw the bottle into the sea. Then the researchers began a search for any living relatives of his. Sure enough，they were able to find his 62-year-old granddaughter，Angela Erdmann，who still lives in Berlin.
“It was almost unbelievable，”Erdmann said upon being presented with her grandfather's bottle and message.“That was a pretty moving moment. Tears rolled down my face."
Erdmann never knew her grandfather，who died in 1946，but says that the discovery of the bottle has made her want to learn more about him.
The bottle remained on display at the International Maritime Museum in Hamburg until May 1 ．After that，the researchers examined the postcard and tried to figure out the meaning of the rest of the message.
Previously，the oldest message found in a bottle spent nearly 98 years at sea and was discovered in April 2012，according to Guinness World Records.When Konrad Fischer picked up the bottle from the sea， ．
| A．he thought it would bring him good luck |
| B．he noticed the postcard inside immediately |
| C．he decided to uncover the secret of the bottle |
| D．he wanted to throw it back into the sea at first |
Why did Richard Platz throw the bottle with the message into the sea?
| A．He expected his granddaughter could find the postcard. |
| B．He wished the finder would send the postcard to his home. |
| C．He believed his postcard would be kept secret at sea forever. |
| D．He thought he could make friends with the finder of the bottle. |
What can be the best title for this passage？
| A．The finding of a floating bottle at the sea |
| B．A one-century-old letter to a granddaughter |
| C．The world's oldest message in a floating bottle |
| D．The oldest Danish postcard in a floating bottle |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Guide to Stockholm University Library Our library offers different types of studying places and provides a good studying environment.Zones The library is divided into different zones. The upper floor is a quiet zone with over a thousand places for silent reading, and places where you can sit and work with your own computer. The reading places consist mostly of tables and chairs. The ground floor is the zone where you can talk. Here you can find sofas and armchairs for group work.
Computers You can use your own computer to connect to the wi-fi specially prepared for notebook computers, you can also use library computers, which contain the most commonly used applications, such as Microsoft Office. They are situated in the area known as the Experimental Field on the ground floor.
Group-study places If you want to discuss freely without disturbing others, you can book a study room or sit at a table on the ground floor. Some study rooms are for 2-3 people and others can hold up to 6-8 people. All rooms are marked on the library maps.
There are 40 group-study rooms that must be booked via the website. To book, you need an active University account and a valid University card. You can use a room three hours per day, nine hours at most per week.
Storage of Study Material The library has lockers for students to store course literature. When you have obtained at least 40 credits(学分), you may rent a locker and pay 400 SEK for a year’s rental period.
Rules to be Followed Mobile phone conversations are not permitted anywhere in the library. Keep your phone on silent as if you were in a lecture and exit the library if you need to receive calls.
Please note that food and fruit are forbidden in the library, but you are allowed to have drinks and sweets with you.The library’s upper floor is mainly for students to .
| A．read in a quiet place |
| B．have group discussions |
| C．take comfortable seats |
| D．get their computers fixed |
Library computers on the ground floor __________.
| A．help students with their field experiments |
| B．are for those who want to access the wi-fi |
| C．contain software necessary for schoolwork |
| D．are mostly used for filling out application forms |
What condition should be met to book a group-study room?
| A．Group must consist of 8 people. |
| B．One should have an active University account. |
| C．Three-hour use per day is the minimum. |
| D．Applicants must mark the room on the map. |
A student can rent a locker in the library if he ____________.
| A．has earned the required credits |
| B．attends certain course |
| C．has nowhere to put his books |
| D．can afford the rental fee |
What should NOT be brought into the library?
| A．Mobile phones. | B．Orange juice. |
| C．Candy. | D．Sandwiches. |
B
When you make a mistake, big or small, cherish it like it’s the most precious thing in the world. Because in some ways, it is.
Most of us feel bad when we make mistakes, beat ourselves up about it, feel like failures, get mad at ourselves.
And that’s only natural: most of us have been taught from a young age that mistakes are bad, that we should try to avoid mistakes. We’ve been scolded when we make mistakes—at home, school and work. Maybe not always, but probably enough times to make feeling bad about mistakes an unconscious reaction.
Yet without mistakes, we could not learn or grow. If you think about it that way, mistakes should be cherished and celebrated for being one of the most amazing things in the world: they make learning possible; they make growth and improvement possible.
By trial and error—trying things, making mistakes, and learning from those mistakes—we have figured out how to make electric light, to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, to fly.
Mistakes make walking possible for the smallest toddler, make speech possible, make works of genius possible.
Think about how we learn: we don’t just consume information about something and instantly know it or know how to do it. You don’t just read about painting, or writing, or computer programming, or baking, or playing the piano, and know how to do them right away. Instead, you get information about something, from reading or from another person or from observing, then you make mistakes and repeat, making mistakes, learning from those mistakes, until you’ve pretty much learned how to do something. That’s how we learn as babies and toddlers, and how we learn as adults. Mistakes are how we learn to do something new—because if you succeed at something, it’s probably something you already knew how to do. You haven’t really grown much from that success—at most it’s the last step on your journey, not the whole journey. Most of the journey was made up of mistakes, if it’s a good journey.
So if you value learning, if you value growing and improving, then you should value mistakes. They are amazing things that make a world of brilliance possible.Why do most of us feel bad about making mistakes?
| A．Because mistakes make us suffer a lot. |
| B．Because it’s a natural part in our life. |
| C．Because we’ve been taught so from a young age. |
| D．Because mistakes have ruined many people’s careers. |
According to the passage, what is the right attitude to mistakes?
| A．We should try to avoid making mistakes. |
| B．We should owe great inventions mainly to mistakes. |
| C．We should treat mistakes as good chances to learn. |
| D．We should make feeling bad about mistakes an unconscious reaction. |
The underlined word “toddler” in Paragraph 6 probably means .
| A．a small child learning to walk |
| B．a kindergarten child learning to draw |
| C．a primary pupil learning to read |
| D．a school teenager learning to write |
We can learn from the passage that .
| A．most of us can really grow from success |
| B．growing and improving are based on mistakes |
| C．we learn to make mistakes by trial and error |
| D．we read about something and know how to do it right away |