Do you want a bit of an adventure? Would you like to discover all the corners of the UK, or travel abroad? Maybe you have never tried the motorhome lifestyle before. Well, read this article and you will know why a motorhome is a good choice.
Nothing is better than a motorhome. It has so many uses that it is considered the most versatile vehicle and it is also very comfortable. If you are thinking about hiring a motorhome this summer, then the best choice is to book it early, especially if you are considering the school holidays. The motorhome hire service is very seasonal and motorhome hire companies will never have extra vehicles available in the summer months.
There are a lot of companies throughout the UK, and some of the big ones have motorhomes spread all over the country. At present, the largest network for motorhome hire is provided by Motorhome which is based in Cambridge. If you are in the UK, you may phone 0800612-8719 for details of its motorhome hire information. Motorhome has a network of over 500 vehicles all over England, Scotland and Wales.
Most people wishing to hire a motorhome are families that are looking for an alternative to a European package holiday, especially as flying now has become more expensive, and is considered to be environmentally unfriendly. There is no doubt that the idea of no-fly holidays is going to become more popular as fewer people think it is safe to fly. This explains why more and more people are choosing to hire a motorhome for their holidays.The main purpose of this text is to explain why it is a good idea to _________.
| A．take an adventure |
| B．travel to England |
| C．try a new lifestyle |
| D．hire a motorhome |
What does the underlined word “versatile” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
| A．Fast. | B．Safe. |
| C．Useful. | D．Exciting. |
Why should you book a motorhome early if you want to book one for this summer?
| A．Booking early is much cheaper. |
| B．Summer is usually a very busy season. |
| C．You can arrange your time better this way. |
| D．Students usually book them to earn money. |
The last paragraph tells us the advantages of hiring a motorhome by _________.
| A．telling us a story |
| B．giving detailed data |
| C．comparing it with flying |
| D．showing the results of a study |
The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated(愤怒的) when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy."
The man was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found out the box was empty. He yelled at her, stating, "Don't you know, when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside? The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried, "Oh, Daddy, it's not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They're all for you, Daddy."
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.
Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child. It is also told that her father kept that gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.
In a very real sense, each one of us, as humans beings, have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family members, friends, and God. There is simply no other possession, anyone could hold, more precious than this. The 3-year-old girl was punished by her father for ________.
| A．wasting gold | B．wasting wrapping paper |
| C．putting the box under the Christmas tree | D．bringing the gift to her father |
What’s inside the box according to the little girl?
| A．nothing | B．air |
| C．kisses | D．gold wrapping paper |
The father remembered the love of his daughter by ________.
| A．kissing the gold box. | B．putting gold into the box. |
| C．taking out an imaginary kiss from the box. | D．keeping the little girl’s ash box by his bed. |
Choose the best title for the passage.
| A．The kisses in the box. | B．A girl and his father |
| C． A love story | D．The box under the Christmas tree. |
Besides entertainment and beautiful lanterns, another important part of the Lantern Festival, or Yuanxiao Festival is eating small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour. We call these balls Yuanxiao or Tangyuan. Obviously, they get the name from the festival itself. It is said that the custom of eating Yuanxiao originated during the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the fourth century, then became popular during the Tang and Song periods.
The fillings inside the dumplings or Yuansiao are either sweet or salty. Sweet fillings are made of sugar, Walnuts, sesame（芝麻）, osmanthus flowers(桂花), rose petals, sweetened tangerine（橘子）peel, bean paste, or jujube paste（枣子酱）. A single ingredient or any combination can be used as the filling . The salty variety is filled with minced meat（肉末儿）, vegetables or a mixture.
The way to make Yuanxiao also varies between northern and southern China. The usual method followed in southern provinces is to shape the dough of rice flour into balls, make a hole, insert the filling, then close the hole and smooth out the dumpling by rolling it between your hands. In North China, sweet or nutmeat stuffing is the usual ingredient. The fillings are pressed into hardened cores, dipped lightly in water and rolled in a flat basket containing dry glutinous rice flour. A layer of the flour sticks to the filling, which is then again dipped in water and rolled a second time in the rice flour. And so it goes, like rolling a snowball, until the dumpling is the desired size.
The custom of eating Yuanxiao dumplings remains. This tradition encourages both old and new stores to promote their Yuanxiao products. They all try their best to improve the taste and quality of the dumplings to attract more customers.Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The custom of eating Yuanxiao dates back to the fourth century. |
| B．Sugar, rose petals and minced meat are all fillings of Yuanxiao. |
| C．Sweet Yuanxiao are usually made in southern China. |
| D．People in northern China usually make Yuanxiao by rolling like a snowball. |
Which country does the Lantern Festival come from?
| A．China | B．South Korea | C．Jin Dynasty | D．Tang and Song periods. |
Choose the right order of making Tangyuan in southern provinces.
① make a hole and insert the filling
② roll the dough between your hands
③ shape the dough of rice flour into balls
④ close the hole
⑤ prepare some rice flour
| A．⑤③②①④ | B．③⑤①②④ | C．③①④②⑤ | D．⑤③①④② |
What is the best title of this passage?
| A．The Lantern Festival | B．The ingredients of Yuanxiao |
| C．The difference between Yuanxiao and Tangyuan. | D．China’s traditional food—Yuanxiao. |
Why do we eat Yuanxiao today?
| A．Because it’s a tradition. |
| B．Because it’s a tasty food. |
| C．Because we love our country. |
| D．Because this food can make money. |
China's government has issued a severe weather warning after the heaviest snowfalls in decades. The country is experiencing transport delays and power cuts as millions of people prepare to make long journeys home for the Chinese New Year. This report from Quentin Summerville: China hasn't experienced weather this bad in decades. And as the country prepares for Chinese New Year, the disruption couldn't come at a worse time. Over 100,000 people are stranded(搁浅) in Guangzhou railway station in the south. It may climb to as many as 600,000 as more people arrive to make their journeys home for the Spring Festival. Travellers have been evacuated to nearby sports stadiums and exhibition centres.
Across China around nineteen airports have shut because of the weather. Around half the provinces in the country have had to start rationing power(定量供电), according to the state media. The government has suspended（暂停） coal exports in favour of home consumption. At least a dozen people died over the weekend because of heavy rains and the snowfall.
The Spring Festival is China's most important holiday when people journey home to be with their families. For millions of the country's migrant workers it's their only holiday. Some two billion journeys were made during the festival last year, making it the largest migration of people on the planet. And even without the severe weather, conditions on overcrowded trains and buses are terrible. The holiday stretches China's transport system to its very limitsChoose the best title for this passage.
| A．Heavy snow hits China |
| B．Chinese New Year in snow |
| C．China’s terrible translation system. |
| D．An accident |
Which is not true according to the passage?
| A．The heavy snow is the worst disaster in decades in China. |
| B．No other cities in the world have more travellers in festivals than in China. |
| C．The government doesn’t care for people’s life in disaster areas. |
| D．The country’s migrant workers have more than one holidays to celebrate, according to the passage |
The run-up to the launch of China's first lunar orbiter at the end of this month has caught the country's imagination, with more than two thirds of the nation hoping to see the launch live on TV, according to a survey.
According to the survey by China Youth Daily and www.qq.com, almost the entire nation hopes to catch images of the event at some point, with 99 percent of the 10358 respondents saying they expected to witness the satellite launch and 68.9 percent said they were certain to watch the live broadcast of the launch. On www.qq.com and www.sina.com, two popular web portals in the country, internet users have contributed some 2,000 poems and 5000 drawings on the theme of Chang'e I.
"The satellite launch means much more than just saying 'hello' to the moon. Maybe in the future we could also send some people to accompany sister 'Chang'e'," said a college student in the survey.
Remarkably, many people expect to visit the moon one day, with 93.4 percent of respondents saying they expected to do so.
Chang'e I is named after Chang'e, a famous character from Chinese mythology. She ascended from earth to live on the moon as a celestial being after drinking an elixir.
There is also another connection between the moon and China. In the 1970s, a crater on the moon was named after a Chinese stargazer, Wan Hu, who is said to be the first astronaut in human history.
Legend says about 600 years ago, around the middle of the Ming Dynasty, Wan Hu, a local government official, tried to fly into space with the help of a chair, two big kites and 47 self-made gunpowder-filled rockets. According to the legend after the rockets were lit there was a huge bang and lots of smoke. When the smoke cleared Wan was nowhere to be found.
China's first astronaut flew into space in 2003 with the launch of the Chinese-made spaceship Shenzhou V. China became the third country, after the Soviet Union and the United States, to carry out manned space missions.Which is true according to the passage?
| A．According to a survey, two thirds of the nation are hoping to see the launch live on TV, |
| B．The internet users have drawn some 5000 pictures of ‘Chang’e’. |
| C．Wan Hu, a Chinese stargazer(n. 看星星的人,占星师,天文学家) , was dead after the huge bang and a lot of smoke. |
| D．China’s first astronaut flew into space in 2003 in the spaceship Shenzhou VI. |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word in paragraph 5?
| A．a kind of medicine for long life. | B．a kind of medicine to make you light enough to fly in the air. |
| C．a kind of wine | D．a kind of alcohol. |
Why was Wan Hu said to be the first astronaut in human history?
| A．Because a crater on the moon was named after his name. |
| B．Because he was the first to go to the moon in his own “spaceship”. |
| C．Because of his courage for scientific experiment to the moon. |
| D．Because he made the first rocket in human history. |
Want to be a volunteer for Beijing Olympics in 2008? Recently, the recruiting started.
The recruiting of Beijing Olympics Volunteer starts from Aug 28, 2006 to end of March 2008.
Stage 1: Beijing Volunteers
From August 28, 2006, the program opens to applicants in Beijing (and Beijing only).
Stage 2: China Volunteers
From Dec, 2006, people from outside Beijing can submit their application.
Stage 3: Overseas Volunteers
By March 2007, people from outside China (including in other countries) can apply for volunteering in Olympics 2008.
The Program
Travel, hotel are not provided. Only working meal is available for volunteers (makes sense, isn't it?)
If you have any questions, just call Olympics Volunteer hotline: +86-10-12308
According to news, 100k college students have applied for the position after three days of recruiting. 50,000 to 100,000 volunteers are needed for the game.
If you want to participate, just call the number and ask more questions about the program. However, my guess is, to be admitted to the program is not easy.Who has the most time to apply for volunteering in Olympics 2008 ?
| A．Liling from Beijing | B．Wangbing from Tianjin . |
| C．Jane from Australia | D．Dongdong from Yunnan. |
Being a volunteer in Olympics 2008 , you can enjoy free ________ service.
| A．food | B．taxi | C．hotel | D．ticket |
Why does the author think it is not easy to be admitted to the program?
| A．Because too many people want to watch the game live. |
| B．Because the volunteers can have good free meals every day. |
| C．Because the volunteers can watch the game without buying a ticket. |
| D．Because more and more people care for the Olympics . |