A beautiful woman took a plane on business. She found her seat and sat down next to a young man. The man was just thinking of making a few dollars on the plane. When he saw the woman, he got an idea.
“Hey! Would you like to play a game?” he asked the woman. “No, thank you. I just want to take a nap (打盹),” the woman answered.
“It’s really easy. All you have to do is to answer the questions that I ask you. If you don’t know the answer, you give me five dollars. If I don’t know the answer to your question, then I’ll give you five dollars.”
“No,” the woman still refused.
“OK. If I don’t know the answer to your question, I’ll give you five hundred dollars. How about that?” the man said. Then the woman became interested and decided to join in the game.
“OK. How many moons does Jupiter (木星) have?” asked the young man. The woman reached into her purse and took out a five-dollar bill.
“What goes up the mountain with three legs and comes back with four?” the woman asked. Then the young man took out his computer and searched the Internet for an answer. Minutes later, the young man handed five hundred dollars to the woman.
After a few hours, the young man really wanted to know the answer to the question. So he asked the woman, “What is the answer to your question?” The woman reached into her purse and handed the young man a five-dollar bill.Why did the man ask the woman to play a game?
| A．He wanted to show his kindness. |
| B．He wanted to have a pleasant journey. |
| C．He wanted to earn some money from it. |
| D．He wanted to make friends with the woman. |
How much did the woman get at the end of the story?
| A．$ 500. | B．$ 5. | C．$ 10. | D．$ 490. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．The woman told the man the answer to her question. |
| B．The woman gave the man’s money back to him. |
| C．The woman asked the man another question. |
| D．The woman didn’t know the answer, either. |
We can learn from the story that the woman is ______.
| A．clever | B．friendly |
| C．polite | D．honest |
You love Jay Chou's songs and you can sing some quite well. So you make a video of your performance and post it online for your friends to see. But what if this led to something beyond your wildest
imagination—a career in music?
Canadian teenager Justin Bieber, 16, has just had the magical experience: He posted homemade videos of his versions of songs by American singer Chris Brown online for his relatives. He received a phone call from Brown, telling him how much he liked his performance. His singing eventually earned him a fan base and a record contract. After releasing a popular record in November 2009, his album My world 2.0 came out last Tuesday.
Bieber sings ballads（民歌）and songs about puppy love. But is he just another gooey (甜腻的) teen idol? David Malitz, a columnist with the Washington Post, doesn't think so. “If we truly want the best forAmerican children, let us pause and give thanks for Justin Bieber，” he writes. “After years of humdrum bubblegum (乏味的摇滚舞曲) from Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers, the 16yearold has thrown a candycoated wrench (扭转) into Disney's heartthrob (甜心) assembly line by giving young fans something worth screaming their lungs out for lovable pop songs.”
From a boy who grew up below the poverty line with his divorced mom to a star who caused nearriots (近乎失控) in shopping malls, even Bieber himself can't believe his overnight fame, although his kind of success is becoming more and more common in the Internet era.
Interested in hockey, the national sport of Canada, the boy once put up pictures of players on the walls of his bedroom. He dreamed of being a hockey star and used to practice signing his autograph. He doesn't need practice now. He signs autographs, if the girls can get close enough, as a music star.What did Chris Brown think of Justin Bieber's singing?
| A．He didn't like it. | B．He liked it very much. |
| C．He didn't say anything. | D．He supported Justin Bieber. |
What can we learn from the fourth paragraph?
| A．He had a happy family. |
| B．His family was very poor once. |
| C．His family was rich. |
| D．His family helped him a lot. |
What's Justin Bieber's hobby?
| A．Singing. | B．Hockey. | C．Signing. | D．Making records. |
What's the best title of the passage?
| A．Justin Bieber's overnight singing online. |
| B．Justin Bieber's common experience. |
| C．Justin Bieber's life. |
| D．Justin Bieber's records. |
All across California, honeybees are flying away from their hives(蜂箱) and dying. Empty hives are causing a lot of worry about some important food crops.
Bees give us a lot more than delicious honey. They are pollinators（授粉者）—they enable plants to produce the fruits and nuts we enjoy by carrying pollen from one plant or flower to the next. The wind pollinates oats, corn, and wheat, but many other plants (like apple and cherry trees and melon vines) depend on insects, bats, and birds. In the U.S., millions and millions of bees kept by human beekeepers fly around doing a lot of this important work for food crops. “Bees are worth protecting because their work adds so much to our diet,” says Dr. Jeff Pettis of the Bee Research Laboratory.
California’s almond (杏仁) crop alone depends on about half the bees in the country. But now the almond crop and many others could be in trouble with so many bees dying.
Researchers at government and university labs all over the country are trying to figure out why so many bees are dying. However, bees are hard to study. Most die away from the hive, so researchers don’t have dead bodies to examine. And when researchers return to a hive after two weeks, about half the bees they studied on their first visit will be dead, replaced by new ones in the natural life cycle of bees.“It isn’t like studying a large animal like a cow that doesn’t move around much and is easy to find out in the cow field,” says Pettis.
Researchers have some ideas about what could be affecting bee health. They could be sick from poisons widely used to kill insects, or they might not be getting enough good food to stay strong. Also, tiny insects called mites feed on bees. “A virus or bacteria could also be doing the killing.” explains Pettis.What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?
| A．The wind helps pollinate. |
| B．Bees are important in food crops. |
| C．Bees give us a lot of delicious honey. |
| D．Cherry trees are pollinated by bees. |
Bees are hard to study because ____________.
| A．they move around too much |
| B．new bees soon replace all the bees studied by researchers |
| C．they are too tiny |
| D．they never return to hives |
What could cause so many bees to die?
| A．Poisons to kill birds. | B．Eating too much. |
| C．Large insects. | D．Some virus. |
What can we learn from the article?
| A．A large number of bees have died in the hive. |
| B．Without bees, some foods would disappear from our diet. |
| C．Only researchers in California want to know what kills bees. |
| D．Large animals are easier to study than tiny insects. |
XI’AN– China has introduced various emergency responses and long-term measures against air pollution in the central and eastern regions.
The air quality index (AQI) for Xi’an reached 500 on Wednesday afternoon, at the top of the AQI scale, according to the national air quality monitoring website. Xi’an weather forecasters predict the smog (雾霾) will continue for the next week and air pollution may worsen.
“I have to keep buying masks for my family,” said Liu, buying masks at a pharmacy (药店) near her home in downtown Xi’an. “This is the only thing we can do to protect ourselves.”
On Wednesday, a city government emergency response plan was put into action, suspending all construction and taking at least 50 percent of government vehicles off the road. Power plants must limit their output and reduce emissions.
Nearly half the country, more than 100 cities in 20 provinces, has suffered from smog since last December. Many have taken action, including experimenting with artificial methods to reduce smog, limiting vehicle use and fining polluters.
Assessments based on GDP alone were abandoned last month and more emphasis has been put on public well-being and the environment. Whether the move will be effective in forcing local governments consider environmental issues over economic growth remains to be seen. Environmental protection professionals are doubtful about the immediacy of the effects of these measures.
Xiao Hang, an urban researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said it took London 50 years to lose the moniker (绰号) “foggy London town”, and Los Angeles still struggles to control its photochemical (光化学) smog. “We can’t ignore environmental problems during the development process and China has a long way to go,” he said.What would be the best title for the article?
| A．AQI for Xi’an reached 500 |
| B．Smog crisis tries the limits of people’s patience |
| C．Smoggy Chinese cities to clear the air |
| D．Dust masks become hot sellers |
The underlined word “suspending” in Paragraph 4 can be replaced by ________.
| A．encouraging | B．stopping | C．continuing | D．expanding |
We can infer from the article that _________.
| A．China is the only country suffering from smog |
| B．environmental professionals believe the air quality will soon be improved with these measures |
| C．assessments based on GDP alone were harmful to environmental protection |
| D．Xi’an was the most polluted city in China |
What Xiao Hang said indicates _____________.
| A．London still has serious air pollution after 50 years of effort |
| B．the development of China is more important |
| C．solving environmental problems requires great effort |
| D．it’s normal for China to have environmental problems |
I once had a house guest from Cuba.During his visit, I happened to throw an old broken blender (搅拌机) in the trash. The next day it was sitting on my counter – in working order. In his world, people simply cannot afford to replace an item which doesn't work properly. They take the time and figure out how to fix it. In Cuba, they are still driving cars from the 1960’s, mainly because they do not have a choice.
In contrast, the U.S. is a “throw-away society.” Statistics show that each American produces six pounds of trash per day.I believe a combination of factors has contributed to this phenomenon.
“Planned obsolescence(废弃)” is not a secret. It is a manufacturing (制造业) philosophy developed in the 1920’s and 1930’s, when mass production became popular.The goal is to make a product or part that will fail, or become less desirable over time or after a certain amount of use. This pressures the consumer to buy again.
Planned obsolescence does keep costs down.Instead of making an expensive product that will last a long time, businesses produce more affordable, disposable(一次性的) items. Some electronic items have become so inexpensive that it is cheaper to replace them than to repair them.
Busy people often value their time and convenience more than money. If a car starts to have mechanical problems, replacing it with a newer, more reliable model may be more appealing than tolerating it being in the garage for a week.
In addition, advertising trains consumers to want what is new and improved. It convinces them that the more they have, the happier they will be.
Unlike people in many developing countries, we live in a world of abundance. A study by Dr. Timothy Jones of the University of Arizona also found that in the U.S., 40-50 percent of all food ready for harvest is wasted.Abundance and waste soon became closely associated in the American way of life.In Cuba, people usually fix a broken item instead of buying a new one because __________.
| A．wasting is prohibited there | B．they are poor |
| C．they are interested in fixing things | D．they live a low-carbon life |
According to the article, planned obsolescence ___________.
| A．began before mass production became popular |
| B．is intended to encourage consumers to buy more things |
| C．results in higher prices of items |
| D．requires factories to produce high-quality products |
Which of the following is NOT true about the “throw-away society” in the U.S.?
| A．People prefer to buy a new blender rather than repair the broken one. |
| B．A large quantity of food has been wasted. |
| C．People believe that the more they have, the happier they will be. |
| D．People all hold the belief that money comes first. |
What may be the writer’s attitude towards a throw-away society?
| A．Supportive. | B．Critical. | C．Tolerant. | D．Optimistic. |
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and Exhibition Tour
Overview
Shakespeare's Globe Exhibition is the world's largest exhibition devoted to Shakespeare. Located beneath the reconstructed Globe Theatre on London's Bankside, the exhibition explores the remarkable story of the Globe, and brings Shakespeare's world to life using a range of interactive displays and live demonstrations.
Highlights
Tour the reconstructed Globe Theatre and see how plays were staged in Shakespeare's day
All-day access to the interactive Globe Exhibition
Actors, recordings and interactive displays bring Shakespeare's world to life
Schedule
April 23 to October 9
9:00am to 5:00pm. On Monday, tours run all day. Tuesday to Saturday, last tour departs at 12:30pm and at 11:30am on Sunday due to performances taking place on these days.
October 10 to March 31
10:00am to 5:00pm.
Important note:Rehearsals(排练) will also take place throughout the Theatre Season. Please note that access to the Globe Theatre may be restricted and there may be occasions when the Globe tours are unable to run. When the Globe tours are not available, Rose or Bankside tours can be offered instead.
Additional info
Inclusions: Entrance fee and all day access to Exhibition
Guided tour of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (maximum 50 people)
Exclusions(不包含项目): Hotel pickup and drop off
Food and drinks, unless specified
Pricing
Click the link below to check pricing & availability on your preferred travel date. Our pricing is constantly updated to ensure you always receive the lowest price possible - we 100% guarantee it.
| Theatre Tour and Exhibition |
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre Tour and Exhibition |
$22.34 |
| Theatre Tour and Afternoon Tea |
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre Tour and Exhibition plus Afternoon Tea at 3:00pm in the Swan Brasserie or Bar. |
$62.89 |
The passage can be found ___________.
| A．in a newspaper | B．in a magazine | C．on the Internet | D．in a guidebook |
In this Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre Tour, we can _________.
| A．visit the original Globe Theatre |
| B．enjoy a British afternoon tea for free |
| C．experience Shakespeare’s world in an interactive way |
| D．visit the exhibition in the Globe Theatre |
What is true about the tour according to the passage?
| A．Rehearsals may affect the tour. |
| B．The pricing remains the same. |
| C．Performances take place throughout the year. |
| D．The opening hours are the same in May and in November. |
If the Globe tours are unable to run, ________ will be offered instead.
| A．a Shakespeare’s play | B．afternoon tea |
| C．Rose or Bankside tours | D．hotel pickup |