When to go：The Magic Kingdom，which was opened in 1971，was the first theme park at Walt Disney World. All Disney World theme parks are open 365 days a year，although opening and closing time for each park changes from day to day.
If you plan to make a trip to the Magic Kingdom without kids，try to visit on a school day to avoid the largest crowds. If you need to visit during a school vacation，try at least to avoid the week between Christmas and New Year and the Fourth of July.
If you are not staying at a Disney World hotel，avoid visiting the Magic Kingdom on its Extra Magic Hours days，as Disney’s hotel guests get into the park early on those days，and visitors who arrive at the Magic Kingdom’s normal opening time have to wait for a long time.
Before you go：Buy your Walt Disney World tickets online at Disney World’s website. For advice on picking the right ticket，see our guide to Disney World tickets.
You will also need to call in advance to make lunch and/or dinner reservations(预定). Disney accepts reservations up to 180 days in advance，but you need contact 1－407－WDW－DINE.
When you get there：Plan to arrive at the Magic Kingdom’s front gate before the park opens in the morning. Keep in mind that to reach the Magic Kingdom，you must park at Disney World’s Transportation and Ticket Center parking lot，ride at tram to the TTC，then take a ferry boat across the Seven Seas Lagoon to the Magic Kingdom. It makes for a fantastic approach，but takes extra time. Give yourself an extra hour in the summer and half an hour during the school year.For an adult，the best time to visit the Magic Kingdom is ________.
| A．on the weekend |
| B．on a school day |
| C．during a school holiday |
| D．around Christmas |
Through 1－407－WDW－DINE，you can ________.
| A．buy your Walt Disney World tickets |
| B．get advice on ticket buying |
| C．get in touch with the guide to the park |
| D．make reservations for meals in the park |
The main idea of the passage is to ________.
| A．introduce the history of the Magic Kingdom |
| B．introduce the attractions in the Magic Kingdom |
| C．give advice on making a trip to the Magic Kingdom |
| D．attract more visitors to the Magic Kingdom |
When Flora Kahlo’s paintings were on show in London, a poet described her paintings as “a ribbon around a bomb”. Such comments seem to suggest Kahlo had a big influence on the art world of her time. Sadly, she is actually a much bigger name today than she was during her time.
Born in 1907 in a village near Mexico City, Kahlo suffered from polio(小儿麻痹症 )at the age of seven. Her spine(脊柱) became bent as she grew older. Then, in 1925, her back was broken in several places in a school-bus accident. Throughout the rest of her life, the artist had many operations, but nothing was able to cure the terrible pain in her back. However, the accident had an unexpected side effect. While lying in her bed recovering, Kahlo taught herself to paint.
In 1929, she got married to Diego Rivera, another famous Mexican artist. Rivera’s strong influences on Kahlo’s style can be seen in her early works, but her later works from the 1940s, known today as her best works, show less influence from her husband.
Unfortunately, her works did not attract much attention in the 1930s and 1940s, even in her home country. Her first one-woman show in Mexico was not held until 1953. For more than a decade after her death in 1954, Kahlo’s works remained largely unnoticed by the world, but in the 1970s her works began to gain international fame at last.What does the phrase “a much bigger name” in Paragraph 1 most probably mean? ______
| A．a far better artist |
| B．a much more famous person |
| C．a much stronger person |
| D．a far more gifted artist |
The terrible pain Kahlo suffered was caused by ______.
| A．back injuries | B．her bent spine |
| C．polio | D．the operations she had |
Kahlo’s style had become increasingly independent since the _________.
| A．1930s | B．1970s |
| C．1950s | D．1940s |
What is the author’s attitude toward Kahlo? ______
| A．Devotion | B．Encouragement |
| C．Ironic | D．Sympathy |
In her new book, “The Smartest Kids in the World,” Amanda Ripley, an investigative journalist, tells the story of Tom, a high-school student from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, who decides to spend his senior year in Warsaw, Poland. Poland is a surprising educational success story: in the past decade, the country raised students’ test scores from significantly below average to well above it. Polish kids have now outscored(超过……分数) American kids in math and science, even though Poland spends, on average, less than half as much per student as the United States does. One of the most striking differences between the high school Tom attended in Gettysburg and the one he ends up at in Warsaw is that the latter has no football team, or, for that matter, teams of any kind.
That American high schools waste more time and money on sports than on math is an old complaint. This is not a matter of how any given student who plays sports does in school, but of the culture and its priorities. This December, when the latest Program for International Student Assessment(PISA) results are announced, it’s safe to predict that American high-school students will once again display their limited skills in math and reading, outscored not just by students in Poland but also by students in places like South Korea, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Singapore, and Japan. Meanwhile, they will have played some very exciting football games, which will have been breathlessly written up in their hometown papers.
Why does this situation continue? Well, for one thing, kids like it. And for another, according to Ripley, parents seem to like the arrangement, too. She describes a tour she took of a school in Washington D.C., which costs thirty thousand dollars a year. The tour leader—a mother with three children in the school—was asked about the school’s flaws(暇疵). When she said that the math program was weak, none of the parents taking the tour reacted. When she said that the football program was weak, the parents suddenly became concerned. “Really?” one of them asked worriedly, “What do you mean?”One of the ironies(讽刺) of the situation is that sports reveal what is possible. American kids’ performance on the field shows just how well they can do when expection are high. It’s too bad that their test scores show the same thing.Tom decides to spend his senior year in Poland because _______.
| A．there are striking differences between the 2 countries |
| B．Polish kids are better at learning |
| C．he intends to improve his scores |
| D．sports are not supported at schools in Gettysburg |
According to Paragraph 2, we know that _______.
| A．little time is spent on sports in Japanese schools |
| B．too much importance is placed on sports in America |
| C．American high schools complain about sports time |
| D．PISA plays a very important role in America |
The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means _______.
| A．American students’ academic performance worries their parents a lot |
| B．high expectations push up American students’ academic performance |
| C．lacking practice contributes to American students’ average performance |
| D．low expectations result in American students’ poor PISA performance |
The purpose of this article is to _______.
| A．draw public attention to a weakness in American school tradition |
| B．call on American schools to learn from the Polish model |
| C．compare Polish schools with those in America |
| D．explain what is wrong with American schools and provide solutions |
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was one of the most private women in the world, yet when she went to work as an editor in the last two decades of her life, she revealed（展现）herself as she did nowhere else.
After the death of her second husband, Greek shipping magnate（巨头）Aristotle Onassis, Jacqueline’s close friend and former White House social secretary Letitia Baldrige made a suggestion that she consider a career in publishing. After consideration, Jacqueline accepted it. Perhaps she hoped to find there some idea about how to live her own life. She became not less but more interested in reading. For the last 20 years of her life, Jacqueline worked as a publisher’s editor, first at Viking, then at Doubleday, pursuing（追求）a late-life career longer than her two marriages combined. During her time in publishing, she was responsible for managing and editing more than 100 successfully marketed books. Among the first books were In the Russian Style and Inventive Paris Clothes. She also succeeded in persuading TV hosts Bill Moyer’s and Jose Campbell to transform their popular television conversations into a book, The Power of Myth. The book went on to become an international best-seller. She dealt, too, with Michael Jackson as he prepared his autobiography（自传）, Moonwalk.
Jacqueline may have been hired for name and for her social relations, but she soon proved her worth. Her choices, suggestions and widespread social relations were of benefit both to the publishing firms and to Jacqueline herself. In the books she selected for publication, she built on a lifetime of spending time by herself as a reader and left a record of the growth of her mind. Her books are the autobiography she never wrote. Her role as First Lady, in the end, was overshadowed by her performance as an editor. However, few knew that she had achieved so much.We can learn from the passage that Jacqueline _________
| A．became fond of reading after working as an editor |
| B．was in charge of publishing 100 books |
| C．promoted her books through social relations |
| D．gained a lot from her career as an editor |
The underlined sentence in the last paragraph probably means that_________
| A．Jacqueline was more successful as an editor than as First Lady |
| B．Jacqueline’s life as First Lady was more colorful than as an editor |
| C．Jacqueline ended up as an editor rather as First Lady |
| D．Jacqueline’s role as First Lady was more brilliant than as an editor |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Jacqueline’s two marriages lasted more than 20 years |
| B．Jacqueline’s views and beliefs were reflected in the books she edited |
| C．Jacqueline’s own publishing firm was set up eventually |
| D．Jacqueline’s achievements were widely known. |
The passage is mainly______________
| A．a brief account of Jacqueline’s career as an editor in her last 20 years |
| B．a brief description of Jacqueline’s lifelong experiences |
| C．an introduction of Jacqueline’s life both as First Lady and as an editor |
| D．an analysis of Jacqueline’s social relations in publishing |
Argentina in the late nineteenth century was an exciting place. Around 1870, it was experiencing an economic boom, and the capital, Buenos Aires, attracted many people. Farmers, as well as a flood of foreigners from Spain and Italy, came to Buenos Aires seeking jobs. These jobs didn’t pay well, and the people felt lonely and disappointed with their new life in the city. As the unhappy newcomers mixed together in the poor parts of the city, the dance known as the tango (探戈舞) came into being
At the beginning the tango was a dance of the lower classes. It was danced in the bars and streets. At that time there were many fewer women than men, so if a man didn’t want to be left out, his only choice was to dance with another man so that he could attract the attention of the few available women. Gradually, the dance spread into the upper classes of Argentinean society and became more respectable.
In Europe at this time, strong interest in dance from around the world was beginning. The interest in international dance was especially evident in Paris. Every kind of dance from ballet to belly dancing could be found on the stages of the Paris theaters. After tango dances from Argentina arrive in Europe, they began to draw the interest of the public as they performed their exiting dance in cafes. Though not everyone approved of the new dance, saying it was a little too shocking, the dance did find enough supporters to make it popular.
The popularity of the tango continued to grow in many other parts of the world. Soldiers who returned to the United States from World War I brought the tango to North America. It reached Japan in 1926, and in 2003 the Argentinean embassy in Seoul hired a local tango dancer to act as a kind of dance ambassador, and promote tango dancing throughout South Korea.The origin of the tango is associated with _________.
A Belly dances B. American soldiers
C. the capital of Argentina D. Spanish cityWhich of the following is true about the tango?
| A．It was created by foreigners from Spain and Italy. |
| B．People of the upper classes loved the tango most |
| C．A dancer in Seoul became the Argentinean ambassador. |
| D．It was often danced by two male in the beginning |
Before World War I, the tango spread to __________.
| A．America | B．Japan |
| C．France | D．South Korea |
What can be the best title for the text?
| A．How to Dance the Tango |
| B．The History of the Tango |
| C．How to Promote the Tango |
| D．The Modern Tango Boom |
| Café en Seine The wildly luxury (奢华) new art style of this huge bar has been a huge hit since it first opened in 1995, and while it may not be the “in” place it once was, it is still very popular with the after-work crowd and out-of-towners. Maybe it’s the glass frames, or the real 12m-high trees; but most likely it’s the beautiful people supporting the wood-and-marble bar. Good for: decoration, cocktails, amazing food and service Address: 40 Dawson St Transport: all city centre Phone: 01 677 4369 |
| Gravediggers (aka Kavanagh’s) The gravediggers from the neighboring Glasnevin Cemetery had a secret serving hatch (舱口) so that they could drink on the job – therefore the pub’s nickname. Founded in 1833 by one John Kavanagh and still in the family, this pub is one of the best in Ireland, almost unchanged in 150 years. In summer time the green of the square is full of drinkers bathing in the sun, while inside the hardened locals ensure that never a hint of sunshine disturbs some of the best Guinness in town. An absolute classic. Good for: Guinness, traditional pub, pub food Address: 1 Prospect Sq Glasnevin Transport: 13 from city centre Phone: 830 7978 |
| Davy Byrne’s James Joyce, an Irish author and a poet (1882-1941), would hardly recognize the bar that Leopold Bloom rushed into for a gorgonzola sandwich and a glass of wine in Ulysses. It doesn’t stop Davy Byrne’s from making the most of its Joyce’s connections, even though today's version is strictly for out-of-towners and the rugby crowd. Good for: socializing with the locals, tasty Irish food, watching TV Address: 21 Duke St Transport: all city centre Website: www.davybyrnes.com Phone: 01 677 5217 |
People choose Café en Seine most probably because they enjoy _____as well as its cocktails and service.
| A．its location | B．its decoration |
| C．its history | D．its environment |
“Guinness” in Gravediggers probably refers to ________.
| A．a kind of tea | B．the name of the boss |
| C．a kind of beer | D．the name of the town |
We can infer that Davy Byrne’s is ________.
| A．a newly-opened bar |
| B．an old-fashioned bar |
| C．a bar with a long history |
| D．a bar popular with foreigners |
What do Café en Seine and Davy Byrne’s have in common?
| A．Their represent the same architecture style. |
| B．They give the same description about transport. |
| C．They both serve cocktails and tasty Irish food |
| D．They are both popular with the rugby crowd. |