For Canadians, backpacking Europe is a special ceremony signifying a new life stage. Unlike package tours, backpacking is a struggle, full of discovery and chance connections. It is about focusing on something different from our own lives and losing ourselves in a new world, if only for a moment.
Well, that's what backpacking Europe is supposed to do. That’s what it used to do before modern communications, social media, and commercial hostelling (旅社). Older Canadians would not recognize the Europe that they backpacked in the 1960s, 1970s and even the 1980s. Far from a rough adventure into foreign cultures, the European experience has been shattered in part by today's technology.
A few years ago, I took my then 60-year-old father on a backpacking trip across part of Europe and Turkey. As he is an experienced traveler and someone who possesses a strong sense of adventure, I decided that we'd travel on a budget, staying in hostel dorms. For him, backpacking through Europe in 1969 was about independence and struggle. But two things surprised him at the end of our journey. First was how technology-based backpacking had become: Young people were so directly connected to home that they were hardly away in any meaningful sense. Second, the lack of connections we made with locals. Instead of making us feel closer to a place, he found commercial hostelling actually made us more alienated (疏远的).
But there was some room for hope. While technology takes our attention away from the beauty and history before us, there were also ways in which it helped us to connect with our surroundings. Websites like Airbnb have made it easier to stay with enthusiastic locals. Couch Surfing helps organize meet-ups between locals and travelers. The online marketplace Dopios offers a chance to meet locals through enjoyable experiences like a personalized city tour.
Backpacking can never be the way it was for our parents’ generation. But doing a little study of history and culture before leaving, and bravely getting rid of any electronic devices while traveling, will help give young travelers a taste of the glory days.The underlined word “shattered” in Paragraph 2 most probably means ________.
| A．broadened | B．relived |
| C．ruined | D．acquired |
Which of the following can be used to describe the author’s father?
| A．Sensitive. | B．Adventurous. |
| C．Strict. | D．Generous. |
After the recent backpacking trip in Europe, the author’s father finds ________.
| A．backpackers connect less with locals than before |
| B．young people dislike getting in touch with their family |
| C．a hostel is a nice place for travelers to meet each other |
| D．backpacking in Europe becomes more difficult than before |
What’s the author’s attitude towards technology?
| A．Negative. |
| B．Objective. |
| C．Uncertain. |
| D．Uninterested. |
The text mainly discusses the relationship between ________.
| A．technology and traveling |
| B．adventures and cultures |
| C．young people and their family |
| D．Canadian travelers and Europeans |
Keving Rogers used to be my boss.At that time he always told us to sell more.As soon as I could,I left his shop and got a new job in another place.The last time I saw Rogers was more than ten years ago.At least that’s what I thought.But now I am not so sure.
I was on my way to my office in the centre of town.There is a small park nearby,which I sometimes walk through after lunch.The park was almost empty except for a shabby-looking man on one of those benches（凳子）.The man looked about fifty years old and was wearing an old gray coat.It was cold and windy,and he was trembling(哆嗦).
“It’s a long time since I had a meal.Can you help me?”he said.There was something about his voice that sounded familiar.I gave him a few pennies.As he went past me I looked at his face closely.I wondered where I had seen him before.Then it suddenly came to me.Could it possibly be…? No!Impossible,I thought.I watched him walking away.He was the same height as Rogers but looked a lot thinner than I remembered.
Yesterday I ran into someone who had worked for Rogers at the same time as I did,and had stayed on longer.I started telling him about the man I had seen in the park.”For a moment I thought it was our old boss.But it couldn’t have been.Rogers must be the head of a company now.”I said.
My ex-workmate shook his head,”I thought you knew.” “Knew?Knew what?What are you talking about?”
“Rogers was sent to prison six years ago.He’s probably been out by now.For all I know he is sleeping on park benches and begging money from passers-by.”Where did the writer last meet Rogers?
| A．In a restaurant. | B．In a small park. |
| C．In the centre of town. | D．In his office. |
Which of the following happened first?
| A．Rogers was sent to prison. |
| B．The writer saw Rogers ten years ago. |
| C．The writer got a job in another place. |
| D．The ex-workmate left Rogers’ company. |
The sotry doesn’t mention anything about______.
| A．what happened to Rogers six years ago |
| B．what Rogers looked like |
| C．why Rogers was sent to prison |
| D．how Rogers was living on |
The reason why the man was trembling was that______.
| A．he was ill | B．he was very excited |
| C．he became very poor | D．he felt cold and hungry |
EVERYONE NEEDS FRIENDS
Everyone needs friends.We all like to feel close to someone.It is nice to have a friend to talk,laugh and do things with.Surely,there are times when we need to be alone.We don’t always want people around.But we would feel lonely if we never had a friend.
No two people are just the same.Sometimes friends don’t get along well.That doesn’t mean that they no longer like each other.Most of the time they will make up and go on being friends.
Sometimes friends move away.Then we feel very sad.We miss them very much.But we call them and write to them.It could be that we would neven see them again.And we can make new friends.It is surprising to find out how much we like new people when we get to know them.
Families sometimes name their children after a close friend.Many people are named after men or women who have been friendly to people in a town.Some libraries are named this way.So are some schools.We think of these people when we go to these places.
There is more good news for people who have friends.They live longer than people who don’t.Why?It could be that they are happier.Being happy helps you stay well.Or it could be just knowing that someone cares.If someone cares about you,you take better care of yourself.The main idea of this passage is______.
| A．that people are all friends | B．that people need friends |
| C．how to get to know friends | D．how to name a place |
The first paragraph tells us ______.
| A．none needs friends |
| B．we always need friends around us |
| C．making friends is the need in people’s life |
| D．we need to be alone |
Which of the following is not true according to the passage?
| A．People are not happy when their friends leave them. |
| B．People can know their friends in different ways. |
| C．People will never see their friends after their friends move away. |
| D．People like their friends very much if they get to know them. |
Why do people who have friends live longer than those who don’t?
| A．Because they feel happier and are healthy. |
| B．Because they get a lot of help from their friends. |
| C．Because they take better care of their friends. |
| D．Because they are being well taken care of by their friends. |
It was Saturday when the entire summer world was bright and fresh. Tom looked at the fence, which was long and high, feeling all enthusiasm leaving him. He dipped his brush into the whitewash before moving it along the top board of the fence. He knew other boys would arrive soon with all minds of interesting plans for this day. As walking past him, they would tease him for having to work on a beautiful Saturday—which burnt him like fire.
He, putting his hands into his pockets and taking out all he owned with the expectation of letting someone paint, found nothing that could buy half an hour of freedom. At this dark and hopeless moment, a wonderful idea occurred to him, pouring a great bright light into his mind. He took up his brush and continued to work pleasantly with calm and quietness.
Presently, Ben Rogers came in sight—munching an apple and making joyful noises like the sound of a riverboat as he walked along. Tom went on whitewashing, paying no attention to the steamboat.
“Hello!” Ben said, “I’m going swimming, but you can’t go, can you?”
No answer. Tom moved his brush gently along the fence and surveyed the result. Ben came nearer. Tom’s mouth watered for Ben’s apple while he kept painting the fence.
Ben said, “That’s a lot of work, isn’t it?”
Tom turned suddenly saying “Here you are! Ben! I didn’t notice you.”
“I’m going swimming,” Ben said. “Don’t you wish you could go? Or would you rather work?”
Tom said, “Work? What do you mean ‘work’?”
“Isn’t that work?”
Tom continued painting and answered carelessly, “Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. All I know is it suits Tom Sawyer.”
“Do you mean that you enjoy it?”
“I don’t see why I oughtn’t to enjoy it.”
“Does a boy have a chance to paint a fence frequently” said Tom.
Ben stopped munching his apple.
Tom moved his brush back and forth—stepped back to note the effect—added a little paint here and there. Ben watched every move, getting more and more interested, more and more absorbed1. After a short time, he said, “Tom, let me whitewash a little.”
Tom seemed to be thinking for a moment before he said, “No, Aunt Polly wants this fence to be perfect. If it was the back fence, maybe you could do it. But this fence beside the street is where everybody can see it. It has to be done right.”
“Oh, come on, let me try. I’ll be careful. Listen, Tom. I’ll give you part of my apple if you let me paint.”
“No, Ben, I’m afraid—”
“I’ll give you all the apple!”
Tom handed the brush to Ben with unwillingness on his face but alacrity in his heart. While the riverboat worked and sweated in the hot sun, Tom, an artist sat in the shade close by, munching his apple, and planning how he could trick more of the boys.
Before long there were enough boys each of whom came along the street; stopped to laugh but soon begged to be allowed to paint. By the middle of the afternoon, Tom had got many treasures while the fence had had three layers of whitewash on it. If he hadn’t run out of whitewash, he would have owned everything belonging to the boys in the village.
Tom said to himself that the world was not so depressing after all. He had discovered a great law of human action: in order to make a man cover a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.By using “Tom continued painting and answered carelessly”, the author shows Tom ______ when he was talking to Ben.
| A．made mistakes | B．damaged things | C．was natural | D．wasn’t concentrating |
The underlined word “alacrity” in the last but two paragraph most probable means “______”.
| A．kindness | B．discouragement | C．sympathy | D．eagerness |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? ________
| A．Tom did not want to go swimming at all |
| B．Tom was asked to help Aunt Polly paint the fence |
| C．Tom did not get along well with his friends |
| D．Tom was very busy that Saturday afternoon. |
We can draw a conclusion from the last paragraph that _______.
| A．forbidden fruit is sweet. | B．a friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| C．all good things must come to an end. | D．a bad excuse is better than none. |
When I first got an e-mail account ten years ago, I received communications only from family, friends, and colleagues. Now it seems that every time I check my e-mail, I have an endless series of advertisements and other correspondence that do not interest me at all. If we want e-mail to continue to be useful, we need specific laws that make spamming(发送垃圾邮件) a crime.
If lawmakers do not do something soon to prohibit spam, the problem will certainly get much worse. Computer programs allow spammers to send hundreds of millions of e-mails almost instantly. As more and more advertisers turn to spam to sell their products, individual(个人的) e-mail boxes are often flooded with spam e-mails. Would people continue to use e-mail if they had to deal with an annoying amount of spam each time?
This problem is troubling for individuals and companies as well. Many spam e-mails contain computer viruses that can shut down the entire network of a company. Companies rely on e-mail for their employees to communicate with each other. Spam frequently causes failures in their local communications networks, and their employees are thus unable to communicate effectively. Such a situation results in a loss of productivity and requires companies to repeatedly repair their networks. These computer problems raise production costs of companies, which are, in the end, passes on to the consumer.
For these reasons, I believe that lawmakers need to legislate (立法) against spam. Spammers should be fined, and perhaps sent to prison if they continue to disturb people. E-mail is a tool which helps people all over the world to communicate conveniently, but spam is destroying this convenience.According to the text, what is the major cause of the flooding spam?
| A．Companies rely on e-mail for communications. |
| B．More people in the world communicate by e-mail. |
| C．More advertisers begin to promote sales through spam. |
| D．Many computer viruses contain spam e-mail. |
According to Paragraph 3, who is the final victim of spam?
| A．The business | B．The advertiser | C．The consumer | D．The employee |
What is the purpose of the text?
| A．To inform | B．To educate | C．To instruct | D．To persuade |
We have been trying all measures to reduce pollution in the past few years. Now people can enjoy a fresh environment everywhere. The following two graphs are adopted from the column of “City Information” on the webpage of Beijing Review.
Graph 1: Olympic Cities Air Quality Report
| City |
Date |
API |
Major Pollutant |
Air Quality Degree |
Quality Condition |
| Beijing |
Sep. 8 |
37 |
N/A |
Ⅰ |
Very good |
| Qinhuangdao |
Sep. 8 |
52 |
PM10 |
Ⅱ |
Good |
| Qingdao |
Sep. 8 |
68 |
PM10 |
Ⅱ |
Good |
| Shanghai |
Sep. 8 |
67 |
PM10 |
Ⅱ |
Good |
| Shenyang |
Sep. 8 |
88 |
PM10 |
Ⅱ |
Good |
| Tianjin |
Sep. 8 |
54 |
PM10 |
Ⅱ |
Good |
Graph 2: Chinese National Standard
| API Values |
Levels of health concern |
Colors |
| When the API is in this range: |
...air quality conditions are: |
...as symbolized by this color: |
| 0 to 50 |
Very good |
Blue |
| 51 to 100 |
Good |
Green |
| 101 to 150 |
Slight pollution |
Yellow |
| 151 to 200 |
Moderate pollution |
Orange |
| 201 to 250 |
Medium pollution |
Red |
| 251 to 300 |
High pollution |
Purple |
| 301 to 500 |
Hazardous |
Brown |
Notes:
**API stands for Air Pollution Index(指数).
**Particulate matter (PM10) is a major component of air pollution that threatens both our health and our environment. It consists of very small liquid and solid particles floating in the air.
**Sulfur dioxide(SO2) acts as an acid．Inhalation(吸入) results in labored breathing, coughing, or a sore throat and may cause permanent lung damage.According to Graph 1, which of the following cities has the worst air pollution?
| A．Qinhuangdao. | B．Tianjin. | C．Qingdao | D．Shenyang. |
If your city is symbolized by either red or purple, the pollution in your city is.
| A．Moderate or high. | B．Moderate or slight. |
| C．Medium or high. | D．Medium or slight. |
Which of the following statements is TURE?
| A．With API value below 150 the air is free from being polluted. |
| B．The colors from purple to Yellow indicate the air quality is becoming much worse. |
| C．When there are floating solid particles and dust in the air, it is dangerous pollution. |
| D．On September 8th the color-symbol of Beijing City’s air quality is ‘Blue’. |
When more citizens are beginning to have labored breathing soon after they are in the open air, it suggests that.
| A．there is a large amount of sulfur dioxide in the air |
| B．it is so cold that they may have caught a cold |
| C．they are starting to cough or have a fever |
| D．they must be infected with permanent lung disease |