From cosy cabins and yurts to campervans and huts with character and mod-cons, winter camping can be cool, rather than just chilly, in these beautiful UK settings.
Great Langdale, Cumbria
Winner of the Great Outdoors accommodation of the year award 2014, this campsite at the head of a valley is a beautiful spot for winter walks. But while hiking should keep you warm by day, a selection of cosy hideaways will keep you snug at night. Visitors can choose from double-glazed wooden camping pods, which include heating and lighting or, for those who want a more boutique outdoors experience, luxury yurts furnished with Moroccan-style rugs and throws, fairy lights, lanterns and a wood-burning stove. And with the Sticklebarn pub – known for its real ales and good local grub – nearby, you should be able to slip into a pretty comfortable routine in no time.
Standard pods from £35 a night (two adults, one child), 01539 432733, nationaltrust.org.uk
Vanellus, Elmley national nature reserve, Isle of Sheppey, Kent
In the stunning surroundings of the Isle of Sheppey nature reserve, Vanellus is a large shepherd’s hut. From the comfort of your abode (which is hooked up to electricity), you can gaze out through floor-to-ceiling windows as the sun rises and sets, watching birds of prey and other wildlife. The reserve can be explored on foot, or you can book a 4WD tour of the area. The farm has a lounge in a converted barn, where you can hang out or eat communally, but if you really can’t bear to step into the cold, you can have meals – including hot bacon rolls for breakfast – delivered to your door.
From £180 for a two-night stay (sleeps two), 0117 204 7830, canopyandstars.co.uk
The Cabin at NantyrOnnen, near Llandovery, Wales
The Cabin is an unusual octagonal wood structure, built by local craftsmen keen to make an eco-friendly home. The electricity supply, for example, is powered by the nearby stream. From the sheltered veranda you can enjoy views across the hills, and the surrounding countryside is perfect for walking all year round. Inside the cosy hut is a wood-burning stove, and you can also warm up in a recently built spring-fed hot tub.
From £85 a night throughout December (sleeps two), mulled wine available 15 Dec-4 Jan, 0117 204 7830, canopyandstars.co.uk
Guilden Gate Glamping, Hertfordshire
Just 35 minutes by train from London, the Guilden Gate campsite is ideal for an easy rural family escape from the capital. Set in a woodland glade, a campervan is your main bedroom, and a bell tent can act as another bedroom, or a lounge. There’s also a huge wok-shaped hot tub, big enough for six adults. The site is close to Cambridge (20 minutes’ drive), so you can explore the city by day – if the icy countryside gets too much.
From £65 a night (sleeps four, minimum two-night stay), 01763 243960, goglamping.net
Which of the following explains the underlined word “snug”?
| A．cold | B．awake | C．warm | D．comfortable |
Which of the following is correct about Vanellus?
| A．Vanellus is the biggest shepherd hut around the nature reserve. |
| B．Tourists cannot continue to use their electronic devices in the hut. |
| C．People can either walk or cycle to travel around the nature reserve. |
| D．The shepherd hut provides different dining options for the tourists. |
Joseph plans to have an eco-friendly travel. Which of the site is suitable to him?
| A．Great Langdale | B．Vanellus |
| C．The Cabin | D．Guilden Gate Glamping |
A family of 6 (grandparents, parents and twins) wants to go for winter camping for 4 days. Which of the site is cheapest?
| A．Great Langdale | B．Vanellus |
| C．The Cabin | D．Guilden Gate Glamping |
C
Sitting in a dark movie theater with your friends．and a tub of popcorn （爆米花） sounds like a perfect way to spend a Saturday night, and it could be, if you are willing to share your popcorn with the entire row of moviegoers around you．
A review of movie-theater popcorn reveals an alarming amount of fat, salt and calories in even the smallest sizes．A large tub of popcorn at Regal Cinemas, for example, holds 20 cups of popcorn and has 1,200 calories, 980 milligrams of sodium （钠） and 60 grams of saturated （饱和的） fat．Adding just a tablespoon of butter adds 130 calories．And do not forget that it comes with free refills．
Not so hungry? The medium size popcorn, even the small, at 11 cups, delivers 670 calories, 550 milligrams of sodium and 24 grams of saturated fat．The findings may surprise those who believe it is a relatively healthy snack．In fact, plain air-popped popcorn is low in calories and free of saturated fat．Movie theater popcorn, however, is popped in oil, often coconut oil, which is 90 percent saturated fat．Add salt to it, and your once-healthy snack turns into a health offender．
One way to make your popcorn healthier? Ask the theater to pop the corn without salt．The best way to make your movie snack healthier, however, would be to skip the popcorn．
"You could share a tub of popcorn with 10 friends," Dr．Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, said．"Or, what a concept, watch the movie without eating anything．"
64．The review finds that movie theatre popcorn may contain all the following EXCEPT ______．
A．butter B．sodium C．saturated fat D．pepper
65．What does the author think of popcorn prepared in coconut oil?
A．It is a healthy snack．B．It does harm to our health．
C．It looks like a perfect choice． D．It is very nutritious．
66．Which kind of popcorn causes the least health concern?
A．Movie theatre popcorn． B．Popcorn sold at Regal Cinemas．
C．Large size popcorn． D．Plain air-popped popcorn．
67．What is Dr．Nestle's suggestion to moviegoers?
A．Avoid eating popcorn． B．Share popcorn with friends．
C．Not eating anything in the movie theatre． D．Try eating other kind of food．
B
On the last day of his life, my dog Otto spent that morning of spring napping in the garden．This was always one of his favorite things to do, even before the days when he was too old and too weak to get out of a car by himself．
I probably would have started crying over Otto right then, if my two other little dogs hadn't suddenly raced past．Larry, who was a puppy, got knocked into Otto, then licked Otto's ear, and that got Otto excited, and Otto barked and tried to stand up again, but it was hard for him．
Soon it was time for me to drive to see Steve, our vet．
When Steve gave Otto the first shot, it made him woozy （眩晕的）．Otto wandered over to where Steve and I were sitting and settled down between us．He has always liked to touch everyone in his pack, if possible, while he sleeps．
After Steve gave him the last shot and Otto stopped breathing, he didn't look like Otto anymore．He looked like an old gray-brown piece of beat-up carpet, and I suddenly realized what bad shape he'd been in for a long, long time．I wondered if he'd been in much more pain than I knew．Wondering made me feel even worse．
The week after Otto died was not good．Every morning when I walked Larry and Sticky in the neighborhood, somebody would come up and say they had heard about Otto and they were sorry．They were all Otto's friends and some of them cried．Others, like Debbie who lives on my street, reminded me about how, even at the end．Otto would stand between her twins' stroller （婴儿车） and the street when the garbage truck went by．"Like it was his job to protect them," she marveled．
Otto has left us, but his memory lives on．
60．How did the author feel when Otto was napping in the garden?
A．She felt like crying．B．She thought life was beautiful．
C．She found spring was wonderful． D．She was relieved．
61．According to the passage, how did the dog die?
A．He had an accident on the street． B．He died naturally．
C．He was made to die by a vet． D．He starved．
62．What can we know about Otto?
A．He was already too old to bark． B．He liked people to keep him company．
C．He died a very painful death． D．He was protected by the neighbours．
63．We can see from the passage that Sticky is a ______．
A．cat B．dog C．child D．Neighbour
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分；满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中选出最佳选项。
A
Mr．Brozina is a single father and an elementary school librarian who reads aloud for a living．When his daughter, Kristen, hit fourth grade, he proposed The Streak: to see if they could read together for 100 straight bedtimes without missing once．
When The Streak reached 100, they celebrated with a pancake breakfast, and Kristen whispered, "I think we should try for 1,000 nights．"
Mr．Brozina was delighted, but what he was thinking was, a thousand nights?! "I thought, we'll never do it," he recalled．"And then we got to 1,000, and we said, 'How can we stop?' "
For 3,218 nights （and some mornings, if Mr．Brozina was coming home too late to read）．The Streak went on．It progressed from picture books to middle-school classics to Harry Potter, Agatha Christie, Dickens and Shakespeare, continuing on, until Kristen's first day of college．
In those nine-plus years, they survived many close calls．When Kristen was still in elementary school, her father went to Washington．"The phone rang at 10:45 at the hotel and it was Kristen," Mr．Brozina recalled．"She said, 'Dad, we forgot The Streak!' Fortunately, I always traveled with several books and we read right then and there．"
This spring, Kristen graduated from Rowan' University．She has performed as you'd expect for a product of The Streak, an English major with a 3．94 average．She also won two national writing contests, was an editor of the humor arid literary publications and won the annual English department award．
56．According to the passage, Mr．Brozina and his daughter read together for __________．
A．100 bedtimes B．1000 nights
C．over nine years D．nearly 3000 nights and some mornings
57．In the passage, the underlined phrase in Paragraph I probably means _____．
A．the period of time for reading together B．the children's book
C．the special nightC．the school work
58．How has Kristen benefited from reading with her father?
A．She has grown closer to her father．
B．She has become a school librarian herself．
C．She has performed well at university．
D．She has won many reading awards．
59．This passage is about a father who _____．
A．is very strict in his work B．enjoys reading when travelling
C．makes his daughter love reading D．has a hard time bringing up his daughter
E
The black robin is one of the world’s rarest birds. It is a small, wild bird, and it lives only on the island of Little Mangere, off the coast of New Zealand. In 1967 there were about fifty black robins; in 1977 there were fewer than ten. These are the only black robins left in the world. The island has many other birds, of different kinds, large and small; these seem to multiply very happily.
Energetic steps are being taken to preserve the black robin. Detailed studies are going on, and a public appeal for money has bee made. The idea is to buy another island nearby as a special home, a “reserve”, for threatened wild life, including black robins. The organizers say that Little Mangere should then be supplied with the robin’s food—it eats only one kind of seed. Thousands of the required plants are at present being cultivated in new Zealand. The public appeal is aimed at the conscience of mankind, so that the wild black robin will not die out and disappear form the earth in our time at least.
Is all this concern a waste of human effort? Is it any business of ours whether the black robin survives or dies out? Are we losing our sense of what is reasonable and what is unreasonable?
In the earth’s long, long past, hundreds, of kinds of creatures have evolved, risen to a degree of success—and died out. In the long, long future, there will be many new and different forms of life. Those creatures that adapt themselves successfully to what the earth offers will survive for a long time. Those that fail to meet the challenges will disappear early. This is nature’s proven method of operation.
The rule of selection—“the survival of the fittest”—is the one by which human beings have themselves arrived on the scene. We, being one of the most adaptable creatures the earth has yet produced, may last longer than most. You may take it as another rule that when, at last, human beings show signs of dying out, no other creature will extend a paw to put off our departure. On the contrary, we will be hurried out. For nature, tough fair, is a hard-hearted mistress. She has no favorites.
Life seems to have grown too tough for black robins. I leave you to judge whether we should try to do something about it.
57．The black robin is dying out mainly because__________.
A．people have been very careless about its survival
B．its only food supply is far from enough on Little Mangere
C．the other birds on the island have destroyed it
D．the appeal for money has come at the wrong time
58．In Paragraph 3, the writer puts forward three questions to__________
A．make a comparison B．make an argument
C．introduce a topic D．present his own idea
59．As for selection and survival, the decisive factor seems to be__________.
A．the ability to adapt to changed or changing conditions
B．the number of wild life reserves that are available
C．the concern and generosity of the public
D．the size of the home, or the amount of space one has to live in
60．The writer’s attitude towards the protection of the black robins is__________.
A．active B．passive C．unconcerned D．Optimistic
D
Andrew Carnegie was a 19th century steel tycoon（大亨）who became one of the 20th century’s most famous philanthropists（慈善家）His life story is one of the most famous rags-to-riches accounts in United States history.
Carnegie was born in Dunfermlined, Scotland, on November 25,1835. The son of a weaver, he came with his family to the United States in 1848 and settled in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. At age thirteen, Carnegie went to work as a bobbin（线轴）boy in a cotton mill. He then moved rapidly through a series of jobs with Western Union and the Pnnsylvania Railroad. In 1865, he resigned to establish his own business and eventually organized the Carnegie Steel Company, which started the steel industry in Pittsburgh. At age sixty-five, he sold the company to J. P. Morgan for $480 million and devoted the rest of his life to his philanthropic activities and writing, including his autobiography（自传）.
Many persons of wealth have contributed to charity, but Carnegie was perhaps the first to state publicly that the rich have a moral responsibility to donate their fortune. In 1889 he wrote The Gospe（福音）of Wealth, in which he stated that all personal wealth beyond what was required to supply the needs of one’s family should be regarded as a trust fund to be managed for the benefit of the company.
Carnegie set about giving away his fortune through countless personal gifts and through the establishment of various trusts. In his thirties, Carnegie had already begun to give away some of his fast-accumulating funds. His first large gifts were made to his native town. Later he created seven philanthropic and educational organizations in the United States, including Carnegie Corporation of New York, and several more in Europe.
One of Carnegie’s lifelong interests was the establishment of free public libraries to make available to everyone a means of self-education. There were only a few public libraries in the world when, in 1881, Carnegie began to promote his idea. He and the Corporation subsequently（随后）spent over $56 million to build 2,509 libraries throughout the English-speaking world.
After this program was ended in 1917, the Corporation continued for about forty years an interest in the improvement of library services. Other major program in the Corporation’s early history included adult education and education in the fine arts.
During his lifetime, Carnegie gave away over $350 million. He died in Lenox, Massachusetts on August 11,1919.
53．Carnegie became wealthy by__________.
A．his investment in weaving industry B．his father’s financial support
C．starting his steel business from nothing D．his philanthropic activities
54．What is the correct order of events related to Carnegie?
a．He sold his company.
b．He organized the Carnegie Steel Company.
c．He worked in a cotton mill.
d．He came to the United States.
e．He wrote The Gospel of Wealth.
A．c-d-e-b-a B．c-b-a-d-e C．d-c-b-e-a D．d-b-a-e-c
55．What can we learn about Carnegie according to the passage?
A．He was the first wealthy person who contributed to charity.
B．He believed that it was the duty of the wealthy to help society.
C．He called on the wealthy to give away all of their fortune to help the poor.
D．He was willing to give personal gifts only to his friends and relatives.
56．Carnegie established public libraries in order to __________.
A．win a good reputation for his company
B．collect money for his educational organizations
C．improve library services
D．help people educate themselves