Dining in a completely dark room, unaware what ’s on your plate while sitting next to a complete stranger may not sound like an ideal restaurant experience but it’s certainly an intriguing way to spend a rainy night in London.
Dans le Noir, close to London’s financial district, is a restaurant full of blind waiters and waitresses who become your eyes around the restaurant, whose original Paris branch opened in 2004.
In the bar with the light, you choose whether you want the fish, meat or vegetable, but the dishes themselves remain a secret, as do the ingredients of the “surprise” cocktails. Bags, coats and devices(设备)that light up, including watches and mobile phones, are kept in the bar. Placing your hand on the shoulder of your guide, you are led to a table in a black dining room that sets up to 60 people. And it is dark.
The waiters tell you when the food is being placed down in front of you, then the fun begins, trying to get food into your mouth, then identifying just what it is that’s on your plate, and finally whether you have missed any of it.
It’s also a great chance to break social convention and eat using your fingers. Those same fingers are also the only way you can tell how much wine you’re pouring into your glass.
The happy atmosphere in the dining room also made the night memorable. You can’t really avoid talking to the person next to you at the long tables and guessing what the dishes are certainly provides adequate fuel for the conversations.
All will be revealed at the end of the meal when you are led back out into the lit bar. Not only do you finally get to see what you’ve just been eating but also who you’ ve been talking to for the last 90 minutes.What does the underlined word “intriguing.” in the first paragraph mean?
A terrible B. interesting C. expensive D. newAccording to the text, “ Dans le Noir”__________.
A is far from London’s financial district
B has its first branch opened in Britain
C is very popular among blind customers
D has a dining room which can seat up to 60 peopleWe know from the text that the customers in “Dans le Noir”_________.
| A．are forbidden to eat with their fingers |
| B．can talk to the strangers at table |
| C．will book the menu in a dark bar |
| D．can take their mobile phones into the dining room |
What’s the main purpose of the text?
| A．To help blind people find a job in restaurants. |
| B．To show how to open a restaurant with a new idea. |
| C．To show how to enjoy the time in a dark restaurant. |
| D．To introduce and attract customers to “Dans le Noir ”. |
Is there something that you've always wanted to try but just never had the time? Well, make plans to try it now since you are on summer vacation. Not all vacations call for taking a tour bus to take photos of famous landmarks. Some vacations allow you plenty of opportunities to learn.
The most difficult aspect of a learning vacation may be choosing one because the possibilities are endless. If you enjoy cooking, various companies can take you to Italy, France, Spain, Mexico or even Peru. Once there, you can learn to prepare the local cuisine(烹饪). Trips are often planned to fit in with local food festivals or special events.
The term “learning vacation” often brings language to mind. The best way to learn a language is in an environment where it's spoken. Study Spanish, French or English. Or attempt a more unusual language like Polish, Estonian or Thai. You'll be able to learn about the country and absorb the culture at the same time.
If you are fond of sports, you can polish your skills or learn new ones. Golf and tennis schools welcome players of all levels. If you want a bigger thrill, you can learn to surf, go climbing or race cars. It's even possible to learn the art and techniques of bull fighting while on vacation!
You can also discover our inner artist. Many places offer painting classes in different mediums. The scenic locations, of the schools offer plenty of subjects that provide inspiration for practice.
If you prefer capturing the world on film, take a photography vacation. Travel with a small group to photograph beautiful animals or scenery. You can also practise your technique on people or at historical sights.
Once you decide on a vacation, choose a company carefully. Request names of recent customers you can contact, and then ask them for an evaluation. The more you know before you go, the better prepared you'll be. Then go out and learn something!Why is it hard for you to decide on a learning vacation?
| A．Because it is hard for you to make plans. |
| B．Because the possibilities are unlimited. |
| C．Because there are many good foods from abroad. |
| D．Because there're too many food festivals or events. |
The advantage of learning a language in its native country is that ________.
| A．the environment is fit for you to use the language |
| B．you are able to learn the original foreign language |
| C． native speakers offer you a lot of chances to practise |
| D．you can learn the language and experience its culture |
Which of the following sports suits you if you don't like thrills?
| A．Car racing. | B．Playing tennis. |
| C．Rock climbing. | D．Surfing. |
Which animal has the fastest snapping jaw (颚)? If you're guessing a shark or perhaps a larger animal, you'll have to think smaller. The trapjaw ant, which lives in Central and South America, moves its mouth parts at 35 to 63 meters per second. Another way to think about this is that the ant's jaws close at 125 to 233 kilometers per hour. That's 2, 300 times faster than the blink of an eye.
Scientists were able to measure the amazing jaw speed using highspeed video techniques. Sheila Patek, a biologist, says the key is that the jaws have a springy (有弹性的) system, which is critical in getting explosive (爆发性的) speeds.
Consider a bow and arrow. If you try to throw an arrow with your arm, it won't go very far. If you use a bow, elastic energy stored in the bow is released almost instantly when you release the arrow with your finger or a latch. The combination of the springy bow and latch mechanism is what makes the arrow zoom through the air.
Maybe even more amazing than how fast these ants grab food or even enemies is how they use this same energy to move. As the ant closes its jaws, it uses them to push off the ground—all faster than the eye can see without slow motion video. A snap of the jaw can send an ant up to 8.3 centimeters into the air. That's like someone who is 1.7 meters jumping 13 meters high! Not only can they quickly escape from enemies, but often a group of ants will start jumping all at once. It would be hard for their enemies to grab just one.
People have suspected the ants used their jaws to jump for over a century, but could only prove it with today's modern video equipment.The fast speed of the trapjaw ant's jaw lies in ________.
| A．its light body |
| B．its springy system |
| C．its living environment |
| D．the length of its jaw |
The passage uses “a bow and arrow” as an example to show ________.
| A．how an arrow gets so much energy to fly |
| B．why the trapjaw ants have springy system |
| C．why the trapjaw ants jaws move so fast |
| D．how a bow and arrow works |
Which of the following may amaze the scientists most?
| A．How high the ants can leap by using their jaws. |
| B．How quickly the trapjaw ants can move on the ground. |
| C．How wonderfully the springy system in the trapjaw ants' jaws works. |
| D．How quickly the trapjaw ants can grab food or enemies. |
According to the passage, the trapjaw ants' jaws keep them safe because ________.
| A．they can catch their enemies easily with their jaws |
| B．their jaws make them difficult to recognize |
| C．their jaws help them find food easily |
| D．their jaws help them escape from their enemies |
How to improve our life? Many people think that they have to accept whatever life throws at them. They'll say，“my destiny(命运). I cannot change it. ”
Of course not! You don't have to suffer needlessly. Your life depends on you, not on any other external(外部的) factor.
I know a woman who says she just accepts what life gives her because she has done everything she can to improve it. Guess what her lifestyle is. She wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes back home, relaxes, chats with people, watches TV, and then goes to sleep. Next day, the same routine cycle follows.
Huh! Is this what she calls “doing her best”？ She believes she has tried her best and just accepts for her heart that this is the life that has been intended for her, and that her luck can only change if God wills it. She hasn't realized that we have to do our share of making the effort to live the life of our dreams.
Remember that you harvest what you sow. You have to get off the sofa, get your eyes off the TV screen, get your hands off the phone(unless it contributes to your success), and get your mind and body to work! Don't expect your luck to change, unless you do something about it. If something goes wrong, don't just regard it as a temporary setback; instead, learn your lesson, make the most of the situation, and do something to solve the problem. It's not enough to think positively; you also have to act positively.
If someone's life is in trouble, do you just hope and pray that things will turn out fine? Of course not! You get to do anything you can to save the person. So it is with your own life. It is not enough to hope for the best, but you have to do your best. In other words, don't just stand(or sit) there, do something to improve your life.According to the woman mentioned in Para. 3, her life ________.
| A．doesn't need improving |
| B．couldn't be improved |
| C．will be better some day |
| D．will be worse in the future |
What does the author think of the woman's life?
| A．Passive. | B．Positive. |
| C．Colorful. | D．Boring. |
Which of the following statements is the author's opinion?
| A．Your temporary problem is not discouraging. |
| B．Your luck can be changed by your efforts. |
| C．You can only achieve success when God wills it. |
| D．You should treat yourself in the way you treat friends. |
In Para. 5, the author emphasized the importance of ________.
| A．hope for the best |
| B．intention to succeed |
| C．positive thinking |
| D．positive action |
Early one morning the subinspector at a station at the other end of the town rang me. An elephant was damaging the town. Would I please come and do something about it?
I did not know what I could do, but I got onto a horse and started out. I took my gun, maybe too small to kill an elephant, but I thought the noise might scare him. Various local people stopped me on the way and told me about the elephant's doings.
It was not, of course, a wild elephant, but a tame one. It had been chained up but last night it had broken its chain and escaped. Its owner, had set out to run after it, but had taken the wrong direction. He was now twelve hours' journey away, and in the morning the elephant had suddenly appeared in the town. It had already destroyed somebody's bamboo hut (棚屋), killed a cow and turned over fruitstalls.
I came round the hut and saw a man's dead body sprawling in the mud. He was an Indian, and he could not have been dead many minutes. The people said that the elephant caught him with its trunk, put its foot on his back and grounded him into the earth. This was the rainy season and he was lying on his stomach in the soft mud, the__peacebreaker standing beside, looking innocent.
As I lifted my gun, I hesitated a few seconds. Then I fired. That was a shot that did for him.
You could see the pain of it knock the last strength from his legs. But in falling he seemed for a moment to rise, his trunk reaching skyward like a tree. He trumpeted, for the first and only time. And then down he came, with a crash that shook the ground.Which of the following statements about the author is TRUE?
| A．He was an Indian. |
| B．He knew elephants well. |
| C．He was not a local villager. |
| D．He was the owner of the elephant. |
The elephant made so much trouble because ________.
| A．its owner treated him cruelly |
| B．it got out of control |
| C．it hated the village people |
| D．it was a wild elephant |
The underlined words “the peacebreaker” in Paragraph 4 refer to ________.
| A．the elephant | B．the dead man |
| C．the author | D．the subinspector |
It can be inferred that the author felt ________ when he shot the elephant.
| A．excited | B．sad |
| C．frightened | D．happy |
Suppose a key man in your firm had just met with a terrible accident. The doctor tell you that this man upon whom you depend for directing sales, checking your books or for performing some other important roles, will be laid up for months, You’d have to replace him, wouldn’t you? And probably at a pay about equal to his ?
Then you’d be faced with double paying for one job because stopping the pay of an injured man would simply be out of the question.
You can prevent this kind of unproductive outgo on your payroll by providing your key man with the protection of Travelers Business Accident Insurance!
This insurance provides total medical expense and a weekly income in case a key man is disabled for some time. Should the disability prove everlasting, an income for life is certainty. Why not make out a list of your key men now? Then get together with Travelers Insurance Company, and let us tell you how little it costs to apply this much needed protection to your business.
Write and we'll serve you!The above is most probably________．
| A．a report | B．a letter |
| C．an announcement | D．an advertisement |
What is really true according to the above?
| A．Travelers Insurance Company provides services of accident insurance． |
| B．An important person of the firm has just had an accident． |
| C．Accident Insurance will protect the important person from accident． |
| D．Unfortunately the important person has become disabled． |
Whom might the writing be mainly for?
| A．An important person in a firm． |
| B．An employee of a firm． |
| C．The boss of a company． |
| D．Readers of a newspaper． |
Why would the pay be doubled?
| A．Because two persons are doing one job of the same． |
| B．Because the important job is worth double pay． |
| C．Because it is necessary that the injured person should be paid． |
| D．Because the double pay is for two persons． |
Travelers Insurance Company ________ for a person insured．
| A．will pay for all the cost of treatment and the lifelong income |
| B．will pay the weekly income or even that of lifetime |
| C．won’t get much from the firm |
| D．will provide everlasting pension as well as medical expense |