Still seeking a destination for your weekend break? There are some places which are probably a mere wall away from your college．
King’s Art Centre
A day at the Centre could mean a visit to an exhibition of the work of one of the most interesting contemporary artists on show anywhere．This weekend sees the opening of an exhibition of four local artists．
You could attend a class teaching you how to ‘learn from the masters’ or get more creative with paint – free of charge．
The Centre also runs two life drawing classes for which there is a small fee．
the Botanic Garden
The Garden has over 8,000 plant species; it holds the research and teaching collection of living plants for Cambridge University．
The multi-branched Torch Aloe here is impressive．The African plant produces red flowers above blue-green leaves, and is not one to miss．
Get to the display house to see Dionaea muscipula, a plant more commonly known as the Venus Flytrap that feeds on insects and other small animals．
The Garden is also a place for wildlife-enthusiasts．Look for grass snakes in the lake．A snake called ‘Hissing Sid’ is regularly seen lying in the heat of the warm sun．
Byron’s Pool
Many stories surround Lord Byron’s time as a student of Cambridge University．Arriving in 1805, he wrote a letter complaining that it was a place of “mess and drunkenness”．However, it seems as though Byron did manage to pass the time pleasantly enough．I’m not just talking about the pet bear he kept in his rooms．He spent a great deal of time walking in the village.
It is also said that on occasion Byron swam naked by moonlight in the lake, which is now known as Byron’s Pool．A couple of miles past Grantchester in the south Cambridgeshire countryside, the pool is surrounded by beautiful circular paths around the fields．The cries of invisible birds make the trip a lovely experience and on the way home you can drop into the village for afternoon tea．If you don’t trust me, then perhaps you’ll take it from Virginia Woolf – over a century after Byron, she reportedly took a trip to swim in the same pool．As mentioned in the passage, there is a small charge for ____．
| A．attending the masters’ class |
| B．working with local artists |
| C．seeing an exhibition |
| D．learning life drawing |
“Torch Aloe” and “Venus Flytrap” are ____．
| A．impressive plants | B．common insects |
| C．rarely-seen snakes | D．wildlife-enthusiasts |
We can infer from the passage that Byron seemed ____．
| A．to like walking |
| B．to fear pet bears |
| C．to be a heavy drinker |
| D．to finish university in 1805 |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Some places for weekend break． |
| B．A way to become creative in art． |
| C．The colourful life in the countryside． |
| D．Unknown stories of Cambridge University. |
Volunteers Wanted
Ecuador
A village in Ecuador has recently developed a ecotourism (生态旅游) project that needs volunteers with a background in tourism. This is an unpaid, challenging job that might last one year. You must be enthusiastic and speak good level of Spanish. You will need to cover your food and lodging on your own.
To find out more information, e-mail volunteer@ ecuador.org.
Bali
Would you like to teach English or computer skills to our local school children in a lovely village in the mountains of Bali? There are also western children homeschooling here, some of whom need help with their daily programs. For volunteers of homeschooling, you are required to have baby-sitter experience. Please contact me for more information at Bali@yahoo.com.
Dominica
Experience nature and adventure in Dominica, the island of the Caribbean. Be part of a happy team, doing things from gardening, to building tree houses, to maintaining hydro systems.
For more information please e-mail info@Dominica.com.A college graduate who speaks good Spanish and is interested in ecotourism had better work in ______.
| A．an island of Dominica | B．a village in Ecuador |
| C．the mountains of Bali | D．a house in Caribbean |
One who wants to teach small children English will contact ______.
| A．volunteer@org | B．info@Dominica.com |
| C．volunteer@ ecuador.org | D．Bali@yahoo.com |
Which is NOT a required task for a volunteer at the island of Dominica?
| A．Gardening. |
| B．Building tree houses. |
| C．Swimming in the pool. |
| D．Maintaining hydro systems. |
When I was growing up, I was unhappy to be seen with my father. He was disabled and quite short. He used to walk together with me and his hand was on my arm for balance. At this time, people would look at us strangely. I was afraid to look at others but he never cares.
It was difficult to coordinate our steps — his slow, mine impatient. But each time, he always said, “You set the pace, I'll follow you.”
He never talked about himself as a disabled man and nor did he envy other people’s good fortune or health. What he looked for in others was a “good heart” — a good heart in man.
Now that I am older, I believe that is a right standard to judge people, even though I still don’t know exactly what a “good heart” is. But I know the times when I don’t have it. Unable to take part in many activities, my father still tried to participate in some way. When I played ball, he “played” it too. When I joined the Navy, he “joined” too. He often introduced me, saying “This is my son, but it is also me, and I could have done this if things had been different.”
He has been gone many years, but I am so sorry for my unwillingness to walk with him. I never told him how I regretted it. I think of him often when I complain about small affairs and when I don’t have a “good heart ”. At such times, I want to put my hand on his arm and say, “You set the pace, I'll try to follow you. ”The author felt unhappy walking with his father because ______.
| A．he was pitiful for his father’s disability |
| B．it was easy for them to walk together |
| C．he didn’t want others to know he had a disabled father |
| D．his father often blamed him |
In his father’s view, the most important quality a good person should have is ______.
| A．excellent health | B．a good heart |
| C．smart hands | D．beautiful appearance |
What does the underlined word “coordinate” mean?
| A．行走 | B．协调 | C．抚平 | D．暂停 |
According to the last paragraph, by saying “You set the pace. I will try to follow you.” the author means that ______.
| A．he will follow father’s standards of being a good man |
| B．his father didn’t participate in any activities |
| C．he is glad to walk on his own |
| D．he still cares more about the appearance |
About five to seven million people who lived in England spoke English at the end of the 16th century. Later in the next century, people from England overcame other parts of the world and because of that, English began to be spoken in many other countries. Today, more people speak English as their first, second or a foreign language than ever before.
Look at this example:
British Betty: Would you like to see my flat?
American Amy: Yes. I’d like to come up to your apartment.
So why has English changed over time? All languages change and develop when cultures meet. At first the English spoken in England between about AD 450 and 1150 was very different from the English spoken today. It was based more on German than the English we speak at present. Then between about AD 800 and 1150, English became less like German because those who ruled England spoke first Danish and later French. These new settlers improved the English language and especially its vocabulary. So by the 1600’s Shakespeare was able to make use of a wider vocabulary than ever before.
Finally by the 19th century the language was settled. At that time two big changes in English spelling happened: first Samuel Johnson wrote his dictionary and later Noah Webster wrote The American Dictionary of the English Language. The latter gave a separate identity to American English spelling.
English now is also spoken as a foreign or second language in South Asia. For example, India has a very large number of fluent English speakers because Britain ruled India from 1765 to 1947. During that time English became the language for government and education. Today the number of people learning English in China is increasing rapidly.When did English begin to be spoken in many other countries?
| A．In 16th century. |
| B．In 17th century. |
| C．In 18th century. |
| D．In 19th century. |
Shakespeare could use a wider vocabulary than ever before because English_______.
| A．developed when new settlers came to Britain |
| B．was based on Germany during the 5th century |
| C．became the language for government and education |
| D．was spoken wide all over the world |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．British settlers moved to America in the 18th. |
| B．It’s easy for Chinese people speak fluent English. |
| C．English once became the official language in India. |
| D．English was influenced by Danish invaders in AD 450 . |
What showed the differences of American English spelling?
| A．Samuel Johnson’s dictionary | B．Shakespeare’s books |
| C．French ruler’s language | D．Noah Webster’s dictionary |
For what purpose does the author write the passage?
| A．To settle English in many countries. |
| B．To understand English-speaking people. |
| C．To describe the development of English. |
| D．To tell people changes of American English. |
A new Australian research indicates that children with a stutter (结巴) do not suffer disadvantages at school, More than ten percent of children have a stutter by the age of four but they score just as high as other children on tests designed to judge their language, thinking skills and character.
Professor Reilly’s team studied over 1600 children from Melbourne, Australia. Their mothers had been filling out regular questionnaires since their babies were eight months old and the children were judged by a range of language and behaviour tests when they reached the age of four. Reilly and her colleagues asked the parents to call the study group if their children started showing signs of stuttering. Diagnoses were confirmed by a researcher, who then visited the homes of children with a stutter every month to check on their progress.
By the age of four, 181 of the children studied had been diagnosed with a stutter. Follow-up visits to the 181 children who were judged after diagnoses showed just nine no longer had a stutter one year later. Stuttering children scored 5. 5 points higher than that of their non-stuttering children on language tests and 2. 6 points higher on the test of non-verbal intelligence. The researchers said it was possible that stuttering could improve language skills, or that stuttering could result from very fast language development among some children.
The research suggests parents of children who stutter are usually advised to wait a year before looking for treatment —which can be expensive — to see if the stutter goes away by itself, unless the children become very unhappy or stop talking.Children with a stutter at school _______.
| A．are poor in their lessons |
| B．have normal language skills |
| C．work much harder than others |
| D．are looked down upon by others |
According to Reilly, parents should make a telephone to the study members when ______.
| A．they wanted to turn in the questionnaires |
| B．their children were rude to other people |
| C．they wanted to seek some practical advice |
| D．their children had a symptom of stuttering |
The author shows the result of the research by _______.
| A．presenting some statistics |
| B．offering some good examples |
| C．telling some interesting stories |
| D．performing some operations |
Some children may stutter probably because_______.
| A．they become angry very easily |
| B．their intelligence is very poor |
| C．they don’t have any patience at all |
| D．their language develops very quickly |
It can be inferred from the last paragraph that _______.
| A．it costs quite a lot to treat children with a stutter |
| B．it is hard for stuttering children to speak normally |
| C．children with a stutter should be treated in a proper way |
| D．stuttering children can’t be any worse off than they are already |
A couple of years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out of the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator (短吻鳄) was swimming toward the shoe. His mother in the house was looking out of the window and saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In great fear, she ran toward the water, shouting to her son as loudly as she could.
Hearing her voice, the little boy became worried and made a return to swim to his mother. It was too late. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him.
From the bank. the mother caught her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began a tug-of-war (拔河) between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too determined to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard her screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator.
After weeks and weeks in hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred (留下伤疤) by the attack of the animal and on his arms were deep scratches where his mother’s fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.
The newspaper reporter, who interviewed the boy after the injury, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pants legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter. “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my mom wouldn’t let go.The boy’s legs were scarred by_______.
| A．his mother | B．an alligator |
| C．a farmer | D．a reporter |
What does the underlined word “snatched” probably mean?
| A．Kicked. | B．Touched. | C．Bit. | D．Knocked. |
Why did the farmer help the mother?
| A．He didn’t want to see the alligator killing the boy. |
| B．She was much too determined to let go of the boy. |
| C．Her nails dug into the boy’s flesh to hang on to the boy. |
| D．The boy lifted his pants legs to show his scars. |
What did the boy think of the scars on his arms?
| A．fearful. | B．Shy. | C．worried. | D．Proud. |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．A Brave Boy | B．The scars of Love |
| C．A Helpful Farmer | D．A Mother and An Alligator |