The First Lady’s Travel Journal: Touring the Forbidden City March 21, 2014
After visiting the Beijing Normal School, Madame Peng took Sasha and Malia, my mother, and me to the Forbidden City, which is right in the heart of Beijing.
For more than 2,000 years (up until 1912), China was ruled by emperors who descended (传递) from many different dynasties, or families, who passed ruling positions on from generation to generation — and for nearly 500 years, the Forbidden City used as the emperor’s home.
Like the name suggests, the Forbidden City is large enough to be a city of its own — it includes nearly 1,000 buildings and nearly 10,000 rooms.
In 1925, the new Chinese government turned the Forbidden City into a museum so that visitors like us from all over the world can stroll (闲逛) through many of the beautiful rooms and outdoor spaces.
The Forbidden City is too large to fully experience in a single visit, but highlights include the following: The Hall of Union and Peace (交泰殿) has almost 14,000 ornamental dragons. The Hall of Supreme Harmony (太和殿) is where the emperor watched birthday celebrations and coronation (加冕) ceremonies from his Dragon Throne (龙椅). And then there are the Imperial Gardens (御花园), where you can walk along the paths and pavilions, admiring the beautiful rock arrangements, flowers and cypress (柏树) trees.
While we loved our visit to the Forbidden City, we only wish we had more time to see everything. But then again, I’m not sure there could ever be enough time to fully enjoy all of the art and history in this wonderful place.
The writer visited The Forbidden City with _______.
| A．her daughters | B．her husband |
| C．her mother | D．her mother and two daughters |
The Forbidden City is a _______.
| A．city | B．palace |
| C．village | D．garden |
The Forbidden City was used as _______ for nearly 500 years until 1912.
| A．a museum |
| B．the emperor’s short-lived home |
| C．a place of interest for public |
| D．the emperor’s home |
What does the word “highlights” mean in the passage?
| A．景观亮点 | B．聚光灯 |
| C．光亮 | D．最大的部分 |
According to the passage, we can infer(推断) that _______.
| A．They had enough time to visit every room |
| B．The Forbidden City was used as a museum till 1925 |
| C．The first lady enjoyed all of the art and history in this wonderful place |
| D．There are more than 1,000 buildings and less than 10,000 rooms |
Dear Mom,
I’m sorry that I can’t go back home for Mother’s Day next week. On that day, I’ll have to go to an important meeting for my boss, who helps me a lot with my work and life here. But I’ll find time to see you at home soon.
Mom, thank you for everything you’ve done for Tim and me. After Dad died of a heart attack at home ten years ago in a road accident, you had to work in a supermarket in the daytime and in a restaurant at night. But you always gave us two your love and care. Though you don’t have to work now, I still remember your coming home and feeling tired many evenings.
Tim is going to finish his studies next month. He said he would move back from school and look for a job near home. I’m glad you won’t live by yourself any more. Let’s plan to take a trip in the near future. It’s been years since the three of us took a trip together.
Happy Mother’s Day. I love you, Mom.
Best wishes,
DavidWhat can we learn about David’s mother?
| A．She still works day and night. |
| B．She lives all by herself now. |
| C．She is making a plan to save money. |
| D．She used to be too busy to look after her children. |
What do we know from the letter?
| A．David has two brothers. |
| B．David is unhappy with his boss. |
| C．David has to work on Mother’s Day. |
| D．Tim will leave home for his job soon. |
Which of the following is mentioned in the letter?
| A．David’s father lost his life at work. |
| B．Tim will look for a teaching job. |
| C．David bought a gift for his mother. |
| D．David hopes to take a trip with his family. |
Mary has to get to school before 7:00 in the morning. On her way to school, where can she buy her breakfast?
| A．At Papa Marko’s. | B．At Apple Tree Bakery. |
| C．At Good Taste Fast Food. | D．At Winnie’s Sandwich Club. |
Yesterday was Mary’s eleventh birthday. Her parents took her to Winnie’s Sandwich Club for dinner. How much did they spend?
| A．$300. | B．$360. | C．$480. | D．$540. |
I went to technology fair where people were showing their ideas for better learning. At the show I got a chance to try out lots of new, interesting equipment that might be introduced to schools. I thought some of it were great and would make learning more fun.
Cyber Coach Mat
The first thing I tried was the Cyber Coach Mat. This allows children to learn things like yoga(瑜伽) and tai chi(太极拳) with virtual instructors(虚拟教练). Also you can play football or have dance battles on it.
Sony PSP
The second piece of equipment I tried was the Play Station Portable. or PSP. It lets you access(获得) lots of education materials and helps learning in many ways. It's really fun and even has a built-in camera and video so you can have fun with friends.
Lego NXT
The final thing I tried was the Lego NXT. This involves(涉及) building a robot and programming it to follow instructions(指令).
The robot can pick up sound waves which can then be sent to the computer or a phone. I would really like to do this kind of thing in my lesson!
Overall the fair was great and I learn how to use a lot of things that I think could really help children to learn and have fun at the same time.
My favourite was the Cyber Coach Mat because it allows you to learn new skills and it"s a great way to do a PE lesson if it's cold and raining outside!The underlined word "fair" means "_______" in Chinese.
| A．公平的 | B．漂亮的 | C．集市 | D．博览会 |
Which equipment does the writer like best ?
| A．The first one. | B．The second one. |
| C．The last one. | D．None of them. |
The robot can be controlled by_____.
| A．letters | B．sounds | C．pictures | D．telephones |
What does the passage talk about?
| A．New ways of learning PE. |
| B．Inventions for making friends. |
| C．New equipment for better learning. |
| D．A kind of robot. |
Algae(水藻) are very simple plants. They grow in fresh water or salty water. Seaweed is algae that grow in salty water. Seaweed is red or brown in color. The Japanese people use these plants from the sea in many ways. From it, they make a food called Kombu. Kombu is seaweed that has been dried, cooked and pressed together. Then it is dried again and cut into long pieces. The Japanese eat a lot of Kombu and like it very much.
Japanese farmers often use seaweed as fertilizer. It makes their plants grow better. Many farmers also find seaweed makes a fine food for their animals.
From seaweed the Japanese also get iodine(碘), which they sell to other countries. Iodine is used in many ways all over the world. It is used in making medicine. It is added to the salt we use at the table. Scientists even use one form of iodine to "seed clouds" when they want rain to fall.Kombu is a kind of ____ according to the text.
| A．plant | B．medicine | C．food | D．fertilizer |
In the last sentence of the text, "seed clouds" means ____.
| A．clouds spreading like seeds |
| B．the seeds like clouds |
| C．to make rain fall with human power |
| D．dropping seeds by clouds |
The main idea of the story is that ____.
| A．The Japanese eat seaweed when they want rain to fall. |
| B．Kombu is made into medicine for farmers. |
| C．The Japanese use seaweed in many ways. |
| D．The Japanese eat a lot of Kombu. |
The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sadly before a huge pile of troublesome stuff they call “books”.
I was going to have my examination the next day. "When can I go to bed?" I asked myself. I didn’t answer, in fact I dared not.
The clock struck 12. "Oh, dear!" I cried, "ten more books to read before I can go to bed!” We pupils are the most wretched creatures in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to study so hard when he was a boy ."
The clock struck one. I was quite hopeless now. I forgot all I had learned. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed, “Oh, God, Please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards, Amen.” My eyes were heavy, so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep.When the author was going over his lessons, all the others in the house were_____ .
| A．asleep | B．working in bed |
| C．outside | D．quietly laughing at him |
Reviewing his lessons didn’t help him because ________.
| A．it was too late at night |
| B．he was very tired |
| C．his eyes lids were so heavy that he couldn’t keep them open |
| D．he hadn’t studied hard before the examination |
What do you suppose happened to the author？
| A．He went to a church to pray again |
| B．He passed the exam by luck |
| C．He failed in the exam |
| D．He was punished by his teacher |