I am off on a trip on my own. Yes ! Alone! I can't wait to get going to Europe to see some cities I really want to visit. It is great because I can choose what I want to do in each city. I am going to travel by train on the Eurorail.
The train trip was fast and the views of the countryside were amazing. Now 1 am in Salzburg, Austria. The quiet hills of Austria are a great place to relax. The movie The Sound of Music was filmed around this area. Mozart, the famous musician, was from here. I listened to some of his classical music.
The train ride to Amsterdam was a long one. It gave me time to write some postcards to send back home. Amsterdam is a fun city, full of friendly locals and many tourists. I spent the whole day visiting the art museums here. The museum about the famous Dutch artist Van Gogh is filled with history and beautiful art. I took a boat ride and saw local people in traditional dress. I even got to taste some delicious Dutch cheese.
Copenhagen, Denmark, is one of the safest places in the world. I spent a busy and nice day at the Tivoli Amusement Park. It is a huge park which even has concerts and dance shows. Hans Christian Anderson, a famous writer of children's books, was born in this city. I found a lovely bookshop and bought two of his fairy tale books, The Little Mermaid and The Ugly Duckling.
My travels alone are done! What an adventure this trip has been! I love it.The passage is probably taken from the _____ part of a magazine.
| A．Food | B．Travel |
| C．Society | D．Business |
According to the passage, which of the following is true?
| A．Salzburg is famous for Anderson, the great writer. |
| B．The movie The Sound of Music was filmed in Austria. |
| C．Local people in Copenhagen like wearing traditional dress. |
| D．Amsterdam has a park which has concerts and dance shows. |
Which of the following words best describes the writer's feeling about the travel?
| A．Bored. | B．Brave. |
| C．Lonely. | D．Excited. |
Mother’s Day is coming. It is a time to let Mom know she’s special to you. Finding the right for Mom on that day is not always easy. We often want something personal and thoughtful. But how can we make it? These following ideas may help you.
Gift of Time
Moms just want to spend time with their children so make it a Mother-Daughter/Son day. Spend the whole day with her. Do the things she likes doing with her.
Home Video
Take your family videos and make them a short home video. She can enjoy it whenever she misses you. Although it may take a lot of time， the process(过程) can be great fun and the result is often priceless(无价).
Mom Mix
Make a CD for her. It’s a collection of all the songs that remind her of you and your growing up.
Write a Letter
Write a letter instead of a simple card. Write about all the good memories you have with her and all the things she has done for you.
Flowers
People send carnations(康乃馨) on Mother’s Day. You can easily spend a lot of money on them. If you have flowers in your garden， or can handpick them， it can be a great gift.
Dinner
Make a dinner and invite her over. You can also take it over to her house and surprise her. Just don’t’ forget to wash the dishes after the dinner.
| A．Because we want to save money |
| B．Because mothers don’t like gifts. |
| C．Because we always want to get something special |
| D．Because mothers are very difficult to deal with |
| A．fun | B．boring | C．easy | D．nothing |
| A．4 | B．5 | C．6 | D．7 |
| A．you can buy a big cake for your mom on Mother’s day |
| B．writing a letter is better than sending a simple card to your mom on Mother’s Day. |
| C．inviting your mom to eat in a restaurant is a good gift for her. |
| D．buying carnations for her is a good way. |
You don't have much time for you diary， but you really want to remember your best or worst moments in life. Nine Square Diary (九宫格日记) is coming to help you. This new type of diary has nine squares which represent(代表) nine different areas in life， such as plans， feelings and health. Writing this diary is just like filling blanks. It is so convenient that you can finish it in only a few minutes.
Here is a page of Nine Square Diary from Sun Ning， a middle school student.
| A．his dad's | B．his cousin's |
| C．his friend's | D．his uncle’s |
| A．busy | B．glad | C．tired | D．surprised |
| A．had a conversation with the headmaster |
| B．gave advice about building a space station |
| C．helped his cousin to get ready for the singing competition |
| D．went to the shopping mall with his mom |
How would we travel without maps? It would be a bit adventurous (冒险的) to set off from Oxford University to go to London Bridge if there wasn't a map of the London Underground at each station. In fact, a lot of the early map-makers were adventurers and explorers, especially in the 15th and 16th centuries.
So what did people do before there were maps? Well, it was quite easy to use natural signs like mountains and rivers if you were travelling on foot or riding a horse. People took small boats down rivers and followed coastlines. And it was much more logical (合理的) to use time, not distance, to measure (计量) journeys: the next village is a three-hour ride, for example.
In fact, in the earliest maps, people didn't draw landmarks. They drew the stars. It was very easy to see the night sky and use it for navigation (航行). The sky was a lot clearer before the light pollution from cities that we have today. When towns and cities were built, people drew road maps which gave correct distances and directions.
The London Underground was opened in 1863 and it also used a road map style. But a man called Henry Beck realized that travelling by train wasn't the same as driving your car across London. Passengers only needed to know which stations to change at. His new design (设计) for the Underground map wasn't very popular with the train companies at first. But the passengers loved it and in 1933, 700,000 copies were printed.
These days, of course, you can ride a bike, drive a car or go through a forest and know where you are exactly, using a GPS. It's really difficult to get lost!What was drawn in the earliest maps?
| A．Stars. | B．Landmarks. |
| C．Cities and towns, | D．Mountains and rivers. |
When did road maps come out?
| A．Around 15th and 16th centuries. |
| B．When people began to travel by train. |
| C．When people began to travel by sea. |
| D．When cities and towns appeared. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．A GPS helped people to travel long time ago. |
| B．Ancient people could travel on a horse without maps. |
| C．The sky was polluted by light before cities were built. |
| D．Henry Beck's map wasn't popular with the passengers. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Maps have a long history. |
| B．We never get lost these days. |
| C．We can't travel without maps. |
| D．Henry Beck designed a new map. |
Every morning, the newspaper chief editor（主编）holds a meeting with the reporters. They discuss the main events of the day. Reporters are then sent to cover the events.
As soon as the reporters know what to write about, they get down to work. They telephone people and fix a time for a face-to-face interview with them. Sometimes they do telephone interviews. Checking information is very important. They go to the newspaper’s own library to look up any information that they need. This is called “doing one’s homework”.
At the same time, the picture editor decides which photographs will be used for the next day’s paper. All the people who work on a newspaper must be able to work fast. Reporters have to stop working on one story and start working at once on the important new one. They must find out the new information as quickly as possible. Later in the day, everything is put together at the news desk. Reporters return, type their stories into the computer and hand them to the editor.
The chief editor decides which will be the most important story on the front page. Sometimes this will have to be changed if something more important happens late in the day. Other editors read the stories which the reporters have written and make any necessary changes.
Finally, there is no more time left for adding new stories, and the time for printing（印刷） the newspaper has come. This is done on fast-moving printing machines. The newspapers are then delivered（发送） by truck, plane or rail. Speed is important. People want to buy the latest newspaper; nobody wants to buy yesterday’s.What is the work in a newspaper office like?
| A．Interesting and confusing |
| B．Important and patient. |
| C．Particular and necessary. |
| D．Fast and busy. |
According to the passage, the right order for a reporter’s work is ____________.
a. writing stories
b. doing interviews
c. joining in a discussion
d. doing homework
e. handing stories to the editor
| A．c,b,a,d,e | B．c,d,e,a,b |
| C．c,b,d,a,e | D．c,a,d,b,e |
The front page contents（内容） are decided by ___________.
| A．the importance of the events |
| B．how well the stories are written |
| C．the knowledge of the chief editor |
| D．whether they are the latest |
The best title for this passage is “____________”.
| A．How a newspaper is produced |
| B．How newspapers are delivered |
| C．What kind of papers readers like |
| D．Whose work is more important |
We are often asked to make a speech in life. Most of us are afraid of it and don't do a good job. Here are some simple steps to make your speech a successful one. First of all, find out everything you can about your subject and at the same time find out as much as you can about your audience. Who are they? What do they know about your subject? Put yourself in their shoes as you prepare your speech. Then try to arrange your material so that your speech is clear and easy to follow. Use as many examples as possible. Never forget your audience. Don't talk over their heads or talk down to them. When you are giving your speech, speak slowly and clearly, look at your audience and pause for a few seconds from time to time to give your audience chances to think over what you've said. Just remember: be prepared, know your subject and your audience, say what you have to say and be yourself so that your ideas will bring you and your audience together. During the course of a speech, it is not right for a speaker to ________.
| A．give a lot of examples |
| B．speak in a clear voice |
| C．take a short stop at times |
| D．think nothing of the audience |
What does the underlined word "pause" mean in the passage?
| A．Listen | B．Stop | C．Choose | D．Search |
"Put yourself in their shoes as you prepare your speech." means that while preparing your speech, you must________.
| A．think more about the audience |
| B．put your shoes away and put on theirs |
| C．try on their shoes to see if they fit you |
| D．wear the shoes in the same size as theirs |
Which title best gives the main idea of the passage?
| A．How to Improve Your Speech |
| B．How to Remember the Audience |
| C．How to Pick out the Topic for a Speech |
| D．How to Prepare the Material for a Speech |