Taking a trip to Philadelphia can be rewarding experience or absolute disasters---it all depends on pre-trip homework. To make planning easier, Huffington Post Travel Series recommends attractions for those planning Philadelphia family vacations.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art
Located on 26th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the Philadelphia Museum of Art features more than 225, 000 pieces in its vast collection, dating back to the first century A.D. Guests can discover modern art exhibits, clothing collections gathered throughout time and classic posters. Audio tours are also available.
Price: adults, $ 16; children 12 to 17, $ 12; children 11 and under, free.
The Please Touch Museum
The Please Touch Museum on 4231 Avenue of the Republic offers kids the chance to explore, discover and learn in a fun environment. The museum features six interactive zones where kids and parents are encouraged to play and learn about science, the environment and more. Exhibits include Flight Fantasy, where kids learn about flying machines, and River Adventures, which teaches kids about science, nature and weather.
Price: adults, $15; children under the age of 1, free
The Philadelphia Zoo
The Philadelphia Zoo sits on a 42-acre Victorian garden. The zoo features 1,300 animals, including a number of rare and endangered species. While visiting the zoo families can see big cats, zebras, giraffes, endangered turtle species and penguins. The zoo also includes rides for kids, such as a Rainforest Carousel and Camel Safari.
Price: Adults, $ 18; children 2 to 12, $15; children younger than 2, free.
The Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is Philadelphia’s major science museum, and one of the oldest in the United States. The museum offers guests the chance to experience flight simulator(模拟器)and sky bikes. The first floor offers a large Kid Science exhibit, where children discover science through a fictional journey. The second floor features air shows.
Price: Adults, $ 12; children 4 to 11, $12.One of the features of the Philadelphia Museum of Art is that _______.
| A．visitors have access to River Adventures |
| B．visitors can learn about exhibits using pre-recorded voice introductions |
| C．it has the cheapest admission fees for adults |
| D．it offers kids tour rides to see more endangered animals |
The Please Touch Museum differs from the others mainly because _______.
| A．it boasts a number of rare and endangered species |
| B．it has a large collection of clothing |
| C．it combines learning with pleasure |
| D．it includes a large kid science exhibit |
Teenagers interested in aircraft will most likely to visit both_______.
| A．the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Please Touch Museum |
| B．the Please Touch Museum and the Franklin Institute |
| C．the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Franklin Institute |
| D．the Philadelphia Zoo and the Please Touch Museum |
Which group does the Travel Series mainly target?
| A．Families with kids |
| B．Newly-married couples |
| C．Individual visitors |
| D．Museum lovers |
There is an English saying that “Laughter is the best medicine.” Until recently, few people took the saying seriously. Now however, doctors have begun to look into laughter and the effects it has on the human body. They have found that laughter can really improve people’s health.
Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films while doctors checked their hearts, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has the same effects as physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, makes the heart beat quicker and makes people breathe deeper; it also works on several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach, and even the feet. If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial.
Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effects of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group that tolerated（忍耐）the pain for the longest time was the group which listened to a funny program. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce a kind of chemical in the brain which diminishes both stress(压力) and pain.
As a result of these discoveries, some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics（诊所）, in which they help to improve their patients’ condition by encouraging them to laugh. They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter.According to the passage, the following statements are true except.
| A．Laughter is good for health | B．Laughter can make you become old quickly |
| C．Laughter helps to reduce pain. | |
| D．Laughter, just like physical exercise, is good for our body. |
The underlined word “diminishes” in the third paragraph means “”.
| A．enjoys | B．permits | C．increases | D．reduces |
According to the author, we should .
| A．laugh as much as possible | B．watch more funny films |
| C．avoid smiling all the time | D．spend more time in laughter clinics |
The best title for this passage may be .
| A．Both laughter and physical exercise are good for health |
| B．Laughter clinics help patients improve their condition |
| C．Laughter can reduce the effects of pain |
| D．Laughter is the best medicine. |
The Great Fire of London started in the very early hours of 2 September 1666. In four days it destroyed more than three-quarters of the old city, where most of the houses were wooden and close together. One hundred thousand people became homeless, but only a few lost their lives.
The fire started on Sunday morning in the house of the King's baker(面包师)in Pudding Lane. The baker, with his wife and family, was able to get out through a window in the roof. A strong wind blew the fire from the bakery(面包房)into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning.
By eight o'clock three hundred houses were on fire. On Monday nearly a kilometer of the city was burning along the River Thames. Tuesday was the worst day. The fire destroyed many well-known buildings, old St Paul's and the Guildhall among them.
Samuel Pepys, the famous writer, wrote about the fire. People threw their things into the river. Many poor people stayed in their houses until the last moment. Birds fell out of the air because of the heat.
The fire stopped only when the King finally ordered people to destroy hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire. With nothing left to burn, the fire became weak and finally died out.
After the fire, Christopher Wren, the architect(建筑师), wanted a city with wider streets and fine new houses of stone. In fact, the streets are still narrow; but he did build more than fifty churches, among them new St Paul's.
The fire caused great pain and loss, but after it London was a better place: a city for the future and not just of the past.The fire began in .
| A．a hotel | B．the palace | C．Pudding Lane | D．Thames Street |
The underlined word "family" in the second paragraph means .
| A．home | B．children | C．wife and husband | D．wife and children |
How was the fire put out according to the text?
| A．The king and his soldiers came to help. |
| B．All the wooden houses in the city were destroyed. |
| C．People managed to get enough water from the river. |
| D．Houses standing in the direction of the fire were pulled down. |
Which of the following were reasons for the rapid spread of the big fire?
(a)There was a strong wind. (b)The streets were very narrow.
(c)Many houses were made of wood. (d)There was not enough water in the city.
(e)People did not discover the fire earlier.
| A．(a)and(b) | B．(a),(b)and(c) | C．(a),(b),(c)and(d) | D．(a),(b),(c)(d)and(e) |
There is one thing that everyone wants more than anything else .Some people try to get it by making money .They think that when they have enough money to buy such things as houses ,arms ,and cars ,they will have the one thing that everyone wants .
Other people believe that if they know enough, they will find this thing .They study all their lives in search of it .Still others think that if they have power, they will find this thing .They keep telling themselves: When I am a boss, I will no longer have to search for this thing.
What is it that everyone wants more than anything else? What is it that all of us keep working and searching for each day? It is happiness.
Happiness is a strange thing .It does not mean the same to all men .What will make one man happy may not make another man happy .Some men say that happiness comes from helping others ,other men say that happiness comes from making life more pleasant for everyone .What do you mean when you say“That makes me happy.”
Read what different people have said about happiness .Perhaps you will learn something that will bring you peace of mind ,comfort ,money or may bring you what you search for happiness.The main idea of this passage is that
| A．happiness means the same to everyone |
| B．happiness is the thing that everyone wants to get |
| C．money makes one happy, so does helping others |
| D．not all people are searching for happiness |
The first sentence in the second paragraph means
| A．other people think if they know a lot they will be able to get enough money and that will make them happy |
| B．other people think it true that knowledge will bring them enough money |
| C．other people hold the opinion that the less they know, the happier they are |
| D．other people hold the opinion that if they become knowledgeable enough they will feel happy |
“What will make one man happy may not make another man happy ”this sentence means
| A．when one man feels happy, another man will feel sad |
| B．when one man feels happy, another man will feel happy, too |
| C．different people hold different opinions about happiness |
| D．different people have the same opinion about happiness |
Which of the following is NOT true according to this passage?
| A．Anyone who owns lots of money will feel happy |
| B．Not all the people in the world would help others |
| C．What makes one happy may make another sad |
| D．All the people in the world work and search for happiness. |
People bury treasure to stop other people from taking it. They choose a quiet place, dig a deep hole and bury the treasure in it. Then they make a map of where the treasure is or write down other clues（线索）that will help them or someone else to find it again.
In Britain a few years ago, a writer wrote about some treasure that he had buried. He put clues in the story to help readers find it. Thousands of people hunted for the treasure. They dug holes all over Britain, hoping to find it.
One of the most popular adventure stories ever written is Robert Louis Stephenson's “Treasured Island”, an exciting story about a young boy, Jim Hawkins, who is captured by pirates (海盗) and later finds some buried treasure.
Then there is the true story about a man who had to travel overseas for a year. He did not trust banks, so he buried his life savings in a park. Then he went away. On his return, he went straight to the park. But the park was no longer there. In its place there was a huge building.
And then there was the man who buried his savings, all in bank notes, in a waterproof（防水的）bag. When he dug it up years later, there was nothing left. Worms and insects had eaten the bag and everything in it.
And of course, these are stories about people who bury things and either forget where they have buried them or lose the map.
Although it is true that people sometimes lose their money because a bank fails, banks are still the safest place to keep our savings and treasures. People who bury treasure usually.
| A．do not trust banks |
| B．have a little money . |
| C．want to live in a quiet place. |
| D．expect to lose it |
The writer in Britain.
| A．really had buried something. |
| B．started a nationwide treasure hunt. |
| C．had lost his treasure and wanted people to help him find it. |
| D．caused trouble because people dug holes everywhere. |
“Treasure Island”.
| A．is a story about pirates. |
| B．is about the adventures of Jim Hawkins. |
| C．is the most popular story ever written. |
| D．is a well-known fairy tale. |
The man who buried his money in a park.
| A．thought his money was safer there than in a bank. |
| B．travelled on the sea for a year. |
| C．got his life savings back again. |
| D．stayed away longer than he expected. |
From these stories we understand that.
| A．we cannot trust banks. |
| B．we should not trust anyone. |
| C．a waterproof bag is not proof against worms and insects. |
| D．insects eat anything. |
In one way of thinking, failure is a part of life. In another way, failure may be a way towards success. The “spider story” is often told. Robert Bruce, leader of the Scots in the 13th century, was hiding in a cave from the English. He watched a spider spinning a web（蜘蛛织网）. The spider tried to reach across a rough place in the rock. He tried six times without success. On the seventh time he made it and went on to spin his web. Bruce is said to have taken heart and to have gone on to defeat the English… Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, made hundreds of models that failed before he found the right way to make one.
So what? First, always think about your failure. What caused it? Were conditions right? Were you in top from yourself? What can you change so things will go right next time?
Second, is the goal（目标）you’re trying to reach the right one? Try to do some thinking about what your real goals may be. Think about his question, “If I do succeed in this, where will it get me?” This may help you prevent failure in things you shouldn’t be doing anyway.
The third thing to bear in mind about failure is that it’s a part of life. Learn to “live with yourself” even though you may have failed. Remember, “You can’t win them all.”This passage deals with two sides of failure. In paragraph 1, the author talks mainly about __.
| A．the value of failure |
| B．how people would fail |
| C．famous failures |
| D．the cause of failure |
The underlined phrase “made it” means ______ .
| A．succeeded |
| B．failed |
| C．gave |
| D．got |
The lesson the spider taught Robert Bruce seems ______ .
| A．productive |
| B．straight forward |
| C．sorrowful |
| D．deep |
The author tells you to do all things except ______ .
| A．The think about the cause of your failure |
| B．to check out whether your goals are right for you |
| C．to consider failure as a part or life |
| D．to bear in mind that you will never fail in your life |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Bruce and Edison were successful examples. |
| B．Failure may be regarded as a way toward success. |
| C．Edison learned a lot from the lesson the spider taught Robert Bruce. |
| D．One may often raise a question whether his goals are worth attempting. |