They say that"travel is the best teacher"and there is no better example of this idea than the Ming dynasty travel writer and geographer Xu Xiake （1587﹣1641）． His book The Travel Notes of Xu Xiake， not only encouraged a love of travelling among Chinese people but provided important scientific information about the country's land and geography．
Born into a wealthy Jiangyin family， Xu became interested in books about different places at an early age and wanted to travel． When he was 18， however， Xu's father died and so， it seemed， did his travelling dreams． He now was responsible for the family farm and taking care of his 60﹣year﹣old mother as tradition required．
But his mother had different ideas． Understanding her son's love of travel and valuing the knowledge he could get from such experiences， this modern﹣thinking woman refused to keep her son at home． She agreed that Xu could travel for three months every year， when there was less farm work．
So at the age of twenty and with his mother's support， Xu set off for the first time， leaving behind not only his mother but his new wife as well． He would repeat this goodbye each year for most of the next 30 years． During this time， he travelled throughout the Ming kingdom， carefully studying the lands he passed through and recording his experiences and many discoveries in a diary This diary， which once had over 500，000 words， would eventually become The Travel Notes of Xu Xiake．
Although rich， Xu avoided comfortable travel， preferring to go almost everywhere on foot． This way he could research the environment in detail and get a true picture of the natural world． Many of his trips were to hard﹣to﹣reach mountain areas， and through wild forests where few people lived． His willingness to face hardships came at a cost however． Progress was slow and tiring and he was frequently sick， robbed and beaten during his journeys．
Sadly Xu became seriously ill during his last and longest journey， a 4﹣year trip through the Southwest of China． He died in 1641， soon after returning to his hometown for the last time． When his diary was finally printed years after his death， much of it had been destroyed or lost． Although incomplete， it still made Xu a travelling legend around the world．
（1）What is the passage mainly about ？
A． The general details of Xu Xiake's life story
B． The difficulties Xu Xiake faced in his travels
C．The important discoveries made by Xu Xiake
D． The influence of Xu's book The Travel Notes of Xu Xiake
（2）Which of the following best describes Xu's mother ？
A． Strict but interesting
B． Kind but uneducated
C．Helpful and hardworking
D． Supportive and open﹣minded
（3）Why did Xu prefer walking during his travels？
A． It gave him the chance to meet different kinds of people
B． It helped him to save money and travel for a longer time
C． It allowed him to see and study the environment in detail
D． It was the only way to reach the places he was interested in
（4）What is true about Xu's book The Travel Notes of Xu xiake ？
A． It was only made public after Xu died
B． It made Xu very famous during his lifetime
C． It was the first travel book ever written in China
D． It was mainly about the different people of China
（5）What is the correct order for the following events from Xu's lite ？
a． He went on his first journey．
b． His book was finally printed
c． He returned to his hometown for the last time
d． He developed an interest in books about other places
e． He started managing the family farm after his father died
A． a﹣e﹣d﹣c﹣b
B． d﹣e﹣a﹣c﹣b
C． d﹣e﹣a﹣b﹣c
D． e﹣d﹣a﹣b﹣c
A group called New Story is working with a company called Icon to quickly build lots of houses for poor people in Tabasco， Mexico．The way they are building the houses is （1） ﹣by 3D﹣printing technology．
New Story is a group（2） works to bring cheap but good houses to people who can't （3） them． The group has built over 2，700 houses in places （4） Bolivia， EI Salvador， Haiti and Mexico． In the past， New Story built（5） houses in a normal way． But it（6） a long time． That's（7） New Story began to work with Icon． Icon has developed a way to build houses （8） by 3D﹣printing them with concrete（混凝土）． Some areas where New Story wants to build houses suffer from earthquakes，（9） _ Icon's houses have been designed to hold up in earthquake conditions．
The houses in Tabasco have two bedrooms， a living room， a kitchen， and a bathroom． Because the houses are created with a computer design， it's easy to（10） _ the design to suit the needs of different families． They are expected to live in later this year．
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（1）A． common |
B． expensive |
C． unusual |
D． strong |
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（2）A． these |
B． those |
C． this |
D． that |
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（3）A． clean |
B． repair |
C． afford |
D． borrow |
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（4）A． by |
B． with |
C． like |
D． between |
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（5）A． its |
B． his |
C． her |
D． my |
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（6）A． had |
B． took |
C． cost |
D． spent |
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（7）A． why |
B． how |
C． what |
D． when |
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（8）A． possibly |
B． quickly |
C． carefully |
D． suddenly |
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（9）A． for |
B．so |
C． or |
D．as |
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（10）A． share |
B． print |
C． change |
D． produce |
How can we protect the Earth？ One problem to solve is climate（气候）change． You might wonder about climate change． What is it， exactly？
Gases surround the Earth．（1） Sunlight passes down through the gases． The gases trap（储存）the sun's heat and act like blanket． Without these gases， the Earth would be very cold． The trouble comes when humans add too many gases to the atmosphere．The gases build up and trap even more heat．This causes changes in climate． The Earth becomes too warm．
（2） There's another gas causing climate change． No one talks about it as much． It is nitrous oxide（氧化亚氮）． Many call it laughing gas． Dentists may give patients nitrous oxide so they will not feel pain． The atmosphere has small amounts of nitrous oxide． But nitrous oxide can stay in the atmosphere more than 100 years which can change the climate a lot．
Nitrous oxide forms naturally． （3） Bacteria are living organisms（生物）made of single cells． Farmers use nitrogen fertilizer（氮肥）to help grow bigger crops． The bacteria in the soil take the nitrogen from the fertilizer and make more nitrous oxide with it．
So how can we help？ "Number one is to not waste food，" Wagner Riddle， a scientist from Canada， said． （4） That number comes from a U． S． university study． "There is a lot that goes into making food"， Wagner Riddle says． "So then if it's wasted， it's for nothing．"
根据短文内容，从下列选项中选出能填人文中空白处的最佳选项，选项中有一项为多余选项．
A． That's the reason for climate change．
B． It comes from bacteria（细菌）that live in the dirt．
C． Carbon dioxide（二氧化碳）is one gas that traps heat．
D． More than one﹣third of all food created in the U． S． is wasted．
E． These gases reach high into the sky and are called the atmosphere（大气层）．
The most difficult thing for university student Ted Rogers is opening his classroom door．Ted can't do this without help because he's only six years old． He's the youngest person ever to study at Rochester University in New York． Ted（1） （begin） reading at two， and by four， he had known a lot about many subjects from astronomy to zoology（动物学）． By the age of five， be had been able to talk to university professors about his ideas．
Ted just（2） （complete） his first book．It（3） （come）out in a few months， shortly after his seventh birthday． "I love learning．" says Ted．
"My hero is the scientist Albert Einstein because he never brushed his hair or（4） _ （wear） socks． "Psychologists（心理学家）have found it difficult（5） （test） Ted's cleverness because they do not have high enough scores for him．Ted's mother first knew her son was different when he kept（6） （cry） at play school because he was bored with the children's games． She started teaching him at home after finding that local schools were not prepared for children who learned at Ted's speed．
Now Ted（7） （study） geography at Rochester University and using the Internet to complete his high school studies．
However， some psychologists warn that too much study can stop a child from（8） _ （grow） up in a healthy way． "I（9） （not care） how clever the kid is． Six﹣year﹣olds have to play with their friends，" says Dr. Brian Wood． Mrs. Rogers doesn't agree that her son's time（10） （take） up completely by schoolwork． "He loves the violin and has many outdoor interests， such as camping， fishing and swimming， just like other boys of his age．"
I paid £3，000 for the house， but I think it is /wɔ：θ/more．
He /'mænɪdʒɪz/the business for his father．