Homestays are becoming more and more popular, and people around the world are offering their homes as hotels. Homestays offer cheap places to stay, and the chance for guests to see the area like a local. They are very popular with people who want to stay in another country to study or on holiday. We asked three families who run homestays to tell us about where they live.
The Atal family
Our family home is in a small village in the north of Pakistan, in the Himalayan mountains. The village is quite small and very quiet. The mountains are extremely beautiful. You can go for long walks and swim in the rivers but there are no shops, cinemas or cafes.
Kate and Julian Foxton
Our two-bed house is by the sea in the south-west of England. It is about five minutes' drive to the nearest village of Portreath. There are lots of beaches, rivers and forests and it is very quiet. We spend a lot of time reading books, watching films and going for walks. Our area is great for sports like surfing, kayaking and mountain biking. However, the houses here are expensive, which can be a problem for local people. There are no buses or trains here, so it can be difficult to get around without a car。
Chafic and Aline Halwany
Our home is near the centre of Beirut, Lebanon, one of the largest cities in the Middle East. There are lots of cafes and restaurants, which open late at night. We love it here because it's so friendly and you can always find what you need-lots of people come to stay to learn Arabic and French. However, it can be noisy at night, and there is quite a lot of traffic during the day.
Homestay holidays - A home __ 1 ___ from home
Families |
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
The Atal family (Pakistan) |
It's in a small and quiet village in beautiful mountains. People can __ 2 ___and swim there. |
There are no shops, cinemas or cafes. |
Kate and Julian Foxton （ 3 ） |
It takes a short __ 4 __to the beaches, rivers and forests by car. It's a good place for ___ 5 ___like surfing, kayaking and mountain biking. |
Houses here are not ___ 6 __. It's difficult to get around ___ 7 ___a car. |
Chafic and Aline Halwany (Lebanon) |
Lots of cafes and restaurants ___ 8 __at night. You can always find ___ 9 __you need. |
There is much __ 10 ___at night and lot of traffic during the day. |
Reyes Guana grew up in a poor Mexican family． He has seven brothers and sisters． His parents always had two jobs to make ends meet． At weekends， the whole （1）f went to fields to work． When the children were young， they stayed in the car． As they grew （2）o they worked too．
As a boy， Guana was a "very shy" child who was very （3）q in school． He had few friends but he had a good relationship with the school cleaner． He liked to call the friendly lady "Nike" because she usually wore Nike clothes and shoes． Nike was well organized and the boy liked （4）h she made everything clean． He told her he wanted to be a cleaner， too． "Well， it's good if you want to be a cleaner，" Nike said to little Guana with （5）k ． "But make sure you go to college and make it as one of your steps there．"
Guana also looked up to the principal （校长） of his school． He was a tall and good﹣looking man． Also， he always went to someone in （6）n ． The principal told the boy that his job was to help students and teachers． "Wow， when I grow up， I want to do what you're doing．" "Well， you can do it!" the principal （7）r ． Guana did get there， and the two men remain friends． The former principal is now almost 90 years old．
But （8）b becoming a school principal， Guana followed in Nike's footsteps and worked for three schools in Lodi， California． And being a cleaner at a school made him think about how to show respect for everyone in an organization． In Guana's school system today， everyone is （9） i to parties and events． Everyone is important not only the people who clean the floors or drive the buses but also the people who teach the students or lead the schools．
He never （10）f where he came from， or how he felt． Now， Guana tells his own three children how important an education is for their lives．
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sleep， who， sit， similar， active， off， raise， how， little， kind |
In today's world， sleep experts often say that for a better night's rest， Americans should turn（1） their smart phones or iPads before sleeping． Such electronic products make the brain more（2） ， and then influence their sleep． But according to a latest survey， more than 90% of Americans often use a computer or some other（3） of electronic products in the hour before bed．
Researchers find that man﹣made light from some electronic products at night may reduce（减少） the brain chemicals that help（4） ． In the study， the researchers let volunteers read， play games and watch movies on a screen for different time while measuring（5） much light their eyes received． They found that two hours of （6） before a bright screen at night reduced the sleep chemical levels by about 22%．
Then the researchers studied the college students（7） often used computers at night．They got the （8） results． And researchers say that may not only cause sleeplessness， but also（9） the risk of obesity（肥胖症）， diabetes（糖尿病） and other diseases．
To be on the safe side， the researchers suggest that we should use computer（10） than before， or turn down our screens as much as possible before sleeping．
These days people are crazy about Wu Dajing． （1） He broke his own world record in men's 500m short track speed skating（短道速滑）!
（2） When he was young， he noticed two Chinese speed skaters on TV and then he decided to take up this sport． Wu started to learn to skate in 2004， and six years later he became a member of the national team．
On February 22， 2018，Wu won the men's 500m short track speed skating with a time of 39.584 seconds and became the first Chinese man to win an Olympic short track gold． "（3） I'm happy to win China's first gold here and I look forward to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics ，"Wu said． （4）
In fact． it is not the first time Wu has shown his talent in skating． （5） He has won many medals at many world championships（锦标赛）． Wu believes that as long as he works hard ，he will succeed．
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A． Many people think he is really the "pride of China"． B． I did my best in the event． C． He won second place in the same competition four years ago in Sochi． D． The young man won China's first gold medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games． E． Wu was born on July 24， 1994 in Jiamusi， Heilongjiang Province， China． |
When doing Christmas shopping， Joy came across （偶遇） Nick， the least popular student in school because he wore strange clothes and had a face only a mother could love．
After dinner， Joy's family went（1） church for the Christmas Eve service． A man with Bible（圣经） read a story about Jesus，who came（2） （help） people on Earth． Joy's thoughts kept turning back to Nick． It must be terrible to be lonely on Christmas Day with his parents dead． （3） （tear） started to run down her cheeks but she brushed them away．
That night， while everyone else（4） （sleep） like a baby， Joy was thinking ways to help Nick． As soon as she heard her parents get up， she（5） （quick） jumped out of bed． She told （6） about Nick． Then she asked， "Shall we invite him over today？" "Sure，" said her mother， who was always happy（7） guests came． Her father smiled．
When Joy called Nick two hours later， he was deeply（8） （move）． He joined them for dinner． To her surprise， Joy enjoyed （9） （spend） time with him． Joy came to understand sharing Christmas cheer is the（10） （great） joy to Nick， even to the whole world．
选择恰当的单词填空．每词限用一次．（有两个多余的选项）（10 分）
something， quickly， kept， because， slowly， them， collect， clocks， warm， through， nothing， million
The British Museum is the biggest one in the world． Inside， you feel smaller than usual． There are about a hundred things in the museum to see： （1） which have been telling the time for six hundred years， Roman money， some of the earliest books in the world， including Shakespeare's own works…
The British Museum was set up nearly 300 years ago by a doctor， Sir Hans Sloane． The man liked to （2） such things as books， drawings， clothes， money， animals， flowers， and also hoped that his things would be well （3） and so visited by people after his death．
His wish came true， and the museum opened in 1759， six years after Sir Hans Sloane died．
Later， more antiques （古董） arrived at the museum， more books， old and new， came to it， and more people wanted to visit it． The museum had a famous round Reading Room． There was（4） unusual in the room． Cool air came up（5） small holes in the tables． Hot air flowing under the floor kept readers' feet（6） ． Since its opening， many famous men have written and studied there， like Karl Marx． And the library is growing faster and faster ﹣ there are four kilometers of new shelves each year，（7） it attracts increasing number of tourists each year．
It is now open every day of the year， except for two holidays （New Year's Day and Christmas）．
Entrance （入场） is free． There are lots of special exhibitions and every day there are different films and talks， some of （8） for children． Small machines tell you about the museum and as you walk around it， you can look and listen at the same time． So if you are one of the British Museum's two（9） visitors this year， don't try to see it all too（10） ． There is a lifetime of looking in the British Museum．
