Two summers ago, Spencer Seabrooke stepped off the edge of a cliff and out into the air. He was held up by a narrow band of fabric, three centimetres wide. The slackline (扁带) went over a deep channel on the top of Stawamus Chief Mountain in Squamish, Canada. The plan was to walk across without safety equipment. The ground was 290 metres below Seabrook’s feet. A fall meant death. The walking distance of 64 metres would mark a world record in free solo slacklining.
“You’re standing on nothing,” Seabrooke said at the time. “Everything inside your body is telling you this is wrong.” Several steps into the crossing, Seabrooke looked down. He lowered his body to steady himself and reached with his hands to hold the slackline. He suddenly turned over but hung on. He righted himself, let out a few screams, and stood again. He had walked the same slackline-with assistance-many times before. Finally, he crossed in four minutes and made it.
Slacklining became known in the early 1980s, around the rock climbing scene at Yosemite National Park in California. Scott Balcom, in 1985, was the first to walk on a 17-metre highline on Lost Arrow Spire, the valley bottom some 880 metres below. Charles “Chongo” Tucker, who has been living in Yosemite for a long time, was there in slacklining’s earliest days. Later, in 1994, he was one of the next people to walk the Lost Arrow Spire highline. “As scared as I was, it was as cool as anything I’ve ever done in my life,” said Tucker.
Seabrooke grew up in Peterborough, Canada, in love with the outdoors. He saw a documentary in 2012 that was about Andy Lewis, a slackliner and free solo pioneer who performed at the Super Bowl. Seabrooke was attracted and devoted himself to the sport. Three years later, he walked his record free solo highline on the Stawamus Chief.
The attention Seabrooke won led to work, everything from commercials to paid appearances at slackline festivals from Poland to China. “When you step out into the air, there’s something so clean about it,” said Seabrooke. “Height makes it real.”
1.What do we know about Seabrooke’s slacklining experience two years ago?
A.It was record-breaking.
B.It was done in Yosemite.
C.It involved materials for security.
D.It presented no challenge to him.
2.What did Seabrooke’s words in Paragraph 2 imply?
A.He was very confident.
B.He made a wrong decision.
C.Slacklining was a dangerous sport.
D.Slacklining was done without any support.
3.What was Tucker’s attitude to slacklining?
A.Negative. B.Ambiguous.
C.Frustrated. D.Favorable.
4.What encouraged Seabrooke to start slacklining?
A.The Super Bowl.
B.A slackline festival.
C.Its commercial promise.
D.A slackliner’s performance.
In Asia, the best food is found not in fancy restaurants, but in the carts and stalls lining busy streets. These following snacks are not only local to their city or country, but also show the delicious range of structure and flavour.
Xiaolongbao-Shanghai, China
Shanghai’s Xiaolongbao is filled with pork and aspic, which makes it special. Aspic is a meat combination that melts into soup when heated. As a result, the tiny buns are tasty and salty. They are found throughout the city, so people enjoy standing up at street stalls and restaurant-fronts by Shanghai's business set.
Pho-Hanoi, Vietnam
Pho is noodle soup. Ingredients in the soup are simple: noodles, meat (chicken or beef), and garnishes (green onion, Thai basil, lime and chilis). But what really sets pho apart is its soup, made by simmering bones with onion and ginger, spices and seasonings, ideally for hours on end to get the flavour just right.
Penang AsamLaksa-Penang, Malaysia
Penang AsamLaksa is spicy noodle soup made with thick rice noodles. The dish is made more notable with the addition of lemongrass, spicy (辛辣的) chilis, sweet pineapple, cilantro, onions and fresh mint garnishes. Penangites have loved their asam laksas for some time and with their loving additions to their favorite recipe.
Som Tam-Bangkok, Thailand
This fruit salad is a mix of papaya, a local fruit,and the following ingredients:sugar, chilis, fish sauce, garlic, tomato, among others. This dish is not sweet like you might expect, but sour, salty or spicy in equal measure. Local variations add in everything from peanuts to crab, but in Bangkok you'll find the spiciest versions, which can be as challenging to eat as they are delicious.
1.What can you find Xiaolongbao special about?
A.You can find it filled with pork.
B.You can enjoy meat soup when it is heated.
C.You can enjoy it throughout the whole city.
D.You can find it filled with salty and delicious meat.
2.Which two snacks contain noodles?
A.Xiaolongbao and Pho.
B.Xiaolongbao and Som Tam.
C.Pho and Penang AsamLaksa.
D.Penang AsamLaksa and Som Tam.
3.What is the main characteristic of Som Tam in Bangkok?
A.Hot. B.Salty.
C.Sweet. D.Sour.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.How long has the speaker been a history teacher?
A.Nearly 3 years. B.Almost 13 years. C.About 30 years.
2.What is the main point of the lecture?
A.The importance of history education.
B.A new method of history education.
C.The purpose of learning history.
3.What do teachers usually begin with in terms of the history of business?
A.The problem of present economy.
B.The history of the Industrial Revolution.
C.The government action in the past.
4.What does the speaker say about the traditional approach?
A.It makes students memorize facts mechanically.
B.It is the most effective way of learning history.
C.It helps students understand the importance of history.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.Why does the woman need some special things?
A.To celebrate her wedding anniversary.
B.To make her pretty at the wedding.
C.To have a happy marriage.
2.What has the woman got from her grandmother?
A.A diamond ring. B.A wedding dress. C.Blue flowers.
3.What is the woman looking for?
A.Something borrowed. B.Something new. C.Something old.
4.Where does the man usually put the coin?
A.In his purse. B.In his shoe. C.In his pocket.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.What are the speakers mainly discussing?
A.The food. B.Different customs. C.The health.
2.How does the host know the guest is full according to the man?
A.The guest refuses the offered food.
B.The guest eats up all the food.
C.The guest leaves some food on the plate.
3.Where does the woman come from probably?
A.China. B.The USA. C.The UK.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.What does the girl want to do?
A.Borrow a car. B.Get a concert ticket. C.Pick up her mother.
2.Who wants to go to a concert with the girl?
A.Eric. B.Smelly Toes. C.Her mother.
