The Sahara Festival is a celebration of the very recent past. The three-day event is not fixed to the same dates each year, but generally takes place in November or December. It is well attended by tourists, but even better attended by locals.
During the opening ceremonies, after the official greetings from the government leaders, people who attend the festival begin to march smartly before the viewing stands, and white camels transport their riders across the sands. Horsemen from different nations display their beautiful clothes and their fine horsemanship. One following another, groups of musicians and dancers from all over the Sahara take their turn to show off their wonderful traditional culture. Groups of men in blue and yellow play horns and beat drums as they dance in different designs. On their knees in the sand, a group of women in long dark dresses dance with their hair: their long, dark, shiny hair is thrown back and forth in the wind to the rhythm of their dance.
The local and visiting Italian dogs are anxious to run after hares. The crowd is on its feet for the camel races. Camels and riders run far into the distance, and then return to the finish Line in front of the cheering people.
Towards the evening, there comes the grand finale of the opening day, an extremely exciting horserace. All the riders run very fast on horseback. Some riders hang off the side of their saddles. Some even ride upside down -- their legs and feet straight up in the air -- all at full speed. Others rush down the course together, men arm in arm, on different horses. On and on they went. SO fast and so wonderful!
1.The Sahara Festival is a festival which________.
A. has a very long history in North Africa
B. is held in the same place on the same day
C. is attended mainly by the people in the Sahara
D. is celebrated mostly by travelers from different countries
2.Before the races begin, ________ take part in the activities during the opening ceremonies.
A. musicians, dancers, horses and hares
B. camel riders, musicians, dogs and hares
C. horsemen, dancers, camels and dogs
D. musicians, officials, camels and horses
3.The underlined word "finale" in the fourth paragraph most probably means the ________of the
opening day.
A. f'irst part B. middle C. last part D. whole
4.This passage mainly tells readers_______.
A. what happens on the opening day of the Sahara Festival
B. how people celebrate during the three-day Sahara Festival
C. what takes place at the closing ceremonies of the Sahara Festival
D. how animals race on the first and the last days of the Sahara Festival
Hi, everybody !
Welcome to our newly-opened Richards Cinema Bookstore!
Now let me introduce to you some of the new film books in our store.
Are you Chinese film fans? OK, here comes the latest 25 New Takes about Chinese films. It is a collection of 25 fresh readings of different Chinese films from the 1930s to the present. In recent years, Chinese films are very popular in the States, such as Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon, Hero, and Flowers of Shanghai.
Do you like French films? Well, here is The French Cinema Book. It covers French films from the 1890s to the beginning of the 21st century. It is written for all lovers of French cinema: students and teachers, specialists and fans, and so on.
Maybe you are Indian film fans and star-chasers. Then here is Encyclopedia ( 百科全书 ) of Indian Cinema. The book is a complete introduction to all the best Indian films. It also offers a full list of names of the famous and successful film stars in the past ten years. You know, the Indian film industry is the largest in the world after our Hollywood.
If you like British films, we have The British Cinema Book. It is a good review of British cinema. This book contains a good many nice pictures.
In our bookstore, you can also find books about Mexican, Japanese, Australian, German and Italian films..
Well, please help yourselves to some coffee or tea, and have a good time here!
1.The speaker of the passage is most probably _______.
A. the author of 25 New Takes
B. a tourist in the cinema bookstore
C. the manager of the cinema bookstore
D. a reader of Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema
2.How many Asian countries does the speaker refer to when he talks about the film books?
A. Two. B. Three. C. Four. D. Nine.
3.Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned in the passage？
A. Indian cinema is second only to Hollywood.
B. The British Cinema Book includes a complete list of names of stars.
C. Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon is well received in the States.
D. The French Cinema Book covers over a century's French films.
4.The purpose of the speaker is_______.
A. to satisfy the customers' various tastes
B. to keep the authors in the cinema bookstore
C. to offer the tourists chances to meet the film stars
D. to mm the readers into film producers
Jane Austen, a famous English writer, was born at Steventon, Hampshire, on December 16, 1775, and died on July 18, 1817. She began writing early in life, although the prejudices of her times forced her to have her books published anonymously ( ���� ).
But Jane Austen is perhaps the best known and best loved of Bath's many famous local people and visitors. She paid two long visits here during the last five years of the eighteenth century and from 1801 to 1806, Bath was her home. Her deep knowledge of the city is fully seen in two of her novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, which are largely set in Bath. The city is still very much as Jane Austen knew it, keeping in its streets and public buildings the well-ordered world that she described so well in her novels. Now the pleasure of learning Jane Austen's Bath can be enhanced (��ǿ)by visiting the Jane Austen Centre in Gay Street. Here, in a Georgian town house in the heart of the city, you can find out more about Bath in Jane Austen's time and the importance of Bath in her life and work.
The Centre has been set up with the help and guidance of members of the Jane Austen Society. After your visit to the Centre, you can look round the attractive shop, which offers a huge collection of Jane Austen related books, cards and many specially designed gifts. Jane Austen quizzes are offered to keep the children busy.
You can also have walking tours of Jane Austen's Bath, which is a great way to find out more about Jane Austen and discover the wonderful Georgian city of Bath. The tour lasts about one and a half hours. The experienced guides will take you to the places where Jane lived, walked and shopped.
1.Jane Austen paid two long visits to Bath________.
A. in her early twenties B. in her early teens
C. in her late twenties D. in her late teens
2.What can we learn about Bath from the passage?
A. Bath has greatly changed since Jane Austen's death.
B. The city has changed as much as Jane Austen knew it.
C. Bath remains almost the same as in Jane Austen's time.
D. No changes have taken place in Bath since Jane Austen's time.
3.The author writes this passage in order to________.
A. attract readers to visit the city of Bath
B. ask readers to buy Austen's books
C. tell readers about Jane Austen's experience
D. give a brief introduction to the Jane Austen Society
4.It takes you about one and a half hours________.
A. to get to the Jane Austen Centre in Gay Street
B. to buy Jane Austen related books, cards and gifts
C. to find a guide to take you to the Centre
D. to look around the city of Bath on foot
On May 27, 1995, our life was suddenly changed. It happened a few minutes past three, 1my husband, Chris, fell from his horse as it 2over a fence. Chris was paralyzed (瘫痪) from the chest down, 3to breathe normally. As he was thrown from his horse, we entered into a life of 4with lots of unexpected challenges( 挑战). We went from the "haves" to the “have-nots". Or so we thought.
5what we discovered later were all the gifts that came out of 6difficulties. We came to learn that something 7could happen in a disaster . All over the world people 8Chris so much that letters and postcards poured in every day. By the end of the third week in a 9center in Virginia, about 35,000 pieces of 10had been received and sorted.
As 11, we opened letter after letter. They gave us 12and became a source of strength for us. We used them to 13ourselves. I would go to the pile of letters marked with "Funny" if we needed a 14, or to the "Disabled" box to find advice from people in wheelchairs or 15in bed living happily and 16.
These letters, we realized, had to be shared. And so 17we offer one of them to you.
Dear Chris,
My husband and I were so sorry to hear of your 18accident last week. No doubt your family and your friends are giving you the strength to face this 19challenge. People everywhere are also giving you best wishes every day and we are among those who are keeping you 20.
Yours Sincerely,
Nancy Reagan
1.A.since B. before C. when D. while
2.A. walked B. climbed C. pulled D. jumped
3.A. able B. unable C. suitable D. unsuitable
4.A. disability B. possession C. convenience D. experience
5.A. So B. For C. Or D. Yet
6.A. sharing B. separating C. fearing D. exploiting
7.A. terrible B. similar C. wonderful D. practical
8.A. wrote for B. cared for C. hoped for D. sent for
9.A. medical B. postal C. experimental D. mental
10.A. news B. paper C. equipment D. mail
11.A. patients B. a family C. nurses D. a group
12.A. effect B. effort C. comfort D. explanation
13.A. encourage B. express C. control D. treat
14.A. cry B. laugh C. chat D. sigh
15.A. much B. never C. even D. seldom
16.A. bitterly B. fairly C. weakly D. successfully
17.A. here B. there C. therefore D. forward
18.A. driving B. flying C. running D. riding
19.A. technical B. different C. difficult D. valuable
20.A. nearby B. close C. busy D. alive
______ about wild plants that they decided to make a trip to Madagascar for further research
A. so curious the couple was B. So curious were the couple
C. How curious the couple were D. The couple was such curious
Unlike watching TV, reading is a highly active process (过程)________ it requires attention as well as memory and imagination.
A. until B. but C. unless D. for
