You can love them or hate them, but no matter which tourist destination you visit, chances are you'll see someone with their head buried in a Lonely Planet guidebook.
Lonely Planet is one of the world's largest travel guide brands, publishing more than 500 different guides in eight languages. The popular brand also produces television shows, websites and podcasts (播客) all devoted to travel.
Some people praise Lonely Planet books because they make traveling easy and affordable. They also save time and make sure you don't miss the best things.
They also provide the reviews of hostels, hotels, restaurants and ticket information about your destination.
This can be great if you're a nervous traveler, or if you haven't traveled by yourself before. If you're in a country where you don't speak the language, sometimes there's nothing better than getting into a taxi and opening up a guidebook. You simply point to a map that directs the taxi driver to a hostel that's cheap and clean, with friendly staff and cold beer.
But others criticize Lonely Planet and other travel guide publishers like them. They say guidebooks take the fun and spontaneity (自发性) out of traveling, and that part of the enjoyment of travel comes from the fact that anything can happen. They also regret that if you follow a guidebook, you'll end up doing the same thing and having the same experience as everyone else. You might end up seeing the same group of people over and over, because everyone is reading the same book and following the same route.
Another criticism of travel guides is that they have a large impact on local communities. For example, some locals devote their lives to behaving in ways that attract tourists. They pretend to live a traditional lifestyle, wear traditional clothes and live in traditional houses in order to attract the tourist dollar.
1.The Lonely Planet guidebook can bring you the following advantages EXCEPT that _____.
A. you can speak a foreign language when opening a guidebook
B. you can easily find a nice place to stay in a strange city
C. it provides lots of useful information about your destination
D. it can help you save time and money when traveling
2.People criticize the guidebook because ________.
A. it is not as useful as most travelers expect
B. tourist destinations will be crowded if everyone follows the same route
C. travelers may not get the chance to have unexpected adventures
D. local people keep modern lifestyles under its influence
3.What do we know about the Lonely Planet guidebook from the text?
A. It's a world-famous brand only producing guidebooks for travelers.
B. It's very useful to a person who's nervous about touring an unfamiliar place.
C. It's very useful to a tourist who likes to repeat others' experiences.
D. It is loved by all travelers because of the convenience it brings to travelers.
4. Which of the following best shows the structure of the text? (①－⑦ stand for
Paragraph l－Paragraph 7 )
The Netherlands on Monday introduced its first-ever intelligent bicycle, fitted with electronic devices to help bring down the high accident rate among elderly cyclists in the bicycle-mad country.
Developed for the government by the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), the intelligent bicycle, runs on electricity. A commercial-available bicycle is expected to be on the market in the next two years and should sell for between 1, 700 to 3, 200 euros per bicycle.
The devices on the bike are linked through an onboard computer with a vibrating (震动的) warning system fitted in the bicycle's saddle and handlebars to warn cyclists of the coming danger.
The saddle vibrates when other cyclists approach from behind, while, the handlebars do the same when barriers appear ahead.
"Accidents often happen when cyclists look behind them or get a fright when they are passed at high speed," said Maurice Kwakkernaat, one of TNO's research scientists involved in the project. "The onboard system technology has already been at work in the car industry," he said.
''More and more elderly people are using a bicycle, not only for short distances, but also for longer distances," Dutch Environment and Infrastructure Minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen told AFP. "This type of bicycle is truly needed in the Netherlands because it will help us bring down the number of elderly people who are injured every year and allow them to continue to enjoy cycling," she said.
In the Netherlands, bicycles outnumber the population of 17 million by at least one million and there are some 25,000 km of bicycle path in the country. Those statistics are set to grow as more and more people take to two-wheeled transport, leading to an increased risk of injury.
Last year, 184 cyclists died in the country, of which 124, or 67%, were older than 65, according to the Central Statistics Office. The year before, 200 cyclists died, the majority of victims also being elderly.
The current model weighs 25 kilograms but researchers are working on making the onboard systems smaller.
1.The intelligent bicycle is aimed to ________.
A. protect the environment
B. help reduce traffic pressure
C. popularize the use of bicycles
D. improve safety for elderly cyclists
2. Which part of the intelligent bicycle will vibrate when another cyclist was suddendly
found ahead ?
A. The handlebars. B. The wheels.
C. The saddle. D. The onboard computer.
3.We can learn from the passage that ________.
A. the elderly ride bicycles wherever they go
B. the accident rate among elderly cyclists is high
C. the number of elderly cyclists is decreasing
D. the elderly are planning to give up cycling
4. Which is the best title for the passage?
A. A Test Bicycle B. Elderly Cyclists
C. A Smart Bicycle D. A Bicycle-mad Country
Sports are the base of my life, next to my mother who raised me when my dad left us. I have been into sports since I was six years old. I have known many coaches and heard hundreds of their tips, but they usually focused on drills to develop my skills and reach the next level of play.
When I was in Senior Two, I met the new school basketball coach, Brian Pawloski. I thought I was certain to be selected for the school team since I had been in it the year before. I showed up to the tryouts and put out about 90% effort since I thought I’d make it with no problem. That was a big mistake.
Brian Pawloski is the hardest-working coach I have ever met. He didn’t expect 100% effort, he expected 200% effort. One example: he once made us do 40 suicide drills for the 40 lay-ups (投篮) we missed in a game. Some think this is crazy, but it isn’t. After this conditioning practice, as we were getting a cup of cold water to drink, I said, “coach, that was the best practice I ever had.” I was completely sincere. This man was and is the person who influenced me most at my high school. He expects us to be excellent not just on the court but in the classroom. If I am not working on basketball, I am reading a book that he thinks will help us better understand life’s challenges, including Wooden, Coach, and The Screwtape Letters.
In the first two years I slacked off, not putting forth my full potential. Now, unlike the coaches of my youth, this man was interested in how he did off the court. He always made sure I kept up with my studies and was able to be trusted. I can honestly say that no other coach has given me so much advice on how to succeed in basketball, but more importantly, in life. My school is lucky to have such a great person to teach, coach and influence their students. I will always remember my high-school basketball days as one of the hardest times I have ever worked in my life not only in basketball but in my growth as an individual.
1.Different from other coaches, Coach Brian ________.
A. concentrated on skill training
B. expected the team to do well in their studies
C. trained the team to the edge of death
D. asked the team to do more reading than training
2.The underlined phrase “slacked off” in the last paragraph probably means ________.
A. paid no attention B. showed no interest
C. made less effort D. had less passion
3. In the author’s eye, Coach Brian is ________.
A. professional and serious
B. hardworking and honest
C. skilled and cruel
D. strict and helpful
某天你收到如下一封来自笔友的电子邮件，请根据邮件内容回复一封100字左右的邮件，表示对Tom的欢迎，并询问他来长沙的具体时间、住宿安排、课程时间并说明你需要了解这些的原因。
Dear Li Hua，
Surprise！I enrolled in a camp organized by Chinese Bridge in August and will spend about a week in Changsha．So，we can finally see each other．Learning the Chinese language and visiting some places of interest like Shaoshan Mountain will be part of the camp．I just can't wait to see you．
Tom
短文改错（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。
文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（八），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
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注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
One morning Mrs·Jerkins went to department store to buy a coat．There was no shop assistants in the store before she got there，so she had to wait．Then a fat lady came in．She went to Mrs．Jerkins and asked her to serve for her，telling Mrs．Jerkins whether she wanted to buy a coat．Mrs．Jerkins said that she couldn’t do．The fat lady got angrily·She did"，t let Mrs．Jerkins explain anything but insisted that Mrs．Jerkins would do that right away because it was her job．At last Mrs．Jerkins has to tell her that she was a customer herself and wanted to buy a coat，either．
1.I’m thinking about starting painting （I) of ter I get back from my trip．
2.Picasso was most famous for his work in Cubism， the world is represented as being constructed of cubes and rectangles．
3.Moneys paintings were typical a style called“impressionism"．
4.Van Gogh’s younger brother，Theo， （act）as his agent，tried hard to sell Van Gogh's paintings．
5. they invite me，I would go to the art gallery with them．
6.A few years ago，a picture of Mona Lisa （make) out of bread toasted to different colors．
7.One end of a tin can be dipped into paint and （use）to make circles on a piece of card．
8.Why not try＿ some ideas of your own?
