根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
The Greeting Card Association reports that Americans purchase 6.5 billion greeting cards each year. 1. Here’s a look at ways to reduce your holiday greeting card costs.
Gold digital.
2. Add photos or video to make your e-cards more personal.
3.
If you plan to mail your cards, remember to consider postage costs. Square cards look cool,
but they cost more than a regular stamp to mail because they’re not a standard size. If cost is a consideration, stick to rectangular（矩形的）cards and avoid too heavy ribbons that increase your mailing costs.
Look at unexpected sources.
You don’t have to order custom greeting cards with your family’s photo. 4. Check
dollar stores or even garage sales for affordable greeting cards. The best part is that when these cards don’t have a photo or the year printed on them, you can use any leftovers in the future.
Make your own.
Use old greeting cards(with written messages cut out,of course), wrapping paper and ribbons,
or magazine photos to create your own holiday cards.
Shop after-Christmas sales.
Starting from Dec. 26, sellers who want to clear out holiday stocks will deeply discount cars,
wrapping paper and decorations. 5.
A. Search for promotion codes.
B. Avoid paying for extra postage.
C. Buy envelopes for your cards for different purposes.
D. And Christmas cards account for a big percentage of that.
E. Preprinted greeting cards can cost less and work just as well.
F. So this is a good time to stock up if you have the storage space.
G. If you’re short of time or money, e-cars could be you best choice.
Your car is a necessary part of your life. You use it every day. Of course, you want to hold on to it so you make sure it has the latest alarm and immobilizer. But despite all these, cars like yours are still stolen every day. In fact, in this country, one car is stolen almost every minute! And if your car is stolen, you only have a 50:50 chance of seeing it again.
Each year, car crime costs nearly £3 billion. Of course, if you’re insured, you won’t lose out, or will you? Firstly, you will have to pay extra insurance later on, and then you may not be offered the full amount by the agent. You will probably have to hire a car and you will also lose the value of the contents and accessories (配件) in the car.
Now comes the solution. An RAC Trackstar system, hidden in one of 47 possible secret locations in your car, is the key of our system. If your car is stolen, radio signals are sent at twenty-second intervals from the car to the RAC Trackstar National Control Center via a satellite network. Then a computer gives the vehicle’s exact location, speed and direction.
The RAC Trackstar National Control Center, which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, will immediately inform the police in the area where the car is located. Because the police receive information every twenty seconds, they will always know the vehicle’s location. Once the thief has been arrested, your car will be returned to you.
RAC Trackstar is unique in being able to provide the National Control Center with details of the exact location of your car, its speed and direction. And speed is the key to successful recovery of a stolen vehicle. RAC Trackstar Control will immediately tell the police if you report your car stolen and under the 24-hour Guardian Option. It will also tell you if your car has been stolen. RAC Trackstar’s constant updates mean the police are kept informed of the car’s location. All these greatly improve your chances of seeing your car again.
1. If your car is stolen, you will have to ______.
A. hire a new car
B. pay more insurance
C. buy a RAC Trackstar system
D. inform the National Control Center
2.The Trackstar system can tell the police ______.
A. how the car is stolen B. who the thief is
C. what brand the car is D. where the car is
3.The underlined word “It” in the last paragraph refers to ______.
A. the local police station
B. the Guardian Option
C. the insurance company
D. the RAC Trackstar Control
4.According to the passage, people with RAC Trackstar ______.
A. automatically find directions
B. seldom get their vehicles damaged
C. have less chance of being in an accident
D. are more likely to get the stolen cars back
A castle is a type of fortified（加固的）structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages. This is different from a palace, which is no fortified-though there are many similarities among these types of construction. Usage of the term has varied over time and has been applied to diverse structures.
The European castles originated in the 9th and 10th centuries, resulting in its land divided among nobles. These nobles built castles to control the area surrounding them, and they were both offensive and defensive structures. Although army uses are often emphasized in castle studies, the structures also served as centres of administration and symbols of power. Urban castles were used to control the local people and important travel routes, and rural castles were often built near farmland.
Many castles were originally built from earth and wood, but had their defences supplanted later by stone. In the late 12th and early 13th centuries, scientific approaches to castle defence appeared, and could function to maximize the castle’s firepower. These changes in defence came from a mixture of castle technology. Although gunpowder was introduced to be built well into the 16th century, improved cannon（大炮）fire made them uncomfortable places to live in. As a result, true castles went into decline.
From the 18th century onwards, there was a renewed interest in castles with the construction of mock（仿造的）castles, part of a romantic revival（复活）of Gothic architecture, but they had no defensive purpose.
1.According to the first paragraph, we can know .
A. the palace is a fortified structure
B. the castle is different from the palace
C. the palace changed over time
D. the structures of the castle in different ages look the same.
2.what does the second paragraph mainly talk about?
A. Symbols of the European castles.
B. Functions of the European castles.
C. Influences of the European castles.
D. Characteristics of the European castles.
3.The underlined word “ supplanted ” in the third paragraph is closet in meaning to “ “.
A. produced B. saved C. protected D. replaced
4. What can be inferred from the river?
A. Castles have nothing in common with palaces.
B. Castles have a history of more than 1,000 years in Europe.
C. Castles were mainly used for defensive purposes after the 18th century.
D. The introduction of gunpowder instantly influenced castle building in Europe.
Photography has been my interest ever since I was old enough to pick up a camera, but today I want to share with you the 15 most treasured photos of mine, and I didn’t take any of them. There were no art directors, no stylists, no chance for reshoots, not even any regard for lighting. In fact, most of them were taken by random tourists.
My story begins when I was in New York City for a speech, and my wife took a picture of me holding my daughter on her first birthday. We’re on the corner of the 57th and 5th avenue. We happened to be back in New York exactly a year later, so we decided to take the same picture.
Well you can see where this is going. Approaching my daughter’s third birthday, my wife said, “Hey, why don’t you take Sabina back to New York and make it a father-daughter trip, and continue the ceremony?” This is when we started asking passing tourists to take the picture.
So these photos are far more than representatives for a single moment, or even a specific trip. They’re also ways for us to freeze time for one week in October and reflect on our times and how we change from year to year, and nor just physically, but in every way. Because while we take the same photo, our viewpoints change, and she reaches new milestones and I get to see life through her eyes, and how she communicates with and sees everything. This very focused time we get to spend together is something we value and expect the entire year.
1.What can we know about the author from the first paragraph?
A. He is fond of being photographed alone.
B. He hardly ever asks strangers to take pictures of him.
C. He has been interested in photography since childhood.
D. He’s proud of the 15 most treasured photos taken by himself.
2.Who came up with the idea of having a father-daughter trip when Sabina was 3 years old?
A. Her mother. B. Her father.
C. Sabina herself D. An unknown tourist.
3.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that .
A. children usually get to see life through adults’ eyes
B. the 15 photos are meaningful to the author’s family
C. it takes the author a whole week to have a family photo taken
D. the viewpoints of the author’s family never change with the time.
4.What can be the best title of the text?
A. Believe it or not; photos do change
B. Photos help a family become rich
C. Even strangers can help take photographs
D. A father-daughter bond, one photo at a time
Are you a volcano lover? Here is a list of some of the world’s most beautiful volcanoes that our travel agency can offer you to visit. Don’t miss them!
Mount Mayon, the Philippines
Located about 450 km southeast of Manila on the island of Luzon, Mount Mayon is the most active volcano in the Philippines; a September 2014 eruption forced thousands to flee the area. Those who hike the volcano are rewarded with views of the towns on the Albay province and the Pacific Ocean. But even those who prefer the view from a distance have historical good point at the Cagsawa Ruins, once an 18th Century Franciscan church that was destroyed by an 1814 eruption.
Kilauea and Mauna Kea, Hawall
Hawaii’s volcanoes are known for their active eruptions and extraordinary scenes. Mauna Kea is around one million years old, while Kilauea is the youngest volcano in Hawaii and has been erupting continuously since 1983. The lava falls straight into the sea, creating fantastic forms of black rocks and smoke clouds.
Mount Kelimutu, Indonesia
Kelimutu’s three mysterious crater lakes attract both scientists and tourists to the island of Flores in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province. One is emerald green（翡翠绿），another dark red, and the third pitch black. Scientists say the lakes take on such colors because the volcanic gases met the lakes’ minerals centuries ago.
1.People who hike Mount Mayon can enjoy the following EXCEPT .
A. views of the towns in the Albay province
B. views of the Pacific Ocean
C. views of the Cagsawa Ruins
D. views of Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province
2.According to the text, Kilauea .
A. is an active volcano
B. stopped erupting in 1983
C. is the youngest volcano in the world
D. forces thousands to flee in 2014.
3.The colors of Kelimutu’s three mysterious crater lakes are due to .
A. water pollution B. different environment
C. chemical reaction D. different temperatures
用恰当的词或短语完成句子，每空一词。
1.她太紧张了以至于不能把自己表述清楚。
She was too nervous________ ______ herself clearly.
2.很多房屋在过去的3年中被完全的毁坏了。
A number of houses ______ ________ _________ over the last 3 years.
3.昨天只有通过这样做我们才能成功的营救出这些矿工。
Only by doing so ________ we able to rescue these miners yesterday.
4.并不是所有的人都有好的品质。
_______ __________ the people have good qualities.
5.这本书值得买。
This book is worth_____________.
6.就是在她的指导下我们成功了。
It was under her guidance_________ we succeeded.
7.毫无疑问地他被判处死刑了。
There is no doubt_________ he was sentenced to death.
8.这个老师对待他的学生们好像他们是他的孩子一样。
This teacher treats his students as if they__________ his own children.
9.黑人们处于一种不得不攻击政府的情况中。
Black people were put into a position __________ they had to attack the government.
10.没有什么事情能使他放弃学习英语。
Nothing can get him______ ________ _______ learning English.
