Four great railway journeys
Travelling by rail holds a romantic and old-fashioned appeal that can’t be matched by flying or driving. By taking the slow route, you get to experience and interact with an area in a completely different way.
The Rocky Mountaineer
Where: Canada, from Vancouver to Banff, Jasper and Calgary.
When: In June, which is springtime in the Rockies, complete with blooming flowers and abundant wildlife.
Duration: between two and eight days, travelling only in daylight, staying in luxury hotels.
Highlights: Splendid views of Rocky mountains, incredible luxury at every stage of the trip, traditional native storytelling, wine classes and natural history workshop.
The Chepe
Where: Mexico. It begins its journey in the mountains of Chihuahua and finishes on the Sinaloa coast.
When: In the rainy season, from June to October, you’ll get lush vegetation(丰富的植被) and blooming cacti(仙人掌),although mid-summer (July) temperatures can reach 44 °C.
Duration: Doing the route straight through takes 14 hours, but you’ll want to stop off overnight and explore traditional towns along the way.
Highlights: The train winds its way down through 656 km of the spectacular Copper Canyon (which is deeper than the Grand Canyon), over 37 precarious-looking bridges and through 86 tunnels. Local people sell crafts and foods along the route.
The Ghan
Where: Australia, from Adelaide to Darwin via Alice Springs.
When: Going during the wet season (December, January) will allow you to see more wildlife and tropical splendour in the north, though peak season is usually the winter.
Duration: Going straight through takes 52 hours. There are disembarkation points(登陆点) from which you can take tours.
Highlights: Going through Australia’s Red Centre with cobalt-blue skies, red earth and not much else — a beautiful and serene(宁静的) experience.
The Royal Scotsman
Where: Travels around the Scottish Highlands or all the way around Great Britain.
When: Warmer weather and up to 20 hours of daylight in June makes it the perfect time to watch ospreys soaring (鱼鹰飞翔) over mirror-like lochs(湖), or go in October for autumn colours and the rather vocal stag-rutting season.
Duration: Trips can be as short as two days or as long as seven. Highlights: Possibly the most expensive train journey in the world. You’ll be treated like a member of the monarchy(皇室). Indulgent(放纵的) cuisine, fine wines and carriages that look like rooms at Balmoral Castle await those willing to part with a minimum of £2350 per person for a two-night trip.
1.Which of the following journey has the shortest duration?
A. The Chepe. B. The Ghan.
C. The Rocky mountaineer. D. The Royal scotsman.
2.Visitors may have the opportunity to try some wine in ________.
A. The Royal scotsman and The Chepe
B. The Royal scotsman and The Ghan
C. The Rocky mountaineer and The Chepe
D. The Rocky mountaineer and The Royal Scotsman
3.If a Chinese family wants to have a travel during the Spring Festival, which one would be suitable for them?
A. The Chepe. B. The Ghan. C. The Rocky mountaineer. D. The Royal scotsman.
We can achieve knowledge either actively or passively. We achieve it actively by direct experience, by testing and proving an idea, or by reasoning.
We achieve knowledge passively by being told by someone else. Most of the learning that takes place in the classroom and the kind that happens when we watch TV or read newspapers or magazines is passive. Conditioned as we are to passive learning, it’s not surprising that we depend on it in our everyday communication with friends and co-workers.
Unfortunately, passive learning has a serious problem. It makes us tend to accept what we are told even when it is little more than hearsay(传闻) and rumor.
Did you ever play the game Rumor? It begins when one person writes down a message but doesn’t show it to anyone. Then the person whispers it, word for word, to another person. That person, in turn, whispers it to still another, and so on, through all the people playing the game. The last person writes down the message word for word as he or she hears it. Then the two written statements are compared. Typically, the original message has changed.
That’s what happens in daily life. The simple fact that people repeat a story in their own words changes the story. Then, too, most people listen imperfectly. And many enjoy adding their own creative touch to a story, trying to improve on it, stamping it with their own personal style. Yet those who hear it think they know.
This process is also found among scholars and authors: A statement of opinion by one writer may be restated as fact by another, who may in turn be quoted by yet another; and this process may continue, unless it occurs to someone to question the facts on which the original writer based his opinion or to challenge the interpretation he placed upon those facts.
1.According to the passage, active learning may occur in ________.
A. reading scientific journals
B. listening to the teacher in class
C. doing a chemical experiment
D. watching news programmes on TV
2.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A. Classroom. B. Newspapers. C. Active learning. D. Passive learning.
3.The game Rumor is mentioned in Paragraph 4 in order to tell readers that ________.
A. playing games can make people more active
B. people tend to like telling lies when playing games
C. a message may be changed when being passed on
D. people may have problems with their sense of hearing
4.What can be inferred from the text?
A. Scholars and authors can’t be trusted.
B. Passive learning may not be reliable.
C. People like spreading rumors in daily life.
D. Active learning is more Important than passive learning.
Tyler was born infected with HIV and his mother was also infected. From the very beginning of his life, he was dependent on medications (药物) to enable him to survive. When he was five, he had a tube surgically(外科手术上) inserted in a vein(静脉) in his chest. This tube was connected to a pump, which he carried in a small backpack on his back. Medications were connected to this pump and were continuously supplied through this tube to his bloodstream. At times, he also needed supplemented oxygen to support his breathing.
Tyler wasn't willing to give up one single moment of his childhood to this deadly disease. It was not unusual to find him playing and racing around his backyard, wearing his backpack and dragging his tank of oxygen behind him in his little wagon(小推车). All of us who knew Tyler were amazed at his pure joy in being alive and the energy it gave him. Tyler's mom often made jokes on him by telling him that he moved so fast she needed to dress him in red. That way, when she peered through the window to check on him playing in the yard, she could quickly spot him.
This terrible disease eventually wore him down. He grew quite ill and, unfortunately, so did his HIV-infected mother. When it became clear that he wasn't going to survive, Tyler's mom talked to him about death. She comforted him by telling Tyler that she was dying too, and that she would be with him soon in heaven.
A few days before his death, Tyler beckoned(召唤) me over to his hospital bed and whispered, "I might die soon. I'm not scared. When I die, please dress me in red. Mom promised she's coming to heaven, too. I'll be playing when she gets there, and I want to make sure she can find me."
1.Why did Tyler wear a backpack on his back when he was young?
A. Because his mother gave it to him as a gift.
B. Because he had no right to choose but to wear it.
C. Because he wanted to be different from the other kids.
D. Because there was a pump in it, which could help with his disease.
2.Tyler asked the writer to dress him in red when he died in order to ________.
A. show red is his favorite color.
B. see the writer again in the hospital.
C. make his mother recognize him easily.
D. persuade his mother to keep her promise.
3.What’s Tyler’s attitude towards death?
A. Excited. B. Fearful. C. Doubtful. D. Optimistic.
4.What does the writer want to tell us by writing this passage?
A. Even a child can teach us a lot.
B. Patients should be treated with respect.
C. People should have great courage to face the problems.
D. We should try our best to help those who are infected with HIV.
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。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(
)，并在其下面写出该加的词。删除：把多余的词用(＼)划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Tina and I had been good friend for years. We often did things together, so one day Tina didn’t talk to me and just sat by herself. I don’t know what was wrong. I thought about what I had done and said recent. Was Tina upset because I had done well in the history test than her? No, she was happy that I did well in school. I decided find out what was the matter. I walked over to there Tina was sitting. “Tina,” I said softly, “is anything wrong?” He answered sadly, “Yes, my cat died on last night.” I finally knew the reason what she didn’t talk to me and comforted her.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(不多于3个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。
In order to know a foreign language thoroughly, four things are necessary. Firstly, we must understand the language when we hear 1. spoken. Secondly, we must be able to speak it correctly with confidence and without hesitation. 2. ,we must be able to read the language , and fourthly, we must be able to write it. We must be able to make sentences that are grammatically correct.
There is no easy way to succeed 3. learning a language. 4. good memory is of great help, but it is not enough only 5. (memorize) rules from a grammar book. It is not much use learning by heart long list of 6. (word) and their meaning, studying the dictionary and so on. We must learn by using the language. If we are 7. (satisfy)with only a few rules we have memorized, we are not really learning the language. “Learn through use” is a good piece of 8. (advise) for those 9. are studying a new language. Practice is important. We must practise speaking and 10. (write) the language whenever we can.
根据下列各句句意和空白之后的汉语提示， 在横线上写出对应单词的正确形式， 每空只写一词。
1.You’ll ________(获得)useful experience in working with computers.
2.On my ________(到达)at the hotel, he gave me a sweet kiss.
3.You see，the ________(精力充沛的)young man plays basketball day and night.
4.I ________ (聚集) my pupils around me and told them how to do it.
5.I ________(提醒)him that he must go home before dark.
6.I always________(钦佩)the man in blue for his devotion to the tiring job.
7.In order to keep healthy, you’d
better have a ________（均衡的）diet.
8.When I arrived in America, I found my English was very _________(有限的).
9.My mother is_________(瞪着) at me, angrily and without saying anything.
10.Stores will give a _________(打折) for their VIP customers before important festivals.
