Searching for airfares often seems like a game that passengers are bound to lose.
Prices change from day to day, even minute to minute. Looking through multiple websites for the best deal can be a big challenge. Even when you do book, there’s no guarantee that you are going to get the best price.
“You just don’t know when to pull the trigger It’s not like buying anything else I can think of,” said George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com.
Harriet Levy paid $179 for a recent round-trip flight on American Airlines between New York and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Sitting just one row behind her, Shirley Harrison paid $215. A few rows back, Ellis and Dianne Traub paid $317 each. There were at least 12 fares on the flight, ranging from $169 to $360.
There’s no reason for it, Harrison said.
Fares can vary significantly in just a few hours. One Delta flight from New York to Los Angeles jumped from $755 to $1,143 from a Friday to Saturday in late April, then fell to $718 on Sunday.
The flight was one of a dozen the Associated Press (美国联合通讯社)followed over three months for a vacation between July 16 and 22. The number one finding: avoid booking tickets on weekends. It’s the most expensive time to buy.
There’s no way to guarantee the best fare. But before booking, travelers should pay attention to this additional advice:
● Book on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. That’s when airlines most often offer sales.
● Buy in advance, but not too early. The best time is four to six weeks before traveling. In general, prices for any given flight are highest eight to ten weeks and two to three weeks in advance.
● Make use of social media. Airlines are giving more benefits like exclusive (独家) sales to travelers who interact (互动) with them on Twitter and Facebook. Those specials are often gone within hours.
● The so-called discount airlines – JetBlue, Air-Tran, Southwest and Frontier – adjust their fares less frequently than other airlines, so you can feel more confident that the price will stay the same. But their prices aren’t always the lowest. Researching multiple airlines’ fares is the only way to get a good deal.
1.What can we infer from the first sentence of the text?
A.Passengers are unable to search for airfares.
B.Airlines often play games with passengers.
C.Airfares are set in different situations.
D.It’s difficult for passengers to get the best price.
2.The underlined phrase “pull the trigger” in Paragraph 3 probably means _______.
A.start searching B.get the highest price
C.make a purchase D.get on board the plane
3.By using a lot of figures, the author intends to _______.
A.show there is standard price for every single airline
B.discover the rules behind airfares
C.guarantee passengers a low price
D.prove airfares can vary widely
4.Passengers are advised to book flights _______.
A.in the middle of the week
B.on special websites
C.several months before traveling
D.with airlines which are famous for offering discount prices
Peter Ripken loves literature and reads books by writers all over the world. He learned years ago that not all nations permit writers to express themselves freely. In fact, free expression can be quite dangerous in many places.
So, Ripken decided to act. He helped establish an organization, the International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN), to protect writers. Its founders sought to persuade cities, not central governments, to give refuge to persecuted(受迫害的)writers. He was involved right from the beginning, from the mid-1990s, to set up this program.
Originally, he had a different view of his future as a young man. He thought of becoming a bookseller because of his reading obsession when he was 15. But he did not become a bookseller. Instead, in the late 1960s, Ripken began a five year stint as a manager in an aid organization working in Africa. But his love for the written word remained strong. He then worked for three years as a deputy editor for the Africa section at the Voice of Germany. Despite his love for the job, when asked to join an organization promoting African, Asian and Latin American literature, Ripken didn’t hesitate. He had fun travelling to literature conferences and holding workshops with publishers and authors. That’s why he did the job for 20 years.
Ripken grew up reading German authors. But his interest broadened to other European and American literature. Then, he found what he called books "outside the norm(常态)". This helped grow his interest in political developments in other regions.
In 2016，Ripken retired after several years as ICORN’s chairman. But he is still active in the organization. His goal is to increase the group’s capacity to protect and promote writers and artists at risk around the world. He said he hoped to be remembered as somebody who had promoted creativity and supported literature as a political tool and source of enjoyment.
1.What’s the role of Ripken in the development of ICORN?
A.A monitor. B.A co-founder.
C.A consultant. D.An analyst.
2.What might Ripken work as in 1975?
A.A bookseller. B.A manager.
C.A deputy editor. D.A staff in ICORN.
3.What contributes to Ripken’s active involvement in ICORN?
A.He grew up reading German authors.
B.He loved travelling and meeting people.
C.He’s obsessed with literature all over the world.
D.He concerned himself about political developments via literature.
4.What might be talked about in the paragraph following the passage?
A.Why politics influences literature.
B.Why literature itself is a pleasure.
C.How ICORN has become so international.
D.How people read works of literature "outside the norm".
单句语法填空
1._____ wasn't until we had stayed together for a couple of weeks that I found we had a lot in common.
2._____ much homework did we have to do that we had no time to take a rest.
3.It was only when the car pulled up in front of our house ____ we saw Lily in the passenger seat.
4.Try ____ he might, he could not come up with an idea for his mother’s Christmas gift.
5.Bach died in 1750, but it was not until the early 19th century ____ his musical gift was fully recognized.
6.The old lady lives in the woods, at the edge of which ____ (lie) a clear lake.
7._____ you be fired, your medical insurance and other benefits would not be immediately cut off.
8.Jane won’t join us for dinner tonight and Tom won’t _____.
9.Not only ____ the nurses want a pay increase, they want reduced working hours as well.
10._____ (be) there no modem telecommunications, we would have to wait for weeks to get news from around the world.
单句改错
1.It is these poisonous products which can cause the symptoms of flu, such as headaches and aching muscles.
__________________________________________
2.It is I who is going to take part in the sports meeting next week.
__________________________________________
3.Of the making of good books there is no end; so is there any end to their influence on man’s lives.
__________________________________________
4.I failed in the final examination last term and only then I realize the importance of study.
__________________________________________
5.It is not until yesterday afternoon that they began to discuss the main problem.
__________________________________________
6.Among the forests lie a little pond, in which we would swim during our childhood.
__________________________________________
7.It was during the 1990s when she received further education in the US.
__________________________________________
8.No sooner they arrived at the farm than it began to rain heavily.
__________________________________________
你校学生会最近成立了一个英语演讲协会，打算面向全校招募会员，请你根据以下内容写一则招募启事。
1.要求：热爱演讲，充满激情，无年龄和性别限制；
2.呼吁大家参加：说明英语演讲的重要性；
3.报名方式：扫描二维码并填写表格。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
参考词汇：招募 recruit 性别 gender 二维码QR Code
Members wanted
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Students’ Union
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(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)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；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
I’d like to share an unforgettable experience to you. With the College Entrance Examination drawing near, I felt increasing anxious. As a result, I couldn’t absorbed in study. Felt discouraged, I nearly lost heart. Then Miss Zhang had the face-to-face talk with me. She said, “In our life we all have some moment when we can’t achieve what we want. It was natural. You should turn them into motivation.” Her words were a great encouragement to me. After that, I worked even harder and was admitted to my most favorite university at last.
Optimistic attitude is that really matters. It can make us bravely enough to face challenges.
