Museums, art galleries and fantastic archaeological sites — they can all be inspirational reasons to travel. Below are several best culture and art group tours for 2017.
1. Caravaggio in Naples
Ace Cultural Tours is offering a new 10-day Route of Caravaggio, which explores the influence of the great painter Caravaggio on the art of his contemporaries and followers. Dr Peter Higginson guides the trip and highlights (亮点) include evening lectures and walking tours of old Valletta.
Departures between November and December,
2. Alexander the Great in Turkey
Offering the chance to be among the first to visit the brand new archaeological museum in Troy which opens early next year, this 12-day The Conquest of Asia Minor tour follows in the footsteps of Alexander the Great. The tour, led by Peter Sommer, includes visits to the temple of Apollo, the tomb of Achilles and the Castle of St Peter.
Departures between March and May,
3. The American dream
This new nine-day Museums of Washington DC and New York tour led by Dr Peter Smith offers visits to some of the US's most celebrated museums. It includes a private tour of the Museum of Modern Art before it opens its doors to the public. There are also stops at George Washington’s home at the White House.
Departures between August and October,
4. Capability Brown landscapes
The influence of landscape (风景) architect Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown's ‘natural’ style has had a deep impact on the English landscape tradition as well as garden styles worldwide. This four-day Brown landscapes tour, led by Dr Paula Nuttall, visits some of Brown’s most striking landscapes and parklands including Croome Court and Bowood House.
Departures between June and October .
1.When can visitors go to visit the Castle of St Peter?
A.In September. B.In November.
C.In April. D.In July.
2.What can visitors do on Route of Caravaggio?
A.Visit the temple of Apollo.
B.Go to Museum of Modern Art.
C.Learn something about a great artist.
D.Enjoy striking landscapes and parklands.
3.Who will lead visitors to visit the White House?
A.Dr Peter Smith. B.Dr Paula Nuttall.
C.Peter Sommer. D.Dr Peter Higginson.
4.Which tour can you choose if you only have a six-day holiday?
A.Route of Caravaggio.
B.Brown landscapes tour.
C.The Conquest of Asia Minor tour.
D.Museums of Washington DC and New York tour.
阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。
A young man had bought an old house that was in bad shape, but he and his wife believed they could restore it. They immediately went to work. Their goal was to have the old building look best for New Year’s Eve get-together.
Just two days before New Year, however, a storm swept through the area, leaving a hole in the wall of the house. There was obviously no time to repair the damage before New Year. Then, the sad couple attended a local auction(拍卖)that afternoon. One of the items put up for bids was an old gold-and-ivory-colored tablecloth. Seized by an inspiration, the young man was the highest bidder at $ 6.50. His idea was to hang the cloth to cover the ragged hole.
On the day before New Year, it was snowy. As the young man unlocked the house door, he noticed an old woman standing at the bus stop. He knew the bus wouldn’t be there within at least half an hour, so he invited her inside to keep warm.
When the woman walked in and saw the tablecloth, she rushed at it and said excitedly, “It’s mine. It is my tablecloth.” She told the surprised man its history and even showed him her name in one comer of the tablecloth. She and her husband had once lived in Vienna, Austria, and their village was hit by a deadly disease. So they decided to flee to Switzerland, but her husband told her to leave first, saying he had something urgent to deal with. A few days later, it was reported that the bus her husband took fell off the cliff(悬崖)and he was never to be found. Her husband was believed to have died. Touched by her story, the young couple asked about her address, planning to send the tablecloth to her after New Year. As the bus came, she left.
In the candlelight of New Year’s Eve, the tablecloth looked even more beautiful. As the man’s friends left the house, they thanked the man for his arrangement and mentioned how beautiful the house looked.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150词左右；
2. 至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1：
Otte old gentleman stayed, admiring the tablecloth.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2：
The young man drove the old man to that old woman’s home.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
假如你是李华，最近你的美国笔友Robert来慈溪体验中国传统文化。你想邀请他一起去鸣鹤古镇尝一尝当地的特色手工年糕（New Year cake）。请根据以下内容要点写一封邀请信。
1. 活动时间、地点；
2. 鸣鹤年糕的特点；
3. 表达你的期望。
注意：1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Robert,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Can you tell the time on an analog clock? 1. (hope), you can! It’s the only way for you to know the time when 2. (take) exams.
However, some high schools in the UK will remove analog clocks 3. exam halls and use digital.4. instead. The reason is that 5. (teenage) are unable to read the correct time on analog clocks. They are used to seeing the time on the phone, 6. on the computer. Nearly everything they’ve got is digital.
Teachers want their students to feel as 7. (relax) as possible during exams. However, having a 8.(tradition) clock in the room could make students feel stressed out during an exam Many of them might raise their hands to ask 9. time it is.
The schools are trying to make everything as easy and straightforward as possible for students during the exams. Another advantage of using digital clocks 10. (be) that students are less likely to get the time wrong.
I'm sweating heavily in my chair. Mr. Fogarty slowly looks over the rows of boys, each holding his breath and ____it's not his turn. Mr. Fogarty's eyes pass over them and they can______again. His eyes land on me and my heart jumps.
This is the______I go through every Tuesday during jazz practice. I'm fine during practice______it's time for each of us to stand and play our instrument, alone, with everyone watching. I always pray for Mr. Fogarty to______me, but he never does.______, he calls me out in front of everyone, every time.
Mr. Fogarty mouths, "You're______"
My stand partner smiles. He knows how much I______this moment each week and in some way it gives him_____ to see me sweat.
I pray that the kid before me has a(n) _____solo, or maybe an earthquake will interrupt us. But then the boy before me finishes his solo. My heart beats so hard I can______breathe as I stand up.
I start to breathe out the first notes. I hold them as long as I can and then I look at the music, hoping to______the safe pattern of musical notes that tell me what to do. But no, I have to trust myself.
____the notes on the page start jumping at me, each coming so fast I'm not______which to play first. So I play them all. My thoughts are no longer words, but musical______,and they're moving so fast I don't have time to____ what to play next. I just let my hands go. I’m so caught up in my solo that I don't______how long I've been playing.
Mr. Fogarty gives me a signal and, abruptly(突然地)I______, and free my hands from the saxophone which is still warm from my______fingers.
I sit so hard that the chair makes a noise. I ignore my stand partner's______and look up at my band teacher's approving smile.
1.A.explaining B.praying C.realizing D.imagining
2.A.talk B.play C.practice D.breathe
3.A.project B.business C.routine D.exam
4.A.until B.when C.though D.because
5.A.remember B.forget C.help D.guide
6.A.Instead B.However C.Therefore D.Meanwhile
7.A.alone B.late C.lost D.next
8.A.expect B.hate C.fear D.enjoy
9.A.burden B.pleasure C.relief D.benefit
10.A.unsuccessful B.wonderful C.cheerful D.never-ending
11.A.nearly B.merely C.barely D.slightly
12.A.follow B.form C.practice D.show
13.A.Gradually B.Suddenly C.Actually D.Naturally
14.A.afraid B.anxious C.confused D.sure
15.A.notes B.stars C.instruments D.patterns
16.A.refer to B.think about C.pick out D.watch out
17.A.understand B.mind C.notice D.discover
18.A.stop B.sing C.dance D.fall
19.A.unskilled B.strong C.dancing D.helpless
20.A.apology B.question C.invitation D.praise
HOT on the heels of equality
1. They lengthen the legs but shorten the steps; they give the wearer a sense of power but can also be painful to wear; they are worn by working women, but their visual appeal has nothing to do with work.
In Japan, a new social media campaign highlights the issues many women have with this footwear. 2.In May, thousands of women signed an online petition(请愿书)demanding that the government ban the practice.
“3.” said the movement founder Yuni Ishikawa, 32 yeas old, in an interview with the Associated Press. “It’s the view that appearances are more important for women at work than for men.”
As early as January, Ishikawa shared her frustration about the unfairness of this dress code on the Instagram social network. In her part-time job as a funeral usher(迎宾员), she was required to wear black heels between 5 and 7cm high.4.. “High heels can cause bunions, blisters and strain the lower back. It’s hard to move, you can’t run and your feet hurt,” Ishikawa wrote in the petition, “5.“
It’s a modest dream. Not too long ago, Japanese businessmen were expected to wear neckties, even on hot days. Then, the government encouraged companies to use less air conditioning and reduce electricity use. Men were freed from neckties. “This petition is the first step toward ‘creating a working environment free from unnecessary burdens’.” Ishikawa said.
A.It’s unreasonable.
B.This is about gender discrimination.
C.She would come home with bleeding toes.
D.I hope there will come a day when women don’t have to wear heels in the workplace.
E.High-heeled shoes are loaded with contradictions.
F.They are upset that many companies require women to wear high heels to work.
G.It would be great if the country had a similar kind of campaign about neckties.
