You often hear people refer to Africa as a country, not a continent. It is often a region that is described as being unified around poverty, disease and despair. Africa is far from being a homogenized continent. It has more than 50 countries, each with unique culture, landscape and tradition.
Africa’s diversity is apparent to anyone who travels to the continent. In the north, you have countries like Morocco, Algeria and Egypt, which have a long tradition of welcoming visitors. Further south there is Kenya and Tanzania, both renowned for their wildlife and for Africa’s tallest peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro. On the southern tip of the continent is South Africa, the region’s economic and political superpower which in itself lies many fascinating cultures. There are also the trouble spots like Congo and Sudan which are almost all but avoided by travelers.
Travel in Africa can be rough. It can also be a great joy. If you have patience, a willingness to maintain an open mind, a desire to explore and the ability to laugh at the strange, your African travels will change your life.
There are many entry points to Africa. Your best bet in terms of cheap airfare is to fly into one of the bigger cities like Johannesburg or Nairobi. Depending on where you are starting from flights to Africa can be either quite cheap or outrageously expensive. As is true nearly everywhere, flying into the biggest cities is usually your best bet for a cheap ticket.
Many people who travel to Africa prefer to do so in a group or through an organized adventure trip. This is especially the case with safari trips. BootsnAll has some of the best African adventure trips and safaris in the world. We work closely with local tour providers to offer you many options at very affordable rates.
If you are looking for a place to stay in, check out the hotels in Africa or the hostels in Africa for those on a tighter budget.
Still want more? You can learn from those who have been to Africa by sharingideas and thoughts on our Africa community message board.
1.From the first paragraph, we know when mentioning Africa, people often_______.
A．regard it as a continent, nota country
B．connect it with poverty, disease and despair
C．consider it a nice place to travel in
D．admit there are more than 50 countries.
2.Africa’s tallest peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro is________.
A．in the north B．in the south C．in the middle D．off the sea shore
3.What can we infer from the underlined part in Para.2?
A．Travelers seldom go to visit Congo or Sudan.
B．People in Congo and Sudan are trouble-makers.
C．Congo and Sudan are as powerful as South Africa.
D．There are few sightseeing spots in Congo or Sudan.
4.Your African travels will be a great joy, if you have_________.
①patience ②a willingness to maintain an open mind
③a desire to explore ④the ability to laugh at the strange
A．①②③ B．①③④ C．②③④ D．①②③④
5.What’s the author’s purpose in writing this passage?
A．Introducing some information of Africa.
B．Encouraging people to travel in Africa.
C．Reminding travelers of the danger in Africa.
D．Telling people the cheap air fare to Africa.
Jayne Fisher watched anxiously as her 17-year-old daughter Katie pulled her lamb（羊羔） into the Madison County Junior Livestock for sale.
Katie was battling cancer. This was her first chance in months to be outdoors having fun, away from hospitals and treatments, and she had come with high hopes for earning some money for her treatment. She had wavered a little on her decision to part with the lamb, but with lamb averaging two dollars a pound, Katie was looking forward to it. So the bidding（出价began.
That’s when Roger Wilson, the auctioneer(拍卖师), had a sudden inspiration that brought some unexpected results. “We sort of let everybody here know that Katie had a situation that wasn’t too pleasant,” is how he tells it. He hoped that his introduction would push the bidding up, at least a little bit.
Well, the lamb sold for $11.50 a pound, but things didn’t stop there. The buyer paid up, then decided to give the lamb back so that it could be sold again.
That started a chain reaction, with families buying the animal and giving it back, over and over again. When local businesses started buying and returning, the earnings really began to pile up. The first sale is the only one Katie’s mom remembers. After that, she was crying too hard as the crowd kept shouting, “Resell! Resell! ”
Katie’s lamb was sold 36 times that day, and the last buyer gave it back for good. Katie ended up with more than $16,000 to pay her medical expenses——and she still got to keep her famous lamb.Katie sold her lamb in order to_______.
| A．earn an amount of money to cover her medical expenses |
| B．help her mother support their family and keep more lambs |
| C．show her lamb was a famous one and raise some money |
| D．get some unexpected results from a chain reaction |
Why did families buy Katie’s lamb and return it repeatedly?
| A．They had fun in reselling it. |
| B．The auctioneer ordered them to do so. |
| C．They wanted to help Katie from the heart |
| D．Katie’s mother cried for help. |
The word “waver” in the second paragraph probably means _______.
| A．agree | B．hesitate | C．refuse | D．focus |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Battling cancer | B．A warm-hearted auctioneer |
| C．Bidding from the heart | D．A wise lamb |
Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance (pocket money). The purpose is to let children learn from experiences at an age when financial mistakes are not very costly.
The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family. Timing is another consideration. Some children get a weekly allowance. Others get a monthly allowance.
In any case, parents should make clear what, if anything, the child is expected to pay for with the money. At first, young children may spend all of their allowance soon after they receive it. If they do this,they will learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget (预算). Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until the next allowance. The object is to show young people that a budget demands a choice between spending and saving. Older children may be responsible enough to save money for larger costs, like clothing or electronics.
Many people who have written on the subject of allowances say it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home. These jobs are a normal part of family life. Paying children to do extra work around the house, however, can be useful. It can even provide an understanding of how a business works.
Allowances give children a chance to experience the three things they can do with money. They can share it in the form of gifts or giving to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want. Or they can save it.
Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice. You have to cut costs and plan for the future. Requiring children to save part of their allowances can also open the door to future saving and investing. Many banks offer services to help children and teenagers learn about personal finance. A saving account is an excellent way to learn about the power of compound interest.
Compounding works by paying interest. So, for example, one dollar invested at two percent interest for two years will earn two cents in the first year. The second year, the money will earn two percent of one dollar and two cents, and so on. That may not seem like a lot, but over time it adds up. Parents give their children allowances in order to _____.
| A．show off their wealth of family |
| B．let them make more money |
| C．learn the value of money |
| D．help children manage family finance |
What is the second paragraph mainly about?
| A．The time to give allowances. |
| B．The way to spend alloweances. |
| C．the amount of allowances given to children. |
| D．Considerations taken to give allowances. |
Why are parents adivsed to offer young children allowances strictly as planned?
| A．To help children learn to make a budget. |
| B．To have children save money for larger costs. |
| C．To let children make fewer mistakes. |
| D．To give them more allowances next time. |
What does the author intend to tel lthe readers?
| A．The methods of limiting allowances. |
| B．The advice on a better family budget. |
| C．Teaching children to use allowances wisely. |
| D．Offering allowances to children properly. |
The adderis the only poisonous snake nativeto Britain. Adders have the most highly developed poison injecting mechanism of all snakes, but they are not aggressive animals. Adders will only use their poison as a last means of defence, usually if caught or trodden on. No one has died from adder bites in Britain for over 20 years. By far the most common smake in Britain is the adder. In Scotland, in fact, there are no other snakes at all. The adder is also the only British sanke with a poisonous bite. It can be found almost anywhere, but prefers sunny hillsides and rough open country, including high gournd. In Ireland there are no snakes at all.
Most people regard snake bites as a fatal misfortune, but not all bites are serious, and very few are fatal . Sometimes attempts at emergency treatment turn out to be more dangerous than the bite itself, with amateurs heroically, but mistakenly, trying do-it-yourself surgery and other unnecessary measures.
All snakes have small teeth, so it follows tha tall snakes can bite, but only te bite of the adder presents any danger. British snakes are shy animals and are far more frightened of you than you could possibly be of them. The adder will attack only if it feels threatened, as can happen if you take it by surprise and step on it accidentally, or if you try to catch it or pick it up, which it dislikes intensely. If it hears you coming, it will normally get out of the way as quickly as it can, but adders cannot move very rapidly and may attack before moving if you are very close.
The effect of a bite varies considerably. It depends upon severa things, one of which is the boidy-wight of the person bitten. The bigger the person, the less harmful the bite is likely to be, which is why children suffer far more seriously from snake bites in Britain ,and thought these bites can make some pepe very ill, there are probably just as many cases of bites having little or no effect, as there are of serious illness.What does the underlined phrase “ trodden on” probably mean?
| A．Found out | B．Heard from | C．Stepped on. | D．Robbed of. |
Where are adders to be found?
| A．In fertile fields in Scotland. |
| B．On wild land throughout Britain. |
| C．In many parts of Britain and Ireland. |
| D．Everywhere in Britian except Scotland |
What should you do if you are with someone who is bitten by an adder?
| A．Catch the biting adder at onece. |
| B．Don’t worry about the bitten person. |
| C．Don’t try to treat the bite by yourself. |
| D．Operate on the person as soon as possible. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Poisonous Snakes | B．Adders in Britain |
| C．Take Care oif Sake Bites | D．Protec Endangered Adders |
The greatest recent social changes have been in the lives of women. During the twentieth century there has been a remarkable shortening of the proportion of a woman's life spent in caring for the children. A woman marrying at the end of the nineteenth century would probably have been in her middle twenties ,and would be likely to have seven or eight children, four or five of whom lived till they were five years old. By the time the youngest was fifteen, the mother would have been in her early fifties and would expect to live a further twenty years, during which health made it unusual for her to get paid work.. Today women marry younger and have fewer children. Usually a woman's youngest child will be fifteen when she is forty-five years and can be expected to live another thirty-five years and is likely to take paid work until retirement at sixty. Even while she has to take care of children, her work is lightened by moder living conditions.
This important change in women's life-patterns has only recently begun to have its full effect on women's economic position. Even a few years ago most girls took a full-time job after they left school.. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school- leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age, and though women usually marry older, more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Many more afterwards return to full-or-part-time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with the husband accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfactions of family life, and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money, and running the home, according to the abilities and interests of each of them.At what age did most women marry around the 1890 according to the passage?
| A．At about twenty-five | B．In their earl fifties |
| C．At the age of fifteen | D．At any age from fifteen to forty-five |
What happened to an ordinary family in about 1900?
| A．The youngest child could live to fifteen. |
| B．Four of five children died after they were five. |
| C．Seven or eight children lived to be more than five. |
| D．Some children died when the were very young. |
When she was over fifty , a late nineteenth-century mother ______.
| A．was usaully expected to die fiarely soon |
| B．would expect to work until she died |
| C．would be healthy enough to take up paid jobs |
| D．was less like to find a job even if she wanted to |
What do we know from the passage?
| A．Husbands and wives share equal responsibilities at home. |
| B．More and more women are looked down upon by husbands. |
| C．Today women prefer to get married rather than get jobs. |
| D．A husband plays a greater part in looking after the children. |
Some people have travelled to Canada while others may have just heard of it . As is known to all, the Canadian red and white maple leaf flag is officially called The National Flag of Canada. The Canadian flag shows a stylized red maple leaf with 11 points on a white background, with red borders down each side. The Canadian flag is twice as long as its width. The white square containing the red maple leaf is the same width as the flag. Canada is a very large country, too. It is the second largest country in the world.By contrast, it has a very small population. There are only about 29 millinon people there. Most Canadians are of British or French origin, and French is an official language as well English. About 45 % of the people are of British origin, that is, they or their parents or grandparents, etc, come from Britain. Nearly 30 % are of French origin. Most of the French-Canadians live in the province of quebec. Over the years people have come to live in Canada from many countries in the world. They are mostly from European countries and also from China, as well as other Asian countries.
However , Canada was not an empty country when the Europeans began to arrive. Canadian-Indian lived along the coast, bythe rivers and lakes and in forests. Today there are only 350,000 Canadian-Indians in the whole country, with their own language. In the far north live the Inuits. There are only 27, 000 Canadian-Inuits. Their life is hard in such a harsh climate.What is the populatin of Quebec?
| A．More than 29, 000.000 |
| B．About 30% of the total population. |
| C．Over 45% of th etotal population |
| D．Less than 30% of the French-Canadians. |
Which of the following stands for Canada?
Which of the following is TRUE according to this passage?
| A．The Canadian flag I stwice as wide as its length. |
| B．Most Indians are now forced to live along the coast. |
| C．Nowadays Inuit still have difficult living conditions. |
| D．Nobody existed when the Europeans began to arrive in Canada. |
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