Tayka Hotel De Sal
Where: Tahua, Bolivia
How much: About $95 a night
Why it’s cool: You’ve stayed at hotels made of brick or wood, but salt? That’s something few can claim．Tayka Hotel de Sal is made totally of salt—including the beds (though you’ll sleep on regular mattresses (床垫) and blankets)．The hotel sits on the Salar de Uyuni, a prehistoric dried-up lake that’s the world’s biggest salt flat．Builders use the salt from the 4,633-square-mile flat to make the bricks, and glue them together with a paste of wet salt that hardens when it dries．When rain starts to dissolve the hotel, the owners just mix up more salt paste to strengthen the bricks.
Green Magic Nature Resort
Where: Vythiri, India
How much: About $240 a night
Why it’s cool: Ridding a pulley(滑轮)-operated lift 86 feet to your treetop room is just the start of your adventure．As you look out of your open window—there is no glass!—you watch monkeys and birds in the rain forest canopy．Later you might test your fear of heights by crossing the handmade rope bridge to the main part of the hotel, or just sit on your bamboo bed and read．You don’t even have to come down for breakfast—the hotel will send it up on the pulley-drawn “elevator”.
Dog Bark Park Inn B&B
Where: Cottonwood, Idaho
How muc
h: $92 a night
Why it’s cool: This doghouse isn’t just for the family pet．Sweet Willy is a 30-foot-tall dog with guest rooms in his belly．Climb the wooden stairs beside his hind leg to enter the door in his side．You can relax in the main bedroom, go up a ffew steps ot the loft in Willy’s head, o
r hang out inside his nose．Cotta “go”(想要方便一下)? Although you have a full private bathroom in your quarters, there is also a toilet in the 12-foot-tall fire hydrant outside.
Gamirasu Cave Hotel
Where: A
yvali, Turkey
How much: Between $130 and $475 a night.
Why it’s cool: This is caveman cool! Experience what it was like 5,000 years ago, when people lived in these mountain caves formed by volcanic ash．But your stay will be much more modern．Bathrooms and electricity provide what you expect from a modern hotel, and the white volcanic ash, called tufa, keeps the rooms cool, about 65℉in summer．(Don’t worry—there is heat in winter.)Which of the following about Tayka Hotel de Sal is true?
| A．The hotel is the cheapest among the four mentioned. |
| B．Everything in the hotel is made of salt. |
| C．It is on an island in the Pacific Ocean. |
| D．It is located on a prehistoric lake. |
What is the similarity of the four hotels?
| A．Being expensive. | B．Being beautiful. | C．Being natural. | D．Being unique. |
What does the underline part “Sweet Willy” refer to?
A．The building of Dog Bark Park Inn B&B.
B．The name of a pet dog of the hotel owner.
C．The name of the hotel.
D．The name of the hotel owner.Which of the hotel makes you have a feeling of living in the far past
?
| A．Tayka Hotel De Sal | B．Green Magic Nature Resort |
| C．Dog Bark Park Inn B&B | D．Gamirasu Cave Hotel |
What may be the purp
ose of the writer writing th
e passage?
| A．To show his wide knowledge. | B．To introduce some inte resting hotels. |
| C．To develop business in tourism. | D．To attract attention from the readers. |
Scientists are closely concerned with the structure of buildings and with the quality of building materials． The World health Organization （WHO) observes that the introduction of air conditioning and energy conservation （保护) measures have been accompanied by growing problems of indoor air quality． Some pollutants arise from insulation （隔音) products, some from moving cars, and others from modern housing materials． As many Europeans spend up to 90% of their lives in buildings, the health effects of the indoor climate are very important．
Some construction materials, including fiberboard, insulation foams and certain glues for man-made wood floor boards, for example, give out organic products such as formaldehyde （甲醛)． Heat and humidity increase the release of formaldehyde and the gas seriously harms the eyes． Paint, lacquer, etc． can also release dangerous gas into indoor air．
Construction materials can cause serious damage, especially when they contain asbestos（石棉）． Asbestos is naturally present in rock formations worldwide． It belongs to a family of mineral substances made up of solid, non-combustible（非易燃品） fiber． These properties make asbestos a highly sought-after construction material． As early as 1931, however, public health officers in t
he United Kingdom revealed the connection between breathing in asbestos dust and such diseases as lung cancer．
The land on which a building is sited may also contribute to pollution． Some kinds of granite or similar rocks contain traces of radium． As it breaks down, this naturally radioactive element produces some kind of radioactive gas that goes through tiny cracks in walls, floors and building materials, and makes its way into the building and the rooms． The better the homes are insulated, the more is the dangerous gas in indoor air． The main effect of this dangerous gas on health is to increase the risk of lung cancer．What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Some building materials pollute indoor air． |
| B．Some factors cause indoor air pollution． |
| C．Asbestos can cause lung cancer． |
| D．The land on which houses are built contributes to indoor pollution． |
Why are Europeans particularly concerned with building materials?
| A．Lots of building materials there are radioactive． |
| B．They stay home up to 90% of their lives． |
| C．They have a high rate of lung cancer． |
| D．They spend most of their time indoors． |
Why is asbestos a sought-after building material?
| A．It is a kind of insulation foam． |
| B．Asbestos will not give out dangerous gas． |
| C．This material is not easy to catch fire． |
| D．It is rarely present in rock formations． |
Why should we be careful about the land on which a building is to be sited?
| A．To determine whether the land is firm enough for a building to be sited on． |
| B．To make sure that the land contains no radioactive material． |
| C．To make certain that the land releases no formaldehyde or other gases． |
| D．To check whether it contains any combustible materials． |
Editor’s notes: AWL is well known for its dictionaries and English language teaching materials． Some readers have written in to ask us for the latest information on high quality books on English, so here we introduce two texts that aim to improve spoken English fluency．
Let’s speak （Beginner)
By Bev Dusuya, Naoko Ozeki and Kevin Bergman
ISBN: 962001359X
Speak Up（Pre-Intermediate)
By Bev Kusuya, Nako Zeki
ISBN: 0583338050
“Teach the students about your culture and help them talk about their own．” How often are these worthy goals kept from being achieved by the limitations of your beginner level learners? Students at all levels want to talk about culture．
Topics include food, shopping, sports, fashion, the roles of men and women, health, music, and many more．
These are all chosen from surveys of over 15,000 students about their own interests in cross-cultural communication．
“Let’s Speak” and “Speak Up” share a special but excellent way that allows all students to take part in．
The series has questions which start thinking and then help collect opinions about personal topics． Conversation practice is provided by ready to use （现成的)models of basic exchanges on the topic． Also, the cultural information presented in the series comes in the form of interesting, relevant（相关的）facts and ideas from other countries through listening tasks and Culture Quiz exercises．
Team activities in books provide lively problem solving games to enable sharing and comparison of cultural values．
“Let’s Speak” is fit for entry level students of all ages． “Speak Up” provides for the needs of higher level beginners, offering the same careful listening and speaking help, but with slightly more open ended discussion．
For any information about AWL’s books, please get in touch with the following addresses:
Beijing Addison Wesley Longman Information Center
Room 2306, FLTRP Beijing
19 Xi San Huan Beilu, Beijing 100081
Tel: （010)68917488 （010) 68917788
Fax: （010) 68917499E-mail: zrh@public．bat．net．cnIn the sentence “Teach the students about your culture and help them talk about their own”, “your culture” here means the culture of ．
| A．the English native speakers | B．the English learners |
| C．the readers of the two books | D．the readers of the newspaper |
Which of the following are mentioned about the two books in the passage above?
a．publisher b．titles c．content d．writers
e．prices f．pages g．book number
| A．a,b,d,f | B．a,c,d,g | C．b,c,d,e | D．b,c,e,f |
The two books have in common everything EXCEPT ．
A．the same interesting topics
B．the same level of learners
C．proper ways to excite the learners to talkThe passage above is probably taken from the section in a newspaper．
| A．EDUCATION | B．NEWS |
| C．ENTERTAINMENT | D．BOOKSHELF |
How many people have I met who have told me about the book that they have been planning to write but have never yet found the time? Far too many．
This is Life, all right, but we do treat it like a rehearsal （排演) and, unhappily, we do miss so many of its best moments．
We take jobs to stay alive and provide homes for our families, always making ourselves believe that this style of life is merely a temporary state of affairs along the road to what we really want to do． Then, at 60 or 65, we are suddenly presented with a clock and several grandchildren and we look back and realize that all those years waiting for Real Life to come along were in fact real life．
In America they have a saying much laughed at by the English：“Have a nice day!” They speak slowly and seriously in their shops, hotels and sandwich bars． I think it is a wonderful phrase, reminding us, in effect, to enjoy the moment: to value this very day．
How often do we say to ourselves, "I'll take up horse-riding （or golf, or sailing) as soon as I get a higher position," only to do none of those things when I do get the higher position．
When I first became a reporter, I knew a man who gave up a very well paid respectable job at the Daily Telegraph to go and edit a small weekly newspaper． At the time I was astonished by what appeared to me to be his completely abnormal （反常的) mental state． How could anyone turn his back on Fleet Street in central London for a small local area？I wanted to know．
Now I am a little older and possibly wiser, I see the sense in it． In Fleet Street the man was under continual pressure． He lived in an unattractive London suburb and he spent much of his life sitting on Southern Region trains．The first paragraph of the passage tells us that ．
| A．we always try to find some time to write a book |
| B．we always make plans but seldom fulfill them |
| C．we always enjoy many of life's best moments |
| D．we always do what we really want to do |
The underlined phrase "turn his back on" （paragraph 6) most probably means ．
| A．leave for | B．return to | C．give up | D．rely on |
The man （ paragraph 6) left his first job partly because he was ．
| A．in an abnormal state | B．under too much pressure |
C．not well paid |
D．not respected |
What is probably the best title for the passage?
| A．Provide Homes For Our Family | B．Take Up Horse-riding |
C．Value This Very Day |
D．Stay Alive |
How men first learnt to invent words is unknown; in other words, the origin of language is a mystery． All we really know is that men, unlike animals, somehow invented certain sounds to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things, so that they could communicate with each other; and that later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters． These letters could be combined to represent those sounds, and which could be written down． Those sounds, whether spoken, or written in letters, we call words．
The power of words, then, lies in their associations---the things they bring up before our
|
minds． Words become filled with meaning for us by experience, and the longer we live, the more certain words recall to us the glad and sad events of our past; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something to us increases． Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which appeal powerfully to our minds and emotions． This charming and telling use of words is what we call literary style． Above all, the real poet is a master of words． He can convey his meaning in words which sing like music and which by their position and association can move men to tears． We should therefore learn to choose our words carefully and use them accurately, or they will make our speech silly and vulgar（粗俗的)．
| A．Men, as well as animals, in vented certain sounds to express thoughts． |
| B．The origin of language is a complicated question． |
| C．Words did not haven written form, at first． |
| D．Words were invented to represent meanings． |
The power of words lies in ．
| A．the fact that it can associate the things in the world with the ideas in our minds． |
| B．the fact that once word is connected with another |
| C．the fact that it can associate one person with another |
| D．the fact that it can recall to us the events of our past |
The following statements are true EXCEPT that ．
A．the more we read and learn, the larger our vocabulary will be |
| B．the longer we live, the number of words that mean something to us increases |
| C．words can be used to represent various meanings |
| D．literary style is usually very charming |
What does this passage primarily concern?
| A．The Meaning of Words． |
| B．The Characteristics of Words． |
| C．The Origin of Words． |
| D．The Power of Words． |
What makes one person more intelligent than another? What makes one person a genius, like the brilliant Albert Einstein, and another person a fool? Are people born intelligent or stupid, or is inte
lligence the result of where and how you live? These are very old questions and the answers to them are still not clear.
We know, however, that just being born with a good mind is not enough. In some ways, the mind is like a leg or an arm muscle. It needs exercise. Mental (done with the mind) exercise is particularly important for young children. Many child psychologists (心理学家) think that parents should play with their children more often and give them problems to think about. The children are then more likely to grow up bright and intelligent. If, on the other hand, children are left alone a great deal with nothing to do, they are more likely to become dull and unintelligent.
Parents should also be careful with what they say to young children. According to some psychologists, if parents are always telling a child that he or she is a fool or an idiot, then the child is more likely to keep doing silly and foolish things. So it is probably better for parents to say very positive (helpful) things to their children, such as “That was a very clever thing you did.” or “You are such a smart child.” The words “intelligent” and “brilliant” in the first paragraph probably mean _______ while “dull” in the second paragraph means ________.
| A．bright and splendid; slow in thinking and understanding |
| B．pretty and handsome; ordinary-looking |
| C．great and important; common |
| D．hopeful and helpful; careless |
According to the context we can guess that a genius is ________ while an idiot is ________.
| A．a normal person; a funny person |
| B．a strong person; a weak person |
| C．a highly intelligent person; a foolish or weak-minded person |
| D．a famous person; an ordinary person |
It is better for parents ________.
| A．to praise and encourage their children more often |
| B．to be hard on their children |
| C．to leave their children alone with nothing to do |
| D．to give their children as much help as possible |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the article?
| A．Parents play an important part in their children’s growth. |
| B．The less you use your mind the duller you may become. |
| C．Intelligence is obviously the result of where and how you live. |
| D．What makes a person bright or stupid is still under discussion |
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