Travel can be a lifesaver. But in today’s economy (经济) with airlines adding new fees almost daily and ticket prices sharply on the rise, many have written off travel as too expensive. However, with a few saving tricks and a little research, there are still lots of great deals to be had on airline tickets and more.
Early Bird Gets the Deal.
Travel experts say that there are certain times of day when more deals are available. Airfares can change three times a day as airlines adjust their prices to fill up flights. Early morning is when the fares tend to be lowest.
What Wouldn’t a Business Traveler do?
Flying when business travelers don’t can save you big money. Most business travelers fly on Mondays and Fridays, so Tuesday and Wednesday are the best days. Airlines will usually lower their prices on these days to aggressively try and fill empty seats.
Fly to popular places at unpopular times. The slowest time of the year for travel is in the Fall between Labor Day and Thanksgiving. Again, to try and fill more empty seats, the airlines will lower prices and offer better deals to get people to fly during this time of the year.
Package Deals
Many times the best deals on airfare can be found as part of a package rate. Most travel sites have package rates available. Often, the entire package (hotel, airfare, rental car) is cheaper than just the plane ticket on another site. Even if you don’t need the rental car, with the money you’ve saved on the flight, you can afford to take a taxi. These deals are especially good on last minute bookings.
With a little inside knowledge and some good timing, you can get yourself a steal on a ticket to the vacation you thought was out of reach.Which would be the best title for the text?
| A．Tips on Vocation Travelling |
| B．Advice for Business Travelers |
| C．The Effect of Economy on Airlines |
| D．Tricks of Finding the Cheapest Flights |
Many people have to cancel their travel plan because they _____.
| A．have no saving tricks | B．consider economic reasons |
| C．seldom do research | D．can’t have great deals |
Which of the following can be filled in the blank in the text?
| A．Fly to popular places. |
| B．Don’t Miss the Holydays. |
| C．Better Avoid the Crowds. |
| D．Lose No Chance for Travelling. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Saving tricks can make the seemingly impossible vacation possible. |
| B．Inside knowledge and good timing help you to steal tickets from airlines. |
| C．Vacation will be out of reach without inside knowledge and good timing. |
| D．Who thinks the vacation is out of reach never grasps the tricks of saving. |
Last August, Joe and Mary Mahoney began looking at colleges for their 17-year-old daughter, Maureen. With a checklist of criteria (衡量标准)in hand, the Dallas family looked around the country visiting half a dozen schools. They sought a university that offered the teenager’s intended major, one located near a large city, and a campus where their daughter would be safe.
“The safety issue is a big one,” says Joe Mahoney, who quickly discovered he wasn’t alone in his worries. On campus tours other parents voiced similar concerns, and the same question was always asked: what about crime? But when college officials always gave the same answer -----“That’s not a problem here,”-----Mahoney began to feel uneasy.
“No crime whatever?” comments Mahoney today. “I just don’t buy it.” Nor should he: in 1999 the U.S. Department of education had reports of nearly 400,000 serious crimes on or around our campuses. “Parents need to understand that times have changed since they went to college,” says David Nichols, author of Creating a Safe Campus. “Campus crime mirrors the rest of the nation.”
But getting accurate information isn’t easy. Colleges must report crime statistics(统计数字) by law, but some hold back for fear of bad publicity（关注）, leaving the honest ones looking dangerous. “The truth may not always be serious,” warns S. Daniel Carter of Security on Campus, Inc., the nation’s leading campus safety watchdog group.
To help concerned parents, Carter promised to visit campuses and talk to experts around the country to find out major crime issues and effective solutions.It is often difficult to get correct information on campus crime because some colleges ____.
| A．receive too many visitors | B．mirror the rest of the nation |
| C．hide the truth of campus crime | D．have too many watchdog groups |
The underlined word “buy” in the third paragraph means _____.
| A．mind | B．admit | C．believe | D．expect |
We learn from the text that “the honest ones” in the fourth paragraph most probably refers to colleges _____.
| A．that are protected by campus security | B．that report campus crimes by law |
| C．that are free from campus crime | D．that enjoy very good publicity |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．Exact campus crime statistics. | B．Crimes on or around campuses. |
| C．Effective solutions to campus crime. | D．Concerns about kids’ campus safety. |
Years ago while lying in my hammock（吊床）and drinking JD from the bottle, I noticed my dog dragging something under the fence. Upon inspection, to my disappointment, I realized it was the next door neighbor’s 10 – year – old daughter’s rabbit. For years I had watched her come home from school and head straight out to its cage, free it and play with it in the yard. I knew that day would be no different and fearing for our dog, I had to think fast.
The rabbit was quite dirty, as if it had put up quite a struggle, so I washed it, combed it with the dog 
brush and blew it dry with the leaf blower. Upon finishing its grooming I jumped the fence and replaced it back in its cage hoping its death would be written off as “natural caused”.
Back to the hammock and JD. Within the hour the neighbor’s Volvo pulled in as usual and out popped the little girl, and as usual she headed straight for the cage. Only this time she stopped about six feet away and screamed: “D—A—D—D—Y!!!”.
Her father, panic stricken, stood looking at the cage. Being the good neighbor that I am, 
I rushed to fence and asked if there was anything I could do.
Her father less than calmly shouted, “What kind of sick individual would dig up a little girl’s rabbit and put it back in its cage?”The girl was shocked because .
| A．the rabbit was killed by someone |
| B．the rabbit was too clean |
| C．the dead rabbit was cleaned and put back into the cage |
| D．the rabbit was asleep in the cage |
That day the girl ran to the cage .
| A．because her rabbit was there |
B．because she had a habit of goin g there to see her rabbit |
| C．because she wanted to see her rabbit again |
| D．because the rabbit was dead |
We can infer that the rabbit .
| A．was alive before the writer saw his dog dragging it |
B．was already d ead before the writer saw his dog dragging it |
| C．was in the cage playing with the dog |
| D．was at the fence seeking out for food before it was killed by the dog |
According to the story, the writer .
| A．was helpful to his neighbor | B．did a smart thing |
| C．was honest | D．made a mistake |
At one time, computers were expected largely to remove the need for paper copies of documents (文件) because they could be stored electronically. But for all the texts that are written, stored and sent electronically, a lot of them are still ending up on paper.
It is difficult to measure the quantity of paper used as a result of use of Internet-connected computers, although just about anyone who works in an office can tell you that when e-mail is introduced, the printers start working overtime. "I feel in my bones this revolution is causing more trees to be cut down," says Ted S
mith of the Earth Village Organization.
Perhaps the best sign of how computer and Internet use pushes up demand for paper comes from the high-tech industry itself, which sees printing as one of its most promising new markets. Several Internet companies have been set up to help small businesses print quality documents from a computer. Earlier this week Hewlett-Packard Co. announced a plan to develop new technologies that will enable people to print even more so they can get a hard copy of a business document, a medical record or just a one-line e-mail, even if they are nowhere near a computer. As the company sees it, the more use of the Internet the greater demand for printers.
Does all this mean environmental concerns (环境问题) have been forgotten? Some activists suggest people have been led to believe that a lot of dangers to the environment have gone away. " I guess people believe that the problem is taken care of, because of recycling (回收利用) " said Kelly Quirke, director of the Rainforest Action Network in San Francisco. Yet Quirke is hopeful that high-tech may also prove helpful. He says printers that print on both sides are growing in popularity. The action group has also found acceptable paper made from materials other than wood, such as agricultural waste. The growing demand for paper in recent years is largely due to ________.
| A．the rapid development of small businesses |
| B．the opening up of new markets |
| C．the printing of high quality copies |
| D．the increased use of the Internet |
Environmentalists believe one possible way of dealing with the paper situation is ________.
| A．to encourage printing more quality documents |
| B．to develop new printers using recycled paper |
| C．to find new materials for making paper |
| D．to plant more fast-growing trees |
Hewlett-Packard Co. has decided to develop new technologies because _______.
| A．people are concerned about the environment |
| B．printers in many offices are working overtime |
| C．small companies need more hard copies |
| D．they see a growing market for printers |
The Americans believe that anybody can become President of the United States. In a recent Hollywood comedy(喜剧), that is exactly what happens.
Dave Kovic, played by Kevin Kline, is a kind-hearted man who runs a business that finds people jobs. He leads a typical(典型的) American way of life, except for one thing－he looks exactly like the President, Bill Mitchell. In fact, the only thing that makes him different from the nation’s leader is that he is very nice!
The president has started using look-alikes during some public appearances. Dave is offered a chance to “serve his country” by becoming one. However, things go wrong. The President becomes very ill and Dave ends up acting as the President forever.
Director Ivan Reitman, who made the popular and successful comedies like Twins, Ghostbusters and Legal Eagles, could have gone for easy laughs by making fun of the American government. Instead, Dave is an attractive comedy about an ordinary man in extraordinary situations. Kevin Kline gives a double performance as Dave and the President, and Sigourney Weaver is at her best as his First Lady. The love story that develops between her role and Dave is a real classic(经典).
The film is 100% American. However, if you’ve ever felt that anybody could do a better job running the country than the people in power, then you’ll enjoy Dave!What is the purpose of the text?
| A．To tell the reader about the American government. |
| B．To discus the Americans’ ideas about the President. |
| C．To make a comparison between Dave and other films. |
| D．To introduce a new film to the reader. |
Who plays the role of the President in the film?
| A．Sigourney Weaver. | B．Kevin Kline. |
C．Bi ll Mitchell. |
D．Ivan Reitman. |
The underlined word “one” in the 3rd paragraph refers to _____.
| A．the President | B．the director | C．an actor | D．a look-alike |
Which of the following is best supported by the text?
| A．The author makes fun of the President. |
B．The author thinks highly of the fi lm. |
| C．The author is a fan of Hollywood comedies. |
| D．The author wishes to become the American President. |
Photographs are everywhere. They decorate the walls of homes and are used in stores for sales of different goods. The news is filled with pictures of fires, floods, and special events. Photos record the beauties of nature. They can also bring things close that are far away. Through photos, people can see wild animals, cities in foreign lands, and even the stars in outer space. Photos also tell stories.
Reporting the news through photos is called photojournalism. At times photojourn
alists tell their stories through a single picture. At other times, they use a group of pictures to tell a story. Each picture is like a chapter in a book, which can do more than record the facts. It can also be a strong force for social change.
Jacob Riis was among the first photojournalists. He took pictures of parts of New York City where the poor lived. Riis believed that poverty caused crime, and he used photos to help him prove his point. A few years later, the photos of small children working in factories by Lewis Hine shocked the public. Hine’s pictures helped bring about laws to protect such children.
Hundreds of pictures may have to be taken in order to get one or two really good photos. It takes science to have the photo come out clearly and art to make a photo that has a good design and expresses feeling. Photojournalists make an actual record of what they see. A photo, however, can be both a work of art and an actual record. It can record an important event as a beautiful or exciting picture.
As historical and artistic documents(文献), photos can become more important over time. Today photojournali
sts still have their pictures appear in newspapers and magazines. They also publish them in books and on the Internet.The underlined word “They” in the first paragraph refers to .
| A．beauties | B．photos | C．goods | D．events |
The photos of the small children by Hine show us that photos .
| A．are also works of art | B．are popular ways of reporting news |
| C．often shock the public | D．can serve as a force for social change |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．News with pictures is encouraging. |
| B．Photos help people improve their life. |
| C．News photos mean history in a sense. |
| D．People prefer reading news with pictures. |
The text is mainly about .
| A．telling the story through picture | B．decorating the walls of homes |
| C．publishing historical papers | D．expressing feeling through pictures |
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