A winter wonderland on the outskirts of Quebec City has become one of Canada's hottest attractions and most sought out accommodations. Guests stay close for warmth in sleeping bags on beds of ice, hats pulled over their ears to prevent frostbite, while sipping cocktails (鸡尾酒) in glasses also made of ice.
A cool place to host a memorable wedding or for a romantic getaway, the Quebec Ice Hotel has attracted 600,000 curious tourists, including 30,000 who stayed overnight, since opening seasonally 11 years ago. Like Victoria and Jeremy Martin, dozens of couples will exchange vows (誓约) this winter in a temporary church next to the hotel, sculpted entirely from blocks of ice with seats covered in furs.
Average temperatures fall below minus 20 degrees C (minus four F) in winter, but inside the hotel's 36 rooms it is relatively cozy. Thick walls of packed snow and ice act as an insulator, trapping body heat inside. Each room is uniquely decorated, using designs created by Quebec architecture students.Two hotel bars also sell special cocktails in ice glasses.
First-time guests of the hotel, however, are recommended to stay only one night as sleeping in sub-zero temperatures is not very refreshing. This year for the first time the ice hotel has teamed up with a bricks and concrete Quebec City hotel to offer packages for one-night accommodations at each. Prices for one night only at the ice hotel start at 200 US dollars per person.
The 3,000-square-metre (32,300-square-feet) buildings take six weeks starting in December to build, using 15,000 tonnes of snow and 500 tonnes of ice, at a cost of some 750,000 US dollars. Eleven weeks after its seasonal grand opening, the hotel will close on March 27 and then melt away with the arrival of spring.What is true with the ice hotel?
| A．630,000 people have visited it. |
| B．30,000 people visit it each year. |
| C．It has stayed open for many years. |
| D．Wedding ceremonies are often held there. |
What can we learn about the hotel rooms?
A. It can be -20°C inside.
B. The temperature is always below 0°C.
C. The rooms all look alike.
D. Each room costs $200 per night.First-time guests are advised to stay there only one night because _____.
| A．they may not be able to stand the cold |
| B．their other night is with an ordinary hotel |
| C．new guests have less advantages over old ones |
| D．the first-day service is just for a test run |
If you choose to visit the ice hotel during the Christmas season, you'll find _____.
| A．it doesn't exist at all |
| B．it is just being built |
| C．most of its rooms are vacant |
| D．it is crowded with guests |
Anger at the practice of demanding dowries, which can lead to violence against brides, has caused a takeoff of "Angry Birds" called "Angry Brides" that aims to highlight the illegal practice still common in many South Asian countries.
Dowries -- such as jewelry, clothes, cars and money -- are traditionally given by the bride's family to the groom and his parents to ensure she is taken care of in her new home.
The custom was outlawed more than five decades ago. But it is still widely practiced, with the groom's family demanding even more money after marriage, leading to mental and physical abuse that can drive the woman to suicide.
"The Angry Brides game is our way of throwing a spotlight on the nuisance (陋习) of dowry," said Ram Bhamidi, senior vice president and head of online marketing for Shaadi.com, a matrimonial (婚姻的) website with two million members.
"According to a 2007 study, there is a dowry-related death every four hours in India. We condemn this and have consistently run campaigns on social media to help create awareness of the issue."
The name of the app, available on the group's home page, is a spinoff from the globally popular "Angry Birds" game. Its home page shows a red-clad, eight-armed woman resembling a powerful female Hindu goddess. Underneath, there is a caption: "A woman will give you strength, care and all the love you need ... NOT dowry!"
To play the game, users have to try and hit three dodging grooms -- a pilot, builder and doctor. There is a wide array of weapons to choose from, including a stiletto shoe, a frying pan, broomstick, tomato and loafer.
Each groom has a price tag, starting at 1.5 million rupees ($29,165). Every time the player hits a groom, his value decreases and money is added to the player's Anti-Dowry Fund, which is saved posted on their Facebook page.
"Since we launched the game last week, more than 270,000 people have liked the app. Both men and women seem to be playing it," said Bhamidi.What caused "Angry Brides" to appear online?
| A．Women's rights' being seriously abused． |
| B．Anger at the practice of demanding dowries． |
| C．The bride's giving a great many dowries． |
| D．The popularity of Angry Birds online． |
Which of the following is True about "Dowries"?
| A．The custom of giving dowries has been in practice for five decades． |
| B．Lack of abundant dowries may lead to the bride's being in violence． |
| C．The illegal practice of dowries is still popular in many African countries． |
| D．More dowries the bride gives mean a high social status of her family． |
The underlined word "spinoff” probably means_____________．
| A．relation | B．connection | C．copy | D．fake |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE about the game "Angry Brides"?
| A．There are a variety of weapons to choose from． |
| B．Ram Bhamidi thinks highly of the game． |
| C．Men players don't find the game enjoyable． |
| D．The game character looks like a Hindu goddess． |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．Women's unfair treatment in the marriage． |
| B．The popularity of the game "Angry Brides"． |
| C．The groom's demanding too many dowries． |
| D．How to build an equal relation in the marriage． |
It takes more than just practice to become an Olympian. Gold medal performances require some serious nutrition. Have you ever wondered what these successful athletes eat to stay in peak shape?
Keri Glassman, a registered dietitian and founder of Nutritious Life Meals, appeared on "Good Morning America" today to give you a glimpse into the diets of some top athletes. Some of their meals could surprise you.
Crazy Calorie Count
Glassman said Olympians eat a lot of food---quantities that for ordinary people would constitute pigging out. One secret of swimmer Michael Phelps' astonishing performance in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing was consuming as many as 12,000 calories in one day.
Athletes can eat like this and not gain any weight because their workouts are intense. According to Glassman, Phelps' workouts can burn 4,000 to 6,000 calories in a day, and those calories must be replenished (补充) in order to train the following day.
Snacking Secrets
Some athletes eat wacky (strange, unusual) foods that they swear improve their performance. Yohan Blake, the Jamaica sprinter and 100-meter world champion, has been making waves for stealing champion sprinter Usain Bolt's thunder on the track during the Olympic trials. Asked about how he gets his stamina, Blake answered that he eats 16 bananas per day, Glassman said.
Jonathan Horton, the lead gymnast on the US team, has a blood sugar problem. His solution is honey. When he starts to feel shaky at the gym, he takes swigs of honey to boost his energy, Glassman said.
Foods for Recovery
What are the best foods to help the body recover after rigorous (strict) competition?
For Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, the recovery meal is grilled chicken breasts with Alfredo sauce, whole-grain spaghetti and a salad with lemon juice and olive oil. Lochte, who recently cut out junk food, candy and soda, has undertaken a rigorous strength-training regimen(养生法) that involves flipping tractor tires, dragging shipyard chains and tossing beer kegs, Glassman said.What’s the best title of this passage?
| A．Good Diet Makes a True Olympian. |
| B．Olympians Have Olympic-size Appetites. |
| C．Olympians’ Strange Eating Habits. |
| D．The Diets of some Top Olympic Athletes. |
What does the underlined sentence probably means?
| A．Ordinary people eat few pigs compared with Olympians. |
| B．Olympians eat a lot more food than ordinary people. |
| C．Olympians tend to eat a lot of high-quality food. |
| D．Olympians eat a large amount of food, just like pigs. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Ryan Lochte quit eating junk food, candy and soda for his recovery. |
| B．Usain Bolt beat Yohan Blake on the track in the Olympic trials. |
| C．Michael Pheleps astonishing performance was due to his eating lots of food. |
| D．Jonathan Horton has a blood sugar problem because of taking too much honey. |
Which of the following is not the best food to help the body recover?
| A．Soda. | B．Olive oil. |
| C．Whole-grain spaghetti. | D．A salad with lemon juice. |
The passage is most likely to be found in __________ .
| A．a technical report | B．a fashion magazine |
| C．an education column | D．a sports newspaper |
One of the world's richest men has taken a close interest in one of man's most basic functions: visiting the toilet．Bill Gates’ charitable organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is looking for inventors to design the loo of the future, which, they hope, would improve sanitation for millions of people around the world．
So, what's wrong with the traditional flush toilet? Firstly, it wastes a huge amount of potential drinking water．Secondly, they are more likely to cause pollution．This is a real problem in many areas of the developing world, where, according to United Nations’ estimates, unsafe sanitation causes half of all hospitalizations．Younger people are particularly at risk．Illnesses which cause diarrhea are responsible for the deaths of about 1．5 million children a year．Finally, standard lavatories simply aren't practical in remote areas．
The challenge set by Bill Gates was to come up with a latrine which works without running water, electricity or aseptic tank．It also needed to operate for less than 5 cents．28 designs were displayed at the recent event of the Toilet Fair in Seattle, USA．Among them was one which turned human waste into electricity using microwaves, another which converted human waste into charcoal, and yet another which used urine for flushing．
But the winner was a solar-powered design which generated hydrogen gas and electricity．The team from the California Institute of Technology（CIT）picked up a prize of $ 100,000.
But clearly Bill Gates doesn't feel he's flushing money down the toilet．After the Seattle event he said, "We couldn't be happier with the response we've gotten," Gates has even promised $370 million more to the future toilet project．They hope to field test more prototypes over the next three years．Why is Bill Gates paying people to invent new toilets?
| A．Because he wants to test people's sense of creativity． |
| B．Because he wants to improve sanitation for many people． |
| C．Because he thinks the traditional ones are out of fashion． |
| D．Because he can't design this kind of things himself． |
Which of the following is NOT a problem with the traditional flush toilet?
| A．They waste too much water． | B．They might cause diseases． |
| C．They are not always practical． | D．They are too complicated to use. |
The underlined word "latrine" in the third paragraph might have similar meanings to the word "__ " in the text．
| A．loo | B．sanitation | C．diarrhea | D．prototype |
The team from CIT won the prize because their design .
| A．can change human waste into electricity |
| B．can turn human waste into charcoal |
| C．can produce power with solar energy |
| D．can use urine for flushing |
If people "flush money down the toilet", they are .
| A．showing off their wealth | B．angry with their working conditions |
| C．wasting money for nothing | D．expressing their great determination |
BERLIN （AP）----A tiger escaped its enclosure at Cologne Zoo in western Germany on Saturday and killed a female keeper before being shot dead by the zoo's director, police said．
The tiger slipped through a passage between the enclosure and a neighboring storage building, where it fatally attacked the 43-year-old keeper, said police spokesman Stefan Kirchner．
"It appears the gate wasn't properly shut," Kirchner told The Associated Press．
The zoo was evacuated and a SWAT （特警） team was called in, police said．But before it arrived, the zoo's director managed to kill the tiger by climbing onto the storage building and shooting it through a skylight using a rifle．
Kirchner said it was unlikely that members of the public had witnessed the incident. "This is the darkest day of my life," the zoo's director, Theo Pagel, was quoted as saying by Cologne newspaper Express．
The paper said on its website that the Siberian tiger was a 4-year-old male called Tltai that came to Cologne Zoo from an animal park in England．In November it fathered three cubs with a 7-year-old Siberian tiger called Hanya, according to the zoo's website．
Police said the zoo reopened after Saturday's incident, which occurred around noon．However, a planned late-night opening of the zoo has been canceled．
Cologne Zoo is one of the oldest in Germany．It was founded in 1860 and houses some 10,000 animals consisting of more than 700 different species．Which of the following can be the best title of the news text?
| A．Tiger Escapes, Kills Keeper in German Zoo |
| B．Tiger Escapes in German Zoo, Shot Dead |
| C．German Zoo Keeper Shot Escaped Tiger |
| D．People Killed in Oldest Zoo in German |
According to the police, what was the direct reason for the incident?
| A．The zoo keeper was a new hand． |
| B．A gate was not closed appropriately. |
| C．The zoo had neglected the secret passage. |
| D．It was very dark when the incident happened. |
What did the zoo do after the incident?
| A．They honored the killed person in a way. |
| B．They paid SWAT for their timely help. |
| C．They returned the tiger’s three cubs to England. |
| D．They called off the late-night opening. |
How did the zoo director feel after the incident?
| A．Proud. | B．Disappointed. | C．Sad. | D．Angry. |
What can we learn about Cologne Zoo?
| A．It keeps a large variety of species. |
| B．It is one of the largest in German. |
| C．It has a history of more than 700 years. |
| D．No such incident has happened before. |
根据短文内容，从下框的A—F选项中选出能概括每一段主题的最佳选项。选项中有一项为多余项(E涂AB,F涂AC)
| A Avoid asking your child too many questions B Tell your child stories about your growing up C Don’t judge or criticize your child D Listen to your kids with respect E Provide pressure-free conversation opportunities F Ask children gently what they think |
If your child has gone from a continuous chatterbox to making conversations that consist mostly of yes and no, it’s time to consider these tips on how to talk to kids, so you’ll know what’s going on in your child’s world.
The quickest way to get kids to shut up and, as a result, shut you out of their lives is to continuously press them about things. A more effective way is to sit back and patiently wait for them to open up in a low-stress family and then be prepared to listen.
Parents can sometimes make kids at a young age decide it is best not to talk about something when they are criticized. If you really want to know what’s on your child’s mind, then avoid passing judgment and focus instead on why something seems important to your child.
If you want to raise a creative and independent thinker, stop telling your child what he ought to feel or think. You can gently encourage additional conversations by simply asking why he feels the way he does or what he would do in a certain situation.
You may think you’re just asking questions out of curiosity when communicating with your child, but an endless stream of questions about what they did, whether everyone got along, if they went to the bathroom, ect., are enough to make anyone shut up! Practice patience and let your kids open up on their terms.
Kids can relate to you and other adults when you tell your stories happening when you were their age. Talking to kids by telling them about things like something embarrassing that happened or the first crush(迷恋) you had helps them to connect with you and understand that you might actually know what they are going through!
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