The London Pass is a sightseeing city card which gives you entry to a choice of over 60 popular tourist attractions in the city．It makes sightseeing easy and affordable by giving you access to top sights in the city with one card．
With the London Pass you don’t have to queue to buy tickets，or stand in line to get into the attraction．The London Pass acts as your ticket into every one of the 60 attractions included．It saves the trouble of carrying around cash for tickets and allows you to budget your spending as you’ve already made the one-off payment．As well as this，you can feel like a VIP with the London Pass as you are granted Fast Track Entry into a handful of London’s most popular attractions．
The London Pass is available for 1，2，3 or 6 days—so choose the duration of Pass that best matches your trip．Your London Pass is valid for use on continuous days for the duration you have selected and is activated upon entry at your first attraction，through a bar code recognition system．
London is packed with top restaurants featuring world—class chefs serving a variety of cooking delights．However, dining out can be expensive．With the London Pass you can make great savings at over 145 restaurants，with discounts of up to 50％off or special offers such as a free bottle of wine or ice cream sundae．
So if you are planning a trip to London，do yourself a favour and check out the London Pass．You may have a more enjoyable trip．With the London Pass，you can _____________．
| A．stay in hotels free of charge |
| B．buy entrance ticket in advance |
| C．travel to each sightseeing in London |
| D．enter the attractions through Fast Track Entry |
What can we learn about the London Pass?
| A．You can use it at any time you want． |
| B．It can save time，money and stress． |
| C．It must be activated as quickly as you Can． |
| D．You can enjoy the discounts at any restaurant． |
The main purpose of the text is to ______________．
| A．advise visitors to buy the London Pass |
| B．tell visitors how to book the London Pass |
| C．supply visitors with some restaurant information |
| D．introduce the most popular attractions in London |
STEVE EMBER: And I'm Steve Ember with People In America in VOA Special English. Today we remember the singer and actress Lena Horne. During her sixty-year career performing, Lena Horne entertained people with her beauty and rich, emotional voice. She used her fame to fight social injustices toward African-Americans.
Lena Horne was born in New York. At sixteen, Lena became a dancer at the famous club in New York City in 1933. After taking voice lessons, she soon became a singer. In 1940, Lena Horne became the first African-American to perform with an all-white jazz hand. After performing at a club in Hollywood, California, she caught the attention of filmmakers. She soon began making movies. Her films became very popular. In the 1940s, Lena Horne was the first African-American in Hollywood to sing a long -term contract with a major movie studio. Her deal with MGM stated that she would never play the role of a servant. She refused to play roles that represented African-Americans disrespectfully.
Lena Horne once said that World War II helped make her a star. She was popular with both black and white soldiers. She sang on army radio programs and traveled to perform for the troops. These experiences led to Lena Horne's work in the civil rights movement.
Lena Horne sang at rights gatherings. She took part in the march on Washington protest in 1963. It was during this event that Martin Luther King gave his "I have a dream" speech. She protested racial separation at the hotels where she performed. She took action so that she and her musicians would be allowed to stay in those hotels. B1ack musicians at the time generally stayed in black neighborhoods.
At the age of eighty, she said she did not have to act like a white woman that Hollywood hoped she would become. She said: "I'm me, and I'm like nobody else."
Lena Horne died in New York in 2010. How old was Lena Horne when she died?
| A．93 years old. | B．98 years old. |
| C．86 years old. | D．88 years old. |
We can infer from the passage that_____
| A．black women were forbidden to perform in the film in the 1940s |
| B．Lena Horne didn't make any films in the 1960s |
| C．Lena Horne liked staying at hotel very much |
| D．black actresses often played roles of servants in the film in the 1940s |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Lena Home became the first African-American in Hollywood in her forties. |
| B．Dena Horne was a friend of Martin Luther King. |
| C．Lena Horne was involved in civil rights activities in the 1960s. |
| D．Lena Horne took an active part in sports activities. |
This text is developed
| A．by space | B．by time |
| C．by process | D．by comparison |
We know that cigarette smoking kills． So, producers made electronic cigarettes as a safer smoking choice - safer than tobacco． Although e-cigarettes contain the drug nicotine like cigarettes, they do not use tobacco and you do not light them． They are powered by battery （电池）．
However, if e-cigarettes are so safe, why has the United States Center for Disease Control（CDC） seen an increase in telephone calls about e-cigarette poisonings?
The answer is children． Most of the calls are from people worried about children who have played with the devices, In the period of one month this year, the Center said 215 people called the Center with e-cigarette concerns． More than half of these calls were for children aged five and younger． The devices had made them sick．
Tim McAfee is director of the Center's Office on Smoking and Health, He says the problem is regulation． Meaning, the U．S． federal government does not control e-cigarettes even though they contain liquid nicotine． Mr．McAfee adds that liquid nicotine is a well-known danger． Mr．McAfee explains that nicotine poisoning happens when it gets into the skin, gets into the eyes or is swallowed． It can cause stomach pain or a sense of unbalance． And too much nicotine can kill,
Tim McAfee says e-cigarettes do not create the level of risk to people that tobacco products do．He notes that almost 500,000 Americans die each year from cigarettes． "So, cigarettes are the winner in that contest．" E-cigarettes do not contain hundreds of harmful chemicals that are found in real cigarettes． So, the U．S．Surgeon General Boris D． Lushniak has suggested that e-cigarettes may be a useful tool for adults trying to end their tobacco use．
But McAfee worries that teenagers may think electronic cigarettes are harmless． They could become addicted to the nicotine and then start smoking real cigarettes． In other words, he fears that for young people fake e-cigarettes could be a "gateway" to the real thing．It can be inferred from the passage that______．
A． the CDC wants to develop a better type of e-cigarettes
B． the government is in favor of the use of e-cigarettes
C． Surgeon General Boris D． Lushniak is a heavy smoker
D． smokers most probably can't quit smoking using e-cigarettesWhat is Tim McAfee's opinion about smoking?
| A．Adults should use harmless e-cigarettes． |
| B．Smoking e-cigarettes can make a person sick． |
| C．He claims that regulations should be made to ban smoking． |
| D．He is concerned about the teens using e-cigarettes． |
One of the latest trends（趋势） in American Childcare is Chinese au pairs. Au Pair in Stamford, Conn, for example, has got increasing numbers of request for Chinese au pairs from aero to around 4, 000 since 2004. And that’s true all across the country.
“I thought it would be useful for him to learn Chinese at an early age” Joseph Stocke, the managing director of a company, says of his 2-year old son. “I would at least like to give him the chance to use the language in the future, ” After only six months of being cared by 25-year-old woman from China, the boy can already understand basic Chinese daily expressions, his dad says.
Li Drake, a Chinese native raising two children in Minnesota with an American husband, had another reason for looking for an au pair from China. She didn’t want her children to miss out on their roots. ” Because I am Chinese, my husband and I wanted the children to keep exposed to(接触) the language and culture. ” she says.
“Staying with a native speaker is better for children than simply sitting in a classroom, ” says Suzanne Flynn, a professor in language education of Children. ”But parents must understand that just one year with au pair is unlikely to produce wonders. Complete mastery demands continued learning until the age of 10 or 12. ”
The popularity if au pairs from China has been strengthened by the increasing numbers of American parents who want their children who want their children to learn Chinese. It is expected that American demand for au pairs will continue to rise in the next few years.What does the term” au pair” in the text mean?
| A．A mother raising her children on her own |
| B．A child learning a foreign language at home |
| C．A professor in language education of children |
| D．A young foreign woman taking care of children. |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．Learning Chinese is becoming popular In America |
| B．Educated woman do better in looking after children |
| C．Chinese au pairs need to improve their English Skills. |
| D．Children can learn a foreign language well in six months. |
People aren’t walking any more--- if they can figure out a way to avoid it.
I felt superior about this matter until the other day I took my car to mail a small parcel. The journey is a matter of 281 steps. But I used the car. And I wasn’t in any hurry, either, I had merely become one more victim of a national sickness: motorosis.
It is an illness to which I had thought myself immune, for I was bred in the tradition of going to places on my own two legs. At that time, we regarded 25 miles as good day’s walk and the ability to cover such a distance in ten hours as a sign of strength and skill. It did not occur to us that walking was a hardship. And the effect was lasting. When I was 45 years old I raced –and beat—a teenage football player the 168 steps up the Stature of Liberty.
Such enterprises today are regarded by many middle-aged persons as bad for the heart. But a well-known British physician, Sir Adolphe Abrhams, pointed out recently that hearts and bodies need proper exercise. A person who avoids exercise is more likely to have illnesses than one who exercises regularly. And walking is an ideal form of exercise--- the most familiar and natural of all. It was Henry Thoreau who showed mankind the richness of going on foot. The man walking can learn the trees, flower, insects, birds and animals, the significance of seasons, the very feel of himself as a living creature in a living world. He cannot learn in a car.
The car is a convenient means of transport, but we have made it our way of life. Many people don’t dare to approach Nature any more; to them the world they were born to enjoy is all threat. To them security is a steel river thundering on a concrete road. And much of their thinking takes place while waiting for the traffic light to turn green.
I say that the green of forests is the mind’s best light. And none but the man on foot can evaluate what is basic and everlasting.What was life like when the author was young?
| A．people often walked 25 miles a day |
| B．People usually went around on foot. |
| C．People used to climb the Statue of Liberty. |
| D．people considered a ten-hour walk as a hardship. |
The author mentions Henry Thoreau to prove that ________.
| A．middle-aged people like getting back to nature |
| B．people need regular exercise to keep fit |
| C．walking in nature helps enrich one’s mind |
| D．going on foot prevents heart disease |
What is compared to “a steel river” in Paragraph6?
| A．A ray of traffic light | B．A queue of cars |
| C．A flash of lightning | D．A stream of people |
No one likes to make mistakes. But a new study says organizations learn more from their failures than from their successes, and keep that knowledge longer.
One of the researchers was Vinit Desai, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Denver Business School. He worked with Peter Madsen from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University in Utah.
They did not find much long-term "organizational learning" from success. It is possible, they say. But Professor Desai says they found that knowledge gained from failure lasts for years. He says organizations should treat failures as a learning opportunity and not try to ignore them.
The study looked at companies and organizations that launch satellites--and other space vehicles. Professor Desai compared two shuttle flights.
In two thousand two, a piece of insulating(隔热的) material broke off during launch and damaged a rocket on the Atlantis. Still, the flight was considered a success.
Then, in early two thousand three, a piece of insulation struck the Columbia during launch. This time, the shuttle broke apart on re-entry and the seven crew members died. NASA officials suspended all flights and an investigation led to suggested changes.
Professor Desai says the search for solutions after a failure can make leaders more open-minded. He points to airlines as an example of an industry that has learned from failures in the past.
He advises organizations to look for useful information in small failures and failures they avoided. He also urges leaders to encourage the open sharing of information. The study appeared in the Academy of Management Journal.
The mistakes we learn from do not have to be our own. We recently asked people on our Facebook page to tell us a time they had done something really silly.
Fabricio Cmino wrote: Not long ago I wanted to watch TV, but it wouldn't turn on, so I did everything I could to start it. Thirty minutes later my mum showed up and, passing by, said to me "Did you try plugging it'? I’m just dusting, Mum!”So she wouldn't notice how dumb I am sometimes!
Bruno Kanieski da Silva told about a time he looked everywhere for his key. It was in his pocket. He wrote: I always promise I will never do it again, but after-a few weeks,where is my wallet? For sure it will be in a very logical place.From the passage, we can infer that________.
| A．The insulating material problem in 2002 didn't arouse enough attention |
| B．There were no astronauts on Columbia |
| C．In spite of the problem, Atlantis was considered a success |
| D．Columbia exploded during its launch time |
The writer gives the last two paragraphs to show that________.
| A．many people make mistakes in the world |
| B．mistakes were a very embarrassing thing when found by others |
| C．we can also draw a lesson from others' mistakes |
| D．making mistakes was a necessity |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Only organizations can learn from mistakes |
| B．We can also learn from failures that have been avoided. |
| C．Lessons from the shuttle flights are more important. |
| D．Leaders often lack an open mind and seldom share information. |
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