People like different kinds of vacations. Some go camping. They swim, fish, cook over a fire and sleep outside. Others like to stay at a hotel in an exciting city. They go shopping all day and go dancing all night. Or maybe they go sightseeing to places such as Disneyland, the Tai Mahal or the Louvre.
Some people are bored with sightseeing trips. They don’t want to be “tourists”. They want to have an adventure— a surprising and exciting trip. They want to learn something and maybe help people too. How can they do this? Some travel companies and environmental groups are planning special adventures. Sometimes these trips are difficult and full of the world. Some volunteers spend two weeks and study the environment. Others work with animals. Others learn about people of the past.
Would you like an adventure in the Far North? A team of volunteers is leaving from Murmansk, Russia. The leader of this trip is a professor from Alaska. He’s worried about chemicals from factories. He and the volunteers will study this pollution in the environment. If you like exercise and cold weather, this is a good trip for you. Volunteers need ski sixteen kilometers every day. -
Do you enjoy ocean animals? You can spend two to four weeks in Hawaii. There, you can teach language to dolphins. Dolphins can follow orders such as “Bring me the large ball”. They also understand opposites. How much more can they understand? It will be exciting to learn about these intelligent animals. Another study trip goes to Washington State and follows orcas. We call orcas “Killer Whale”, but they’ re really dolphins—the largest kind of dolphin.. These beautiful animals travel together in family groups. They move through the ocean with their mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers. Ocean pollution is chasing their lives. Earthwatch is studying how this happens.
Are you interested in history? Then Greece is the place for your adventure. Thirty-five hundred years ago a volcano exploded there, on Santorini. This explosion was more terrible than Krakatoa or Mount Saint Helens. But today we know a lot about the way of life of the people from that time. There are houses, kitchens, and paintings as interesting as those in Pompei. Today teams of volunteers are learning more about people from the past.
Do you want a very different vacation? Do you want to travel far, work hard and learn a lot? Then an Earthwatch vacation is for you.
The Tai Mabal may be _________.
| A．a shopping center | B．a hotel |
| C．a dancing ball | D．a place of interest |
From the passage, on an adventure trip, people ______________.
| A．may not spend much time on sightseeing |
| B．won’ t meet some difficulties or hardships |
| C．can’t enjoy themselves - |
| D．can’t learn something |
If you want to learn something about people of the past, you can ___________
| A．join the team to Hawaii | B．join the team to the Far North |
| C．join the team to Washington | D．join the team to Greece |
The word “intelligent” in paragraph 4 means __________________.
| A．exciting | B．beautiful | C．large | D．clever |
Which of the following is false ?
| A．Some people find sightseeing trips boring. |
| B．Earth watch is planning all these special adventures |
| C．The number orcas is decreasing. |
| D．3 volcano explosions in all broke out 3, 500 years ago in Greece. |
Today, Friday, December 14
JAZZ with the Mike Thomas Jazz Band at The Derby Arms. Upper Richmond Road West, Sheen.
DISCO Satin Sounds Disco. Free at The Lord Napier, Mort lake High St., from 8 am. to 8 pm. Tel: 682-158.
Saturday, December 15
JAZZ Lysis at The Bull's Head, Barnes. Admission 60p.
MUSICAL HALL at The Star and Garter, Lower Richmond Road, Putney, provided by the Aba Daba Music Hall company. Good food and entertainment fair price. Tel: 789-749.
FAMILY night out? Join the sing-along at The Black Horse. Sheen Road, Richmond.
JAZZ The John Bennett Big Band at The Bull's Head, Barnes. Admission 80p.
THE DERBY ARMS, Upper Richmond Road West, give you Joe on the electric accordion(手风琴). Tel: 789-536
Sunday, December 16
DISCO Satin Sounds Disco, free at The Lord Napier, Mort Lake High Street, from 8 am to 8 pm.
FOLK MUSIC at The Derby Arms. The Short Stuff and residents the Norman Chop Trio. Non-remembers 70p. Tel: 688-626.
HEAVY MUSIC with Tony Simon at The Bull, Upper Richmond Road West, East Sheen.
THE DERBY ARMS, Upper Richmond Road West, give you Joe on the electric accordion.Where and when can you hear the Norman Chop Trio?
| A．At the Derby Arms on Sunday. |
| B．At the Bull's Head on Sunday. |
| C．At the Bull on Saturday. |
| D．At the Black Horse on Saturday. |
Where and when can you hear the Mike Thomas Jazz Band?
| A．At the Black Horse on Friday. |
| B．At the Derby Arms on Friday. |
| C．At the Star and Garter on Saturday. |
| D．At the Derby Arms on Sunday. |
Which telephone number do you have to ring if you want to enjoy the electric accordion on Saturday. ?
| A．789-749. | B．688-626. | C．682-158 | D．789-536 |
Where should you go if you want to spend the Saturday by joining the entertainment with your family.?
| A．Disco at The Lord Napier. |
| B．The sing-along at The Black Horse. |
| C．The electric accordion at The Derby Arms. |
| D．Jazz at The Bull's Head. |
Cities need to put efforts to deal with pollution and clear the air.
Chinese cities will need to put efforts to clear up the sky when a new department to improve regional air quality is set up by 2015，according to the latest plan released by the State Council.
Besides the existing pollution control program for CO2，regional emission caps(区域排放上限) for other certain chemicals will be established in the three key air polluting areas—the Yangtze River Delta，Pearl River Delta and the Beijing-Tianjin- Hebei region. Coal-consumption caps will also be tried out in some areas，according to the plan.
The plan is aimed at dealing with regional air pollution—such as acid rain and smog—which have become increasingly obvious in China in recent years and caused a severe threat to people’s health，Zhang Lijun，viceminister of environmental protection，said in an interview on Monday.
The air quality in a city affects the areas nearby because pollutants can travel in the sky，said Chai Fahe，vice-director of Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences.
“So efforts to reduce air pollution in a single city，targeting a certain pollutant(污染物) will not be enough，” Chai said.
Zhang said the country’s major industrial districts—the Yangtze River Delta，Pearl River Delta and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region—have recorded more than 100 misty days annually in recent years.
These three regions，home to at least 200 million people，occupy only 6.3 percent of the country’s area but consume 40 percent of the country’s coal and produce half of its steel，according to official figures.
Studies also show that the visibility(能见度) in eastern regions of China has dropped by 7 to 15 km compared to that in the early 1960s，as a result of air pollution.
Liaoning province，the Shandong Peninsula，Wuhan in Hubei province and its surrounding area，the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan region in Hunan province，the Chengdu-Chongqing region，and the western coast of the Taiwan Straits are also listed as areas to carry out such regional air pollution control programs，according to the plan.
The new plan also requires an improved air quality system，which will measure the pollution levels. “The current system，which only measures some major pollutants，cannot reflect the_truepicture.” said Chai.It will not be enough to reduce air pollution in a single city because ________.
| A．air pollution has been becoming more and more serious in recent years |
| B．air pollution like acid rain and smog is threatening people’s health |
| C．air pollutants in a city can travel in the sky and affect nearby areas |
| D．air pollutants stay in fixed places over the cities |
Suppose the visibility in eastern regions of China was 130 km in the early 1960s，the visibility there nowadays is ________.
| A．123 to 115 km | B．137 to 145 km |
| C．123 to 145 km | D．115 to 137 km |
The main purpose of the passage is ________.
| A．to inform readers of the damage caused by air pollution |
| B．to introduce the new plan to control air pollution |
| C．to provide official figures of air pollution levels |
| D．to point out the regions affected by air pollution |
What does the underlined phrase “the true picture” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．The major pollutants. |
| B．The key polluted areas. |
| C．The major polluted cities. |
| D．The pollution levels. |
I can remember the day my father came home from the war. As he walked up the front path of our home, he saw Mum and me and he dropped the suitcase.
I was only five years old so Dad made a fuss of me, then began making an even bigger fuss of my mother. This left me free to examine all the stuff lying around the broken suitcase, and I was quick to notice a newspaper advertisement displaying a new piano. When Dad saw me holding up the newspaper cutting, he smiled.
“Yes, that’s right,” he said. “I bought your mum a piano for ten pounds down and two pounds a week.”
A few moments later, a horse pulled a cart with a piano on top. Soon we all stared at it in our small lounger room. Mum had never been close to a piano before, except at the kindergarten I attended, and she used to say how wonderful it would be if the teachers could teach her to play.
After tea that night, Mum began to teach herself to play. She plinked the keys for about two hours and drove everybody in the street mad, until Dad gently said, “Enough is enough.”
From that day on, she would plink between doing the cooking and housework. Three months went by and Mum was now a skilled pianist, holding parties with all the neighbors gathering around to sing.
Although we were poor, Mum felt like a princess and was delighted at all the attention she was receiving.
At the height of Mum’s happiness, I began to notice that Dad was looking increasingly worried. It turned out that since returning from the war, he’d been unable to find a job. Then, a few weeks later, I observed two men taking Mum’s piano away. Mum sobbed in the kitchen. Suddenly, it all became clear to me: no job, no money, no piano.
Dad finally got a job. Mum was happy again as if he’d just win the lottery(彩票). Dad had to study to qualify as an account. Every night after dinner he’d place a stack of books on the kitchen table and study late into the night. Mum didn’t say much but I could tell she was proud of Dad.
Two years later, Dad bought Mum another piano. This time he paid cash for it.How did the author’s Dad buy the piano for his mum?
| A．He paid part of the bill regularly. |
| B．He earned it by winning a bet. |
| C．He paid cash for it. |
| D．He bought it as a big bargain. |
By saying “Enough is enough”, the author’s dad meant_______.
| A．practice makes perfect |
| B．it was time to stop practicing |
| C．he couldn’t bear being troubled |
| D．his wife played the piano well enough |
What happened to the author’s mum’s first piano?
| A．It was lost. |
| B．It was broken by one neighbor. |
| C．It was sold by his dad. |
| D．It was taken away. |
What made the author’s mum proud of his dad?
| A．His dad’s willingness to help cook. |
| B．His dad’s winning the lottery luckily. |
| C．His dad’s loyalty to his motherland. |
| D．His dad’s determination to rebuild his life. |
It’s good to make mistakes, and here is why．
First of all, mistakes are a clear sign that you are trying new things． It’s always good to try new things because when you are trying new things you are growing． If you never try anything new, how can you improve? How can you expand? The simple answer is “You can’t”． Look around you． With very few exceptions, either everything you see in your physical world or every single detail of every single thing is the result of someone trying something new．
Another good thing about mistakes is this: When you are making mistakes, you are learning． Consider this: Edison failed 10,000 times before he perfected the light bulb． When asked how it felt to fail that many times, he said that he hadn’t failed 10,000 times, but rather had learned 10,000 things that didn’t work．
Finally, when you make a mistake you are much closer to success． Why?
Because when all is said and done, you will have tried some number of things before you succeeded． Every time you make a mistake you eliminate one of those things and are one step closer．
But this all doesn’t mean that you should go ahead without considering the consequences of a mistake． Quite the contrary, when you try something new you have to be willing to set some reasonable limits so that in the event that it doesn’t work out the way you want it to, you will be in a position to try again．
We all have limited resources in the form of time and money so don’t blow them all on one approach to a problem． Realize that it probably won’t be perfect the first time and allocate （分配） these resources appropriately so you can learn, make corrections, and try it again． Only by accepting and using your mistakes in this way can you make significant advances in your business and your career．
There is an old saying that goes, “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying hard enough．”
So go forth and make mistakes． And learn． And grow． And prosper（成功）．From the second paragraph, we can conclude that _______．
| A．mistakes are unnecessary for development |
| B．we are afraid of trying new things |
| C．it’s common for people to make mistakes |
| D．mistakes are better than not trying |
According to the article, one thing you should pay attention to about making mistakes is ．
| A．avoiding making the same mistakes |
| B．accepting the punishment willingly |
| C．taking consequences into account |
| D．trying things out one by one |
What would the writer probably suggest we say to ourselves when we make a mistake?
| A．Never mind, I can always try again． |
| B．I’d better stay out of trouble． |
| C．Ok! Now I can learn something． |
| D．Look at this mess． Anyone would be upset． |
Baby girls make their way directly for dolls as soon as they can crawl（爬）, while boys will head for the toy cars, a study has shown． The findings, the first to show differences in very young babies, suggest there is a biological basis to their preferences．
Psychologists Dr． Brenda Todd from City University London carried out an experiment involving 90 infants aged nine months to 36 months． The babies were allowed to choose from seven toys． Some were typically boys' toys: a car, a digger, a ball and a blue teddy． The rest were girls’ toys: a pink teddy, a doll and a cooking set． They were placed a meter away from the toys, and could pick whichever toy they liked． Their choice and the amount of time they spent playing with each toy were recorded．
Of the youngest children （nine to 14 months）, girls spent significantly longer playing with the doll than boys, and boys spent much more time with the car and ball than the girls did． Among the two-and three-year-olds, girls spent 50 percent of the time playing with the doll while only two boys briefly touched it． The boys spent almost 90 percent of their time playing with cars, which the girls barely touched． There was no link between the parents’ view on which toys were more suitable for boys or girls, and the children’s choice．
Dr． Brenda Todd said: “Children of this age are already exposed to much socialization． Boys may be given ‘toys that go’ while girls get toys they can care for, which may help shape their preference． But these findings agree with the former idea that children show natural interests in particular kinds of toys． There could be a biological basis for their choices． Males through evolution have been adapted to prefer moving objects, probably through hunting instincts（本能）, while girls prefer warmer colors such as pink, the color of a newborn baby．”Baby boys and girls have different toy preferences probably because ．
| A．baby boys are much more active |
| B．baby girls like bright colors more |
| C．there is a natural difference between them |
| D．their parents treat them differently |
What can we infer from Paragraph 3 ?
| A．Nine-month-old baby boys don’t play with dolls at all． |
| B．Two-year-old baby girls sometimes play with cars and balls． |
| C．Parents should teach their babies to share each other’s toys． |
| D．The older the babies are, the more obvious their preference is． |
Both baby boys and baby girls like to play with _________ according to the study．
| A．a teddy | B．a car | C．a doll | D．a ball |
We may read this article in a section of a newspaper．
| A．health | B．science | C．culture | D．entertainment |
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