Dear Liz,
My stay in Thailand has certainly been the experience of my life. Life is busy and exciting.
Bangkok is just like any other big city with a population (人口) of 10 million and heavy traffic.
I’m very lucky because my host family is in a nice quiet area outside the city. There are Mr and Mrs Phairat, their son Sanan, who is 18, the daughter Chinda, who is 16, and Grandpa and Grandma.
I go to an international school with Sanan and Chinda. The school teaches about 70 percent in English, and 30 percent in Thai. I’ve learned some spoken language, but Thai writing is very difficult. The cooking lesson is my favourite. I’m learning all about Thai food and culture. People don’t use chopsticks (筷子) here, but spoons and forks.
Last weekend we drove to Pattaya Beach near Bangkok. I thought it was great, but Sanan and Chinda said that next month they were taking me to Phuket Island, where the beaches are even more beautiful. The month after next, we’re going to travel to Mr Phairat’s hometown in the north of Thailand. The Phairats own land there, and they have two elephants. I’m going to ride those elephants and even wash them.
I’m amazed by everything in this country, especially by the elephants. Elephants are an important part of Thai culture and way of life. They have been a traditional symbol of Thailand for many years.
I’ll tell you all about my Thai boxing (拳击) lessons next time I write.
Love,
Mandy
1.Which of the following sentences about Mandy is true?
A. She is a teacher in a Thai school.
B. She is studying in a school in the north of Thailand.
C. She is a student from Thailand.
D. She is enjoying her stay in Thailand.
2. Why does Mandy say she is lucky?
A. Because the host family are nice to her.
B. Because her host family is a bit far from the city’s heavy traffic and noise.
C. Because she is able to study in the best school in Thailand.
D. Because she has a lot of free time for her hobbies.
3. What does the underlined word “symbol” probably mean in Chinese?
A. 象征 B. 礼仪 C. 祭祀 D. 收入
4. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Pattaya Beach is the most beautiful beach in Thailand.
B. Mandy has learnt to ride the elephant in Mr Phairat’s hometown.
C. To Mandy, everything in Thailand is so amazing.
D. In every Thai school, all the teachers give lessons in English.
Have you ever wanted to travel back in time? What about travelling into the future? There’s an easy way to do it. One way you can make a time travel journey is by writing a letter to your
future self to be opened in the future. To your future self, the letter will be a visit from the past.
What can be gained by writing a letter to yourself? Depends on how good your letter is.You have the chance to say something to your future self. What would you want to communicate? You’ll
be able to talk to yourself 5,10,15 years down the road. There may be instructions for your future self, or you may have goals that you will want to check up on.
There are a lot of things you could include in your letter or letters to yourself. The more you include, the better the letter will be to you. Be creative with what you put in your letter.
Include a picture of yourself or family to show the period from which the letter came.
You can store your letter in many different ways. You can give your letter to a friend or family member to keep and mail to you. If you can get others to take part, have them write letters to themselves as well and ask someone to be the letter holder until it’s time to send the letters. You can also use a service online to store your letter and e-mail it to you.
1. How can you travel into the future?
A. By traveling back in time.
B. By paying a visit to the future
C. By opening a letter from the past.
D. By writing a letter to your future self.
2.If you want to gain more in the future, you should_________.
A. have the chance to say something to your future self
B. talk to yourself 5, 10, 15 years down the road
C. write more about instructions for your future self
D. include as many things as possible in your letter
3.Why do you put a picture in your letter?
A. To check up on your goals.
B. To share your feelings with your family.
C. To show the time when the letter was written.
D. To find out your thoughts and feelings now.
Once my father asked me to hold his hammer（铁锤）while he repaired something, so we could have some time to talk to each other.
For 22 years, after I left home for college, he called me every Sunday at 9 am. He was always interested in my life and how my family was doing, and I never once heard him complain about his own life.
Nine years ago when I bought my first house, my father, 67 years old, spent eight hours a day painting it for three days. He would not allow me to pay someone to have it done. All he asked for was a glass of iced tea and for me to hold a paint brush for him and talk to him. But I was too busy.
Five years ago, at age 71, my father spent five hours putting together a swingset (秋千组) for my daughter. Again, all he asked was that I get him a glass of iced tea and talk to him. But again, I was too busy.
Four years ago, my father drove all the way from Denver to Topeka, with an eight-foot Colorado blue spruce (蓝叶云杉) in his trunk, so that my husband and I could have a part of Colorado growing on our land. I was preparing for a trip that weekend and couldn’t spend much time with him.
Then, one day, my father telephoned me as usual, this time from my sister’s home in Florida. We talked about the tree he had brought me, “Fat Albert”, but that morning he called it “Fat Oscar”, and he seemed to have forgotten some things. I had to get to church, so I cut the conversation short.
The call came at 4：40 pm that day： my father was in hospital in Florida with an aneurysm (动脉瘤). I got on a plane immediately, and on the way I thought of all the times I had not taken the time to talk to my father. I realized that I had no idea who he was or what his deepest thoughts were. I promised that when I arrived, I would make up for lost time.
I arrived in Florida at 1 am. My father had passed away at 9：12 pm. This time it was he who did not have time to talk to me.
1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The writer arrived in Florida before her father passed away.
B. The writer didn’t find enough time to talk to her father all these years.
C. The writer noticed nothing unusual about her father’s health before he was put in the hospital.
D. The writer’s father brought them the Colorado blue spruce because it is an expensive kind of tree.
2.How did the writer feel when she was rushing to the hospital where her father was staying?
A. Hopeless. B. Sorry.
C. Frightened. D. Disappointed(失望).
3.Which words best describe the writer’s father?
A. Honest and modest.
B. Strict and demanding (要求高的).
C. Talkative and positive (积极乐观的).
D. Caring and thoughtful.
4.What’s the best title of this passage?
A. What a good father! B. How busy I am.
C. Time keeps going. D. My father and our family.
FESTIVAL 24TH MAY—9TH JUNE 2014 Art
Shows of paintings, drawings and photographs are from all over the world, with over 400 works for you to see.
Early century advertisements will be on show at this year’s festival. You can buy copies of these advertisements at the Box Office.
Music
There will be different types of music in this year’s festival from dance music to modern jazz. Many famous musicians will visit the festival as well as at least two famous bands (乐队).
Lunchtime concerts (音乐会)—every day of the festival
All lunchtime concerts begin at 1：00 p.m. and last about 55 minutes, except on Monday, 26 of May, which is to be held in the Guildhall. All tickets are priced at £2.00.
How to get the tickets
Telephone reservations (预订)： 63362/6641 from 1st April. We will then send you the tickets by post.
You can buy tickets in person (亲自) from 1st May. The festival Box Office will be open as follows：
Monday to Saturday 9：30 a.m. —5：30 p.m.
Sunday(during the festival only)9：30 a.m. —1：00 p.m.
1.The festival will start _________.
A. on May 24 B. on May 9
C. in June D. on April 1
2. In the festival, you can _________.
A. sell copies of old advertisements
B. see more than 400 works of art
C. get some paintings at the Box Office
D. see the works of art for free
3.What is TRUE about the music show?
A. The lunchtime concerts last for more than an hour.
B. The festival includes many kinds of music.
C. Tickets for the concerts cost more than £3.00.
D. All concerts are to be held in the Guildhall.
4. It is not possible for you to buy a ticket in person at _________.
A. 5：30 p.m. on Sunday B. 10：30 a.m. on Monday
C. 3：00 p.m. on Saturday D. 1：00 p.m. on Friday
The Other Side of the Wall
There was a young woman who took great pride in her flower garden. She was raised by her grandmother who taught her to love and for flowers. So her flower garden was the best.
One day, while she was looking through a flower list she often from, a picture of a plant caught her eyes. She had never blooms(花) on a flower like that before. “I have to have it,” she said to herself, and she ordered it.
When it arrived, she already had a prepared to plant it. She planted it at the back of her yard. It grew well, with beautiful green leaves all over it, there were no blooms. Day after day she continued to water it, feed it, and she even talked to it trying to make it bloom. However, it was .
One morning weeks later, when standing before the vine(藤), she felt very that her plant had not bloomed. She was giving thought to it down and planting something else in its place.
It was at this point that her neighbor, whose joined hers, called over to her. “Thank you so much! You can’t imagine how much I have the blooms of that vine you planted.” The young woman walked the gate into her neighbor’s yard, and sure enough, she saw that on the other side of the wall the vine was with blooms.
There were indeed the most beautiful blooms she had seen. The vine had grown through the crevices(缝隙) and it had not flowered on side of the wall, but it had flowered on the other side.
Sometimes one may not see the good result of his effort, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t successful.
1.A. look B. care C. search D. pay
2.A. learned B. heard C. ordered D. borrowed
3.A. seen B. smelt C. sold D. picked
4.A. finally B. carefully C. suddenly D. immediately(立刻)
5.A. place B. box C. cup D. room
6.A. and B. so C. or D. but
7.A. endless B. useless C. successful D. hopeful
8.A. excited B. nervous C. sad D. frightened
9.A. putting B. cutting C. turning D. taking
10.A. balcony B. kitchen C. bedroom D. yard
11.A. enjoyed B. dreamed C. expected D. hated
12.A. through B. across C. above D. below
13.A. satisfied B. connected C. filled D. pleased
14.A. never B. ever C. seldom D. usually
15.A. its B. his C. her D. their
--I am going on a trip to Hong Kong next week.
--Really? _________. Be sure to send me some photos on Wechat.
A. Wish you a happy holiday B. You are welcome
C. That’s all right D. How happy you are
