National parks are large areas of public land. They give a safe home for local plants and animals. They help keep the air and water clean. They also give us the best trips. Today, there are nearly 7,000 national parks around the world. Forbes has listed 12 of the most beautiful ones in the world that will surprise you with their amazing landscape, geographic wonders and colourful plants and animals.
The Grand Canyon (大峡谷)National Park of the US is one of the Seven National Wonders of the World. It is best known for its size and depth. It is 446 kilometers long, up to 29 kilometers wide, and 1.6 kilometers deep. The immensity of the canyon makes people think big. Every year, about 5 million people visit here. Taking a tour in the South Rim offers visitors the park’s full views, while the North Rim shows beautiful wild flowers.
If you love animals, you’ll like the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. The “ Big Five” live here. They are the lion, African elephant, African leopard, black rhinoceros and African buffalo. The name “ Big Five” came from the five animals that were the hardest to catch. Now they are what people most want to see in the wild. If you visit the park, you should never miss the migration(迁徙) of over 1.5 million wildebeests(角马)and 250,000 zebras every year. This is the most famous site of the park.
1.Which is NOT right about national parks according to Paragraph 1?
A. A national park is public land that covers a large area.
B. Wild plants and animals are protected in national parks.
C. Forbes has listed twelve of the world’s largest national parks.
D. National parks are attractive because of their natural beauty.
2.The underlined word “ immensity” refers to __________.
A. great size B. natural wonder C. colourful view D. unusual beauty
3._________kinds of animals are mentioned in the passage.
A. Five B. Six C. Seven D. Eight
4.If the writer continues writing the article, he would most likely write about ___________.
A. ways to keep the air and water clean B. more national parks in the world
C. his wonderful trip to the Grand Canyon D. famous historic wonders in Africa
A short Chinese man seems to be tallest in the world right now. Jack Ma (Ma Yun) is executive chairman(董事局主席)of Alibaba Group, a business –to-business online platform. On September 19, 2014,Alibaba went public on the New York Stock Exchange (纽约证券交易所), raising $25 billion through an IPO, the biggest in US history. Ma, a former English teacher, has become the richest man on the Chinese mainland.
Born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang , Ma grew up as a happy kid. At the age of 12, he wanted to learn English. Every morning, he awoke at 5 am, cycled 40 minutes to a hotel near the West Lake where he could chat to foreign tourists. He did it for nine years, rain or shine.
The experience made him a fluent English speaker and also opened his eyes to the wider world. In a 1995 trip to the US, Ma was shown the Internet for the first time. He searched Yahoo using the word “Beer” ,and found that there was nothing in there about China. Seeing the chance, Ma returned to China and set up a website called China Pages without even knowing much about computers.
Four years later, 18 people including Ma, his wife and his friends founded Alibaba in Hangzhou. He believed in the Internet business potential(潜力)when few other Chinese did. People called him “ Crazy Jack Ma”. But 15 years later, Alibaba has developed into the world’s largest e-commerce(电子商务)company, owning popular shopping websites like Taobao and Tmall. It makes more profit online than Amazon and E-Bay combined.
No one thinks he’s mad now. Ma’s favourite line has been printed on Alibaba’s souvenir T-shirts. It reads: “Everybody should have a dream. What if that dream comes true?”
1.Why did Ma cycle to a hotel near the West Lake?
A. To work as a guide. B. To chat with foreigners.
C. To work part time. D. To do morning exercises.
2.When did Ma and his team found(建立) Alibaba?
A. In 1995. B. In 1998. C. In 1999. D. In 2014
3.Which is the right order?
a.Ma became the richest man on the Chinese mainland.
b.Ma became executive chairman of Alibaba Group.
c.Ma worked as an English teacher in Hangzhou.
d.Ma set up a website called China Pages.
A. c-b-d-a B. b-c-a-d C. d-c-b-a D. c-d-b-a
4.The title of the passage can be “_____________”.
A. Alibaba’s First IPO B. The World’s Largest E-commerce Company
C. Crazy Jack Ma D. The Internet Business Potential
If you are planning on travelling , there are a few simple rules about how to make life easier both before and after your journey.
First of all, always check and double-check departure(启程)time. It is amazing how few people really do this carefully. Once I arrived at the airport a few minutes after ten, My secretary had got the ticket for me and I thought she had said that the plane left at 10:50. When I arrived at the airport , the clerk at the departure desk told me that my flight was closed. Therefore, I had to wait three hours for the next one and missed an important meeting.
The second rule is to remember that even in this age of credit cards(信用卡), it is still important to have at least a little of the local currency(货币)with you when you arrive in a country. This can be necessary if you are flying to a place at midnight and the bank at the airport was closed. The only way to get to my hotel was by taxi and because I had no dollars, I offered to pay in pounds instead. “ Listen! I only take real money!” the driver said angrily. Luckily I was able to borrow a few dollars from a clerk at the hotel, but it was embarrassing.
The third and last rule is to find out as much as you can about the weather at your destination (目的地)before you leave. I feel sorry for some of my workmates who travel in heavy suit and raincoats in May, when it is still fairly cool in London or Manchester, to places like Athens, Rome or Madrid, where it is already beginning to get quite warm during the day.
1.Where is the writer most probably from?
A. Italy. B. The USA. C. The UK. D. Greece.
2.According to the passage , the driver was angry because the writer _______________.
A. did not give him the local money B. gave him false money
C. offered to pay by credit card D. had no enough change
3.The writer mainly tells us ___________________.
A. how to plan our trip B. how to enjoy ourselves on trip
C. how to make life easier D. how to be well prepared for a trip
A 15-year-old student who invented a flashlight(手电筒) getting power from the holder's body heat is going home today from California with a big prize and a chance to do further research.
Ann Makosinski was the only Canadian among the four winners at Google's international science competition. Thousands of young scientists from around the world took part in the competition.
Winning the science and technology competition was "a surprise". Ann said, "I think it will have a great influence on my future."
Ann thanked her family for encouraging her interest in science and said that her first toy was a box of transistors(晶体管).
Ann's prize includes $ 25,000 and a "once in a-lifetime expericnce" from Google for her Hollow Flashlight, which has no moving parts or batteries.
The idea for the invention came from seeing unwanted batteries and her friend's experience. When Ann visited a friend in the Philippines, she saw the friend couldn't study when it became dark because there was no electricity or light. She saw the need for a flashlight that has no batteries - Hollow Flashlight.
In her project, Ann wrote "I made two flashlights that do not use any batteries or harmful materials. They do not create any noise and will always work. The flashlight needs at least a 5℃ temperature difference between the holder's body and the environment around to produce light."
A video of Ann explaining how she creatcd the flashlight has been watched more than 1.4 million times on the Internet.
Though Ann was successful, she has not made a decision about her career path. Ann hopes that she can find a way to join her love of film and science together.
The four winners were chosen from 15 final competitors from eight countries. The competition attracted thousands of students in 120 countries.
1.In which part of a newspaper can we probably read this passage?
A. Travel. B. Culture. C. Technology. D. Advertisement.
2.The first paragraph is written to be a(n) ________.
A. introduction B. warning C. argument D. discussion
3.Paragraph 6 mainly tells us ________.
A. what Ann saw in the Philippines B. why Ann invented Hollow Flashlight
C. how Ann's family encouraged her interest D. what prize Ann got for Hollow Flashlight
4.According to the passage, we learn ________.
A. easy to win the international science competition
B. Hollow Flashlight is safe, noiseless and can save energy
C. Ann has made a decision to be a scientist in the future
D. few people are interested in how Ann created the flashlight
Yesterday my husband and I walked into a “ What a Burger” for lunch. As we were sitting waiting for our ________to come, I noticed an older man in a wheelchair roll himself over to a table.
He was all by himself and he _______there for a few minutes, looking around , smiling all the time. No one seemed to notice him ______me. I got up and went over to his _______ and asked if I could get him something to _______.
He smiled and said , “ Oh yes! And thank you kindly. I’d like some beer please.”
When I brought him his beer , I told him my______and ask him to _______if he needed anything else.
We were in the “What a Burger” for a good hour. The man just _____ smiling at everyone and looking around the restaurant as he ______ate his hamburger and fries.
As we were getting ready to ______, I wanted to refill our glasses and , as I walked by the man’s table, I asked if he would like a refill ________we left.
Again , with a big ______, he said,” Yes, please!”
When I brought it back to him, he told me that he just loved beer and the hamburgers here. I told him I did too. He told me I had made him ________by coming over, talking to him, and _____ him out. I gave him a hug and told him he had made my day too! As I was turning to leave ,he told me to have a blessed day. I smiled and said I would and wished him to have _______,too.
I hope he made his way back home safely.
1.A. ticket B. change C. order D. picture
2.A. sat B. stood C. lay D. rested
3.A. like B. but C. as D. with
4.A. car B. room C. table D. grade
5.A. watch B. follow C. drink D. read
6.A. plan B. house C. place D. name
7.A. wave B. stop C. stay D. shout
8.A. forgot B. kept C. finished D. remembered
9.A. carefully B. seriously C. quietly D. finally
10.A. leave B. answer C. refuse D. return
11.A. after B. until C. before D. while
12.A. smile B. thought C. voice D. style
13.A. nervous B. happy C. peaceful D. sad
14.A. taking B. sending C. helping D. bringing
15.A. that B. it C. this D. one
—Do you mind my opening the window?
—Don’t you see the willow catkins (柳絮)swimming about in the air?
A. Yes,please B. Of course not C. You’d better not D. It doesn’t matter
