Grasse has always been associated with smell. In the Middle Ages it smelt particularly unpleasant due to its leather tanning (制革) industry. The nobles only rarely visited the pretty and charming town to pick up their handmade leather gloves. In spite of their grand lands in the surrounding countryside? Grasse was certainly a necessary evil with no self-respecting nobles owning buildings there.
Molinard, a Grasse tanner (制革工人) himself, created the first Grasse perfume. Word spread like wildfire amongst the nobles about the designer perfumed gloves. Molinard offered a pair of his gloves to Catherine de Medici (the Queen), who gave plenty of praise to her Grasse perfumed gloves; she almost assured (确保) Grasse’s reputation as the perfume capital of the world. Thanks to Catherine de Medici, Grasse merchants were encouraged to grow the perfume plants that tanners needed to supply perfumed leather to the nobles.
Grasse has four perfume factories as well as a perfume school and a perfume museum. Fragonard’s perfume museum is situated on the first floor of its perfume factory and displays an amazing private collection of perfume bottles, presentation boxes, documents and equipment that tells the history of perfume making from its earliest beginnings to the present day. The perfume museum is open every day, Sundays and public holidays included.
Grasse is certainly a perfumed heaven, a far cry from its smelly beginning as a leather tanning town. Now famous for a far sweeter smell, Grasse is surrounded by fields of flowers that make real estate (不动产) in Grasse very popular.
Those looking for real estate in France would have to go a long way to find anywhere more charming than Grasse with the city of Nice and its airport just a short drive away and plenty of activities to enjoy in the surrounding countryside. Real estate in Grasse is situated between the Southern Alps and the Cote d’Azur, allowing owners the best of both worlds.
1.Why was Grasse considered to be necessary although it was an evil?
A. Because it produced leather gloves.
B. Because it made the nobles look respectable.
C. Because many nobles lived in its countryside.
D. Because it was a beautiful and attractive town.
2.What can we learn about Fragonard’s perfume museum?
A. It has several perfume factories.
B. It can be visited all the year round.
C. It is famous for its perfume school.
D. It shows visitors the history of Grasse.
3.What do the underlined words “a far cry” in the 4th paragraph probably mean?
A. a good long cry
B. totally absent
C. very different
D. far distant
4.What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
A. Grasse is still less competitive in real estate.
B. Grasse is now a perfect place for people to live.
C. Grasse is becoming an important tourist attraction.
D. Living in Grasse might cause you much inconvenience.
Squatting down on my disorganized closet floor, I looked eagerly through my albums for the picture of my grandma’s Christmas lights. I searched so long and so eagerly that I lost all feeling in the legs. Ignoring the pain, I went on with my search, because finding the picture was worth it.
My beloved grandma on my dad’s side, who passed away almost four years ago, would decorate the Christmas trees like it was her job. Each year she would decorate an ornate, 12-foot-tall, shining tree in her living room, and most years she would have an additional pink tree, palm tree, colored- light tree, white-light tree, bedroom tree, etc. The ideas varied year after year, but the theme was always the same: Let There Be Light.
For the outside of the house, my grandma hired people to come and string thousands of lights through the trees in her yard. It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t cheap, but it was a labor of love. People in the small town came and parked their kid-packed cars on the street, gazing at the thousands upon thousands of shining lights year after year. They brought us magic, which was grandma’s legacy. That is the family act I am supposed to follow for the rest of my life. It’s what I’m dying to recreate and pass on to my own kids. I feel so much pressure because no one is capable of doing it—and of doing it correctly—but me.
So, it’s me and only me, each year unfastening countless strings of lights, winding them round a 10-foot, prickly tree, and sending the lights to the highest branches. Though I’m only ever just scratching the surface of grandma’s magic, I uncover a little more each year. I still haven’t found that picture of my grandma’s Christmas lights, but I know it exists, and I will find it, even if it means losing all feeling in my legs.
1.Why did the author suffer from pain?
A. Because she was missing her beloved grandma.
B. Because she had trouble finding grandma’s lights.
C. Because she kept an uncomfortable gesture for long.
D. Because she broke her legs while searching for something.
2.What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?
A. Grandma’s Christmas trees. B. The atmosphere of Christmas.
C. The beauty of Christmas trees. D. Christmas memories in childhood.
3.Which of the following best describes grandma’s yard on Christmas?
A. Colourful and messy. B. Interesting and dizzy.
C. Noisy and crowded. D. Shiny and attractive.
4.What’s the authors attitude towards her grandma’s way to spend Christmas?
A. It is the best way people like. B. It is her duty to pass it on.
C. It needs to be improved. D. It is too costly to do it.
Even though you can watch a movie on your TV, laptop or iPad these days, great theatres still make going to the movies worth buying a ticket-and sometimes even worth a trip.
.1. AMC Loews Uptown, Washington, D.C.
Local movie critics will tell you “The Uptown” is the best place to see a movie in the Washington, D.C. area. Opened in 1936, it’s not a movie theatre, but a movie palace featuring a single screen—a curved (弧形的), 70-foot long and 40-foot high screen, one of the largest in the area.
.2. ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood, Los Angeles
This Hollywood theatre isn’t just a place to see stars on screen you might catch a few sitting next to you in the audience. The theatre offers 14 screens with reserved stadium seating (the seats are wider than average), and the famous Cinerama Dome (全景电影).
.3. Tampa Theatre, Tampa, Florida
A classic movie palace designed by famed theatre architect John Eberson, the Tampa landmark was built in 1926. The theatre now shows both new and classic films. Come early to hear the Mighty Wurlitzer theatre organ played before most films.
.4. Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Los Angeles
It’s not just a movie theatre. It’s a Hollywood experience. Opened in 1927, the theatre was known in its early days for lavish (奢华的) Hollywood premieres (首映) and hosting three Academy Award ceremonies. Check out the nearby Hollywood Walk of Fame before watching a movie on the big screen, and when your movie is over, stop by the next-door Kodak Theatre, where the Oscars were once held.
1.What do ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre have in common?
A. They both hosted the Oscars.
B. They were built in the same year.
C. They offer presents to customers.
D. They are situated in the same city.
2.What can we learn about Tampa Theatre?
A. It was opened in 1936.
B. It has a single curved screen.
C. It has an outdoor courtyard.
D. It offers Mighty Wurlitzer play.
3.What s the text mainly about?
A. Famous buildings in the USA.
B. Four largest theatres in the world.
C. Four theatres worth visiting in America.
D. Modern theatres with advanced facilities.
假定你是李华，外教David想在你市租房，碰巧你家附近小区有房子出租。请你用英语给他写一封e-mail，向他介绍租房价格、房屋位置、租期等相关事宜。
注意：
1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear David,
I heard that you are seeking a house to live in.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Dear friends,
Welcome to China. I’m very pleasing to tell you some arrangement during your stay in Beijing. Our headmaster was to meet you on Monday morning and he will say anything about our school. We will be shown around the lab building and the library in the afternoon. On Tuesday morning, the students from both countries are to visit at the Forbidden City, about that Mr Zhang will tell some interesting stories. In the evening, we are going to have party in Room 402. Many students will give nice perform at the party. At 9:45 on Wednesday morning, you’ll leave to Xi’an by train.
I hope you’ll have a good time here. Thank you.
A few days ago I attended a gathering,1. a girl shared that she had recently “lost” her wallet (it was most likely stolen). I remembered that 2. (feel) because I had lost my wallet many times throughout my younger years. And twice it 3. (return) to me.
I decided to label one of my small 4. (purse), which I actually had with me that day, with her name, along with some cash inside and an 5. (encourage) note The trick was to try to get it to her 6. (secret), because I don t know her and may not see her again. I quickly went to another area 7. (write) the note. And then I wrote her name on a piece of paper and left it by the main door with the purse where she would see it 8. her way out. I was really nervous and wondered 9. she would actually find it. I kept checking to see if she picked it up.
By the end of the evening, another guest 10. (mention) that she had the biggest smile on her face after finding it. The best part was that she had no idea who it was and just felt grateful to everyone in that room.
