Edinburgh is the world’s festival city with twelve festivals throughout the year. Here are some of the events you can enjoy.
The Edinburgh International Festival
This is the original Edinburgh festival which began in 1947. Actors, musicians, dancers and opera singers from all over the world perform to huge audiences. You need tickets for most events which take place in theaters around the city.
The Edinburgh Art Festival
This festival is modern and has been celebrated for around ten years. It is a fantastic opportunity to see some of the city’s best visual art in art galleries and museums. Most events are free and include events such as fashion shows and art exhibitions.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe
This is the largest arts festival in the world with thousands of shows which take place across the city. Anyone can perform in the festival and over 20,000 artists take part, so there is always a huge variety of acts to choose from. Go to the Royal Mile to watch performers such as magicians and comedians for free. However, it can get very busy as thousands of tourists and local people fill the city streets to enjoy the shows.
The Edinburgh International Book Festival
The largest book festival in the world began in 1983 and takes place every year in Charlotte Square Gardens in the centre of Edinburgh. There are over 700 events for children and adults who love books. You can meet many authors, talk to them, ask them to sign a book or listen to them talk about their stories.
1.Which Festival has the longest history?
A.The Edinburgh Art Festival.
B.The Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
C.The Edinburgh International Festival.
D.The Edinburgh International Book Festival.
2.What can tourists do in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe?
A.Ask authors to sign books.
B.Perform with artists together.
C.Go to theaters to watch plays.
D.See the best visual art in galleries.
3.Where does the passage come from?
A.A story book. B.A science fiction.
C.A news report. D.A travel magazine.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
It was a cold day and I had no desire to drive to my daughter Carolyn’s house. But she had insisted I see something on top of the mountain. So here I was, unwillingly making the two-hour journey through fog.
After I parked the car, we walked along a path with thick pine needles and huge evergreens towering over us. Gradually, the peace and silence began to fill my mind. Then we turned a corner and stopped—and I breathed in amazement!
From the top of the mountain, covering several valleys, were rivers of daffodils(水仙花) in bloom. All kinds of colors spread like a carpet before us. It looked as if the sun had spilled gold down the mountainside. At the center hung a waterfall of roses. Here and there were colorful tulips(郁金香). How fantastic the wonder was!
A lot of questions filled my mind. Who created such beauty? Why? How?
Nearing the center of the garden, we saw a sign that read: ''Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking.'' The first answer was: ''One Woman—Two Hands, Two Feet, and Very Little Brain.'' The second was: ''One at a Time.'' The third: ''Started in 1958. ''
As we drove home, I was so moved that I could scarcely speak. ''She changed the world,'' I finally said, ''one bulb at a time. She started almost 40 years ago, probably just the beginning of an idea, but she kept at it.''
1.The author didn't want to make the trip because __________
A.she didn't want to see her daughter.
B.the road condition was not so good.
C.the weather was bad and the trip was long.
D.the forest was so thick as to make one depressed.
2.What was the author amazed at after turning a corner?
A.The silent forest.
B.The grand scenery.
C.The tough journey.
D.The colorful tulips.
3.What can we infer from paragraph 5?
A.The woman created the wonder by herself.
B.The garden was created with others' help.
C.Five people helped make the garden.
D.The garden was soon built.
4.What does the author intend to tell us from the story?
A.Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.
B.An eye finds more truth than two ears.
C.Chance often favors the prepared mind.
D.He who walks with wise men should be wise.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Plastic waste is a huge problem in Indonesia, and this has led the country's second-largest city to come up with a novel approach to encourage residents to recycle—free bus rides in exchange for used plastic bottles and cups. The city of Surabaya launched the initiative back in April—the first Indonesian city to put it into practice, and citizens can ride city buses by either dropping off the plastic bottles and cups at terminals(终点站) or using the plastic items to pay their fare directly.
Under the new recycling initiative, a two-hour bus ticket costs up to five plastic bottles or 10 plastic cups, depending on the size. The city hopes this scheme will help it meet its target of becoming free of plastic waste by 2020.
''Garbage, like plastic bottles, piles up in my neighborhood, so I brought it here, so the environment is not only cleaner but also to help ease the workload of garbage collectors,'' said Linda, a resident of Surabaya.
According to Reuters, data show that 15 percent (nearly 400 tons) of the city's daily waste is plastic. The data also show that one bus can collect up to 550 pounds of plastic each day, totaling about 7.5 tons each month. After collecting the plastic waste, workers remove labels and bottle caps before the plastic is sold to recycling companies. This money then goes toward bus operations and to fund urban green spaces.
1.What does the underlined word ''initiative'' probably mean?
A.A new price of riding buses.
B.Dropping off the plastic bottles.
C.Selling plastic items to get fares.
D.The first action to recycle plastic.
2.What's Surabaya’s new way to deal with plastic waste?
A.Plastic items are only sold to companies.
B.Citizens are encouraged to sort plastic bottles.
C.Natives can take city buses instead of driving.
D.People can trade plastic waste for free bus rides.
3.What's Linda's attitude towards the program?
A.Doubtful. B.Supportive. C.Negative. D.Uncaring.
4.What's the purpose of Surabaya's taking the measure?
A.To develop the city's economy.
B.To call on green travel in the city.
C.To raise the environmental awareness.
D.To solve the worldwide social problem.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
You might be surprised that dollar stores typically have a variety of products that can be found at a better price than regular stores—though, there are some things you should never buy at the dollar store.
A dollar store is a variety store, meaning they sell a wide range of products. Party supplies, cleaning supplies, and paper products are some of the great, cheap finds you can find at dollar stores. But, not every product is always priced at just one dollar. In fact, dollar stores often have a wide range of products at prices between $1 and $10.
“Dollar stores are able to profit, in part because operating costs are kept low by employing only a handful of people, and by limiting the amount of cold chain storage in their stores (which is necessary for fresh foods like produce),” says Minovi, a policy associate, focusing on healthy retail policies.
Dollar stores can provide a lot of items at a cheaper price, but that doesn’t mean the item will last longer or function at the best quality. With that in mind, these are the things you should have been buying from the dollar store this whole time.
“Dollar stores in the United States typically seek to open locations in economically disadvantaged communities that lack a full-service grocery store,” adds Minovi. “Unfortunately, the food on offer is largely calorie-dense (高热量) and nutrient-poor, so this model depends on selling nutritionally poor food to mostly low-income customers.”
1.What’s the obvious advantage of dollar stores?
A.Varieties of goods are sold cheaply.
B.Customers can get cheap but perfect goods.
C.Goods never bought at regular stores are offered.
D.All the products in the store are sold at one dollar.
2.What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?
A.What goods a dollar store sells. B.How a dollar store makes money.
C.Why a dollar store employs people. D.How a dollar store keeps cold foods.
3.Which of the following does Minovi agree with?
A.Dollar stores make money by cutting down employees.
B.Much cold frozen food can be bought in dollar stores.
C.Food from the dollar stores is nutritional and healthy.
D.Dollar stores are popular with low-income customers.
4.What is probably the best title for the text?
A.Locations of Dollar Stores B.The Service of Dollar Stores
C.The Operation of Dollar Stores D.Disadvantages of Dollar Stores
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
These days, being a teenager isn't easy. Teens' schedules often include doing too many after-school activities, sports practice, and homework. 1.
About a quarter of all U.S. high school students participate in the workforce. 2. Research has shown that working over the standard limit negatively affects teens in a variety of ways.
Researchers published a recent report finding that working more than 20 hours a week during the school year leads to academic problems. The more hours a student works, the more likely their grades are to be lower. 3. They are more likely to complete high school. However, students who work more than 15 hours each week are more likely to drop out.
4. It has been considered as a major cause in at least 100,000 police-reported traffic crashes each year, killing more than 1,500 Americans and injuring another 71,000. Young drivers aged 25 or under are involved in more than one-half of fall-asleep crashes.
Work helps teens gain valuable experience, teaches them much needed skills, and provides necessary spending money. 5. The student workweek should be limited to 20 hours or less and should not go past 10 p.m. on a school night. Safe and healthy youth work experiences don’t just happen—teens, parents, and employers must work together to make them happen.
A.However, basic rules should be followed.
B.They work part-time for extra spending money.
C.Some students work between 1 and 15 hours a week.
D.Working over 20 hours leads to higher dropout rates.
E.It leaves many teens feeling overworked and stressed.
F.Most states make 20 hours a week the standard limit.
G.Working over the standard limit also causes sleepiness.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
It was coming up on Mother’s Day. John ______ tried to make it back home, but this year he was just too ______ with his business. When he ______ by a flower shop, he said, “I’ll send Mom some roses.” He went into the shop and saw a boy ______ to the clerk. “How many roses can I get for six dollars?” The clerk was trying to explain that roses were ______.
“I have to have roses,” he said. “My mom was sick so much last year and I didn’t ______ much time with her. I want to get something ______. It has to be red roses, because that’s her ______.”
John was ______ by the boy’s voice. He ______ mouthed to the clerk that he would pay for the boy’s roses. The clerk said, “Okay, a dozen roses for six dollars!” The boy took the flowers excitedly and ______. It was worth the extra 35 dollars just to see that kind of ______. John ordered his flowers and had the clerk leave a ______ telling his mother he loved her. He left the shop, and later saw the boy enter a cemetery. He pulled over and began to ______ the boy. The boy ______ by a small monument (墓碑) and went to his knees. He ______ laid the roses on the grave (坟墓). John stared at the little boy’s trembling body and ______ his crying, “Mommy, why didn’t I tell you how much I love you? ” John ______, tears in his eyes, and walked to his car. He drove back to the ______ and told the clerk he would take the flowers ______. He wanted to tell his mother one more time just how much he loved her.
1.A.usually B.never C.seldom D.sometimes
2.A.happy B.tired C.pleased D.busy
3.A.hurried B.drove C.walked D.stood
4.A.discussing B.shouting C.talking D.pointing
5.A.boring B.beautiful C.important D.expensive
6.A.save B.waste C.spend D.give
7.A.cheap B.special C.new D.interesting
8.A.favorite B.dream C.life D.belief
9.A.worried B.touched C.surprised D.frightened
10.A.silently B.loudly C.excitedly D.repeatedly
11.A.sat down B.turned back C.ran out D.gave up
12.A.disappointment B.embarrassment C.excitement D.amazement
13.A.rule B.word C.story D.note
14.A.follow B.miss C.remember D.find
15.A.passed B.stopped C.jumped D.rushed
16.A.impatiently B.gladly C.kindly D.carefully
17.A.listened to B.waited for C.worried about D.saw to
18.A.smiled B.turned C.cried D.continued
19.A.street B.shop C.home D.car
20.A.slowly B.differently C.personally D.aimlessly
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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。作文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅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：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改的词。
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。
Do you hate exams? If you do, you are not alone. Students in other country hate them as well. Lucky for them, British students have few exams than Chinese students, and they only have them once a year. Every summer they take a test in each subject and each test last about an hour. It is amazed, isn’t it? When the results are come out, they are placed in a end-of-year report. The report is sent the child’s parents. It describes what the student performed and behaved throughout the year. The report is private, so only the teacher, the student and parents can see them.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假定你是李华。美国交流生Tom即将离开你校回国，离别之际，你送了一个小礼物给他，并附一张卡片。请在卡片上写以下内容：
1. 礼物是什么？（比如国画、茶、剪纸等）；
2. 礼物的意义（至少两点）；
3. 祝福。
注意：（1）词数100左右；
（2）可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
（3）开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：国画 Chinese painting 剪纸 paper cutting
Dear Tom,
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
难度: 中等查看答案及解析