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Four Popular Places to Go This Winter
Harbin, China
China Harbin's winter is for the brave ones﹣the average temperature is 1.8°F﹣but those who brave the cold will be rewarded by experiencing one of the world's largest winter festivals. This year marks the 32nd Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival (January﹣March), when massive frozen structures rise and are lit up, transforming the city into a winter wonderland.
Lyon, France
Paris may be called the City of Light, but every December, light takes center stage in Lyon, France's second﹣largest city. That's when the annual Festival of Lights (December 5﹣8)takes over, with more than 70 light installations that transform the city's streetscapes into modern works of art. The city is also home to two Christmas markets (one in La Croix﹣Rousse； the other at Place Carton； through December 25).
Lima, Peru
Peru's capital Lima is home to the world's highest number of cooking schools per person. Aside from its delicate dining, the city also has great cocktail bars where you can taste classic or contemporary takes on the Pisco Sour. Combine that with the oceanfront setting and temperatures in the 80s, and you'll understand why Lima should no longer be ignored this winter.
Vermont, US
Winter in Vermont means skiing and snowboarding. This year, many resorts have greatly upgraded their snowmaking abilities as part of a $15 million statewide program that replaced many outdated snow guns with new, low﹣energy models. These new machines will also improve the quality of snow surfaces and lengthen the season, meaning this will be one of the best winters for skiing and riding in Vermont in recent memory.
1.What similarities do the first two places have？
A.They are decorated with lights.
B.They offer snow sculptures.
C.They have three﹣day festivals.
D.They are extremely cold.
2.Which provides a good chance to buy a Christmas gift？
A.Harbin.
B.Lyon.
C.Lima.
D.Vermont.
3.What's new to the resorts in Vermont？
A.Skiing and snowboarding.
B.Updated equipment.
C.Cooking schools.
D.A longer winter.
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When I arrived in London I couldn't speak a word of English. Not even "hello". Nothing. I was 18, I'd been working for my dad's restaurant in Milan and I wanted a new experience. My friend from home lived in London and he used to tell me how incredible it was. I was really bored and so I took my luggage and left.
I was so lost when I arrived at Stansted. To me, English sounded like Chinese. I only arrived with a few hundred pounds. I lived with my friend in east London for a while. I couldn't find a job for a month. Finally I found a waiter role in a restaurant. At the time, I had nothing else going on in my life. I used to get up, go to work, and sleep. It was so boring. Then one day on my lunch break, I saw a Gymbox. When I took a look in, there was an amazing Muay Thai. I used to do boxing when I was 15 but I wasn't that serious about it. There and then I joined the gym and signed up to the Thai boxing team.
I fell in love with it. I never missed a session. I started training a lot and the head coach said to me one day, "Do you want to fight？" I knew that's what I wanted to do. He put me in competitions and I won my first nine amateur games. After watching me progress, they offered to help me fight professionally. However, at one point I had a motorcycle crash and was out for 18 months. This year I've fought in Milan and London. I'd say I'm about 12 fights away from becoming a winner.
Sometimes I can't believe how far I've come from that day I arrived in England. I think everything that's happened has been because I'm committed. But anyone could do it. If you put in 100%, you'll get there. I'm just happy because I did a positive thing with my life. It feels good.
1.What had the writer done before he came to London？
A.He had worked in a restaurant.
B.He had been a professional coach.
C.He had worked in a company.
D.He had done nothing but travel around.
2.Which of the following can describe the writer's Chinese？
A.He was good at it.
B.He liked it very much.
C.He knew nothing about it.
D.He just knew a little about it.
3.What was the writer's life like at first in London？
A.Exciting.
B.Scaring.
C.Satisfying.
D.Boring.
4.Why did the writer stop fighting for 18 months？
A.He made a mistake.
B.He was injured in an accident.
C.He had to put more time to work.
D.There were no fights in the 18 months.
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Dog eyesight declines with age. Injuries and ailments can cloud their vision. Zero was a highly trained, driven alert dog. So, at competitions, when he started running into obstacles and falling off the ends of teeter-totters(跷跷板), his owner, San Francisco-area dog trainer Dianne Morey, was concerned.
As time passed, she noticed a pattern. The problems only occurred at competitions held in horse arenas, where yellow obstacles blended into the color of the sand covering the floor. Concerned about his eyesight, Morey took Zero to a vet, who diagnosed him with a genetic condition. Morey found the diagnosis “heartbreaking”. After one last competition—which he won—Zero retired. In the time since, he’s led a life full of activities like dock diving and hiking, where poor vision is less dangerous. While there’s no cure for his disease, protective eyewear has helped keep him safe while being active.
On average, dogs develop nearsightedness or farsightedness less often than humans, says Alexandra vander Woerdt at Animal Medical Center in New York City. However, their eyesight also declines with age. Injuries and some diseases such as glaucoma(青光眼) can cloud their vision. Thinking back, Morey realizes some behaviors—for instance, the way Zero poked his nose before entering a gate—were signs his vision was impaired.
Identifying vision issues in dogs isn’t as easy as with humans. Dogs don’t bark wrong letters on the eye chart, and they’re very good at adapting. Treatments for eye problems may include eyedrops, medications or surgery. Eyewear can also play a role in treating or preventing many issues. Many dogs don’t like eyewear at first. Zero was an exception, thanks to his training in agility and tricks, Morey says.
1.What made Dianne Morey concerned？
A.Her trained dog Zero fell off in competitions.
B.She was badly hurt by a dog in a competition.
C.She found her eyesight was declining with age.
D.Her trained dog Zero wasn’t as clever as before.
2.What can we know from the second paragraph？
A.Zero is retiring soon.
B.Zero’s disease can’t be cured.
C.Zero got the disease from his birth.
D.Zero has recovered from his poor eyesight.
3.Which of the following can replace the word “blended” in the second paragraph？
A.added.
B.missed.
C.needed.
D.mixed.
4.What makes it difficult to identify dogs’ vision problems？
A.They are too fierce to control.
B.They don’t like to wear eyewear.
C.They adapt to the poor sight easily.
D.They bark wrong letters on the eye chart.
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The third﹣generation hybrid rice which was developed by Yuan Longping, the "father of hybrid rice",and his team underwent its first public yield（产量）monitoring from Monday to Tuesday and achieved high output. The final yield of the tested variety, G3﹣1S/P19, came to 1046.3 kg per mu （about 667 square meters）, based on two plots of land in Qingzhu Village under the city of Hengyang in central China's Hunan Province.
"Some previous high﹣yielding hybrid rice varieties in China took 160 to even 180 days from sowing to harvesting, while the figure was shortened to around 125 days for the new variety. This is one of the most important characteristics of the third﹣generation hybrid rice that can reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers, thus reducing cost and improving production efficiency. " said Qian Qian, the deputy director of the China National Rice Research Institute.
Unlike the previous two generations that required a large amount of water and fertilizers as well as demanding growing conditions and technological support, the third﹣generation hybrid rice is easier to be cultivated by ordinary farmers. So the soil, altitude and climate of the test site were not "ideal conditions" carefully selected beforehand but were close to the paddies of ordinary farmers.
Nowadays, China's average yield of rice is about 500 kg per mu. Ordinary farmers can produce 600kg to 700 kg of rice per mu by growing some excellent second﹣generation hybrid rice varieties. However, under the same planting conditions and environment, the yield of the third﹣generation hybrid rice could reach 800 kg per mu. China now feeds around 20 percent of the world's population with less than 9 percent of the world's arable（可耕种的）land.
At present, Yuan's team has nine third﹣generation hybrid rice combinations under trial, which are expected to achieve commercial seed production in the following three to four years and hope to apply the technology into the research of sea rice. The third﹣generation hybrid rice has the comprehensive strength to promote a greener and more sustainable development of China's rice production with higher quality and yield.
1.What feature of the new hybrid rice does Qian Qian mainly talk about？
A.It saves a lot more water.
B.It achieves a higher yield.
C.It saves much more farmland.
D.It has a shorter growing period.
2.Why is the new hybrid rice not tested in ideal areas？
A.The ordinary farmers master planting technology.
B.The researchers want to reduce the experiment cost.
C.The growing conditions the new hybrid rice needs are simple.
D.The previous rice farming provides researchers with experience.
3.What is the fourth paragraph mainly about？
A.The high output of the third﹣generation hybrid rice.
B.The promising future of the new hybrid rice variety.
C.The advanced technology of the research on hybrid rice.
D.The differences between the three hybrid rice varieties.
4.Which one could be the best title of the text？
A.The Development of China's Rice
B.The Contribution of the Great Scientist
C.The High Yield of the New Hybrid Rice
D.The Way to Feed the World's Population
