People like different kinds of vacations. Some go camping. They swim, fish, cook over a fire and sleep outside. Others like to stay at a hotel in an exciting city. They go shopping all day and go dancing all night. Or maybe they go sightseeing to places such as Disneyland, the Tai Mahan or the Louver.

Some people are bored with sightseeing trips. They don’t want to be “tourists”. They want to have an adventure--a surprising and exciting trip. They want to learn something and maybe help people too. How can they do this? Some travel companies and environmental groups are planning special adventures. Sometimes these trips are difficult and full of hardships, but they’re a lot of fun. One organization, Earth watch, sends small groups of volunteers to different parts of the world. Some volunteers spend two weeks and study the environment. Others work with animals. Others learn about people of the past.

Would you like an adventure in the Far North? A team of volunteers is leaving from Mormons, Russia. The leader of this trip is a professor from Alaska. He’s worried about chemicals from factories. He and the volunteers will study this pollution in the environment. If you like exercise and cold weather, this is a good trip for you. Volunteers need ski sixteen kilometers every day.

Do you enjoy ocean animals? You can spend two to four weeks in Hawaii. There, you can teach language to dolphins. Dolphins can follow orders such as “Bring me the large ball.” They also understand opposites. How much more can they understand? It will be exciting to learn about these intelligent animals. Another study trip goes to Washington State and follows orcas. We call orcas “killer Whale”, but they’re really dolphins—the largest kind of dolphin. This beautiful animal travels together in family groups. They move through the ocean with their mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers. Ocean pollution is chasing their lives. Earth watch is studying how this happens.

Are you interested in history? Then Greece is the place for your adventure. Thirty-five hundred years ago a volcano exploded there, on Santorum. This explosion was more terrible than Karate or Mount Saint Helens. But today we know a lot about the way of life of the people from that time. There are houses, kitchens, and paintings as interesting as those in Pompeii. Today teams of volunteers are learning more about people from the past.

Do you want a very different vacation? Do you want to travel far, work hard and learn a lot? Then an Earth watch vacation is for you.

The Tai Mahan may be _______.

A. a shopping center      B. a hotel       　

C. a dancing hall    D. a place of interest

From the passage, on an adventure trip, people ______.

A. may not spend much time on sightseeing

B. won’t meet some difficulties or hardships

C. can’t enjoy them

D. can’t learn something

If you want to learn something about people of the past, you can _______.

A. join the team to Hawaii

B. join the team to the Far North

C. join the team to Washington

D. join the team to Greece

The word intelligent in paragraph 4 means _______.

A. exciting     B. beautiful

C. large   D. clever

Which of the following is false?

A. Some people find sightseeing trips boring.

B. Earth watch is planning all these special adventures.

C. The number of orcas is decreasing.

D. 3 volcano explosions in all broke out 3, 500 years ago in Greece.

To find how the name Canada came about we must go back to the 16th century. At that time, the French dreamed of disclosing and controlling more land, of expanding(扩展)trade beyond(超出)  their borders and of spreading their faith(信仰) across the world .In 1535, Francois I ,King of France, ordered a navigator (航海家) named Jacques Cartier to explore(探险) the New World and search for a passage to India.

Cartier first arrived at the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, which he wanted to explore. He did not know what to expect but he hoped that this Gulf was just an arm of the ocean between two islands. If it was, he would soon be on his way to the Far East. So he sailed upstream along the St. Lawrence River. However, instead or reaching Asia he arrived at Quebec or Stadacona, as the Indians called it. It was at this point that the term “ Canada” entered the country’s history. Apparently the word “Canada” came from an Indian work “Kanata”, which means community or village. Cartier first used it when he referred to Stadacona or Quebec. What a huge “ village” Canada is!

1.In the early sixteenth century , the King of France ordered Cartier to ______

A． find the new world

B． build an entirely new country

C． go and visit the American Indians

D． get more information about America and find a way to Asia

2.Having reached the Gulf of St. Lawrence Cartier thought _____

A． he had already got to India

B． it was a water way to the New World

C． it was a water passage to the East

D． he had sailed into the Atlantic

3.In the early sixteenth century , Quebec was only ____.

A． an Indian village

B． a little town in southern Canada

C． a village at the entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence

D． the place which we call Canada now

4.Pick out the right statements from the following _____

A． Quebec was a village and Stadacona was another

B． Cartier mistook Quebec for Stadacona

C． Stadacona was a village in Quebec

D． Stadacona was what the Indians called Quebec then

5.“Canada” was first used to refer to _____

A． a small town in Stadacona

B． the place called Quebec

C． a long water passage

D． a huge village including Quebec and Stadacona

 

About twenty of us had been fortunate enough to receive invitations to a film-studio（影棚）to take part in a crowd-scene. Although our "act" would last only for a short time, we could see quite a number of interesting things.
We all stood at the far end of the studio as workmen prepared the scene, setting up trees at the edge of a winding path. Very soon, bright lights were turned on and the big movie-camera was wheeled into position. The director shouted something to the camera operator and then went to speak to the two famous actors nearby. Since it was hot in the studio, it came as a surprise to us to see one of the actors put on a heavy overcoat and start walking along the path. A big fan began blowing tiny white feathers down on him, and soon the trees were covered in "snow". Two more fans were turned on, and a "strong wind" blew through the trees. The picture looked so real that it made us feel cold.
The next scene was a complete contrast(对比).The way it was filmed was quite unusual. Pictures taken on an island in the Pacific were shown on a glass screen. An actor and actress stood in front of the scene so that they looked as if they were at the water's edge on an island. By a simple trick like this, palm trees, sandy beaches, and blue, clear skies had been brought into the studio!
Since it was our turn next, we were left wondering what scene would be prepared for us. For a full three minutes in our lives we would be experiencing the excitement of being film ”Stars”!
【小题1】Who is the author?

A．A cameraman.	B．A crowd-scene actor.
C．A film director	D．A workman for scene setting

【小题2】What made the author feel cold?

A．The heavy snowfall.	B．The low temperature
C．The man-made scene..	D．The film being shown

【小题3】What would happen in the "three minutes" mentioned, in the last paragraph?

A．The next scene would be prepared.

B．More stars would act in the film.

C．The author would leave the studio.

D．A new scene would be filmed.

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, “Mum, you must come and see the daffodils （水仙花）before they are over.” I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Lake Arrowhead. “I will go next Tuesday,” I promised, a little unwillingly, on her third call.

    The next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn’s house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, “Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible （看不见的）in the cloud and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see!”

    My daughter smiled calmly and said, “We drive in this weather all the time, Mum. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.”

    After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand-lettered sign that read “Daffodil Garden”.

    We got out of the car and each took a child’s hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most beautiful sight! There were five acres of flowers! “But who has done this?” I asked Carolyn. “It’s just one woman,” Carolyn answered. “That’s her home,” Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house. On the patio （庭院）, we saw a poster. “Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking” was the headline.

    The first answer was a simple one. “50,000 bulbs （鳞茎）,” it read. The second answer was, “One at a time, by one woman.” The third answer was, “Began in 1958.”

    I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than fifty years before, had begun -- one bulb at a time -- to bring the beauty and joy to the mountain top.

1.The author didn’t go to see the daffodils at first because _________.

    A. she was not interested in them

    B. they were growing on the mountain top

    C. the weather was not good enough

    D. it was not easy for her to drive there

2.What do we know about the woman living in the A-frame house?

    A. She must be out of mind.

    B. She acted as a gardener there.

    C. It took her great determination to grow the daffodils.

    D. She was poor and made her living by selling daffodils.

3.What could the author probably learn from this experience?

    A. Nothing is too difficult if you put your heart into it.

    B. We must put the interests of others above our own.

    C. We can change the world by growing flowers.

    D. It’s never too late to learn.

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

    A. An Unforgettable Experience.         B. Beautiful Daffodils.

C. One Bulb at a Time.                 D. I Love Daffodils.

 

 

How Do Animals Catch their ZZZ's（打鼾声）？

Different creatures have developed some pretty creative ways to get their rest and stay safe． The lizard likes to sleep at the far end of small branches hanging out over a pond or lake in the rain forest． If a snake tries to slither up the branch to eat it, it will shake the branch and knock the lizard off, and the lizard will fall safely into the water． Chameleons can change color to match their surroundings in order to hide even while sleeping．

Gorillas like to sleep high in the trees． They build a new bed every night, sometimes taking up to half an hour to pile branches, twigs, and leaves into a comfortable bed． Birds also find it safe to sleep in the trees, but unless they have eggs or young chicks, they don't use a nest． They just lock their feet around a branch and hang on． A special tendon in their legs is automatically tight when they are at rest, so they won't let go and fall．

Dolphins live underwater, but must come to the surface to breathe． Scientists now believe that dolphins may sleep with only half their brain, while the other half stays awake to keep them safe and breathing． Seals also do this, lying on their sides on the surface of the water with one flipper underwater paddling to keep their noses above the surface． Some ducks may also have this ability, and actually sleep with one eye closed and one eye open．

1.How does a chameleon protect itself while sleeping?

A．By changing its body colors

B．By hanging out over a pond．

C．By sleeping with half their brain．

D．By making beds with branches．

2.Why will not birds fall when they are at rest?

A．They build nests and sleep in them．

B．They fall asleep automatically．

C．They have a loose tendon in their legs．

D．They lock their feet around a branch．

3.How do dolphins breathe?

A．They breathe underwater．

B．They come to the surface to breathe．

C．They breathe underwater or come to the surface to breathe．

D．We don't know．

4.What does the writer intend to tell us?

A．The cleverest animal is the gorilla because it can make beds．

B．Differences in habitat can lead to different living habits．

C．The ways animals catch their ZZZ's are pretty much the same．

D．In order to protect themselves most animals choose not to sleep