Tourism probably started in Roman times. Rich Romans visited friends and family who were working in another part of the Roman Empire. But when the empire broke down，this kind of tourism stopped.
　　In the early 17th century, the idea of the “Grand Tour” was born. Rich young English people sailed across the English Channel（英吉利海峡）.They visited the most beautiful and important European cities of the time, including Paris in France, and Rome and Venice（威尼斯）in Italy. Their tours lasted for two to four years, and the tourists stayed a few weeks or months in each city. The “Grand Tour” was an important part of young people’s education—but only for the rich.
In the 18th century, tourism began to change. For example, people in the UK started to visit some towns, such as Bath to” take the waters”. They believed that the water there was good for their health. So large and expensive hotels were built in these towns.
　　In the 19th century, travel became much more popular and faster. When the first railways were built in the 1820s, it was easier for people to travel between towns, so they started to go for holidays by the sea. And some started to have holidays in the countryside as cities became larger, noisier and dirtier.
　　Traveling by sea also became faster and safer when the first steamships were built. People began to travel more to far away countries.
　　The 20th century saw cars become more and more popular among ordinary people. Planes were made larger, so ticket prices dropped and more people used them.
　　Thus tourism grew. In 1949, Russian journalist Vladimir Raitz started a company called Horizon Holidays. The company organizes everything—plane tickets, hotel rooms, even food—and tourists pay for it all before they leave home. The package tour and modern tourist industry was born.
　　The first travel agency in China was set up as early as 1949.But tourism did not take off until 1978.In 2002,the industry was worth 500 billion yuan and became an important part of China’s social development.
【小题1】In the early times, the travelers ________.

A．all came from Roman

B．were very young and strong

C．had lots of money

D．traveled by boat

【小题2】________ played the most important role in the tourism development.

A．Education

B．Money

C．Transportation

D．People’s ideas

【小题3】Modern tourism was born ________.

A．in 1949	B．in Roman times
C．in the early 17th century	D．in the 19th century

【小题4】The underlined phrase “take off” means ________.

A．a plane rising into the air

B．develop very fast

C．remove hats and clothes

D．bring down the prices

Tourism probably started in Roman times. Rich Romans visited friends and family who were working in another part of the Roman empire. But when the empire broke down, this kind of tourism stopped.

　　In the early 17th century, the idea of the“Grand Tour”was born. Rich young English people sailed across the English Channel. They visited the most beautiful and important European cities of the time, including Paris in France, and Rome and Venice in Italy. Their tours lasted for two to four years, and the tourists stayed a few weeks or months in each city. The“Grand Tour”was an important part of young people’s education—but only for the rich.

　　In the 18th century, tourism began to change. For example, people in the UK started to visit some towns, such as Bath to“take the waters”.They believed that the water there was good for their health. So large and expensive hotels were built in these towns.

　　In the 19th century, travel became much more popular and faster. When the first railways were built in the 1820s,it was easier for people to travel between towns, so they started to go for holidays by the sea. And some started to have holidays in the countryside as cities became larger, noisier and dirtier.

　　Traveling by sea also became faster and safer when the first steamships were built. People began to travel more to far away countries.

　　The 20th century saw cars become more and more popular among ordinary people. Planes were made larger, so ticket prices dropped and more people used them.

　　Thus tourism grew. In 1949, Russian journalist Vladimir Raitz started a company called Horizon Holidays. The company organizes everything—plane tickets, hotel rooms, even food—and tourists pay for it all before they leave home. The package tour and modern tourist industry was born.

　　The first travel agency in China was set up as early as 1949.But tourism did not take off until 1978.In 2002,the industry was worth 500 billion Yuan and became an important part of China’s social development.

1.In the early times, the travelers ________.

A．all came from Roman                    B．were very young and strong

C．had lots of money                       D．traveled by boat

2.________ played the most important role in the tourism development.

A．Education         B．Money            C．Transportation      D．People’s ideas

3.Modern tourism was born ________.

A．in 1949                               B．in Roman times

C．in the early 17th century                  D．in the 19th century

4.The underlined phrase“take off”means ________.

A．a plane rising into the air                  B．develop very fast

C．remove hats and clothes                  D．bring down the prices

 

A Plan For Exploring Mars

NASA is moving ahead with plans to put a long－armed lander on Mars' icy north pole to search for clues (线索) for water and possible signs of life.

The MYM386 million Phoenix Mars is planned to touch down in the Martian arctic in 2008.The stationary probe will use its robotic arm to dig into the icy land and pick up soil samples (标本，样品) to analyze. In 2002, the Mars Odyssey orbiter spotted evidence of ice－rich soil near the arctic surface.

Scientists hope the Phoenix mission will find clues to the geologic history of water on the Red Planet and determine whether microbes(微生物)existed in the ice.

Phoenix will be the first mission of the Mars Scout program, a renewed, low－cost effort to study the Red Planet. “The Phoenix mission explores new territory in the northern plains of Mars analogous to the permafrost regions on Earth，” Peter Smith said.

True to its name, Phoenix rose from the ashes of previous(先前的) missions. The lander for Phoenix was built to fly as part of the 2001 Mars Surveyor program. But the program broke down after the well－known disappearance of the Mars Polar Lander in 1999.The Polar Lander lost contact during a landing attempt near the planet's south pole after its rocket engine shut off prematurely,_causing the spacecraft to fall about 130 feet to almost certain destruction.

The Phoenix probe had been in storage at a Lockheed Martin clean room in Denver before it was reused for its present mission. It will carry science instruments that were designed for the Mars Surveyor program including an improved panoramic camera and a trench－digging robotic arm. Phoenix will lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in August 2007 and land on the planet nine months later.

1．The passage mainly tells readers that ________.

 A．clues of water will be found in Phoenix

 B．Phoenix will be sent to find clues of water on Mars

 C．August 2007 will see Phoenix lift off

 D．the Mars Scout program will be carried out

2．The underlined word “prematurely” (Paragraph 5) means “________”．

A．on time            B．behind the time

C．out of work          D．ahead of time

3．According to the passage, we know Phoenix will land on Mars ________.

A．in May 2008        B．in August 2007   

C．in August 2008      D．in September 2008

4．According to the passage, the name “Phoenix” is after the meaning of ________.

 A．rebirth  B．death  C．energy  D．hope

5．After Phoenix lands on Mars, we can infer it will firstly ________.

A．find soil samples and send them to the earth

B．look for the icy land to dig for the soil samples

C．take photos and send them to the earth

D．find the remains of the Mars Polar Lander

Delicate Arch

Delicate Arch can be found in Arches National Park in Utah, USA. The arch stands alone at a height of 52 feet and is considered one of Utah's most important landmarks. In 2002, the Olympic torch passed through this arch to mark the beginning of the winter games.

Wave Rock

This 15-meter high and 110-meter long impressive natural rock formation is located in Western Australia. It looks like a large, smooth wave ready to break. Algae(海藻）grow on the surface of Wave Rock.

The Wave

The Wave is located on the slopes of the Coyote Buttes, Arizona, USA. This incredible formation can be reached by hiking approximately 4.8 kilometers, making the round trip to and from The Wave a nearly 9.7-kilometer hike that climbs about 107 meters in altitude.

James Bond Island

James Bond Island can be found in Aohang-Nga National Park in Thailand. The needle-shaped rock formation was named James Bond Island because it was featured in a 1974 Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun.

Devil's Tower

The formation known as Devil's Tower can be found in Wyoming, USA. Also known as Bear Tower, the rock formation is actually the neck of a volcano. It rises 386 meters above the surrounding land and the top of it is 1.558 meters above sea level.

The Giant's Causeway

The Giant's Causeway is located in Northern Ireland and has a series of over 40,000 columns made of basalt(玄武岩). Each column is connected and the formation is believed to be a result of volcanic ash. Believe it or not, when this formation was first discovered, scientists argued as to how it was formed. Some thought it was natural, others thought it was manmade, and some thought that perhaps it had been created by a giant!

Bryce Canyon National Park

One of the most impressive rock formations in the world is the Bryce Canyon in Utah, USA. It is a national park and despite its name, it is not actually a canyon, but rather a giant natural amphitheater( 圆形竞技场）created by erosion.

Pierce Rock

This rock formation is one of the largest natural arches in the world. This natural arch named Pierce Rock is an island in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Canada. It is 433 meters long,90 meters wide, and 88 meters at its highest point.

55. Which of the following rock formations is located in Asia?

A. Wave Rock.                            B. James Bond Island

C. The Giant's Causeway.                    D. Pierce Rock.

56. Which of the following rock formations is related to a volcano?

A. The Wave                            B. Devil's Tower.

C. Bryce Canyon National park.             D. Pierce Rock.

57. Which of the following words can best describe the rock formations?

A. Impressive.                               B. Unexpected.

C. Surprising.                                D. Unexceptional.

58. According to the passage, the scientists once argued with regard to__________at first.

A. why Pierce Rock was so featured

B. when Bryce Canyon National park came into being

C. what on earth these formations are connected with

D. how the Giant's Causeway was formed

 

In 1972, the United Nations hold a meeting in Sweden    1._________            

to share ideas about ways to take better care of for the            2.__________

earth．At the summit, people from more than one hundreds            3.__________

countries discussed some of the important problems faced            4.__________

our planet．Since then, several Earth Summits had been held.        5.__________

In 2002, the Earth Summit was held in Johannesburg.             6._________

   One of the main theme was “sustainable development”, or      7.__________

the question what we can continue developing the world          8.__________

without damage the environment．Most of the speakers            9.__________

talked the three biggest killers in the world.                      10.__________