At present, more and more people are crazy about travelling. Why do people travel?  “To see more of the world,” many people would say. But travelling abroad now means much more than that for the growing number of Chinese tourists. Of course it offers us good opportunities to meet people from other countries, learn about their culture and customs.

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), more than 1 billion people travelled to another country in 2012. In 2012, Chinese people travelled abroad 30 percent more than in 2011. The prosperity (繁荣) of the tourism industry can also bring both our country and foreign countries great economic benefits (经济利益). Chinese people usually join large tourist groups and visit several countries in one trip.

Chinese people don’t just travel for sightseeing. The China International Travel Service Company said that all their tour trips sold out a month before Christmas Day. Stores offered discounts (打折) during that time, so shopping in Europe and the United States is popular among Chinese travellers.

In December, China is going through a very cold winter. So many people like to go to some countries in Southeast Asia because the weather there is quite pleasant.

The improvement of living standards means more Chinese can travel abroad. But many of them don’t have a sense of public manners. A report by Living Social website in March 2012 even listed Chinese as the world’s second worst tourists.

If you want to change that bad name, remember to avoid the following: littering, spitting, snatching bus seats, line-jumping, taking off shoes in public, talking loudly and smoking in non-smoking areas. Besides, we should learn some necessary manners of foreign countries.

1.Chinese people travel abroad not to _________.

A. go shopping                                            B. see more of the world

C. go sightseeing                                         D. make money

2.According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, ________.

A. 30% of the people who travelled abroad are Chinese

B. the number of people who travelled abroad rose by 30%

C. more than 1 billion people travelled abroad in 2012

D. more than 1 billion Chinese people travelled abroad in 2012

3.Which of the following is NOT true about Chinese people? _________

A. Chinese people like joining large tourist groups.

B. Many Chinese like to go to Southeast Asia in winter for sightseeing.

C. More and more Chinese people can travel abroad now.

D. Chinese are the second worst tourists in the world.

4.As a good tourist, you should ________.

A. litter and spit here and there

B. jump the line and take off the shoes in public

C. have a sense of public manners

D. speak loudly and smoke as you like

5.What’s the best title of the passage? __________

A. Travelling                                                      B. Travelling abroad

C. Chinese tourists                                                D. Chinese people like travelling

 

Every year landslides cause 25 to 50 deaths and $2 billion in damage in the United States. And in December, a single event killed more than 2000 people in the Philippines. Sending workers to stabilize mountainsides using steel bars can help a lot, but it introduces new difficulties because of dust and loosen heavy, dangerous debris from the work. “It’s a quite dangerous job,” says Giorgio Pezzuto of D’ Appolonia, working with eight other companies. Now there may be an answer: a three-ton robot called Roboclimber.

“The idea is to operate a machine far away that can do the stabilizing job without a human being near,”says Pezzuto, manager for the project, which is supported by a European organization. Engineers say that the machine will be faster and cheaper than manual labor. The robot, a large radio-controlled four-legged spider, has cost at least $2 million so far. It should be able to climb mountainsides, drill holes and insert steel bars there. Testing should begin in May.

1.The underlined word “event” refers to_____

A. earthquake               B. debris             C. dust        D. landslide

2.The purpose in writing this text is _____

A. to tell people how serious the damage caused by landslides is

B. to tell people that sending workers to stabilize mountainsides is a dangerous job

C. to show people how to use a new robot

D. to introduce a new robot that can be used to stabilize mountainsides

3.What does the robot look like?

A. human being         B. spider            C. steel bar        D. a drill

4.A landslides cause _____________in damage in the United States Every year .

A. 25 to 50 deaths       B. more than 2000 people died

C. $2 billion           D. both A and C

5.The biggest advantage of this product is that____

A. it will be faster and cheaper than manual labor

B. it can climb mountainsides, drill holes and insert steel bars there.

C. it can do the stabilizing job without human beings near

D. it is like a spider

 

More than 50,000,000 people live in the rainforests of the world and most of them do not hurt the forest they live in. They eat the fruits that grow on the forest trees, but they do not cut them down. They kill some animals to eat, but they do not destroy them.
When we cut down the rainforests, we destroy these forest people, too. In 1900, there were 1,000,000 forest people in the Amazon forest. In 1980, there were only 200,000.
The Yanomami live along the rivers of the rainforest in the north of Brazil. They have lived in the rainforest for about 10,000 years and they use more than 2,000 different plants for food and for medicine. But in 1988, someone found gold in their forest, and suddenly 45,000 people came to the forest and began looking for gold. They cut down the forest to make roads. They made more than a hundred airports. The Yanomami people lost land and food. Many died because new diseases came to the forest with the strangers.
The Yanomami people tried to save their forest, because it was their home. But the people who wanted gold were stronger.
Many forest people try to save their forests. Chico Mendes was famous in Brazil because he wanted to keep the forest for his people. “I want the Amazon forest to help all of us-forest people Brazil, and all the Earth,” he said. A few months later, in December 1988, people who wanted to cut down the forest killed Chico Mendes.
In Borneo, people were cutting down the forest of the Penan people to sell the wood. The Penan people tried to save their rainforest. They made blockades across the roads into the forest. In 1987, they closed fifteen roads for eight months. No one cut down any trees during that time.
In Panama, the Kuna people saved their forest. They made a forest park which tourists pay to visit.
The Gavioes people of Brazil use the forest, but they protect it as well. They find and sell the Brazil nuts(坚果) which grow on the forest trees.
【小题1】The number of the people living in the Amazon forest in 1980 was _______ of that in1900.

A．half

B．one-third

C．two-fifths

D．one-fifth

【小题2】The people who _______ have destroyed the rainforest of the Yanomami.

A．pick fruits and kill animals to eat

B．use plants for food and medicine

C．have lived there for about ten thousand years

D．made the roads and the airports

【小题3】Those people built roads and airports in order to ________.

A．carry away the gold conveniently

B．make people there live a better life

C．stop spreading the new diseases

D．develop the tourism(旅游业) there

【小题4】We can infer the underlined word blockades probably means:

A．包围

B．障碍

C．街区

D．通道

【小题5】 From the passage, we learn that _________.

A．we need wood to build houses, so we have to cut down trees

B．the rainforest people have done something to protect their home

C．to humans, gold is more important than trees

D．we mustn’t cut down any trees or kill any animals

任务型阅读（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
阅读下列短文，根据短文中的信息完成文后表格。（每空一词）

Studying abroad is an amazing experience, especially when you come to Australia as an overseas high school student. You can have a lot of fun here, especially on holidays.
There are many festivals in Australia. The most important one is obviously Christmas. Each year, the summer holidays at every high school last about two months from the beginning of December to February,  which covers the Christmas time. Since it is a long holiday, most overseas students love to fly back to their home countries to spend the time with their fami­lies and friends, but a few students still stay in Australia during the holiday to get part-time jobs. It is quite easy to find a part-time job at Christmas. Students often take part in another major social activity. They go to the beach to have fun in the sunshine. The summer in Australia is from December to February, so going to the beach in December is very popular among Australians.
Easter in March is another important holiday in the year. It actually combines(使结合) “Good Friday” and “Easter Monday”. Almost every shop closes on Good Friday. And people usually go to see Easter Show.
The Chinese New year is not a public holiday in Australia, so every Chinese student still continues to go to school to study and do his or her normal duties.

【小题1】 in Australia
When does summer begin in Australia?	In  【小题2】
In which season is Christmas in Australia?	In  【小题3】 .
What’s  【小题4】  activity in December in Australia?	【小题5】to the beach and  【小题6】 sunshine.
What do people do on Good Friday and Easter?	People   【小题7】 go shopping, but 【小题8】 go to see Easter show.
What do Chinese students do during the spring festival in Australia?	They   【小题9】  to do their   【小题10】 things.

任务型阅读（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）

阅读下列短文，根据短文中的信息完成文后表格。（每空一词）

Studying abroad is an amazing experience, especially when you come to Australia as an overseas high school student. You can have a lot of fun here, especially on holidays.

There are many festivals in Australia. The most important one is obviously Christmas. Each year, the summer holidays at every high school last about two months from the beginning of December to February,  which covers the Christmas time. Since it is a long holiday, most overseas students love to fly back to their home countries to spend the time with their fami­lies and friends, but a few students still stay in Australia during the holiday to get part-time jobs. It is quite easy to find a part-time job at Christmas. Students often take part in another major social activity. They go to the beach to have fun in the sunshine. The summer in Australia is from December to February, so going to the beach in December is very popular among Australians.

Easter in March is another important holiday in the year. It actually combines(使结合) “Good Friday” and “Easter Monday”. Almost every shop closes on Good Friday. And people usually go to see Easter Show.

The Chinese New year is not a public holiday in Australia, so every Chinese student still continues to go to school to study and do his or her normal duties.

1.  in Australia
When does summer begin in Australia?	In  2.
In which season is Christmas in Australia?	In  3.  .
What’s  4.   activity in December in Australia?	5. to the beach and  6.  sunshine.
What do people do on Good Friday and Easter?	People   7. go shopping, but  8.  go to see Easter show.
What do Chinese students do during the spring festival in Australia?	They   9.   to do their   10.  things.