Exploring Beijing and Pingyao: Winter Vacation Adventure

Assessing Your Progress

[ ] 1 I'm very delighted to know you are planning a trip in the coming winter vacation.I suggest you should set off for Beijing. 2 There are many scenic spots in Beijing, of which the Palace Museum is the most famous. You will get to know about the life of the ancient emperors. 3 Jiuzhaigou is well-known/famous for its beautiful lakes, of which the water is clear and looks colorful.

4 Old houses have been replaced with new and tall ones full of good facilities, and the roads become wider and wider with various trees and flowers on both sides. 5 What's more, the nice weather and convenient transportation here can make your trip more enjoyable and worthwhile.

[ ] 80 1 2 3 live-action performance World Cultural Heritage theAncient City of Pingyao

With much excitement, my family paid a visit to one of the most famous scenic spots Pingyao, Shanxi Province last week. We started our journey by appreciating a well-known live-action performance, which left a deep impression on us.Then we left for the second scenic spot, the Ancient City of Pingyao.As one of the World Cultural Heritage sites, many traditions are still kept there.Wandering along the main street and tasting delicious local foods, we were amazed to discover how attractive the small city was. Exhausted as we were, we had a really unforgettable trip.

5 . 5 A B C 10 1 What does the woman's son do most probably? A A postman. B Apoliceman. C A guard.

2 Why is the woman late? A The traffic was heavy. B The bus broke down. C She took the wrong bus. 3 What do we know from the conversation? A The woman lost her new book. B The man will buy a new book. C The man doesn't care about the book.

4 How long does the man work every week? A For 50 hours. B For 55 hours. C For 66 hours. 5 Who travelled with the man last month? A Jeff and Richard. B The man's dog. C No one.

5 A B C 5 5 6 6 7 6 Where does this conversation probably take place? A In a store. B In a restaurant. C In a museum.

7 How much does the woman pay for the bowl? A 60 dollars. B 80 dollars. C 90 dollars. 7 8 9 8 Why didn't the father follow the old family recipe? A One page is missing. B He has his own recipe. C He can't find the recipe.

9 What does the girl think of the pizza? A Terrible. B Tasty. C Unusual. 8 10 12 10 How much did Laura earn a day for her first job? A 8 pounds. B 12 pounds. C 40 pounds. 11 Why did Laura leave her first job? A The shoe shop closed down. B She had to study for her exams. C A new shoe shop was short of hands.

12 How long did Laura work in the shoe shops all together? A For 18 months. B For 21 months. C For two years. 9 13 16 13 What is the man planning to buy? A A garden. B Ahouse. C A farm.

14 What do we know about the house? A It is large. B It has one bedroom. C It needs fixing. 15 What does the man suggest the woman growing? A Corn. B Rice. C Potatoes. 16 How do they get the money? A They will get a bank loan. B They have saved enough. C They will borrow from friends.

10 17 20 17 Which competition was held last year? A Singing Competition. B Reading Competition. C Dancing Competition. 18 What is the purpose of the Pet Competition? A To help students select suitable pets. B To teach students how to look after pets. C To tell students loving animals is important.

19 What will be at the Pet Competition? A A lesson on dogs. B Adog beauty contest. C A dog's ability test. 20 What do we know about the Pet Competition? A Students will bring their pets. B Students can vote for the dogs. C Students need to pay for the competition. 1 5 ACCCB 6 10 ABAAB 11 15 ABCCC 16 20 BBCBB

(Text 1) W Hello, this is Susan Howard.May I speak to my son, please? M I'm sorry. He's still out on his duty delivering letters.Shall I take a message? (Text 2) W I'm sorry I'm late. M Oh, that's all right.I just wondered what was keeping you late.The traffic? W No, it was the bus I took.I took the wrong one. That was a disaster for me.

(Text 3) W I'm sorry, but I can't find the book you lent to me. M Oh, that's all right. W I must apologize.I'll buy you a new one tomorrow. M No, please don't. I couldn't let you do that. It's an old book.Just let it go. (Text 4) W What time do you start working? M I work from 9 to 3.Then I start again at 5 30 and work until 10 30, six days a week.

W And do you have to work at the weekend? M Oh, yes, that's our busiest time. (Text 5) W Did you go on a trip alone or with your friends last month? M I was planning to go with Jeff and Richard, but they both couldn't spare the time. W What did you do with your dog while you were away? M Oh, Tom is a good traveler, as long as he gets a chance to play.

(Text 6) W Excuse me. How much do you want for this bowl? M Don't move it.It's easy to break.That's one piece of outstanding glass in perfect shape.It's worth 150 dollars. W Oh, I couldn't possibly pay that much. M Hold on, lady.I said it was worth 150 dollars but I can give it to you for only 120 dollars. W I'll give you 60 dollars.

M 60! Come on, lady.You've got to be kidding.I paid more than that for it myself.Take it for 90 dollars.I can't go any lower than that. W Well, maybe I could give you 80 dollars. M OK. Let me wrap it up for you. There you are, lady, a real bargain. (Text 7) M Time to eat! W I'm starving.Oh, what's that? Where is Mom? M Now, Mom put me in charge of dinner tonight. W But what is it? What's the smell?

M It's pizza. I just followed an old family recipe here. W Let me see.Oh, Dad. You're missing a page! M Well, I couldn't find the second page of the recipe, but don't worry.I have plenty of experience around the house. W That's not what Mom said. M Here let us try a piece first.This is great. W Dad, you put a little too much salt in it. Besides, it's burned. And what's that? M That's just part of my own recipe.I added some pumpkin. W Oh, not another one of your surprises.Pumpkin doesn't go with pizza!

(Text 8) M Laura, what was your first job? W The first job I had was a sales assistant in a shoe shop. When I was fifteen, I got my first job and I used to work every Saturday for 8 hours a day and I used to earn 1.5 pounds per hour. M It doesn't sound like very much. W No, so in England now, the minimum may be 5 pounds. M Oh, wow! So how long did you work at this job?

W I worked all together in three different shoe shops. In the first one I worked for a year and then it closed down. After that they moved me to another one, the same company. Three months later they moved me to a new shoe shop because they were short of hands. But half a year later I left my job when I had to study for my exams at school. (Text 9) W Oh, where are we going? M I want to show you something. W I know, but what is it?

M A farm.It's just down this road.It's a small place, but at least it would be our own. W Afarm? How can we afford to buy a farm? M It isn't large, only 1 acre. We wouldn't have to pay very much right now. W Is there a house on the farm? M A small one, two bedrooms, but it needs to be fixed up a little. I can do the job myself. W OK. Is there enough space for a kitchen garden?

M There is about half an acre behind the house.That's plenty of space.We can probably grow a lot of our own food. W What are you thinking about growing? M Well, it really isn't big enough for corn. I thought we might try to raise a crop of potatoes. W Do we have enough money to get all of these? M I think we've saved enough. We can also ask John about the money he borrowed from us.

(Text 10) Good morning, boys and girls.As we know, in the past years our school has held many competitions successfully, like Singing Competition and Dancing Competition.In fact I do know most of the students will want to have the Reading Competition as was held last year. But, now we'll have something that may be much more fun. It's the Pet Competition! Well, in fact, it aims at letting all students know the importance of loving animals. Nowadays, too many people can't treat animals so well.They do not think carefully before getting a pet.

At the competition, you will not be disappointed because our teachers will not give you boring lessons to ask you to love animals. Instead, we can all learn something from a relaxing environment. There's a dog beauty contest and we will choose the best dog. The competition will be based on the dogs' ability.Unfortunately this competition is not open to your pets this year. Our school has selected five dogs for this competition.That means, we can just sit back and enjoy. So please come to join this event and vote for your favorite dogs! How can you afford to miss such an educational and fun event of the year?

. (Themanandthewomanaretalkingaboutthetrip.) M Hi, Mrs Green! How was your trip to the United States? W It was wonderful. 1 M 2 W I was there for half a month. M Great! 3 W Yes, it's a glamorous and exciting city. M 4

W The city is the main business and cultural center in the Midwest. It's famous for its music opera and theatres as well as for its excellent museums. M 5 W Yes, sure. What would you like to know? A.What's it famous for B.I really enjoyed it. C.Can you tell me a little more about it D.And did you go to Chicago E.How long were you there 1 5 BEDAC

. 1 Look at the following world-famous landmarks and write down the countries or cities they belong to.

(1) Egypt (2) The United States (New York) (3) The United Kingdom (4) France (Paris) (5) Italy (Rome) (6) Australia (Sydney) 2 What should we take into consideration before we decide to travel abroad? Money; Transportation; Making plans; Apply for a visa; Language; Local conditions and customs and so on.

. When you go on a trip to America, you will see the word Motel on signs and notice boards. It is made up of motor and hotel and it is really a hotel for people who arrive by car (however, you don't need a car to stay at one). You have to pay when you arrive for your room, which usually has a bath. Meals are not provided but there will certainly be a cafeteria ( ). Americans eat a lot of salads and sandwiches. Along the main roads there are a lot of motels. Each tries to offer more than the others. Some provide television in every bedroom; others have swimming pools and so on. Motels are especially useful when you are in the country, far from a town or city. You will also find them in big national parks.

In these great national parks, you may meet guests you don't expect to see. An American friend told me a short story. In the middle of a moonless night, she heard strange noises outside her motel window in the Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Thinking it might be a thief, she jumped out of bed, opened the door and moved slowly towards a dark shadow. As she got close, she saw the thief. She was dreadfully frightened: it wasn't a human thief it was a big black bear. The bear was turning over some empty tins with its paws, looking for tasty bits of food. My friend decided to leave that particular thief alone! There are also, of course, places called rooming houses provide lodges ( ). You will see such signs as Tourists or Rooms Rent, and you could try one of these. A word of warning looking for a room in New York during the tourist season is like looking for gold on the moon! where they

Questions 1 What does Motel refer to on roadside signs and noticeboards in the United States? A A hotel for foreigners. B Ahotel for drivers. C A restaurant for tourists. D A restaurant for locals. B

2 What does a place called rooming houses offer? A Free food. B Aguide to travel. C Vehicles for hire. D Accommodation. D 3 What does Paragraph 2 mainly tell us? We may meet animals in national parks. 4 What can we learn from the last paragraph? In New York during the tourist season it is difficult to find a room.

. Isn't it amazing how one person, sharing one idea, at the right time and place can change the course of your life's history? This is certainly what happened in my life. When I was 14, I was taking a lift from Houston, Texas, through El Paso on my way to California. I was following my dream, journeying with the sun. I was a high school dropout with learning disabilities and was set on surfing the biggest waves in the world, first in California and then in Hawaii, where I would later live.

Upon reaching downtown El Paso, I met an old man, a bum( ), on the street corner. He saw me walking, stopped me and questioned me as I passed by. He asked me if I was running away from home, I suppose because I looked so young. I told him, Not exactly, sir since my father had given me a ride to the freeway in Houston and given me his blessings while saying, It is important to follow your dream and what is in your heart, Son. The bum then asked me if he could buy me a cup of coffee. I told him, No, sir, but a soda would be great. We walked to a corner shop and sat down on a couple of swiveling stools while we enjoyed our drinks.

After talking for a few minutes, the friendly bum told me to follow him. He told me that he had something grand to show me and share with me. We walked a couple of blocks until we came upon the downtown El Paso Public Library. We walked up its front steps and stopped at a small information stand. Here the bum spoke to a smiling old lady, and asked her if she would be kind enough to watch my things for a moment while he and I entered the library. I left my belongings with this grandmotherly figure and entered into this magnificent hall of learning.

1. 150 2 Paragraph 1 Well, young man. I've got a little surprise for you. Paragraph 2 For there is only one thing that people can't take away from you

Paragraph 1 Well, young man, I've got a little surprise for you. I'm actually one of the richest people in the world. I have probably everything any man could ever want and all the things that money can buy. But a year ago, I realized there were certain things I had not yet experienced in life, one of which was what it is like to live on the streets like a tramp. I made a promise to myself to do exactly that for one year.

Paragraph 2 For there is only one thing that people can't take away from you, and that is your wisdom. At that moment, he reached forward, grabbed my right hand in his and put them upon the books he took off the shelf. They were writings of Plato and Aristotle famous classics from ancient times. In that moment, I knew where my life was going.

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