Italian Lakes and Greek Islands (12 Days)

Prices starting from $1,999

Your tour begins in Milan, Italy, and moves on to the pretty Italian Lake District and the attractive resort of Stresa, your home for two nights. Collette Vacations has carefully chosen the Costa Victoria as your home away from home for your 7-night journey along the waterways of Mediterranean. The cruise ship is filled with the warmth and culture of Italy and is richly designed with entertainment areas and very good living conditions. It will take you to the places of your dreams.

You’ll spend 4 days touring Greek cities you’ve always heard about. In Katakolon, you will have the only unguided tour to nearby Olympia on the whole journey. Then with a local guide you will visit the Greek islands of Santorini, which is often related to the story of the lost city of Atlantis , and Mykonos, a wonderful island with beautiful beaches.

Your journey ends in Verona, home of the love story Romeo and Juliet, with a fun-filled farewell dinner— perfect ending to a pleasant journey.

12 Days, 25 Meals: 10 Breakfasts, 6 Lunches, 9 Dinners

Day 1      Overnight flight to Italy

Day 2-3    Regina Palace, Stresa, Italy

Day 4-10   Costa Victoria (Costa cruises)

Day 11     Hotel Leopardi, Verona, Italy

Day 12     Leave for home

Please Note:

How is the journey planned?

A. It starts and ends in Italy    

B. It starts and ends in Greece

C. It starts in Italy and ends in Italy

D. It starts in Greece and ends in Italy

What can be inferred from the travel plan?

  A. The price may get lower than those in the plan.

  B. The prices include three meals a day.

  C. The price is the highest in summer.

  D. The prices include entertainment service.

What does the underlined part “the Costa Victoria” most probably refer to?

  A. A famous hotel        B. A beautiful resort 

C. A comfortable ship     D. A long-distant bus

Tourists will travel on their own in_________.

  A. Stresa    B. Olympia   C. Mykonos    D. Verona

Mary Cassatt is one of the first great women American painters. At first her father did not want her to become an artist. But she followed her dreams and became an artist.She was born on

May 22, 1844, and lived in Europe for several years as a child.

   Her family returned to the United States and, at age 16, Mary attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Four years later she decided she couldn't learn anything fresh and practical in Philadelphia, so she returned to Europe. There she studied the skills of the masters in Rome, Seville, Antwerp, and Paris.

   Mary received the chance of a lifetime at the age of 33 when the famous French painter, Edgar Degas, asked her to join a group of painters that included now-famous artists like Manet and Renoir. Their style of painting is called Impressionism. They used primary colors and short brush strokes(筆畫) in their work. They recognized Mary 's spirit and powerful talent and invited her to exhibit in the Impressionist art shows.

   Mary painted what she saw: gardens, and paintings of persons , especially of mothers and children involved in everyday living. One of her paintings, "Young Mother and Two Children," was given to the White House in 1954 where it hangs today.

   Mary never married and, in 1877, her parents and sister moved to Europe to join her. Mary devoted much of her time to them for the next 18 years to their care. Mary painted until 1914 when her failing eyesight made it impossible to continue. She spent the later years of her life in Paris. She died in 1926 at the age of 82. Unfortunately,all her life, she refused to accept students.

Mary left Pennsylvania for Europe at age 20 mainly because_____.

   A. she wanted to learn another style of paintings

   B. she didn’t learn anything in Pennsylvania

   C. her desire for the learning wasn’t satisfied well

   D. her father didin’t want her to learn painting again

Which year was the most critical to her career and life?

   A. 1860   B. 1864   C. 1877    D. 1914

Which of the statements about Mary Cassatt is supported by the passage?

   A. Her father had a decisive effect on her painting

   B. Her painting featured scenes of everyday living

   C. She used various colors and long lines in her works

   D. She studied the paintings of the masters in U.S.A

Mary Cassatt stopping painting because of_____.

   A. her poor eyesight     B. her old age     C.lack of interest   D. her family

It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

   A. during the last ten year of life, she painted nothing.

   B. the paintings of Edgar Degas belong to realism

   C. her works were controversial though highly recognized

   D. her students showed great respect for her

There was a huge battle between the warriors(武士)of Greece and the people of Troy. Prince Paris from Troy had stolen away the Greek queen; Helen. The Greek warriors set sail for Troy to fight for their queen.  

The battle outside Troy lasted for ten years. The men were fed up and wanted to return to their homes. Athene, goddess of war gave Ulysses the idea for a plan to end the war. They built a big wooden horse which they put in the middle of their encampment（營地）. Next they pretended to give up their camp. In reality many soldiers hid inside the wooden horse.

Once they thought the camp had been abandoned the Trojans went out to check. They needed to know if the war was really over. They walked through the abandoned encampment and eventually found the wooden horse. They could not decide what it was. Some wanted to take it  into the city, others thought that it was a gift to Zeus and feared touching or moving it in case they upset Zeus.  

Some Trojans decided to take it back into the city. They called a large group of troops, attached ropes and pulled it into the city.

A huge celebration started. The city was free from war for the first time in nine years. Everybody feasted, drank and danced until eventually the merriment（歡鬧）was over and they all went to sleep.

This was the moment that the wooden horse opened a big flap（蓋口）hidden underneath. Out crept Ulysses and all of his men. They killed the sleeping troops, rescued Queen Helen, met up with the rest of their army and set sail for home.

The story of the return journey is told in The Odyssey, a collection of poems piecing together the bits of the story from the many different places where the story took place.

Greece and the people of Troy were at war because________________.

A. they have different views and beliefs

B. Prince Paris from Troy wanted to control Greek

C. they were war-like countries

D. the Greek warriors fought against Troy for their queen stolen away

What does the underlined phrase “(be)fed up” probably mean?

A. very bored   B. very happy  C. very sad   D. very interested

Which of the following statements is WRONG according to the passage?

A. The battle outside Troy lasted for ten years.

B. It was Ulysses that thought up the idea for a plan to end the war

C. The Trojans fell into a trap set by Ulysses and all of his men

D. The Greek warriors saved Queen Helen and head home successfully

What can we learn from the story?

A. Keep a clear brain or you’ll be cheated by something pretending

B. Failure is a common thing in the war

C. strategy(策略) is not an important factor in the war.

D. Victory cannot be gained by cheat and pretence.

Which of the followings can serve as the best title for the passage?

A. The Trojan Horse    B. A Smart Plan  C. The Trojan War  D. Rescuing Queen Helen

The way people hold to the belief that a fun - filled, pain free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain.

As a result, many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment （預(yù)擔的義務(wù)）, self - improvement.

Ask a bachelor（單身漢） why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.  

Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three - day vacation. I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children. But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.

Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.

According to the author, a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because ________ .

A. he is reluctant to take on family responsibilities

B. he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single

C. he finds more fun in dating than in marriage

D. he fears it will put an end to all his fun adventure and excitement

Raising children, in the author’s opinion is ________ .

A. a moral duty               B. a thankless job

C. a rewarding task            D. a source of inevitable pain

From the last paragraph, we learn that envy sometimes stems from ________ .

A. hatred　　B. misunderstanding　 C. prejudice　　　　　D. ignorance

To understand what true happiness is one must ________ .

A. have as much fun as possible during one’s lifetime

B. make every effort to liberate oneself from pain

C. put up with pain under all circumstances

D. be able to distinguish happiness from fun

What is the author trying to tell us?

A. Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain．

B. One must know how to attain happiness.

C. It is important to make commitments.

D. It is pain that leads to happiness.

Children who drink alcohol with their parents are less likely to binge drink (狂飲)in later life, a recent report claimed yesterday.

The survey of 10,000 teens aged 15 and 16 found 75 per cent have drunk alcohol - but those who do it in moderation(適度地)at home are less likely to go on binges.

On the other hand, the findings contradict a recent call from charity Alcohol Concern for parents. Prof Mark Bellis, of Liverpool John Moores University, told Radio 4's Today programme that this would only make matters worse.

He said: "The key points are around people understanding alcohol, learning about alcohol, being set a good example by parents. Something that criminalises(宣布有罪) the parent is likely to stop these things happening."  

Teenagers who bought their own alcohol outside the home were also more likely to develop problems such as drinking in public places, the report found. It advised parents to keep pocket money below ??10 a week.

Prof Bellis, whose team carried out the survey in schools in the North West, added: "By the age of 14 the majority are drinking.

"The question is, are they learning in a proper environment or learning behind the bushes in a park or in a bar?

"The chances are if they are in the latter position, they are learning to binge drink easily."

The author writes the passage mainly to tell us that________.

A.Home Drink Kids don’t Binge

B. A Recent Report on problem boozers is announced

C. Parents are a good example for children

D. The prevention of binging drink is possible

Which of the followings is WRONG according to the passage?

A. The report says children who drink alcohol with their parents have little chance to become boozers in later life easily.

B. Prof Mark Bellis thinks the findings doesn’t help prevent binge drink

C. Children learn to binge drink in an advantageous environment as well as in a bad situation.

D. Prof Mark Bellis thinks that parents should be a good model for children

Which of the following is the closest to the underlined word “contradict” in meaning ？

A. are the same as      B. are similar to 

C. think well of        D. disagree with 

Prof Bellis thinks the key to dealing with the problem is________.

A. examples and understanding

  B. education and punishment

  C. lowering pocket money

  D. law and advice centres

We can infer from the passage that________.

  A. Parents should answer for those who binge drink

  B. Drinking is a common and acceptable thing in Brtain

C. Well-behaved parents usaully don’t have children who binge drink

  D. Teenagers who drink outside the home were more likely to develop drinking problems .

Essays for Early Writers

1   for the essay writers: For each essay, begin with a topic (focus) sentence that   2   the main ideas that you will be writing about. Then write at least four to five sentences that clearly explain the   3   of your essay. End the essay with a strong closing sentence that summarizes what you wrote. Check that your grammar, spelling, and punctuation are correct.   4   to use complete sentences and write neatly!

General Topics:

Book Report: Use this form to write a book report, noting the book’s name, author, main character,   5  ,and plot summary.

Movie Review: Review a movie. Include a description   6   the characters, the story, the scenery, and what you liked the   7   and the least about the movie.

A Veteran’s Story: Write a page about a relative or friend who was in the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, or National Guard. Who was this person, when did this person   8  , was it during a war, what did that person do during their service, and what are their recollections (回憶)of their service?

A Friend: Write about what being a friend means to you.  9   what friends do and how they behave with each other and with other people. What happens when friends disagree?

Improve the World: what you would do to improve the world? Think of actions you could take to help make the world a   10   place. June 23 is United Nations Public Service Day.

Instruments      B. Installments          C. Indications            D. Instructions

A. states          B. talks                     C. speaks                  D. says

A. object         B. words                   C. point                    D. purpose

A. Insure         B. Make sure             C. See to it that         D. Assure

A. setting        B. content                 C. people                  D. topic

A. with           B. for                       C. to                         D. of

A. best            B. more                    C. most                     D. better

A. study          B. serve                    C. do                        D. stay

A. Describe     B. Imagine                C. Review                 D. Report

A. clean         B. easy                     C. better                   D. neatly

Want to take an out-of-this-world trip? Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic plans to make that possible. Beginning in 2009, people should have the opportunity to become space tourists, traveling at about 3,000 mph to heights about 75 miles above Earth. Branson has high hopes for his latest plans. "It is just the start of what we believe will be a new age in the history of mankind—one day making the affordable exploration of space by human beings a real possibility," he said.  

At the start, though, the trip won’t be cheap. Seats aboard Virgin’s first craft—VSS Enterprise—will cost about $200,000. Prices could drop after the first hundred space flights. Despite the current ticket cost, more than 30,000 people—including celebrities(名人) Sigourney Weaver and Victoria Principal—have expressed interest in getting onboard.  

People who don't have an extra $200,000 still have a chance to get a seat aboard the craft. A computer game contest and a reality television show are in the works. Those who can’t afford a ticket will have an opportunity to win a seat.    

Virgin is expected to be the first commercial spacecraft. It will hold six passengers and two pilots. Passengers will be able to see the Earth from many different viewpoints. The cabin will include 15 floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing for views that extend about 1,000 miles in any direction.

Passengers will have three days of preflight preparation. On the big day, the spacecraft will take off from the Mojave Spaceport in the California desert. The craft will rocket passengers into space at four times the speed of sound. The journey will last about 2 1/2 hours. Passengers will wear spacesuits and helmets(頭盔). They will be able to float around the cabin and do somersaults(空翻) during the five minutes of weightlessness they will experience in zero gravity. At the end of the flight, the craft will land on a runway.

Virgin Galactic could be _____.

A. the engineer of the first commercial spacecraft

B. the name of a series of spacecrafts

C. the company of the first commercial spacecraft

D. a passenger aboard the first commercial spacecraft

The space passengers will do all the following except that _____.

A. they will receive a three-day training course

B. they will wear spacesuits and helmets

C. they will take about $200,000 with them

D. they will experience weightlessness  

Which statement is true according to the passage?

A. More than 30,000 people have got to travel in spacecraft.

B. Many people signed up for space travel in spite of the high ticket cost.

C. Those without much money could also go space travel without occupying the seats.

D. The first commercial spacecraft will have six persons on board.

What is the text mainly about?

A. The exciting moment of the spacecraft’s launching.

B. The living condition of space tourists in the craft.

C. Preparations for a space travel.

D. Plans for the first commercial space flight.

I entered high school having read hundreds of books. But I was not a good reader. Merely bookish, I lacked a point of view when I read. Rather, I read in order to get a point of view. I searched books for good expressions and sayings, pieces of information, ideas, themes—anything to enrich my thought and make me feel educated. When one of my teachers suggested to his sleepy tenth-grade English class that a person could not have a “complicated idea” until he had read at least two thousand books, I heard the words without recognizing either its irony (嘲諷) or its very complicated truth. I merely determined to make a list of all the books I had ever read. Strict with myself, I included only once a title I might have read several times. (How, after all, could one read a book more than once?) And I included only those books over a hundred pages in length. (Could anything shorter be a book?)  

There was yet another high school list I made. One day I came across a newspaper article about an English professor at a nearby state college. The article had a list of the “hundred most important books of Western Civilization.” “More than anything else in my life,” the professor told the reporter with finality , “these books have made me all that I am.” That was the kind of words I couldn’t ignore. I kept the list for the several months it took me to read all of the titles. Most books, of course, I hardly understood. While reading Plato's The Republic, for example, I needed to keep looking at the introduction of the book to remind myself what the text was about. However, with the special patience and superstition (迷信) of a schoolboy, I looked at every word of the text. And by me time I reached the last word, pleased, I persuaded myself that I had read The Republic, and seriously crossed Plato off my list

On heating the teacher's suggestion of reading, the writer thought _______.

A. one must read as many books as possible

  B. a student should not have a complicated idea

  C. it was impossible for one to read two thousand books

  D. students ought to make a list of the books they had read

While at high school, the writer _______.    

  A. had plans for reading                            B. learned to educate himself

  C. only read books over 100 pages              D. read only one book several times

The underlined phrase “with finality” probably means _______.

  A. firmly              B. clearly                            C. proudly         D. pleasantly

The writer's purpose in mentioning The Republic is to _______.

  A. explain why it was included in the list

  B. describe why he seriously crossed it off the list

  C. show that he read the books blindly though they were hard to understand

  D. prove that he understood most of it because he had looked at every word

The writer provides two book lists to _______.

  A. show how he developed his point of view

  B. tell his reading experience at high school

C. introduce the two persons' reading methods   

  D. explain that he read many books at high school

Across the world, 1.1 billion people have no access to clean drinking water. More than 2.5 billion people lack basic sanitation.(衛(wèi)生設(shè)備)

The combination proves deadly. Each year, diseases related to inadequate water and sanitation kill between 2 and 5 million people and cause an estimated 80 percent of all sicknesses in the developing world. Safe drinking water is a precondition for health and the fight against child death rate, inequality between men and women, and poverty.

Consider these facts:

●The average distance that women in Africa and Asia walk to collect water is 6 kilometers.

●Only 58 percent of children in sub-Saharan Africa are drinking safe water. and only 37 percent of children in South Asia have access to even a basic toilet.

●Each year in India alone, 73 million working days are lost to water-borne diseases.

Here are three ways you can help:

1)Write Congress

Current U.S. foreign aid for drinking water and sanitation budgets only one dollar per year per American citizen. Few members of Congress have ever received a letter from voters about clean drinking water abroad.

2)Sponsor a project with a faith-based organization

Many U.S. religious groups already sponsor water and sanitation projects, working with partner organizations abroad. Simply put a single project by a U.S. organization can make safe water a reality for thousands of people.

3)Support nonprofit water organizations

Numerous U.S.-based nonprofits work skillfully abroad in community-led projects related to drinking water and sanitation. Like the sample of non-profits noted as follows, some organizations are large, other small-scale, some operate worldwide, others are devoted to certain areas in Africa, Asia, or Latin America. Support them generously.

1. The three facts presented in the passage are used to illustrate that________.

A. poverty can result in water-borne diseases

B. people have no access to clean drinking water

C. women’s rights are denied in some developing countries

D. safe drinking water should be a primary concern

2. The intended readers of the passage are________.

A.  Americans               

B. overseas sponsors

C.  Congressmen   

D .  U.S.-based water organizations

3. The main purpose of the passage is to call on people to _________.

A. get rid of water-related diseases in developing countries

B. donate money to people short of water through religious groups

C. fight against the worldwide water shortage and sanitation problem

D. take joint action in support of some nonprofit water organizations

4. What information will probably be provided following the last paragraph?

A. A variety of companies and their worldwide operation.

B. A list of nonprofit water organizations to make contact with.

C. Some ways to get financial aids from U.S. Congress.

D. A few water resources exploited by some world-famous organizations.

America is growing older. Fifty years ago, only 4 out of every 100 people in the United States were 65 or older. Today, 10 out of every 100 Americans are over 65. The aging of the population will affect American society in many ways — edu??cation, medicine, and business. Quietly, the aging of America has made us a very different society — one in which people have a quite different idea of what kind of behavior is suitable at various ages.

A person’s age no longer tells you anything about his/ her social position, marriage or health. There’s no longer a particular year in which one goes to school or goes to work or gets married or starts a family. The social clock that kept us on time and told us when to go to school, get a job, or stop work??ing isn’t as strong as it used to be. It doesn’t surprise us to hear of a 29-year-old university president or a 35-year-old grandmother, or a 70-year-old man who has become a father for the first time. Public ideas are changing.

Many people say, “I am much younger than my mother or my father was at my age.” No one says “Act your age” any more. We’ve stopped looking with surprise at older people who act in youthful ways.

1. It can be learned from the text that the aging of the popula??tion in America ________.

A. has made people feel younger                B. has changed people’s social position

C. has changed people’s understanding of age      D. has slowed down the country’s social development

2. The underlined word “one” refers to ________.

A. a society           B. America          C. a place           D. population

3. “Act your age” means people should ________.

A. be active when they are old              B. do the right thing at the right age

C. show respect to their parents young or old  D. take more physical exercises suitable to their age

4. If a’ 25-year-old man becomes general manager of a big firm, the writer of the text would most probably consider it _________.

A. normal     B. wonderful         C. unbelievable     D. unreasonable