Thousands of people living in the Chinese capital will celebrate the start of the Chinese  New year by heading for the ski resorts (滑雪場). Never mind that Beijing's dry weather seldom produces snow. It is cold enough in winter for snow-making machines to make a covering for the hills north to the capital. And the rapid growth of a pleasure-seeking middle class has formed the basis for this new craze(熱潮）     

Since Beijing's first ski resort was opened ten years ago, the sport has enjoyed astonishing increase. There are now more than a dozen resorts. Clothes markets in the city have added bright colored ski suits to their winter collections. Mr. Wei, a manager of a newly-opened ski resort in Beijing, sees the growth of an industry that could soon lead Chinese to head for the ski resorts of Europe, In recent years ski resorts offering natural snow have opened in China. But many are in faraway areas of the country and can't really match the equipment and services of some ski resorts in Europe.

Beijing's skiing craze is partly a result of the recent increase in private (私有的) cars. This has led to the growth of a leisure industry in the capital's suburbs (郊區(qū)), which until the late-1990s were unreachable to ordinary people, According to Mr. Wei, about 40% of the visitors to his resort come in their own cars. The rest are bused in by schools, businesses or government offices.  

The problem is making money. Starting ski resorts requires quite a lot of money; hiring land from the local government, preparing the hills, buying snow machines, making sure there are enough water and electricity to run them, and buying ski equipment for hiring out to customers.

   The ski resort where Mr. Wei works cost nearly $4 million to set up. And. as so often in China when someone comes up with a good idea, many others rush in and price wars break out. Beijing now offers some of the cheapest ski training classes in the world, though with most people rather new to the sport, expecting a few more doing the same job.

1.What does this text mainly talk about?

A. Convenience for skiers brought about by private cars.

B. Skiing as a new way of enjoying one's spare time.

C. Things to be considered when starting a ski resort.

D. A sudden increase of ski training classes in Beijing.

2.Why are some Chinese likely to go skiing in Europe?

 A. To visit more ski areas.              B. To ski on natural snow.

 C. For a large collection of ski suits.      D. For better services and equipment.

3.The underlined words "leisure industry" in Paragraph 3 refer to ----

 A. transport to ski resorts                    B. production of family cars

 C. business of providing spare time enjoyments  D part-time work for people living in the suburbs

4. What is the main problem in running a ski resort?

A. Difficulty in hiring land.            B. Lack of business experience.

C. Price wars with other ski resorts,      D. Shortage of water and electricity,

 

 任務型閱讀 （共10小題，每小題1分，滿分10分）

認真閱讀下列短文，并根據所讀內容在文章后表格中的橫線上填入最恰當的單詞。 

注意：每空只填一個單詞

We all look forward to vacations. They can give our daily life colorful meaning. Moreover, in the busy world we live in, we all need a vacation to get the rest and relaxation our bodies desire. The most important thing in planning a vacation is where you will spend your vacation. If you want to make sure you can visit the best vacation spot（地點）, there are many factors（因素）that will influence where the best vacation spot is for you.

The first thing to consider when choosing the best vacation spot is what you would like to do. Do you want to ski? Do you want to surf? Are you looking for a spot that has great shopping and a beach as well? Are you looking for something that is a little more historic or that has religious meaning to you? These are great questions to ask.

And once you have decided on this, you may want to decide what time you are taking your vacation. It would be difficult to have a ski trip in Colorado in the middle of July. You would want to visit in the winter. Or if you have your heart set on skiing in July, you would need to go to South America, such as Chile, to do your skiing at this time of year.

The next thing to consider when finding the best vacation spot for your trip is your budget（預算）. You may want to go to Italy to see the old historic buildings, such as the Sistine Chapel. But the fact is that if you don’t have the money to back it up, you won’t be able to do this. You may find the best thing for you is to visit some old castles in America. You can find these throughout the eastern United States, such as North Carolina. And you will also find great shopping and many other attractions for your vacation. Perhaps you are someone who has always wanted to go to Cancun for spring break. If you do not have the budget for this, Miami is also a great place. There are plenty of bars there. It has plenty of attractions and even some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It also has South Beach, which is actually a fantastic beach.

There are amazing vacation destinations all over the world. The choice is really up to you. It truly depends on your taste, budget and what you want to do on your vacation. There are many websites to help you find the best price no matter what your budget is. Keep the advice in mind and you will be on your way to having a wonderful vacation that you will be talking about for the rest of your life.

Title	Finding the best vacation spot
Advantages of vacations	●Make our daily life (1)____________. ●Give us rest and make our bodies (2)___________.
The factors you should (3)_________	(4)_________	This is the most important thing in (5)__________ a vacation.
Activities	Where you will spend your vacation (6)________ on what you would prefer to do.
Time	Choose the right time or you’ll have (7)__________ in doing what you want.
Your budget	●When finding a vacation spot you like, you should know whether you can (8)__________ it or not. ●If you do not have (9)_________ money, you can find other similar attractions that cost less.
(10)_________	Keep the above advice in mind and you’ll have a vacation that you’ll never forget.

 

Adventure Vacations

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.

1.The Tai Mahan may be _______.

A．a shopping center                       B．a hotel　

C．a dancing hall                          D．a place of interest

2.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

3.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

4.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.

 

第二節(jié)：完形填空（共20小題；每小題1.5分，滿分30分）

閱讀下面短文，掌握其大意，然后從21~40各題所給的四個選項（A、B、C和D）中，選出最佳選項。

Jane’s mother worked on the farm from dawn till dark, which just could make ends meet. To make Jane live a   21  life. Mother was very carful about spending money.   22 , Jane didn’t understand her. Every day Mother was busy with her  23   while Jane was studying at school, so they had little time to enjoy themselves. 

One day, Mother realized Jane was unhappy and even  24  to her, so she decided to go   25 with Jane to make Jane happy.

On Sunday morning they went happily to the snowfield. Since they were   26  in white clothes, the manager advised them to buy ski clothes. He said   27 there was an accident, they might be easily  28  in their ski clothes. Mother couldn’t   29 them, so she refused.

Then they went skiing in their white clothes. They were skiing happily on the   30   when suddenly the snowfield began to  31 . It was the snowslide(雪崩). They ran a long way and  32   the snowslide finally, but they couldn’t find their way. Later, a helicopter was flying above,  33 people on it couldn’t see or hear them. Jane was  34   because she had hurt her head seriously and  35 dropped on the snow. Just then an idea struck Mother. She pierced (刺破) her wrist  36  and then bright red blood dropped down on the snowfield. A red SOS was on the snow. At last Jane  37 , but Mother died.

Every time I   38  the blood dropping onto the snowfield, I feel   39 . I believe anyone who hears the tragedy will  40  Mother for her selfless love to her daughter.

21. A. happy         B. healthy            C. busy              D. meaningful

22. A. Moreover      B. However          C. Anyway            D. Though

23. A. writing         B. housework         C. work              D. research

24. A. unfriendly       B. loyal              C. kind               D. cruel

25. A. skating              B. dancing           C. hiking             D. skiing

26. A. all             B. both              C. either              D. every

27. A. now that         B. in case            C. as though          D. even if

28. A. searched         B. examined          C. found             D. caught

29. A. pay             B. manage           C. afford              D. stand

30. A. mountain       B. farmland          C. playground         D. snowfield

31. A. change         B. melt              C. shake               D. jump

32. A. escaped          B. passed             C. experienced         D. overcame

33. A. but             B. so                C. since               D. while

34. A. in despair        B. in danger          C. in peace            D. in ruins

35. A. hair            B. blood             C. tears               D. jewels

36. A. carefully        B. slowly            C. immediately         D. hardly

37. A. cried           B. died              C. woke              D. survived

38. A. find out         B. think of                 C. suffer from         D. come across

39. A. satisfied        B. curious            C. anxious            D. painful

40. A. admire          B. envy             C. reward             D. thank

 

 

Horse-drawn sleigh rides        Dogsledding             Snowmobiling

 

Welcome to Banff, Canada’s first, most famous and arguably most fascinating national park. If you’ve come to ski or snowboard, we’ll see you on the slopes. Skiing is a local favourite too.

While you’re here, try other recreational activities available in our mountains. Popular choices include a Banff Gondola ride up Sulphur Mountain, bathe in the natural mineral waters at the Upper Hot Spring, horse-drawn sleigh ride, drive-your-own-team dog sled excursion, and snowmobile tour to the highland（but not in the national park）.

We also recommend you make time to enjoy simple pleasures. After looking around Banff Ave shops, walk a couple of blocks west or south to the scenic Bow River.

True ice skating on frozen Lake Louise where Ice Magic International Ice Sculpture Competition Works are displayed after Jan 25. You can rent skates in Banff or at the sport shop in the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise hotel.

Banff’s backcountry paths access a wilderness world of silence and matchless beauty—cross country skis and snowshoes provide the means. Banff sport shops rent equipment and clothes, or join an organized tour. Although we’ve been many times, we still find the cliffs and icefalls of our frozen canyons worth visiting.

Wildlife watching also creates satisfying memories. We have seen hundreds of the elk and bighorn sheep that attract visitors, yet they still arouse a sense of wonder. And the rare spotting of a cougar, wolf or woodland caribou takes our breath away.

See if simple pleasure work for your Fight in the snow with your kids, walk beside a stream or climb to a high place and admire the view.

—Banff Resort Guide Editors

1.According to the passage, Banff’s backcountry is accessible by       .

A. cross country skiing             B, horse-drawn sleigh riding

C. snowmobiling                  D. dogsledding

2.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. Dogsledding is the most popular sport among local people.

B. Watching wildlife is a memorable experience.

C. Travelers should bring their own sports equipment.

D. Shopping is too simple a pleasure to enjoy.

3.The purpose of the writing is to _______.

A. promote scenic spots in Canada

B. advertise for the sports in Banff

C. introduce tourist activities in Banff

D. describe breathtaking views in Banff