1、ASunday, October 5 Clear, 69F My wife, Eleanor, and I took the train from Paris to Strasbourg, where we were met by our driver and guide, and the minibus which goes along with the boat. We stopped off in Barn for an hour on the way. Then we were taken to Nancy where the boat was kept. After the othe
2、r passengers arrived, we had our first dinner on the boat. After dinner we walked into downtown Nancy, a village with a large square and wooden houses. Monday, October 6 Rained last night, cloudy in the morning, 69We spent about two hours in Nancy, then sailed on the Canal de la Marne au Rhine. Kind
3、 of a lazy day. Eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner. After dinner we watched a tape on Baccarat, which we will visit tomorrow. It was pleasant to sit out on deck and watch the scenery go by at about 3 mph. Tuesday, October 7 Light rain, 64This morning we drove over to Baccarat and toured its museum
4、and the church, which has this unbelievable lamp that is going on a world tour the next day. We did lots of shopping, then walked across the bridge to see a very, very modern Catholic church with special Baccarat windows. We drove to the top of the Voges Mountains and started down the eastern side.
5、Later, we drove to Sorrenbourg to see the 13th century church at the Cordeliers. It contains the largest window by Mar. Wednesday, October 8 Cloudy, 65 Today we sailed from Schneckenbush to Saverne. We went through two caves, an extremely unusual part of the journey. This river scenery is very diffe
6、rent. We were in a mountain valley with grassland on one side and a forest beginning to show some color on the other. Thursday, October 9 Cloudy, 66Our dependable minibus was waiting to load the luggage and take us to the hotel where everyone went their separate ways. Our boating days are over until
7、 next time. 1.Where did the author get off the train?A.ParisB.StrasbourgC.NancyD.Barn2.Onwhichdaysdidthetouristsspendmostoftheirtimeonboat?MondayandTuesday. B.TuesdayWednesday.WednesdayThursday. D.3.Fromtext,welearnthatBaccaratSorrenbourgarenamesof_.townschurchesmuseumsmountainsBIts just a small, wh
8、ite envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no address. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years.It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas. He didnt hate the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it: overspending, ru
9、nning around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and powder for GrandmaKnowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way.Our son Kevin, at 12 that year, wa
10、s wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended and before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church, mostly black.As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear to protect a wrestlers ears. They ob
11、viously could not afford. Mike shook his head sadly, “I wish just one of them could have won,” he said. “They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them.”Mike loved kidsall kidsand he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse. T
12、hats when the idea for his present came.That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church.On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done
13、 and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition.The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would
14、 stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope. Mikes sp
15、irit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us. 4. What does the underlined word “bypass” mean? A. give up B. buy C. throw away D. change5. Why did Mike hate Christmas according to the passage? AHe didnt like the true meaning of Christmas. BHe didnt like people spending too much money on pr
16、esents. CHe hated buying presents for Uncle Harry and Grandma. DHe didnt want to receive gifts like shirts, sweaters or ties.6. What was Mikes reaction to the non-league match? A. Mike hoped that his son would win the match. B. Mike thought that the church should have given the black boys more money
17、. C. Mike thought the black boys were too proud. D. Mike felt sympathy for the team of black boys.7.The writers purpose of writing the passage is to _. Ashow the importance of coaching Billustrate how a difficult life the black boys led Ctell a story of a special Christmas present Dshow her pride in
18、 her boys good performanceCScientists say that playing with the opportunity to be creative is one of the basic needs for childrens development, and the desire to play is anchored in childrens personality.How do children play? Do kids today play differently from the ways I used to play?When I was a c
19、hild, I didnt have many toys. A dollhouse that I once got for Christmas was the greatest gift I could imagine. My siblings（兄弟姐妹）, my friends and I played “Mom and Dad” with the dollhouse and our dolls again and again, never getting tired of it. The first Lego blocks came up replacing the traditional
20、 wooden building blocks. The lack of ready-to-use-toys inspired us to create our own using many kinds of material like paper to fold into ships or hats, or wood to carve toys. If I compare the ways I used to play with the ways my children play now, there are many differences. Their rooms are filled
21、with toys, and nevertheless they sometimes have no idea what to play. Having too many choices makes them feel overwhelmed, unable to take advantage of each single one.Also, the toys themselves have changed dramatically. I see many plastic toys ready to use; there is no need for children to create th
22、eir own ideas and invent their own toys. Electronic toys are on the rise, displacing classical toys. Children dont need to be creative; playing does not involve much imagination. Now they expect some kind of simulation and entertainment. Electronic toys require more passive reactions and logical thi
23、nking. Playing outdoors has become less interesting as this would keep them away from their video games and play stations.8. According to the writer, what he played in his boyhood was_. A. boring B. simple C. easy D. creative9. The underlined sentence in the first paragraph probably means “_”. A. th
24、e desire to play has bad effects on a childs personality B. the desire to play is the nature of all children C. the desire to play limits the development of a child D. the desire to play becomes stronger as a child grows10. Which of the following is NOT true about the authors childhood? A. They had
25、few toys to play with. B. They made some toys by themselves. C. It was a hard time for them for lack of toys. D. They often played the “Mom and Dad” game.11. Which of the following may the author agree with? A. Modern toys ought to be abandoned. B. Toys should encourage creativity. C. Todays childre
26、n consider playing outdoors more interesting. D. Modern toys are more advanced than old ones.DA cancer-stricken British teenage girl said Thursday she had been moved by messages of support from around the world after writing an online “Bucket List” of things she wanted to do before dying.Alice Pyne,
27、 l5, created an Internet blog in which she described her fight against a cancer of the white blood cells. “Ive been fighting cancer for almost four years and now I know that the cancer is gaining on me and it doesnt look like Im going to win this one,” she wrote. For her list, the teenager took insp
28、iration from the 2007 film “The Bucket List” in which two men who are badly ill, draw up a list of things they wish to do before they die. On her list, at the site , she has included making everyone sign up to be a bone marrow donor （骨髓捐赠者）, swimming with sharks, meeting boy band Take That and getti
29、ng a purple iPad computer. Messages of support and offers of help quickly flooded her webpage and it became one of the most talked about subjects on Twitter. “Oh, dear, and I thought that I was just doing a little blog for a few friends!” she wrote after her site attracted huge attention. “Thank you
30、 so much for all your lovely messages to me.”Pyne, who lives with her family in the northwest English town of Ulverston, revealed the management of Take That had arranged for her to see the band after reading her blog. A group of local lawmakers have also joined forces with the Anthony blood cancer charity to encourage people to join its stem cell register.12.What happened after Alice Pyne wrote her “Bucket List”? A.People around the world sent messages to support her. B.People sent gifts to her from all over the world. C.A l
