Skiing only caught on for ordinary Chinese in the mid-1990s in the country's north and northeast, but has since developed into a pastime that can be practiced nationwide．Here are four resorts(度假胜地)worthy of consideration．
Yabuli Ski Resort
The ski resort, built on Yabuli Sun Mountain, part of the Changbai Mountain Range, is located in China's northernmost province, Heilongjiang．
It has the best snow quality, skiing trails and impressive views．Wild animals are often spotted on the site．
The resort serves as the primary training centre for China's national teams．It also has a trail vertical drop from 200 meters to 1,200 meters with an average drop of 700 meters．
What's cool：The largest ski resort in China．
Beijing Huaibei International Ski Resort
This is a great destination for snowboarders and skiers to escape the rush life of the city and is a large recreational spot that boasts excellent ski slopes, world-class facilities, beautiful natural scenery, as well as convenient accommodation and dining services．
Travelers are also able to take a bird's eye view of the Great Wall by catching a cable car along 1,200 meters．
What's cool：Close to the Great Wall and Beijing's largest ski resort．
Shennongjia Ski Resort
Opened in 2004, the ski resort is located in the inland of Shennongjia．It covers an area of 100,000 square meters and is only 0.5 km from the Shennongjia National Nature Reserve．
There are ski tracks for beginners and more than 20 coaches for tourists．While experiencing the excitement of skiing, people can also admire Shennongjia's distinctive scenery of countless different odd mountain valleys, unknown beautiful flowers and plants．
What's cool：Largest winter sports complex for skiers from South and Central China．
Changbai Mountain Ski Resort
The ski resort is an ideal place for skiing and ice-skating because of its well-constructed ski tracks, comprehensive winter sports training facilities and breathtaking environment．
Enthusiasts can also choose other activities including motor skiing, sleigh skiing, shooting and hunting．
The area's natural hot springs are another attraction of the resort．
What's cool：The resort is located in the heart of Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve's thick forest and has natural hot springs．
(1)
The passage is intended to ________．
[ ]
A．
encourage people to learn skiing during holidays
B．
attract people to ski in these places
C．
offer services of booking tickets for skiing
D．
provide people with a better understanding of skiing
(2)
In what way is Changbai Mountain Ski Resort different from the other three resorts?
[ ]
A．
It has various training facilities．
B．
It has coaches for tourists．
C．
It has natural hot springs．
D．
It has breathtaking natural scenery．
(3)
China's national teams are usually trained at________．
Short and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team．
“Football, tennis, cricket－anything with a round ball, I was useless, ”he says now with a laugh．But back then he was the object of jokes in school gym classes in England’s rural Devonshire．
It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him．At first the teen went biking alone in a nearby forest．Then he began to cycle along with a runner friend．Gradually,
Saunders set his mind on building up his body, increasing his speed, strength and endurance．At age 18, he ran his first marathon．
The following year, he met John Ridgway, who became famous in the 1960s for rowing an open boat across the Atlantic Ocean．Saunders was hired as an instructor at Ridgway’s School of Adventure in Scotland, where he learned about the older man’s cold-water exploits．Intrigued,
Saunders read all he could about Arctic explorers and North Pole expeditions, then decided that this would be his future．
Journeys to the Pole aren’t the usual holidays for British country boys, and many people dismissed his dream as fantasy．“John Ridgway was one of the few who didn’t say, ’You are completely crazy, ’” Saunders says．
In 2001, after becoming a skilled skier, Saunders started his first long-distance expedition toward the North Pole．He suffered frostbite, had a close encounter with a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit．
Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he’s skied more of the Arctic by himself than any other Briton．His old playmates would not believe the transformation．
This October, Saunders, 27, heads south to explore from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, an 1800 mile journey that has never been completed on skis．
(1)
The turning point in Saunders’ life came when _________．
[ ]
A．
he started to play ball games
B．
he got a mountain bike at age 15
C．
he ran his first marathon at age 18
D．
he started to receive Ridgway’s training
(2)
We can learn from the text that Ridgway _________．
[ ]
A．
dismissed Saunders’ dream as fantasy
B．
built up his body together with Saunders
C．
hired Saunders for his cold-water experience
D．
won his fame for his voyage across the Atlantic
(3)
What do we know about Saunders?
[ ]
A．
He once worked at a school in Scotland．
B．
He followed Ridgway to explore the North Pole．
C．
He was chosen for the school sports team as a kid．
D．
He was the first Briton to ski alone to the North Pole．
(4)
The underlined word “Intrigued” in the third paragraph means _________．
[ ]
A．
Excited
B．
Convinced
C．
Delighted
D．
Fascinated
(5)
It can be inferred that Saunders’ journey to the North Pole _________．
[ ]
A．
was accompanied by his old playmates
B．
set a record in the North Pole expedition
C．
was supported by other Arctic explorers
D．
made him well-known in the 1960s
阅读理解
Thousands of people living in the Chinese capital will celebrate the start of the Chinese New year by heading for the ski resorts(滑雪场)．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(热潮)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 Ieisure industry in the capital's suburbs(郊区), 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 ＄4m to set up．And．as so often in China when someone comes up with a good idea, many others hash 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
阅读理解
BEIJING, Nov．30－The Bird’s Nest may have been built for last year’s Summer Games but Beijing’s Olympic stadium will soon be aiming at fans of winter sports．
As temperatures have begun to drop in recent weeks, so too has the number of visitors to the 80,000-seater venue, which cost 3.6 billion yuan(＄527 million)to build．
And, fearing another harsh(寒冷的)winter, National Stadium Co Ltd, which owns the Bird’s Nest, yesterday planed to spend 50 million yuan on a“snow festival”．
From Dec 19, visitors will be able to pay 120 yuan to enjoy skiing and snowboarding, among other things, on its newly constructed slopes．
The stadium owners expect to attract more than 20,000 visitors a day－twice as many as it currently does－during the two-month festival, which will include events for both the Western and Chinese new years．
Officials revealed it would take just 5,000 visitors a day to cover the costs of the project．
“It’s not a bad idea．You can ski on man-made snow in Dubai, so why not here?”said Heiko Grasse, a tourist from Germany, yesterday．
Famous outdoor equipment makers and local brands are in talks over sponsorship for the event, the Bird’s Nest owners said yesterday, while the capital’s television network will also provide 500 hours of coverage．
“The Bird’s Nest will not have a cold winter again,”Wu Jingjun, the new president of National Stadium Co Ltd, told China Daily yesterday．“We will create seasonal events almost every month from now on with assistance from the government and, importantly, the public．”
Yang Cheng, a newly appointed vice-president of National Stadium Co Ltd, said the snow festival would run for five consecutive winters if successful．
(1)
How many people visit The Bird’s Nest a day before the“snow festival”?
[ ]
A．
About 80,000．
B．
About 20,000．
C．
About 10,000．
D．
About 5,000．
(2)
Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
[ ]
A．
The“snow festival”will attract more visitors from China than the Western countries．
B．
People aren’t allowed to visit The Bird’s Nest before Dec 19．
C．
The“snow festival”would run for at least five winters．
D．
More than 2.4 million yuan a day is expected to be made in the“snow festival”．
(3)
What does Wu Jingjun mean by saying“The Bird’s Nest will not have a cold winter again”?
[ ]
A．
The Bird’s Nest will be kept at high temperatures in winter．
B．
Winter Olympic Games will be held in The Bird’s Nest．
C．
The“snow festival”will provide many events in winter．
D．
The Bird’s Nest will get much more assistance from the government．
(4)
Which of the following may NOT be included in the“snow festival”events?
[ ]
A．
A football game．
B．
Skiing．
C．
Snowboarding．
D．
A New Year’s Party．
阅读理解
Most people believe they don't have much imagination．They are wrong．Everyone has imagination, but most of us, once we become adults, forget how to access it．Creativity isn't always connected with great works of art or ideas．People at work and in their free time routinely think of creative ways to solve problems．Maybe you have a goal to achieve, a tricky question to answer or you just want to expand your mind! Here are three techniques to help you．
This technique involves taking unrelated ideas and trying to find links between them．First, think about the problem you have to solve or the job you need to do．Then find an image, word, idea or object, for example, a candle．Write down all the ideas/words associated with candles：light, fire, matches, wax：night, silence, etc．Think of as many as you can．The next stage is to relate the ideas to the job you have to do．So imagine you want to buy a friend an original present; you could buy him tickets to a match or take him out for the night．
Imagine that normal limitations don't exist．You have as much time/space/money, etc．as you want．Think about your goal and the new possibilities．If, for example, your goal is to learn to ski, you can now practice skiing every day of your life(because you have the time and the money)．Now adapt this to reality．Maybe you can practice skiing every day in December, or every Monday in January．
Look at the situation from a different point of view．Good negotiators(谈判者)use this technique in business, and so do writers．Fiction writers often imagine they are the characters in their books．They ask questions：what does this character want? Why can't she get it? What changes must she make to get what she wants? What does she dream about? If your goal involves other people,put yourself "in their shoes"．The best fishermen think like fish!
(1)
According to the passage, when we become adults _________．
[ ]
A．
we can still learn to be more creative．
B．
most of us are no longer creative．
C．
we are not as imaginative as children．
D．
we are unwilling to be creative．
(2)
The second technique suggests that you just imagine _________．
[ ]
A．
setting a goal is as simple as skiing．
B．
you have every resource to achieve your goal．
C．
new possibilities will soon appear．
D．
December and January are the best months for skiing．
(3)
The phrase “put yourself in their shoes” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to _________．
[ ]
A．
dress yourself like them．
B．
do as they ask you to．
C．
think as they would．
D．
put on their shoes,
(4)
We learn from the third technique that a good salesman should ask himself：
