The Hearst Castle

       Hearst Castle is a palatial park on the central California coast and a National Historic Landmark.It was designed by architect Julia Morgan for William Randolph Hearst from 1919 until 1947.In 1957 , the Hearst Corporation donated the fortune to the state of California.Since that time it has been maintained as a state historic park where the estate and its considerable collection of art and antiques are open for public tours.Despite its location far from any urban center, the site attracts roughly one million visitors per year.

Guided Tours

       There are several tours which highlight various parts of the castle and gardens.

●Tour One is recommended for first time visitors.It now includes the movie, Hearst Castle Building the Dream.

●Tour Two gives visitors a closer look at the main house's upper floors, Mr.Hearst's private suite, the libraries, and the kitchen.

●Tour Three looks at the Castle's North Wing, guest rooms and guest house Casa Del Monte.

●Tour Four features the impressive gardens and grounds, the largest guesthouse, the wine basement, and the Hidden Terrace.

●The evening tour is a special tour that allows visitors to experience the Castle at night as one of the Hearst's own visitors might have.

Ticket Prices

       Hearst Castle accepts VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover.Free day use parking is available for automobiles, motorcycles, tour buses and recreational vehicles.

TOURS

ADULT

Ages 6 – 17

Experience Tour

$24

$12

Tours 2, 3 or 4

$24

$12

Evening tour

$30

$15

       * Children under 6 are free when accompanied by a paying adult.

Reservation Information

       While tickets may be purchased at the Visitor Center upon arrival, tour reservations are strongly recommended and may be reserved online now or by calling 1 - 800 - 444 - 4445, see below for times.

Reservation Call Center Hours

Dates

Monday-Friday

Saturday-Sunday

March-September

8AM to 6PM

8AM to 6PM

October-February

9AM to 5PM

9AM to 3PM

       Visit wwwhearstcastleorg for more information.

Who does the Hearst Castle belong to at present?

       A.William Randolph Hearst.    B.Julia Morgan.

       C.The state of California. D.The Hearst Corporation.

If you are quite interested in wine, which tour will you choose?

       A.Tour One.    B.Tour Two.   C.Tour Three.   D.Tour Four.

If a young couple take Tour One with their 5-year-old son, how much will they pay for the tickets?

A.36. B.60.        C.48.    D.75.

Which of the following is the available time to book tickets by phone?

       A.At 8 AM on Monday in February.       B.At 9 AM on Sunday in March.

       C.At 7 PM on Friday in September.       D.At 6 PM on Saturday in October.

There was one thought that air pollution affected only the area immediately around large cities with factories and heavy automobile traffic. At present, we realize that although these are the areas with the worst air pollution, the problem is literally worldwide. On several occasions over the past decade, a heavy cloud of air pollution has covered the east of the United States and brought health warnings in rural areas away from any major concentration of manufacturing and automobile traffic. In fact, the very climate of the entire earth may be infected by air pollution. Some scientists consider that the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the air resulting from the burning of fossil fuels (coal and oil) is creating a “greenhouse effect”— conserving heat reflected from the earth and raising the world’s average temperature. If this view is correct and the world’s temperature is raised only a few degrees, much of the polar ice cap will melt and cities such as New York, Boston, Miami, and New Orleans will be in water.

Another view, less widely held, is that increasing particular matter in the atmosphere is blocking sunlight and lowering the earth’s temperature — a result that would be equally disastrous. A drop of just a few degrees could create something close to a new ice age, and would make agriculture difficult or impossible in many of our top farming areas. Today we do not know for sure that either of these conditions will happen (though one recent government report drafted by experts in the field concluded that the greenhouse effect is very possible). Perhaps, if we are lucky enough, the two tendencies will offset each other and the world’s temperature will stay about the same as it is now. Driven by economic profits, people neglect the damage on our environment caused by the “advanced civilization”. Maybe the air pollution is the price the human beings have to pay for their development. But is it really worthwhile?

As pointed out at the beginning of the passage, people used to think that air pollution _______.

A. cause widespread damage in the countryside

B. affected the entire eastern half of the United States

C. had damaged effect on health

D. existed merely in urban and industries areas

As to the greenhouse effect, the author __________.

A. share the same view with the scientist.

B. is uncertain of its occurrence

C. rejects it as being ungrounded

D. thinks that it will destroy the world soon

The word “offset” in the second paragraph could be replaced by _________.

A. slip into   B. make up for   C. set up    D. catch up with

It can be concluded that ____________.

A. raising the world’s temperature only a few degrees would not do much harm to life on earth

B. lowering the world’s temperature merely a few degrees would lead major farming areas to disaster 

C. almost no temperature variations have occurred over the past decade

D. the world’s temperature will remain constant in the years to come

This passage is primarily about __________.

A. the greenhouse effect             B. the burning of fossil fuels

C. the potential effect of air pollution   D. the likelihood of a new ice age


Beijing plans to build huge free or low-cost parking lots beyond the Fourth and Fifth Ring Roads to encourage more car owners to take buses or subways to the downtown area.
The plan is just one of the many measures the city plans to take to reduce its traffic jams.Low or no parking fees would be used as economic leverage(杠杆作用) to reduce growing parking demands from urban areas.
Car owners living in the suburbs will be encouraged to park their cars beyond the Fourth and Fifth Ring Roads and take buses or subways to the downtown area.Statistics show that nearly one quarter of the city’s traffic flow is concentrated in the 62-square-kilometer downtown area within the Second Ring Road, which makes up only 12 percent of the city’s total area.
The Beijing Traffic Management Bureau receives between 400 and 500 calls reporting traffic jams every day and more than 90 percent of the roads are filled to capacity during rush hours every morning and evening.Part of the problem is the lack of easy links between bus routes, subways and cars.
According to the communication commission, half of the city’s investment in transportation will go towards public transit(公共交通) construction in the next few years, making a jump from the current only 20 per cent.Moreover, Beijing plans to change its layout (布局) by building new city centers, such as at Yizhuang, Tongzhou, Shunyi and Changping, in a bid to reduce the traffic flow to the downtown.
The current layout of Beijing-expanded ring roads around the same center of the Forbidden City, is seen as the root cause of the endless traffic jams.The downtown area is crowded with three business centers and one financial center, as well as nearly 400 government organs and institutions.
Traffic experts say building more urban centers around Beijing may reduce the number of residents living in the suburbs and traveling long distances to work downtown every day, thus reducing traffic flow.
40.In the coming years, if a man beyond the Fourth Ring Road goes to work in the downtown of Beijing, he is encouraged to _________.
A.take buses or subways     B.take a taxi
C.drive the car quickly           D.park his car in a place which asks for no fees
41.According to this passage, when more and more people drive to work in rush hour in Beijing, it is likely to _______.
A.save time                B.cause traffic jams
C.cause traffic accidents     D.reduce air pollution
42.The aim in building new city centers is to ________.
A.make it convenient for people to go shopping
B.develop its local resources
C.reduce the traffic flow to the downtown
D.solve the problem of more laid-off workers
43.The passage suggests the author ______.
A.is tired of driving to work
B.finds it costs less to take subways than to drive
C.is for the plan to reduce Beijing’s traffic congestion(拥挤)
D.has benefited a lot by driving to the downtown every day

In urban China,where English is almost the official second language,many Chinese people have learned to speak as professionally as native speakers. However they may have an accent and make a few minor grammatical mistakes.Years ago many people used a certain Chinese-English dictionary or a series of textbooks and accepted their teachings. Consequently,language learners developed a peculiar vocabulary. Some people call these word choices “Chinglish”. The words are not incorrect—native speakers still understand them—but they stand in the way of using standard English. Here are some common examples, both from written and spoken English:

Clever (adj.): Native speakers usually say “smart” instead. “Smart” is a broader and more common word. “Clever” suggests an ability to think your way out of a specific problem or take advantage of a specific situation. Being smart serves you for life.

Examination(n.): Use “exam”, the short form of it, or the more common word, “test”. (The verb for all three words is “take”.) Another word you may hear is “quiz”. It means a short and relatively unimportant test that the teacher often gives as a surprise.

Film: This is largely a technical word. The common term is “movie”. (Native speakers often say “short film for the movie”.)

House (n.): a stand-alone building with its own street entrance that is home to one family. A home in a building full of families is an “apartment” or a “flat”. When in doubt, just say “home”.

Puzzled (adj.): We use this word to describe mild reactions to difficult math problems, and not even very often for this purpose (we say “I’m stumped” or “I have no idea” instead). But when we’re addressing a life issue such as whether to pursue (从事) a graduate education or go straight to work, we say “confused”. This is a stronger word as well as a more common one.

49. The writer wrote this passage to______.

A. prove there are so many Chinese people learning English in a wrong way

B. teach us to choose correct and exact English words to express ourselves

C. tell people that if we want to speak English as well as native speakers we must memorize as many English words as possible

D. explain what Chinglish is

50. According to the passage, which of the following is more common?

A. Would you like to go to the film tonight?

B. He will take an examination next week.

C. Tom is cleverer than his brother.

D. He felt confused whether he would go abroad for further study.

51. This passage suggests that______.  

A. native speakers say “I’m puzzled with this math problem.” more often used than they say “I’m stumped with the math problem.”

B. the word “home” is much often used than the word “house” in spoken and written English

C. the word “examination” is more common than its short form“exam”

D. we can say “do a quiz”

52. We can infer from the passage that______.  

A. native speakers can understand “Chinglish”

B. saying “take a test” is more common

C. to English learners, developing more English vocabulary doesn’t mean speaking good English

D. it’s easy to learn English words well

 

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