Question

Still seeking a destination for your weekend break? There are some places which are probably a mere wall away from your college．

King’s Art Centre

A day at the Centre could mean a visit to an exhibition of the work of one of the most interesting contemporary artists on show anywhere．This weekend sees the opening of an exhibition of four local artists．

You could attend a class teaching you how to ‘learn from the masters’ or get more creative with paint – free of charge．

The Centre also runs two life drawing classes for which there is a small fee．

the Botanic Garden

The Garden has over 8,000 plant species; it holds the research and teaching collection of living plants for Cambridge University．

The multi-branched Torch Aloe here is impressive．The African plant produces red flowers above blue-green leaves, and is not one to miss．

Get to the display house to see Dionaea muscipula, a plant more commonly known as the Venus Flytrap that feeds on insects and other small animals．

The Garden is also a place for wildlife-enthusiasts．Look for grass snakes in the lake．A snake called ‘Hissing Sid’ is regularly seen lying in the heat of the warm sun．

Byron’s Pool

Many stories surround Lord Byron’s time as a student of Cambridge University．Arriving in 1805, he wrote a letter complaining that it was a place of “mess and drunkenness”．However, it seems as though Byron did manage to pass the time pleasantly enough．I’m not just talking about the pet bear he kept in his rooms．He spent a great deal of time walking in the village.

It is also said that on occasion Byron swam naked by moonlight in the lake, which is now known as Byron’s Pool．A couple of miles past Grantchester in the south Cambridgeshire countryside, the pool is surrounded by beautiful circular paths around the fields．The cries of invisible birds make the trip a lovely experience and on the way home you can drop into the village for afternoon tea．If you don’t trust me, then perhaps you’ll take it from Virginia Woolf – over a century after Byron, she reportedly took a trip to swim in the same pool．

1.As mentioned in the passage, there is a small charge for ____．

A．attending the masters’ class

B．working with local artists

C．seeing an exhibition

D．learning life drawing

2.“Torch Aloe” and “Venus Flytrap” are ____．

A．impressive plants B．common insects

C．rarely-seen snakes D．wildlife-enthusiasts

3.We can infer from the passage that Byron seemed ____．

A．to like walking

B．to fear pet bears

C．to be a heavy drinker

D．to finish university in 1805

4.What is the passage mainly about?

A．Some places for weekend break．

B．A way to become creative in art．

C．The colourful life in the countryside．

D．Unknown stories of Cambridge University.

Answer 1