One day on my luxury (奢侈的) holiday cost 30 yuan. Bus ticket: 2 yuan. Breakfast, lunch and dinner: 5 yuan. Hotel: 20 yuan. OK, so it was a 10-seater bus with only four seats that weren’t broken and 20 other people on it. OK, all my food came from one steamed bun (包子) stand at the side of the road, and the “hotel” was a hostel (青年旅社), and I shared a room with four strangers. But the steamed buns I bought were so delicious and the bed in the hostel was soft and comfortable and I had the best night’s sleep I’d had in years.

Cheap travel is “in”. It’s on reality shows, and it’s all around us. People who once went to five-star scenic spots are suddenly filling youth hostels and campsites, showing off to their friends about their 24-hour trip in the third-class sleeper train across Mongolia.

Now, I’m not a millionaire who can afford more than a budget holiday. But even if I could, I don’t think I’d spend the money.

Budget travel is addictive (令人上瘾的). It’s partly the challenge of squeezing the most out of your pennies — and it can get a bit ridiculous(荒唐可笑的). My stomach wasn’t too impressed with the meat stir-fry I bought from a stand simply because it was 1 yuan, for example.

But it’s easy to travel in a smart way, too. With the Internet, you can always check out reviews and find hostels, food and things to do, recommended by other budget travelers who’ve been there before. You don’t have to suffer, and it means you can afford to spend more nights on holiday, see more things and have more experiences.

1.The author mentions her budget travel story at the beginning to ________.

A. show what budget trips are generally like

B. introduce the best trip she’s had over the years

C. show how difficult it can be to spend as little money as possible

D. display her ability to spend her money cleverly

2.The underlined word “in” in the second paragraph probably means ________.

A. forgottenB. popularC. overlookedD. tough

3.What’s the author’s suggestion to budget travelers?

A. Share your travel budget with rich friends.

B. Only eat at street stands and live in hostels.

C. Organize budget trips with people you have traveled together with before.

D. Read other budget travelers’ tips online.

At the age of 16, I joined a volunteer group with my dad. I went on my first volunteer project in West Virginia. On the night we arrived, we ________ that “our family” was living in a trailer (拖车) that was in ________ condition. A crew had been working on it for two weeks, ________ every time they finished one problem, another surfaced.

We decided the only reasonable ________ was to build a new house — something unusual but ________ under these circumstances. The family was overjoyed with their new house that was twenty by thirty feet with three bedrooms, a bath and a kitchen.

On Tuesday of that week, while we ate lunch together, I asked the family’s three boys, Josh, Eric and Ryan, “What do you want for your new room? ” Expecting ________ and other gadgets (小玩意) that children usually ask for, we were ________ when Josh responded, “I just want a bed.”

The boys had ________ slept in a bed! They were accustomed to plastic mats. That night we had a meeting and decided that beds would be the perfect ________. On Thursday night, a few adults in our group drove to the nearest city and bought beds and new bedding.

When we saw the delivery truck coming, we told the family about the surprise. We could hardly ________ ourselves. It was like watching excited children on Christmas morning.

That afternoon, as we fitted the frames of the beds together, Eric ran into the house to ________ us. Too dirty to enter his room, he observed with wide-eyed enthusiasm from the ________.

As my father slipped a pillowcase (枕套) onto one of the pillows, Eric asked, “What is that?”

“A pillow,” he replied.

“What do you do ________ it?” Eric continued to ask.

“When you go to sleep, you put your head on it,” I answered softly. Tears came to my eyes as my father handed Eric the pillow.

“Oh ... that’s soft,” he said, ________ it tightly.

Now, when my sister or I start to ask for something that seems urgent, my Dad gently asks,?“Do you have a pillow?” We know exactly what he ________.

1.A. imaginedB. ignoredC. discoveredD. required

2.A. brightB. strangeC. perfectD. poor

3.A. soB. butC. otherwiseD. though

4.A. effortB. purposeC. solutionD. treatment

5.A. necessaryB. expensiveC. amazingD. rare

6.A. toysB. moneyC. foodD. sneakers

7.A. upsetB. gladC. disappointedD. astonished

8.A. stillB. justC. neverD. seldom

9.A. awardB. giftC. lessonD. target

10.A. controlB. believeC. helpD. express

11.A. amuseB. guideC. helpD. watch

12.A. bedB. doorwayC. yardD. house

13.A. withB. forC. aboutD. on

14.A. squeezingB. huggingC. throwingD. shaking

15.A. explainsB. provesC. meansD. reflects

Rodney Smith, Jr. started mowing the lawns (割草坪) in Huntsville, Alabama last fall. He used his time between classes at Alabama A&M to reach a goal of mowing 100 yards before winter. Smith has been cutting grass for free to help single moms, the elderly, and the disabled, while teaching the local youth the values that can turn boys into men. “I’m doing something positive. I want boys to follow me and be better than me,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

Rodney is from Bermuda. He says people there help each other and are always friendly. “That’s what drives me to help people.”

In May this year, he was getting ready to launch his mowing service for the summer when he heard about a 93-year-old woman trying to cut grass by herself. Smith and a friend showed up to do the job for her.

In November, a local TV station gave him $300, calling it a special gift for his good work. After he received the money, he used it to create the non-profit(非盈利的) service group, Raising Men Lawn Care Service. He also started a page to collect money to buy lawn equipment and other things—including T-shirts with special logos.

After I read about Rodney’s story, I told my friends about him. We also planned to mow lawns for single moms, the elderly and disabled in our neighborhood. And I hope more and more young people will join Rodney’s service group—Raising Men Lawn Care Service.

1.What was Rodney Smith, Jr.’s goal last fall?

A. To mow 100 yards for free.

B. To start a non-profit service group.

C. To set a good example to his kids.

D. To make use of time between classes.

2.What does the underlined word “launch” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A. Improve. B. Find. C. Start. D. Help.

3.What did Rodney do with the money he received?

A. He gave it to the elderly.

B. He improved his mowing service.

C. He gave it to a friend’s service group.

D. He bought many T-shirts for neighbors.

根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Ancient Rome was one of the world’s most powerful empires more than 2,000 years ago. The Romans’ideas about roads, laws, government and buildings still influence us today.

Italy is shaped like a boot. The Colosseum in Rome was built during the time of the Roman Empire, in the first century A.D. 1. It is a popular tourist attraction today. Italy is well-known for its designers,who create cars, handbags, clothes, shoes and other items that are in demand for their style and fine workmanship.

Today, the economy of Italy is stronger than in the past. 2. Today, manufacturing and tourism are the main sources of income. There are some big companies, but Italy has many smaller companies,too.

3. The southern part does not offer as many manufacturing jods, so it is not as prosperous.

Italy is a member of the European Union, a group of countries that join together for better trade. The currency, or money, they use is called the “euro”.

Food and eating good meals are important to Italians. 4. Popular foods include pasta, risotto, minestrone and pizza.McDonald’s is also popular there.

Many families still eat their main meal in the middle of the day.

5. Families spend a lot of time together.

A. The family is very important to the Italian way of life.

B. The country used to depend on agriculture.

C. Mountains cover about three-fourths of the country.

D. It could seat about 50,000 people, who went to see fights between animals and prople.

E. While there are some supermarkets, many people shop at small, neighborhood markets.

F. Italy has several islands off the coast.

G. The northern part of the country is the main manufacturing center.

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