Mylonoa Island in autumn and winter is peaceful and beautiful. It is perfect for a relaxing stay or a brief visit. One can see and enjoy the blue skies, the wide beaches, and also have wonderful walks in the hills, perhaps not every day, but usually until the beginning of January. Visitors and winter tourists often come to Mykonos to discover the traditional Greek island. They can escape busy Athens after business, or calm down after a long European tour before traveling on further to Egypt, Israel, or Asia.
Apart from the more usual tourists, you will find various hikers, walkers, readers, writers, bikers, and so on in this island. You can also visit the beautiful Delos, hike through mountains walk on beaches, explore another side of the island life with some monasteries(修道院), horse ride, or take part in local gatherings and meet some friendly Mykonians,
Mykonos’ climate is Mediterranean and mild. Autumn is always blue skied and sunny, where the temperature only drops very gradually. The nice days for beach going and swimming last until early January. The real winter months are also mild. Even in January, the temperature never drops very to be on. The island has a great percentage of humidity because of the south-easterly winds and rainfall between mid-January and each- March; there is also a possibility of storms and colder northerly winds at this period. Snow is rare, perhaps one every ten years. The clear blue sky still exists for most of the winter.
【小题1】Mykonos island lies in _______.

Autumn means different things to different people. It all depends on your personality, said British naturalist Richard Mabey. "Personality shapes your view of the season," he said. "You may see it as a fading away, a packing up（结束）, or as a time of packing in another sense – the excited gathering of resources before a long journey."

If this is true, perhaps it tells us a little about, for instance, Thomas Hood, the 19th Century English poet. About November, he wrote:

No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease

No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees

November!

On the other hand, another English poet John Keats, already sensing he was seriously ill, was inspired by a late September day to pen one of the most famous poems in the English language, To Autumn. He wrote to a friend afterwards that there was something comforting and healing about it.

According to Richard Mabey, Keats has the biological evidence on his side. Autumn is not a time of slowing down, but a time of new beginnings and great movements of creatures. For example, just at the moment that Keats's "gathering swallows" （in To Autumn） are departing for Africa, millions of creatures are fleeing from the frozen north like Iceland, Greenland and Russia to winter along the east and south coasts of Britain. According to scientists, before falling, the leaves transfer their chlorophyll（叶绿素） and carbohydrates into the woody parts of the tree for safe-keeping over winter. What remains are the natural antioxidants（防老剂） in the leaves: the yellow and orange carotenoids（类胡萝卜素）, and another protective chemical specially produced for autumn, the bright-red anthocyanin（花青素）. High color is not a signal of deterioration（退化） and decline, but of detox（排毒的） ability and good health.

A century after Keats, the American poet Loren Eiseley wrote in his journal: "Suppose we saw ourselves burning like maples in a golden autumn. [And that we could] disintegrate（瓦解） like autumn leaves…dropping their substance like chlorophyll. Would not our attitude towards death be different?"

From Thomas Hood’s poem, we may infer that _______.

         A．he suffered a lot from cold November

         B．he missed the shining summer days very much

         C．he had a negative attitude towards autumn

         D．he enjoyed butterflies and bees very much

Which word can best describe Loren Eiseley’s attitude towards autumn?

         A．Optimistic.        B．Fearful.     C．Doubtful.   D．Realistic.

In autumn, leaves turn yellow before falling because ______.

         A．they can’t bear the freezing

         B．they can’t get enough water from the wood part

         C．chlorophyll and carbohydrates have been lost through leaves

         D．chlorophyll and carbohydrates have come back to the wood part

What does the underlined sentence mean?

         A．Man can never live long, just as leaves must leave the tree annually.

         B．Man is different from autumn leaves, which will come again the next spring.

         C．Man should treat death calmly, just like autumn leaves fall to the ground.

         D．Man should have a positive attitude towards death, quite different from autumn leaves.

September can be a depressing month. The summer holidays are over, it’s time to go back to work or school and Christmas is four months away. However, for some people it’s the perfect time to get away.

These days more and more people are taking their holidays late in the year and for good reasons. Holidays in autumn can be cheaper, the resorts are less crowded and the weather isn’t as extreme as it is in the summer. So, where are the best places to go? Here are our top tips.

Sardinia (in Italy) has an average temperature of 27℃ in September. It also has “Autunno in Barbagia” (Autumn in Barbagia) a series of festivals that take place in 27 villages in Barbagia, a mountainous region of inland Sardinia. The festivals continue from September to December, so there’s always something happening. There are street markets, craft workshops and there’s lots of eating and drinking (This is Italy, after all).

Dubrovnik Croatia has become very popular in summer but it’s quieter and more pleasant once the crowds have left. The weather is still warm but less humid. You can take a ferry to the popular beaches on the islands of Sunj and enjoy it with locals.

Dahab Egypt, is extremely hot in the summer with temperatures up to 38℃. However, the autumn is cooler while the sea is still warm. This makes Dahab the perfect place for snorkeling and windsurfing. There are also interesting historical sites to visit such as the Coloured Canyon, with its dramatic rock formations, and St Catherine’s Monastery, at the foot of Mount Sinai.

Kas is a relaxed fishing village on the Lycian coast in southern Turkey. There are plenty of things to do and the temperature has dropped (so you can actually enjoy doing them!) Kas is a good place to stay if you want to walk part of the Lycian way: a long-distance footpath that stretches for 500km from Fethiye to Antalya through the ancient land of Lycia. There are also watersports, of course. The best time to go diving is supposed to be after the first rains of autumn (usually between late September and early October) when the fish become most active.

Marrakech Morocco is another good destination. The city itself is a fascinating place to spend a few days. When you have had enough of that, go to Tigmi, a beautiful hill town about 20 kilometers away. There’s a hammam (a Turkish bath) and a large heated pool, which makes it the perfect place to relax.

Wherever you go this autumn – have fun!

1.Here are the good reasons for people to take holidays in autumn except that _______.

  A. Holidays in autumn can be cheaper

  B. the scenery in autumn is more attractive

  C. the resorts in autumn are less crowded

  D. The weather is neither too hot nor too cold

2.We can infer from Paragraph 3 that _______________.

  A. visitors can take part in a series of festivals in October in Barbagia

  B. Barbagia in Egypt is surrounded by mountains

  C. the festivals continue from September to November

  D. the temperature in Sardinia in September is always below 27℃

3.For someone who enjoys walking, __________ is the best choice.

  A. Kas        B. Marrakech       C. Dahab        D. Dubrovnik

4.Which of the following places may not be close to sea?

  A. Dubrovnik      B. Dahab        C. Kas         D. Marrakech

An important scientific report announced “irrefutable（不能反驳的） proof” that climate change is happening and it’s all our fault. How long has it been before people are against the global warming idea? But here’s a funny thing. Last year there was a very bad hurricane season in the Caribbean when, among other disasters, New Orleans was all but wiped off the map. We were wisely informed by the experts at the time that this was owing to global warming.

I remember watching a BBC science programme and hearing a learned professor with a beard tell us, “The increased frequency and strength of hurricanes is what we shall have to learn to expect given global warming.”

This year there have been far fewer hurricanes and those there have been were relatively mild. Why？Global warming again of course. Professor Bjorn Lomborg, author of The Skeptical Environmentalist, writes, “In the constant media reports of possible greenhouse related disasters, almost any event is now linked to climate change.” He adds, “We should not spend vast amounts of money to cut a tiny slice of the global temperature increase when this leads to a poor use of resources and when we could probably use these funds far more effectively in the developing world.” For saying this, Lomborg has had death threats.

Other scientists who do not toe the global warming-is-happening-and-it’s-all-our-fault line have received the same. There are plenty of people who count against global warming. A world of senior climatologists and meteorologists wrote to the Times last year to complain that they couldn’t get their research findings published — because they disagreed to it. We have had a warm autumn. The experts,  fanatics（狂热者） all of them, put it down to global warming. If we have an extra cold winter, they will tell us it’s a result of global warming. If my big toe feels cold or hurts badly, it will be owing to global warming.

52. The purpose of this passage may be to ____.

A. support the idea of global warming  

B. organize a debate about global warming

C. speak out against the global warming idea

D. encourage people to use money effectively

53. What happened to New Orleans last year?

A. It was badly destroyed.                          B. It disappeared in the world.

C. It witnessed global warming.               D. It experienced several disasters.

54. From the passage, we can infer that ____.

A. people are taking too many efforts to stop global warming

B. people have realized the side effect of development

C. a different idea sometimes may cost one his life

D. the majority usually stand for the correct opinion

55. The main idea of the last paragraph may be ____.

A. global warming may lead to toe’s catching cold in a sense

B. the Times refuses to publish articles on global warming

C. a warming autumn is not related to global warming at all

D. it is certainly incorrect to owe everything to global warming

September can be a depressing month. The summer holidays are over, it’s time to go back to work or school and Christmas is four months away. However, for some people it’s the perfect time to get away.
These days more and more people are taking their holidays late in the year and for good reasons. Holidays in autumn can be cheaper, the resorts are less crowded and the weather isn’t as extreme as it is in the summer. So, where are the best places to go? Here are our top tips.
Sardinia (in Italy) has an average temperature of 27℃ in September. It also has “Autunno in Barbagia” (Autumn in Barbagia) a series of festivals that take place in 27 villages in Barbagia, a mountainous region of inland Sardinia. The festivals continue from September to December, so there’s always something happening. There are street markets, craft workshops and there’s lots of eating and drinking (This is Italy, after all).
Dubrovnik Croatia has become very popular in summer but it’s quieter and more pleasant once the crowds have left. The weather is still warm but less humid. You can take a ferry to the popular beaches on the islands of Sunj and enjoy it with locals.
Dahab Egypt, is extremely hot in the summer with temperatures up to 38℃. However, the autumn is cooler while the sea is still warm. This makes Dahab the perfect place for snorkeling and windsurfing. There are also interesting historical sites to visit such as the Coloured Canyon, with its dramatic rock formations, and St Catherine’s Monastery, at the foot of Mount Sinai.
Kas is a relaxed fishing village on the Lycian coast in southern Turkey. There are plenty of things to do and the temperature has dropped (so you can actually enjoy doing them!) Kas is a good place to stay if you want to walk part of the Lycian way: a long-distance footpath that stretches for 500km from Fethiye to Antalya through the ancient land of Lycia. There are also watersports, of course. The best time to go diving is supposed to be after the first rains of autumn (usually between late September and early October) when the fish become most active.
Marrakech Morocco is another good destination. The city itself is a fascinating place to spend a few days. When you have had enough of that, go to Tigmi, a beautiful hill town about 20 kilometers away. There’s a hammam (a Turkish bath) and a large heated pool, which makes it the perfect place to relax.
Wherever you go this autumn – have fun!
【小题1】Here are the good reasons for people to take holidays in autumn except that _______.