Why not an island get-away?
Newfoundland
Price
From £1080 per person in June 2005
We went with:
Frontier Canada frontier-travel. Co. uk/Canada
About this trip
John Cabot had set sail looking for a new trade route for Asia, when he landed in Cape Bonavista. Clearly he felt this barren desolate landscape could provide this, so he claimed it for its potential and so began the rise of the British Empire.
Newfoundland is the most easterly point in North America and was Britain’s first overseas colony until 1949, when it became part of Canada. It’s roughly the size of England and Craig’s journey by camper van or RV (recreational vehicle) took in just a small part of the island called the Bonavista Peninsula.
First stop was the tiny fishing port of Keels to stock up for the journey ahead. There’s a long standing love affair between Newfoundlanders and cod. The seas off the Newfoundland coast were once the richest cod fishing grounds in the world, attracting fishermen from all over Europe. Many settled, establishing these coastal villages known locally as outports.
An hour’s drive down the coast is the town of Bonavista, where Craig met up with retired fisherman, Wilson Hayward. He told Craig how the landscape used to lie, and described the peculiarities of the language and accents in the area. There’s a different language in every bay.
【小题1】The title “Why not an island get-away?” _________.

第二节完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
阅读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从21~40各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
Russ was a lovable kid with a variety of communication challenges---a speech impediment （语言障碍）, dyslexia （诵读困难）, and auditory problems．__21__ today he is walking confidently, standing tall to make an acceptance __22__ for having been chosen one of the “Outstanding Young Citizens” in Ocean County, New Jersey __23__ his remarkable volunteer service in the town of Toms River．
As I listened, I closed my eyes．I found myself __24__ those memorable moments．My mind was full of warm images of Russ as a loving, caring youth, a gentle soul, __25__ his challenges．And now, as he stood at the platform, I knew his heart __26__ be racing．As Russ continued to speak, I thought about the fateful day when he was diagnosed with all those impairments（损伤） and how __27__ his tutors would be if they could see him today．Here he was at twenty-nine, being honored for ten years of service as a volunteer __28__．Russ was __29__ for organizing clothing for the homeless, teaching preschool children about fire safety, and for playing Santa Claus for very sick children by driving up in a fire truck．
Russ thanked his parents for providing him with dignity and for teaching him about morals．Then, pausing for a few seconds, he __30__ us by surprise by touching lovingly on the __31__ of his nephew, Austin．Austin was just three years old when he died from an incurable disease．At that moment, I had to close my eyes again __32__ a different set of tears ran down my cheeks．A silence __33__ the room as Russ owed his volunteer award to Austin．He __34__ his address by lifting up the audience with these words, “Austin taught me how to love．”
I have never thought of this day．__35__, no one had ever thought that Russ would made __36__ as the star of the football team, and he had never been voted “most likely to succeed,” but he __37__ to be a true “star” in his community．Russ became a man of strong character __38__ his unselfish service to others．With so many impairments, Russ now sees and acts __39__ with his heart．His words and deeds inspire everyone who knows him．It is Russ, our son, who has shown us what __40__ is．
21．A．And         B．While              C．As            D．But
22．A．point         B．speech             C．call          D．appeal
23．A．in spite of     B．regardless of       C．because of     D．in face of
24．A．recalling      B．recording         C．seizing         D．expecting
25．A．facing up to     B．concerning about     C．escaping from  D．putting up with
26．A．could              B．might              C．would          D．must
27．A．nervous       B．excited            C．proud          D．surprised
28．A．policeman     B．tailor             C．tutor         D．fireman
29．A．grateful       B．responsible          C．anxious        D．fit
30．A．took         B．got               C．shocked       D．moved
31．A．birth         B．achievement        C．loss          D．disease
32．A．since         B．after             C．when         D．before
33．A．dropped down  B．got up             C．took off       D．fell over
34．A．concluded     B．wrote                  C．delivered     D．started
35．A．Generally     B．Surprisingly        C．Actually      D．However
36．A．it             B．him              C．one          D．that
37．A．happened     B．rose              C．appeared      D．reduced
38．A．at             B．on               C．by            D．in
39．A．cautiously     B．generously          C．closely         D．clearly
40．A．sharing        B．love             C．sacrifice       D．confidence

So there are four of them in this car heading north from Coleman in the heart of Texas to the town of Abilene (阿比林), some 53 miles away. It is a hot day, and the drive is dusty and boring. Someone has had the bright idea to interrupt a nice family game of dominoes (多米诺) to go on a four-hour round-trip to eat at a really not very good restaurant.
When they are back home again, one family member admits that she hasn’t enjoyed herself all that much. One by one they all confess that they would rather have stayed at home. “I only went along with it because I thought the rest of you wanted to go,” says everyone. No one wanted to go to Abilene. It had just happened.
This story was first told by Professor Jerry Harvey in an article published in 1974 called The Abilene Paradox (悖论) and other meditations on management. It offers a wonderful insight into the way that decisions can sometimes just emerge, without ever being consciously “made”.
Whether they mean to or not, groups exert a pressure to conform (顺从). A senior management team can find itself a long way down the track to a bad decision without realizing that the idea has very little support around the table.
Close-knit (组织严密的) teams are easily influenced by the pull of groupthink. The late Professor Janis suggested several ways in which teams can avoid it. Two key steps are to invite experts from outside into meetings, and to appoint at least one person to the role of “devil’s advocate” — a role that should be played by different people in different meetings.
【小题1】The four family members have decided to go on a four-hour round-trip to the town of Abilene because _______.

第三部分：阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C 和D）中，选出最佳选项。
Having divorced (离婚) my dad, my mom had to move frequently in order to find a job that would provide her with enough money to support the big family. For three years, we lived in the town of Parkersburg. On the first Christmas there, my brothers and I had been well prepared for a holiday without presents. But we had a surprise on Christmas Eve.
At midnight, we were woken up by someone shouting at our front door, “Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!” We jumped up and ran to the door to find no one there, but several boxes and bags! Not only were there gifts, which were our favorite, but there were also clothes and food. Each of us kids, as well as Mom, had gifts with our names on them. And the clothes all fit us!
Another year went by and on Christmas Eve, we again got boxes and bags full of goodies. The next year we moved. We were in the same town but across the other side. Mom was beginning to get on her feet. Since we had moved and Mom had a better job, we were quite certain that “Santa” wouldn’t visit us that year. But we were wrong!
Those “Santa” visits restored in me the belief in the goodness of mankind, though to this day we don’t know who our helper was.
When we grew up, Mom moved to Virginia. She had some extra money one Christmas. She sent it to me and let us know her decision. We then took action. My husband and children had so much fun buying and wrapping presents for the needy family we had chosen. On Christmas Eve, we allowed the excited kids to stay up late to be part of our secret “Santa” project.
Such satisfaction there was in being able to pass on the gift of love to others who needed it. And the gift goes on!
56. From the first paragraph, we can learn that ______.
A. the writer’s family didn’t like to celebrate Christmas
B. the writer felt sorry about not having Christmas presents
C. the writer’s mother couldn’t afford any Christmas presents
D. the writer knew that something surprising would happen
57. The presents that the writer’s family received must be from _______.
A. someone who has no children        B. someone who knew them well
C. the church in the neighborhood       D. the richest family in the town 
58. What decision did the writer’s mom make in the fifth paragraph?
A. To give her extra money to a poor family.   
B. To thank the person who once helped her family.
C. To give some Christmas presents to a poor family in secret.  
D. To invite a poor family to spend Christmas with her family.  
59. This passage is written to ______.
A. show pity to the poor people        B. show human kindness  
C. thank the helper                 D. show the advantages of being rich

A youth lay in a bath of tomato juice during the “Tomatina” Tomato Fight in the town of Bunol, near Valencia, eastern Spain.

Tens of thousands of people took off their shorts and threw tons of juicy tomatoes at each other in the Tomatina food fight, creating knee-deep rivers of tomato sauce (酱) on the streets of this Spanish town.

Five trucks carried 130 tons of the fruit for the hour-long fight which attracted foreign tourists. Among them are British, French, Argentineans and Japanese, as well as locals.

On the bell of noon the signal was given and for the next 60 minutes participants (参加人) hurled tomatoes at each other until a gunshot signalled the end of the festival.

The clean-up followed, with fighters washing the signs of battle away in the local river or under hundreds of temporary (临时的) showers. While the front of buildings were watered, they seemed brighter than ever after their bath.

The Tomatina, held on the last Wednesday in August, is said to be the world’s largest tomato fight. In the past people have been hurt during the tomato fight but no one was killed or injured this year.

The origin (起源) of the festival is unknown, but everyone in Bunol seems to have a favorite story. However, most agree it started around 1940.

1.The passage shows that the tomato fight this year is __________.

2.The underlined word “hurled” means “__________”.

3.According to the passage, we can learn that __________.

4.What is the best title for the passage?