Tayka Hotel de Sal

Where：Tahua，Bolivia

How much：About $95 a night

Why it’s cool：You’ve stayed at hotels made of brick or wood，but salt？That’s something few can claim.Tayka Hotel de Sal is made totally of salt—including the beds (though you’ll sleep on regular mattresses(床垫) and blankets)．The hotel sits on the Salar de Uyuni，a prehistoric dried?up lake which is the world’s biggest salt flat.Builders use the salt from the 4,633?square?mile flat to make the bricks，and glue them together with a paste (糊) of wet salt that hardens when it dries.When rain starts to dissolve the hotel，the owners just mix up more salt paste to strengthen the bricks.

Green Magic Nature Resort

Where：Vythiri，India

How much：About $240 a night

Why it’s cool：Taking a pulley(滑轮)?operated lift 86 feet to your treetop room is just the start of your adventure.As you look out of your open window—there is no glass！—you watch monkeys and birds in the rain forest canopy(罩篷)．Later you might test your fear of heights by crossing the handmade rope bridge to the main part of the hotel，or just sit on your bamboo bed and read.You don’t even have to come down for breakfast—the hotel will send it up on the pulley?drawn “elevator”．

Dog Bark Park Inn B&B

Where：Cottonwood，Idaho

How much：$92 a night

Why it’s cool：This doghouse isn’t just for the family pet.Sweet_Willy is a 30?foot?tall dog with guest rooms in his belly.Climb the wooden stairs beside his hind leg to enter the door in his side.You can relax in the main bedroom，go up a few steps of the loft(阁楼) in Willy’s head，or hang out inside his nose.Although you have a full private bathroom in your quarters，there is also a toilet in the 12?foot?tall fire hydrant(消防栓) outside.

Gamirasu Cave Hotel

Where：Ayvali，Turkey

How much：Between $130 and $475 a night

Why it’s cool：This is caveman cool！Experience what it was like 5,000 years ago，when people lived in these mountain caves formed by volcanic ash.But your stay will be much more modern.Bathrooms and electricity provide what you expect from a modern hotel，and the white volcanic ash，called tufa，keeps the rooms cool，about 65? in summer.(Don’t worry—there is heat in winter.)

1.What do we know about Tayka Hotel de Sal?

A．It is located on a prehistoric lake.

B．It should be protected against the rain.

C．Everything in the hotel is made of salt.

D．You have to cross a rope bridge to the hotel.

2.What is the similarity of the four hotels?

A．Being expensive.

B．Being comfortable.

C．Being natural.

D．Being unique.

3.What does the underlined words “Sweet Willy” refer to?

A．The name of the hotel.

B．The name of the hotel owner.

C．The building of Dog Bark Park Inn B&B.

D．The name of a pet dog of the hotel owner.

4.Which of the hotels makes you have a feeling of living in the far past?

A．Tayka Hotel de Sal.

B．Green Magic Nature Resort.

C．Dog Bark Park Inn B&B.

D．Gamirasu Cave Hotel.

It was unusually quiet in the emergency room on December 25.
I was nurse on duty that day. I didn’t think there would be any patients, sighing about having to work on Christmas. Just then five bodies showed up at my desk, a pale woman and four small children.
“Are you all sick?” I asked suspiciously.
“Yes,” she said weakly and lowered her head.
But when it came to descriptions of their presenting problems, things got a little vague. Two of the children had headaches, but the headaches weren’t accompanied by the normal body language of holding the head or trying to keep it still. Two children had earaches, but only one could tell me which ear was affected. The mother complained of a cough but seemed to work to produce it.
Something was wrong, but I didn’t say anything but explained that it might be a little while before a doctor saw her. She responded, “Take your time; it’s warm here.”
On a hunch (出于直觉), I checked the chart after the admitting clerk had finished registering the family. No address---they were homeless. The waiting room was warm.
I looked out at the family huddled by the Christmas tree. The little one was pointing at the television and exclaiming something to her mother. The oldest one was looking at an ornament on the Christmas tree.
I went back to the nurses’ station and mentioned we had a homeless family in the waiting room. The nurses, grumbling about working Christmas, turned to compassion for a family just trying to get warm on Christmas. The team went into action, much as we do when there’s a medical emergency. But this one was a Christmas emergency.
We were all offered a free meal in the hospital cafeteria on Christmas Day, so we claimed that meal and prepared a banquet for our Christmas guests. We needed presents. We put together oranges and apples in a basket. We collected from different departments candies, crayons and other things available that could be presents. As seriously as we met the physical needs of the patients that came to us that day, our team worked to meet the needs, and exceed the expectations, of a family who just wanted to be warm on Christmas Day.
Later, as the family walked to the door to leave, the four year old came running back, gave me a hug and whispered, “Thanks for being our angels today.”
【小题1】Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?

Last winter, when I was heavily pregnant, I was visiting my sister and brother-in-law's house and had to park in a nearby parking lot because they didn't have accessible parking. The snow was extremely heavy and there was lots of ice on the ground --- not many people had ventured out that evening!

When I returned to my car around 11pm, I noticed that I was the only car left. Nervously, I hopped into the car and let it warm up a bit. When I finally tried to drive away, my wheels began to spin. I was stuck! I spun and spun and wondered what to do.

All of a sudden, in my rear view mirror, I saw four teen-aged boys approaching my car. They were walking side by side in a line and dressed a bit like gang members --- at least I thought that's what they looked like. My car was in a very isolated area and I began to panic. I was certain they were coming to my car to harm me. Terrified, I just froze. One of the young men tapped on my window and said "Excuse me, Ma'am, can we help you? You seem stuck." Still afraid and fearing the worst, I said "I am stuck." And the young man said "It's okay, stay in your car and we'll push you out of the snow." And they did!

When they finally got me out of the snow, they smiled and waved. I rolled down my window and thanked them, embarrassed to have judged them so poorly.

1.Why did the author just freeze when the four young men walking toward her car?

A. Because she was afraid of being harmed.

B. Because she sat in her car for too long a time.

C. Because she was cold indeed in that freezing evening.

D. Because she knew they would rob her of the car.

2.Which of the following words can best describe the four young men?

A. Impolite.                       B. Ill-mannered.

C. Unfriendly                              D. Warm-hearted.

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A. One of the four teenagers was a gang member.

B. The kids wanted to help the author out of trouble.

C. The author would have a baby in her car.

D. The young men enjoyed pushing cars out of the snow.

4.The best title for the text would be___________

A. Every man has his faults

B. Fortune favors those who use their judgment

C. Don't judge a book by its cover

D. Think twice before you do.

When a rare disease ALD threatened to kill the four-year-old boy Lorenzo, his parents refused to give up hope. Doctors explained that there was no cure for ALD, and that he would probably die within three years. But Lorenzo’s parents set out to prove the doctors wrong.

The parents devoted themselves to keeping their son alive and searching for a cure. But doctors and the families of other ALD patients often refused to take them seriously. They thought the efforts to find a cure were a waste of time, and drug companies weren’t interested in supporting research into such a rare disease.

However, the parents still refused to give up and spent every available hour in medical libraries and talking to anyone who would help. Through trial and error, they finally created a cure from ingredients (调料) commonly found in the kitchen. The cure, named "Lorenzo’s Oil", saved the boy’s life. Despite the good results, scientists and doctors remained unconvinced. They said there was no real evidence that the oil worked and that the treatment was just a theory. As a result, some families with ALD children were reluctant to try it.

Finally, the boy’s father organized an international study to test the oil. After ten years of trials, the answer is: the oil keeps ALD children healthy.

1.Doctors said that Lorenzo might die within three years because_____ .

A. they had never treated the disease before????

B. Lorenzo was too young to be cured

C. no cure had been found for ALD????????????

D. ALD was a rare disease

2.The families of other ALD patients thought that _____ .

A. the research for the new cure would cost too much money

B. the efforts of Lorenzo’s parents were a waste of time

C. Lorenzo’s parents would succeed in finding a cure

D. Lorenzo’s oil was a real cure for ALD

3. Scientists and doctors believed that Lorenzo’s Oil_____.

A. was really effective???????????????????? B. was a success story

C. only worked in theory?????????????? D. would save the boy’s life

4. From the passage we can conclude that_____.

A. doctors remain doubtful of the effectiveness of the cure

B. many ALD patients still refuse to use the oil

C. various cures have been found for ALD

D. the oil really works as a cure for ALD

When did you last see a polar bear(北极熊)? On a trip to a zoo, perhaps? If you had attended a winter activity in New York a few years ago, you would have seen a whole polar bear club. These "Polar Bears" are people who meet frequently in the winter to swim in freezing cold water. That day, the air temperature was 3℃,and the water temperature was a little higher. The members of the Polar Bear Club at Coney Island, New York are usually about the age of 60. Members must satisfy two requirements. First, they must get along well with everyone else in the group; this is very important because there are so many different kinds of people in the club. Polar Bears must also agree to swim outdoors at least twice a month from November through February.
Doctors don't agree about the medical effects of cold-winter swimming. Some are worried about the dangers of a condition in which the body's temperature drops so low that finally the heart stops. Other doctors, however, point out that there is more danger of a heart attack during summer swimming because the difference between the air temperature and water temperature is much greater in summer than in winter.
The Polar Bears themselves are satisfied with the benefits of cold-water swimming. They say that their favorite form of exercise is very good for the circulatory system(循环系统) because it forces the blood to move fast to keep the body warm. Cold-water swimmers usually turn bright red after a few minutes in the water. A person who turns blue probably has a very poor circulatory system and should not try cold-water swimming.
The main benefits of cold-water swimming are probably mental. The Polar Bears love to swim all year round; they find it fun and relaxing. As one 70-year-old woman says, "When I go into water, I pour my troubles into the ocean and let them float away."
【小题1】The members of the Polar Bear Club must meet the following requirements except that____.