I travel a lot, and I find out different “styles”(风格) of directions every time I ask “How can I get to the post office?”

Foreign tourists are often confused(困惑) in Japan because most streets there don’t have names; in Japan, people use landmarks(地标) in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”

In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat; in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”

People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “it’s about five minutes from here.” You say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don’t know.

It’s true that a person doesn’t know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A new Yorker might say, “Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don’t know.” People in Yucatan believe that “I don’t know” is impolite. They usually give an answer, often a wrong one.        A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan!

1.When a tourist asks the Japanese the way to a certain place, they usually ______.

2.What is the place where people measure distance in time?

3.People in Yucatan may give a tourist a wrong answer ______.

4.What can we infer from the text?

Mr. Grey was the manager of a small office in London. He lived in the country, and came up to work by train. He liked walking from the station to his office unless it was raining, because it gave him some exercise.

    One morning he was walking along the street when a stranger stopped him and said to him, “You may not remember me, sir, but seven years ago I came to London without a penny in my pockets, I stopped you in this street and asked you to lend me some money, and you lent me £ 5, because you said you were willing to take a chance so as to give a man a start on the way to success.”

    Mr. Grey thought for a few minutes and then said, “Yes, I remember you. Go on with your story!” “Well,” answered the stranger, “are you still willing to take a chance?”

1.Mr. Grey liked walking to his office because ________.

A．he couldn’t afford the buses

B．he wanted to save money

C．he wanted to keep in good health

D．he could do some work on the way

2.Mr. Grey had been willing to lend money to a stranger in order to_______

A．give him a start in life                  B．help him on the way to success

C．make him rich                           D．gain more money

3.One morning the stranger recognized Mr. Grey, and_______

A．wanted to return Mr. Grey the money

B．again asked Mr. Grey for money

C．would like to make friends with him

D．told Mr. Grey that he had been successful since then

4.In the second paragraph,“… take a chance” means ______.

A．Mr. Gray happened to meet a stranger

B．Mr. Grey had a chance to help a stranger

C．Mr. Grey helped a stranger by chance

D．Mr. Grey took the risk that the stranger would not give back the money which he lent him

The past ages of man have all been carefully labeled by anthropologists. Descriptions like ‘Palaeolithic Man’, ‘Neolithic Man’, etc., neatly sum up whole periods. When the time comes for anthropologists to turn their attention to the twentieth century, they will surely choose the label ‘Legless Man’. Histories of the time will go something like this: ‘in the twentieth century, people forgot how to use their legs. Men and women moved about in cars, buses and trains from a very early age. There were lifts and escalators in all large buildings to prevent people from walking. This situation was forced upon earth dwellers of that time because of miles each day. But the surprising thing is that they didn’t use their legs even when they went on holiday. They built cable railways, ski-lifts and roads to the top of every huge mountain. All the beauty spots on earth were ruined by the presence of large car parks.’

The future history books might also record that we were deprived of the use of our eyes. In our hurry to get from one place to another, we failed to see anything on the way. Air travel gives you a bird’s-eye view of the world—or even less if the wing of the aircraft happens to get in your way. When you travel by car or train a blurred (=not clear) image of the countryside constantly smears the windows. Car drivers, in particular, are forever obsessed with the urge to go on and on: they never want to stop. Is it the lure (引诱；诱惑) of the great motorways, or what? And as for sea travel, it hardly deserves mention. It is perfectly summed up in the words of the old song: ‘I joined the navy to see the world, and what did I see? I saw the sea.’ The typical twentieth-century traveler is the man who always says ‘I’ve been there. ’You mention the remotest, most evocative (引起记忆的) place-names in the world like El Dorado, Kabul, Irkutsk and someone is bound to say ‘I’ve been there’—meaning, ‘I drove through it at 100 miles an hour on the way to somewhere else.’

When you travel at high speeds, the present means nothing: you live mainly in the future because you spend most of your time looking forward to arriving at some other place. But actual arrival, when it is achieved, is meaningless. You want to move on again. By traveling like this, you suspend all experience; the present ceases to be a reality: you might just as well be dead. The traveler on foot, on the other hand, lives constantly in the present. For him traveling and arriving are one and the same thing: he arrives somewhere with every step he makes. He experiences the present moment with his eyes, his ears and the whole of his body. At the end of his journey he feels a delicious physical weariness. He knows that sound. Satisfying sleep will be his: the just reward of all true travellers.

1. Anthropologists label nowadays’ men ‘Legless’ because _________.

A. people forget how to use his legs.

B. people prefer cars, buses and trains.

C. lifts and escalators prevent people from walking.

D. there are a lot of transportation devices.

2.Travelling at high speed means _________.

A. people’s focus on the future       B. a pleasure

C. satisfying drivers’ great thrill      D. a necessity of life

3.Why does the author say ‘we are deprived of the use of our eyes’?

A. People won’t use their eyes.

B. In traveling at high speeds, eyes become useless.

C. People can’t see anything on his way of travel.

D. People want to sleep during travelling.

4.What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage?

A. Legs become weaker.

B. Modern means of transportation make the world a small place.

C. There is no need to use eyes.                 D. The best way to travel is on foot.

5. What does ‘a bird’s-eye view’ mean?

A. See view with bird’s eyes.               B. A bird looks at a beautiful view.

C. It is a general view from a high position looking down.

D. A scenic place.

While all my classmates seen to be crazy about a one-way ticket to Mars(火星), I’d rather say Mars is totally unsuitable for human existence. People won’t have enough food supplies there, and the terrible environment would make it impossible for them to live a long life. Besides, the journey won’t be safe. Can anybody explain to me just why people would go to Mars, never to return?

Steve Minear, UK

Here are the things you can think of: the desire to explore a foreign and unique environment, the excitement of being the first humans to open up a new world, the expectation of fame and glory…For scientists there is another reason. Their observations and research will probably lead to great scientific achievements.

Donal Trollop, Canada

There are already too many people on the Earth. I think that sometime before the end of the century, there will be a human colony(殖民地)on Mars. It will happen when people finally realize that tow-way trips to the red planet Mars are unnecessary. Most of the danger of space Flight is in the launches(发射) and landings. Cutting the trip home would therefore reduce the danger of accidents, save a lot of money, and open the way to building an everlasting human settlement on another world.

Enough supplies can be sent on ahead. And every two years more supplies and more people will needs, and Mars is far more pleasant than the other planets in the outer space.

Paul Davies. USA

1. The main purpose of Steve Minear’s writing is     .

2.Which of the following best states Donal Trollop’s idea?

3.Paul Davies points out that      .

4.What does Paul Davies think of human existence on Mars?