Welcome to Ontario Parks，a new body set up to manage Ontario's most treasured special places, the parks in our area.

We are entering a very exciting year for Ontario Parks. Last season we asked some 15，000visitors in 45 parks how we could improve our programs and services. We also looked at the thousands of comment cards we received. As a result, new comfort stations have been added，the number of campsites has been increased, and we've made other facility（设施）improvements. In addition，we'll be providing more educational programs. This year, for example, more than 40parks will offer special day and evening activities to excite your curiosity about nature and history.

Through the Internet, you'll be happy to know that you can now explore all 270 parks on line. Let your family plan your park vacation, study a map of canoe routes, listen to the call of a loon or find up-to-date information about programs，services and facilities.

So come and discover what Ontario Parks has to offer. Our parks are places to go with families and friends，for relaxation and fun，or simply to get away from it all. They are places where we can enrich our souls and "recharge our internal（内部的）batteries". They provide chances to explore nature，see wildlife, swim, canoe，camp, hike, picnic，ride a bike.…You'll enjoy some of the best outdoor experiences available anywhere in the world.

We urge you to make 2006 the year that you come out and have an Ontario Parks experience!

1.The writer's purpose in writing the text is to _______．

A. tell more people the improvements in Ontario Parks

B. attract more people to explore the parks on line

C. praise the beauty of nature in Ontario Parks

D. have more people visit the parks

2.The facility improvements of Ontario Parks include＿．

A. new programs and services

B. new comfort stations and campsites

C. comfort stations and special activities

D. new campsites and educational programs

3.From paragraph 4，we know that Ontario Parks offers visitors＿．

A. the world's new sports and games

B. the most exciting adventures in the world

C. many choices to relax and refresh themselves

D. chances to experience all the outdoor activities

4.According to the text, we can safely say that＿．

A. some visitors suggested more campsites

B. about 15,000 people visited 45 parks last season

C. many more people will visit Ontario Parks in 2006

D. the manager of Ontario Parks worries they will have fewer visitors

Long long ago, there was a man who was good at shooting arrows (弓箭). He asked the king to declare him as the greatest archer (射手) of the country．The king was about to do so when an old servant of the king said，“Wait，sir. I know an old man who lives in the forest. He is a much greater archer. Let this young man go to him and learn from him for at least three years.”

The man could not believe what the servant said, but he went and found the old man and he was! For three years he learned from him. Then one day，when he thought he had learned everything, the thought arose in him: “If I kill this old man，then I will be the greatest archer.”

The old man had gone to cut wood and he was coming back carrying wood on his shoulder. The young man hid behind a tree, waiting to kill him. He shot an arrow. The old man took a small piece of wood and threw it. It struck the arrow and the arrow turned back and wounded the young man very deeply. The old man came，took out the arrow and said. “I knew that some day or other you were going to do this. That is why I have not taught you this secret. There is no need to kill me．My Master is still alive, and I’m nothing before him. You must be with him for at least thirty years. And he is very old, so go fast! Find the old man!”

49. The young archer wanted to kill the old man because_______.

A. he could then become the greatest archer

B. he had nothing more to learn from him

C. the old man refused to teach him everything

D. the king’s old servant ordered him to do so

50. What do you think would most probably happen next?

A. The young archer died from the wound soon after.

B. The king declared the young man the greatest archer.

C. The young archer found the old man’s master and killed him.

D. The young archer set off to look for the old man’s master.

51. What lesson can you learn from the story?

A. Always use a piece of wood to protect yourself from an arrow.

B. You must never try to become better than your teacher．

C. The older a man is，the better archer he usually becomes.

D. There is always someone better than you in this world.

Do you have any skiing equipment you no longer need? A ski school in the far north of India could put it to good use.

In March we published a photo story about the extraordinary Zsnskar region in northern India，which is cut off from the outside world for more than seven months of the year，and only accessible (可通行的)via a frozen river．We also included information about the limited use of skiing in the region and the recent creation of the Zanskar Ski School:

“Despite the difficulties of travelling through the region when the snow comes，skiing hasn’t traditionally been used as a means of transport by the locals，largely because trees don't grow here, so there is little in the way of raw materials from which to make skis．In 1995, a group of British scientists in the region noticed the lack of skis and one of them returned to set up the Zanskar Ski School in Padam．The school provides lessons for a small fee and rents skis to the local people. Among the benefits that the school hopes to bring are improved education—children often find it difficult to get to school through the deep snow—and the possibility of offering ski tours to tourists in the future．So far，more than 300 local people have received training，and local doctors and policemen regularly borrow skis.”

But what we weren't able to include in the article is that the ski school is always on the look out for old skiing equipment—particularly of a size suitable for children—and, I thought. Now the European ski season is drawing to a close，there might be a few of you out there who have some old equipment you'd like to see go to a good home．If that's the ease you can get in touch with the school via their website www.zanskarski school.org.

1.What's the purpose in writing the text?

A. To raise money to develop this area

B. To attract more tourists to the area

C. To appeal to more locals to attend the school

D. To ask people to give away their skis to the school

2.The local people don't use skiing to go about because             .

A. it is against the local custom

B. they don't have the wood to make skis

C. trees are in the way of the skiing route

D. it is dangerous to go skiing in this region

3. Who would be the most helpful to the school now?

A. People having old skiing equipment．

B. Students in the Zanskar Ski School

C. Locals in Zanskar region

D. Tavellers enjoying skiing

4.What can be the best title for the text?

A. An extraordinary region in India

B. A home for old skis

C. A good means of transport

D. A popular sport—skiing

Travel Unaccompanied

Now many young people are traveling around the world on their own, not because they have no one to travel with, but because they prefer to go alone．

Kristina Wegscheider from California first traveled alone when she was at college and believes that it is something everyone should do at least once in their life. “It opens up your mind to new things and pushes you out of your comfort zone.” Wegscheider has visited 46 countries covering all seven continents．

In foreign countries, with no one to help you read a map, look after you if you get ill, or lend you money if your wallet is stolen. It is challenging. This is what drives young people to travel alone．It is seen as character building and a chance to prove that they can make it on their own．

Chris Richardson decided to leave his sales job in Australia to go traveling last year．He set up a website, The Aussie Nomad, to document his adventures. He said he wished he had traveled alone earlier. “The people you meet, the places you visit, or the things you do, everything is up to you and it forces you to grow as a person,” said the 30-year-old．

Richardson describes traveling alone like “a shot in the arm”, which “makes you a more confident person that was ready to deal with anything”. He said: “The feeling of having conquered something on my own is a major part of what drives me each day when I’m dealing with a difficult task. I walk around with my head up because I know deep down inside that nothing is impossible if you try.”

The great 19th century explorer John Muir once said: “Only by going alone in silence can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness.”

1.Which of the following will Kristina Wegscheider agree with?

A. Traveling alone is a necessary experience for everyone.

B. It is more meaningful to travel in foreign countries.

C. It is comfortable to travel around without a friend.

D. Traveling abroad helps people to find new things.

2.Traveling alone is challenging because         .

A. it will finally build your character

B. you have to make things on your own

C. you depend on yourself whatever happens

D. it is hard for you to prove yourself to others

3.What can we infer about Chris Richardson?

A. He started traveling at an early age．          B. He was once shot in the arm.

C. His website inspires others a lot.      D. He used to work as a salesman．

One bitterly cold day, a snowstorm blew into our area. Needing firewood, I quickly set out with my best friend, Bruce, to look for a tree to cut down. I was glad to have Bruce along. Cutting down a tree in a snowstorm can be dangerous. So it was important to have a friend who could warn me of dangers.
When I chose a big 23-meter-tall tree and prepared to cut it down, my best friend suddenly warned me, “Don’t cut down that tree! It’s too close to the power line!” I wasn’t sure about it. So I decided to disregard his warning. I wanted to finish the job quickly and go home. So I began cutting down the tree. When the tree fell, there was no longer any doubt that my friend was right.
The tree caught the power line, bringing it to the ground. I considered cutting the tree off the line. After all, electricity can’t travel through wood, so I could safely remove the tree. As I reached out my finger to touch the tree, pain ran up my arm and through my head. I had been shocked!
After I returned home and told my mother what had happened, she quickly called the power company. Workers from the power company soon arrived on the scene. One of them asked if I had touched the tree, and when I told him I had, his face turned pale.
“You should have been killed,” he said.
So why am I still alive? It was my boots that saved my life.
Within two hours, the workers removed the tree. Soon the snowstorm calmed down—but not my mother.
Even though she was glad I wasn’t hurt, my mother was well serious with me. After all, I shouldn’t have brushed off my friend’s warning.
Through this experience, I learned that it’s important to listen to people who offer a different perspective(观点). Taking the time to listen might actually save a lot of time and trouble. It certainly would have kept me from getting the “shock of my life”.
【小题1】The underlined word “disregard ” in the second paragraph means “________”.