In the hit film The bucket List, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman meet in hospital in California after they have been diagnosed with cancer. Between them they cook up a “bucket list” ------ a to-do list of all they want to do before they kick the bucket. The movie makes you wonder what would be on your bucket list. So let’s pack up some and see what it would cost to go out and have a little fun.

THE PYRAMIDS, GIZA, EGYPT

On to the pyramids, surely on anyone’s bucket list. Exotik Tours can take you there on a variety of trips, including their popular Egypt Express which includes three nights in Cairo and a three-night Nile Cruise (乘船游览). From $1,384, including four-and five-star accommodation, 12 meals and a ton of sightseeing.

www.exotiktours.com   416-646-3347

TAJ MAHAL, AGRA, INDIA

One of the world’s most fascinating images, India’s Taj Mahal makes even Nicholson and Freeman look calm. Toronto’s Goway Travel has many suggestions for India, including a three-day independent visit to Agra. Stay at the attractive Oberoi AmarVilas overlooking the Taj. Include two breakfasts, touring and airport transfer from $1,420.

www.gowaytravel.com    416-322-1034

THE GREAT WALL, CHINA

If the Great Wall of China is on your bucket list, check into Tour East Holiday’s four-day Amazing Beijing Tour for $580 per person, four-star accommodation, sightseeing including the Forbidden City and the Great Wall, breakfasts and two lunches, transportation and guide.

www.toureastholidays.com    416-929-0888

THE HIMALAYAS, NEPAL

And on to the Himalayas. Talk about something truly majestic (壮丽的). See the top of the world on GAP Adventures’ Everest Adventure tour, a 15-day exploration including Everest Base Camp, teahouse lodge stays, and walking through Sherpa villages. Incredibly affordable at just $665 plus local payment of $250. GAP Adventures warns that this is a physically demanding trip.

www.gapadventures.com     416-260-0999

1.The underlined phrase “kick the bucket” in Paragraph 1 means ____.

A. come to life                  B. play a game

C. list interesting places        D. pass away

2.According to the passage, where can you enjoy a view of the whole Taj Mahal?

A. In Sherpa village.      B. Near the Forbidden City

C. At Oberoi AmarVilas     D. Through Egypt Express

3.If you take on the Everest Adventure tour, you should be aware that ____.

A. it is a tiring trip

B. the sights may not be so good.

C. you may not be used to the food there

D. it is an expensive trip

4.Which of the following websites may offer you more information about Agra?

A. www.exotiktours.com       B. www.gowaytravel.com

C. www.gapadventures.com           D. www.toureastholidays.com

 

The website YouTube was created in 2005 and became an overnight success.Google bought YouTube for more than $1,600,000 the following year.In May,YouTube announced that two billion videos were watched each day.

In June,the Guggenheim Museum in New York City announced it would hold a competition among YouTube videos.Now,the judges have chosen the top 125 videos.

The Guggenheim and YouTube launched the competition called“YouTube Play.A Biennial(两年一度)of Creative Video.”The information technology companies HP and Intel are supporting the event.23,000 videos entered the competition.They represented 91 countries and every possible style of movie making.

The rules of the competition were few.Video makers had to be eighteen years or older.They could enter only one video.It had to be no more than ten minutes long.Any language,subject,sound,and style were considered.

Eleven people are judging the videos.They include artists,musicians,and filmmakers.Laurie Anderson is all three.She says all her art starts with a story,so she looks for a story as she judges the videos.

Other judges include the filmmaker Darren Aronofsky,the band Animal Collective,and artist and filmmaker,Shirin Neshat.

New Jersey artist Dahlia Elsayed’s video is one of the finalists.She used the camera in her computer to record herself describing her daily food desires for one month.The video is simple,short,and interesting.

A frightening,but beautiful video came from Chile.The video by Niles Atallah,Joaquin Cocina Varas.and Cristobal Leon is called“Luis”.It is an animated ghostly story of a tense,angry boy.It is very dark,but impossible to stop watching.

“Mars to Jupiter”is a video from Canada by Sterling Pache.It is about a survivor of the 1994 genocide(种族屠杀)in Rwanda.The video explores how her past still haunts(萦绕) her.

Other chosen videos are from France,Spain,Taiwan,Australia,and Israel.Almost thirty countries are represented.You can see them if you link to YouTube Play from our website at voaspecialenglish.com.

People can also see the 125 videos at the Guggenheim museums in New York；Bilbao,Spain;Berlin,Germany;and Venice,Italy.

On October 21,the YouTube Play judges will announce the final twenty winning videos at a special event at the Guggenheim in New York.The Videos will be on View there until October 24.

Accoding to the text,YouTube might be        .

A.a video sharing website

B.a supporting company of the event

C.a museum in New York City

D.a frightening,but beautiful video

Who were supposed to enter the contest according to the text?

A.Video makers in English—speaking countries.

B.Video makers from New York City.

C.Video makers all over the world.

D.Video makers under the age of 18.

Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?

A.The rules of the competition were quite complicated.

B.Twenty videos will finally be picked out as the best.

C.The style of video was strictly limited.

D.Only artists can judge the competitio.

         is a simple and relaxing story about daily life.

A.“Mars to Jupiter”                      B.Niles Atallah’s video

C.“Luis”                                 D.Dahlia Elsayed’s video

The text is mainly about        .

A.a famous wetsite                         B.a famous museum

C.some interesting videos                  D.a video competition

A major source of teen stress is school exams, and test anxiety is not uncommon. When you recognize your teen is under stress, how can parents help your teen stay calm before an exam?

Be involved. Parents need to be involved in their teen's work.    1.  What they look for is your presence - to talk, to cry, or simply to sit with them quietly. Communicate openly with your teen. Encourage your teen to express his worries and fears, but don't let them focus on those fears.

Help them get organized.   2.   Together, you and your teen can work out a time-table in which she can study for what she knows will be on the test.

Provide a calm setting. Help your teen set up a quiet place to study and protect his privacy. Give them a nutritious diet. It's important for your teen to eat a healthy, balanced diet during exam times to focus and do her best.    3.   If this happens, encourage your teen to eat light meals or sandwiches. A healthy diet, rather than junk food, is best for reducing stress.

  4.  Persuade your teenager to get some sleep and/or do something active when she needs a real break from studying. Making time for relaxation, fun, and exercise are all important in reducing stress. Help your teen balance her time so that she will feel comfortable taking time out from studying to spend time with friends or rest.

Show a positive attitude.   5.  Your panic, anxiety and blame contribute to your teen’s pressure. Make your teen feel accepted and valued for her efforts. Most importantly, reassure your teen that things will be all right, no matter what the results are.

A．A parent's attitude will dictate their teen's emotions.

B．Exam stress can make some teens lose their appetite.

C．They will only make the situation worse.

D．Encourage your teen to relax.

E. The best thing is simply to listen.

F. Help your teen think about what she has to study and plan accordingly.

G. Your teen may also make negative comments about themselves.

 

SYDNEY 2005-01-01 08:33—Mother of two, Jillian Searle, had to choose between her children when she made a life-or-death decision.

Swept up by mountainous tsunami (海啸) waves at a Thai resort ( 旅游胜地), she could not hold on to both her young sons and survive . Fighting to stay above the waters , she had to choose which one would have to take his chances in the swirling torrent (漩流).

“I knew I had to let go of one of them and I just thought I’d better let go of the one that’s the older,” she told Sky News television in a report broadcast on Thursday. She said she was accompanied by the two boys, Lachie, 5, and two-year-old Blake, and their father, Brad, who had watched the drama helplessly from their first-floor hotel room, when the waves struck. “And I was screaming, trying to find him, and we thought he was dead,” she told reporters on arrival back in Australia. Lachie was found alive about 2 hours later clinging to a door and, looked uninjured as his mother spoke to reporters.

British surfer (冲浪运动员) Martin Markwell is also a lucky man. He had always dreamed of catching that perfect wave –but when it finally came along, it was a nightmare. He was on his surfboard when he was swept up by a tsunami wave.

“It was really terrible because I was surfing, I was really surfing on a wave I wasn’t supposed to be on,” he said. “As an experienced surfer, when I saw the wave come I realized something was wrong, but I couldn’t escape because my surfboard was tied to my ankle.”

His wife Vicki and son Jake looked on in horror from a hotel balcony as he crashed towards the shore. Luckily , he stayed on top of his board until he reached the hotel , jumped off and got to safety as the ocean rolled back to feed a much larger tsunami wave on its way . The family regrouped and ran to safety just minutes before a giant tsunami wave 10 meters high.

1.When the waves struck, the father Brad        .

A. reported the disaster to Sky News television

B. was watching a drama play on TV in the hotel

C. tried to find his son lost in the waters

D. watched things going on , unable to do anything

2.The underlined word “him” refers to        .

A. an old man    B. Lachie   C. Brad     D. Blake

3.Which of the following is wrong ?

A. Lachie and Martin were both with their family members when the disaster happened.

B. Lachie and Martin both survived from the high waves when tsunami struck.

C. Lachie and Martin were both travelers from Europe on holiday in Thailand.

D. Lachie and Martin were both alive owing to their good luck.

4.The best title of this news story would be         .

A. Narrow Escape     B. Disaster Caused by Tsunami

C. Exciting Surfing Experience   D. Struggle Against Tsunami

 

　短文改错（共10小题；每小题1分，满分１0分）

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同旧式写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词作斜线（\）划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

      2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

Dear Ms Smith,

I am secretary of the City Student Union (CSU). We were organizing an art

exhibition for high school students in city. This will be held on the 9^th of July

in the Exhibition Hall of Beihai. More than 1000 painting will be on show, but

high school students and teachers from all the eight districts will come to the event.

As you are very popularly with us Chinese high school students, we’d like to invite

For you to the exhibition. We would be grateful when you could join them that day.

Looking forward to hear from you soon.

Yours,

Li Ming