Studying abroad is an amazing experience, especially when you come to Australia as an Overseas (外國的)
high school student. You can have a lot of fun here, especially on holidays.
    There are many festivals in Australia. The most important one is obviously Christmas. Each year, the
summer holiday of every high school lasts about two months from the beginning of December to February,
which covers the Christmas time. Since it is a long holiday, most overseas students love to fly back to their
home countries to spend the time with their families and friends, but a few students still stay in Australia during
the holiday to get part-time jobs. It is quite easy to find a part-time job at Christmas. Students often take part in
another major social activity. They go to the beach to have fun in the sunshine. The summer in Australia is
from December to February, so going to the beach in December is very popular among Australian.
     Easter in March is another important holiday in the year. It actually combines (使聯(lián)合) "Good Friday" and
"Easter Monday". Almost every shop closes on Good Friday. And people usually go to see Easter Show. 
    The Chinese New year is not a public holiday in Australia, so every Chinese student still has to go to school
to study and do his or her normal duties.

1.Summer holidays in Australia often begin in ______.

A.September
B.February
C.July
D.December

2.In Australia, you can spend Christmas ______.

A.in January
B.in March
C.in summer
D.in winter

3.Overseas students ______ in their summer holidays.

A.go to the beach to find part-time jobs
B.can do part-time jobs
C.continue to study at school
D.must do their normal duties

4.Probably people seldom (不經(jīng)常) ______ on Good Friday in Australia.

A.go to see Easter Show
B.spend the time with their friends
C.have fun
D.go shopping

5.Students in Australia go to school ______.

A.in the Chinese New Year
B.at Easter
C.at Christmas
D.on Easter Monday

    The first people who drank tea were the Chinese, because the bush grew wild all over the south of China.
They liked the taste, and found that the drink could refresh (使精力恢復(fù)) them.
    People living in Europe first learned about tea growing and drinking from a book printed in Italy in 1599.
The writer said that tea was a wonderful medicine. Although people in Europe knew about tea in 1599, it was
another fifty years before the first tea from China reached Holland (荷蘭).
    A few years later, tea was brought overland from China to Russia. The long difficult journey was made
over mountains and across deserts (沙漠).
    The new drink reached England in 1657. It was sold at one of the coffee houses. Only the very rich people
could afford to drink.

(     )1. Chinese people found that tea could refresh people first.
(     )2. Tea is a kind of medicine according to a book printed in Italy.
(     )3. Four countries were mentioned in the passage.
(     )4. Russia knew about tea earlier than England.
(     )5. People in Europe first know about tea in1657.

     Sport is full of wonderful moments, but perhaps nothing is as exciting as the finish of the marathon. It is the
longest, hardest race of all. The name "marathon" comes from a village in Greece. A famous battle was fought
there in the year 490 B.C. When the Greeks had beaten the Persians, a soldier ran all the way from Marathon to
Athens-more than 40 kilometers-to tell people the good news. When the modern Olympic Games were stared in
1896, the organisers (組織者) knew this story. The marathon has been a race since then.
     In the ancient world the Olympics were held every 4 years. They were an important part of
life. In the modern Games we try to copy their ideas. The finest sportsmen in the world are collected in one
place-or at least, the finest "amateure" are. An amateur is someone who does not earn any money from sport. It
is often difficult to say who is an amateur and who is not. It is true that Olympic athletes (運(yùn)動(dòng)員) do not earn
large amounts of money like professional sportsmen. But Olympic athletes are often students or teachers for a
sport. They have to spend a lot of time training. Their governments pay for their training, travel and "pocket
money", because they want them to win. Some people think that this changes the Olympics. They feel that the
Games are now a political marathon.

1. The word "marathon" was first used for a _____.

A. battle
B. story
C. place
D. race

2. The marathon race was run in 1896 because ______.

A. there was such a race at the ancient Olympic Games.
B. the distance was once run by a famous Greek soldier.
C. the Olympic games were held at Marathon in 1896.
D. the longest race has always been called a "marathon".

3. Modern Olympic Games are held _______ years.

A. every
B. every 4
C. 3
D. every 3

4. An amateur is someone who earns _______ money from sports.

A. a lot of
B. little
C. no
D. some

5. Olympics are becoming a political marathon because _____.

A. the governments pay the players to win
B. players spend a lot of time training
C. players get pocket money
D. the governments train the players

    This is a song millions of Americans will hear this New Year's Eve. It is called Auld Lang Syne (《友誼地
久天長》). It is the traditional music played during the New Year's celebration. Auld Lang Syne is an old
Scottish poem. It tells about the need to remember old friends.
    The words "auld lang syne" mean "old long since". No one knows who wrote the poem first. However, a
version by Scottish poet Robert Bums was published (出版) in 1796. The words and music we know today
first appeared in a songbook three years later.
    The song is played in the United States mainly on New Year's Eve. The version (譯文) you are hearing
today is by the Washington Saxophone Quartet. As we end our program with Auld Lang Syne. I would like
to wish all our radio friends a very Happy New Year! This is Buddy Thomas.

1. This passage is from ______.

A. a newspaper.
B. a magazine.
C. a TV program.
D. a radio program.

2. ______ is introducing Auld Lang Syne to us.

A. Robert Bums.
B. The Washington Saxophone Quartet.
C. Buddy Thomas.
D. The passage doesn't tell us.

3. From the passage, we know that The song Auld Lang Syne mainly played in the USA ______.

A. On New Year's Eve.
B. On Christmas Eve.
C. On weekends. D.On holidays.

4.The words and music of Auld Lang Syne we know today first appeared ______.

A. In 1790.
B. In 1793.
C. In 1796.
D. In 1799.

5. The song Auld Lang Syne is about ______.

A. the history of Scotland
B. an old Scottish poet
C. the need to remember old friends
D. the wishes to the radio friends

     There are many unique (獨(dú)特的) hotels around the world. In Greenland, there is a hotel made out of ice, open
between December and April every year. In Turkey, there is a cave hotel with a television, furniture, and a
bathroom in each room. And in Bolivia, there is the Salt Palace Hotel.
     Thousands of years ago, the area around the Salt Palace Hotel was a large lake. But over time, all the water
disappeared. Today, the area had only two small lakes and two salt deserts(不毛之地).
     The larger of the two deserts, the Uyuni salt desert, is 12,000 square kilometers. During the day, the desert
is bright white because of the salt. There are no roads across the Uyuni desert. So local people must show
guests the way to the hotel.
     In the early 1990s, a man named Jusan Quesada built the hotel. He cut big blocks of salt from the desert and
used the blocks to built it. Everything in the hotel is made of salt: the walls, the roof, the tables, the chairs, the
beds, and the hotel's bar.
     The sun heats the walls and roof during the day. At night the desert is very cold, but the rooms stay warm.
The hotel has twelve rooms. A single room costs $40 a night, and a double room costs %60.
     A sign on the hotel's wall tells guests: Please don't lick (舔) the walls.

1. What is unique about the Salt Palace Hotel?

A. Its long history.
B. The price of the rooms.
C. The guests that stay here.
D. What it is made of.

2. Which sentence about the area around the Salt Palace Hotel is NOT true?

A. It was a lake many years ago.
B. It is white during the day.
C. There are several roads to the hotels.
D. It is more than 10,000 square kilometers.

3. Where did the salt used for the hotel come from?

A. A salt factory.
B. The ground.
C. Turkey.
D. The walls of the hotel.

4. Who is Jusan Quesada?

A. A hotel guest.
B. A guide.
C. The hotel's owner.
D. An expert (專家) on salt.

5. What keeps the rooms warm at night?

A. Heat from the walls.
B. The desert air.
C. The sun.
D. The furniture.

     When my wife and I went to live in an Arab country, my friends told us to be prepared for a culture shock.
Later, we realized that the advice given to us by our friends was correct.
     The culture shock started with the weather. Here, the burning sun can cook an egg in a minute! The hot
weather made us feel so tired that we were falling asleep at midday!
     Another culture shock was the working week. We worked from Saturdays to Wednesdays, including
Sundays. It was also strange to see people praying (禱告) in a certain direction! They have strict rules for
women. They do not let people see their faces in public. They do not let women drive cars, either. All dresses
worn by women have to cover the body completely. They believe that women cannot be seen in public.
     At the weekends, we went camping in the desert. I will never forget watching the sun setting over the desert.
We also enjoyed riding on the camels. 
    In the end, we enjoyed living there, but their culture is very different from the American culture.

1. The writer experienced the culture shock             .

A. before going to the Arab country
B. after camping in the desert
C. during stay in the Arab country
D. while watching the sunset

2. People in the Arab country do not go to work             .

A. on Mondays and Tuesdays
B. on Saturdays and Sundays
C. on Wednesdays and Thursdays
D. on Thursdays and Fridays

3. Which of the following is strict rules for women in the Arab country?
   a. Cover faces in public.         b. Don't go outside.
   c. Be dressed in white.           d. Never drive cars.

A. a; c
B. a; d
C. b; c
D. b; d

4. What does the writer think of living in the Arab country?

A. He enjoyed living there.
B. He enjoyed the culture there.
C. He was interested in praying.
D. He felt strange to see the weather.

5. What does the underlined word "shock" mean in Chinese?

A. 理解
B. 打擊
C. 滲透
D. 沖擊

    This week, London will be full of celebrations to welcome the Year of the Rat. Every year, London 's
Chinatown holds the largest event outside of Asia to celebrate Chinese New Year.
    This year in the UK, there seems to be a huge number of interest in Chinese culture. For the third year
running,the "China in London" season is being held. It will run from February to April, when the Beijing
Olympic flame (奧運(yùn)圣火) will pass through London. The "China in London" season will have a huge number
of events, from art shows to modern dances, film festivals to tea tastings.
    The main Chinese New Year celebration will be held on Sunday 10th February, and about 300,000 visitors are
expected to join in. Both traditional and modern Chinese arts will be shown by British-born and Chinese
performers (表演者). The main event of the day is the huge parade (游行) through the streets of London, led
by a traditional dragon dance, followed by musicians, artists and children. It wouldn't be Chinese New Year
without fireworks, so you will see fireworks all afternoon. Happy New Year to you! We hope you will enjoy
your celebrations as much as we will do in London.

1. The Chinese New Year celebration in London is _______.

A. held every year
B. the largest one in the world
C. held every three years
D. held for the Beijing Olympics

2. How long does the "China in London" season last?

A. For three years.
B. For one year.
C. For three months.
D. For one week.

3. Which event will be held in London's Chinatown on Sunday 10th February?

A. Coffee tastings.
B. A modern dragon dance.
C. A huge parade.
D. British art shows.

4. From the passage we can know that _______.

A. the "China in Iρndon" season is held for the first time
B. people in the UK are a bit interested in Chinese culture
C. the firework is the only symbol of the Chinese New Year
D. the writer will join in the celebrations in London

5. Which is the best title (標(biāo)題) of the article?

A. Chinatown in London
B. Waiting for the Olympic Flame in London
C. Chinese Culture in London
D. Welcoming the Year of the Rat in London