My friend and I will go on a day _____ to Shenzhen tomorrow.

Paul had just left college and was offered an interview for a position in a company in New York. As he needed to move from Texas to New York if he got the job, he wanted to talk about the decision with someone before accepting it. But his parents had died. He remembered that his father had suggested he should turn to an old friend of his family if he needed advice.

The older man said, “Go to New York and have the interview. But I want you to go on a train and I want you to get a private compartment(车厢). Don’t take anything to write with, anything to listen to or anything to read, and don’t talk to anybody except when you order the meal. Call me when you get to New York and I will tell you what to do next.”

At first, Paul followed the advice closely. The trip took two days. As he had brought along nothing to do, he quickly became bored. He realized he was being forced into quite time – he could do nothing but think. About three hours outside New York City he broke the rules, asked for a pencil and paper and kept writing down the thoughts until the train arrived in New York.

Paul called the family friend from the train station.

“Thank you, Uncle I know what you wanted. You wanted me to think. And now I know what to do.” “I guessed you could understand my idea, Paul,” came the reply, “Good luck.”

Now, years later, Paul runs a company in New York. And he always spends a couple of days being alone with no phone, no television and no people to think quietly.

1.Paul would go to New York for __________.

A. a conference     B. a visit          C. education            D. an interview

2.We can know from the passage that _______.

       A. Paul had worked in Texas for three years.

       B. the older man advised Paul to go by air

       C. Paul broke the rules before arriving in New York.

       D. Now Paul runs companies both in New York and Texas.

3.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

       A. Paul had a talk with a clever man during the trip.

       B. The older man’s advice influenced Paul greatly.

       C. Paul only brought a pencil and paper with him.

       D. The older man lived in New York.

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

       A. Time to be quiet                  B. You’re not alone

       C. Studying in the Journey           D. Friends are useful

Chris Jones recently completed a very unusual journey. Our reporter Mary Owen met him at his home in the south of London and be told her all about the trip.
Reporter: What gave you the idea to make a trip around India on an elephant, Chris?
Chris: Well, it all started the idea two years ago when I was planning a trip to India. I visited a photo exhibition of elephants and I realized that the only enjoyable way to make a trip around India was on an elephant.
Reporter: What did you do next?
Chris: I flew to New Delhi and started looking for an elephant, I needed an elephant trained to carry people. I didn’t know anything about elephants, so I asked an expert(专家) for help. He taught me how to ride an elephant. He also helped me find an elephant.
Reporter: How long did it take you to find a suitable elephant?
Chris: Not too long. I bought a famale elephant called Tara for about 6.000 dollars.
Reporter: Can you tell me about the journey?
Chris: Tara and I set off from New Delhi a week later. We were going to Sonepur in northern India. There is a big elephant market there and I could sell Tara easily. And what a ride! Elephants can travel at about 6 miles an hour and Sonepur is more than 1,200 km away. It took us 64 days to complete the journey.
Reporter: Did you have any problems on your journey?
Chris: Yes, a few. But nothing serious. On the third day. Tara hurt her foot. But that got better quickly. Also, there was a lot of heavy rain during the first week and we got very wet!
Reporter: What happened when you reached Sonepur?
Chris: My plan was to sell Tara. But I was very fond of her. I couldn’t take her back to Britain and I didn’t want to sell her at the market. I happened to meet some people who wanted an elephant for their national park in southern India. I knew that Tara would be safe with them, so I gave her to them. I was very sad to say goodbye.
【小题1】Chris got the idea to make a trip around India on an elephant from ______

Tibet is among the most popular places for Chinese tourists. The number of travelers to Tibet has grown by 10% every year for a few years. Since July 1,2006, when the first train ran 1956 kilometers from Xining to Lhasa, more and more people have been going to Tibet.

The train stops at several famous places along the way, such as Qinghai Lake, Kunlun Mountain, and the Potala Palace. Passengers can also enjoy many activities during the journey, like Tibetan dancing and Karaoke.

On the train, passengers can have tea, eggs and noodles for breakfast, and fried chicken and green vegetables for lunch and dinner. Unlike most Chinese trains which have open – hole toilets, this one has special toilets which can collect the waste. There is also a special rubbish system (系统) in the train that keeps the environment clean. All the windows on the train can protect people from the bright sunlight. TV and electrical sockets (插座) for computers and mobile phones can be found on the train.

Because there isn’t much oxygen there, trains will have oxygen masks (氧气罩) for those who need them. It makes passengers feel more comfortable when they have enough oxygen on the famous “roof of the world”. There are also doctors on the train to make sure that all of the travelers are safe.

1.Which of the following is NOT among the places of interest?

       A．Qinghai Lake                                    B．Karaoke.

       C．Kunlun Mountain.              D．The Potala Palace.

2.The train is unlike most Chinese trains except its            .

       A．windows     B．toilets        C．sockets        D．rubbish

3.The underlined word “them” in the last paragraph refers to          .

       A．oxygen masks                  B．doctors        C．oxygen D．passengers

4.We can learn from the passage that         .

       A．flying to Tibet is impossible B．train to Lhasa is too clean to take

       C．train trip to Tibet is popular with travelers

       D．taking train to Lhasa causes a lot of trouble

5.What’s the best title of the passage?

       A．Tibet – Roof of the World     B．Magic Train to Magic Tibet

      C．Beautiful Views in Tibet   D．A Comfortable Trip to Tibet