Choose Your One-Day Tours!

Tour A — Bath & Stonehenge: Including entrance fees to the ancient Roman bathrooms and Stonehenge — £ 37 until 26 March and £ 39 thereafter.

Visit the city with over 2,000 years of history and Bath Abbey, the Royal Crescent and the Costume Museum. Stonehenge is one of the world's most famous prehistoric monuments dating back over 5,000 years.

Tour B — Oxford & Stratford: Including entrance fees to the University Church of St Mary the Virgin and Anne Hathaway's house — £ 32 until 12 March and £ 36 thereafter.

Oxford: Includes a guided tour of England's oldest university city and colleges. Look over the "city of dreaming spires (尖顶)" from St Mary the Virgin.

Stratford: Includes a guided tour exploring much of the Shakespeare wonder.

Tour C — Windsor Castle & Hampton Court: Including entrance fees to Hampton Court Palace — £ 34 until 11 March and £ 37 thereafter.

Includes a guided tour of Windsor and Hampton Court, Henry Ⅷ's favourite palace. Free time to visit Windsor Castle (entrance fees not included). With 500 years of history, Hampton Court was once the home of four Kings and one Queen. Now this former royal palace is open to the public as a major tourist attraction. Visit the palace and its various historic gardens, which include the famous maze (迷宫) where it is easy to get lost!

Tour D — Cambridge: Including entrance fees to the Tower of Saint Mary the Great — £ 33 until 18 March and £ 37 thereafter.

Includes a guided tour of Cambridge, the famous university town, and the gardens of the 18th century.

Most high school students would rather spend their summer vacations far away from the classroom. But Vineet Kosaraju and Nikhil Cheerla are choosing to go back to school, and this time they are the teachers.

"I think it's really nice that I can help the community by spending just a little bit of time every week helping just a few students here and there try and learn programming," Kosaraju said.

Friends since they were young boys, Kosaraju and Cheerla always shared a love of computer science. They learned the skills from their parents and school, but recognized that not all children have that chance.

"Programming isn't taught in that many schools, especially low income schools, because there isn't that much money to support it," Kosaraju said.

So he and Cheerla developed "Math and Coding," an after-school program for kids of all ages to learn the basics of computer programming.

Between applying for college and doing their own homework, the two boys now spend a few hours every week going to different libraries teaching classes that cover everything from building basic games to developing apps.

The friends started the program a little over a year ago and already, it's spread to more than a dozen libraries across the Bay Area in California. They are even training volunteers to teach these very same classes in other US states and Canada.

Maryann Mitchell brought her 8-year-old granddaughter Gabriella, to a class on coding at the Alum Rock Library in San Jose, California.

"It's a chance for her to learn," Mitchell said. "It's the way of the future, and it's a good way for her to get grounded and be ready for what the future holds."

I think the most rewarding thing is having people come up and thank you and say they really learned a lot from this class," Cheerla said. "It doesn't get any better than that."

When mothers I know talk about their gifted kids, I will have a lot of conflicting emotions. I get it that the moms are proud, and surely, I don't mind hearing about the kids' other amazing achievements. It's the gifted thing that gets me.

    I would probably feel differently if my daughter Violet was some great prodigy. Maybe I would be out there bragging (吹嘘) with some mothers if she was reading on an eighth grade level instead of struggling through "I'll Teach My Dog a Lot of Words". Like every other parent, I had dreams of Violet being some kind of combination of Lincoln and Mozart. But in schoolwork at least, Violet seems solidly normal, ahead of some in her class, behind when compared to others.

    But why do I care? Normal is a good thing! Normal is great! As it is, what I'd like to brag about seems like a thing people never care about. My Violet is a really great little girl. She's a little hothead, with a temper, but she also cares about other people's feelings. When friends of hers are sick, she wants to make them little cards and pictures to help them feel well. A new little girl came to her classroom last week, and Violet noticed she was feeling lonely and scared, so she asked the new girl to play at break.

    But no one brags how nice their kid is. Too bad. That's the kind of thing I'd like to hear. I don't think I'd mind listening to lots of stories of kindness. "Oh yeah? Well, my kid took his plate to the sink without asking!" "Yeah? My kid lined up his shoes in rows in his closet and then sat on my lap and told me I was pretty!" Listening to those kinds of stories makes me feel cheery. They make me feel like the world is a good place, full of people who care for each other. Unlike those about kids who are trying to be the best. 

While visiting the North Pole in winter may not be at the top of your list, the ever-changing ICEHOTEL, which opened its doors to visitors on December 14 this year, may change your mind. Lying 200 km north of the Arctic Circle in Jukkasjärvi, the hotel, which is carved entirely from ice, is rebuilt annually, with each getting increasingly beautiful and impressive.

    The 29-year-old tradition began accidentally in 1989, after Jukkasjärvi residents organized an art show in a 5.5-square-meter ice house to try to call tourists' attention to the remote village during the freezing winter months. The exhibition was a huge success, attracting many day visitors. However, it was not until a group of adventurous souls arrived with sleeping bags, announcing their intention to spend the night inside the house, that the idea of the frozen hotel was born.

The ICEHOTEL has come a long way since its beginnings. It covers an area of over 5,500 square meters. The planning begins months earlier in March when about 5,000 tons of ice are harvested from the river and transferred to cold storage, where they sit till the beginning of winter. Construction begins in earnest in November, when about 100 workers come to the region. By December, the unique frozen accommodation is ready to open for business.

Regardless of whether visitors select the luxury carved suites or the basic ice rooms, the temperature is always set to a bone-chilling -5℃! That is why guests are advised to lie close inside warm sleeping bags and wear gloves and winter hats all night. Not surprisingly, most end up spending just a single night at this unique hotel before moving on to the conventional, and warmer cabins nearby.

    In addition to the unique rooms, the hotel also offers guests fun activities like snowshoeing, or dog sledding, and for those brave enough to suffer through the below freezing temperatures — overnight wilderness camping! The hotel's single restaurant serves food, while the drinks are always chilled to perfection in the world-famous ICEBAR!

People who experience face blindness can have a hard time in their social life. They have trouble remembering or recognizing faces. The term "face blindness" isn't exactly accurate though. They just can't put all the parts together into one coherent image that they remember and recognize when they see it again, which is why proper name for face blindness is prosopagnosia, or literally "not knowing the face".

These clues include the way they sound (their voice or accent), the way they look (body size, shape or height), the way they smell, their clothing, their hair (style, colour or length) and obvious features on their face (beards, piercings heavy eyebrow, glasses). Because they're not always unique to one person and they can change. This is why face blindness can cause so much stress.

If you don't experience face blindness, you've probably never given much thought to your ability to recognize familiar people or how important that is to your social interactions and feelings of safety. But imagine if you didn't know whether the person approaching you is a friend or a stranger.  Or imagine not being able to find the teacher when you need to use the toilet, because your teacher wears glasses and none of the adults in the room are wearing glasses today.

A. These are important ways to remember someone's face.

B. Do you say hello or just keep on walking?

C. Those with face blindness have to use other clues to recognize people.

D. It's easy to see the effect this would have on your social skills and confidence.

E. These are much less effective ways to recognize someone.

F. There are tests you can take to get an idea about your face-recognizing abilities.

G. They actually can see faces.

Last Saturday, I decided to visit my cousin in Ithaca. It was a 9-hour journey by bus to my 1.

The first2of the journey spanned (跨越) about six hours. Then, I had to3to another bus, which spanned about three hours. 4, my first bus got delayed (延误) by two hours. 5, I missed my second bus and had to wait for a6of hours until I could take the next bus. It was 6:00 pm when I waited for the bus. I called my cousin to tell him about the delay and7that it might be midnight when I reached home.

While I was on8, I did not realize that there was a lady standing close by, listening to my 9. I also couldn't have10that what was about to follow would have a deep11on me.

When I12, the lady came close to me and we got into a conversation. She asked me about my journey. When she learned that it had already been a long and13day for me, she took out some snacks and 14them to me. This was a kind act and I felt thankful. However, that was not all that I would15that evening.

As I16my conversation with her, I learned that she was from a17background. This made my heart sink not out of sadness18out of humbleness (谦卑). I realized how true and kind an act of giving is when one19away what another needs. As I stood beside this20lady, I found myself feeling a lot. The strongest feelings were gratitude (感激) and the need to give up my own selfishness.

What on earth does happiness mean? I can't give you its exact definition, but I am sureyou love and help others, you'll get it.

I'll never forget an old lady, lives in a small house alone. It's said that her husband and her son(die) in a road accident years ago. Her life is bitter, but she often helps others with a smile. Whenever it snows, she is always the first (clean) the paths.

She looks after several children (live) nearby. Perhaps she is unlucky, but I think she is a happy person. Her life is full of (laugh) and love.

But I'm sad to see some people getting their happiness in bad ways. They talk (noise) in cinemas and meeting rooms; they destroy trees to enjoy (they) and they laugh at others' shortcomings. Perhaps they feel happy that time, but they will never get true happiness because they have lost their personality already.

Now I know happiness is. It means kindness, love and unselfishness. Above all, I have come to understand that bringing happiness to others is getting ourselves happiness.

注意：1）词数100左右；

2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

        Brady was a recently retired search and rescue dog. He was not happy and missed his owner Al because Al had gone out on a rescue mission without him. Al's nephew Steve took Brady along when he and his friend Zach went on a overnight hike. But suddenly Steve and Zach smelled something burning and they realized that lightning had set the woods on fire. Wind-blown flame had leaped from the top of one tree to another. The long dry summer had turned the forest into a tinderbox (火绒箱) and the thunderstorm wasn't helping much. It had more wind and lightning than rain. Zach pulled Steve's arm. "Let's go! We can make it back to the river we crossed today." Steve pulled Brady's leash (皮带) and they headed down against the strong fire-wind. They hurried down the path they had followed earlier. The air was full of smoke, and pine branches broke from burning trees with a crisp sound. Steve kept his eyes on the route. All they had to do was to make it down to the river…

Brady barked a sharp warning. Ahead of them lay a dense curtain of smoke across the path. They'd never make it through that. They would have to find another escape route. The dog was pulling at his leash trying to draw them away from the smoke. This was what Brady was trained to do, and yet Steve was uneasy. It seemed to him they were moving away from the river.

        Brady lifted his head and smelled the smoky wind. Suddenly, the dog ran away and disappeared. The boys yelled and shouted for him, but he didn't come back.

They had no choice but to leave him behind. Heartsick, Steve and Zach went up a slope (斜坡). He couldn't blame Brady for panicking and escaping. He himself wanted to run even though he didn't have a clue which way. They hadn't gone far when there was a familiar bark, and Brady came running toward him.

注意：

1）所续写短文的词数应为150左右；

2）应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；

3）续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；

4）续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。

Paragraph l:

"Where've you been?" Steve cried.……

Paragraph 2:

Brady led them back down the slope and into the trees.……