As we all know，people redecorate their hotels regularly．However，very few do it as frequently as Sweden's Icehotel．As the name indicates，the hotel that is located in the remote village of Jukkasjarvi，is built entirely from ice and，therefore，has to be rebuilt annually!The 26th version of Icehotel，which welcomed its first visitors on December 11th，features 69rooms．To make them affordable for everyone，they range from expensive luxury suites to basic accommodations．

Among this year's unique suite offerings is the"Elephant in the Room"，which features a massive 3﹣m tall sculpted African elephant overlooking an ice﹣framed bed．The"Counting Sheep"suite features frozen sheep that may help those who don't sleep well get a good night's rest．Though the atmosphere between the luxury suites and the budget rooms may differ，they are all subject to the bone﹣chilling﹣5℃temperatures．To get a good night's rest guests have to lie inside sleeping bags and keep their gloves and hats on．Though that seems a little uncomfortable，visitors say it is an experience like none other．

The hotel also features a beautifully crafted ice church where over 100couples will get married this year and an Ice Bar that will serve drinks in ice glasses．Though dining options are limited to the hotel's only restaurant，guests will have little to complain about with Michelin﹣trained chef Alexander Meier．To keep customers entertained，the hotel offers a variety of fun activities like snowshoeing，moose or snowmobile safaris，dog sledding，and even overnight wilderness camping．

The 26﹣year﹣•old tradition began accidentally in 1989when locals organized an art exhibition to draw winter visitors to the remote village that lies 200km north of the Arctic Circle．Among the many tourists was an adventurous group and they announced their intention of spending the night in the place where the exhibition was being held．That's when the idea of building the icy accommodations dawned on the locals．

1．Why is Sweden's Icehotel rebuilt every year？　  　

A．It needs more rooms．

B．It is entirely built from ice．

C．It follows old traditions．

D．It can be easily decorated．

2．What is unique about the hotel this year？　  

A．It opens earlier than ever before．

B．More expensive rooms are available．

C．Room prices are more affordable．

D．Some rooms have theme sculptures．

3．What can be inferred about the hotel in Paragraph 3？　 

A．Its service needs improving．

B．Its activities may be boring．

C．It tries to attract more customers．

D．Its food is not delicious at a1l．

According to the latest survey by the Asian Development Bank，Asian parents are spending billions of dollars on private tutors （家庭教师） for their children and the practice is growing despite doubts about its effectiveness．

"Shadow education"is an expanding business not only in wealthy countries，but also in some of the region's poorer nations as parents try to give their children the best start in life，the study said．Nearly nine out of 10South Korean elementary pupils receive private tutoring，while the figure for primary school children in India's West Bengal state stands at six out of 10．

The study estimated that the costs of private tutoring in South Korea were equivalent （相等的） to 80percent of government spending on public education．Japan spent 12billiononextrateachingin2011，whilethefigureforSingaporestoodatUS 680million in 2009．

Extra academic work aims to help slow learners and support high achievers．Many Asian parents view it as a constructive way for adolescents to spend their spare time．However，it can also reduce the students'time for sports and other activities important for their overall development as well as cause social tensions as richer families are able to pay for better﹣quality tutoring，the study said．

The study calls for a review of educational systems to make such extra teaching less attractive．

4．Why is"Shadow education"an expanding business？　  　

A．Because parents want to spend their money．

B．Because children don't want to go to school．

C．Because parents want their children to stay with teachers．

D．Because parents want to give their children the best start in life．

5．According to the article，what is the purpose of extra academic work？　  　

A．To aid slow learners and support high achievers．

B．To prepare children for all kinds of academic contests．

C．To increase children's hobbies and interests in many fields．

D．To gain the most knowledge students can't get in class．

6．Which disadvantage of extra academic work is NOT mentioned？　  　

A．Causing social tensions．

B．Spending more extra money．

C．Lacking the chance to communicate with others．

D．Reducing the students'time for sports and other activities．

7．What is the text mainly about？　  　

A．The government policy on educational systems．

B．How to provide the best education for children．

C．The importance for children's overall development．

D．The reasons for the popularity of private tutors for children．

Etymology，the study of words and word roots，may sound like the kind of thing done by boring librarians in small，dusty rooms．Yet etymologists actually have a uniquely interesting job．They are in many ways just like archaeologists （考古学家） digging up the physical history of people and events．The special aspect of etymology is that it digs up history，so to speak，through the words and phrases that are left behind．

The English language，in particular，is a great field to explore history through words．As a language，English has an extraordinary number of words．This is partly due to its ability to adapt foreign words so readily．For example，"English"words such as kindergarten （from German），croissant （from French），and cheetah （from Hindi） have become part of the language with little or no change from their original sounds and spellings．So English﹣language etymologists have a vast world of words to explore．

Another enjoyable thing about etymology for most word experts is solving word mysteries （谜）．No，etymologists do not go around solving murders，like the great detective Sherlock Holmes．What these word experts solve are mysterious origins of some of our most common words．

One of the biggest questions English language experts have  pursued is how English came to have the phrase OK．Though it is one of the most commonly used expressions，its exact beginning is a puzzle even to this day．Even its spelling is not entirely consistent﹣﹣unless you spell it Okay，it is hard even to call it a word．

Etymologists have been able to narrow OK's origin down to a likely，although not certain，source （来源）．It became widely used around the time of Martin Van Buren's run for president in 1840．His nickname was Old Kinderhook．What troubles word experts about this explanation is that the phrase appeared in some newspapers before Van Buren became well known．It is likely that Van Buren could be called its primary source．Etymologists will doubtlessly keep searching for the original source．However，it is clear that OK's popularity and reputation have topped those of the American president to whom it has been most clearly linked．

8．The author mentions the words like"croissant"in Paragraph 2to show　  　．

A．words have changed a lot in the two languages

B．what English﹣language etymologists are exploring now

C．English has absorbed many words from other foreign languages

D．the English vocabulary is difficult to the non﹣English﹣speaking people

9．The underlined word"pursued"in Paragraph 4means　  　．

A．looked upon     

B．dug up   

C．put in    

D．set down

10．We can learn from the passage that etymologists　  　．

A．discover the possible origin of words   

B．help detectives to solve mysterious murders

C．write interesting stories for some newspapers

D．explore the English language as well as the recent events．

Too many of us are waiting too long to live our best lives．We keep putting everything off until tomorrow．Then，before we know it，we find ourselves asking，"How did it get so late so soon？"

So we'd better make today the beginning of our new life．Take time to figure ourselves out．Take time to realize what we want and need．Take time to love，laugh，cry，and learn．（11）　  　．Here are five things we should start doing today：

Accept ourselves．The secret to happiness and success is the acceptance of ourselves．We will never become who we want to be if we rely on everyone else to qualify us．（12）　   　．So always go with ourselves，never against ourselves．Be who we were created to be and we will set the world on fire．

Make ourselves a priority．To tell the truth，there are only a few people in this world who will stay 100% true to us，so we should stay true to ourselves．Put our own needs into the list of things to do．

（13）　  　．Don't sit back and let things happen to us．Go out and make things happen．We are what we do，not what we say we'll do．Stop saying"I wish"and start saying"I will"．Turn our dreams into plans．

Do the work．We can't underestimate （低估） a person who always works hard．Be that person．（14）　  　．Always remember that the task ahead of us is never greater than the strength within us．Do what's right，not what's easy．Our dreams are worth it．

（15）　  　．We can't force things to happen； we can only drive ourselves trying crazily．There's a time and place for everything．So don't force what's not yet supposed to fit into our life．When it's meant to be，it will be．Work hard，and be patient．

A．Take positive action．

B．Enjoy every moment of life．

C．Life is shorter than it often seems．

D．Everyone has a different way of life．

E．Accept ourselves just the way we are．

F．Allow life to happen like it's supposed to．

G．In life，we don't get what we wish for； we get what we work for．

Disappointedly，my funny summer vacation was completely ruined last year by an advanced device：the iPad．

Instead of looking at nature，I（16）　   　 my e﹣mail．Instead of paddling an old boat，I（17）　   　 my Twitter feed．Instead of reading great novels，I stuck to reading four（18）   　each morning．

And that was the problem：I was acting  （19）　  　 I were still in the office．My body was on vacation but my head wasn't．

So this year I made up my mind to try something （20）　   　：getting away from the Internet．I knew it wouldn't be easy，since I'm not good at self﹣control．But I was determined．I started by （21）　   　 the iPad to my wife．Then，a stroke of luck：The cell phone signal at our cabin was （22）　   　 than in the past，meaning that I couldn't cheat．I was （23）　         　，forced to carry out my plan．Largely （24）　   　 from e﹣mail，Twitter and my favorite newspaper websites，I had little way to connect to the world （25）　  　 radio﹣and how much radio can one listen to，really？I had no（26）　  　 but to do what I had planned to do all along：read books．

This experience has had a （27）　   　 ending﹣for now，at least．With determination and the strong support of my wife，I succeeded in my vacation struggle （28）　   　 the Internet．I （29）　   　 realized that it was me，of course，not the iPad，that was the problem．

I knew I had （30）　   　 when we passed a Starbucks and my wife asked if I wanted to stop to use the Wi﹣Fi．"Don't need it，"I said．（31）　   　，as we return to post﹣vacation situation，a test begins：Can I （32）　   　when I'm back at work？And I don't plan to （33）　              my convenience completely．But I hope to resist the temptation （诱惑） to check my e﹣mail every five minutes，（34）　  　 often leads to following my Twitter feed．

A vacation is supposed to help you reset your （35）　   　 to become more productive （高效的）．Here's hoping this one worked．