Come to our English language school and learn English in Dublin

Be charmed by the magic and charm of this green island!Fly to Dublin and live like Harry Potter，in a magical landscape and old stone buildings．You will experience Ireland's wonderful nature and farms with Irish horses．You will take part in sports activities and dancing．Dublin is an insider's tip to learn English．

Brief information

Accommodation

Family：You will live in friendly host families in single rooms．

The average distance to the school will be 25minutes by public transport．

Residence：You will live in a single room on the school campus in a residence together with other course participants．The school is only a few minutes away on foot．

The leisure program

The school's facilities offer great leisure time choices； you will also be able to take part in excursions（远足） with your school team during the week，as well as，during the weekend．The organized leisure program is included in the course fee．

Possible activities

There are sports such as football and volleyball and afternoon trips to the GAA Museum，the botanical garden，the National Museum or the Guinness Storehouse．Twice a week a disco will be organized in the evening．There is karaoke，film nights，talent shows and board games．

Courses and prices

1．If you live in a residence for 4weeks，you will pay　   　．

A.1，635  

B.1，658   

C.2，135  

D.1，183

2．Which of the following can be inferred from the passage？　  　

A．Dublin is the hometown of Harry Potter．

B．You are free to have access to the Net at school．

C．There are at least 15students in a class．

D．It takes more time to go to school living in a family than in a residence．

3．It is an advertisement for　  　．

A．a language course　　　　　

B．a trip to the GAA Museum

C．a summer camp

D．a holiday travel．

Dear Alcohol，

You've been around forever．I can remember all the pain you've caused for me．

Do you remember the night you almost took my father's life？I do．He loves you．Sometimes I think he loves you more than he loves me．He's addicted to you，to the way you promise to rid him of his problems only to cause more of them．You just sat back and laughed as his car went spinning through the street，crashing into two other cars．He wasn't the only one hurt by you that night．

Do you remember the night of my first high school party？You were there．My friends were intrigued by you．They treated you as if they were never going to see you again，drinking all of you that they could．I spent two hours that night helping my friends who had fallen completely．"I'm so embarrassed，"they said as I held their hair back so that they could vomit （呕吐）．"I'm sorry，"they said when I called taxies for them，walking them out and paying the driver in advance．"This won't happen again，"they said as they were sent to the hospital to have their stomachs pumped．Two 15﹣year﹣old girls slept in hospital beds that night thanks to you．

Do you remember the night when you took advantage of my 17﹣year﹣old neighbor who had to drive to pick up his sister from her dance lessons？Do you know how we all felt when he hit another car and killed the two people in the other car？He died the next morning too．His sister walked home from her dance lesson，and passed police cars and a crowd of people gathering on the sidewalk just two blocks away from the dance studio．She didn't realize her brother was in the midst of it all．She never saw him again．And it's all your fault．

I wish you'd walk out of my life forever．I don't want anything to do with you．Look at all the pain you've caused．Sure，you've made people happy too from time to time．But the damage you've caused in the lives of millions is inexcusable．Stop luring （引诱） in the people I love．Stop hurting me，please．

Sincerely，

Anonymous

4．What is author's purpose in writing to alcohol？　 

A．To introduce Mr．Alcohol to the readers

B．To describe the harm alcohol did to his family．

C．To show how much alcohol can hurt people．

D．To show the great fun that alcohol can bring to people's life．

5．What did alcohol do to the author's father？　 

A．It made him crash into two other cars and killed his life．

B．It made him drink too much and he had to get his stomach pumped．

C．It made him kill two other people when driving．

D．It made him get into a car accident and badly injure himself．

6．The underlined phrase"were intrigued by"is closest in meaning to　  　．

A．were familiar with

B．were interested in

C．were disappointed with

D．were satisfied with

7．What is the tone of the article？　 

A．Critical．

B．Doubtful．

C．Unconcerned．

D．Humorous．

A few months ago the potato was considered an enemy in the obesity battle but a new study shows the food isn't that bad after all．

In June，researchers from Harvard University found that eating some of the potato[]every day，whether mashed（被磨碎），deep fried or baked，caused more weight gain than an extra can of drink or red or some kind of meat．The conclusion was that it happened because potatoes were always cooked﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣making it easier for the body to change the starch（淀粉） which would increase the blood sugar levels．The body then had to work extra hard to get levels down but falling blood sugar made people hungry，which led to eating more food．

But a University of Otago study showed today brought some good news for spud lovers．It found it was hard to tell the glycemic index（GI）（血糖指数） level of mixed meals for persons．"In general，different foods are tested for GI and it is less usual to test the GI for a whole meal，"one of the study's authors，Hayley Dodd，said．"However，in this study，the GIs of three meals were tested．The meals all contained chicken，peas，carrots and mutton together with a lot of food including potato，white rice or spaghetti．"

It found the GI for each meal lower than thought； researchers had expected the potato meal would have a GI of 65，but it came in at 53，which was low．"Although potato is high﹣GI food into their meals﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣our work suggests that having a small amount of potato with a meal isn't going to drive your blood sugar high．

The study involved 30healthy people aged 18﹣50．The research has been published in the October issue of the American．

8．The underlined word"spud"in the third paragraph may mean　  　．

A．chicken     

B．pea    

C．carrot    

D．potato

9．The potato will make people fat easily when　  　．

A．it is eaten raw  

B．it is cooked  

C．it has blood sugar

D．it is eaten[]with drinks

10．If a person has a low blood sugar，he will　  　．

A．feel angry quickly

B．become hungry easily 

C．get thin soon  

D．eat food slowly

11．From the study of the University of Otago we can know　  　．

A．people will get fatter and fatter if they eat potatoes

B．potatoes won't make people fat if eaten with others

C．he glycemic index in the potatoes is very low

D．potatoes are the main enemy in the obesity battle．

The iPhone，the iPad and the iPod．Each of Apple's products sounds cool and has become a fashion．Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter"i"and many other brands are following suit．The BBC's iPlayer，which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet，adopted the title in 2008．A lovely bear （popular in the US and UK ） that plays music and video is called"iTeddy"．A slimmed﹣down version of London's Independent newspaper came out last week under the name"i"．

In general，single﹣letter prefixes have been popular since the 1990s，when terms such as e﹣mail and e﹣commerce first came into use．

Most"i"products are aimed at young people and considering the major readers of Independent's"i"，it is no surprise that they've chosen this fashionable name．

But it's hard to see what's so special about the letter"i"．Why not use"a"，"b"or"c"instead？According to Tony Thorne，head of the Language Center at King's College，London，"i"works because its meaning has become ambiguous．When Apple uses"i"，no one knows whether it means Internet，information，individual or interactive，Mr．Thorne told BBC Magazines，"Even when Apple created the iPad，it seems it didn't have one clear definition．"

"However，thanks to Apple，the term is now associated with portability （轻便），"adds Thorne．

Clearly the letter"i"also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual．Each person believes they have their own needs，and they love personalized products for this reason．

Along with"Google"and"Twitter"，readers of BBC Magazines voted"i"as one of the top 20words that have come to define the last decade．

But as history shows，fashions come and go．From the 1900s to 1990s，products with"2000"in their names became fashionable as the year was associated with all things advanced and modern．However，as we entered the new century，the trend inevitably disappeared．

12．People use the iPlayer to　  　．

A．listen to music  

B．make a call  

C．read newspapers

D．watch TV programs online

13．From the passage，we know that the Independent's"i"is aimed at　   ．

A．old readers     

B．young readers

C．fashionable women

D．engineers

14．Nowadays，the"i"term often reminds people of the products which are　  　．

A．portable     

B．advanced      

C．recyclable     

D．environmentally friendly

15．The author of the passage would probably agree that　  ．

A．"i"products are often of high quality

B．all"i"products have something to do with Internet

C．the popularity of"i"products may not last long

D．the iTeddy is a live bear．

Weekend at last!Something you're looking forward to after a tiring week at work．Here are several tips on how to make the most of your weekends．

Spend time with loved ones．Reconnect with family members or friends you neglected （    疏忽       ） lately．  Don't do it out of guilt or because you have to．Do it because you want to．Reach out to them to see how they are doing．（16）　    　Return their calls if you were busy when they last tried to reach you．Talk to them．Listen to them．Be there for them．

（17）　  　Stay away from TV，iPad，iPhone and any other electronic devices．Unplug!Your brain needs to clear up from all the stress you've put on yourself during the week．Why not read a book instead？A paper one．Seriously，when was the last time you did that？

Laugh，laugh and laugh again．You can never have enough of it．Laugh is the best medicine ever．（18）　  　For example，it helps you manage stress，strengthens your immune system and you are 40percent less likely to suffer a heart attack．

Express appreciation．（19）　  　Be grateful for your family，friends，health，the food you put on the table，the clothes you wear and the air that you breathe．

There you are．Doing a few things during weekends will have a positive long﹣term effect on your life．（20）　  　

A．Apply the"no technology"rule．

B．Pause and pay attention to your thoughts．

C．Friendship is the best source of happiness．

D．Don't call them only when you need them．

E．It benefits your mental and physical health in so many ways．

F．Put them into practice and you'll beat the Monday Blues．

G．This is something you should be doing every day，not only on weekends．