Who says you don't have time to travel?I know,balancing your work,family and social life can be a struggle,but you need that to properly do your job.Here is a short list of 4 weekend trips under 250,starting from London.

Dusseldorf,Germany

Dusseldorf is famous for its modern architecture,great nightlife and festive Christmas markets in December.

●Medienhafen—Very modem harbor,with great views on Dusseldorf's skyline.

●Kaiserswert—Visit the ruins of the old castle and marvel at 18^th century houses.

Flight: 23          Hotel: Messezimmer am Thewissenweg 190             Total: 213

Toulouse,France

Lovingly named 'La Ville Rose' (the pink city) because of its rosy-toned brick buildings.

●Musee des Agustins—After the Louvre,this art museum is the oldest in France.

●Learn French—People in the Toulouse area speak slowly,which is a perfect opportunity for learning the language of love.

Flight: 34          Hotel: Campanile Toulouse Purpan 82               Total: 116

Oslo,Norway

Oslo is worth every dime! Purchase an Oslo Pass for getting most out of your trip,such as free entrance to most museums.

●Visit the Viking ship museum—Viking are awesome.Period.

●Marvel at the Akerhus fortress—Great for spending a morning in to learn about history.

Flight: 39          Hotel: Comfort Hotel Xpress Central Station 185       Total: 224

Madrid,Spain

Spain is always a great idea!There's way more to do than what we can fit into a weekend,but you could make a nice start.

●Admire the royal palace—It's just the biggest palace in Western Europe.

●Watch flamenco—Learn some new dance moves on the go!

Flight: 58          Hotel: Far Home Atocha 85                                       Total: 143

21.If you want to visit museums free of charge,you can go to       .

A.Dusseldorf,Germany                 B.Toulouse, France            C.Oslo,Norway         D.Madrid,Spain

22.What can you do in Madrid?

A.Learn the local language of love.                         B.Learn about history at the Akerhus fortress.

C.Admire the ruins of the old castle.                D.Visit the biggest palace in Western Europe.

23.The article is probably taken from       .

A.a travel guidance                      B.a culture document  C.a tourist's diary      D.a students' coursebook

Allen Cook and his daughter Melissa were repairing her house in Westfield,New Jersey,when they Found a crack in one of the ceilings.What they discovered within turned out to be part of a beautiful,heartwarming love story. "The envelope was old and yellow.It has never been opened.In the letter she was talking about the baby she was going to have,"Allen Cook told CNN

The story begins in 1945.Dated May 4 of that year,the typed letter was written by a woman named Virginia to her husband,Rolf Christoffersen.At the time.he was a sailor in the Norwegian navy.The envelope was marked "return to sender" and never found its way to her husband—until this week.Allen's daughter used the Internet to find the phone number of someone named Rolf Christoffersen and gave him a call,leading her to his son in Santa Barbara, California.

"Someone called me at my office.They just Googled my name because I have the same name as my father.Melissa asked me where I grew up and I told her.She told me she had the letter.This is how I found out," Christofferson's son,66,told CNN.

The younger Christoffersen wasn't yet born when his mother Virginia wrote the letter.His mother;who died six years ago,wrote about her love for her husband.72 years later,her words were finally heard by her husband.

Christoffersen immediately called his father,who is now 96,and read the letter to him over the phone."I was so surprised after all these years.I was very happy to find out that a letter like that existed.I am still very touched,"the elder Christoffersen told CNN.

"It's Mother's Day and reading her words reminded me just what a wonderful person she was and how much she loved us,"her son said,through tears.

24.What do we know about the love letter?   .

A.It was written to mark a Mother's Day.                       B.It was carefully kept by Melissa Cook. .         .

C.It reached its receivers many years later.                        D.It was wrongly addressed to another man.

25.How old was the husband when the letter was written?

A.96.                            B.24.                   C.66.                                   D.72.

26.Melissa was able to contact Christoffersen's son because       .

A.he had the same name with his father                      B.they happened to know each other    

C.the address was on the envelope                          D.she found his office through Google 

27.What was the elder Christoffersen's reaction after hearing the letter?           

A.Amazed and regretful.   B.Surprised and sad.  C.Delighted and moved.   D.Happy and disappointed.

Scientists have found that the risk of getting cancer and heart disease is reduced when we take part in physical activity—and now they've found cycling to work is one of the best activities to do this.

The study linked using two wheels with a halving of the risk of cancer and heart disease.It also showed that walking had some benefits over sitting on public transport or taking the car.Cycling to work is already popular in many cities across the world.Some authorities have built cycle lanes.as well as providing secure places to lock them up.Some companies provide facilities for their employees to get changed and cleaned up when they arrive at work.It all makes good sense—according to people surveyed in this study,regular cycling cut the risk of death from any cause by 41%,the incidence of cancer by 45% and heart disease by 46%.      

Cycling to work is quicker and cheaper than using public transport.While going to the gym to lose a few pounds takes effort and commitment,cycling has just become part of the work routine.Clare Hyde from Cancer Research UK says,"This study helps to highlight the potential benefits of building activity into your everyday life."

Of course,any exercise is good for you but it's thought that cycling is better than walking because the activity is longer and more intense.Dr.Jason Gill,from the University of Glasgow,said,"You need to get to work every day so if you build cycling into the day,it essentially takes willpower out of consideration."You don't need to wear skin-tight lycra clothes,as long as you wear the most important accessory,a helmet.

28.The passage mainly focuses on       .

A.the benefits of cycling                                B.the advantages of sports

C.the changes of lifestyle                                          D.the prevention of cancer

29.What can we learn from paragraph two?

A.Walking is similar to sitting in a bus.             B.Cycling to work has gained popularity.

C.Cycling to work causes more spending.                   D.City governments need more bicycles.

30.What is the advantage of cycling to work compared to going to the gym?

A.It is longer and more intense.                       B.It helps to lose more weight.

C.It can be part of daily life.                                   D.It is quicker and cheaper.   

31.According to Dr.Jason Gill,       .

A.cycling is the only exercise beneficial to health        B.walking is more tiring than cycling to work

C.cycling to work requires expensive accessories              D.willpower is not a problem if you cycle to work

NEW YORK—About 600 million children,or one in four worldwide,will be Jiving in areas with extremely limited water resources by 2040,according to a report released by the United Nations Children's Fund on Wednesday to mark World Water Day.

The report shows 36 countries are currently facing extremely high levels of water stress,which occurs when demand for water is much higher than the renewable supply available.Warmer temperatures,rising sea levels, increased floods,droughts and melting ice affect the quality and availability of clean water.

World Water Day,observed on March 22 every year,is about taking action to deal with the crisis At present some 1.8 billion people use a source of polluted drinking water.The Sustainable Development Goals,launched by world leaders at the United Nations in 2015,include a target to ensure everyone has access to safe water by 2030.

Population growth,increased water consumption and higher demand for water largely due to industrialization and urbanization are using up water resources worldwide.Conflicts in many parts of the world also threaten children's access to sate water.

The poorest children will be most impacted by an increase in water stress,the report says,as millions of them already live in areas with low access to safe water. 

"In a changing climate,we must change the way we work to reach those who are most Vulnerable,"UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said."One of the most effective ways we can do that is safeguarding their access to safe water,making n a key issue in the fight to eradicate extreme poverty."

32.The following factors lead to water stress EXCEPT      .

A.climate change        B.natural disasters             C.increasing ice          D.rising sea levels

33.One target of the The Sustainable Development Goals is       .

A.to get rid of water pollution                                B.to deal with the climate change

C.to ensure the availability of safe water              D.to improve children's living conditions

34.Why are the poorest children most influenced by the water crisis?

A.They have limited access to safe water.            B.They get the least attention of the UN.

C.They have higher demand for water.                 D.They are often involved in conflicts.

35.What does the underlined word "eradicate" probably mean?

A global cyberattack,which is considered the biggest cyberattack ever,is spreading quickly and widely._36_

What the attack does

Cyber bad guys have spread ransomware（勒索软件）,known as WannaCry,to computers around the world.It locks down all the files on an infected computer.The hackers then demand $300 in order to release control of the files._37_

How it happened

WannaCry takes advantage of a vulnerability（弱点）in Microsoft Windows.Microsoft released a security patch for the vulnerabilities in Marclf._38_Playing with fire finally caught up with the victims.

Microsoft requires Windows 10 customers to automatically update their computers,but some people with older PCs disabled automatic updates.

_39_

The attack has been found in 150 countries,affecting 200,000 computers,according to Europol,the European law enforcement agency.FedEx,Nissan,and the United Kingdom's National Health Service were among the victims.In the U.K.,hospitals were crippled by the cyberattack,which forced operations to be canceled and ambulances to be diverted.

Who is vulnerable

_40_Microsoft said it had taken the "highly unusual step" of releasing a patch for computers running older operating systems including Windows XP,Windows 8 and Windows Server 2003.So even people with older computers should go update them.

Apple's Mac computers were not targeted by this ransomware attack.Bad guys generally target Windows far more than Apple's operating system because there are vastly more computers running Windows around the world.

A.When it will be solved.

B.How widespread the damage is.

C.That's why it's called ransomware.

D.The hackers remain anonymous for now.

E.Here is a super-simple explanation of what's going on.

F.Anyone who hasn't updated their Windows PC recently.

G.But many corporations don't automatically update their systems.