When summer arrives, it's not uncommon to get a strong desire for sand and water. But those who can only make day-long trips may find it hard to achieve. Don't worry! Plenty of opportunities for kicking back in the sand exist here in Ohio, although it's far away from the oceans.

East Harbor State Park Beach

1169 N. Buck Rd., Lakeside-Marblehead

Those looking for a bit of extra space between their blankets and their neighbors' will like this beach. At 1,500 feet long, the sandy strip has a significant amount of real estate(房产）for sunning or relaxing in the shade. Amenities(设施）include a bathhouse, vending machines, grills and picnic tables.

Nickel Plate Beach

Corner of Tiffin Avenue and Nickel Plate Drive, Huron

Anyone who spends a day at the beach knows that swimming and doing sports on the beach give you a good appetite. Luckily, Nickel Plate Beach offers a variety of dining options nearby, including beachside pizza delivery. Amenities include a sheltered picnic area, charcoal grills, playground equipment and beach volleyball courts.

Main Street Beach

Main Street, Vermilion

No beach umbrella or chairs? No problem. This beach offers hourly rents of chairs, umbrellas, tables, shade tents and wheelchairs. And with downtown Vermilion only a block away，shops and restaurants are nicely within reach. Amenities include an observation deck and some benches. No lifeguards are on duty.

Kelleys Island State Park Beach

920 Division St. Kelleys Island

With its gradual water depth, this beach is perfect for young children. The park's campground also includes a playground and a store with snacks and ice cream. Other amenities include a picnic shelter and hiking trails.

1. What do the beaches have in common?

A. They are all at the seaside.

B. They are all close to downtown areas.

C. There are lifeguards on duty on all the beaches.

D. They serve the needs of people who cannot travel long distance.

2. Which beach is the best choice for people who don5t like to be crowded around?...

A. East Harbor State Park Beach

B. Nickel Plate Beach

C. Main Street Beach

D. Kelleys island State Park Beach

3. Who will be more likely attracted by Nickel Plate Beach?

A. Hiking lovers who are going on a diet.

B. Athletic men who get hungry easily.

C. A family with two children under 10.

D. An aged couple with no shade tents.

4. Which of the following is one of the attractions of Kelleys Island State Park Beach? /

A. Children can swim in the shallow water.

B. People can rent whatever they need there.

C. Parents can leave their children with lifeguards.

D. People can do shopping and enjoy the sunshine at the same time.

We’d arrived at Rockefeller Center station on the D train. As in many of New York’s underground stations, trains pull in at both sides of the platform. Or rather, they seem to erupt into the station first on one side, then on the other....

Abruptly, my wife stopped.

“Uh, what’s this?” she said.

I looked over her shoulder. There at our feet lay a young woman of about 20. She was on her stomach with the top half of her body on the platform, while her legs hung over the tracks kicking powerlessly.

She was stuck. She had also, clearly, been down on the tracks and discovered that climbing back up is really hard.

But unlike in our imaginings, this woman was not in panic, expecting her approaching death by the F train which would be screaming into the station in the next few minutes, if not seconds.

She was laughing! So was her friend who half-heartedly leant down to assist. The assistance was somewhat weakened by the fact that the friend was holding her smartphone. Was she hoping to capture this moment with a picture? Or composing a text?

It’s well known that people’s compulsive checking of their phones can be deadly. Among young people in America, texting is now the number one cause of car crashes. Maybe it’s also a leading cause of leaving friends to die when they fall in the river or on to the train tracks.

I stepped forward, leant out as far as I could, got hold of her leg somewhere near the knee and, together with her finally-engaged friend, dragged the young woman on to the platform.

And you can guess why she'd been on the tracks. Still laughing, but maybe chastened (内疚）by my look of horror she said, “Thanks. Sorry. My phone fell down there. ”

While I turned to hold my daughter’s hand and head upstairs, the young woman and her friend walked away. I wonder when she'll be scared.

5. What was the young woman doing on the edge of the platform?

A. Trying to get down on to the train tracks to pick up her phone.

B. Trying to get back on to the platform after jumping down.

C. Desperately waiting for someone to help her get back her phone.

D. Posing for her friend to capture a good picture with her smartphone.

6. Which of the following did the author think was NOT a cause of the young woman’s dangerous situation?

A. The station was too crowded.

B. She did not realize the danger.

C. She cared too much about her phone.

D. Her company didn't assist her whole-heartedly.

7. What was the author’s worry about people like this young woman?

A. They would cause damage to the underground system.

B. They knew too little about how to help others as well as themselves.

C. It would be too late when they understood how dangerous the situation is.

D. They would send misleading information to the public with their smartphones.

 “How’s it going? ”  I ask the barista(服务生). “How’s your day been?”

“Ah, not too busy. What are you up to?”

“Not much. Just readin. ”

This，small talk, is one of the key rituals(规矩）of American life. It has taken me only a decade to master.

I immigrated to the United States in 2001, for college. I brought only my Indian experience in dealing with shopkeepers and tea sellers. In Delhi, where I grew up, when doing business, people don't ask each other how the other's day has been. They might not even smile. The customer doesn't tremble before complaining about how cold his food is. Each side believes the other will cheat him.

“God, Mahajan, you’re so rude to waiters!” Tom, an American friend, said, laughing, after he watched me ordering food at a restaurant, in the West Village, years ago. Considering myself a mild and friendly person, I was surprised. Tom always asked servers how they were doing or praised their shirts or made jokes about the menu. At that time, this seemed dishonest to me. Did he really like what they were wearing?

American life is based on a principle that we like one another but won’t violate one another’s privacies. This makes it a land of small talk. Two people greet each other happily, with friendliness, but might know each other for years before asking basic questions about each other’s backgrounds. The opposite is true of Indians. At least three people I’ve sat next to on planes to and from India have asked me, within minutes, how much I earn as a writer (only to turn away in disappointment when I tell them).

Living in Brooklyn and then in Austin, Texas. I made coffee shops the places of my movements. Meeting the same baristas day after day produced context, and I got practice. I was beginning to fit in. It felt good and didn’t seem fake anymore.

8. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The author takes pride in everything of his homeland.

B. The author still thinks the American way of treating strangers is not sincere.

C. The author finally got used to small talk after a lot of practice in America.

D. It only took the author a short time to learn the real ritual of American life.

9. What do people in the US tend to do in a restaurant?

A. They have friendly small talk with the servers.

B. They ask if the servers are satisfied with their pay.

C. They complain about the food and service straightforwardly.

D. They make objective comments on the servers’ clothing.

10. What do we know about Indians according to Paragraph 7?

A. Indians don’t like each other.

B. Indians live in a land of small talk.

C. Indians show little respect for others; privacy.

D. Indians know little about their friends’ backgrounds.

11. What might be the best title of this passage?

A. A Rude Indian in America

B. Small Talk and Great Friendship...

C. My Struggle with American Small Talk

D. Cultural Differences between Countries

 “Birds” and “airports” are two words that, paired together, don’t normally paint the most harmonious picture. So it really raises some eyebrows when China announces plans to build an airport that5s for birds.

Described as the world’s first-ever bird airport, the proposed Lingang Bird Sanctuary(保护区) in the northern coastal city of Tianjin is，of course，not an actual airport. Rather, it’s a wetland preserve specifically designed to accommodate hundreds — even thousands — of daily takeoffs and landings by birds traveling along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Over 50 species of migratory (迁徙的）water birds, some endangered, will stop and feed at the protected sanctuary before continuing their long journey along the flyway.

Located on a former landfill site, the 61-hectare (150-acre) airport is also open to human travelers. (Half a million visitors are expected annually.) However, instead of duty-free shopping, the main attraction for non-egg-laying creatures at Tianjin’s newest airport will be a green-roofed education and research center, a series of raised “observation platforms” and a network of scenic walking and cycling paths and trails totaling over 4 miles.

The proposed Bird Airport will be a globally significant sanctuary for endangered migratory bird species, while providing new green lungs for the city of Tianjin,” Adrian McGregor of Australian landscape architecture firm McGregor Coxall explained of .the design. Frequently blanketed in smog so thick that it has shut down real airports, Tianjin is a city — China’s fourth most populous — that would certainly benefit from a new pair of healthy green lungs.

12. The underlined phrase 4 “non-egg-laying creatures” in Paragraph 3 refers to      ?

A. endangered water birds    B. planes

C. visitors    D. designers

13. What do we know about the airport according to the passage?

A. It is located on a landfill site.

B. People cannot watch birds up close here.

C. It provides migratory birds with food and shelter.

D. It functions as an actual airport and a wetland preserve at the same time.

14. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A. Tianjin will win worldwide fame in the future.

B. Tianjin will be able to accommodate more people.

C. The airport will become a permanent home for birds.

D. Tianjin’ air quality will improve thanks to the airport....

15. What is this passage mainly about?

A. China is to open the first Bird Airport.

B. Airports turn into green lungs.

C. Birds are no longer enemies to airports.

D. Airports shut down and open up.

You may use banknotes every day. But did you know that there is a lot of science behind the money? ___16___

Australia was the first country to use polymer(聚合物）banknotes in 1988. ___17___

They can stop water from making them wet. They are also cleaner because bacteria don’t grow easily on them.

Now, the Australians have improved their banknotes again by creating a new 5-dollar note. The new one has a clear window in the middle in which there are pictures of an Australian bird and a building. ___18___

Tilt (倾斜）the note a little and you will see the bird flapping its wings as if trying to fly away. Turn the note from side to side and you will notice the building come to life and spin. While these features are impressive and entertaining, that was not the reason why the Australian Government spent ten years perfecting them. Their primary purpose was to make it impossible to fake a banknote.

___19___ The new $ 5 bill now has a raised bump alongside the two long edges, enabling the blind or those with limited vision, to quickly determine its value.

The Australian government will give the new 10-dollar note the same features in a year’s time. ___20___

A. Note makers still have a long way to go.

B. Other notes will have them in the future.

C. The magic of the new features lies in them.

D. They have many advantages over paper notes.

E. The new Australian 5-dollar note is a good example.

F. The new note is also the first touchable Australian banknote....

G. Their material and pattern set them apart from ordinary banknotes.