of miles up icy rivers. The path to Dawson was covered with thirty feet of wet snow that could fall without warming. An avalanche(雪崩) once closed the path, killing 63 people. For many who made it to Dawson, however, the rewards were worth the difficult trip. Of the first 20,000 people who dug for gold, 4,000 got rich. About 100 of these stayed rich men for the rest of their lives. But no matter how rich they were, Dawson was never comfortable. Necessities like food and wood were very expensive. But soon, the gold that Dawson depended on had all been found. The city was crowded with disappointed people with no interest in settling down, and when they heard there were new gold discoveries in Alaska, they left Dawson City as quickly as they had come. Today, people still come and go — to see where the Canadian gold rush happened. Tourism is now the chief industry of Dawson City — its present population is 762. 24. What attracted the early settlers to New York City? A. Its business culture. B. Its small population.[来源:Zxxk.Com] C. Its geographical position. D. Its favourable climate. 25. What do we know about those who first dug for gold in Dawson? A. Two-thirds of them stayed there. B. One out of five people got rich. C. Almost everyone gave up. D. Half of them died. 26. What was the main reason for many people to leave Dawson? A. They found the city too crowded. B. They wanted to try their luck elsewhere. C. They were unable to stand the winter. D. They were short of food. 27. What is the text mainly about? A. The rise and

fall of a city. B. The gold rush in Canada. C. Journeys into the wilderness. D. Tourism in Dawson. C While famous foreign architects are invited to lead the designs of landmark buildings in China such as the new CCTV tower and the National Center for the Performing Arts, many excellent Chinese architects are making great efforts to take the center stage. Their efforts have been proven fruitful. Wang Shu, a 49-year-old Chinese architect, won the 2012 Pritzker Architecture Prize — which is often referred to as the Nobel Prize in

architecture — on February 28. He is the first Chinese citizen to win this award. Wang serves as head of the Architecture Department at the China Academy of Art (CAA). His office is located at the Xiangshan campus(校园) of the university in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. Many buildings on the campus are his original creations. The style of the campus is quite different from that of most Chinese universities. Many visitors were amazed by the complex architectural space and abundant building types. The curves(曲线) of the buildings perfectly match the rise and fall of hills, forming a unique view. Wang collected more than 7 million abandoned bricks of different ages. He asked the workers to use traditional techniques to make the bricks into walls, roofs and corridors. This creation attracted a lot of attention thanks to its mixture of modern and traditional Chinese elements(元素). Wang’s works show a deep understanding of modern architecture and a good knowledge of traditions. Through such a

balance, he had created a new type of Chinese architecture, said Tadao Ando, the winner of the 1995 Pritzker Prize. Wang believes traditions should not be sealed in glass boxes at museums. \only evidence that traditions once existed,\people have a misunderstanding of traditions. They think tradition means old things from the past. In fact, tradition also refers to the things that have been developing and that are still being created, \he said. \theories rather than focusing on Chinese traditions. Many people tend to talk about traditions without knowing what they really are, \Wang.[来源学科网ZXXK] The study of traditions should be combined with practice. Otherwise, the recreation of traditions would be artificial and empty, he said. 28. Wang’s winning of the prize means that Chinese architects are ___________. A. following the latest world trend B. getting international recognition C. working harder than ever before D. relying on foreign architects 29. What impressed visitors to the CAA Xiangshan campus most? A. Its hilly environment. C. Its unique style. B. Its large size. D. Its diverse functions. 30. What made Wang’s architectural design a success? A. The mixture of different shapes.B. The balance of East and West. C. The use of popular techniques. D. The harmony of old and new. 31. What should we do about Chinese traditions according to Wang? A. Spread them to the world. C. Teach them in universities. D Adults understand what it

feels like to be flooded with objects. Why do we often assume that more is more when it comes to kids and their belongings? The good news is that I can help my own kids learn earlier than I did how to live more with less.z.x.xk I found the pre-holidays a good time to encourage young children to donate less-used things, and it worked. B. Preserve them at museums. D. Recreate them in practice. [来

源:Zxxk.Com] Because of our efforts, our daughter Georgia did decide to donate a large bag of toys to a little girl whose mother was unable to pay for her holiday due to illness. She chose to sell a few larger objects that were less often used when we promised to put the money into her school fund(基金）(our kindergarten daughter is serious about becoming a doctor) For weeks, I've been thinking of bigger, deeper questions: How do we make it a habit for them? And how do we train ourselves to help them live with, need, and use less? Yesterday, I sat with my son, Shepherd, determined to test my own theory on this. I decided to play with him with only one toy for as long as it would keep his interest. I expected that one toy would keep his attention for about five minutes, ten minutes, max. I chose a red rubber ball-simple, universally available. We passed it, he tried to put it in his mouth, he tried bouncing it, rolling it, sitting on it, throwing it. It was totally, completely enough for him. Before I knew it an hour had passed and it was time to move on to lunch. We both became absorbed in the simplicity of playing together.