Tayka Hotel de Sal Where:Tahua, Bolivia How much:about $95 a night Why it's cool:You've stayed at hotels made of brick or wood, but salt? That's something few can claim. Tayka Hotel de Sal is made totally of salt--including the beds (though you'll sleep on regular mattresses and blankets). The hotel sits on the Salar de Uyuni, a prehistoric driedup lake that's the world's biggest salt flat. Builders use the salt from the 4,633squaremile flat to make the bricks, and glue them together with a paste of wet salt that hardens when it dries. When rain starts to dissolve the hotel, the owners just mix up more salt paste to strengthen the bricks. Green Magic Nature Resort Where: Vythiri, India How much: about $240 a night Why it's cool: Riding a pulleyoperated  lift 86 feet to your treetop room is just the start of your adventure. As you look out of your open window--there is no glass--you watch monkeys and birds in the rain forest canopy.  Later you might test your fear of heights by crossing the handmade rope bridge to the main part of the hotel. You don't even have to come down for breakfast--the hotel will send it up on the pulleydrawn "elevator". Dog Bark Park Inn B&B Where: Cottonwood, Idaho How much: $92 a night Why it's cool: This doghouse isn't just for the family pet. Sweet Willy is a 30foottall dog with guest rooms in his belly. Climb the wooden stairs beside his hind leg to enter the door in his side. You can relax in the main bedroom, go up a few steps to the loft in Willy's head, or hang out inside his nose. Gamirasu Cave Hotel Where: Ayvali, Turkey How much: between $130 and $475 a night Why it's cool: Experience what it was like 5,000 years ago, when people lived in these mountain caves formed by volcanic ash. But your stay will be much more modern. Bathrooms and electricity provide what you expect from a modern hotel, and the white volcanic ash, called tufa, keeps the rooms cool, about 65degFin summer. It can be inferred that   _  . A) it is the same man who designed the four hotels B) Green Magic Nature Resort is the dearest in India C) the building of Dog Bark Park Inn B&B is like a dog D) Gamirasu Cave Hotel is the oldest among the four ones
C


(Question)
Smiling girls have their luck. It fits Huang Ruijia well. The 15-year-old student comes from Chengdu Experimental Foreign Language School. On March 22, 2014,she won third place(junior category)at the 12th China Daily "21st Century Lenovo Cup" National High School English Speaking Competition, which was held in Beijing. During the competition, many contestants kept a serious face. But Huang was smiling all the time. Her good manners also won her the Best Style prize at the contest. "Smiling shows confidence, which is an important quality for speakers," said Meng Qingtao, associate research fellow at the National Institute of Education Sciences, and one of the judges . "Huang's smile brought judges closer to her, and also cured her stress." Huang only became a smiling girl two years ago. At the time she was busy preparing for a speaking competition. One day, when she was practicing in front of the mirror, she was shocked by what she saw. "I saw a poker  face reciting a cold speech," said Huang. "Who would like to listen to a speaker like that?" Since then Huang decided to face everything with a smile. It has worked in speaking competitions and in many other situations in her life, such as building friendships. Once Huang and her friend had a fight and were mad at each other. After three days, Huang said she wanted to talk but didn't know how to start. She then decided to give a smile, the friend smiled back and gave her a hug in return. "This is the power of smiling," said Huang. "You can make a difference in your life simply by smiling." Huang Ruijia succeeded because she was always   _   in the competition. A) talking B) discussing C) cooperating D) smiling
(Answer)
D


Ques: According to one story the idea for making the first teddy bear came from a newspaper cartoon drawn in 1904. This cartoon showed President Teddy Roosevelt on a hunting trip refusing to shoot  a young bear. The young bear became a symbol for Teddy Roosevelt. Morris Michtom  owned a small candy and toy store in New York City. He and his wife made many of the toys they sold. When he saw the cartoon,he had a wonderful idea. He decided to make a toy bear with eyes and legs and arms that moved. The bear was put in the store window next to a copy of the cartoon. Mr . Michtom called it "Teddy's Bear". Many of these bears were sold. The bears became so popular that Mr . Michtom thought he might need President Roosevelt' permission to use his name. He wrote to the president and sent him a "Teddy Bear". The president answered,saying that Mr. Michtom could use his name. Mr . Michtom borrowed money so that he could make thousands of toy bears. His company became the Ideal Toy Corporation. Today this is one of the biggest toy companies in the United States. People will remember Morris Michtom because he was  _ A) a candy store owner B) a toy store owner C) the inventor of the teddy bear D) Teddy Roosevelt' friend
Ans: C


Poorer children would be offered the chance to attend lessons on Saturday to help catch up with their middle-class peers  , the shadow schools secretary, Michael Gove, said today. The Conservatives would give English state schools the freedom to choose to have longer teaching hours and extra classes at the weekend; he told the Association of Teachers and Lecturers' annual conference. Gove said the move would help to close the achievement gap with richer children whose parents could afford extras such as tutoring and music lessons. He told delegates  in Manchester, "For children who come from homes where parents don't have the resources to provide  _ and cultural experiences, there are benefits in having those children in the learning environment, in school, for longer." "Parents would love to have schools starting earlier in some circumstances, and certainly going on later in the afternoon, given the reality of their working lives," he said. He held up the example of Kipp (Knowledge Is Power Program) schools in the US, which are often based in the poorest communities and open from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, plus Saturdays.  But it would be up to schools to decide to offer longer hours, Gove added. Parents said Saturday classes could become a "badge of dishonor" if pupils were forced to go while teachers raised concerns about their workload. Margaret Morrissey, of Parents Outloud, said, "I think the suggestion the government made about one-to-one teaching for these kids would be a more preferable way of improving these children's performance. I'm just not sure whether taking away a child at weekends is actually going to make them cleverer in the week." The ATL's general secretary, Mary Bousted, said, "If we want Saturday schools, then we need more teachers doing the extra hours, not the same teachers working longer." What is Margaret Morrissey's opinion about the new program? A) Favorable. B) Doubtful. C) Optimistic. D) Acceptable.

B