One of the fastest passenger trains in the world is the Euro Star. It travels the distance between London and Paris in just over two and a half hours. The same journey which used to take five or six hours and always involved（包含） a slow boat crossing. If you take the Euro Star, you can leave London Waterlooat 4 o’clock on a Friday afternoon and be in the centre of Paris at 6:35, in time for dinner.

One of the most exciting things about Euro Star is that it goes through a tunnel under the sea. This is called the Channel Tunnel, and goes between Folkestone in England and Sangate in France. The tunnel is 31 miles long, and cost $21 billion to build. This part of the journey takes about 20 minutes and there are two other tunnels that people can get out of quickly if there is a fire or an accident（事故）.

The trains have a top speed of 180 mph (300 km p hr), and run on special tracks（軌道）. It can go much faster on these tracks. The trains are very comfortable, just like all the other trains, and you can also buy a lot of food and drink in the restaurant car. But the trains travel so fast, people can’t really see anything out of the window, especially on the French side where it speeds up quite a lot.

1.Does the Euro Star travel between London and Paris?

2.How long did it take from London to Paris if you take the Euro Star?

____________________________________________________________

3.How long is the Channel Tunnel?

4.How many tunnels are there to help people get out of if there is a fire?

5.What makes the Euro Star go faster through the tunnel?

Fans often only see the good side of fame. They see the happy smiles and great success of famous people. But it’s difficult for them to understand everything that comes before then. They can’t see the hard work or the hours of practice.
Li Yundi, the Chinese piano prodigy(天才), recently released his first concert recording. He talked with Teens about his art and his job.
“Of course, the job is hard work,” Li, 25, said. “You need to work hard to be a professional. But you also have to play hundreds of concerts, meet fans, and listen to critics(評論) of your music.”
In 2000, when Li was 18, he won the top prize at the International Chopin(肖邦) Competition in Warsaw, Poland. This was the first time the top prize had been given in 15 years. Li was also the youngest, and the first Chinese to win the prize. Since then, Li became famous and his list of honors goes on and on.
Born in Chongqing, Li began to play piano when he was seven. His parents spent all their money and bought a piano for him--- a luxury in 1980s China.
He worked hard. Every day, Li played for eight hours or more at a piano school. He often played even after the school had closed.
Today, Li still can’ t play a beautiful tune without careful preparation.
“ You need to be ready on stage.” Li said. “People are waiting for you. Nobody knows whether you have slept enough, or whether you have another problem in your life. But you need to play great music for your audience. That’s what they want to hear.”
【小題1】What is Li Yundi?  ______.
A. A music-critic     B. A music fan      C. A pianist        
【小題2】What does the underlined word “l(fā)uxury” mean in Chinese?  ______.
A. 奢侈品          B. 流行品         C.豪華          
【小題3】How long did it take Li to get the prize of Chopin Competition and became famous? ______.
A. 7 years     B. 11 years      C. 15 years      
【小題4】What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?  ______.
A. You need to sleep well the night before the performance
B. You should prepare carefully before the performance.
C. You need to know your audience.
【小題5】What does the passage mainly tell us?  ______.
A. You need to be a prodigy to be successful.
B. You need to be happy to be successful.
C. You need to work hard to be successful.

Chris Jones recently completed a very unusual journey. Our reporter Mary Owen met him at his home in the south of London and be told her all about the trip.
Reporter: What gave you the idea to make a trip around India on an elephant, Chris?
Chris: Well, it all started the idea two years ago when I was planning a trip to India. I visited a photo exhibition of elephants and I realized that the only enjoyable way to make a trip around India was on an elephant.
Reporter: What did you do next?
Chris: I flew to New Delhi and started looking for an elephant, I needed an elephant trained to carry people. I didn’t know anything about elephants, so I asked an expert(專家) for help. He taught me how to ride an elephant. He also helped me find an elephant.
Reporter: How long did it take you to find a suitable elephant?
Chris: Not too long. I bought a famale elephant called Tara for about 6.000 dollars.
Reporter: Can you tell me about the journey?
Chris: Tara and I set off from New Delhi a week later. We were going to Sonepur in northern India. There is a big elephant market there and I could sell Tara easily. And what a ride! Elephants can travel at about 6 miles an hour and Sonepur is more than 1,200 km away. It took us 64 days to complete the journey.
Reporter: Did you have any problems on your journey?
Chris: Yes, a few. But nothing serious. On the third day. Tara hurt her foot. But that got better quickly. Also, there was a lot of heavy rain during the first week and we got very wet!
Reporter: What happened when you reached Sonepur?
Chris: My plan was to sell Tara. But I was very fond of her. I couldn’t take her back to Britain and I didn’t want to sell her at the market. I happened to meet some people who wanted an elephant for their national park in southern India. I knew that Tara would be safe with them, so I gave her to them. I was very sad to say goodbye.
【小題1】Chris got the idea to make a trip around India on an elephant from ______

— Excuse me, could you tell me ________ to fly to Guilin?

— About two hours.

There was a man who had a little son. He loved him very much. Every day after work the man would come home and play with the little boy.
When the man came home from work one night, he found that he had some extra work to do. And he wasn’t able to play with his little son. He wanted to give the boy something to keep him busy. So, looking around his study, he saw a magazine with a large map of the world on the cover. He got an idea. He patiently tore the map up into pieces. Then he led his son into the dining room and spread the pieces on the table. He explained to the boy that it was a map of the world. He told the boy to put it back together and they could play together when he finished. Surely this could keep the child busy for hours, he thought.
After about thirty minutes, the boy came to the man and said, “Okay, it’s finished, Dad. Can we play now?”
The man was surprised, saying, “That’s amazing! How did you do that?” The boy said, “It was easy. On the back of the page was a picture of a man. When I put the man together, the whole world appeared completely.”
【小題1】 Why couldn’t the man play with his son that night?