There's no better place to be than beside the seaside in the summer. And even in Britainyou can still find beaches away from the crowds with golden sand. COMPTON BAY, ISLE OF WIGHT This wide sandy beach is on the south west coast, between Freshwater and Brook and is part of the TennysonHeritageCoast. There are striking views of the white cliffs further along the coast. A coastal path passes behind the beach, and you can enjoy scenic cliff top walks in either direction. Accommodation: Sandpipers Hotel (01983 758150, www.sandpipersh.tel.com) with doubles fromPS10pp. KINGSGATE BAY,KENT Around the beach round a bend in the coastal road from Ramsgate is white cliffs with KingsgateCastledominating the whole landscape. It is fairly isolated, with few facilities, but is perfect for summer bathing or for bracing winter walks. Accommodation: Fayreness Hotel (0188 86866, www.fayreness.com) with doubles with breakfast fromPS69. 15pp. RINGSTEAD BAY, DORSET A picturesque 210ft crescent of pebbles with clean water that's a perfect escape from some of the busier beaches around Weymouth. You reach it by passing through the village of Upton,then along a narrow country road. Next to the car park is a well stocked shop. The cliffs behind RingsteadBayare an excellent place for fossil hunting. Accommodation: Glenburn Hotel (01305 832318, www.glenburnhotell.com) with doubles fromPS7 9 including breakfast. BRANSCOMBE.DEVON Lying on the EastDevonHeritageCoast, Branscombe has good facilities with toilets and a car park close to the beach, as well as a small picnic area. A well stocked shop sells the most attractive dairy ice cream. Next to the shop is the Sea Shanty restaurant--open every day until 5 p.m. during the summer. Accommodation: The Mason's Arms, Branscombe Village (01297 680300, www.masonsarms.co.uk) with doubles fromPS6 5 pp with breakfast. If you want to know more information about Branscombe, which website can you refer to? _ A) www.fayreness.com B) www.masonsarms.co.uk C) www.glenburnhotel.com D) www.sandpipershotel.com
B
(Question)
Part of the magic in movies is the costumes. They can transform a normal-looking actor into a cowboy, a space alien or even a superhero. Costumes for movies are designed and created by a whole team of people, according to Courtney Daniel, a Toronto-based costume designer who worked on the recent movie Night At The Museum. As a designer, she does research to find out what details are needed to make a costume work, and what makes sense for a specific movie. In Night At The Museum, she and a few other designers spent time at libraries and museums studying everything from what cowboys should wear, to what ancient Egyptians and Huns would have put on. Once they got the information they needed, they figured out what fabrics to use and how to put them together. The designers even changed a few details to make the costumes more "movie friendly". For example, more colour and extra touches helped historical costumes to be alive for kids. One example of this is the costume for the role in the movie Night At The Museum, an Indian woman Sacagawea, which has a shorter skirt and fits more closely than the clothes the real Sacagawea would have worn. Daniel has also worked on costumes for other big-name movies, such as the second and third X-Men movies, and Catwoman. If you are. interested in being a costume designer, it helps to have an interest in sewing. She said,"Learning how to sew, and how different fabrics and materials work is important."So is knowing how to carry out research, Daniel's degree in art history helped in this area. What do we know about the movie Night At The Museum? A) Sacagawea is one of the characters in it. B) "Catwoman"is an important character. C) It has nothing to do with cowboys. D) It is about the evolution of costumes.
(Answer)
A
Ques: When Abraham Lincoln was invited to give a speech in Brooklyn, New York, in February 1860, he was already famous throughout Illinois, but almost no one in the East knew what he looked like. The presidential election of 1860 was coming, and Lincoln, as a possible Republican candidate , wanted to increase his popularity. Hoping to introduce himself to hundreds of new voters , Lincoln eagerly accepted the invitation to the East. He wrote a powerful speech opposing slavery . Then he went to Springfield, Illinois by train. When Lincoln arrived in New York, he was surprised to learn that so many people had bought tickets for his speech that it had been moved from a small Brooklyn church to a New York City college. Lincoln got to town exhausted. His suit was badly wrinkled , and his one piece of luggage was old and covered with dust. Worst of all, his plain face, uncombed hair shocked those who greeted him. However, his admirers decided to have Lincoln photographed . If the cameraman could make Lincoln a little handsome, perhaps he could win more votes. They found the city's most famous photographer Brady. Brady and his assistants looked through the camera and surprised by what they saw. So they decided to make an adjustment before they took the picture. Brady walked over to Lincoln and pulled up Lincoln's shirt collar as high as it would go. As a result, the picture successfully covered up his long, ugly neck, which made Lincoln appear quite handsome. Lincoln's speech that day proved to be a triumph. So did the photograph. The photo inspired thousands of copies; so many that Brady insisted that this picture became the means to Lincoln's election to the Presidency nine months later. If that's true it might be said that Lincoln won the election by a neck--a neck that had been shortened in New York. What surprised Brady when he looked through the camera? A) Lincoln's plain face. B) Lincoln's uncombed hair. C) Lincoln's bad manner D) Lincoln's ugly neck
Ans: D
A few months ago, while driving home from work, I stopped at a gas station to gas up my car before heading home. When I went in to pre-pay for my gas, I saw a man with his son ahead of me in the line. They were a little dirty from working & painting at a local job site and the man asked the clerk to help them patiently. The clerk behind the counter seemed annoyed and not interested in talking to them. From their conversation, I knew that the man had lost his wallet, was almost out of gas and still had 1.5 hours drive to get himself and his son home. He couldn't write the clerk a check. Because he knew the money in his account wasn't available yet. The clerk asked them to move aside and let me up to the register. I gave the clerk two 20 dollar bills and told him to put $20 on my pump and to pre-pay $20 on their pump also. When I went back out to fill my gas tank, the teenage son came towards me to express his appreciation. His father was too excited, so he stayed inside the store until I was gone. They asked if I would accept a check from them for the money, but I refused. I told the teenager to "pay it forward" and help _ When the author got to the gas station, _ . A) a little boy was doing some painting there B) a man was trying to fill his car up with gas C) the clerk was quarreling with a customer D) a man was looking for his wallet
B