Still seeking a destination for your weekend break?

There are some places which are probably a mere walk away from your college.

l  King's Art Centre

A day at the Centre could mean a visit to an exhibition of the work of one of the most interesting contemporary artists on show anywhere. This weekend sees the opening of an exhibition of four local artists.

You could attend a class teaching you how to "learn from the masters" or get more creative with paint-free of charge.

The Centre also runs two life drawing classes for which there is a small fee.

l  The Botanic Garden

The Garden has over 8,000 plant species; it holds the research and teaching collection of living plants for Cambridge University.

The multi-branched Torch Aloe here is impressive.

The African plant produces red flowers above blue-green leaves, and is not one to miss.

Get to the display house to see Dionaeamuscipula, a plant more commonly known as the Venus Fly trap that feeds on insects and other small animals.

The Garden is also a place for wildlife-enthusiasts.

Look for grass snakes in the lake. A snake called "Hissing Sid" is regularly seen lying in the heat of the warm sun.

l  Byron's Pool

 Many stories surround Lord Byron's time as a student of Cambridge University. Arriving in 1805, he wrote a letter complaining that it was a place of "mess and drunkenness". However, it seems as though Byron did manage to pass the time pleasantly enough. I'm not just talking about the pet bear he kept in his rooms. He spent a great deal of time walking in the village.

It is also said that on occasion Byron swam naked by moonlight in the lake, which is now known as Byron's Pool. A couple of miles past Grantchester inthe south Cambridgeshire countryside, the pool is surrounded by beautiful circular paths around the fields.

The cries of invisible birds make the trip a lovely experience and on the way home you can drop into the village for afternoon tea. lf you don't trust me, then perhaps you'll take it from Woolf-over a century after Byron, she reportedly took a trip to swim in Virginia the same pool.

1. As mentioned in the passage, there is a small charge for

A. Attending the mastens' class

B. Working with local artists

C. Learning life drawing

D. Seeing an exhibition

2. "Torch Aloe" and "Venus Flytrap" are _ .

A. common insects

B. impressive plants

C. rarely-seen snakes

D. wildlife-enthusiasts

3. We can infer from the passage that Byron seemed

A. to fear pet bears

B. to like walking

C. to be a heavy drinker

D. to finish university in 1805

4. In the passage Byron's Pool is described as a lake

A. surrounded by fields

B. owned by Lord Byron

C. located in Grantchester

D. discovered by Virginia Woolf

5. What is the passage mainly about?

A.Some places for weekend break.

B. A way to become creative in art.

C. The colorful life in the countryside.

D. Unknown stories of Cambndge University.

u Vocabulary

contemporary  adj.当代的

botanic adj. 植物的，植物学的

enthusiast  n.爱好者，狂热者

篇章导读

你还在为假日的旅游胜地烦恼吗？如果我们细心一点，就会发现其实我们身边就有那些值得一游的景点，本文向读者介绍了三大旅游胜地：国王艺术中心、植物园、拜伦潭。

英国皇家植物园Royal Botanical Garden位于伦敦西南部的泰晤士河南岸，被联合国指定为世界文化遗产。邱园（Kew Garden）始建于1759年，原本是英皇乔治三世的皇太后奥格斯汀公主（Augustene）一所私人皇家植物园，起初只有3.6公顷，经过200多年的发展，已扩建成为有120公顷的规模宏大的皇家植物园，加上1965年在距邱园50公里的苏沙斯（Sussex）区开辟了一个240公顷的Wakehurst卫星植物园，主园加卫星园共有360公顷，成为规模巨大的世界级植物园

拜伦潭，本是康河中的一个普通的水潭，但是因为拜伦当年在此学习的时候常常在此游泳，于是这个水潭也就在诗人的心中有了一份神秘，一份特殊的情谊——那就是拜伦是诗人诗歌创作、自由思想、感情至上等等一切的启蒙导师，写水潭，实际在写拜伦。

拜伦（1788－1824）是苏格兰贵族。1788年1月23日出生于伦敦。1805－1808年在剑桥大学学文学及历史，广泛阅读了欧洲和英国的文学、哲学和历史著作，同时也从事射击、赌博、饮酒、打猎、游泳等各种活动。21岁时，他作为世袭贵族进入了贵族院，他的发言都鲜明地表示了拜伦的自由主义的进步立场。

答案

1．C细节理解题。根据King’s Art Centre的最后一句可知答案选C项。

2．B细节理解题。根据The Botanic Garden的第二、三段可知是两种植物，并不是昆虫、蛇，更不是野生动物爱好者。

3．B推理判断题。根据Byron's Pool的第一段最后一句可知，拜伦喜欢散步。

4．A细节理解题。根据Byron’s Pool的第二段第二句可知答案。

5．A主旨大意题。根据文章首句可知，本文主要是向读者介绍一些周末出游的好去处。