【推荐1】When it comes to cultural heritage protection, the Grand Canal of China is probably the world’s greatest project of its kind.   The big inland waterway system in the north-eastern and central eastern plains passes through eight of the country’s present-day provinces.
The Canal runs from Beijing in the north to Zhejiang Province in the south. Constructed in sections from the 5th century BC onwards, it was designed as a means of communication in the 7th century AD.   The Canal is the world’s greatest civil engineering project before the Industrial Revolution.
The Grand Canal reached a peak in the 13th century, providing an inland navigation(航行) network consisting of more than 2,000 kilometers of artificial waterways, linking five of the most important river basins in China, including the Yellow River and the Yangtze. It entered a bid as a UNESCO(联合国教科文组织) cultural heritage site in 2008.
The Grand Canal cultural square is located in Beijing’s Tongzhou district. Ever since the Yuan dynasty 800 years ago, the Tongzhou section of the Grand Canal has been the life blood of Beijing. Grain and building materials were all transported to meet the endless demands of the big cities. Even today, the Grand Canal plays a major role in the lives of its citizens.
"I grew up near the Grand Canal. In the past the waterway was a lot narrower, but now it’s nice and wide and bridges are built over it. I think if the bid for world heritage status succeeds, it will greatly make Tongzhou more famous in the world, especially with Tongzhou aiming to be a sub-center of the capital Beijing," a citizen said.
The result of the bid is set to be released next week, and no doubt it will certainly make it into the history books if the Canal is listed as a world heritage site.
1. It can be concluded from the passage that .

A．The bid’s result of the Canal will be announced soon

B．the Canal is the UNESCO’s newest world heritage site

C．the Canal is to connect Tongzhou with Zhejiang Province

D．the Canal will be a bid for a UNESCO cultural heritage site

2. The Grand Canal was in the most glorious time .

A．when it was aimed as a means of communication

B．when it crossed the Yellow River and the Yangtze

C．when it was born about six hundred years later

D．when it was designed as an artificial waterway

3. What can we infer by reading the passage?

A．Tongzhou used to be the capital of the Yuan dynasty.

B．Most citizens living in Tongzhou depend on the Canal.

C．Tongzhou will benefit if the Canal is made a heritage site.

D．Some citizens think the Canal not to be a cultural heritage item.

【推荐3】Marco Polo’s tales inspired European explorers to search for sea routes (路线) from west to east. However, businessmen and explorers from the East set sail from east to west many years before Columbus first did.

In ancient times, silk from China found its way over land to India, the Middle East, and Rome, along what became known as the Silk Road. But another trading route across the sea was also formed along the coasts of the Indian Ocean, centered around Ceylon. Here, businessmen from China and many other places met to exchange goods.

Later, the Ming Dynasty further developed relations with these regions. Between 1405 and 1433, seven large fleets (舰队) sailed west on voyages of trade and exploration. Under the command of Zheng He, they set sail from the South China Sea across the Indian Ocean to the mouth of the Red Sea, and then to the east coast of Africa. African royal families sent gifts such as giraffes as gestures of friendship in return for silk, and spices. Although China stopped further expeditions (远征) after 1433, these land and sea routes remained active for centuries.

To reach out across the sea remains a strong desire today. The ancient sea routes travelled by Zheng He are being revisited with the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (一带一路倡议). The aim of this initiative is to encourage cooperation and trade across the historic Silk Road areas, and strengthen the relations between China and the rest of the world. China has poured billions of money in systems and services along these routes, which will help to greatly develop the whole area for the benefit of future trade and cultural exchange.

China has also joined its friends across the sea on other important projects. In recent years, China has joined other nations on several expeditions to explore the Arctic. From a scientific point of view, there is an urgent need to study the Arctic in order to understand climate change and its effects.

1. What do we know about the ancient sea routes?

A．The Silk Road existed longer than the sea routes.

B．It was Columbus who first explored the sea routes.

C．Businessmen travelled along the sea route for their king.

D．The sea route was extended along the Indian Ocean coasts.

2. What can be inferred about China’s expeditions in the Ming Dynasty?

A．They were stopped for economic reasons.

B．They were considered to be a waste of money.

C．They also had an influence on the world trade.

D．Seven large fleets set sail from the East China Sea.

3. What’s the goal of China’s Belt and Road Initiative?

A．To satisfy people’s strong desire and need.

B．To promote trade and develop friendships.

C．To understand the climate change and its effects.

D．To improve the system and service along the routes.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The Belt and Road Initiative.	B．The history of Silk Road.
C．Brave businessmen and explorers.	D．China’s exploration across the sea.

【推荐1】What is the place of art in a culture of inattention? Recent visitors to the Louvre report that tourists can now spend only a minute in front of the Mona Lisa before being asked to move on. Much of that time, for some of them, is spent taking photographs not even of the painting but of themselves with the painting in the background.

One view is that we have made tourism and gallery-going so easy that we have made it effectively impossible to appreciate what we’ve travelled to see. In this society, experience becomes goods like any other. There are queues to climb Everest as well as to see famous paintings. Thus, leisure is considered as hard labour rather than relaxation.

In the rapidly developing society, what gets lost is the quality of looking. Consider an extreme example, the late philosopher Richard Wollheim. When he visited the Louvre he could spend as much as four hours sitting before a painting. The first hour, he claimed, was necessary for incorrect impression to be removed. It was only then that the picture would begin to disclose itself. This seems unthinkable today, but it is still possible to organise. Even in the busiest museums there are many rooms and many pictures worth hours of contemplation (沉思) which the crowds largely ignore.

Marcel Proust, another lover of the Louvre, wrote: “It is only through art that we can escape from ourselves and know how another person sees a universe which is not the same as our own and whose landscapes would otherwise have remained as unknown as any there may be on the moon.” If any art remains worth seeing, it must lead us to such escapes. But a minute in front of a painting in a hurried, harried (烦扰) crowd won’t do that.

1. Why does the author mention the example in Louvre in Paragraph 1?

A．To express his concern about Louvre.	B．To report the popularity of Mona Lisa.
C．To introduce a good place to take photos.	D．To show a disappointing current situation.

2. Which of the following will Richard Wollheim agree?

A．People need to clear up their misunderstanding of paintings.

B．People have to stay at least 4 hours when appreciating paintings.

C．It is impossible for modern people to admire paintings attentively.

D．The longer one admires the paintings, the more unlikely he loves them.

3. What role does art play in our life according to Marcel Proust?

A．Art is of help for us to accept ourselves better.

B．Art makes our life more colourful and meaningful.

C．Art allows us to know the world in the view of others.

D．Art pushes us away from ourselves and explores the moon.

4. Which is the best title of the passage?

A．Into art attentively.	B．Escape from ourselves.
C．Beyond art completely.	D．Go to the museums often.

【推荐3】Birthdays often involve surprises. But this year’s surprise on the birthday of the great British playwright William Shakespeare is surely one of the most dramatic.

On April 22, one day before his 441st birthday anniversary, experts discovered that one of the most recognizable portraits of William Shakespeare is a fake (假货). This means that we no longer have a good idea of what Shakespeare looked like. “It’s very possible that many pictures of Shakespeare might be unreliable because many of them are copies of this one,” said an expert from Britain’s National Portrait Gallery.

The discovery comes after four months of testing using X-rays, ultraviolet light, microphotography and paint samples. The experts from the gallery say the image －commonly known as the “Flower portrait”－was actually painted in the 1800s, about two centuries after Shakespeare’s death. The art experts who work at the gallery say they also used modern chemistry technology to check the paint on the picture. These checks found traces of paint dating from about 1814.Shakespeare died in 1616, and the date that appears on the portrait is 1609.

“We now think the portrait dates back to around 1818 to 1840.This was when there was a renewed interest in Shakespeare’s plays,” Tarnya Cooper, the gallery’s curator(馆长), told the Associated President.

The fake picture has often been used as a cover for collections of his plays. It is called the Flower portrait because one of its owners, Desmond Flower, gave it to the Royal Shakespeare Company.

“There have always been questions about the painting,” said David Howells, curator for the Royal Shakespeare Company. “Now we know the truth, we can put the image in its proper place in the history of Shakespearean portraiture.”

Two other images of Shakespeare, are also being studied as part of the investigation and the results will come out later this month.________

1. What makes the birthday of Shakespeare dramatic this year?

A．It was found that he painted a portrait in 1814 instead of in 1609.

B．The Flower portrait has been found to be a fake.

C．Three portraits of Shakespeare are being tested to identify a real one.

D．It was found that there was a renewed interest in Shakespeare’s plays around 1818 to 1840.

2. Which statement is True according to the passage?

A．Portraits of Shakespeare are all unreliable.

B．"Flower portrait " was a portrait of Shakespeare given to Desmond Flower.

C．There were at least four methods used to test the portrait.

D．The Flower portrait is not often used as a cover for Shakespeare’s play.

3. The best title for this passage is ________.

A．Birthdays often involve surprises.

B．The surprise on the 441st birthday of Shakespeare.

C．One portrait of Shakespeare is a fake.

D．How can we know Shakespeare’s appearance?

4. Which is the best sentence to fill in the blank in the last paragraph?

A．Soon we’ll know which portrait is reliable.

B．We cannot find a real portrait of Shakespeare.

C．If the two portraits are found to be false, they will test more.

D．But now what Shakespeare really looks like remains a mystery.