The Silk Road was a historical network of trade routes that connected China and the Mediterranean Sea, allowing cultural and economic interaction between the East and the West. Begun in the 2nd Century B C” the Silk Road carried goods, ideas, and even illness for thousands of miles between great civilizations for more than a thousand years.
China’s powerful Han Dynasty began expanding its trade routes towards the West in the years around 100 B.C.
As its name suggests, the Silk Road was home to large amount of silk, which made its way from China to the Mediterranean and, to Rome. It wasn’t only silk, however, that was carried along the Silk Road
Several cities along the Silk Road became major trading centers. Some of the more famous of these were Alexandria, Karakorum, Antioch, Constantinople, and Persepolis. Local taxes placed on goods traveling along the route were quite common.
| A．The name, however, is a modem idea. |
| B．Diseases also spread along the Silk Road. |
| C．It sent silk and other goods to other civilizations. |
| D．Merchants would prepare some supplies in advance. |
| E．Goods did not travel with the same person all along the route. |
| F．As a result, many goods traveled only part of the way due to the high cost |
| G．Many other things made their way from the East to the West, or from the West to the East. |
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【推荐1】The Bermuda Triangle is an area in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean, near Florida in the USA, where a number of aircraft and ships are said to have disappeared mysteriously.
①The earliest suggestion of unusual disappearances in the Bermuda area appeared in a September 17, 1950 article. Two years later, published “Sea Mystery at Our Back Door”, covering the loss of several planes and ships, including the loss of Flight 19. Flight 19 alone would be covered again in the April 1962 issue of American Legion magazine. In it, author Allan W. Eckert wrote that the flight leader had been heard saying, “We are entering white water. Nothing seems right. We don’t know where we are.” In the February 1964, the article “The Deadly Bermuda Triangle” argued that Flight 19 and other disappearances were just part of strange events in the area.
②Triangle writers have used a number of supernatural ideas to explain the events. One explanation refers to leftover technology from the mysterious lost continent of Atlantis. Some of the Triangle writers related the events to UFOs. This idea was used by Steven Spielberg for his science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, in which the lost Flight 19 aircrews were taken by aliens.
③But there are also some explanation relating to nature. For example, laboratory experiments carried out in Australia have proven that bubbles containing natural gas can sink a large ship by decreasing the density(密度) of the water. Because it has been assumed that the eruption of volcanoes(火山)may produce much natural gas, making large areas of bubbles under sea so that water is no longer able to provide enough supporting power for ships. If this were the case, such an area forming around a ship could cause it to sink very rapidly and without any warning.
④Violent weather is likely to be another reason. Powerful storms forming in tropical(热带的)waters have caused thousands of deaths and caused billions of dollars in damage. These storms have in the past caused a number of incidents related to the Triangle.
1. According to the passage, the loss of Flight 19 was first covered .| A．in 1950 | B．in 1952 |
| C．in 1962 | D．in 1964 |
| A．① | B．② |
| C．③ | D．④ |
| A．the natural gas | B．large areas of bubbles |
| C．the eruption of volcanoes | D．the increase of water density |
| A．The truth behind the disappearance in the Bermuda Triangle. |
| B．The puzzle of the Bermuda Triangle and its explanations. |
| C．Strange accidents that happened in the Bermuda Triangle. |
| D．The exploration of the Bermuda Triangle in history. |
Benin used to be called Dahomey and was controlled and ruled by France from 1893 to 1960, when it became independent. In 1963 the army general Soglo overthrew (推翻) the first president Maga. Soglo set up an army government and called himself head of state in 1965, but was overthrown and replaced by a civilian (非军人) government in 1967. In December 1969 Benin had another change of power with the army again taking over. In May 1970, Maga and two other men set up a new government, with each of them acting as president in turn for two years. However, half a year after Maga turned over power to the second man Ahomadegbe, the three-man government was overthrown by the army once more and General Kerekou became president. In November 1975 Kerekou changed the name of the nation from Dahomey to Benin, Benin being the name of a 17th century kingdom covering the same place. Kerekou also announced that Benin would be a People’s Republic based on Marxism-Leninism.
1. Which of the following maps shows rightly the positions of Benin and its neighbouring countries?
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
| A．30 years. | B．25 years. | C．20 years. | D．15 years. |
| A．Ma, So, Ma, Ke, Ah | B．So, Ma, Ah, Ma, Ke |
| C．Ma, So, Ma, Ah, Ke | D．So, Ma, Ke, Ma, Ah |
| A．Benin was its oldest name. The name Dahomey was used later, but has been replaced by Benin again. |
| B．Dahomey was its oldest name, but it has been replaced by Benin. |
| C．Dahomey was its oldest name. The name Benin was used later, but has been replaced by Dahomey again. |
| D．Benin was its oldest name, but it has been replaced by Dahomey. |
【推荐3】When I was in university, I spent a semester studying abroad at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. In my brief time there, I came to love Scotland for its local culture, food and scenery.
You might think, “Scotland isn’t so different from the US; they still speak English there!” But when I stepped off the plane, I was greeted by a gruff-voiced (声音粗哑的) lady at customs. “You’ll be coming from America, then?” she asked me, and I nodded. “But all of our lads (小伙子) are leaving Glasgow for the States!” Her thick Scottish English and sense of humor were obvious right away. I was not in the US anymore, where customs agents never joke around.
As I settled in at the university, I could feel myself getting used to hearing and even speaking the Scottish English of my customs agent. In classroom discussions, people would say “em” when they couldn’t think of what to say instead of “um”. After the first few weeks, I stopped chuckling about this. Strathclyde students stayed up late into the night, running around campus and shouting, “Here weh, here weh, here weh (curse word]) go! Lat’s go, lat’s go, lat’s go (curse word) Glasgow!” Pretty soon, I was no longer saying “thanks” at the supermarket — instead, I said “cheers”.
My Scottish friends drank whiskey and ate haggis (羊杂碎布丁), a hearty dish made from sheep’s heart, liver and lungs. I drank plenty of whiskey but I’m ashamed to admit that I wasn’t brave enough to try haggis. Scottish bakeries usually sell bridies (肉馅饼), pies filled with salt and pepper, sliced onions, steak, butter and fat. Add a cup of tea – though I usually Americanized it by choosing coffee instead — and a bridie makes for a delicious breakfast.
Every time I took a train anywhere in Scotland, I’d gaze out at the rolling hills and wonder if grass was greener anywhere else in the world. Then I’d reflect that there’s a reason this country was the birthplace of golf.
1. How did the author feel when he was greeted by the lady at customs?| A．Amused. | B．Embarrassed. |
| C．Excited. | D．Relaxed. |
| A．Most Scottish people prefer coffee to tea. |
| B．The author fell in love with Scottish whiskey and bridies. |
| C．Coffee and haggis are traditionally combined in the Scottish breakfast. |
| D．The author found it hard of understand the Scottish accent. |
| A．Talking loudly. | B．Whispering angrily. |
| C．Hearing carefully. | D．Laughing quietly. |
| A．The traditional food and drinks in Scotland. |
| B．The author’s experience in Scotland as an exchange student. |
| C．A comparison between Scottish English and American English. |
| D．Suggestions about how to enjoy Scottish culture, food and scenery. |
【推荐1】Like producers of wine from France's Champagne area, Brazil's chocolate industry is using geographical indication, or GI labels with good results. These labels show where the cocoa comes from and its quality. The special labels can lead to higher prices on the market.
Henrique Almeida is the 63-year-old owner of a farm in Coaraci, in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. He is pleased with the "South Bahia" geographical indication for his cocoa. "The production of fine cocoa and the creation of the geographical indication label make it possible to have a profitable business and pull our region upwards," Almeida said.
For many years, farmers in Bahia had produced common cocoa, used widely in the chocolate industry. But in 1989, an outbreak of "witches' broom" disease sharply reduced the productivity of Bahia's cocoa trees. These trees make up to 86 percent of Brazil's national crop. At the time, Almeida, like other producers in southern Bahia, chose to improve the quality of his crop in order to be able to continue growing.
"When I bought the farm, standard cocoa prices were low, and cocoa farmers were unmotivated（无动机的）, while the chocolate market was doing well," he told the French news agency AFP. "I started growing fine cocoa to make my own chocolate and add value to my product."
The label is the result of 10 years of work by Almeida and other cocoa producers, as well as cooperatives and researchers. Together, they created the South Bahia Cocoa Association to define（定义）production rules. The National Institute of Industrial Property registered the GI 6 years after the first registered GI.
The “South Bahia” label is the second GI given to Brazilian cocoa. The Linhares region in the state of Espirito Santo was the first GI to be registered in 2012. Tome-Acu in the northeastern state of Para became the third in 2019.
1. What might be a result of witches' broom in 1989?| A．Many cocoa trees in Brazil died. | B．Cocoa became quite expensive. |
| C．Farmers started to grow fine cocoa. | D．Chocolate industry had to use common cocoa. |
| A．In 2012. | B．In 2014. |
| C．In 2016. | D．In 2018. |
| A．A national cocoa association may appear quickly. |
| B．Common cocoa may disappear soon. |
| C．Cocoa fanners may apply for more GI labels. |
| D．Cocoa prices will be higher and higher. |
| A．Brazil's cocoa industry benefits from GI labels. |
| B．Brazil's cocoa farmers are learning to make French wine. |
| C．GI labels are making higher profits for Brazil's cocoa farmers. |
| D．Better Brazil's cocoa trees will bring finer Brazil's cocoa. |
【推荐2】Why I stopped worrying about my credit score?
If you believed everything you read about your credit score, you'd think it was the most important component of your financial health. Without a good credit score and history, the experts say, it's more difficult qualify for a mortgage(按揭)or a car loan-and more expensive if you're approved for a loan, too, because you won't get the best interest rates. In many states, bad credit can even raise your insurance payments, cost you a rental apartment, or make it harder to get hired.
First off, there are several credit scores out there. While it's important to cultivate your credit scores by using credit responsibly, your FICO credit score may not be the same as what VantageScore reports, and lenders may use a different one entirely, so focusing on one score can be a fruitless exercise. More important as financial reporter Dave Ramsey notes on his blog, your credit score is not a measure of your overall financial health. He writes:"
FICO, the most popular credit-scoring agency, users several weighted factors to determine your credit score, including payment history (35 percent), amounts owed (30 percent), length of credit history (15 percent), new credit (10 percent), and credit mix (10 percent).
Your credit score is certainly important when you’re starting out and likely to borrow money for a down payment (首付) on a home or some other big purchase. But once you’re fairly established financially, it’s much easier to see it for what it really is: a measure of how well you borrow money.
| A．In other words, because we paid off and closed a line of credit, our scores took a hit. |
| B．It is always more important to know how much you are able to earn than to borrow. |
| C．All it tells you is whether you are good at borrowing money and paying it back. |
| D．Believe it or not, these standards allow you to be punished for becoming debt-free! |
| E．These are the reasons why I have stopped worrying about my credit score. |
| F．While all of that is true, it doesn’t tell the whole story. |
【推荐3】A Chinese consortium（联盟）led by China Railway Corp will participate in bidding for a high-speed railroad linking Singapore and Malaysia in 2018, marking another step in China’s ambitious strategy to export its high-speed railway technologies to Southeast Asia.
The consortium, consisting of eight companies including CRRC, China Railway Construction Corporation Ltd, China Railway Signal and Communication Co and Export-Import Bank of China, covers the design, construction, telecommunication, financing, operating and maintenance（维护）sectors for the high-speed rail network.
A joint tender（招标）for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail project was issued by the Malaysian and Singaporean government-owned utilities（公用事业）—MyHSR Corp and SG HSR，on Dec 20.According to a joint statement released by the two companies, the potential bidder would be responsible for the design, construction, financing, operating and maintenance of rolling stock and railway systems for the double-track line with a designed speed of 350 kilometers per hour.
The tender is open to all companies, regardless of their location. A tender briefing will be held in Kuala Lumpur on Jan 23, and proposals need to be submitted by June 29. Submissions will be evaluated based on technical merit（优点）, commercial robustness, financial sustainability and price. The preferred bidder will be selected by the end of next year. The governments of both countries signed a bilateral（双边的）agreement late in 2016 to begin the project. According to the agreement, the high-speed rail link is expected to become operational by Dec 31, 2026, and will cut travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to just 90 minutes.
“The move indicates that China’s State-owned enterprises have stopped cruel competition to hurt each other,” said Du Chunbu, a professor of rail transportation at Beijing Jiaotong University. “Instead, they have started to form a consortium to better compete with companies from Japan, South Korea, Germany and Canada by bringing their specialties into play.”
1. What can we learn about the high-speed railroad?| A．It is expected to become operational in about five years. |
| B．It is designed at a speed of 350 kilometers every hour. |
| C．It is a single-track line linking Singapore and Malaysia. |
| D．It will cut travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to one hour. |
| A．strong and unlikely to become weak |
| B．able to wait calmly for a long time or to accept difficulties |
| C．able to understand other people’s feelings and problems |
| D．likely to develop into a particular type of thing in the future |
| A．To invest more money in the project. |
| B．To be able to finish the project ahead of time. |
| C．To avoid fierce competition to hurt each other. |
| D．To guarantee the quality of the high-speed rail project. |
| A．China to bid for Malaysia railway project |
| B．A Chinese consortium led by China Railway Corp |
| C．China to export its high-speed railway technologies to Southeast Asia |
| D．China to participate in building high-speed railroad linking Singapore and Malaysia |
