1 . Hundreds of years ago, a Roman（古罗马的）army came north from England to make war on Scotland（苏格兰）. The Scots, a brave people, loved their country very much. They fought hard to drive the enemy out of Scotland, but there were too many of the Romans. It looked that the Romans would win.
One night, the leader of Scots marched（行军）his soldiers to the top of a hill. “We will rest here tonight, my men,” he said, “Tomorrow we will fight one more battle. We must win or we will die.”
They were all very tired, so they ate their supper quickly and fell asleep. There were four guards on duty, but they too, were very tired, and one by one, also fell asleep.
The Romans were not asleep. Quickly they gathered at the foot of the hill. Slowly they climbed up the hillside, taking care not to make a sound. Closer and closer they came to the sleeping Scots. They were almost at the top. A few minutes more, the war would be over. Suddenly, one of them put his foot on a thistle（蓟）. He cried out and his sudden cry woke the Scots. In a moment, they stood up and ready for battle. The fighting was hard but it did not last long.The Scots wiped out the Romans and saved their country.
The thistle is not a beautiful plant. It has sharp（锋利的）needles（刺）all over it.Few people like it. But the people of Seotland liked it so much that they made it their national flower.
1. Where did the Roman army come from?| A．England. | B．Germany. | C．Russia. | D．France. |
| A．they fought against the Romans | B．they had a party |
| C．they were all very tired | D．they were too exited to fall asleep |
| A．Because the guards of the Scots found the Romans. |
| B．Because the Scots were hungry. |
| C．Because one of the Romans put his foot on a thistle, and he cried out. |
| D．Because the Romans made a lot of noise. |
| A．prepared | B．raised | C．warned | D．beat |
| A．Thistle. | B．Rose. | C．Carrot. | D．Bean. |
When you say the word “France”, the Louvre (卢浮宫) or the Eiffel Tower (埃菲尔铁塔) may be the first things you think of. Let’s get to know the most famous buildings in Paris, the capital of France.
The Arc de Triomphe (凯旋门)
The Arc de Triomphe is a famous monument (纪念碑). It is more than 50 meters high. It is the largest triumphal arch in the world. Once a brave person even flew his plane through it! In 1806, Napoleon (拿破仑) won a great battle. He then asked to build the arch to celebrate. It was finished in 1836.
The Louvre
The Louvre Museum is a large and famous museum. It has some of the best art works in the world. The building lies in the center of Paris, on the right bank of the Seine River and used to be a palace.
The Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889 to remember the French Revolution (法国革命). It is 300 meters high and was the world’s tallest building until 1930.
People love the Eiffel Tower today. But its birth was difficult. At that time, many French people didn’t want the tower to be built. They thought it didn’t look nice. It was almost destroyed (摧毁) in 1909. But it was saved as it was used for radios at that time.
1. It took2. The brave man passed the Arc de Triomphe
3.
4. Many French people were against building the Eiffel Tower at that time because they thought
5. The passage mainly tells us
3 . Marco Polo was born in Italy in 1254. When he was 17, he travelled across Europe and Asia along the Silk Road with his father, who wanted to do trade with the Chinese. Finally they arrived in Beijing. Although Marco was young, he was very clever and could speak four languages. The Emperor was impressed by him and they became friends. He asked Marco to serve in his court and sent him to do many important tasks across the country. Marco was amazed by how beautiful and powerful China was.
There were inventions and developments in China which couldn’t be found in Europe at that time. Marco was surprised to see Chinese people using paper money in the markets. In Europe, people didn’t pay for goods with paper! He was also puzzled by the black stones people used to burn to produce heat. The black stones were coal, but Marco had never seen coal before!
In 1291, after 17 years of service to the Emperor, Marco returned to Italy. He was now a very wealthy man. A writer wrote down all the stories that Marco told him in a book called The Description of the World, which became one of the best-selling books in Europe.
Although people enjoyed reading the book, many of them thought that Marco’s stories about China were too fantastic to be true. But Marco always stood by his tales. Just before he died, aged 70, Marco was asked the question, “Was it all true?” And this was his answer, “I have only told a half what I saw!”
1. Marco Polo and his father travelled to China to2. Marco was amazed by how beautiful and
3. Marco Polo found Chinese people using
4. The Description of the World by
5. Many people in Europe thought Marco’s stories about China were
4 . In 1834, the clock tower in London was burned down. People planned to build a new clock which would be the biggest and best in the world. The clock had to be big and keep very good time. The big clock was made in two years. Five more years later the tower was finished. Then people put the big clock in the tower, and made it ring out for the first time on July 11,1859.
In order to give the big clock a good name, people held a meeting. Someone wanted to call it the Queen of Bells, and someone thought Victoria was good. At last, a man named Benjamin Hall stood up. He was a big man. Before he started to speak, someone shouted, "Why not call it Big Ben?". Everybody laughed and agreed with him.
From then on, Big Ben became its name. And it also became a famous building of London. People all over the world write to Big Ben. They even send birthday presents, bottles of oil to help keep Big Ben running. Big Ben is not only a clock but also a dear friend of people.
1. Big Ben's birthday is ________.| A．July 11, 1854 | B．July 11, 1834 |
| C．July 11, 1859 | D．July 11, 1852 |
| A．The king gave it the name. |
| B．Victoria gave it the name. |
| C．Big Ben got its name because of Benjamin Hall. |
| D．Big Ben got its name from the Queen of the UK. |
| A．have a good time | B．show people the correct time |
| C．keep running | D．be made in time |
| A．People think Big Ben will reply their letters. |
| B．People all over the world even send oil to Big Ben. |
| C．People all over the world look upon Big Ben as their friend. |
| D．People think Big Ben is the biggest and best clock in the world. |
| A．a man who built Big Ben |
| B．a man who was always very funny |
| C．the man who burnt down the old clock |
| D．a man who attended the meeting |
5 . The Winter Olympic is also called the White Olympics. At this time, people make many colorful stamps to mark(纪念)the great Games. The first stamps marking the opening came out an January 25h. 1932 in the Unite sates for the 3rd White Olympics. From then on, printing stamps during the White Olympics became a rule. During the 4th Winter Olympic Game, a group of stamps were printed in Germany in November, 1936. It was the first time that the five rings appeared on the stamps of he White Olympics.
In the 1950s stamps of his kind became more colorful. The host countries as well as the non—host countries printed stamps to mark those games. China also printed four stamps in February 1980, when the Chinese sportsman began to take part in the White Olympics.
1. The White Olympics and the Winter Olympics________ .| A．are the same thing | B．are different games |
| C．are not held in winter | D．are held in summer |
| A．after the year 1936 | B．after the 3rd White Olympics |
| C．before the 3rd White Olympics | D．before the year 1932 |
| A．every two years | B．every three years |
| C．every four years | D．every five years |
| A．Only the host countries can print stamps to mark the Games. |
| B．Only the non—host countries can print stamps to mark the Games. |
| C．All countries can print stamps to mark the Games. |
| D．China hosted the Winter Olympics in February 1980. |
| A．The Winter Olympics Games | B．The Winter Olympics Stamps |
| C．The Stamps of Olympics | D．Different Stamps of Sports |
6 . We don’t know who first discovered a way to measure time. It was probably the Hindus, the Greeks, or the Egyptians. We do know, however, that more than 7, 000 years ago the Hindus looked at the sky and measured time by looking at the position of the stars and the sun.
The Egyptians used the water clock. This measured the time it took for a certain amount of water to pass from one place to another. The Egyptians were also the first people to make a calendar of 365 days. The earliest known water clock was found in the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh(法老)Amenhotep I, who was buried around 1, 500 BC.
The hourglass(时漏) was probably invented in the 3rd century BC. No one knows for sure. This was similar in a way to the water clock. Time was measured by the amount of sand that moved from one container to another. We still use this kind of clock today in the form of an egg timer(煮鸡蛋的定时器). This measures time in three minute periods.
The first clock of any kinds to be used in China were brought there by European explorers. And it was in Europe that the first mechanical clock was invented. The word “clock” comes from the Latin “clocca” which means bell, and it was first used in the 14thcentury.
根据短文内容，填写适当的单词或短语，完成下列句子。每空不超过两个单词。
1. More than 7, 000 years ago, the Hindus measured time with the help of looking at
2. People found the earliest water clock in
3. No one knows when the hourglass was invented
4.
5. The first mechanical clock was invented in
7 . Every day we communicate with others—often with symbols or gestures(手势). Here are some of the most common gestures.
Shaking Hands
Shaking hands has been done since at least the second century BC. It’s a symbol of trust. Nowadays we usually shake the right hands. But in the old time, people also shook left hands. The world record for handshakes is held by a man from New Jersey, who shook 11,000 hands in a single day.
Thumbs(大拇指) Up
The thumbs up sign is thought to come from contests in Rome. There people decided whether the fighter would live or die by thumbs up or thumbs down. In fact it came from an old English saying “Here’s my thumb on it” which was used to seal a bargain (达成交易). Businessmen held their thumbs up and extended them, until the two touched each other.
Rock, Paper, Scissors
Rochambeau, or rock, paper, scissors is played all over the world to solve some difficult disagreements. A judge in Florida ordered people in a case to use this game to solve it. In Indonesia, it is earwig(蜈蚣), human, and elephant. The earwig drives the elephant mad. The human killed the earwig, and the elephant killed the human. If you know why it is called Rochambeau, please let me know. It’s still a mystery.
OK
The real history of this sign is lost. Some people think it refers to American president Martin Van Buren. He was often called as “Old Kinderhook”. Others say it is the bad handwriting which made OR—standing for “order received” into OK.
1. In old days, if people shook hands, that means they ________ each other.| A．loved | B．believed | C．protected | D．respected |
| A．面对 | B．展示 | C．延伸 | D．掩盖 |
| A．Shaking Hands and OK | B．Shaking Hands and Thumbs up |
| C．Thumbs up and OK | D．Rock, Paper, Scissors and OK |
| A．Most people know how gestures came into use. |
| B．The sign of Thumbs up came from the contests in India. |
| C．In Indonesia, a lot of people were killed by elephants. |
| D．Some people use Rock, Paper, and Scissors to solve problems. |
| A．the history of some daily symbols and signs |
| B．ways to make people trust you |
| C．importance to using right gestures |
| D．the how bad handwriting made OK |
8 . Do you know when and where ice cream was created? It has a l
The earliest ice cream was eaten in China many centuries ago. People at that time would put orange juice on the ice or get something c
Ice cream was brought to America in the early 1700s, and it q
Before ice cream was sold in stores, people made and kept it at a very low t
Today in the United States, ice cream is not only a kind of f
9 . Lanterns have been part of Chinese culture for centuries and play an important part in many celebrations. In ancient times, there were mainly three kinds of lanterns
Palace lantern
It was mainly used in palaces in ancient times. When making palace lanterns fine wood was used. The palace lanterns were covered with silk or glass. Different kinds of pictures were drawn on the covers. These lanterns were not only used as lights but also as decorations （装饰）in palaces.
Gauze lantern （纱灯）
Less expensive bamboo and gauze were used to cover the lantern. Red gauze was used when making them. In Chinese culture, red lanterns stand for （代表）happiness. So red lanterns are always hung （悬挂）on important festivals such as Lantern Festival, Spring Festival and National Day in parks or along main streets. In some famous Chinatowns abroad, you can see red lanterns all the year round. They have become a symbol of Chinese culture worldwide.
Shadow picture lantern （走马灯）
It was usually used for amusement （娱乐）.The shape was much like that of the palace lanterns. There were two layers （层）of covers and pictures were drawn on the inside layer. When lit （被点燃）,the heat caused a paper wheel inside the lantern to turn around, so that moving pictures appeared on the outside cover.
Now more kinds of lanterns appear in festivals besides the traditional ones. More modern technology is used on making lanterns. The shapes of the modern lanterns have changed a lot too.
1. In ancient times, there were2. Red lanterns are symbols of
3. The shape of
4. In some famous Chinatowns abroad, you can
5. When lit, the heat caused a paper wheel inside the lantern to turn around, so that moving pictures
10 . The word photography was first used in 1839. However, at that time the subject (被拍对象) had to keep still while a picture of it was taken. Few people had ever tried to take photos of moving subjects. The first man to do so was Eadweard Muybridge, a world-famous photographer. He created the first moving picture.
When a horse is running, do all four hooves (蹄)ever leave the ground at the same time? That was the bet that a gentleman called Leland Stanford had with some of his friends. Most people believed that a horse always had one hoof on the ground, but Stanford didn’t think: so. Because a horse’s legs are moving so fast, it’s impossible to tell just by looking. Stanford needed a way to record the movement of a running horse. In 1872, Leland Stanford offered Eadweard Muybridge $25,000 to find the answer. Muybridge had no idea if he could successfully set up and perform an experiment to settle (解决) the bet, but he thought he should give it a try.
In 1878, after years of experiments, Muybridge got what he wanted. He had a sequence (连续) of 12 images (图像), and one of them clearly showed all four of the horse’s hooves were off the ground at the same time. In the end Muybridge collected his well-earned $25,000 from Stanford.
Though Thomas Edison is usually considered as the person who created the first cine-camera (电影摄影机) in 1889, it was the work of Eadweard Muybridge and the bet that led to Edison’s invention.
1. The underlined word “still” most probably means “________” in Chinese.| A．安逸的 | B．平衡的 | C．直立的 | D．静止的 |
| A．a horse always had one hoof on the ground while running |
| B．a horse had all 4 hooves off the ground at some point while running |
| C．it was possible for Eadweard Muybridge to make a moving picture |
| D．it was impossible for Eadweard Muybridge to make a moving picture |
| A．1839 | B．1872 | C．1878 | D．1887 |
| A．Stanford | B．Stanford’s friends. | C．Muybridge | D．Muybridge’s friends |
| A．that Thomas Edison created the first cine-camera |
| B．that Eadweard Muybridge created the first still pictures |
| C．how photography helped people know more about animals |
| D．how Eadweard Muybridge got pictures of movement successfully |
