1 . The Great Sphinx of Giza (吉萨狮身人面像) is one of the most famous places of interest in the world. Most scientists believe it was built around 2,500 B.C. (公元前). But John Anthony West, a writer and film-maker, says that it’s much older. If he’s right, everything that we have learned about ancient civilizations (文明) would have to be completely revised.
West began to study ancient history after studying the work of a French researcher. The researcher said Egyptian (埃及的) civilization could have developed as early as 30,000 years ago rather than 4,500 years ago, as most experts believe.
West joined a scientist to do research together. Their research suggested that the Sphinx had been worn out (磨损) over the years by water rather than by sand and wind.
Wait a minute? Water? The Sphinx is in the Sahara Desert, which has been dry for 12,000 years! However, it was very green before that time. If it’s true that water wore down the Sphinx, then West thinks that it must have been built centuries earlier.
Whether West is right or wrong, it’s important to challenge accepted ideas. That’s how science progresses. West gave some advice to kids: If you are interested in a topic, read everything that you can find on it. Do your own research. Don’t always believe everything. Ask lots of questions, and find your own answers.
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。
1. When was the Great Sphinx of Giza built according to most scientists?
| A．About 2,500 B.C. | B．About 4,500 years ago. | C．About 30,000 years ago. |
| A．联系 | B．创造 | C．修改 |
| A．The sand. | B．The water. | C．The wind. |
| A．The place where West did his research. | B．The reason why West holds his opinions. | C．The technology which was used to build the Sphinx. |
| A．Science progress is made by giving different opinions. |
| B．Egyptian civilization is more important than the others. |
| C．Kids should believe what their teachers say at any time. |
2 . The Silk Road is the name of different roads that long ago connected Europe, Africa and Asia. People reached these different places along these roads. Scientists believe people began to travel along the Silk Road about 3,000 years ago. When the Chinese silk trade became important in the world, the Silk Road covered almost 6,500 kilometers. It spread from Rome to China, that is to say from the Western Europe to the Far East. Traders traveling along the Silk Road carried silk, of course, they also carried and traded spices（香料）, cloth, valuable stones, gold and so on.
There is a famous old story along the old road. It is said that Roman soldiers who lost a war traveled through Central Asia. They decided to live somewhere near the ancient Chinese village of Liqian. Some of these Romans married local Chinese women and the story of blue-eyed villages of China started.
During its busiest period, the Silk Road allowed people from many different cultures and countries to meet each other and mix. The Silk Road allowed sharing valuable goods（货物）and new ideas. These included people and trading goods from the Mediterranean（地中海的）, Persian（波斯的）, Magyar（马扎尔的）, Armenian（亚美尼亚的）, Bactrian（大夏的）, Indian and Chinese areas. All these peoples traveled along the Silk Road, and they shared goods, stories, languages, and cultures.
In modern times, the old Silk Road routes（路线）are still used, but now they are crossed by trains instead of camels（骆驼）and horses. There is even a Silk Route Museum in Jiuquan in China. It has over 35,000 objects from all along the Silk Road. In this way, China protects the history of many countries and peoples.
根据文章内容，判断句子正（T）、误（F）。
1. The Silk Road has a history of about 3,000 years.
2. Some Roman soldiers lost the war because they married local Chinese women.
3. Nowadays, the Silk Road routes are still crossed by camels and horses.
4. According to the passage, we can infer（推断）ancient Chinese along the Silk Road might be able to speak different languages.
5. All the objects in the museum in Jiuquan in China are from our country.
A: Hi, Judy.
B: Hi, Dennis. I read a book this morning.
A:
B: It’s about the invention of paper money.
A:
B: It was invented in the 11th century in China. And the money was called “jiaozi”. From the book, I learned Sweden people made the first European banknotes in 1661.
A: Really? It’s much later than China. Chinese people are very great!
B: Yes.
A: Like what?
B: Paper, silk, chopsticks and so on.
A: Wow! There are many inventions in China.
B: Yes, I agree with you. They have greatly improved our life.
Have you ever heard of English Language Day? It was first celebrated on 23rd April, 2010. It was chosen on such a day because Shakespeare was born on April 23rd, 1564. The purpose of it is to tell people the history, culture and achievements of the language.
The story of the English language began when Germanic tribes (部落) invaded (入侵) Britain and brought their languages with them. Later, Scandinavian Vikings invaded and lived with their languages too. In 1066, Norman-French became the language of the official activity.
By Shakespeare’s time, modern English had developed. Printing had been invented and people had to start to agree on “correct” spelling and vocabulary (词汇). In both 1500s and 1600s, the English language was going through a lot of changes. And Shakespeare’s creativity in the language meant he gave hundreds of new words and phrases that are still used today. Shakespeare influenced modern English greatly.
A Special Day—English Language Day | |
| The date of the special day | April 23rd—Shakespeare’s |
| The | Telling people the history, culture and achievements of the language |
| The period of time during which the English language was going through a lot of changes | In the 16th and 17th |
| The person having a | Shakespeare, whose |
May 21, 2020 marks the first International Tea Day (TD). It
Tea was discovered in China. When the
Many of us read news every day is probably because we’d like to know what’s happening in the world. Today we can get news from TV or the Internet, but how did ancient people get news?
At the very beginning, information spread by word of mouth. People living in tribes (部落), got news from neighbors or travelers. Ancient Romans changed the way people knew about their communities. They posted a list of daily happenings at public squares in the cities. Ancient Chinese people did it in another way. The government had news sheets sent to officials in the whole country so people could know what was going on in the capital.
The fifteenth century saw big progress in printing technology in the west. The progress brought a sudden rise of news business. Printers sold whatever people loved to read. In the sixteenth century, the first real newspaper appeared. People started to form the habit of reading newspapers. They liked to share their opinions on newspapers. The invention of telegraph (电报) machines led to another big step in history. News stories were sent to the papers in minutes instead of weeks.
Now we get news in seconds from all over the world. We can become some kind of reporters by posting online what happens around us.
1. From whom did people living in tribes get news?2. Where did ancient Romans post a list of daily happenings?
3. What brought a sudden rise of news business in the 15th century?
4. When did the first real newspapers appear?
5. How can we become some kind of reporters now?
7 . 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
8 . Stamps help connect us with others. They have played an important role in people's lives for a long time.
Stamps pay for a letter to get where it needs to be. When there were no stamps, people did not pay for the letters they sent, but instead they paid for the letters they received. The first stamp ever made is called Penny Black. It is a British stamp made in 1840 with a picture of Queen Victoria on it. The number of people who send letters and use stamps has gone down. But stamp collection is still one of the world' s most popular hobbies. There are even stamp clubs to help people find new stamps to add to their collections. Interestingly enough, the Internet may have reduced the need for stamps, but it is actually helping collectors find more stamps to add to their collections.
任务5: 根据短文（C）内容完成表格,每空一词
| Stamps Help Us Keep in | |
| The first stamp | Made in |
| The way to pay for letters | Receivers paid for letters |
| Stamps today | The stamps has been reduced because of the |
| Stamp | One of the world’s most popular hobbies |
9 . Canberra is the capital city of Australia. It is a modern and lively city that has a population of more than 345,000.Canberra is the eighth largest city in Australia. In 1911, the government chose a place to build the new capital. It was between Sydney and Melbourne, the two largest cities. In 1927, the city was founded. It became the capital and was named Canberra. "Canberra" means "a place for friends to get together." Canberra is a beautiful city with trees and flowers everywhere. There's a Flower Festival in September each year there. People can enjoy all kinds of beautiful flowers and welcome the spring to arrive. A man -made lake, Burley Griffin is in the center of the city. In Canberra, the National Library is a famous place of interest which is the largest one in Australia. There're also many famous universities like the University of Canberra.
任务2：阅读短文（B），根据英文释义及首字母提示拼写单词。
f
e
任务3：阅读短文（B），完成同义句转换，每空一词。
In 1911, the government chose a place to build the new capital.
In 1911, a place
任务4:根据短文（B）内容回答问题。
When was Canberra founded to be a capital?
What is the population of Canberra?
Is there a Flower Festival in autumn each year in Canberra?
10 . ( B )
Once there was a king and his daughter. The king asked his daughter how much she loved him. She said that she loved him as much as she loved salt. Her answer made the king very happy. Salt is simple thing, but it is very important. So the king thought his daughter cared a lot about him.
Salt has many uses. Bodies need salt. If we don’t have enough, our bodies can’t work properly. We put salt on icy roads to make them safe. We also use salt to produce other products, like paper and glass. But for many years, salt’s most important job was to protect food. Like other living things, most bacteria(细菌) need water to live. Salt takes in plenty of water, so most bacteria can’t live in a salty environment. Therefore, salt protects food and many other things. For much of humans history, this ability has made salt valuable. Every ancient culture from Egypt to China depended on salt. Even today, the hard working useful people are described as “the salt of the earth”.
For centuries, salt was also hard to get because its usefulness made it very expensive. Salt could even be used like money, in fact, the word salary(薪水) comes from the word salt.
Today, salt is used more widely and it still plays an important role in our life.
任务2：阅读短文（B），根据英文释义及首字母提示，拼写单词。
1. p
2. d
任务3：阅读短文（B），完成同义句转换，每空一词。
3. Therefore, salt protects food and many other things.
任务4: 根据短文(B)内容回答问题。
4. How did the king feel when he knew his daughter’s answer?
5. What was salt’s most important job for many years?
6. Why was salt also hard to get for centuries?
