History is important to study because it is essential for all of us in understanding ourselves and the world around us. And in my opinion, studying history benefits beyond history itself, because it helps develop and improve our skills through studying history.
We can improve our reading skills by reading texts from different periods. Language has changed and developed over time and so has the way people write and express themselves. We can also improve our writing skills through learning not to just repeat what someone else said, but to analyze information from multiple sources and come up with our own conclusions. It’s two birds with one stone—better writing and critical thinking!
There are so many sources of information out in the world. Finding a decisive truth for many topics just doesn’t exist. What was a victory for one group was a great loss for another—we get to create our own opinions of these events.
History gives us the opportunity to learn from others’ past mistakes. It helps us understand many reasons why people may behave the way they do. As a result, it helps us become smarter as decision-makers.
In the study of history we will need to conduct research. This gives us the opportunity to look at two kinds of sources—primary (written at the time) and secondary sources (written about a time period, after the fact). This practice can teach us how to decipher between reliable and unreliable sources.
There are numbers and data to be learned from history. In terms of patterns: patterns in population, disappearances during times of war, and even in environmental factors. These patterns that are found help clarify why things happened as they did.
It’s incredibly important to learn to question the quality of the information and “history” we are learning. Keep these two questions in mind as we read through information: How do I know what I’m reading are facts and accurate information? Could they be the writer’s opinions?
1. The author thinks history helps make good decisions because ________.| A．we can learn from others’ past mistakes |
| B．we can meet many sources of information |
| C．we can look at primary and secondary sources |
| D．we can create our own opinions of the past events |
| A．put out | B．break out | C．make out | D．try out |
| A．To remind readers to read historical novels carefully. |
| B．To warn readers not to read too many history books. |
| C．To emphasize the quality of the information on history. |
| D．To make readers doubt about the reality of history. |
| A．How to study history | B．Why is history important |
| C．Reliable data of history | D．Value of studying history |
A castle was the fortress (堡垒) and home of a king or nobleman.
Most of the castles we think of today were built in Europe. They were built from about 1, 000 AD to about 1, 500 AD, during a period known as the Middle Ages.
Castles played an important role after the fall of the Roman Empire. When a king granted land to nobles, the nobles promised in return to serve the king and provide him with soldiers. Nobles built castles on the lands given to them. But some nobles simply claimed land as their own and built a castle on it. That was asking for trouble. There were many power struggles between nobles and kings, and among the nobles themselves.
A typical stone castle had several main parts. At the centre of the castle was a tall and very strong building called the keep. This is where people in the castle made their last stand if the outer defences (防御) failed. The keep was set in a courtyard, where there were workshops, stables, and a kitchen.
High, thick walls surrounded the keep and the courtyard. Strong, round defensive towers stood at the corners of the walls. Guards walked along the tops of the walls and towers.
Many stone castles were surrounded by a wide ditch called a moat (护城河). Some moats were filled with water, but many were not. The only way into the castle was across a wooden drawbridge over the moat. If enemies attacked, the defenders raised the bridge. Then they lowered a heavy iron-and-wood barrier called a portcullis to block the entrance to the castle.
A well-built castle was a pretty safe place to be. Attackers had a hard time getting in. But they still had some options. They could go over the walls using ladders. They could smash (撞碎) through the walls or doors. Or they could dig under the walls and try to get part of the wall to fall down. If none of those things worked, they could just camp outside until the defenders ran out of food.
Attackers sometimes brought large machines called siege engines with them to break through castle doors or walls. This was a heavy wooden beam with a metal cap. In the early 1500s, cannons entered wide use in warfare. Cannonballs could dig into the base of stone walls and weaken them. The walls then fell under their own weight. As a result, castles were no longer needed.
1. The underlined word “That” refers to the fact that ________.| A．nobles built castles on the lands given to them | B．the nobles promised to serve the king in return |
| C．some nobles simply claimed land as their own | D．the nobles provided the king with soldiers |
| A．3 | B．4 | C．5 | D．6 |
| A．Some castles were built to attract more visitors. |
| B．Kings in ancient Europe were more generous. |
| C．Portcullises were used to break through castle doors. |
| D．Warfare must be common from 1, 000 AD to about 1, 500 AD. |
| A．Attacking a castle | B．Visiting a castle | C．A pretty safe place | D．Weakness of a castle |
3 . Traffic lights are red, yellow and green. They are very important signals (信号). Traffic lights are usually placed at busy street corners to help control traffic. Sometimes, they are on streets near schools and shops, too. Most young children are taught what each of the colored lights means, so everybody can stay safe.
The first traffic signals were used for trains. The signals were put alongside railway tracks (轨道). The color red was used to mean “stop” because it warned people of danger. A red light was also the easiest color to see from a distance. Train drivers could see the red “stop” light ahead and had enough time to slow down and stop their trains. A green light was used to mean “take care” and a white light meant “go”.
However, there were many dangerous accidents on the train tracks. Some train drivers thought a star shining in the night sky was a white light that meant “go”. So the signals were swapped. The “go” light was changed to green and the “take care” light was changed to white.
During these times, people travelled by train or in carts pulled by horses. Years later, when cars were built, people began to drive them because they could travel much faster than horses. However, the road rules for drivers were not very clear and many people were hurt crossing the roads. Yellow warning signs had to be placed beside the roads to remind drivers to take care and allow people to cross safely.
Today, towns and cities all over the world have traffic lights. Red and green lights match the signals used on the railways. Yellow lights are easy to see, so they are used to warn drivers that they should slow down and prepare to stop.
1. Why was the color red used to mean “stop”?| A．It reminded people of traffic rules. |
| B．It helped trains run smoothly. |
| C．It gave people a warning of danger. |
| D．It was the first color people thought of. |
| A．Designed. | B．Exchanged. | C．Suggested. | D．Compared. |
a. A white light b. A green light. c. A yellow light.
| A．a一c一b | B．b一c一a | C．a一b一c | D．b一a一c |
| A．The advantages of traffic lights. | B．The history of traffic lights. |
| C．The importance of traffic lights. | D．The meanings of traffic lights. |
4 . We all have our favourite music, films or books — but which are the most popular ever?
The most popular album (音乐专辑) Thriller by Michael Jackson At the time Jackson started writing his best-selling album Thriller, he hoped that his album would sell 50 million copies. He was wrong — it sold over ten million more than that. Even today around 130,000 copies are sold in the USA every year. |
The most popular classical music Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony When Beethoven was alive, his Fifth Symphony wasn’t his most popular piece of music. But now most people know the da da da dah introduction. In the 20th century, the first four notes (音符) were used by other musicians to make different types of music like hiphop and rock and roll. |
The most popular novel A Tale of Two Cities Many people think the best-selling book of all time is one of the Harry Potter books. It’s true that all the Harry Potter books together have sold about 450 million copies. But the most popular single novel is much older. A Tale of Two Cities was written by Charles Dickens in 1859 and has sold 250 million copies. |
The most popular ________ The Shawshank Redemption The Shawshank Redemption, directed by Frank Darabont in 1994, didn’t make much money at the cinema. It only became popular later on video, DVD and TV. It was based on a book by Stephen King. The writer sold the story for only a dollar. |
| A．painting | B．film | C．poem | D．sculpture |
| A．Thriller turned out to be more popular than Michael Jackson expected. |
| B．The Fifth Symphony was used in many other music forms by Beethoven. |
| C．A Tale of Two Cities has sold more copies than all the Harry Potter books. |
| D．The Shawshank Redemption made much money as soon as it came out. |
| A．Sports Time. | B．Science Study. | C．Culture World. | D．Nature Watch. |
The ancient road started from Chang’an(now Xi’an) and ended in Eastern Europe, near today’s Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea. It was about 6,500 kilometers long and went across one-fourth of the earth.
The Silk Road got its name in the 19th century because Chinese silk used to be carried along this road. Silk, jade, ceramics and iron went west to Rome. And from the west came glass, gems and food like carrots.
The Silk Road was very important to both China and the rest of the world. It was more than an ancient international trade route. Besides trade, knowledge about art science and literature, as well as crafts and technologies was shared across the Silk Road. In this way, languages and cultures developed（发展） and influenced（影响） each other.
Today，China is trying to build the“21st Century Marine（海洋的）Silk Road”．With the help of APEC held in Beijing in November 2014, the dream of One Belt One Road (the “Silk Road Economic（经济的）Belt”and “21st Century Marine Silk Road”)（“一带一路”） is coming true.
1. The underlined word “route” in Paragraph 1 probably means
| A．方式 | B．路线 | C．成就 | D．关系 |
| A．In the 19th century | B．In the 18 th century |
| C．During the Western Han Dynasty. | D．During the Eastern Han Dynasty |
| A．It was about 6, 500 meters long. |
| B．It was about 5,000 kilometers long. |
| C．It went across one-third of the earth. |
| D．It went across one-fourth of the earth. |
| A．Because Chinese silk was carried along this road. |
| B．Because Chinese silk was made along this road. |
| C．Because things were traded from market to market along this road. |
| D．Because the ancient traders bought and sold things along this road. |
| A．the Silk Road was only an ancient international trade route |
| B．many new silk roads have been built by the Chinese government so far. |
| C．the Silk Road was a very important line of communication connecting（连接）East and West |
| D．the Silk Road prevented the development of languages and cultures between East and West. |
6 . In the 19th century, millions of Europeans went to the USA because they wanted to find a better life. Many of them couldn’t find work in cities like New York.
Some of these people hoped to find gold in California. The journey sometimes took more than one year. There are a lot of films, called Westerners, about the settlers on the trail. In most of the films, we see the Native Americans (American Indians) attacking the settlers, and the “Indians” killing many white people. But the truth is that the Native Americans were not the biggest problem for the settlers. In fact, most of them were very helpful to the settlers.
More than 50000 people, including many women and children, died on the trail. A lot of people died of illnesses like cholera, because the drinking water wasn’t clean.
| A．It is true that the settlers’ journey was extremely difficult. |
| B．Many parents also had to carry their small children. |
| C．Many of them lost their home. |
| D．They hoped they could make more money. |
| E．There were also a lot of accidents. |
| F．So they left and went to find farmland in the west. |
7 . Many years ago in 1971, the US table tennis team was at the World Championship in Japan. The team from China was also there. This championship took place during the days of Cold War, so the American and the Chinese players didn’t even talk to each other.
Glen Cowan, form the US team, didn’t like this situation. One day, he saw a Chinese player and invited him to play. They played together for 15 minutes, and Cowan missed the US bus back to the hotel.
Then, something surprising happened. One of the Chinese players waved to Cowan from the Chinese bus. He thought for a moment and then he got on the bus. But the Chinese players didn’t talk to him. Suddenly, Zhuang Zedong, three times world champion, came up to Cowan. “What are you doing?” said the other Chinese players. “Don’t talk to him! Don’t make trouble!” Zedong gave Cowan a silk scarf. “I give you this to show the friendship of the Chinese people to the American people,” he said through a translator. Cowan wanted to give something back, but he didn’t have anything with him.
Then the bus arrived at the hotel. There were lots of reporters — it was big news to see an American and a Chinese player together. Later, Cowan bought a T-shirt with a peace flag on it, and he gave it to Zedong. The two men became friends.
In the same year, the US team got an invitation to visit China, and in February 1972, US President Richard Nixon went to China on a historic visit. Mary people say that the two men and their friendship made a better relationship between their countries possible.
1. Why didn’t the American and Chinese players talk to each other?| A．Because they didn’t know each other. |
| B．Because they couldn’t understand each other’s words. |
| C．Because of the Cold War. |
| D．Because they competed for the World Championship. |
| A．He invited Glen Cowan to play table tennis. |
| B．He waved to Cowan from the Chinese bus. |
| C．He followed his team members’ advice and didn’t talk to Glen Cowan. |
| D．He became friends with Glen Cowan. |
| A．Glen Cowan played with a Chinese player for fifteen minutes. |
| B．Glen Cowan gave Zhuang Zedong a silk scarf to show the friendship. |
| C．The reporters were surprised to see an American player and a Chinese player together. |
| D．China invited the US team and the President Richard Nixon visited China in February, 1972. |
| A．Novel | B．Dictionary | C．Science fiction | D．History book |
8 . Libraries give kids a quiet and safe place to read and learn. For over 100 years, libraries have played an important role in Americans’ education. But how are these book-filled buildings changing with the times? You may be surprised to find out.
Benjamin Franklin famously founded (创建) America’s first lending library in 1731. But the public library system (系统) got its biggest development in the American history in the late 1800s. Businessman Andrew Carnegie donated millions of dollars to help build free public libraries across the country. Between 1886 and 1919, Carnegie’s donations helped build 1,679 new libraries.
Carnegie believed that libraries could offer the chances to Americans, young and old. He knew that the more libraries there were, the more people would have opportunities to read and use books, speeches and news.
If you can easily find a public library in your community (社区), you’ll get more chances. After all, the United States has 9,225 public libraries. Today, libraries keep growing. Seven tenths of the libraries have free Internet. It provides much more information and opportunities (机会) to ask for jobs online.
Libraries are also teaching kids about the fun of reading. The new program Read! Build! Play! adds reading into playtime. As kids listen to a book that is being read aloud, they use Legos (乐高积木) to build images (图像) from the story happily. Today’s libraries are always looking for creative programs to bring people into the library.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “The doors of wisdom (智慧) are never shut.” As long as the doors of public libraries are open, what he said is most certainly correct!
1. The right order of the following statements is ________.①The public library system in America developed fast.
②The first lending library was founded.
③Libraries provide information and chances to ask for jobs online.
④Libraries try to bring people into the library by using creative programs.
| A．②①③④ | B．②③④① | C．③④①② | D．①②③④ |
| A．libraries have played an important role in Americans’ education |
| B．public libraries in the US should never close the doors |
| C．the writer doesn’t agree with Benjamin Franklin |
| D．libraries help people to open the doors of wisdom |
| A．To build more libraries. |
| B．To add reading into playtime. |
| C．To provide the libraries with free Internet. |
| D．To look for creative programs to bring people into the libraries. |
| A．the libraries in the world | B．libraries and opportunities |
| C．libraries teach kids to read and learn | D．the development of the American libraries |
Many hundreds of years ago, a native (土著的) American chief named Shenandoah lived with his people in what is now the state of Virginia. Very l
A long time ago, many c
On a clear, starry night you could see thousands of stars s
One day there was a loud crashing sound at one end of the lake. The lake began to disappear. Its water r
At last, the lake was gone. In its place was only a river. It is this way today. The lake is gone, but the beautiful Shenandoah River runs on.
10 . 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 the Silk Road about 3000 years ago. By the time the Chinese silk trade became important in the world, the Silk Road covered almost 6500 kilometers. It spread from Rome to China, which is from the West to the Far East.
Traders travelling along the Silk Road carried silk, of course. They also carried and traded spices（香料）,cloth, valuable stones and gold.
There is a famous old story along the old road. It is said that Roman soldiers（士兵）travelled through central Asia. They started 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 was 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 the sharing of valuable goods and new ideas. These included people and trading goods from the Mediterranean, Persian, Magyar, Armenian, Bactrian, Indian and Chinese areas. All these peoples travelled 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 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.
1. How many kilometers did the Silk Road cover?| A．About 3000. | B．Nearly 6500. | C．Almost 2000 | D．Over 35,000 |
| A．Silk | B．Cloth. | C．Gold. | D．Tea. |
| A．Asian soldiers. | B．African soldiers. | C．European soldiers. | D．American soldiers. |
| A．Valuable things could not be sold along the Silk Road. |
| B．The Silk Road allowed people from different countries to mix. |
| C．Ancient Chinese along the Slik Road may be able to speak different languages. |
| D．The objects in the museum in Jiuquan in China are from all along the Silk Road. |
| A．History and Geography. | B．Sports World. | C．Man and Animals. | D．Popular Science. |
