| bring as they Chinese go hundred across is easy about |
Long ago, traders (商人)
The Silk Road
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 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 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．European soldiers. | B．African soldiers. | C．Roman 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 Silk 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. |
3 . The distance between ancient Rome and ancient China was about 4,000 miles by land. It was a very dangerous trip because here were terrible deserts and high mountains on the way.
For a very long history, the ancient Romans did not know who was making this wonderful cloth called silk. The Romans first discovered pieces of silk in the goods they took from some of dead people they had conquered (征服). But those people did not know where the silk was made. They only traded for the silk.
The Romans tried to find more traders as they came into villages to trade silk for other goods. But the traders did not know who made the silk, either. In fact, the trading along the Silk Road was a relay (接力) system. One trader would travel for a while, stop and trade, and return home. The next trader would continue, stop and trade, and return home. And so it went, no trader made the whole trip because the trip was too dangerous. The Silk Road shows its trade value between ancient Rome and ancient China.
The Silk Road had a lot of value (价值). As the years went by along the Silk Road that is more valuable, there were even cities built on the oases (绿洲). It was never easy to travel by land from ancient China to ancient Rome. But it was worth it. Ancient Rome traded treasure mainly for ancient China’s silk and spices. In fact, more things traveled along the Silk Road than traders and goods. Ideas traveled along the Silk Road as well. The ideas changed the world.
1. Why was the distance between ancient Rome and ancient China a very dangerous trip according to the first paragraph?| A．Because the silk distance was too far. |
| B．Because the silk distance was very secret. |
| C．Because the silk makers wanted to make more money. |
| D．Because there were terrible deserts and high mountains on the way. |
| A．Because the trip was too long. |
| B．Because the trip was too dangerous. |
| C．Because the traders did not know who made the silk. |
| D．Because the Silk Road couldn’t show its trade value. |
| A．Ancient China’s silk and spices. | B．Ancient China’s culture. |
| C．Ancient China’s thoughts. | D．Ancient China’s tea. |
| A．The discovery of ancient Rome. | B．The importance of the Silk Road. |
| C．The history and value of the Silk Road. | D．The international trade in ancient times. |
How much do you know about the Silk Road? It is a historically important international trade route between China and the Medier-ranean (地中海). It began during the Western Han Dynasty and has been a bridge between East and West for over 2,000 years.
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 planet.
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 arts, science and literature, as well crafts and technologies was shared across the Silk Road. In this way, languages and cultures developed and influenced each other.
Today, China is trying to build the “21 st 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. What does the underlined word “It” in the first paragraph mean?| A．The Western Han Dynasty. | B．The important international trade route. |
| C．The Medier-ranean. | D．The Silk Road. |
| A．It was about 6,500 kilometers long. |
| B．It went across one-fifth of the earth. |
| C．It was about 5,000 kilometers long |
| D．It went across one-third of the planet. |
| A．Because Chinese silk was carried along this road. |
| B．Because Chinese silk was produced 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 East and West. |
| D．The Silk Road prevented the development of languages and cultures between East and West. |
5 . Hundreds of years ago, a Norse (挪威的) army came from the north of Europe and stepped onto the land of Scotland. The Scots, a brave people, loved their country very much. They fought hard to keep the Norsemen out of Scotland, but there were too many of them. It looked as if the Norsemen would win.
One night, the leader of Scots took his soldiers to the top of a hill. “We will rest here tonight, my men,” he said. “Tomorrow we will have another fight. We must win or we will die.”
They were all very tired, so they ate their dinner quickly and fell asleep. There were four soldiers on duty, watching out for any danger at night. But they were also very tired. One by one, they fell asleep as well.
The Norsemen were not asleep. Very soon, they came together at the foot of the hill. In order to walk quietly, the Norsemen took off their shoes. Slowly they climbed up the hillside without making any sound. Closer and closer, they moved towards the sleeping Scots. They were almost there. A few minutes more, the war would be over.
Suddenly, one of the Norse soldiers put his foot on a thistle (蓟) and got hurt. He cried out and his sudden cry woke up all the Scots. In a moment, they were on their feet and ready to fight. The fighting was hard but it did not last long. The Scots drove the Norsemen away and saved their country.
From then on, the thistle has become popular in Scotland. Although it is not beautiful and has sharp needles all over it, Scottish people still make it their national flower.
1. What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 5 refer to?| A．The Scots. | B．The Norsemen. | C．The thistles. | D．The dangers at night. |
| A．a-e-c-b-d | B．a-e-b-c-d |
| C．e-c-a-d-b | D．e-a-d-c-b |
| A．Because it made people fall asleep easily. |
| B．Because it looked different from other plants. |
| C．Because it has many sharp needles all over it. |
| D．Because it helped them win a fight against Norsemen. |
Most of us have heard of the Silk Road. It
From Marco Polo’s writings, we know
The exchange (交换) of goods was of course very important, and the arrival in the West of paper and gunpowder had
Till today, the Silk Road has not been
7 . After the Trojan War, one of the soldiers inside the wooden horse told his story to his family.
We tried to capture Troy for ten years, but did not succeed. Then we thought of a trick.
We built a huge wooden horse and left it outside the main gates. During the night, our army disappeared, but they didn’t go far away. In the morning, the Trojans saw the horse. He was inside the horse with another five soldiers, but the Trojans did not know.
The Trojans opened the gates and pulled the horse into the city. That night, they celebrated. They song and danced, and they made jokes about us. Then they locked all the gates and went to sleep.
When they were asleep, we climbed out of the horse. We opened the main gates and our army entered the city.
Then we went to the captain’s room. We caught him.
1. Where was the wooden horse left?| A．Outside the gate. | B．Far away from the city. |
| C．Inside the city. | D．Near the captain’s room. |
| A．5. | B．6. | C．7. | D．8. |
| A．By thinking of a trick. |
| B．By disappearing suddenly. |
| C．By singing and dancing. |
| D．By locking all the gates. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
8 . Hundreds of years ago, a Roman army came north from England to make war on Scotland. 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 as if the Romans would win.
One night, the leader of Scots marched 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 were on their feet 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 needles all over it. Few people like it. But the people of Scotland liked it so much that they made it their national flower.
1. Hundreds of years ago there was a war between________.| A．Roman army and North England | B．Roman army and the Scots | C．England and Scots | D．A brave people and the Scots |
| A．the Scots were not brave | B．the Roman army was so strong | C．the Romans had the support from the Scottish | D．they are lazy |
| A．they were sure to win | B．they couldn’t escape from death |
| C．they would win and then they would die | D．they must try hard to win, otherwise they would die |
| A．it is a beautiful plant | B．it is fresh and lovely | C．it had so many sharp needles all over it | D．it was the thistle that helped the Scots to win the battle |
9 . What’s the Silk Road? In history, it was an important international trade route（商路） between China and the Mediterranean（地中海）. The Silk Road began in the Western Han Dynasty and has a history of more than 2000 years.
In the past, the road started in Chang’an （now Xi’an） and ended in Eastern Europe near the Mediterranean. It was about 6500 kilometers long and went across 1/4 of the world.
The Silk Road got its name in the 19th century because Chinese silk was famous, and the traders also carried China’s porcelain（瓷器） and other things to the West. And glass, gems and food like carrots from the West came to China.
The Silk Road was very important to both China and the rest of the world. It was more than an international trade route. Lots of arts and science of other countries came to China through the Silk Road. In this way, languages and culture influenced each other. Today, China is trying to make the dream of the Belt and Road come true.
1. When did the Silk Road begin?| A．In the 18th century. | B．In the 19th century. |
| C．In the Eastern Han Dynasty. | D．In the Western Han Dynasty. |
| A．It was about 6500 meters long. | B．It went across 1/3 of the world. |
| C．It went across 1/4 of the world. | D．It was about 5000 kilometers long. |
①silk
②glass
③porcelain
| A．①② | B．①③ | C．②③ | D．①②③ |
| A．The Silk Road was only an international trade route in the past. |
| B．China is trying to sell everything to other countries through the road now. |
| C．The Silk Road got its name because traders carried silk along this road. |
| D．Through the Silk Road, traders only brought the food of other countries to China. |
| A．In a history book. | B．In an art magazine. |
| C．In a health book. | D．In a PE magazine. |
10 . Language and Power (权力): Cameroon’s Story
By Elisa Grant, 2 Oct
In the modern world, being able to speak English is often a way to get power. However, this is not true for English speakers in Cameroon in Africa (非洲), To know why things are different in this African country, we need to go back one hundred years.
In 1919, Kamerun (the name of Cameroon at the time) was cut into two parts: one belonged to (属于) France, and the other belonged to the UK. In 1960, the French Cameroon became the Republic of Cameroon, and the UK’s part joined it in 1961. The new country changed it name to the Federal Republic of Cameroon. Both French and English are Cameroon’s official languages, but only around 20％ of its people speak English. Also, the government (政府) has been in French speakers’ hands since (自从) the two parts became one country.
For a long time, Cameroon’s English speakers feel they are not welcome in their own country. For example, it is very difficult for them to find jobs in the government, and they are often asked to speak French in companies and at official events (事件). They are more resentful at the government and decided to fight for themselves. A few years ago, the English speakers started to try to build their own country. In October, 2017, they said in a meeting that they were not part of Cameroon any more. They are now a new country, “Ambazonia”. When the police tried to stop the meeting, at least eight people were killed. Read more
1. What happened in Cameroon in 1961?| A．Cameroon changed its name to the Republic of Cameroon. |
| B．The two parts of Cameroon became one. |
| C．The English part had an important meeting. |
| D．English became an official language of the country. |
| A．Excited | B．Angry | C．Careful | D．Surprised |
| A．It plans to treat Ambazonia as a new country. |
| B．It needs Ambazonia for money and help. |
| C．It does not want to be part of Ambazonia. |
| D．It does not agree that Ambazonia is a country. |
| A．Why speaking English is a way to get power. |
| B．Why English speakers in Cameroon have less power. |
| C．Why the two parts of Cameroon became one country. |
| D．Why only 20% of the people in Cameroon speak English. |
