1 . 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 went from Rome to China, which is from the West to the Far East.
Merchants travelled along the Silk Road to carry silk, of course. They also carried and traded other things like spices (香料), cloth, jewels and gold.
Along and around these ancient path(小路), have come many fascinating and mysterious stories.
It is said that Roman soldiers who lost a war travelled through central Asia. They decided to live somewhere near the ancient Chinese villages. Some of these Romans married local Chinese women and the legend of the blond-haired, blue-eyed tribes of China was started.
Some historians believe that the people of Kashmir were taken away from their country Israel. They were prisoners (俘虏) of war almost 2800 years ago. People say that these people travelled along the Silk Road. They kept their Jewish way of life for a long time.
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 things and new ideas. It included people and trading goods from different 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 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. It is clear that ___________.

A．the Silk Road was divided into Europe, Africa and Asia

B．Roman soldiers would like to travel along the Silk Road

C．people could travel to different countries along the Silk Road

D．people shared only silk on the Silk Road

2. The underlined word “Merchants” in the passage probably means_______.

A．foreigners

B．businessmen

C．soldiers

D．prisoners

3. According to the passage, _________.

A．the Silk Road began with the wars

B．the Silk Road covered almost 6500 kilometers in China

C．people began to travel the Silk Road about 3000 years ago

D．people from Israel were not included among people on the Silk Road

4. The old Silk Road routes are still used because       .

A．there are many old stories about them

B．the historians and scientists think highly of them

C．China will make good use of the Silk Road again

D．people can keep on traveling and trading along them

5. The best title for the passage can be       .

A．Stories along the Silk Road	B．Silk Route Museum
C．Trade for Silk	D．The West and the Far East

2 . Last month, heads of state from 29 foreign countries came to Beijing to attend the Belt and Road Forum (论坛) for International Cooperation(合作). The main goal of it is to make the countries work together in more areas. It has won the support of more than 130 countries and international groups.
As a Chinese student, you must know something about the Silk Road.
Long ago, traders brought treasures from the East to the West Trips to the East became more favorable when traders found silks and sprees (香料). These treasures were not ordinary goods that were easy to get. Many people wanted them and it was a good way to become wealthy.
The Silk Road was not a real road. It was a route (线路) between the East and West. It went through China. Turkey, and Greece Some traders traveled over land and others sailed across the sea. There was danger along both routes.
Traders who went over the land used camels and horses. First, the traders crossed the dessert. Then, they climbed over mountains. After that, the traders still had hundreds of miles to go Bad weather was often a problem. Robbers who stole the silks and spices also caused trouble.
Traders who crossed the sea faced some of the same problems. There were storms on the sea. Water and winds could push the boats in the wrong direction Pirates (海盗) also chased the ships and they stole the goods and look control of the ships.
Over time, the Silk Road changed people in both the East and West. Traders shared stories about faraway lands. They brought back drawings of the places and things they had seen, which helped people learn about new cultures. As a result of the Sill Road, the world seemed much smaller.
回答下面5个问题，每题答案不超过5个词。
1. What’s the main goal of the Belt and Road Forum for the countries?
__________________________________________________________
2. Why did the traders travel a long way to the East?
__________________________________________________________
3. How many routes were there in the Silk Road?
__________________________________________________________
4. What was one of the same problems traders over land and across the sea faced?
__________________________________________________________
5. What’s the title for the passage?
__________________________________________________________

3 . Once upon a time there was no tea at all in England. People there used to drink a light beer(啤酒). No coffee or milk but large glasses of beer stood on the breakfast table!

When tea was first brought to England, an old couple got some as a special treat. But they did not know how I t should be used. They cooked the leaves in hot water, and spread them on a piece of bacon(熏肉) which they were going to have for dinner. They ate the leaves, and threw the tea away! However, tea is becoming as popular as coffee and milk in England today.
Tea is the leaf of a plant which grows widely in China, Japan and some other countries. Tea famers usually grow many tea plants on a large piece of land. When the tea leaves are ready to be picked, it is the busiest time for tea farmers in a year. They pull off on the leaves and dry them. In their spare time, they pick out the best leaves and get them ready for market. In china, whenever a visitor comes into a house, he is served with a cup of tea.
1. What was served for breakfast in England long ago?

A．Beer.

B．Tea.

C．Coffee.

D．Milk.

2. How did the old couple deal with the tea leaves?

A．They sold them.	B．They ate them.
C．They burnt them.	D．They threw them away.

3. Tea farmers are the busiest in a year when they _____.

A．serve visitors at home	B．sell tea in the market
C．pick and dry tea leaves	D．look for a piece of land

4. In which part of a magazine can read the text?

A．Nature.

B．Culture.

C．Environment.

D．Technology.

4 . What’s in a Name?
Many American names come from England. But where did most English names come from?
Centuries ago, most people in England had only one name-- their first name. In the 11th century, five or six of the 50 people in a village might be named William, and it was easy to get confused. But in the Middle Ages, people found a way to describe each person exactly. If there were four Williams in one village, one might be referred to as William the son of John. A second might be called William from the hill. A third,William the blacksmith（铁匠）. And a fourth, William the brown haired. In conversation, people might refer to the four Williams as William John’s son, William hill, William smith, and William brown.
It was 300 or 400 years before the extra （ 附加的） names gradually developed into last names, or
surnames. They were passed on from generation to generation. By the 1300s, Robert, the son of William
smith, had the name Robert smith, even if he was not a blacksmith like his father. As the last name became
widely accepted, the first letter was capitalized, as in Robert Smith. By the 15th century, most people of the
upper and middle classes had surnames.
Many surnames were based on father-son relations. The “son of” part was added to the father’s first
name, like Johnson, meaning John’s son. Sometimes it was shortened to just “s”, as in Jones or Evans.
Surnames like Hill described the place where a person lived. They are the most common type of surname. A third kind of surname was based on a person’s job. Forester was someone who looked after the forest. In the Middle Ages, occupation names such as Baker, Carpenter, and Miller became common. The fourth kind of surname was nickname（绰号）. A man whose surname was Bear might be as fierce as a bear.
Have you ever wondered why some surnames are so common? The most common surname in the
English language is Smith. Being able to make metals（金属）into tools was an important skill in the Middle
Ages, and many people were trained as blacksmiths. The most common American surnames are Smith,
Johnson, William and Brown.
1. Where do many American names come from?
______________________________________________________________
2. When did people find a way to describe each person exactly?
______________________________________________________________
3. How long did it take for extra names to develop into last names?
______________________________________________________________
4. What is the fourth paragraph mainly about?
______________________________________________________________
5. Why were many people trained blacksmith in the Middle Ages?
______________________________________________________________

5 . No one knows when the first kite was made. The first record of a kite was more than 2,000 years ago in China. Han Xin, the leader of an army, wanted to bring down a king. He decided to dig a tunnel (隧道）into the king’s palace. He flew a kite over the wall of the palace to make sure the length (长度）of its string (线).In this way, he coulddeterminehow long the tunnel should be.His men in the tunnel took the kite string with them. When they reached the end of the string, they knew to dig up.

Kites have been flown in Japan for hundreds of years. In the 1700s, kites were flown in autumn to give thanks for a good harvest. They were also flown to send good wishes to couples who had their first son. Today in Japan, kites are often flown as part of a celebration, such as the beginning of a new year. And kite festivals are held each year in many parts of the country.

Kites have been used for scientific purposes in the western world. In 1752，Benjamin Franklin tied a key to a kite and flew it in a storm to find out that lightening was a form of electricity. In the 1890s，Lawrence Hargrave invented the box kite to test ideas about flight. From 1898 until 1933，the United States Weather Bureau (气象局）used box kites to collect weather data. The Wright brothers also experimented (试验）with kites. What they learnt helped them make the first airplane flight in 1903.
1. Why did Han Xin want to dig a tunnel?

A．To pull down the palace.	B．To fight against the king.
C．To search for the king’s treasure.	D．To find out the length of the kite string.

2. What does the underlined word “determine” in Paragraph 1 probably mean in Chinese?

A．测定

B．选择

C．了解

D．考察

3. One of the purposes of flying kites in Japan is_.

A．to give thanks for a good harvest in summer

B．to express good wishes to the first-born daughter

C．to celebrate the beginning of a new year

D．to hold kite festivals all over the country

4. When did the United States Weather Bureau begin to use box kites?

A．In 1752.

B．In 1898.

C．In 1903.

D．In 1933.

5. What would be the best title for the text?

A．The History of Kites	B．The Experiments of Kites
C．The Invention of a Kite	D．The First Record of a Kite

6 . 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

2. Traders carried all kinds of goods along the Silk Road. Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?

A．Silk

B．Cloth.

C．Gold.

D．Tea.

3. Who married ancient Chinese women in the story of blue-eyed villages of China?

A．Asian soldiers.

B．African soldiers.

C．European soldiers.

D．American soldiers.

4. What can we infer（推断）from the passage?

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.

5. Which part of a magazine can this passage come from?

A．History and Geography.

B．Sports World.

C．Man and Animals.

D．Popular Science.

7 . Many years ago, a French naturalist, Comte de Buffon, wrote some books about natural history. The books were a great success even though some critics（批评家）did not like them.
Thomas Jefferson did not like what Comte de Buffon had said about the natural wonders（奇观）of the New World. It seemed to Jefferson that Comte de Buffon had spoken of natural wonders in America as if（好像）they were unimportant.
This troubled Thomas Jefferson. He was also a naturalist, as well as a farmer, an inventor, a historian, a writer and a politician（政治家）. He had seen the natural wonders of Europe. To him, they were no more important than those of the New World.
In 1788, Thomas Jefferson wrote about his home state, Virginia. While writing, he thought of its natural beauty and then of the words of Comte de Buffon. At that moment, Jefferson created a new word—belittle. He said, “Comte de Buffon believes that nature belittles her productions on this side of the Atlantic（大西洋）.”
Noah Webster, the American word expert, liked this word. He put it in the English language dictionary in 1806, “Belittle—to make small, unimportant.”
Americans had already accepted Jefferson’s word and started to use it. In 1797, the Independent Chronicle（独立纪事报）used the word to describe a politician the paper supported. “It is an honorable man,” the paper wrote, “so let the opposition try to belittle him as much as they please.”
In 1872, a famous American word expert decided that the time had come to kill this word. He said, “Belittle shouldn’t become English. And more critical writers of America, like those of Britain, feel no need of it.”
This expert failed to kill the word. Today, belittle is used where the English language is spoken.
1. Thomas Jefferson was NOT a ______.

A．naturalist

B．historian

C．politician

D．musician

2. We can infer（推断）that Jefferson created the word “belittle” out of his ______.

A．anger

B．excitement

C．kindness

D．responsibility

3. What can we know about the word “belittle” from the passage?

A．It has already disappeared from the English language.

B．It had been used before it was put in the English language dictionary.

C．It is used to describe natural wonders now.

D．An American politician decided to kill this word in 1872.

4. What’s the passage mainly about?

A．How the word “belittle” came into being.	B．The argument about natural wonders.
C．Every word has a long history behind.	D．Noah Webster supported Jefferson’s idea.

8 . World’s history in one place

Is it possible to put millions of years of t he world’s history into one building? The British Museum seems to think so. "

A history of the World in 100 Objects", an exhibition about rare and ancient objects from the world, has made it a success.

The British Museum says it owns at least 8 million historical objects. But why choose these 100 objects to tel stories of our world's history?

It all started with a challenge（挑战）.

Neil MacGregor, who was once director of the British Museum, was asked by BBC to choose 100 objects from the museum's huge collection. The objects had to include things from the beginning of human history about 2 million years ago to the present day.

MacGregor accepted, and took four years to choose each object himself.

In 2010, MacGregor appeared on BBC radio, giving a detailed（详细的）explanation of each object. The show was a big hit and all these 100 objects were shown in the British Museum. A book with photos of each object soon followed.

"The objects had to cover the whole world, from a cooking pot to a golden galleon, from a Stone Age tool to a credit card." MacGregor wrote.

The collection includes many important objects from China. There is a banknote from the Ming Dynasty, showing China as the first country to use paper money.

But it’s not just ancient things that are shown. Among them are some modern things like a solar-powered lamp and even a throne made of weapons created by an African artist.

“Of course,the collection could only be ‘a’ history of the world.But it is still a history that people in the present world need to know.” MacGregor wrote.

1. “A history of the World in 100 Objects” is a(n) ________.

A．TV programme about Africa	B．challenge of scientific research
C．book about modern development	D．exhibition of the world’s history

2. We can learn that the BBC programme by Neil MacGregor was _______.

A．successful

B．expensive

C．regular

D．traditional

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The objects shown cover half of the world.

B．Neil MacGregor used to be director of BBC.

C．China was the first country to use paper money.

D．The British Museum owns 2 million historical objects.

9 .

In Australia there is a famous island called Fraser Island. A great many visitors come here for holidays every year. Why? The reason is that it is special.     1     . In fact, it is the largest sand island in the world. It's about 200 kilometers long and 240 kilometers wide.

Though the island is a popular place of interest, there is no airport on the island. The long beach along the east coast works as the airport.     2     .

On the island there are sand hills without any plants, but there are forests with old trees, beautiful flowers and over a hundred lakes, too.     3     .

Every year, visitors come to enjoy the island's natural beauty. People like camping and hiking there.     4     . Animals were killed for food and this made them in danger of extinction (灭绝). They threw rubbish everywhere, and the lakes were seriously polluted.

    5     . Rules have been set up. For example, visitors are not allowed to use motorboats (摩托艇) or go fishing in the lakes, and they mustn't leave any rubbish.

A．Planes arrive and leave from here

B．Anyone who breaks the rules will be punished

C．The island is completely made of sand

D．Unluckily, visitors have caused many problems

E．Many kinds of birds and animals live in the forest

F．So it is time to protect the environment of the island

10 .

Inventions
Phone	The first telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. It made communications easier. But the telephones were only fixed in post offices. People had to go there to make calls to faraway people and the fees were very high. Later, a cellphone was developed in 1973 in America. It was one of the most useful inventions. People can use cellphones to communicate with others much more easily. They can take them anywhere to make private calls, even vision calls (可视电话). Cellphones have many other functions, such as sending messages, taking photos and reading online.
TV	The first TV set was invented by an English scientist, John Baird, in 1926. The invention helped people watch films at home instead of going to the cinema as before. At first, TV sets only broadcast black - white pictures. Several years later, colored TV sets made the pictures lively. However, they were heavy and thick, so it was difficult to move them. Then, digital TV sets came into being. They are light and thin. Many TV programs are available (可获得的) at any time. At present, people can use the IPTV( 网络电视) to record and replay programs.
Computer	The first modern computer was invented in America in 1946. It was as big as a room. It improved the speed and exactitude of calculation (计算). In the 1950s, desktop computers were invented in the same country. They became smaller and could be put on the desk. Since then, they have become very important in many fields of work and leisure. Before the 1970s, the computers were single. It was the Internet that joined the computers into a big family, so they could share information with one another. Around 1985, laptops were developedin Japan. They were much smaller and could be put on people's laps. They were light and easy to take.

1. The first cellphone was invented.

A．in 1876

B．in 1926

C．in 1946

D．in 1973

2. People could watch films before 1926.

A．in the cinema	B．on the computer
C．on the cellphone	D．on TV

3. A scientist from        _invented desktop computers.

A．China

B．the USA

C．the UK

D．Japan

4. The first modern computer was used for?

A．calculating

B．joining the computers into a big family

C．playing games

D．sharing information with one another

5. Which of the following is right?

A．Cellphones can't be used for making vision calls.

B．Digital TV sets are light and thick.

C．The first modern computer was as big as a desktop computer.

D．The Internet connects computers together.