1 . 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. |
3 . 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. All the Scots soldiers fell asleep.
b. The Scots saved their country.
c. A Norse soldier stepped on a thistle and cried.
d. Norse soldiers got together at the foot of the hill.
e. The Scots leader took the soldiers to the top of the hill.
| 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
5 . 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． |
6 . Scene 1
The captain of Troy is standing on the high wall of the city. He is looking down at the empty sea.
Captain: The Greeks have gone and we’ve won. They’ve given up and sailed away.
(A soldier enters.)
Soldier: Captain, Captain, look over there. They’ve left a huge wooden horse.
Captain: Ah, yes. They didn’t want to take it with them. Get some help and pull it into the city. That won’t difficult. It’s on wheels.
Soldier: Yes, Sir!
(The soldier leaves.)
Scene 2
All the Trojans celebrate in the main square, by the wooden horse.
Captain: I haven’t laughed like this since my childhood!
Man: The Greeks are so stupid! Ha! Ha!
Scene 3
The party is over. The Trojans lock all the gates of the city and then go to sleep. Greek soldiers talk in the horse.
Greek soldier A: All the Trojans have fallen asleep. Let’s climb out and open the main gates!
Greek soldier B: Come on! Our army is waiting outside the city.
The Greek soldiers climb out of the horse quietly and then open the main gates. The Greek army enter the city.
1. What is the text about? ________| A．A war. | B．A game. | C．A competition. | D．A discussion. |
| A．The Trojans | B．The Greeks |
| C．The captain | D．The Trojan soldiers |
| A．in the morning | B．at noon |
| C．in the afternoon | D．in the night |
| A．by car | B．by plane | C．by ship | D．on foot |
7 . Paris was a young prince from the city of Troy. One day, he decided to visit the Greek city of Sparta, so he got on a ship and sailed there with his men.
Queen Helen and the King of Sparta welcomed Paris. Later at a dinner, Queen Helen and Paris fell in love with each other.
The King of Sparta had to go away from Sparta for a few days. After he left, Paris took Helen to his ship. His men also stole a lot of gold from Sparta.
They sailed back to Troy. Everyone in Troy loved Helen because she was so beautiful. But the King of Sparta was very angry, so he asked many of the other Greek kings to help him fight Troy. Many Greek ships carried the large Greek army to Troy.
They wanted to get Helen back and punish (惩罚) the Trojans. And so the Trojan War began.
1. Which city did Paris decide to visit?2. How did Sparta and Helen come back to Troy?
3. Why was Helen loved by everyone?
4. What would the Greeks do to Helen and the Trojans?
The captain stood on the high wall of the city of Troy. “The Greeks have gone
“But look over there,” a soldier said. “They’ve left a huge
“Ah, yes,” the captain said, “it’s too big. The Greeks didn’t want to take it with them. Get some help and pull it into the city.”
That night, in the main square of the city, all the Trojans celebrated. They sang and danced
By midnight, the main square was
The soldiers opened the main gates. The Greek army entered the city.
In one night, however, they
| A．and | B．but | C．so | D．since |
| A．given up | B．focused on | C．put up | D．come on |
| A．woolen | B．broken | C．golden | D．wooden |
| A．behind | B．near | C．around | D．under |
| A．Before | B．Since | C．After | D．Behind |
| A．clean | B．noisy | C．quiet | D．empty |
| A．Suddenly | B．Certainly | C．Finally | D．Quickly |
| A．For | B．During | C．Among | D．Since |
| A．fight | B．to fight | C．to fighting | D．fighting |
| A．failed | B．succeeded | C．managed | D．gave |
Chinatown is the name of an area (地区) in the middle of London. It is a large Chinese Community (社区) with a lot of Chinese restaurants, Chinese surpermarkets and shops.
In the 1950s, it was a poor area and everything was very cheap. At the same time, the world rice Market became bad and thousands of farm workers in Hong Kong lost their jobs. They began going to London to look for work. They found jobs in the restaurants in this area.
These restaurant workers often worked 17 hours a day and had no time to learn English. As more Chinese arrived, more shops and businesses grew up. Women came to join their husbands and children came to join their fathers. The community grew, and Chinatown was born.
In the 1970s and 1980s, British-born Chinese started to have a better education and this brought economic (经济) success to the area. Many families moved out of Chinatown soon became a popular place for tourists.
Now everyone knows about London’s Chinatown. During the Chinese New Year, the streets are seen with flags and thousands of Chinese go into the streets. For most time of the year, though, Londoners and tourists go there mainly for the food in the Chinese restaurants. The best restaurants are the ones where the Chinese eat.
1. Was Chinatown rich or poor in the 1950s?2. Who came to London to look for jobs in the 1950s?
3. Why didn’t the restaurant workers have time to learn English?
4. When did British-born Chinese start to have a better education?
5. What is the main idea of this passage?
10 . Paris was a young prince from the city of Troy. One day, he decided to visit the Greek city of Sparta, so he got on a ship and sailed there with his men.
Queen Helen and the King of Sparta welcomed Paris. Later at a dinner, Queen Helen and Paris fell in love with each other.
The King of Sparta had to go away from Sparta for a few days. After he left, Paris took Helen to his ship. His men also stole a lot of gold from Sparta.
They sailed back to Troy. Everyone in Troy loved Helen because she was so beautiful. But the King of Sparta was very angry, so he asked many of the other Greek kings to help him fight Troy. Many Greek ships carried the large Greek army to Troy.
They wanted to get Helen back and punish（惩罚）the Trojans. And so the Trojan War began.
1. Which city did Paris decide to visit?2. What happened later at the dinner?
3. How did Sparta and Helen come back to Troy?
4. Why was Helen loved by everyone?
5. What would the Greeks do to Helen and the Trojans?
