1 . Writing is a much newer invention than talking. Nobody knows when people first began to talk, but so far as we know, they did not begin to write until seven or eight thousand years ago.
In Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China, and later in Palestine and Greece, people began to make marks and pictures with sticks and sharp stones from which others, or they themselves later could see what they had thought.
These early records were the beginning of writing. The first writing was picture writing. Here are some early Chinese picture words. Can you see what they represent （代表）?
Later Chinese writing is less like pictures than the earlier writing was, but we can see the pictures in some of its words. For example：
In picture writing, each picture represents a word; you need a different picture or mark for each word. In present﹣day Chinese writing most of the marks are not pictures of anything, and a reader has to learn how the Chinese write about two thousand of these words before being able to read a newspaper.
With some of these marks you may be able to see what the idea is. For example：
The sun and the moon明Its meanings are："bright" and "open".
A man and two marks仁One of the meanings is "humanity".
1. When did people begin to write?| A．Seven or eight hundred years ago． |
| B．Before people first began to talk． |
| C．Seven or eight thousand years ago． |
A． | B． | C．雨 |
| A．Day and night． |
| B．Bright and open． |
| C．Humanity． |
| A．The history of Chinese writing． |
| B．When Chinese people began to write． |
| C．How the Chinese began to talk． |
Luxiang was built in the Southern Song Dynasty(1127～1279). There were many famous people living in the town at that time.There are around 30 old buildings of Ming and Qing(1644～1912) dynasties now. People live a simple life. Six lanes(巷) in the town go to Taihu Lake.
Luxiang looks more beautiful in spring, with many tea trees and fruit gardens. This place is famous for the tea called Biluochun.
The Egyptian pyramids were built around 2560 BC. The largest one of them is the Great Pyramid of Khufu. The King, Khufu, built it as his tomb.
The Great Pyramid was considered a unique building in the 19th century AD. At that time, it was still the tallest in the world. According to scientific research, Khufu ordered his men to build it stone by stone. The biggest stone weighs 15 tons, and each stone was fixed so well.
The Great Pyramid has four sides and each side is 230.4 meters long and 146.5 meters high. At that time, there were no modern machines or equipment, so how did the ancient Egyptians build it? To this day, it is still a mystery.
1. Many famous people were living in Luxiang .
| A．from 1127 to 1279 |
| B．from 1644 to 1912 |
| C．from 1127 to 1644 |
| A．fruit gardens |
| B．tea trees |
| C．Biluochun |
| A．the ancient pyramids |
| B．the Egyptian pyramids |
| C．the Great Pyramid |
| A．each stone was fixed well |
| B．there were no modern machines or equipment then |
| C．it was made of stone |
3 . In modern society, people use money every day. It seems that it is very important in our life. That’s because without money you can’t buy any goods(商品) you want. But I think few people know the history of money.
Long ago, people did not need money. They lived on wild animals, fruits and other plants. As time passed, people learned to raise animals and crops. Sometimes, families produced more than they needed, so they started to trade with other families. Later, people began to use money as a means of exchange. However, it was not the kind of money we use today. They used shells（贝壳）, rice, salt, large stones, etc.
During the 600s BC, people began using coins as money. They soon found that coins were easier to carry than goods and lasted a long time. Later, countries began to make their own coins.
The Chinese were the first to use paper money, probably as early as the 11th century. The Italian traveler Marco Polo saw the Chinese using money when he visited China in the 1200s. However, European countries did not start using paper money until 1600s.
Today, we have many ways to pay for things. We can pay in cash or pay for things by card. Often, people prefer to pay by a smart-phone. Paying by a smart-phone is easier and safer than carrying around a lot of “real” money.
1. Why is money very important in our life?2. What did people depend on when they didn’t need money?
3. Had people begun using coins as money since the 600s BC?
4. When did European countries start using paper money?
5. How can people pay for things today?
