1 . 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?
2 . The Silk Road is the name of different roads that long ago connected(连接) Europe, Africa and Asia. People got to these different places along these roads. Scientists believe people began to travel the Silk Road about 3,000 years ago. By the time the Chinese silk trade(贸易) became important in the world, the Silk Road was almost 6,500 kilometres. It was from Rome to China, which is from the West to the Far East.
Businessmen travelling along the Silk Road carried silk, of course. They also carried and traded spices(香料), cloth, valuable stones(宝石) and gold.
Today, the old Silk Road routes(路线) are still used, but now they are crossed by trains instead of camels and horses. There is 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(保护) the history of many countries and peoples.
1—2题完成句子；3题简略回答问题；4题找出并写下全文的主题句；5题将文中画线句子译成汉语。
1. Scientists believe people began to travel the Silk Road
2. It has
3. How long was the Silk Road by the time the Chinese silk trade became important in the world?
4.
5.
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 supermarkets and shops. Do you know its history?
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 (教育) and this brought economic (经济的) success to the area. Many families moved out of Chinatown, and there was more space for businesses. 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 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 the passage?
What’s the Silk Road? In history, it was an important international trade route（贸易路线）between China and the Mediterranean Sea（地中海）. The Silk Road began in the Western Han Dynasty and has a history of more than 2,000 years.
In the past, the road started in Chang’an（now Xi’an）and ended in Eastern Europe near the Mediterranean Sea. It was about 6,500 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 traders carried it to other places along this road. Traders also carried porcelain 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 across the Silk Road. In this way, languages and cultures influenced each other.
Today, China is trying to make the dream of the Belt and Road come true.
1. How long was the Silk Road in the past?2. The Silk Road got its name because traders
3. What does the underlined word “traders” mean in English?
4. Across the Silk Road,
5. What is the passage mainly about?
5 . Two Thanksgivings
“Why are we visiting Uncle Ed now? Thanksgiving is next month,” Curtis said. “In the United States, Thanksgiving is in November,” his dad replied. “In Canada, it’s in October.” “Why?” Curtis asked. “Ask Uncle Ed. He used to teach history. You could learn a lot from him,” his dad said.
When Curtis met Uncle Ed, he asked, “Why is Canada’s Thanksgiving so early?” “Thanksgiving is when we give thanks for the harvest (收获),” Uncle Ed said. “Canada gets colder before the United States, so its harvest and Thanksgiving come earlier.”
The next day, Curtis’s dad helped Uncle Ed cook Thanksgiving dinner. “What are we having?” Curtis asked. “You’ll find out soon,” his dad said. “Why don’t you watch TV?” “We watch football on Thanksgiving, too,” Uncle Ed said. “I’m sure there’s a game on.” On his way out of the kitchen, Curtis saw a cornucopia. It looked like one Mom used for their Thanksgiving. Football...cornucopia... was Canada copying the United States?
At dinner, Curtis sat down to turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. He said suddenly, “Your Thanksgiving is just like ours!” Uncle Ed laughed and said, “We do celebrate in similar ways. In the 1700s, many Americans moved to Canada. They brought their Thanksgiving traditions with them.” “We probably gave you our holiday, too,” Curtis said. “Actually, we celebrated Thanksgiving before you,” Uncle Ed replied. “However, Thanksgiving is much older than both Canada and the United States.’ “Really?” Curtis said, surprised.
“The First Nations people were giving thanks for the harvest long before settlers (殖民者) arrived. Also, Spanish settlers in the southern part of North America celebrated Thanksgiving even before Canada.”
“So when did Thanksgiving start in Canada?” Curtis asked. “An explorer named Martin Frobisher celebrated the first Canadian Thanksgiving in 1578. He gave thanks because he had stayed alive the long trip across the ocean from England to Canada.” Uncle Ed said.
“But now Canada gives thanks for the harvest?” Curtis asked. “Yes. In 1957, Canada made its Thanksgiving official (官方的). Since then, we have always given thanks on the second Monday in October,” Uncle Ed said.
After dinner, Curtis and his dad thanked Uncle Ed. “Come to our house for Thanksgiving next month,” Curtis said. “I’ll teach you about our holiday.” “Sure,” Uncle Ed said. “By then, I’ll ask for more pumpkin pie!”
1. Is Thanksgiving in October in Canada?2. Why does Canada’s Thanksgiving come earlier than the United States’ ?
3. What did they have for Thanksgiving dinner?
4. When did Thanksgiving start in Canada?
5. What is the passage mainly about?
People often remember what they were doing when they heard the news of important events in history. In America, for example, many people remember what they were doing on April 4, 1968. This was an important event in American history. On this day, Dr. Martin Luther King was killed. Although some people may not remember who killed him, they remember what they were doing when they heard the news.
Robert Allen is now over 50, but he was a school pupil at that time. “I was at home with my parents,” Robert remembers. “We were eating dinner in the kitchen when we heard the news on the radio. The news reporter said, “Dr. King died just 10 minutes ago”. My parents were completely shocked! My parents did not talk after that, and we finished the rest of our dinner in silence.
More recently, most Americans remember what they were doing when the World Trade Center in New York was taken down by terrorists. Even the date—September 11, 2001—has meaning to most Americans.
This was a day Kate Smith will never forget. She remembers working in her office near the two towers. “My friend shouted that a plane just hit the World Trade Center! I didn’t believe him at first, but then I looked out of the window and realized that it was true. I was so scared that I could hardly think clearly after that.”
1. The event that happened on April 4, 19682. The way that Robert’s family knew the death of Dr. King
3. The way that they finished eating their dinner
4. The reason why Americans specially remember the date—September 11, 2001
5. The place where Kate Smith was working on September 11, 2001
Today, we consider zero as a common number. Few of us know zero has an unusual history. Yes, zero is, in fact, very different from the other numbers. At first, there were only the numbers one to nine. Zero first appeared in India about 2, 000 years ago. Many other ancient cultures had been marking nothingness. However, the ancient Indians were the first to consider nothingness a number.
Little by little, communication around the world became more often. Finally, zero was brought out of India. It was accepted as an Arabic (阿拉伯的) number. During the 13th century, Arabic numbers were introduced into the West. However, people in the west had been used to using Roman numbers (I, V, X, etc.). Arabic numbers were not popular. This was especially true for zero. Since there is no zero in Roman numbers, people found it hard to accept the new number. It was quite easy for dishonest business people to turn a “0” into a “6”or a “9”. Some people, therefore, believed zero would cause much trouble. Zero was also considered an unlucky number. That’s because it is close to negative numbers — the idea of having debts (债务). People in Florence and Italy even weren’t allowed to use zero citywide.
It was not until the 15th century that zero and the other Arabic numbers were fully accepted. Business people played an important role. Just think about doing calculations (计算) using Roman numbers. You can hardly do any trade, can you?
回答下列五个问题，每题答案不超过5个词。
1. How many numbers were there before zero was invented?
2. Who was the earliest people to use the number “zero”?
3. When did Arabic numbers appear in the West?
4. What does the underlined word “This” in Paragraph 3 refer to (指)?
5. What does the article mainly talk about?
Did you know that tea, the most popular drink in the world (after water), was invented by accident? Many people believe that tea was first drunk about 5,000 years ago. It is said that a Chinese ruler called Shen Nong was the first to discover tea as a drink. One day Shen None was boiling drinking water over an open fire. Some leaves from a tea plant fell into the water and remained there for some time. It produced a nice smell so he tasted the brown water. It was quite delicious, and so, one of the world’s favorite drinks was invented.
A few thousand years later, Lu Yu, “the saint of tea”, mentioned Shen Nong in his book Cha Jing . The book describes how tea plants were grown and used to make tea. It also discusses where the finest tea leaves were produced and what kinds of water were used.
It is believed that tea was brought to Korea and Japan during the 6th and 7th centuries. In England, tea didn’t appear until around 1660, but in less than 100 years, it had become the national drink. The tea trade from China to Western countries took place in the 19th century. This helped to spread the popularity of tea and the tea plant to more places around the world. Even though many people now know about tea culture. The Chinese are without doubt the ones who best understand the nature of tea.
1. The way that tea was invented (in two words):2. The person who invented tea:
3. List three countries that tea was spread to in the passage:
①
4. What the book Cha Jing talks about:
①
5. The role of the tea trade played:
When were restaurants invented? Do you know about that? Actually, the first restaurants were invented thousands of years ago. However, they were very different from restaurants today.
The first restaurants were in ancient Greece and ancient Rome. These restaurants served food in large stone bowls. People didn’t order food from a menu. Everyone used to share the food from big bowls. People believe that these places were very popular because most homes in ancient Greece and Rome did not have kitchens. Also, people didn’t have to store food at home if they ate at these restaurants.
Later, restaurants began to open in China. In the early 1100s, more than one million people lived in the city of Hangzhou, China. It was a very busy city, and people had money. All of these people had to eat. Smart cooks started cooking and selling food along the Imperial Way, a very big street in the city. Unlike in ancient Greece and Rome, people in China could choose food from a menu. They didn’t have to eat the same food as everyone else.
For the next several centuries, there were restaurants all over the world. People could buy food on the street or at inns—small hotels. Then in the middle of the 1700s, restaurants started opening in Paris. These restaurants were more similar to restaurants we know today. There was a bigger variety of food, and eating in these restaurants was a more enjoyable experience. In the 19th century, trains made travel much faster and simpler. In the end, this kind of restaurants began to appear all over Europe and in other parts of the world.
Now, restaurants are everywhere. You can buy a variety of different kinds of food. You can have food sent to your door. But remember it wasn’t always like that.
1. How did the writer start the passage?The writer did it by asking a
2. Why were the first restaurants popular?
Because in ancient Greece and Rome
3. How were the restaurants in Hangzhou different from the first restaurants in ancient Greece and Rome?
Restaurants in Hangzhou
4. What does the underlined phrase “these restaurants” refer to in the fourth paragraph?
It refers to “the restaurants
5. What does the passage mainly talk about?
It mainly talks about the
When you say the word “France”, the Louvre (卢浮宫) or the Eiffel Tower (埃菲尔铁塔) may be the first things you think of. Let’s get to know the most famous buildings in Paris, the capital of France.
The Arc de Triomphe (凯旋门)
The Arc de Triomphe is a famous monument (纪念碑). It is more than 50 meters high. It is the largest triumphal arch in the world. Once a brave person even flew his plane through it! In 1806, Napoleon (拿破仑) won a great battle. He then asked to build the arch to celebrate. It was finished in 1836.
The Louvre
The Louvre Museum is a large and famous museum. It has some of the best art works in the world. The building lies in the center of Paris, on the right bank of the Seine River and used to be a palace.
The Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889 to remember the French Revolution (法国革命). It is 300 meters high and was the world’s tallest building until 1930.
People love the Eiffel Tower today. But its birth was difficult. At that time, many French people didn’t want the tower to be built. They thought it didn’t look nice. It was almost destroyed (摧毁) in 1909. But it was saved as it was used for radios at that time.
1. It took2. The brave man passed the Arc de Triomphe
3.
4. Many French people were against building the Eiffel Tower at that time because they thought
5. The passage mainly tells us
