1 . 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.
Many of us read news every day is probably because we’d like to know what’s happening in the world. Today we can get news from TV or the Internet, but how did ancient people get news?
At the very beginning, information spread by word of mouth. People living in tribes (部落), got news from neighbors or travelers. Ancient Romans changed the way people knew about their communities. They posted a list of daily happenings at public squares in the cities. Ancient Chinese people did it in another way. The government had news sheets sent to officials in the whole country so people could know what was going on in the capital.
The fifteenth century saw big progress in printing technology in the west. The progress brought a sudden rise of news business. Printers sold whatever people loved to read. In the sixteenth century, the first real newspaper appeared. People started to form the habit of reading newspapers. They liked to share their opinions on newspapers. The invention of telegraph (电报) machines led to another big step in history. News stories were sent to the papers in minutes instead of weeks.
Now we get news in seconds from all over the world. We can become some kind of reporters by posting online what happens around us.
1. From whom did people living in tribes get news?2. Where did ancient Romans post a list of daily happenings?
3. What brought a sudden rise of news business in the 15th century?
4. When did the first real newspapers appear?
5. How can we become some kind of reporters now?
3 . What was your first work of art? Did you use your fingers to paint it? Did you paint it with crayons? People have always painted. Their times and places for painting have been different. Maybe their tools have, too. Yet their reasons for painting have often been the same. The reason is simple. Painting is fun!
Cave paintings
Imagine living in a cave (洞穴). How would you get art supplies? Thousands of years ago, cave people burned wood and found colored rocks. They broke them into small pieces, added water, and made paint. The oldest paintings are on cave walls. Some show wild bears, horses, bulls, or cats. They showed that people had been there. They showed what the people had seen.
Ink Paintings
In China long ago, artists used ink and water. They painted on long pieces of paper called scrolls (卷轴). They used the brush skillfully. Many of their paintings showed beauty from nature. Others told stories. People could carry the scrolls with them.
Oil Paintings
In the 1400s, oil paint was invented. Artists painted it onto canvas (画布). From then on, many great artists in Europe and America used oil paint. They painted people and nature. They painted events from history. They used art to tell stories, teach ideas and express moods.
New ways to paint
These days, artists paint whatever they want. Some choose the oldest styles. Others experiment. They use berry juices. They pour paint onto a canvas on the floor. They use their hair instead of a paintbrush! Some artists paint with computers. It isn’t messy or smelly. You don’t get to use your fingers. But they say it’s fun.
1. Why do people always paint?2. How did cave people make paint thousands of years ago? （不超过15个词）
3. 将划线句子 Many of their paintings showed beauty from nature.翻译成汉语。
4. What does It in the last paragraph refer to?
5. What’s the best title of the passage?
4 . There is a true story about the invention of Chinese chess. The story happened 2, 200 years ago. In order to bring down the Qin dynasty after the death of Emperor Qin Shihuang, the peasants fought against the government. Among them, the two strongest armies were led by Xiang Yu and Liu Bei. In order to decide who would become the new emperor, there was a great final battle between them. The battle field was along the Chu River. Finally, Liu and his army won the battle. So he became the emperor. People invented Chinese chess in memory of the famous battle.
根据短文内容，完成下列句子，每空一词。
1. There is a true story that
2. In order to bring down the Qin dynasty after the death of Emperor Qin Shihuang, the peasants fought
3. In order to decide who would become the new emperor, there was a great final battle
4. Finally, Liu and his army
5. People
5 . One of the oldest known toys in the world is the yo—yo. Historians believe that it came from China. In the 1700s, the yo—yo first came to the west. In the 1800s, the toy was very much liked by children in Victorian,England. In the Philippines（菲律宾群岛）, the yo—yo was a national toy, and the people became experts at making and using the toy. In the 1920s, Pedro Flores brought the first Philipine yo—yo to the USA and he set up a yo—yo company in California. He wanted to show people how to use the toy because he thought this would help him to sell more yo—yos. Donald Duncan,who was a clever businessman,bought the idea and Pedro Flores's company. Soon the Duncan Company traveled all over the USA. They taught and explained yo—yo tricks, and they held contests to sell more yo—yos.
In 1946, the Duncan Company moved to Luck, Wisconsin, and the town became known as the"Yo—yo Capital of the world". The company produced 3,6000yo—yos per hour. In 1962, the Duncan Company alone sold 45million yo—yos in the USA. At times,the yo—yo isn't as popular as before, but then it came back———well,like a yo—yo. In 1992,astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman took a yo—yo with him on the spacecraft Atlantis.
| Time | Events |
| In the 1700s | The yo—yo first came to（1） |
| In the 1800s | It became |
| In the 1920s | Pedro Flores |
| In | Luck,Wisconsin was famous for the"Yo—yo Capital of the world. " |
| In 1962 | |
| In 1992 | Astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman took a yo—yo into |
6 . In 1896, the first modern Olympic Games was held in Athens, Greece. From then on, many countries had successfully held the Olympics, such as England, France, Germany, Canada, the USA, Spain and Australia. After more than a hundred years, the Games returned to its hometown in the year of 2004. When a country hosted the Olympic Games, they always made an emblem (会徽). The emblem of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games was a white circle of olive branches (橄榄枝) in the sky.
In 2008, Beijing hosted the Olympics. Its emblem is “Jing”. It means the capital of China and it is also like a runner or dancer. The running figure (人形) of the emblem shows the spirit (精神) of the Olympics: Faster, Higher and Stronger.
根据短文内容，回答问题。
1. When was the first modern Olympic Games held?
2. What do people make when they hold the Olympic Games?
3. How many years passed when Athens held the Olympic Games once again?
4. Does the character (图案) of“Jing”mean the capital of China?
5. What’s the spirit of the Olympic Games?
7 . You might think the largest library in the world would be in Europe. But it isn't. It's in Washington, D. C. It's called the Library of Congress.
President John Adams started the library in 1800 for members of Congress. He wanted them to be able to read books about law. The first 740 books were bought in England. They were simply set up in the room where Congress met. Then Thomas Jefferson sold Congress may of his own books. He felt Congress should have books on all subjects, not just on law. This idea changed the library fundamentally.
The library grew and grew. Now it covers acres of land. It has 20 million books as well as scores of pictures, movies, globes and machines. Experts in every field work there. Hundreds of people call every day with all kinds of questions. Many of them get answers right over the phone.
The library is a huge storehouse. Thomas Edison's first movie and Harry Houdini's magic books reside there. And it is the proud owner of the world's best collection of comic books.
The | |
Location of the library | The largest library in the world is not in |
Purpose of the library | The library was started by President John Adams in 1800. He wanted the members of Congress to be able to read books about |
Area of the library | The library has |
It has 20 million books as well as scores of pictures, movies, globes and machines. Thomas Edison's first movie and Harry Houdini's magic books are also collected there. | |
Did ancient Chinese people have express delivery(快递)?
In ancient China，people used “youyi(邮驿)” to send news and letters.Only officials(官员)could use youyi.Postmen would deliver things by horse or boat.Sometimes they would even go on foot.
Besides news and letters，the postmen also sent fruit.You may have heard the story of Yang Yuhuan and her lychees.
Yang was a Tang emperor's(皇帝)favorite beauty.She liked eating lychees.To make her happy，the emperor asked postmen to send her fresh lychees from southern China to Chang'an(today's Xi'an)．
Postmen would put the fresh lychees in a bamboo container(竹筒)．They then rode their horses as fast as they could.The fruit would usually reach Chang'an in about three days.It was real express delivery！
| What was it called？ | Youyi. |
| What did people send？ | News and letters as well as |
| Who could use Youyi？ | Only officials. |
| How did postmen deliver things？ | By horse，by boat or even |
| The story of Yang Yuhuan and lychee. | *Yang was a Tang emperor's favorite beauty. *She liked eating lychees. *The emperor asked postmen to send her fresh lychees from *Postmen put the fresh lychees in a bamboo container and rode their horses fast. *They could reach Chang'an in about |
9 . When asked about poetry, most people will say that a poem is a text that has rhythm(节奏) and rhyme押韵). Famous are the lines by William Blake, which have clear rhythm and rhyme.
Other people will add that poems must have a certain form, with a fixed(固定的)number of lines, such as a sonnet(十四行诗). With rhyme, most people mean the rhyme of sound of words at the end of the lines. It is also true that much of the classical(古典的)poetry that we have looks like that. John Milton was one of the first poets who started writing poems without rhyme at the end of the lines. He wrote other poems too, though he is famous for his long poems without rhyme. This style of poetry became known____ free verse(自由诗 ). It was not until the twentieth century that modern poetry was really developed. Modern poets wanted to break all the traditional forms of poetry. One of the characteristics(特征)of modern poetry is that it usually does not have rhyme at the end of a line, and it is also often about common topics(主题).
In China, free verse was known and used much earlier. The Unhappy official(《悲哉行》)by Bai Juyi is an example of a poem written in free verse.
第1小题完成句子; 第2~3小题简略回答问题; 第4小题将文中横线处空缺的一个单词填写在下面的答题线上; 第5小题将文中画线句子翻译成汉语。
1. Most people think that a poem is a text that has
2. What is John Milton famous for?
3. What is the characteristic of modern poetry?
4.
5.
The first newspaper was written by hand and put up on walls in public places. The earliest daily newspaper was started in Rome in 59 B.C.
In the 7th century, the world’s first printed newspaper was published. Europe didn’t have a regularly published newspaper until 1690, when one was started in Germany.
The first regularly published newspaper in the English language was published in London once a week. The first daily English newspaper was the “Daily Current”. It came out in March, 1702.
In 1690, Benjamin Harris printed the first American newspaper in Boston. But not long after it was first published, the government stopped the paper. In 1704, John Campbell started “The Boston Newsletter”, the first newspaper published daily in the American colonies（殖民地）. By 1760, the colonies had more than 30 daily newspapers. There are now about 1,800 daily newspapers in the United States.
Today, as a group, English language newspapers have the largest circulation（发行量） in the world. But the largest circulation for a newspaper is a Japanese newspaper named “Asahi Shimbun”. It sells more than 11 million copies every day.
1. When did the first daily newspaper come out?2. When and where did a regularly published newspaper come out in Europe?
3. Where was the first English daily newspaper published?
4. How many daily newspapers were there by 1760 in the American colonies?
5. According to the passage, which newspaper has the most readers in the world?
