1 . _________ is a much-loved and active sport, and more than 100 million people play in over 200 countries. In China, sometimes you can see people playing basketball in parks, _________ and even in factories.

Basketball was _________ by a Canadian doctor named James Naismith, who was born in 1861. When _________ was at college, his teacher asked the class to think of a game that can be played in the winter. Dr. Naismith created a game to be played inside on a hard floor. Dr. Naismith divided the men in his class _________ two teams and taught them to play his new game. The purpose of the game _________ for players to get a ball into the “basket”. _________ on the same team must work together to help each other get the ball in the other team’s basket. At the same time, they need to stop the competing team from _________ the ball into their own basket.

It is believed that on December 21, 1891, the first basketball game in history was played. Then in 1936 in Berlin, it _______ an event at the Olympics. Today, the popularity of basketball has risen around the world, with many young people dreaming of becoming famous players. Basketball has not only become a popular sport to play, it has also become __________ more popular sport to watch.

1.

A．Football

B．Basketball

C．Volleyball

D．Table tennis

2.

A．schools

B．school

C．farm

D．zoo

3.

A．invent

B．invents

C．inventing

D．invented

4.

A．He

B．he

C．she

D．Jack

5.

A．for

B．at

C．into

D．by

6.

A．is

B．am

C．are

D．be

7.

A．Boys

B．Girls

C．Player

D．Players

8.

A．geting

B．getting

C．gets

D．get

9.

A．become

B．has become

C．became

D．becoming

10.

A．the

B．an

C．a

D．/

2 . What we have been aware of is that people from Italy speak Italian and people from Russia speak Russian. But have you ever wondered the reason why people speak Spanish in so many South American countries? Do you know why the brilliant footballers of Brazil speak Portuguese? And why is French the first language of some people in Canada? The answer is that all these countries belonged to European empires at one time. The next question is: how did these empires begin? To answer that question we have to probably go back to the 15^th and 16^th centuries, the golden age of European explorers.

Although this period is known as the golden age of European explorers, it was not the beginning of European exploration. As you probably know, Marco Polo travelled a long way to China at the end of the 13^th century and some people say that the Vikings discovered America long before Columbus set sail in 1492. However, it is during this “golden” period that some famous voyages took place. Columbus' voyage to America is the best known voyage of exploration, but Ferdinand Magellan sailed round the world in this period, and Spanish explorers such as Central and Pizarro reached South America. Cortez defeated the Aztecs in what we now know as Mesico and Pizarro defeated the Incas in what we now know as Peru. The roots of the Spanish empire were established and that is why he Spanish language is so widely spoken in Central and South America today.

根据短文内容，选择最佳选项。
1. When is the golden age of European explorers?

A．The 15th century	B．The 16th century.
C．The l3th century.	D．The 15th and 16th centuries.

2. Which is not the voyage of exploration taking place during the golden period?

A．Columbus sailed to America.

B．Marco Polo travelled to China.

C．Ferdinand Magellan voyaged round the world.

D．Cortez and Pizarro reached South America.

3. Who defeated the Aztecs in what we now know as Mexico?

A．Pizarro.

B．Cortez.

C．Incas.

D．Columbus.

4. According to the passage，some countries in America didn't use to belong to       

A．Portugal.

B．Spain.

C．Canada.

D．France.

5. From the passage，we can know that .

A．Many countries in South America have been influenced by European countries

B．The period of the 15th and 16th centuries was the beginning of the European exploration

C．European explorers occupied some American countries in a peaceful way

D．Ferdinand Magellan's voyage round the world is not famous at all

3 . 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

4 . Beautiful pictures of mountains and forests, clear skies, flying birds, wild animals, silly faces — you can find them all in one place. _______? On a postcard! Have people always sent postcards? No! Before postcards, people _______ sealed (密封的) letters.

The _______ for the first decorated (装饰的) postcard came to John P. Charlton in 1861. He thought a simple card _______ a border would be a great way to send a note. Then in the late 1800s, postcards which had pictures on them _______. By law, people had to write their note on the front—on the picture! The back was _______ for the address. Several years later, England allowed a divided-back (背面隔开的) postcard. Then people could write their _______ on the back left side. And they put the address _______. During the early 1900s, the golden age of postcards, people around the world were more and more _______ picture postcards. In 1908, Americans alone mailed over 677 million postcards.

Today, postcards are the ________ most popular collection in the world after stamps and coins. You can always see or get a lot of newly-designed postcards, especially on New Year's Day.

1.

A．How

B．When

C．Why

D．Where

2.

A．liked

B．hated

C．found

D．lost

3.

A．advice

B．picture

C．idea

D．card

4.

A．above

B．with

C．under

D．for

5.

A．happened

B．changed

C．ended

D．appeared

6.

A．even

B．only

C．still

D．ever

7.

A．note

B．word

C．address

D．letter

8.

A．on the front

B．on the back

C．on the left

D．on the right

9.

A．surprised at

B．interested in

C．expected by

D．worried about

10.

A．first

B．second

C．third

D．fourth

5 . One thing that British and Chinese cultures share is a love for fine tea. Today, when we think of western tea culture, we often think of the English and beautiful china cups.
Afternoon tea
People believe that an English lady, Anna, first introduced the idea of afternoon tea. In the 18^th and 19^th centuries, the English are only two main meals each day ----breakfast and a heavy dinner that would last several hours in the evening. As a result, people often got very hungry during the long wait between these two meals. To solve this problem, Anna came up with the clever idea of inviting some friends to join her for an afternoon meal between four and five o`clock. This meal included cakes and sandwiches, and tea was served to wash down the food. In order to make this afternoon meal important, fine china cups and plates, and silver teapots, forks and spoons were used. Soon, afternoon tea parties became popular social occasions. Today, afternoon tea parties continue to play an important part in the social life in the modern Britain.
Will you come for coffee?
Coffee also has an important role in British culture. People often use the words “Will you come for coffee?” to mean “Would you like to come to my home for a chat?”Normally, several different drinks such as tea, hot chocolate or a soft drink like orange juice will be served as well as coffee, and you will be asked what you would like. However, you will not normally be offered wine at a “coffee” party.
Coffeehouses and the London Stock Exchange(股票交易所)
In the 17^th century London, coffeehouses were busy and noisy places. Businessmen and bankers went to coffeehouses to do their business, as well as to drink coffee. In fact, the London Stock Exchange is believed to have started from these coffeehouses.
根据短文内容，选择最佳选项，将其标号在答题卡上涂黑。
1. Anna introduced the idea of drinking afternoon tea because she _________.

A．enjoyed chatting with her friends at home.

B．loved fine tea and beautiful china tea cups

C．wanted to share nice food with her friends

D．found people felt hungry during the long wait between the two meals.

2. If someone says to you “Will you come for coffee?”, you _______.

A．will be offered coffee only

B．are asked what you would like to drink

C．will be asked to have a chat with him or her

D．are invited to take part in an afternoon tea party

3. From the last paragraph we can see ____________.

A．a new business was started in coffeehouses

B．coffeehouses are still used by businessmen and bankers

C．businessmen and bankers went to coffeehouses just for coffee

D．most people wouldn`t like to go to coffeehouses because of the noise

4. Which is the best title of the article?

A．British and Chinese Cultures

B．English Tea and Coffee Culture

C．Coffeehouses and Business

D．Chinese Tea and Coffee

6 . You may know the English letters A, B and C. But do you know there are people called ABC? You may like eating bananas. But did you know there is such a thing as a “banana person”? How strange! Are these people from “another earth” ? No. They are just Chinese people like you and me.
ABC means American-born-Chinese. An ABC is a Chinese, but was born in the United States. Sometimes, people call an ABC a “banana person”. A banana is yellow outside and white inside. So, when a person is a banana, he or she is white inside---hinting like a Westerner(西方人) and yellow outside --- looking like a Chinese.
Do you know why? Usually, ABCs know little about China or the Chinese language. Some of them don’t speak Chinese. Also, they are not interested in Chinese politics(政治),But if ABCs can’t speak Chinese, can we still call them Chinese people? Yes, of course. They are Chinese. They are overseas(海外的) Chinese. These people may be citizens(公民) of another country like the US, Canada or Singapore. But they have Chinese ____Their parents, grandparents or even great-grandparents were from China. They all have black eyes and black hair. But they are not Chinese citizens. They are not people of the People’s Republic of China. For example, we all know the famous scientist C.N. Yang(杨振宁). He got the Nobel Prize Physics in 1957. Chinese people love him. But he is an American citizen. www.xkb1.com
1. “ABC” in this passage stands for “_______”.

A．a kind of banana

B．three English letters

C．Chinese born in American

2. Chinese in Westerner countries are called “banana persons” because __________

A．their bodies are white inside but yellow outside.

B．they think like Westerners but look like Chinese

C．they were born in China but go to study in America

3. The underlined word “blood” may probably mean _________

A．血统

B．洪水

C．身份

4. C. N. Yang is mentioned here to show that _________
A. American Chinese are great       
B. Chinese people can win Nobel Prize.
C. American Chinese are not Chinese citizen.
5. This passage mainly talks about________
A. overseas Chinese             B. the Nobel Prize            C. the life story of C.N. Yang