| child, come, one, big, shout, fight, final, message, they, danger |
In 490 BC there was a big war between the Persians and the Greeks.
Persia was a strong country, much
The Greeks could not wait and attacked the Persian army.
He arrived at the city gates very tired. “Great news. We won!” he
2 . Early in the 16th century, it was difficult for people to live without enough food. So lots of people tried hard
Magellan sailed from Seville in August, 1519,
They then continued, hoping to reach Asia But they couldn’t see any land
The remaining officers then had to get back to Spain. They decided to sail around Africa. After
The adventure of Magellan’s expedition told us that when facing difficulties, we should not give up easily. Instead, we need to be confident of
| A．reach | B．reached | C．to reach | D．reaches |
| A．found | B．to find | C．finding | D．founded |
| A．for | B．with | C．without | D．by |
| A．success | B．successful | C．successfully | D．succeed |
| A．while | B．after | C．since | D．until |
| A．a | B．an | C．the | D．/ |
| A．killed | B．was killed | C．killing | D．had killed |
| A．many | B．any | C．few | D．little |
| A．great | B．greater | C．greatly | D．the greatest |
| A．our | B．us | C．ourselves | D．we |
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?
but, south, house, build, cook, rich, become, money, even, anyone |
Why are so many British people interested in historical (历史的) television programs like Downton Abbey ( 《唐顿庄园》) ? Maybe because they want to see how both
Downton Abbey is not a real place,
Highclere Castle in the
Why did people
But as we know from the story of Downton, the
Today, many country houses are open to
Some of the houses were sold and
And some are used for making films and TV programs like Downton Abbey.
5 . These days, girls of all ages wear miniskirts. Miniskirts make female feel free, young, and beautiful. But they were thought to be horrible and in bad taste only about fifty years ago.
Miniskirts were made popular by English maker Mary Quant in the 1960s, and soon became an important part of most girls’ wardrobes.
But it wasn’t an easy process for miniskirts. In the 1970s, before women’s liberation movement(女权运动) became popular, some high schools had rules about the 1eogth of the skirt. If it did not touch the floor when the girl kneeled on the ground, the skirt was not long enough. Miniskirts were so short that people at that time didn’t see them as ladies’ clothes. They were thought to be the fashion choice of bad girls and not allowed in business places.
As people’s mind changed in the 1980s, office ladies were finally able to wear miniskirts at work. So when you are wearing your miniskirts this summer, remember it is not just a fashion sign, but also a part of women’s liberation history.
1. What did people think of miniskirts about fifty years ago?| A．Miniskirts could make people young and free. |
| B．Miniskirts made people like ladies. |
| C．Miniskirts were thought to be in bad taste. |
| D．Miniskirts were important in girls’ lives. |
| A．most girls had wardrobes for putting their miniskirts. |
| B．many girls liked wearing miniskirts. |
| C．there were special wardrobes made for miniskirts. |
| D．wardrobes were full of miniskirts. |
| A．the fashion choice of bad girls | B．ladies clothes |
| C．right for business places | D．long enough |
| A．In the 1960s. | B．In the 1970s. | C．In the 1980s. | D．In the 1990s. |
| A．still not popular among office ladies | B．only for summer |
| C．just the women’s liberation history | D．not only a fashion sign |
The king and the rice
A long time ago, there was a king in
Great inventions
Thomas Edison
7 . It may be hard to believe, but the American Revolution (革命)—the war that freed the American states from British control—began over a cup of tea. Tea was not the only thing that caused the war, of course, but it played a very big part.
The British people’s love of tea is well-known. When the British won control over much of North America in the early 1700s, they brought their tea-drinking habits with them. Tea quickly became the continent’s most popular drink. As tea could not be grown locally, just as in Britain, it was shipped into the country—mostly from India.
In the early 1700s, the Britain government made a special deal with the East India Company, an English trading company. They agreed that no other company was allowed to bring tea to Britain or any country controlled by Britain, including America. It was a great deal for the East India Company, since it meant that the company could decide whatever price it wanted for its products. And it always decided on a high price!
In North America, the local people did not like having to pay such high prices. Instead of overpaying for tea from the British, they turned to Dutch traders, who secretly brought tea to the country that was just as good—and much less expensive. Although this broke the law, the American people didn’t care. They got the same cup of tea at a much lower price.
The East India Company, however, didn’t like this at all. By the 1760s, they were losing millions of pounds each year to Dutch traders—a huge amount of money in a time when £60 a year was considered a good income. Instead of reducing their prices to compete with the Dutch, the company asked the British government for help and the government agreed.
In 1767, the British introduced new laws that increased the prices of all goods which were brought into America. These laws helped make the East India Company even richer and forced local people to pay much more for everything. The American leaders asked the British government not to do so, but the British refused to listen. These unfair laws increased Americans’ anger about British rule and the rest, as they say, is history.
1. The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 3 refers to ________.| A．the tea maker | B．the American government |
| C．the British government | D．the East India Company |
| A．The tea was much cheaper. | B．The tea was a lot healthier. |
| C．They could buy it more easily. | D．They didn’t want to support the British. |
| A．It reduced the price of its tea. | B．It improved the taste of its tea. |
| C．It introduced a new kind of tea. | D．It asked the British government for help. |
| A．Tea trade in eighteenth-century America |
| B．The relationship between America and Britain. |
| C．A reason for the start of the American Revolutionary War. |
| D．The introduction of British tea-drinking habits into America. |
8 . There is a fun fact. Each year, people in all 28 European Union (EU) member countries are asked to change their clocks twice. They move forward by one hour (12 p.m. becomes 1 p.m.) on the last Sunday of March and back by one hour (1 p.m. goes back to 12 p.m.) on the last Sunday in October. This is called “daylight saving time (DST, 夏/冬令时)”.
But in 2019, they will no longer need to do so. On Sept 14, 2018, the EU announced that it will stop practicing DST in October 2019, USA Today reported. The change comes following an online survey conducted in EU countries. Eighty-four percent of the 4.5 million Europeans who took the survey said they oppose (反对) seasonal clock changes.
DST was first introduced in Germany during the World Wars and became law across the continent (大陆) in 1996. It helps people make better use of longer summer days and save energy.
For example, with DST, people get up and go to bed an hour earlier during the summer. By having an extra hour of sunlight, people can save electricity, since they don’t need to turn their lights on.
However, after over 20 years of DST, people believe that the practice is out of date, especially since we now have energy-saving technology like LED light. “We are clearly headed toward smart cities, smart buildings and smart solutions which will bring much more savings than a change of the clock,” European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic told Deutsche Welle.
Others have pointed out that clock changing can lead to imbalance (失衡) in our bodies’ internal (体内的) clocks and cause long-term health problems, Reuters noted.
1. “Daylight saving time” lasts about ________ a year.| A．five months | B．six months | C．seven months | D．eight months |
| A．In France. | B．In Germany. | C．In the US. | D．In the UK. |
| A．Because it helped people save energy. | B．Because it was fashionable and modern. |
| C．Because people wanted to enjoy longer nights. | D．Because people opposed seasonal clock changes. |
| A．What we can use to save energy. | B．Why changing clocks is no longer needed. |
| C．What changes new technology can bring. | D．Why clock changing can harm our health. |
9 . London’s Chinese community (社区) dates back to the 18th century, when a small number of Chinese sailors moved to the city to work in Limhouse, east London. As time went on, other Chinese people came to this area and Limhouse began to be known as “Chinatown”. However, London’s Chinese community remained very small for many years: at the start of the 20th century, there were just 545 Chinese people in Britain.
After the Second World War, many farmers in Hong Kong lost their jobs and came to London. As Limhouse had been almost destroyed during the war, they settled (定居) in a different area, a part of central London near Leicester Square. This area is now what Londoners call Chinatown.
At first, the new immigrants (移民) found it difficult to get jobs. In the 1950s, however, a small Chinese restaurant opened in London. Many British people visited it and said that Chinese food was wonderful! Suddenly, Chinese restaurants and take-aways started opening in every part of the city. Instead of too little work, the new Chinese immigrants now found that they had too much! They worked as cooks, managers or waiters. Most of them enjoyed their lives and asked their friends and relatives to join them from overseas.
As time went by, London’s Chinese community became more and more successful. The sons and daughters of the original restaurant workers studied and worked very hard. And most went on to get highly paid jobs. Many Chinese families left Chinatown and moved to the more expensive outskirts. Chinatown, however, is still as lively as ever.
1. When did the first Chinese immigrants (移民) come to London?| A．In the 1950s. | B．More than 200 years ago. |
| C．After the Second World War. | D．At the start of the 20th century. |
| A．Because it was easy for them to get jobs there. |
| B．Because Limhouse had been almost destroyed during the war. |
| C．Because many British people enjoyed Chinese food. |
| D．Because their children could study there and get highly paid jobs. |
| A．建设 | B．破坏 | C．修理 | D．维护 |
| A．In the east of London. | B．In Limhouse. |
| C．Not far from Leicester Square. | D．Outside the city. |
10 . The Winter Olympics are also called the White Olympics. The Winter Olympics are held every four years. At this time, many colorful stamps are published to mark (庆贺) the great Games. The earliest stamps marking the opening came out on January 25, 1932 in the United States for the 3rd White Olympics. From then on,publishing stamps during the White Olympics became a rule (习惯).
In the 1950s, the stamps of this kind became more colorful. When the White Olympics came, the host countries (东道主) as well as the nonhost countries published stamps to mark those Games. China also published four stamps in February 1980, when the Chinese sportsmen began to take part in the White Olympics.
Japan is the only Asian country that has ever held the White Olympics. Altogether 14,500 million stamps were sold to raise (筹集) money for this sports meeting.
Different kinds of sports were drawn on these small stamps. People can enjoy the beauty of the wonderful movements of some sportsmen.
1. The Winter Olympics and the White Olympics ________.
| A．are the same thing | B．are different games |
| C．are not held in winter | D．are held in summer |
| A．after the year 1980 | B．from the 3rd White Olympics |
| C．before the 3rd White Olympics | D．before the year 1932 |
| A．every two years | B．every three years |
| C．every four years | D．every five years |
| A．Only the host countries can publish stamps to mark the Games. |
| B．Only the non-host countries can publish stamps to mark the Games. |
| C．Both the host and the non-host countries can publish stamps to mark the Games. |
| D．Japan can’t publish stamps to mark the Games. |
| A．Basketball. | B．Table tennis. | C．Football. | D．Skating. |
