1 . The Silk Road went from China to Eastern Europe. It went along the north of China, India, and Persia and ended up in Eastern Europe near today’s Turkey and the MediterraneanSea（地中海）.
It was called the Silk Road because one of the major products traded was silk cloth from China. Chinese silk was soft and of high quality so people throughout Asia and Europe loved it very much.
Besides silk, the Chinese also sold tea, salts, sugar, porcelain（瓷器）and spices.
Traders travelled in large caravans. They would have many guards with them.
Although there was some trade between China and the rest of the world for some time, the silk trade developed quickly during the Han Dynasty which ruled from 206BC to 220AD.
| A．The Silk Road was important. |
| B．The Chinese sold silk for thousands of years. |
| C．Most of the goods were expensive. |
| D．Travelling in a big group like a caravan（大蓬车，商队）helped in protecting themselves. |
| E．Later, under the rule of the Yuan Dynasty, trade from China along the Silk Road was fully developed. |
1. Willis Tower is located .
| A．in Chicago | B．in New York | C．in Seattle |
| A．1，080 feet | B．1，145 feet | C．1，451 feet |
| A．about two years | B．about four years | C．about six years |
| A．1974 | B．1981 | C．1999 |
| A．in building shows | B．in movies | C．in dictionaries |
3 . Over 25 thousand years ago people from northern Asia went to America, Today, we call these people Indians.
The Indians went to America because the weather began to c
Later Columbus found the New World in 1492 and he was k
The Silk Road is a historically important international trade route (路线) between China and the Mediterranean (地中海). It began
The ancient road started from Chang’an (now Xi’an) and ended in Eastern
The Silk Road got its name b
The Silk Road was very important to both China and the rest of the world. It was
Today, along the Silk Road there’re many places of
5 . How do we know the time? A clock, a watch or a mobile phone can help us. However, many years ago there were no clocks and knowing the time was not so easy. Over the centuries people have developed different ways of telling the time.
About 5,500 years ago, the Egyptians invented the sun clock. This was a tall stone building. Its shadow (影子) showed the movement of the sun. So people were able to know midday. The Egyptians made a sundial about 3,500 years ago. It was smaller than the sun clock and could let people know the time for half a day. On cloudy days or at night it was impossible to tell the time with a sun clock or a sundial. Water clocks were the first clocks not to use the sun. The idea is simple. Water flows (流动) from one bottle to another. When the water reaches a certain level, it shows the hours. The Egyptians used water clocks about 3,400 years ago. These clocks were popular in the Middle East and China. But they failed to make people know the exact time.
In the 13th century, the mechanical clock was invented. This was more exact, but it was expensive to make one. Over the next few centuries it was developed. For example, springs (发条) were added around 1500. This enabled people to get the correct time and allowed clocks to be smaller. In 1927, the first quartz (石英) clock was developed. Clocks became cheaper to build. It’s also cheaper for ordinary people to own a clock. People began depending on them more and more to run business, markets and so on. More recently, in 1956, came the digital clock. And nowadays satellites send our mobile phones the time to the exact second.
There has been a lot of progress in timekeeping. Clocks are always changing but some things never change. Many of us still have trouble getting out of bed on time and not being late for school or work.
1. According to the passage, we can’t use ________ to tell the time on a rainy day.| A．water clock | B．sun clock | C．digital clock | D．mechanical clock |
| A．现代的 | B．特殊的 | C．富有的 | D．普通的 |
(①=Paragraph 1 ②= Pargaph 2, ...)
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．The importance of time. | B．The development of timekeeping. |
| C．The inventions of clocks. | D．The history of a digital clock. |
American country music is also known as (被视为) country western music. It has a very long history. It comes from the folk songs of immigrants (移民) from Britain.
Country music uses simple music and words to express everyday feelings such as loneliness, love, and sadness. That is to say, country music describes life. It talks about friends and enemies, trucks and roads, farms and crops. People in many parts of the world like country music, because everyone can understand what the music is about.
Country western music became popular first among cowboys (牛仔) in the American west countryside. Cowboys had to take care of cows day and night. When they were alone with the cows, they often sang beautiful and peaceful songs to calm the animals and to overcome their own fear. They were not well-educated and so they sang about their daily life in very simple words. They played guitars, violins and other instruments. In the south of America, many people added instruments from their homes, like bottles and spoons. When cowboys visited their friends and families on holidays, they usually sang and played country western music.
In recent years, many musicians have made country western music a little different from the one in the past. These changes make the songs sound even better. Today singers such as Carth Brooks, Reba McEntirc, Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, Eddie Rabbitt, LeAnn Rimes, Randy Travis and a group called Alahama are singing and playing in different styles. They have brought country western music more and more fans from all over the world.
7 . How do we know the time? A clock, a watch or a mobile phone can help us. However, many years ago there were no clocks and knowing the time was not so easy. Over the centuries people have developed different ways of telling the time.
About 5, 500 years ago, the Egyptians invented the sun clock. This was a tall stone building. Its shadow(影子)showed the movement of the sun. So people were able to know midday. The Egyptians made a sundial about 3,500 years ago. It was smaller than the sun clock and could let people know the time for half a day. On cloudy days or at night it was impossible to tell the time with a sun clock or a sundial. Water clocks not were the first clocks not to use the sun. The idea is simple. Water flows(流动) from one bottle to another. When the water reaches a certain level, it shows the hours. The Egyptians used water clocks about 3,400 years ago. These clocks were popular in the Middle East and China. But they failed to make people know the exact time.
In the 13th century, the mechanical clock was invented. This was more exact, but it was expensive to make one. Over the next few centuries it was developed. For example springs(发条) were added around 1500. This enabled people to get the correct time and allowed clocks to be smaller. In 1927, the first quartz watch was developed. Clocks became cheaper to make. It’s also cheaper for ordinary people to own a clock. People began depending on them more and more to run businesses, markets and so on. More recently, in 1956, came the digital clock. And nowadays satellites send our mobile phones the time to the exact second.
There has been a lot of progress in timekeeping. Clocks are always changing but some things never change. Many of us sill have trouble getting out of bed on time and not being late for school or work.
1. According to the passage, we can’t use a ________ tell the time on a rainy day.| A．water clock | B．sun clock | C．digital clock | D．mechanical clock |
| A．现代的 | B．特殊的 | C．富有的 | D．普通的 |
| A．Four. | B．Five. | C．Six. | D．Seven. |
(①= Paragraph 1 ②= Paragraph 2...)
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
| A．The importance of time. | B．The development of timekeeping |
| C．The inventions of clocks. | D．The history of a digital clock. |
8 . 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?
9 . Vienna is a beautiful old city on the river Danube. It's the capital city of Austria and the centre of European classical music. From 1750 a lot of composers and musicians came to study and work in Vienna. Strauss and Mozart were two of the most important composers.
John Strauss, the younger was born in 1825. He made his first appearance conducting his own orchestra at the age of 19. He was even more successful and popular than his father. After the death of the elder Strauss, he united his group with the orchestra his father had made famous. Between 1871 and 1897 he composed 16 stage works for Viennese theatres. He wrote more than 400 waltzes and his most famous one was The Blue danube.
Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, in 1756. Before he was six he played not only the piano, but also the violin and the organ. His father started training him so early that by age six, Mozart was performing for the Kings and Queens of Europe. By eight, Mozart was writing his own symphonies. He wrote his first opera at the age of 12 and hundreds of beautiful pieces of music for the classical orchestra. Mozart completed over 600 works in all. Mozart was very famous and successful. He died in 1791.
1. Which is right according to this passage?| A．Vienna is the centre of European music. |
| B．From 1750 a lot of singers came to study and work in Vienna. |
| C．John Strauss wrote over 400 waltzes. |
| D．Mozart began to play the piano at the age of 6. |
| A．In 1867. | B．In 1844. | C．In 1762. | D．In 1873. |
| A．Yes, he was. | B．Yes, he did. |
| C．No, he didn't. | D．No, he wasn't. |
| A．35. | B．53. | C．39. | D．26. |
| A．Mozart was writing his own symphonies at the age of 12 |
| B．Mozart was even more successful and popular than his father |
| C．Mozart wrote hundreds of beautiful pieces of music for the classical orchestra |
| D．Strauss and Mozart were the most important singers in Vienna |
10 . In 1826, a Frenchman named Niepce needed pictures for his business. But he was not a good artist. So he invented a very simple camera. He put it in a window of his house and took a picture of his yard. That was the first photograph.
The next important date in the history of photography was 1837. That year, Daguerre, another Frenchman, took a picture of his studio. He used a new kind of camera and a different process. In his pictures, you could see everything very clearly, even the smallest details. This kind of photograph was called a daguerreotype.
Soon, other people began to use Daguerre's process. Travelers brought back daguerreotypes from all around the world. People photographed famous buildings, cities and mountains.
In about 1840, the process was improved. Then photographers could take pictures of people and moving things. The process was not simple. The photographer had to carry a lot of films and other machines. But this did not stop the photographers, especially in the United States. After the 1840s, daguerreotype artists were popular in most cities.
Mathew Brady was a well-known American photographer. He took many pictures of famous people. The pictures were unusual because they were very life-like and full of personality.
Brady was also the first person to take pictures of war. His 1862Civil War pictures showed dead soldiers and ruined cities. They made the war seem more real and more terrible.
In the 1880s, new inventions began to change photography. Photographers could buy films readymade in rolls. So they did not have to make the film themselves. Also, they did not have to process the film immediately. They could bring it back to their studios and develop it later meaning that they did not have to carry lots of equipment. And finally, the invention of the small handheld camera made photography less expensive.
With the small camera, anyone could be a photographer. People began to use cameras just for fun. They took pictures of their families, friends and favorite places. They called these pictures" snapshot".
Photographs became very popular in newspapers in the 1890s. Soon magazines and books also used documentary photographs. These pictures showed true events and people. They were much more real than drawing.
Photography also turned into a form of art by the end of the 20th century. Some photographs were not just copies of the real world. They showed ideas and feelings, like other art forms.
1. If a photographer wanted to take pictures of moving things in the year of 1840, he had to ________.| A．watch lots of films | B．buy an expensive camera |
| C．stop in most cities | D．take many films and something else with him |
| A．the invention of cameras | B．how to develop films |
| C．the development of photography | D．the important dates in the history of photography |
| A．a French photographer in the 1840s | B．an American photographer in the 1860s |
| C．a German reporter in the 1880s | D．a French artist in the 1890s |
| A．take anything they like | B．keep a record of real life |
| C．take photos of the famous | D．show ideas and feeling in pictures |
a. Photographs became popular in newspapers.
b. Photographers carried processing equipment while taking pictures.
c. The invention of small handheld cameras made photography easier.
d. Daguerre invented a kind of photograph called daguerreotype.
e. Brady took pictures of famous people.
| A．e, a, d, b, c | B．d, b, e, c, a | C．b, e, c, a, d | D．d, c, e, a, b. |
