1 . A couple of weeks ago my parents came to visit me in the southwest of France during my break. As a little surprise for them I planned a trip to a small village in the Pyrenees Mountains called Niaux to seethe famous “Grotte de Niaux”. My dad told me so many stories about the famous “grottes” of Southern France: Lascaux, Font-de-Gaume and the Cave of Niaux. These caves contain paintings drawn between17,000 and 11,000 years ago! Advances in science and technology have enabled scientists and historians to date the paintings accurately by carbon dating （碳定年法）and discover the tools with which people used to draw the paintings, as well as the materials they used. My dad studied these caves when he was a college student, but he didn't have the chance to see one personally. Therefore, I decided to change it!

Many caves that contain prehistoric paintings are no longer accessible to the public. The carbon dioxide that we breathe out and the harsh artificial lights quickly degrade the quality of the paintings, and for many caves, now visitors can only see reconstructions of the original paintings. However, Niaux is an exception. By limiting the number of people allowed in the cave at a time and limiting the artificial lights used to light the paintings, the paintings in Niaux have been well protected so that visitors can see the originals. They were unbelievable! We saw paintings of bison（北美野牛），mountain goats and deer carved on the walls as though they had been done yesterday. They were actually drawn around14,000 years ago!

Many people believe that these paintings were drawn as part of an almost religious ritual(仪式），while others believe they represent the life experiences of the men and women who lived in these caves many years ago. Maybe we will never know for sure why the paintings were drawn, but one thing is for certain - those cavemen were far better at drawing than I am!

1. Why did the author's father tell him many stories about the “grottes”？

A．The author asked him to do so.

B．It was his father's duty.

C．His father was interested in them.

D．They weren't known to the author.

2. What can visitors only see of the original paintings in many caves?

A．Shadows.	B．Copies.
C．Models.	D．Introductions.

3. What makes the paintings in Niaux unbelievable?

A．Good protection.	B．Great skill.
C．Good quality.	D．Dark light.

4. We can know from the text that________.

A．this was the second time that the author' s father had visited Niaux.

B．visitors don't know the material used to draw the pictures in Niaux.

C．only the carbon dioxide people breathe out degraded the quality of the paintings.

D．visitors don't know clearly why the paintings were drawn.

2 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式

Rivers are one of our most important natural resources. Many of the world’s great cities are located on rivers and almost every country has at least one river     1     (flow) through it, which plays an important part in the lives of     2     (it) people.

Since the beginning of history, people     3     (use) rivers for transportation. The Yellow River and Changliang River play a large role in China. The Mississippi, the     4     (long) one in the United States ever influenced the American people     5     (great) in history. The lifeline of Egypt is the Nile. Rivers provide fresh water     6     drink, grow crops, make electricity and chances to have fun for those     7     live along their banks.

    8     the cities grow in size and industries increase in number, the river water is severely being polluted. It urges all countries to make     9     (decide) and take immediate action to stop it from     10     (pollute) any more.

3 . If you are looking for the place that has everything, there is only one place to visit, and that’s New York. It’s a whole world in a city.

The World of Theater: All of New York is a stage. And it begins with Broadway. Where else can you find so many hit shows in one place? Only in New York!

The World of Music: Spend an evening with Beethoven at Lincoln Center. Swing to the great jazz of Greenwich Village. Or rock yourself silly at the hottest dance spots found anywhere.

The World of Art: From Rembrandt to Picasso. From Egyptian tombs to Indian teepees. Whatever kind of art you like, you will find it in New York.

The World of Fine Dining: Whether it’s roast Beijing duck in Chinatown, lasagna in little Italy, or the finest French coq au vin found everywhere, there is world of great taste waiting for you in New York.

The World of Sights: What other city has a Statue (雕塑) of Liberty? A Rockefeller Center? Or a Bronx Zoo? Where else can you take a horse-drawn carriage through Central Park? Only in New York!

1. From the text we know that “Rembrandt” is most likely to be the name of a famous            .

A．actor	B．painter
C．cook	D．musician

2. Which of the following can visitors do only in New York?

A．To enjoy a Beethoven concert.	B．To taste the finest French coq au vin.
C．To see the Statue of Liberty.	D．To eat Roast Beijing Duck.

3. This passage may be taken from .

A．a handbook for English learners	B．a pocketbook for businessmen
C．a guidebook for foreign travellers	D．a storybook for local readers

4 . Every year, the ancient Town of Fenghuang,    1    of China’s most well-known ancient towns, is visited by a large number of people from all over the world.    2    (fortunate), it was under water as heavy rain hit the centre of the country,    3    tens of thousands of people leaving from the area. Heavy rain and floods lasted for the past few days. Waters in the nearby river called the Tuojiang River rose by almost one meter above warning level,    4     (cause) heavy rainstorms. More than 120,000 local people and tourists have been helped to leave there because of the terrible disaster. And more than 4,000 shops in the town    5    (shut). Several bridges on the Tuojiang River have been damaged or destroyed. Water has flowed into many bars, restaurants and hotels in its ancient town, and electricity in the ancient town has been cut off.    6    the heavy rains have stopped, the popular tourist spot remains closed for local people’s     7    (safe).

    8     shoe shop owner named Kuang said the flood was the    9    (bad) the town had experienced. They could only live in an old factory    10    many homeless people had to stay together.