内容包括：
1. 该地方的基本情况（如名称、地理位置等）
2. 该地方的特色（如文化、景点等）
3. 你对该地方的印象和感受。
注意：
1.词数不少于100；
2.可适当加入细节，使内容充实、行文连贯
A Beautiful Place in China
November 13th, 2023By Li Jin
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2 . Kunta is a small attractive stone-built town in England. Water is a natural gateway to the Cheviot Hills and the Northumberland National Park. From its main street formed by the Market Place and High Street three roads lead off through the foothills into the National Park. The main street has hotels, specialist shops, pottery(陶器) factories and grocery stores. The shopping centre in the area has a reputation for friendly, helpful service.
The beauty of the surrounding scenery is eye-opening: on the one side the fallen sandstone goes across the valley below and on the other the wonderful Cheviot Hills rising behind the town to form a splendid background. Alnwick is a town with a historic castle and the famous Alnwick Gardens lie a few miles south while the Scottish Borders are within easy travelling distance from Kunta on clean country roads. Therefore, the town is an excellent place for a holiday. It offers a wide range of accommodation, ranging from youth hostels(招待所), campsites to local hotels. The summer months see the town’s High Streets become a busy scene of local people and visitors. Each July the town holds its Glendale festival with a program of events spread over the weekend.
Activities to do in Kunta include bowling, skiing, junior football clubs, fitness clubs, running, tennis, and walking. The industries are sheep farming and tourism.
There is much evidence of settlements throughout the area dating back to pre Bronze(青铜器) Age times. The Roman period seems to have had little impact on the area. In the twelfth century, it was ruled by Anglo Saxons, then Danish and eventually the Normans. In the twelfth century, the population was little more than eighteen hundred.
1. What do you know about Kunta?| A．It is a small attractive town built on the top of a mountain. |
| B．It is a small beautiful English town built of stones. |
| C．It is near the most beautiful national park in England. |
| D．The largest shopping centre in England lies in Kunta. |
| A．beauty of the surrounding scenery | B．friendly and helpful service |
| C．wide range of accommodation | D．historic castles and famous gardens |
| A．people | B．location |
| C．environment | D．history |
(1)该地方的基本情况(如名称、地理位置等)；
(2)该地方的特色(如文化、景点等)；
(3)你对该地方的印象和感受。
注意：(1)词数不少于100；
(2)可适当加入细节，使内容充实、行文连贯。
A Beautiful Place in China
March 19, 2021By Li Jin
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4 . A perfectly preserved wreck (沉船) that has lain unnoticed in the icy Baltic Sea for over 500 years has finally been confirmed. The European ship was first observed in 2009, when a sonar(声呐) exploration by the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) indicated a large object in the area. However, it was not until early 2019 that researchers from Soton and MMT found evidence of the sunken ship using underwater robotic cameras.
When the team observed the pictures of the 60-foot-long shipwreck, they were surprised to discover it was 99 percent complete. The scientists considered that the wreck's good condition is due to its place in the Baltic Seabed, where the oxygen levels are low. Oxygen is key to most ocean life's survival. Therefore, such an environment where the shipwreck stays reduces or completely removes the creatures that feed on rotting wood.
So although this ship is contemporary to the times of Christopher Columbus, it shows a remarkable level of preservation after 500 years at the bottom of the sea. Dr. Pacheco-Ruiz, who led the MMT effort, said,“It's almost like it sank yesterday. It's a truly astonishing sight."
The scientists are unsure what let the ship sink. However, the ship's guns, which are in their"ready to fire" positions, indicate it may have been the victim of a naval battle. Since the ship dates back to the early 16th century, historians predict it may have sunk during Sweden's three year independence war with its Danish rulers between 1521 and 1523. Alternatively, it could also have been involved in the border dispute (争端) between Russia and Sweden from 1554 to 1557.
The ship is by far the best-preserved shipwreck ever found from the Age of Exploration, when Europeans explored the world by sea.
What's more exciting is that the ship is similar to the Pinta and La Nina, which Comlubus famously sailed toward North America. The scientists, who continue to observe the shipwreck hope the boat's design will expose some of the technologies available to the Italian explorer during his 1492 voyage of discovery.
1. What scientific achievement did Soton 's and MMT' s researchers make?| A．Discovering a wreck using sonar. |
| B．Getting the wreck out or icy water. |
| C．Identifying the object found by SMA. |
| D．Making the ancient wreck well preserved. |
| A．It is generally unfit for creatures to live in. | B．It is tough for scientists to do research. |
| C．It contains too many harmful gases. | D．It is filled with rotting wood. |
| A．his curiosity about the time when the ship sank |
| B．his amazement at the ship's previous grandness |
| C．his surprise at the wreck's well-preserved condition |
| D．his shock at the sinking of the great European ship |
| A．The damage to the ship. | B．The causes of the ship's sinking. |
| C．The construction of the ship. | D．The possible function of the ship. |
| A．Recovering the ancient ships, the Pinta and La Nina. |
| B．Finding every aspect of life in the Age of Exploration. |
| C．Exploring the role the ship played in Columbus' exploration. |
| D．Leaning about Columbus' voyage according to the ship's design. |
5 . The Hope Diamond is one of the world’s most famous jewels. It was in the possession of a series of people: kings, bankers, rich women and thieves, before its arrival 60 years ago at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
As a rare blue diamond, it has a complex social history, to be sure. But, far more so is its geological history, researchers say in a new report. This is the first time anyone has come up with a fact-based study or model for how blue diamonds form.
The group looked at 42 blue diamonds, including one from South Africa that recently sold for $25 million in 2016. Researchers could tell where the stones were formed based on the very small minerals trapped inside.
Diamonds are a hard, clear form of pure carbon called a crystal (结晶). They form under extreme heat and pressure. Blue diamonds crystallize alongside water-bearing minerals that long ago were part of the floor of the sea. But these minerals were pushed deeper underground during the movement of the Earth’s plates.
Scientists already knew these diamonds received their blue color from the element boron (硼). The study says that boron had once been in ocean water but was eventually pushed into the seafloor rock. Over millions of years, the boron continued to move deep underground.
Many diamonds appear colorless. Often, however, they have some yellow color. Still others have a light brown, pink or green color. About 99 percent of all diamonds form somewhere between 150 to 200 kilometers underground, a far shallower birthplace than their blue relations. “These diamonds are among the deepest ever found,” Carnegie Institution for Science geochemist Steven Shirey said of the blue diamonds.
The public can see the Hope Diamond at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C.
1. By saying the underlined part in Paragraph 2, the researchers mean the blue diamond ________.| A．was formed in extreme weather |
| B．has a very complex forming history |
| C．has a far-reaching influence in society |
| D．used to be very popular among rich people |
| A．By observing their colors. |
| B．By studying their structures. |
| C．By referring to where they were found. |
| D．By examining tiny substances in them. |
| A．The water. | B．Extreme heat and pressure. |
| C．A special matter. | D．The seafloor rock. |
| A．They contain several colors. |
| B．They form in much deeper underground. |
| C．They come into being in a different way. |
| D．They are found near the earth’s surface. |
| A．The social status of the Hope Diamond. |
| B．The discovery of the Hope Diamond. |
| C．The formation of the blue diamond. |
| D．The diversity of diamonds. |
