2 . If you want to understand China but can’t afford an expensive international flight, these four books can give you a complete overview of the country.

River Town

River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler — This book is a journal of the author’s two years spent teaching English in a small town called Fuling, situated on the banks of the Yangtze River. Hessler writes about his experiences living in a foreign culture and observing the lives of the town’s residents. The book was published in 2001 and has won several awards, including the Kiriyama Prize.

Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China

It is a book that tells the story of China’s modernization. It was written by Ezra Vogel and published in 2011. The author describes how Deng Xiaoping’s policies led to significant changes in China’s economy and society. The book has received critical honors and won the Lionel Gelber Prize in 2012.

The Search for Modern China by Jonathan Spence

This book is a comprehensive history of China from the Ming dynasty to the present day. The author, a prominent scholar of Chinese history, provides a detailed analysis of the social, cultural, and political changes that have taken place in China over the past 500 years. The book was first put out in 1990 and has since been revised and updated several times. This book was the top bestseller for years.

Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China

Written by Leslie T. Chang, this book, published in 2008, is a reportage on the lives of young women who leave their rural homes to work in factories in China’s cities. Chang, a former New York Times journalist, interviewed hundreds of factory girls to provide insight into the social and economic changes in China.

1. What type of literature is River Town?

A．A travel guide of Fuling.	B．A personal diary.
C．A science fiction.	D．A reference book.

2. Which statement is right about The Search for Modern China by Jonathan Spence?

A．It received positive reviews.

B．It was published 500 years ago.

C．It was written by a history teacher.

D．It has remained the same since its first publication.

3. Which book is written by a reporter?

A．River Town

B．The Search for Modern China

C．Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China

D．Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China

4 . The upcoming China-Central Asia Summit is to be held in Xi’an, which has a history of over 3,000 years and enjoys a reputation as a “Living History Museum”. If you are among the participants, just enjoy the following.

The Terracotta Army

It is one of the greatest discoveries of the 20th century. Discovered in 1974, the army of Terracotta Warriors was constructed by China’s First Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC) with a collection of thousands of life-size terracotta soldiers and horses differing in facial features and expressions, clothing, hairstyle and also body position.

Ancient City Wall

It was built in the 14th century by Zhu Yuanzhang, the first Emperor of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Now it is one of the oldest and best-preserved Chinese city walls. The wall is now a landmark, where you can enjoy a good view of the city.

Giant Wild Goose Pagoda

One of China’s most famous Buddhist pagodas, the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, was built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) for the study of Buddhist scriptures (经典). One of its main functions was to store scriptures brought to China from India by the famous monk and traveler Xuan Zang.

Shaanxi History Museum

It is home to over 370,000 precious treasures unearthed in Shaanxi. Its collections range from bronze wares to pottery (陶) figures, gold and paintings from the Tang Dynasty tombs. Among its precious collections, some pieces have been listed as national treasures.

1. Where can you go if you’re into ancient China’s troops?

A．The Terracotta Army.	B．Ancient City Wall.
C．Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.	D．Shaanxi History Museum.

2. What do the four attractions have in common?

A．They date back to 1, 000 years ago.

B．They have wonderful tall buildings.

C．They show the great historical charm of Xi’an.

D．They have a wide range of precious collections.

3. Who is the passage mainly intended for?

A．The travelers to Xi’an.

B．The history-lovers to Xi’an.

C．The participants to a summit in Xi’an.

D．The visitors to a famous museum in Xi’an.

5 . The best spring destinations in Tibet

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has long been an ideal and mysterious destination for visitors. Now with the arrival of spring, the climate is becoming more pleasant and Tibet has become an even better trowel destination. Here we recommend some of the best tourist destinations in Tibet which might suit your travel taste.

Peach blossom valley: Nyingchi

The peach blossoms in Nyingchi, Tibet Autonomous Region have been named as “the most beautiful peach flowers in the world”. A great time to visit Nyingchi for the peach blossoms would usually be from March 20 to Apil 15 each year.

The peach blossom valley in Bomi County, Nyingchi, stretches for 30 kilometers, making it one of the longest in China. Peach blossoms can be seen everywhere- around houses, across farmlands and along streams. Peach trees bloom depending on the altitude and climate, so visitors will have the chance to enjoy the blossoms throughout April.

The Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon

The Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon is the deepest canyon in the world. With a total length of about 500 kilometers, its altitude spans from 1,182 meters at Namchak Barwa, the highest peak of the eastern Himalayas, to 550 meters around the Yarlung Zangbo River Valley in Metog County.

One unique feature of the spring sight here is that visitors can enjoy both the peach blossoms and the snow-capped mountains at the same time.

Nanyi Valley

Nanyigou scenic spot is 20 kilometers away from Milin County and is an important birthplace of the mysterious Tibetan medicine culture. The scenic area rovers a total area of 820 hectares. The ecological conditions here are so good that the place is rich in various animal and plant species.

Surrounded by mountains and shrouded (遮蔽) in clouds, Nanyi Valley is an ideal spring destination for visitors, where you can find peach and azalea blossoms everywhere.

1. What do the three tourist destinations have in common?

A．They are all covered with snow.

B．They are rich in various animal and plant species.

C．They provide beautiful peach blossoms for visitors.

D．They are the birthplaces of the Tibetan medicine culture.

2. What can we learn from The Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon?

A．It’s the second deepest canyon In the world.

B．Visitors can have fun from March 20 to April 15 each year.

C．It is 550 meters away from the eastern Himalayas.

D．Visitors can admire the snow-capped mountains there.

3. Which column in the newspaper can we find this article?

A．Tourism.

B．Technology.

C．Agriculture.

D．Photography.

6 . In the middle of the Pacific Ocean lies the tiny island nation of Tuvalu, the fourth smallest country in the world. This group of four islands and five atolls (islands made of coral rock) is famous for its sandy beaches and turquoise (青绿色的) waters and has long been a popular tourist destination for nearby New Zealanders. However, the nation of Tuvalu is at the risk of soon no longer existing, not because of war or political change, but because it will be covered by the rising ocean.

Tuvalu is experiencing the harmful effects of global warming. As the global temperature rises, so does the ocean temperature. Due to the scientific law of “thermal expansion”, when water heats, it gets bigger.     1    . Most experts claim that the effects of climate change will make Tuvalu uninhabitable within the next 50 years. Problems are already emerging. As sea level rises, ocean water containing high levels of salt is travelling further and further inland, destroying the little amount of soil Tuvaluans have to grow crops in.

Even before Tuvaluans began to suffer from the effects of climate change, the life in Tuvalu was tough.     2    . Most of the land on an atoll is rock-hard and arid and the soil that exists on it is usually thin and poor for growing crops. The nation has always had to import food apart from fish.

More serious than Tuvalu’s lack of home-grown food has been its lack of drinking water.     3    . Therefore, Tuvaluans depend almost entirely on rainwater for their water needs. Unfortunately, due to a geographical phenomenon known as La Nina, Tuvalu often suffers from long periods of drought. In the autumn of 2010, after seven months of no rain, the Prime Minister had to declare a state of emergency not only because of a lack of drinking water, but also because the water left was polluted with cholera (霍乱).    4    .

Tuvalu’s problems have led some of its 11,000 inhabitants to consider migrating to Australia or New Zealand.     5    . They know they’ll have to someday, but for as long as possible, they want to remain and make the world aware of what is happening to their homeland due to climate change.

A．It was a desperate situation and, but for emergency shipments from New Zealand and Australia, many Tuvaluans would have died.

B．This is largely due to the geological makeup of atolls.

C．Unlike normal islands, atolls have no rivers or streams, which means that most of Tuvalu has no groundwater to be used for drinking.

D．Tuvalu’s representatives demanded that nations should have a more responsible attitude towards emission controls.

E．Therefore, the sea level is rising and for low-lying Tuvalu, this spells disasters.

F．However, they are not willing to abandon the land of their forefathers so easily.

G．And as a member of the United Nations, they are doing just that.

10 . Ho Khanh is a middle-aged farmer, living in a village on the edge of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Vietnam. What is special about him is that he has discovered Son Doong, the largest cave in the world.

“I first found the cave about thirty years ago, in 1991,” he says. “I was out collecting firewood near the national park. My family were very poor, so I decided to go deeper into the forest to find some aloe, which is very valuable. Not many people went that far into the forest because they were afraid of the wild animals.”

Soon Khanh lost his way. “I sat down with my back to a huge round rock,” he says. “Then I heard the sound of a strong wind and running water coming from behind me.” He found the entrance to a huge cave, with a wide river coming out of it. Khanh thought he was walking into a great cave. With no ropes or lights, he did not go further into it.

Khanh’s story spread like wildfire, but not everyone believed him. “I wanted to prove that I was telling the truth, but I couldn’t remember the way to the cave.” Then one morning early in the winter of 2006, a group of cavers from Britain came to ask Khanh for help, as they had heard about his discovery fifteen years before.

Khanh agreed to help the team to find the cave, but after three days in the jungle, they lost their way. “I just couldn’t remember where it was,” he says. The team came back twice, but each time they were beaten by the thick jungle. Finally the cavers left.

In 2009, Khanh headed to the jungle one cold winter’s morning. “I stopped by a big round rock,” he says. “There was the same strong wind, the sound of water running — I knew I’d found the cave at long last.” Soon the British cavers returned and followed Khanh on a six-hour trip deep into the jungle. On April 14 they found Son Doong.

1. What is the text mainly about?

A．How Son Doong was discovered.	B．How Son Doong got its name.
C．A young farmer in Vietnam.	D．A national park in Vietnam.

2. Ho Khanh first discovered Son Doong when he was __________.

A．looking for aloe	B．collecting firewood
C．catching some animals	D．cutting down trees in the forest

3. What did the British cavers think of Ho Khanh’s story?

A．They doubted it.	B．They believed it.
C．They were uncertain of it.	D．They had little interest in it.