1 . In early November of 1503, during Christopher Columbus's fourth and final trip to America, his ship was seriously damaged in a storm. Columbus and his men had to live on a small island for several months while they tried to repair their ship and return to Spain.
At first, the local people on the island were very kind to the European visitors, giving them all the food and clothes they needed to survive. However, as months passed, the local people became more and more unhappy with their guests, who were tricking and stealing from them. Finally the locals decided to stop helping. Without food or any way to leave the island, Columbus's group was soon in serious trouble.
Luckily for Columbus, he had a book about the stars and planets on his ship. It described the movements of all the objects in the night sky. The book, written by a well-known German scientist, said there would be a total lunar eclipse(月全食) on the evening of February 29,1504 and how long it would last.
Columbus worked out the difference in time between Germany and North America. He then had a meeting with the local leaders just before the eclipse would take place. In this meeting, Columbus told them his god was angry because the local people were no longer giving food. So his god would take away the moon to punish them. The moment Columbus finished talking, just as he had planned, the moon began disappearing.
The local leaders grew panicked and quickly agreed to provide Columbus with food and anything else he wanted. But first, Columbus's god had to return the moon. Columbus told them he would have to discuss the idea with his god on his ship. Knowing the moon would stay completely hidden for about 48minutes, Columbus returned just before the moon began to reappear. From that day on, until they finally left, Columbus and his men no longer had any trouble getting the food they needed.
1. The local people became angry because the Europeans ________.A.looked very different | B.had nothing to trade |
C.were cheats and thieves | D.wanted to take their land |
A.From a book. | B.From the moon. |
C.From his group. | D.From the locals. |
A.He discussed the problem with his god. |
B.He waited for the total lunar eclipse to finish. |
C.He read about the stars and planets. |
D.He told his men what happened. |
A.They all believed in God. | B.They never returned to Spain. |
C.They admired the local people. | D.They caused their own problems. |
2 . There was a time an event would not begin without a photographer.“I remember the days when event organizers would even delay a show if the photographer was running late,” says Balachandra Raju,a photographer of Sathyam studio,a still surviving photo studio in India’s southern city of Chennai.
Photo studios are facing extinction in the digital age.But as they struggle to continue doing the business,one research project is looking at ways to preserve their legacy(遗产) by digitizing archival(档案的) pictures.
The project,funded by the British Library,visited around 100 photo studios across the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu and digitized 10,000 prints.Many of the photos were taken between 1880-1980,and they ranged from pictures of families and famous stars to weddings and funerals.“The digital archive will be useful for those interested in history,” Said Zoe E Headley,one of the researchers.Ramesh Kumar,another researcher on the project,called it a “gold mine” for photographers.“The research we’ve done also highlights production techniques used before digital photography arrived in our cities and towns,” he said.
However, the researchers would often find old photos piled on top of one another in the storage room of a studio.“No one had bothered to clean them,” Kumar said,adding that many photos had been damaged due to the hot and wet weather in Tamil Nadu.
The owner of Nallapillai studio in central Tamil Nadu said he spends about 20,000 rupees (£230;$310) each month to run the studio that was founded by his great grandfather almost 150 years ago.To survive in this digital age has been a struggle.“Many customers don’t book us for special events anymore,” he said,adding that they had all got smartphones to do the job.“I’m not sure if photo studios will exist five years from now,” he said.But this is why,according to Mr Raju,this archival project is so important.
1. What’s the main function of the research project?A.Protect the legacy of photo studios. |
B.Speed up the extinction of photo studios. |
C.Search for better ways of taking photos. |
D.Visit all the photo studios across the India. |
A.Photo studios can attract many visitors. |
B.Photographers can have a good working place. |
C.Photographers get to learn about old photography techniques. |
D.Photo studios have the chance to take pictures of famous stars. |
A.Some photo studios are doing well. |
B.Photo studios are booked for special events. |
C.Some photo studios suffer from bad weather. |
D.Photo studios give old pictures little protection. |
A.Hopeful. | B.Negative. |
C.Indifferent. | D.Dissatisfied. |
3 . Many westerners plan their schedules at the beginning of the day, or perhaps a day or two in advance. If you would like to meet with a westerner, you should generally call at least a day in advance. If you do not, the person might plan something else during that time slot (时间空档).
If you make a visit in western countries without prior (提前的) notice, the person you visit may answer the door, but not invite you in.
A.It is best to call ahead. |
B.He may speak to you at the door. |
C.Some people may not follow this rule. |
D.Most westerners enjoy a flexible schedule. |
E.Appointments are required for interviews and business meetings. |
F.A busy schedule means they can’t delay any longer for a walk-in visitor. |
G.Westerners phone in advance of a visit because they all have busy schedules. |
4 . After spending a term in Spain, I have been trying to work out which common impressions on Spain have some truth in them and which don't.
Spain is always warm and sunny. This is not true. The city I stayed in, which is in central Spain, often becomes colder than London in winter. However, the city receives little rain all year round and gets very hot in summer.
The Spanish love to have fun.
Spain is a fascinating country, in which you are sure to have lots of fun. I find that a lot of the common impressions on Spain hold some truth.
A.Spain is famous for its Flamenco. |
B.Here’s what I have discovered so far. |
C.But the country is not limited to them. |
D.I have seen a lot of evidence that this is true. |
E.The following are correct impressions on Spain. |
F.Southern Spain tends to be warmer than northern Spain. |
G.Northern Spain is colder in summer and also colder in winter. |
5 . When you go on a trip to America, you will see the word Motel on signs and notice boards. It is made up of “motor” and “hotel” and it is really a hotel for people who arrive by car (however, you don’t need a car to stay at one). You have to pay when you arrive for your room, which usually has a bath. Meals are not provided but there will certainly be a cafeteria. Americans eat a lot of salads and sandwiches. Along the main roads there are a lot of motels. Each tries to offer more than the others. Some provide television in every bedroom; others have swimming pools and so on. Motels are especially useful when you are in the country, far from a town or city. You will also find them in big national parks.
In these great national parks, you may meet guests you don't expect to see. An American friend told me a short story. In the middle of a moonless night,she heard strange noises outside her motel window in the Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Thinking it might be a thief, she jumped out of bed, opened the door and crept towards a dark shadow. As she got close, she saw the thief. She was dreadfully frightened: it wasn’t a human thief-it was a big black bear. The bear was turning over some empty tins with its paws, looking for tasty bits of food. My friend decided to leave that particular thief alone!
There are also, of course, places called “rooming houses”, where they provide lodges(客房).You will see such signs as Tourists or Rooms Rent, and you could try one of these. A word of warning-looking for a room in New York during the tourist season is like looking for gold on the moon!
1. Motels provide all the following EXCEPT .A.bath | B.TV | C.meals | D.swimming pools |
A.moved slowly | B.rushed out | C.threw away | D.ran fast |
A.tourists can find gold there |
B.it is difficult to find a room there |
C.tourists can have a sweet dream there |
D.there is a warning for tourists to New York |
Grand Canyon National Park has more than six million visitors every year. Tourism brings much-needed money to American Indians in the Grand Canyon area.
To the east of the national park
The Mayan civilization was from a group of people
The Mayan civilization was the most important between the years of 250 AD and 900 AD.
The Maya people traded with other people in the Americas. They made changes to their buildings to make them much
The Mayan civilization started getting smaller after 900 AD. The Spanish arrived in
There is a gigantic study that’s been done in 38 cultures.
Take a cartoon
Dear Mike,
How are you?I am so glad to tell you anything about the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is a traditional festival with a long history in China. It is of very popular and is also celebrated in much other Asian countries. The festival fell on the 15th day of August in the lunar calendar or is celebrated in different ways. It is a time to get together with family and friends. People usually have a get-together, enjoy a large meal. In the evening, people talk and eat moon cakes under the beautiful moon. Children prefer to listen to fairy tales while adults appreciate bright full moon in the open air. The moon is a symbol of reunion, lucky and wealth. It is also a custom to express best wish to people they love at this particularly time.
Welcome to China to enjoy this festival with us one day.
Yours,
Zhang Feng
10 . The world is a colorful landscape of different languages, skin colors, and different cultures. It's important to have a good understanding of different cultures in order to become a well-rounded person
One way is to read books written by authors from a particular culture. Reading works by authors who have a close relationship with a particular culture allows people to gain an authentic glimpse into the food, music, language, religion, and way of a life of a particular group of people.
Another way to learn about different cultures is to try to learn a foreign language.
Communicating with people from other countries through email or snail mail is another useful way to become familiar with different cultures.
A.Trying authentic food from a specific cultural group is also a great idea. |
B.The Internet has made it possible to communicate with others from different countries. |
C.Making contact with native speakers of the language allows one to gain firsthand knowledge. |
D.There are several ways to become knowledgeable about different cultures. |
E.Stories based on a local culture expose one to a different culture. |
F.One way to develop this appreciation is to try to team about other cultures around the world. |
G.A variety of language-learning books, software, and audio programs is available. |