The Yellow Crane Tower is one of the Four Great Towers of China.
注意：1.词数 150 左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：打磨burnish
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Naturally green, red, yellow, or white, jade (玉) is a special rock. It’s important to Chinese culture
Jade is classified into soft jade and hard jade. One type of hard jade is called feicui in Chinese that is now
Chinese people love jade not only because of
Jade is so firmly established in Chinese culture
4 . Many of China’s ancient architectural treasures smashed to dust before Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng began documenting them in the 1930s. The husband and wife team were among the first preservationists to operate in China, and by far the best known. Their efforts have since inspired generations of people to speak out for architecture threatened by the rush toward development.
Becoming China’s best architectural historians was no easy accomplishment. The buildings they wanted to save were centuries old located in distant parts of the country. In many cases, they had to journey through dangerous conditions in the Chinese countryside to reach them. Exploring China’s remote areas during the 1930s meant traveling muddy, poorly maintained roads by mule (骡子) or on foot. Inns were often dirty, food could be polluted, and there was always risk or violence from rebels, soldiers and robbers.
Their greatest discovery was the Temple of Buddha’s Light, in Wutai County, Shanxi Province. The breathtaking wooden temple was built in 857 A. D. , making it the oldest building known in China at the time.
Liang and Lin crawled into the temple’s most forbidding, forgotten areas to determine its age, including one hideaway inhibited by thousands of bats and millions of bedbugs, covered in dust and littered with dead bats. “In complete darkness and among the awful smell, hardly breathing, with thick masks covering our noses and mouths, we measured, drew, and photographed with flashlights for several hours. When at last we came out to take a breath of fresh air, we found hundreds of bedbugs in our bag. We ourselves had been badly bitten. Yet the importance and unexpectedness of our find made those the happiest hours of my years hunting for ancient architecture.” Liand wrote of the experience in an account included in “Liang and Lin; Partners in Exploring China’s Architectual Past.”
1. On their way to the ancient buildings, what kind of difficulties and risks do Liang and Lin face?| A．Poor accommodations and personal security. |
| B．Poor accommodations and smelly areas. |
| C．Broken vehicles and violence from robbers. |
| D．Broken vehicles and muddy roads. |
| A．documenting smashed historical buildings |
| B．rebuilding historically valuable buildings |
| C．saving the oldest temples in China |
| D．protecting historical buildings. |
| A．Creativeness results in discovery |
| B．Difficulty produces achievement |
| C．Efforts contribute to happiness |
| D．Responsibilities contribute to development |
1. Who had the priority to travel by plane during the Second World War?
| A．Ordinary people. |
| B．Common soldiers. |
| C．Important officials. |
| A．He was an ordinary cook in a cafeteria. |
| B．He did secret work for the government. |
| C．He worked as a reporter for the army. |
| A．He had taken a very important person’s seat. |
| B．He arrived in London earlier than expected. |
| C．The scheduled report had been canceled. |
As he walked out of the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, he looked like an average repairman.
It sounds incredible, but it’s a true story. On August 20, 1911, Perugia went into the museum and
Police looked all over the world — Russia, Japan, and Brazil. They even interviewed Perugia, but they let him go! Police continued
7 . A letter written by Charles Darwin in 1875 has been returned to the Smithsonian Institution Archives(档案馆) by the FBI after being stolen twice.
“We realized in the mid-1970s that it was missing,” says Effie Kapsalis, head of the Archives. “It was noted as missing and likely taken by an intern (实习生), from what the FBI is telling us. Word got out that it was missing when someone asked to see the letter for research purposes,” and the intern put the letter back. “The intern likely took the letter again once nobody was watching it.”
Decades passed. Finally, the FBI received a clue that the stolen letter was located very close to Washington, D.C. Their art crime team got back the letter but were unable to accuse the suspect because the time of limitations had ended. The FBI worked closely with the Archives to determine that the letter was both genuine and exactly belonged to Smithsonian.
The letter was written by Darwin to thank an American geologist, Dr. Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden, for sending him copies of his research into the geology of the area that would become Yellowstone National Park.
The letter is in fairly good condition, in spite of being out of the care of trained museum staff for so long. “It was luckily in good shape,” says Kapsalis, “and we just have to do some minor things in order to be able to unfold it. It has some glue on it that has colored it slightly, but nothing that will prevent us from using it. One of our goals is to get items of high research value or interest to the public online.”
It would be difficult to steal things like the letter. “Archiving practices have changed greatly since the 1970s,” says Kapsalis, “and we keep our high value objects in a safe that I can’t even reach.”
1. What happened to Darwin’s letter in the 1970s?| A．It was got back by the FBI. | B．It was stolen more than once. |
| C．It was bought by the archives. | D．It was put in the archives for research purpose. |
| A．They proved its real identity. | B．They kept it in a safe. |
| C．They helped repair the letter. | D．They accused the suspect but failed. |
| A．Display it in the Archives. |
| B．Turn it into an item of interest. |
| C．Carry out a major repair. |
| D．Make it available on line. |
| A．People grow more interested in art objects |
| B．Strict safety measures are taken in Archives. |
| C．The value of museum objects has been increased. |
| D．The letter helped Ferdinand do research into geology. |
8 . On a July afternoon in 1937, 15-year-old Betty Brown was playing with her father’s shortwave radio at home in Florida. She was searching for her favorite songs so she could copy the lyrics（词句） down in a notebook. While daydreaming, Brown turned the dial on the radio until she heard something that made her stop. It was a voice that sounded familiar. Back in those days, news clips（新闻摘要） were played at movie theatres. Brown recognized the voice from one of the news film she had seen.
“I heard Amelia Earhart in a frightened voice, a heartbreaking voice,” Brown recalled in a 2007 interview. “She was saying, ‘This is Amelia Earhart Putnam, please help me. Please hear me.’”
Brown quickly began writing down what she heard --- parts of desperate conversations between the woman who she believed was Earhart and an unknown man. Later, she descided that the man must have been Earhart’s navigator（领航员）, Fred Noonan. As the signal faded in and out, Brown never left the radio. She scribbled（潦草地写） away as Earhart and Noonan struggled for control of the radio. Earhart tried to prevent Noonan from leaving the plane after they had obviously crash-landed. All the while, Earhart repeated strings of numbers and mentioned rising water. After about three hours, Earhart and Noonan were seemingly forced to give up the plane as it was filled with water, and the distress calls（遇险呼救） stopped.
Brown and her father both tried to give her notes to the United States Coast Guard, but they were told that the situation was under control. The search for Earhart was given up after a great effort was made, and Brown finally stopped trying to tell people what she heard. But she kept her notebook. In 2000, people from an organization researching Earhart’s disappearance asked to see it. The researchers were convinced that Brown’s notes were reliable. If the researchers are right, the notes are a priceless, yet sorrowful, record of the sad ending of an American hero.
1. Betty Brown stayed by the radio for so long because she ________.| A．was waiting for her music to come back on |
| B．enjoyed recording people’s conversation |
| C．wanted to gather more information about Earhart’s situation |
| D．wanted to take notes for a book about Earhart |
| A．did not want to look for Earhart | B．did not take Brown’s notes seriously |
| C．wanted Brown to help them find Earhart | D．already knew where Earhart was |
| A．She hoped that it would be worth some money. |
| B．She felt Amelia Earhart would someday be found. |
| C．She wanted to write a song about Amelia Earhart. |
| D．She believed it contained valuable information. |
| A．Determined | B．Outstanding | C．Independent | D．Careless. |
He summoned（召集）the best artists and architects from India, Turkey, Persia and Arabia and finally, the design was complete. It took more than twenty thousand men working over a period of 18 years to build the Taj Mahal, one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.
The building itself stands on a marble platform 29 meters square and 6-7 meters high. Towers rise from each of the four corners. The Taj itself soars another 61 meters into the air. It is an eight-sided building made of white marble.
The emperor planned to build an identical tomb of black marble for himself on the other side of the river connected by a silver bridge. However his son put him into a prison in the palace before he could finish, and for the rest of his life, he could only gaze across river at the tomb of his beloved wife.
1. The whole passage tells us about ______.
| A．a beautiful fairy tale |
| B．the story of the Taj Mahal |
| C．white and black marble tombs made for two emperors |
| D．the love story of Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife |
| A．It was completed quickly owing to the efforts of the best artists and workers. |
| B．A lot of people took part in the building work |
| C．It is a magnificent building. |
| D．It is a tomb for the emperor’s beloved wife. |
| A．61 meters high | B．eight-sided |
| C．black-colored | D．white-colored |
| A．died soon after Taj Mahal died |
| B．was killed by his son |
| C．was beloved by his people |
| D．died after 1648 |
10 . Once Napoleon stayed in a small inn. The next morning, he went to thank the innkeeper.
“You have served me well, innkeeper,” said Napoleon. “I wish to reward you. Tell me what you want.”
“Sir, we want nothing,” said the innkeeper. “But will you tell us something?”
“What is it?” Napoleon asked.
“We have heard a story,” said the innkeeper, “that once during the war, a small village was taken by the Russians. You happened to be in the village. You hid while they looked for you. Will you tell us how you felt when they were looking for you?” Napoleon looked very angry. He called in two of his soldiers. Then he pointed to the door. The soldiers took the innkeeper and his wife out into the yard.
At the end of the yard was a wall. The innkeeper and his wife were led to the wall. The soldiers tied the hands of the innkeeper and his wife. Napoleon watched, saying nothing.
“Please, sir.” begged the innkeeper, “Don’t kill us! We meant nothing!” The soldiers moved back. The innkeeper saw them raising their guns. Then Napoleon called: “Ready! Aim!” The wife screamed. “Stop!” said Napoleon. He went to the innkeeper, “Now, you know the answer to the question you asked me just now, don’t you?”
1. Why did the innkeeper ask Napoleon to tell him how Napoleon felt when he was being looked for?
| A．He wanted to know the difference between a general and an ordinary people. |
| B．He looked down upon Napoleon, for he thought a great man shouldn’t be defeated. |
| C．He showed his sympathy(同情) to Napoleon in time of danger. |
| D．He was interested in other’s failure, especially Napoleon’s. |
| A．because he wanted to teach the innkeeper a good lesson for bothering him. |
| B．because he wanted to kill the couple to get rid of his anger. |
| C．because he wanted to show that he was so admiring a general that nobody could upset him. |
| D．because he wanted to made the innkeeper know that a general like him had the same feeling as the ordinary people in face of danger. |
| A．Napoleon’s Trick | B．Napoleon and an Innkeeper |
| C．Napoleon’s Anger | D．Napoleon’s ride |
