1 . 课文填空

In a way, Pompeii is like a “time capsule”     1     . Before the eruption occurred,     2     with temples, markets, restaurants, and theatres. Now as you walk along the streets of the city, time rewinds. You can admire the ancient architecture, statues, decorated walls and     3     However, much more than buildings and objects, it is the forms of the people who were caught in the disaster that have     4    .

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。

Technological changes brought dramatic new options to Americans living in the 1990s. During this decade new forms of entertainment, commerce, research, and communication     1    (become) commonplace in the U. S. The driving force behind much of this change was an innovation     2    (popular) known as the Internet.

The Internet was developed during the 1970s by the Department of Defense. In the case of an attack, military advisers suggested     3     advantage of being able to operate one computer from another terminal. In the early days, the Internet was used mainly by scientists to communicate with other scientists.

One early problem faced by Internet users was speed. Phone     4    (line) could only transmit information at a limited rate. The development of fiber-optic(光纤) cables allowed billions of bits of information     5    (receive) every minute. Companies like Intel developed faster microprocessors, so personal computers could process the incoming signals     6    (rapidly).

In the early 1990s, the World Wide Web was developed, in large part,     7     commercial purposes. Corporations created home pages     8     they could place text and graphics to sell products. Soon airline tickets, hotel reservations and even cars could be purchased online. Universities posted research data on the Internet, so students could find     9    (value) information without leaving their dormitories. Companies soon discovered that work could be done at home and submitted online, so a whole new class of telecommuters began to earn a living from home offices unshaven and     10    (wear) pajamas(睡衣).

3 . The first organized system for sending messages began in Egypt around 1500 B.C. This system developed because the pharaohs frequently needed to send messages up and down the Nile River in order to keep their empire running smoothly. Later, the Persians developed a more efficient system for sending messages using men and horses. Messages carriers rode along the road system stretching from one end of the Persian Empire to the other. Along these roads, fresh men and horses waited at special stations to take and pass along any messages that needed to be sent. The stations where riders passed messages back and forth were built 23 kilometers apart, so the men and horses were able to travel quickly between them. The Romans later took up his idea and improved it by using a more advanced and extensive road system.

In China, however, Kublai Khan had built up his own system for delivering messages. This system worked in the same basic way as the Roman system. The difference was that Kublai Khan kept 300,000 horses along the roads of this delivery lines. There were over 10,000 stations where a message would be passed from one rider to another with a fresh horse. In this way, Kublai Khan could receive messages from anywhere in the country in only a few days.

It was not until the 1500s that a well-organized postal system appeared again in Europe. One family, the von Taxis family, gained the right to deliver mail for the Holy Roman Empire and parts of Spain. This family continued to carry mail, both government and private, throughout Europe for almost 300 years.

In 1653, a Frenchman, Renouard de Velayer, established a system for delivering post in Paris. Postal charges at that time were paid by the recipient , but de Velayer's system was unique by allowing the sender to pre-pay the charges, in a similar way to the modern stamp. Unfortunately, de Velayer's system came to an end when jealous competitors put live mice in his letter boxes, ruining his business. Eventually, government-controlled postal systems took over from private postal businesses, and by the 1700s government ownership of most postal systems in Europe was an accepted fact of life.

The thing that all these early systems had in common was that they were quite expensive for public use, and were intended for use by the government and the wealthy. However, in 1840, a British schoolteacher named Roland Hill suggested introducing postage stamps, and a postal rate based on weight. This resulted in lowering postal rates, encouraging more people to use the system to stay in touch with each other, His idea helped the British postal system begin to earn profits as early as 1850. Soon after that many other countries took up Mr. Hill's idea. And letter writing became accessible to anyone who could write. Today, the Roland Hill awards are given each year to "encourage and reward fresh ideas which help promote philately"     (stamp collecting).

1. What is the main topic of the passage?

A．How international letters travel.	B．A surprising method for delivering mail.
C．The history of postal systems.	D．Changes in the methods of communication.

2. Which of the following statements about Renouard de Velayer is true?

A．His was a government-controlled system.

B．His competitors destroyed his business.

C．His system lasted for hundreds of years.

D．In his system, the person who received the letter paid the postage fees.

3. Which of the systems mentioned in the passage was most like the postal system today?

A．Egyptian.	B．Chinese.
C．de Velayer's.	D．von Taxis's.

4. What was Roland Hill's greatest achievement?

A．He made letter writing accessible to the average person.

B．He made a lot of money for the British postal system.

C．He made stamp collecting a popular hobby.

D．He won an award for letter writing.

4 . Football is a popular sport with fans all over the world. There is, however, an indoor version of the game     1     (know) as “table football”. It was invented in 1921 and people     2     (get) great pleasure from it since then. The game is played on a special table. Players control their “team” by turning sticks, to which the “players” are attached. As in real football,     3     (point) will be awarded when putting the ball in the other players’ goal. Table football requires using hands and eyes together excellently, which is really exciting.

5 . “For the families of the seven, we can not bear, as you do,     1    But we feel the loss, and we are thinking about you so very much. You     2     , and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, “Give me a challenge and     3    ”. They had     4    and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us.”（根据句意填空）

6 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

Xuan paper, known as one of the Four Treasures of Study, first came into     1     (exist) in Xuan Prefecture in the Tang dynasty. The traditional skill of making the paper     2     hand has been passed down through generations. The process takes as many as 108 steps, all of     3     require a level of delicacy.

Take papermaking master: Zhou Donghong for example. He uses a fine screen to filter (过滤) a mixture of water and fibers. He lifts it up, and it’s a sheet of paper. It takes him and his partner only 15 second     4     (form) and shape it, but they’ve devoted     5     (they) to perfecting the skills for decades.

“There are a lot of     6     (trick)of filtering the fibers, and timing is     7     most difficult part of all. We have only one chance to filter the right amount of fibers, and only the proper weight guarantees the paper neither too thin nor too thick, and the margin (差额) for error is     8     (extreme) small,”said Zhou. With just the right degree of thickness, top quality Xuan paper holds ink tightly.

The skill of papermaking,     9     (recognize) as a national treasure, has also proven to be an international one. We felt a great sense of pride as it was listed as a world intangible culture heritage (非物质文化遗产) by UNESCO in 2009. Since then, in Jingxian County, Xuan papermaking     10     (teach) in schools.

7 . 假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有 10 处语言错误，每句最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除和修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（ \ ）划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分

All the calculations were led to the same conclusion only if you put the sun there did the movements of the other planets make sense. The problem arises because astronomers had noticed that some planets appeared brighter at time and less bright at others. Between 1510 and 1514 Copernicus worked on his new theory, gradual improving it until it was complete. Then he showed it privately for his friends. They encouraged him to publish his ideas, and Copernicus was cautious. He published it as he lay died in 1543. Her theory is now the basis on what all the ideas of universe are built

8 . 请根据所学课文以及所给的首字母（部分词汇）的提示用完整形式填空。

People may wonder why different words are used to describe these four countries: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. You can    1     this question if you study British history.

First there was England. Wales was linked to it in the thirteenth century. Now when people     2     to England you find Wales included as well. Next England and Wales were joined to Scotland in the seventeenth century and the name was changed to “Great Britain”. Happily this was     3     without conflict when King James of Scotland became King of England and Wales as well. Finally the English government tried in the early twentieth century to form the United Kingdom by getting Ireland connected in the same peaceful way. However, the southern part of Ireland was unwilling and broke away to form its own government. So only Northern Ireland joined with England, Wales and Scotland to become the United Kingdom and this was shown to the world in a new flag called the Union Jack.

To their     4     the four countries do work together in some areas (eg, the     5     and international relations), but they still have very different institutions. For example, Northern Ireland, England and Scotland have different educational and legal systems as well as different football teams for competitions like the World Cup!

England is the largest of the four countries, and for     6     it is divided roughly into three zones. The zone nearest France is called the South of England, the middle zone is called the Midlands and the one nearest to Scotland is known as the North. You find most of the population settled in the south, but most of the industrial cities in the Midlands and the North of England. Although,     7    , these cities are not as large as those in China, they have world-famous football teams and some of them even have two! It is a pity that the industrial cities built in the nineteenth century do not attract visitors. For historical     8     you have to go to older but smaller towns built by the Romans. There you will find out more about British history and culture.

The greatest historical treasure of all is London with its museums, art collections, theatres, parks and buildings. It is the center of national government and its     9    . It has the oldest port built by the Romans in the first century AD, the oldest building begun by the Anglo-Saxons in the 1060s and the oldest castle constructed by later Norman rulers in 1066. There has been four sets of invaders of England. The first invaders, the Romans, left their towns and roads. The second, the Anglo-Saxons, left their language and their government. The third, the Vikings, influenced the     10     and place-names of the North of England, and the fourth, the Normans, left castles and introduced new words for food.

If you look around the British countryside you will find evidence of all these invaders. You must keep your eyes open if you are going to make your trip to the United Kingdom enjoyable and worthwhile.

9 . 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。

The Silk Road was a passage for the transportation of silk in ancient times. Lots of relics on the road can still     1    (see) now. From the relics, tourists can see the outline of the ancient metropolitan areas along     2     fantastic road. In the tour packages, tourists can imagine     3     (they) to be ancient merchants by riding camels in deserts.

The Silk Road is a long route, which     4     (cover) several provinces and regions in China,     5     Xi’an in the east to Gansu province and Xinjiang region in the west. If it is your first trip to China, we sincerely suggest you should spend at least ten days visiting Beijing, Xi’an, Dunhuang, Urumqi, etc. You could get to know about the history of China and experience     6     (color) scenery along the Silk Road.

If you are an experienced traveler     7     (want) to explore China fully, it is recommended     8     you travel to Dunhuang, Zhangye, Jiayuguan, Turpan, Kashgar and Urumqi to follow the footprint of Marco Polo. This route may take about 15 days. If you have only a one-week holiday, the     9     (choose) of three most famous cities will be fit for you.

Along the Silk Road route, Xi’an and Gansu province are suitable to visit all-year round. The best time     10    (visit) Xinjiang region is from May to October because the weather is mild.

10 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个恰当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Dragon boat racing, a traditional activity celebrating Duan Wu, also known     1     the Dragon Boat Festival, is enjoying a revival thanks to the     2     (popular) of rowing events and cultural tourism. The sport     3     (begin) in Zigui county of Yichang city in Hubei province. This was home to Qu Yuan, a poet in the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). The festival commemorates his death. Over the past 2,000 years the race     4     (develop) into a sports event. It has now attracted younger generations--college students, for example--     5     (join), breathing new life into the historic custom. For young people, the team game is good for both     6     (they) physical and mental health. They are not only trained to be strong     7     united with other people. Also, it’s a good way to experience the traditional Chinese culture.

Dragon boat racing also brought a travel boom to Zigui county,     8     was named as the “hometown of the Chinese dragon boat”. Its well-preserved boat racing     9     (tradition) are also highly praised. The county, rich in history and folk customs, has been developed into     10     popular destination for travelers. The festival has also become a cultural, sports and cuisine gala for people from home and abroad.