1 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

In much of Asia, especially the so-called “rice bowl” cultures of China, Japan, Korea,     1     Vietnam, food is usually eaten with chopsticks.

Chopsticks are usually two long, thin pieces of wood or bamboo. They can also be made of plastic, animal bone or metal. Sometimes chopsticks are quite artistic. Truly elegant chopsticks might     2     (make) of gold and silver with Chinese characters. Skilled workers also combine various hardwoods and metal     3     (create) special designs.

The Chinese have used chopsticks for five thousand years. People probably cooked their food in large pots,     4     (use) twigs (树枝) to remove it. Over time,     5     the population grew, people began cutting food into small pieces so it would cook more quickly.

Food in small pieces could be eaten easily with twigs which     6    (gradual) turned into chopsticks.

Some people think that the great Chinese scholar Confucius,     7     lived from roughly 551 to 479 B.C., influenced the     8     (develop) of chopsticks. Confucius believed knives would remind people of killings and     9     (be) too violent for use at the table.

Chopsticks are not used everywhere in Asia. In India, for example, most people traditionally eat     10     their hands.

2 . D
Freedom and Responsibility
Freedom’s challenge in the Digital Age is a serious topic. We are facing today a strange new world and we are all wondering what we are going to do with it.
Some 2,500 years ago Greece discovered freedom. Before that there was no freedom. There were great civilizations, splendid empires, but no freedom anywhere. Egypt and Babylon were both tyrannies ,   one very powerful man ruling over helpless masses.
In Greece, in Athens (雅典), a little city in a little country, there were no helpless masses. And Athenians willingly obeyed the written laws which they themselves passed, and the unwritten, which must be obeyed if free men live together. They must show each other kindness and pity and the many qualities without which life would be very painful unless one chose to live alone in the desert.The Athenians never thought that a man was free if he could do what he wanted. A man was free if he was self-controlled. To make yourself obey what you approved was freedom. They were saved from looking at their lives as their own private affair. Each one felt responsible for the welfare of Athens, not because it was forced on him from the outside, but because the city was his pride and his safety. The essential belief of the first free government in the world was liberty for all men who could control themselves and would take responsibility for the state.
But discovering freedom is not like discovering computers. It cannot be discovered once for all. If people do not prize it, and work for it, it will go. Constant watch is its price. Athens changed. It was a change that took place without being noticed though it was of the extreme importance, a spiritual change which affected the whole state. It had been the Athenian’ s pride and joy to give to their city. That they could get material benefits from her never entered their minds. There had to be a complete change of attitude before they could look at the city as an employer who paid her citizens for doing her work. Now instead of men giving to the state, the state was to give to them. What the people wanted was a government which would provide a comfortable life for them; and with this as the primary object, ideas of freedom and self-reliance and responsibility were neglected to the point of disappearing. Athens was more and more looked on as a cooperative business possessed of great wealth in which all citizens had a right to share.
Athens reached the point when the freedom she really wanted was freedom from responsibility. There could be only one result. If men insisted on being free from the burden of self-dependence and responsibility for the common good, they would cease to be free. Responsibility is the price every man must pay for freedom. It is to be had on no other terms. Athens, the Athens of Ancient Greece, refused responsibility; she reached the end of freedom and was never to have it again. But, “the excellent becomes the permanent”, Aristotle said. Athens lost freedom forever, but freedom was not lost forever for the world. A great American, James Madison, referred to: “The capacity (能力) of mankind for self-government.” No doubt he had not an idea that he was speaking Greek. Athens was not in the farthest background of his mind, but once man has a great and good idea, it is never completely lost. The Digital Age cannot destroy it. Somehow in this or that man’s thought such an idea lives though unconsidered by the world of action. One can never be sure that it is not on the point of breaking out into action only sure that it will do so sometime.
1. What does the underlined word “tyrannies” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Countries where their people need help.

B．Powerful states with higher civilization.

C．Splendid empires where people enjoy freedom.

D．Governments ruled with absolute power.

2. People believing in freedom are those who________ .

A．regard their life as their own business

B．seek gains as their primary object

C．behave within the laws and value systems

D．treat others with kindness and pity

3. What change in attitude took place in Athens?

A．The Athenians refused to take their responsibility.

B．The Athenians no longer took pride in the city.

C．The Athenians benefited spiritually from the government.

D．The Athenians looked on the government as a business.

4. What does the sentence “There could be only one result.” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A．Athens would continue to be free.

B．Athens would cease to have freedom.

C．Freedom would come from responsibility.

D．Freedom would stop Athens from self-dependence.

5. Why does the author refer to Aristotle and Madison?

A．The author is hopeful about freedom.

B．The author is cautious about self-government.

C．The author is skeptical of Greek civilization.

D．The author is proud of man’s capacity.

6. What is the author’s understanding of freedom?

A．Freedom can be more popular in the digital age.

B．Freedom may come to an end in the digital age.

C．Freedom should have priority over responsibility.

D．Freedom needs to be guaranteed by responsibility.

3 . In the 19^th century, Americans from the eastern states moved out west to settle in the rich new lands along the Pacific Coast. The most difficult part of their trip was crossing “the Great American Desert” in the western part of the United States by horse and wagon.
The western desert can be very dangerous. There is little water and there are few trees. But the desert also has scenery of great beauty. Tall towers of red and yellow stone rise sharply from the flat, sandy valley floor. The scene has been photographed many times and appears in movies and on TV.
In Arizona, man-made dams across the Colorado River have made two large lakes in the middle of the dry desert country. At Lake Powell, the red stone arch of Rainbow Bridge rises high above the blue lake.
There are few roads. Many areas of Lake Powell’s shore can only be reached by boat or on foot. But hikers in this empty desert land sometimes find very old native American pictures, painted on the rocks.
In Death Valley, California, the summer temperature rises to 130°F—165°F. There is less than inches of rain each year. Death Valley is the lowest place in America---925 metres below sea level. In the 1800s, many travelers died when they tried to cross this waterless valley in the terrible heat.
Although the desert is dry and seems empty, there is plenty of life if you look closely. Snakes and rats have learned how to live in the desert heat. They live underground and come out at night, when it is cool. Plants such as cacti need very little water. When it does rain in the desert (sometimes only once or twice a year), plants grow quickly, and flowers open in a single day. For a short time, the desert is covered with brilliant (very bright) colours.
1. In the 19^th century, Americans moved from east to west because they            .

A．enjoyed the trip	B．wanted to make their home there
C．wanted to find new grassland there	D．had no water to drink

2. From this passage. we can conclude that         .

A．the western desert is a good place for people to live in

B．there is little water but there are many trees in the desert

C．the desert is dangerous but it is full of beauty

D．till now, people know little about the desert

3. In the 1800s, many travelers died in Death Valley because of            .

A．illness	B．high temperature
C．cold weather	D．poisonous water

4. In the desert, animals will die           .

A．if they move about	B．if they can’t make holes underground
C．if they come out at night	D．if they drink much water

4 . The Chinese invented paper in 105 A. D. They mixed the bark of a tree and rags (破布) with water, put a screen into the mixture, and lifted out a thin piece of wet paper. They dried the paper in the sun.
The Chinese kept their secret of how to make paper until a war with Muslims in the ninth century. The art of papermaking soon spread throughout the Muslim world.
The Mayan Indians in Central America and Pacific Islanders also discovered how to make paper, but their knowledge never spread to the rest of the world.
For centuries, all paper was made by hand. Rags were the main material. Then a French scientist discovered that people could make paper from wood, too. Finally, in the eighteenth century. a Frenchman invented a machine to make paper from wood.
1. Who discovered how to make paper?

A．The Chinese.	B．The Pacific Islanders.
C．The Mayan Indians.	D．All of the above.

2. When did the Chinese invent paper according to the passage?

A．About 1 ,800 years ago.

B．About 1, 900 years ago.

C．About 2, 000 years ago.

D．About 2, 100 years ago.

3. How was papermaking introduced into the rest of the world from China?

A．Through wars.

B．Through the Muslims.

C．Through the Mayan Indians.

D．Through the Pacific Islanders.

4. Which of the following is the best title for this passage?

A．The Invention of Paper.

B．The History of Papermaking.

C．Different Ways of Making Paper.

D．The Invention of a Papermaking Machine.