China celebrates the Chinese National Day on October 1st every year. The celebration marks the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
For centuries, a succession of different dynasties ruled China,
On October 1st, 1949,
Since 1950, October 1st
2 . The computer is a useful machine. It is the most important invention in many years. The oldest kind of computer is the abacus, used in China centuries ago, but the first large, modern computer was built in 1946. A computer then could do maths problems quite fast.
Today computers are used in many ways and can do many kinds of work. In a few years the computer may touch the life of everyone, even people in faraway villages.
In the last few years, there have been great changes in computers. They are getting smaller and smaller, and computing faster and faster. Many scientists agree that computers can now do many things, but they cannot do everything. Who knows what the computers of tomorrow will be like? Will computers bring good things or bad things to people? The scientists of today will have to decide how to use the computers of tomorrow.
1. The computer is a ______ machine.| A．helpful | B．strange | C．large | D．dangerous |
| A．a few | B．forty | C．sixty | D．eighty |
| A．bigger | B．fewer | C．smaller | D．taller |
| A．everything | B．anything | C．nothing | D．lots of things |
| A．may decide | B．must decide | C．can make | D．needn’t make |
No discussion about Chinese culture is complete without mentioning of the Great Wall. It is one of the most amazing
The hardships involved in building the Great Wall are beyond
Over the centuries, the Great Wall
The well-preserved sections we see today were mainly built during the Ming Dynasty (1368
—1644), among
4 . A huge fire broke out on 2 September 1666 in London. The fire, known as the Great Fire of London, was the worst fire in the history of London. It burned down more than three quarters of the old city.
The fire started in the very early hours of Sunday morning in the house of the king’s baker. A strong wind blew the fire from the baker’s house into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning.
At that time, most of the buildings in London were made of wood, so it was easy for the fire to spread quickly. By eight o’clock, three hundred houses were on fire. By Monday, nearly a kilometre of the city was burning along the Thames River. On Tuesday, which was considered the worst day, the fire destroyed many well-known buildings, including the old St Paul’s Cathedral.
The fire burned until finally hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire were destroyed to create a firebreak. The fire then died out eventually with nothing left to burn.
1. Why is the fire of 1666 called the Great Fire of London?| A．The fire broke out in the capital of England. |
| B．The fire was the worst fire in the history of London. |
| C．People in England will never forget the fire. |
| D．The fire spread fast into Thames Street. |
| A．In the house of the king’s baker. |
| B．In Thames Street. |
| C．In the house of the baker’s neighbour. |
| D．In St Paul’s Cathedral. |
| A．It started in a baker’s house. |
| B．It broke out on a Sunday morning. |
| C．A hotel was next to the baker’s house. |
| D．Most of the buildings in London were wooden. |
| A．The old St Paul’s Cathedral. |
| B．Hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire. |
| C．Hundreds of wooden houses. |
| D．All of the above. |
5 . Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to conquer Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921,the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.
In the 1840s, the main crop, potatoes, were affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.
For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.
The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”. Since independence, Ireland has revived (复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish songs which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.
1. What does the author tell us in paragraph 1?| A．How the Irish fought against the English. | B．How Ireland gained independence. |
| C．How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland. | D．How two “Irelands” came into being. |
| A．Food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in population. |
| B．People are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside. |
| C．It is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker. |
| D．Different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments. |
| A．Life in Ireland | B．A Very Difficult History |
| C．Ireland, Past and Present | D．The Independence of Ireland |
6 . There are 195 countries in the world today and actually none of them have purple on their national flags. Throughout history, purple was never used to represent a kingdom.
So what’s wrong with purple? It’s such a popular color today. The answer is really quite simple. Purple was just far too expensive.
The color purple has been related to royal power and wealth for centuries. Queen Elizabeth I didn’t allow anyone except close members of the royal family to wear it. Purple’s unique position comes from the rarity and high cost of the dye used to produce it. The dye was from a small sea snail that was only found in the Tyre area of the Mediterranean. Over 10,000 snails were needed to create just one gram of Tyrian purple; not to mention lots of work went into producing the dye, which made purple dye so expensive even for some royal families. Third century Roman Emperor Aurelio famously wouldn’t allow his wife to buy a scarf made from purple silk because it cost three times its weight in gold. A single pound of dye cost three pounds of gold, which equals 56,000 dollars today. Therefore, even the richest countries couldn’t spend that much having purple on their flags.
In 1856, 18-year-old English chemist William Henry Perkin by accident created a man-made purple dye while attempting to produce an anti-malaria drug. He noticed that it could be used to dye cloth. He patented the dye and mass-produced it. Therefore everybody could afford it.
Till now, a handful of new national flags have been designed and a few of them have chosen to use purple.
1. Why was color purple expensive in the past?| A．Because only royal families were allowed to wear purple. |
| B．Because it took a long time to get purple dye from snails. |
| C．Because purple was worth as much as its weight in gold. |
| D．Because purple dye used to be uncommon and hard to produce. |
| A．The anti-malaria drug. | B．Snails. |
| C．The man-made purple dye. | D．Tyrian purple. |
| A．A few new national flags have chosen to use purple. |
| B．William Henry Perkin got rich by producing the purple dye. |
| C．Royal families stop using purple because it’s not expensive. |
| D．A single pound of dye cost three pounds of gold. |
| A．No Purple Flags? | B．Purple vs. Gold |
| C．How to Produce Purple Dye? | D．The Birth of Purple Color |
7 . Valencia is in the east part of Spain. It has a port on the sea, two miles away on the coast. It is the capital of a province that is also named Valencia.
The city is a market centre for what is produced by the land around the city. Most of the city’s money is made from farming. It is also a busy business city, with ships, railways, clothes and machine factories.
Valencia has an old part with white buildings, coloured roofs, and narrow streets. The modern part has long, wide streets and new buildings. Valencia is well known for its parks and gardens. It has many old churches and museums. The university in the centre of the city was built in the 13th century.
The city of Valencia has been known since the 2nd century. In the 8th century it was the capital of Spain. There is also an important city in Venezuela (委内瑞拉) named Valencia.
1. From the text, how many places have the name Valencia?| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
| A．2nd century. | B．8th century. | C．13th century. | D．20th century. |
| A．Its seaport. | B．Its university. | C．Its churches and museums. | D．Its parks and gardens. |
| A．markets | B．business | C．factories | D．farming |
The first group, the Romans, came in the first century. Some of their great
9 . People need to relax and enjoy themselves. One way they can have a good time is to watch a baseball game or another sports event. Even thousands of years ago, groups of people gathered to watch skilled athletes(运动员).
Over 2,000 years ago in Greece, some days in the year were festival days. These were holidays when people stopped their work and enjoyed themselves. During festivals, people liked to watch athletes take part in races and other games.
The most important festival was held every four years at the town of Olympia. It was held in honor of the Greek god Zeus. For five days, athletes from all corners of Greece took part in the Olympic Games.
At the Olympic Games, people could watch athletes run, jump and so on. They could also watch exciting races, which included a relay race between two teams in which a lighted torch(火炬) was passed from runner to runner.
The Olympic Games were thought to be so important that cities throughout Greece which were at war with one another had to stop fighting. During the time, people were allowed to travel to the Games safely.
Thousands of people came to the Olympic Games from cities in Greece and from its colonies(殖民地) in Africa, Asia, and Italy. They met as friends to cheer their favorite athletes and to enjoy themselves.
1. What did people do at the Olympic Games?| A．They fought for their freedom. | B．They just talked to friends. |
| C．They cheered good athletes. | D．They tried to find friends. |
| A．Greek cities. | B．Africa and Asia. | C．Italy. | D．All of the above. |
| A．couldn’t go to other cities freely | B．could see what each other do |
| C．win the right to join in the Olympics. | D．respect the Greek god Zeus |
| A．Greece at war | B．Together for the Olympic Games |
| C．Stop fighting | D．Greek people |
10 . Zheng He was one of China's most famous explorers. Towards the end of the fourteenth century, his fleet (舰队) sailed to countries far away.
Zheng He had over 300 ships, some of which were over 150 meters long, and could carry up to 1 ,000 people. Besides, the ships carried gold, silver, silk, china and other treasures to give as gifts to the rulers of other countries. Some ships even had earth on board so that the sailors could grow their crops for food.
On Zheng He's first voyage(航海), he set sail across the Indian Ocean. His fleet travelled many days far away from land. One day, they were hit by a storm. All the sailors thought the fleet was going to sink. Then a strange light appeared and after that,the storm passed. The strange light was probably electricity from the thunderstorm (雷雨),but the sailors in Zheng He's fleet believed it was a sign of protection from the gods. With the belief, they were happy to follow Zheng He wherever he led them.
Zheng He completed seven famous voyages between 1405 and 1433. He visited many countries in Asia and Africa. He brought back many gifts from the countries he visited, such as medicines, pearls (珍珠) and strange animals. The most famous of them were a giraffe and a zebra.
In 28 years of travelling, Zheng He had managed to share the glory of China with many different countries. When he died in 1435,the stories of his travels made him one of China's most famous sailors.
1. On Zheng He's first voyage, he set sail across ________ Ocean.| A．the Atlantic | B．the Indian |
| C．the Pacific | D．the Arctic |
| A．use it as a gift |
| B．use it for exchange |
| C．plant trees for shade |
| D．grow their own crops for food |
| A．his leadership | B．his fame |
| C．the belief in gods' protecting them | D．a heavy storm |
| A．a monkey and a tiger |
| B．a giraffe and a zebra |
| C．gold and silver |
| D．medicines and pearls |
| A．The Glory of China |
| B．Zheng He's Life |
| C．Zheng He and His Voyages |
| D．China's Most Famous Explorers |
