1 . 语法填空

Jia Sixie, author of China's first agricultural encyclopedia, was one of the leading agronomists (农学家) in Chinese history. In the late years of the Northern Wei Dynasty, he wrote Qimin Yaoshu, the     1     (early) and most complete agricultural encyclopedia still in existence in China.

Jia Sixie was born in Yidu County in Shandong Province. During his childhood, Jia's family wasn't wealthy, but had     2     rich collection of books. This provided the young Jia with an opportunity: to read ancient Chinese literature     3     (wide) on agriculture. He completed Qimin Yaoshu during the wars,     4     he saw the sufferings of the poor farmers.     5     he firmly believed was that the development of agriculture could help those farmers out.

The book, which has 92 chapters in 10 volumes and nearly 120,000 characters,     6     (cover) a wide range of topics and records on production experiences and methods. It includes advice on farming, fishery and sideline occupations. In the book, he emphasized the importance of seed breeding in order to cultivate better     7     (variety).

Qimin Yaoshu was first distributed mainly among common people. In the late Tang Dynasty, the book was introduced to Japan. So far, the book     8     (translate) into several languages. Qimin Yaoshu is considered     9     an important summary of farming knowledge. At present, it is still studied by Chinese farmers and students     10     (major) in agriculture.

2 . 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.

2. Where did the fire break out?

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.

3. Why did the fire spread quickly?

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.

4. What was destroyed in the fire?

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.

3 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

The Antonine Plague (瘟疫)

The year was 166 C.E., and the Roman Empire was in its prime. The triumphant Roman troops, under the command of Emperor Lucius Verrus, returned to Rome victorious after     1     (defeat) their Parthian enemies. As they marched west toward Rome, they carried with them more than the spoils of plundered Parthian temples; they also carried an epidemic that     2     (ruin) the Roman Empire over the course of the next two decades.

The Antonine Plague,     3     was known later, would reach every corner of the empire and is     4     most likely claimed the life of Lucius Verrus himself in 169 — and possibly that of his co-emperor Marcus Aurelius in 180.   

The effect of the epidemic on Rome’s armies was apparently devastating. Closeness to sick fellow soldiers and less-than-optimal living conditions made it possible for the outbreak to spread rapidly throughout the troops, such as those     5     (base) along the northern frontier at Aquileia. Troops elsewhere in the empire were similarly stricken.     6     (reverse) their shrinking soldiers, they sent the sons of soldiers to troops. Army discharge certificates from the Balkan region suggest that there was a significant decrease in the number of soldiers who were allowed to retire from military service during the period of the plague.

The effect on the civilian population was evidently by no means     7     (severe). In his letter to Athens in 174, Marcus Aurelius loosened the requirements for membership to the ruling council of Athens,     8     there were now too few surviving upper-class Athenians who met the requirements he had introduced prior to the outbreak.

It has been estimated that the death rate over the 23-year period of the Antonine Plague was 7—10 percent of the population.     9     the practical consequences of the outbreak, such as the destabilization of the Roman military and economy, the psychological impact on the populations could by no means be ignored. It is easy to imagine the sense of fear and helplessness ancient Romans     10     have felt in the face of such a ruthless, painful, disfiguring and frequently fatal disease.

4 . 阅读下面短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个适当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

The 16^th to 18^th centuries witnessed the peak time of Suzhou classical gardens, featuring around 250 gardens. A survey from 2015 to 2018 showed that Suzhou is home     1     108 classical gardens, 57 of     2     are in the historical neighborhood of Gusu District. The gardens reflect the importance of natural beauty in Chinese culture. Great Wave Pavilion, which     3     ( build ) in the 11th century, is the oldest existing garden in Suzhou.

5 . Paper is one of the most important products ever invented by man. Wide spread use of written language would not have been possible without some cheap and practical material to write on. The invention of paper meant that more people could be educated because more books could be printed and distributed. Together with the printing press, paper provided an extremely important way to communicate knowledge.

How much paper do you use every year? Probably you cannot answer that question quickly. In 1900 the world's use of paper was about one kilogram for each person a year. Now some countries use as much as 50 kilograms of paper for each person a year. Countries like the United States, England and Sweden use more paper than other countries.

Paper, like many other things that we use today, was first made in China. In Egypt and the West, paper was not very commonly used before the year 1400. The Egyptians wrote on a kind of material made of a water plant. Europeans used parchment for many hundreds of years. Parchment was very strong; it was made from the skin of certain young animals. We have learnt of the most important facts of European history from records that were kept on parchment.

1. What's the meaning for the word 'parchment'? ________

A．The skin of young animals.

B．A kind of paper made from the skin of certain young animals.

C．The paper used by European countries.

D．The paper of Egypt.

2. Which of the following is not mentioned about the invention of paper? ________

A．More jobs could be provided than before.

B．More people could be educated than before.

C．More books could be printed and distributed.

D．More ways could be used to exchange knowledge.

3. When did the Egyptians begin to use paper widely? ________

A．Around 1400.

B．Around 1900.

C．Around 400.

D．Around 900.

4. Which of the following countries uses more paper for each person a year? ________

A．China.

B．Sweden.

C．Egypt

D．Japan.