A.About thirty-five centuries ago. |
B.About twenty-five centuries ago. |
C.About fifty centuries ago. |
2 . Here are some properties that the British royal family owns.
Buckingham Palace | The most famous palace for the British monarchy(君主), Buckingham Palace, is easily recognized. It was originally built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 and acquired by King George Ⅲ in 1761 and has remained in the royal family ever since. This is where the family tends to greet visitors and crowds, and serves as the administrative offices of the monarch of the United Kingdom. It is valued at $4.9 billion. |
The Diamond Diadem(王冠) | This Diamond Diadem was made in 1820 for George Ⅳ, which was regularly worn by Queen Victoria after it was reset with jewels from the royal collection. Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ wore it in 1953. The jewelry experts estimated it to be worth around $ 6.9 million. |
Painting by Claude Monet | The royal family is known for its extensive art collection as well. This is “Study of Rocks; Creuse: ‘Le Bloc’” by Claude Monet (1840-1926). In 1949, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother purchased it for $2,300, and by the time of her death in 2002, it was worth about $17,000. The Monet painting hung in her main residence at Clarence House for several years, but is now on display at Buckingham Palace. |
Tower of London | It’s built in 1066. It’s not a working palace any more, but it used to be. The Tower of London, officially called His Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, now functions as a museum and is a protected World Heritage Site due to its extensive history. It’s also the single most valuable piece of property in the United Kingdom, estimated to be worth about $81 billion. |
A.It was built in memory of King George Ⅲ. |
B.All the British royal family lives there. |
C.It’s a working place of the British monarchy. |
D.The Diamond Diadem is on display there. |
A.It has the shortest history. |
B.Its value cannot be estimated by money. |
C.It was passed down by previous monarchs. |
D.It was Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother’s favorite. |
A.Buckingham Palace. | B.The Diamond Diadem. |
C.Painting by Claude Monet. | D.Tower of London. |
3 . Icehouse and ice ticket
As early as Pre-Qin Dynasty, people used natural ice to keep food fresh and make cold drinks. The Zhou royal court had a specialized department called “ice administration”. They collected natural ice blocks each December to store in the icehouse. During the Qing Dynasty, “ice tickets” were used and they were available only to officials and the rich.
Ice container
The most commonly used cooling tool is called “Jian”, which is a big container filled with ice. It was made of clay in early Chinese history, and was later made of copper (铜). The “Jian” can be seen as an ancient refrigerator, which can be used to make cold drinks.
Hiding food in the well
During the Qin and Han dynasties, for common people, the most common way to cool off is by using their wells. Some families put a pot in the well as a cold closet, or put food in a basket and lowered the basket into the well with a rope.
Herbal drinks
During the Qing Dynasty, taking Chinese herbal medicine was popular in Beijing. In hot summer, some people preferred to drink ice water, some boiled perilla leaves, and liquorice as summer soup to keep off the heat. Ancient people also loved to make lotus seed soup in summer for the benefit of strengthening the body.
1. What does “Jian” have the same function as?A.Container. | B.Refrigerator. | C.Clay. | D.Copper. |
A.Ice tickets. | B.Ice container. | C.Hiding food in the well. | D.Herbal drinks. |
A.To strengthen the body. | B.To keep food fresh. |
C.To escape the summer heat. | D.To make cold drinks. |
4 . Once Popular Sports in Ancient Capital Xi'an
The ancient capital Xi'an in Northwest China's Shaanxi province is holding the National Games. As the capital of 13 dynasties throughout Chinese history, the ancient city has never been far from sports. Starting from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, the city has held many sports events.
Cuju: Origin of modern soccer
Cuju was an ancient Chinese competitive game involving kicking a ball through an opening into a net. As the ancestor of soccer, it first appeared in the renowned ancient Chinese historical work Zhan Guo Ce(“Strategies of the Warring States”), which describedCuju as a form of entertainment among the general public. Later, cuju was commonly played in the army for military training purposes, during the Han Dynasty.
Jiaodi: Chinese-style wrestling
Sumo, known as Japan's “national sport”, actually started in ancient China. Sumo was called jiaodi or jiaoli in ancient times. Ancient jiaodi,a Chinese-style wrestling, was performed by athletes wearing ox horns and wrestling with each other imitating wild oxen. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, jiaodi was highly favored by emperors. In the Tang Dynasty, jiaodi was part of military training and a kind of entrainment and athletic sports.
Jiju: Ancient polo
Jiju is a sport which uses a stick to hit balls while riding on a horse, pretty similar to modern polo. It was popular in the royal court and among common people in the Tang Dynasty. There were many fields for playing polo in the court and it was also a major military training program in the army. In the Tang Dynasty capital, there were formal polo courts, such as the stadium pavilion in Chang' an palace.
Archery
During ancient times, the origin of archery was closely related with hunting and defense. Ancient archery was not only an athletic event,a military training program, and an entertainment activity, but also part of education. As early as in Zhou Dynasty, the archery was listed as one of the six practical disciplines, also called the Six Arts, becoming an important and competitive form.
1. Which was popular in the army during the Han Dynasty?A.Cuju. | B.Jiaodi. |
C.Jiju. | D.Archery. |
A.Only by riding a horse. |
B.By hitting balls wearing ox horns. |
C.By kicking a ball through an opening into a net. |
D.By hitting balls while riding on a horse with a stick. |
A.They were only for entertainment. |
B.They all disappeared late gradually. |
C.They were military training programs. |
D.They all originated from Han Dynasty. |
5 . The idea that history is an outdated course of study that will lead to limited career options has spread.
Understanding where people come from is key in understanding who we are.
Learning from the past prevents future mistakes.
A.You will understand the world much better. |
B.History degrees can lead to well-paying careers. |
C.Many people don’t know well about themselves. |
D.Learning history can change how you think. |
E.But the truth is that studying history is still important. |
F.The idea that history repeats itself is rooted in truth. |
G.History has shaped cultures, attitudes, and social structures. |
6 . The United States of America is mainly an English-speaking country. The majority of the population speak English as their native language. Besides,education,social activities,etc. are conducted in English. Across but for the most part,Americans speak one common language. This language is sometimes called American English.
However,not everyone in the USA is a native speaker of English. Most immigrants (移民)are speakers of other languages. There are hundreds of communities around the USA where English is not the most commonly used languages. Chinese,Italian,German,Greek,Spanish and French are all spoken in various communities in the USA. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language after English.It is widely spoken in New York and across the southern part of the country. For speakers of other languages,learning English is important,but teaching people to speak English as a second language was given little attention. Non-English speakers were expected to “pick up ” the language by meeting with others in public. Recently,this has changed.
Today,most large public schools and community colleges have ESL(English as a Second Language )programs; American English teachers feel that English students should learn the language the way they will use it. Therefore,ESL programs offer different English lessons to different students. Some programs teach students to communicate in English in public. Other programs teach the kind of English people who will need for their jobs. American ESL instructional methods do not lay emphasis on grammar or translation,but on the importance of communication. The goal is to get the English learners to learn by using the language.
1. In the past the non-English immigrants___________.A.didn’t know how to learn English | B.found that English was not important |
C.learned English through books | D.paid special attention to teaching English |
A.ESL | B.French |
C.Spanish | D.Chinese |
A.try to master | B.repeat again and again |
C.go to school sometimes | D.learn without studying or taking lessons |