1 . Imagine a relay race. During this race, an athlete holds a stick as he runs a certain distance. Then he passes the stick to the next runner. That person runs faster, and then passes the stick to a third runner. Now imagine that the runners do not pass a stick. Instead they pass shiny silk, as well as gold, fruit, and glass. Imagine that the race does not move forward in just one direction. Instead the runners go back and forth along a road. They trade goods all along this route (路线) and at each end of it. Now imagine that the runners are businessmen. They lead caravans (商队) or lines of camels that carry things to sell. They travel on the ancient Silk Road to earn their living.
The Silk Road was a complex trade network. It passed through thousands of cities and towns. It stretched from eastern China, across central Asia and the Middle east, to the Mediterranean Sea. Businessmen traveled on the Silk Road from about 200 B.C. to about 1300 A.D.. Then sea travel began to offer new routes. Some people called the Silk Road the world’s longest highway. However, the Silk Road included many routes -- not just one smooth path. The routes ran through mountains and across deserts. They passed through an area that now includes 18 countries. The Silk Road had many dangers. These dangers ranged from hot sun and deep snow to thieves and wars. Only expert traders could survive.
The Silk Road got its name from its most prized goods. People used silk as money. They could pay taxes or buy goods with it. Traders carried more than just silk, though. They had gold, silver, and glass from Europe. People in the Middle East and Asia wanted these things. Businessmen also took horses from flat, grassy areas in central Asia and brought them to China and other areas. The horses changed the way people farmed and ran their armies. Indian businessmen traded salt and rare, beautiful stones. Chinese merchants traded medicine and china. They also traded paper, which quickly replaced animal skins in the west. Businessmen carried apples from central Asia to Rome. The Chinese had learned to combine different trees to create new kinds of fruit. They taught this science to others, such as the Romans. The Romans began to grow apples for food. The Silk Road led to worldwide commerce 2,000 years before the World Wide Web.
The people along the Silk Road did not share only goods. They also shared beliefs. Monks, priests, and other faith leaders taught their religions to others. The Silk Road created pathways for knowledge, diplomacy, and religion.
1. People turned to the sea for new routes after around 1300 A. D. because _____.A. the Silk Road included many routes |
B.the Silk Road passed through many areas |
C.people traveled on the Silk Road for too long |
D.there were more dangers along the Silk Road |
A.Influential | B.Private | C.Valuable | D.Useful |
A.The Silk Road helped spread religions to more people. |
B.The Silk Road gave people the idea to build highways. |
C.Some people probably died while travelling. |
D.Westerners probably used to write on animal skins. |
A.silk Road was built by China. |
B.there used to be deaths along the path |
C.trade went along with religion |
D.many apple trees used to grow along the path |
A.Science. | B.Travel. | C.Sports. | D.Culture. |
2 . Today we see writing all around us. We would be
The earliest people have no
Modern forms of writing began when people
Even greater advances were
A.lost | B.calm | C.hurt | D.skeptical |
A.pan | B.system | C.motivation | D.dream |
A.began | B.developed | C.appeared | D.failed |
A.When | B.While | C.After | D.Before |
A.communication | B.experience | C.relationship | D.education |
A.shows | B.notices | C.follows | D.produces |
A.joke | B.warning | C.memory | D.mistake |
A.begged | B.refused | C.learned | D.promised |
A.worries | B.cultures | C.ideas | D.questions |
A.lines | B.pictures | C.tools | D.animals |
A.For example | B.Above all | C.As usual | D.At first |
A.Less | B.Worse | C.Older | D.Further. |
A.letters | B.alphabets | C.stars | D.symbols |
A.prevented | B.checked | C.made | D.taught |
A.mix | B.read | C.write | D.remember |
A.however | B.besides | C.therefore | D.otherwise |
A.longer | B.easier | C.more interesting | D.more popular |
A.answer | B.problem | C.future | D.message |
A.never | B.hardly | C.even | D.often |
A.but | B.because | C.if | D.so |
3 . Look at the keyboard of any standard typewriter or computer. “Q” “W” “E” “R” “T” and “Y” are the first six letters. Who decided on this arrangement of the letters? And why?
People tried for centuries to invent the typewriter. In 1714 in England, Henry Mill filed a patent for a machine called An Artificial Machine Or Method for the Impressing or Transcribing of Letters, Singly or Progressively one after another, as in Writing, drawing upon this way all Writing may be absorbed in Paper so Neat and Exact as not to be distinguished from Print. That machine probably didn’t sell because no one could remember its name!
The first practical typewriter was patented in the United States in 1868 by Christopher Latham Sholes. His machine was known as the type-writer. It had a movable carriage, a lever for turning paper from line to line, and a keyboard on which the letters were arranged in alphabetical order.
But Sholes had a problem. On his first model, his “ABC” key arrangement caused the keys to jam when the typist worked quickly. Sholes didn’t know how to keep the keys from sticking, so his solution was to keep the typist from typing too fast. Sholes asked his brother-in-law to rearrange the keyboard so that the commonest letters were not so close together and the type bars would come from opposite directions. Thus they would not clash together and jam the machine. The new arrangement was the QWERTY arrangement typists use today. Of course. Sholes claimed that the new arrangement was scientific and would add speed and efficiency. The only efficiency it added was to slow the typist down, since almost any word in the English language required the typist’s fingers to cover more distance on the keyboard.
The advantages of the typewriter outweighed the disadvantages of the keyboard. Typists memorized the crazy letter arrangement, and the typewriter became a huge success. By the time typists had memorized the new arrangement of letters and built their speed, typewriter technology had improved, and the keys didn’t stick as badly as they had at first.
1. We know from the passage that the inventor of the first practical typewriter is_________.A.Henry Mill | B.Christopher Latham Sholes |
C.Sholes’ brother-in-law | D.Albert Einstein |
A.it was difficult for people to accept new things |
B.there were great disadvantages of the key board |
C.the name of the machine was too long |
D.the machine could not be distinguished from print |
A.solve the problem of the keys jamming |
B.arrange the letters in alphabetical order |
C.cause the keys to jam when the typist worked quickly |
D.compete with “ABC” key arrangement |
A.is the most scientific arrangement |
B.adds speed and efficiency of typists |
C.is easy for typists to memorize |
D.keeps the typist from typing too fast |
A.The Story of Christopher Latham Sholes |
B.How to Invent the Typewriter |
C.The First Practical Typewriter |
D.The Arrangement of the Letters on Keyboard |
4 . Mona Lisa, the famous picture
Da Vinci himself loved it so much that he always
A.written | B.praised | C.bought | D.painted |
A.less | B.more | C.worse | D.better |
A.changes | B.expressions | C.kisses | D.gloves |
A.see | B.visit | C.greet | D.examine |
A.laughing | B.smiling | C.crying | D.shouting |
A.says | B.sits | C.stands | D.stops |
A.Therefore | B.Otherwise | C.However | D.Instead |
A.carried | B.hid | C.kept | D.buried |
A.actually | B.finally | C.really | D.hopefully |
A.taken | B.destroyed | C.broken | D.stolen |
A.school | B.museum | C.house | D.factory |
A.give | B.send | C.take | D.return |
A.France | B.Germany | C.Italy | D.England |
A.kept | B.hid | C.put | D.grew |
A.feet | B.clothes | C.hands | D.hats |
5 . A study of art history might be a good way to learn more about a culture than is possible to learn in general history classes. Most typical history courses concentrate on politics, economics, and war. But art history focuses on much more than this because art reflects not only the political values of a people, but also religious beliefs, emotions, and psychology. In addition, information about the daily activities of our ancestors — or of people very different from our own — can be provided by art. In short, art expresses the essential qualities of a time and a place, and a study of it clearly offers us a deeper understanding than can be found in most history books.
In history books, objective information about the political life of a country is presented; that is, facts about politics are given, but opinions are not expressed. Art, on the other hand, is subjective; it reflects emotions and opinions. The great Spanish painter Francisco Goya was perhaps the first truly “political” artist. In his well known painting The Third of May, 1808, he criticized the Spanish government for its misuse of power over people. Over a hundred years later, symbolic images were used in Pablo Picasso’s Guernica to express the horror of war. Meanwhile, on another continent, the powerful paintings of Diego Rivera, and David Alfaro Siqueiros — as well as the works of Alfredo Ramos Martines — depicted these Mexican artists’ deep anger and sadness about social problems.
In the same way, art can reflect a culture’s religious beliefs. For hundreds of years in Europe, religious art was almost the only type of art that existed. Churches and other religious buildings were filled with paintings that depicted people and stories from the Bible. Although most people couldn’t read, they could still understand biblical stories in the pictures on church walls. By contrast, one of the main characteristics of art in the Middle East was and still is its absence of human and animal images. This reflects the Islamic belief that statues are unholy.
1. From Paragraph one, we know that _____.A.art history reveals a people’s religious and emotional life as well as its political views and psychology |
B.general history provides us with information about everyday life of ancient people |
C.general history gives us an insight into the basic situations of a time and a place |
D.art history regards politics as an unworthy topic |
A.records what people felt and thought at a particular time |
B.expresses the essential qualities of a time and a place |
C.often gives us a better understanding of our history |
D.often presents the subjective message about the political life of a country |
A.Islamic artists painted images on church walls as a way of teaching |
B.war was not one of the topics art history address |
C.Europeans respected images of biblical figures |
D.for some time in Europe, art was the only way to understand religion |
A.His criticism to the religious beliefs of his country. |
B.His explanation about the political values of his country. |
C.His dissatisfaction to the war, his government or the social problems. |
D.His concern about the daily life of the poor in his country. |
A.the difference between general history and art history |
B.the value of art history in understanding history |
C.the importance of artists in art history |
D.the importance of art in religion |
1.花木兰的生平故事;
2.花木兰在中国人心中的地位与影响。
注意:1.词数80-100;2.开头和结尾已经给出,不计入总词数。
参考词汇:dress up装扮;a symbol of .....的象征;
Dear Peter,
I’m glad to know that you are interested in the story of Mulan.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
7 . During the annual political meetings, environmental protection was definitely among the biggest concerns. Actually, it was also an issue that ancient Chinese paid great attention to. In fact, the world’s earliest environmental protection concept, ministry and laws were all born in China. So, what did the ancient Chinese do to protect the environment?
In early ancient China, environmental protection was promoted to the political level. Xunzi, a famous thinker in Warring States Period, brought up the concept of managing state affairs through environmental protection. He stated in his book that vegetation (植被) should not be damaged at will. Guan Zhong, an official 400 years ahead of Xunzi, was also an environmental protection expert. During his term of office, he claimed that “a King who cannot protect his vegetation is not qualified to be a king”.
According to a record in Qing dynasty, the environmental protection ministry in early ancient China was called “Yu”, standing both for the institution and the official title. Although most functions were similar to such ministries today, the administration range of it was much larger, including the mountains, forests, rivers, lakes and so on.
The nine ministries established by Shun, an ancient Chinese king, already included “Yu”, the environmental protection ministry. The first “Yu” official was a man called Boyi, who was indeed an environmental protection expert. He was a capable assistant to Dayu, an ancient Chinese water-control expert. He invented wells, protecting people’s drinking water from pollution. He knew a lot about animals and also called for animal protection.
Environmental protection laws dated back to the ruling period of Dayu, which was more than 4,000 years ago. During his rule, he issued a ban, forbidding people to cut down wood in March or catch fish in June, the time when they were supposed to boom.
In Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period almost 3,000 years ago, “environmental protection laws” appeared in its true sense in Qin, which was recorded in Law of Fields and regarded as China’s earliest environmental protection laws.
1. Which statement would Xunzi probably agree with?A.Vegetation shouldn’t be damaged at all. |
B.Much attention should be paid to people’s drinking water. |
C.The king who failed to protect the environment should be removed. |
D.Running a country and environmental protection should be combined. |
A.The Qing dynasty. | B.The ministry of Yu. |
C.The official title. | D.The modern ministry. |
A.Fish didn’t taste delicious in June. |
B.It was too hot to catch fish in June. |
C.Fish had a period of rapid growth in June. |
D.Fish-catching time had already passed in June. |
A.Shun. | B.Boyi. | C.Xunzi. | D.Guan Zhong. |
A.How the Ancient Chinese Protect the Environment |
B.Famous Environmental Protection Experts in Ancient China |
C.Dayu — a Great Environmental Protector |
D.Measures of the World’s Earliest Environmental Protection |
8 . One of the greatest contributors to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual. In 1879, Oxford University in England asked Prof. James Murray to serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language. It would include every English word possible and would give not only the definition but also the history of the word and quotations showing how it was used.
This was a huge task, so Murray had to find volunteers from Britain, the United States, and the British colonies to search every newspaper, magazine, and book ever written in English. Hundreds of volunteers responded, including William Chester Minor. Dr. Minor was an American surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England. He gave his address as "Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire," 50 miles from Oxford.
Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray. Over the next 17 years, he became one of the staff's most valued contributors.
But he was also a mystery. In spite of many invitations, he would always decline to visit Oxford. So in 1897, Murray finally decided to travel to Crowthorne himself. When he arrived, he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell at the Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane.
Murray and Minor became friends, sharing their love of words. Minor continued contributing to the dictionary, sending in more than 10,000 submissions in 20 years. Murray continued to visit Minor regularly, sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds.
In 1910, Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum in his native America. Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable friend.
Minor died in 1920, seven years before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed. The 12 volumes defined 414,825 words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient.
1. According to the text, the first Oxford English Dictionary________.A.was intended to be the most ambitious English dictionary |
B.included the English words invented by Murray |
C.was edited by an American volunteer |
D.came out before Minor died |
A.He sent newspapers, magazines and books to Murray. |
B.He provided a great number of words and quotations. |
C.He helped Murray to find hundreds of volunteers. |
D.He went to England to work with Murray. |
A.He was busy writing a book | B.He was shut in an asylum. |
C.He lived far from Oxford. | D.He disliked traveling. |
A.Considerate and optimistic. | B.Friendly and determined. |
C.Unusual and scholarly. | D.Cautious and friendly. |
A.Broadmoor Asylum and its patients. | B.The history of the English language. |
C.The friendship between Murray and Minor. | D.Minor and the first Oxford English Dictionary. |
9 . While most people don’t think much about garbage, trash (垃圾) is beloved by archaeologist (考古学家). A favorite site for study is a midden (贝丘), an old trash or garbage heap (堆). A midden might contain damaged stone or metal items, which tell us about the weapons and tools people used. Softer materials such as wood, cloth, leather, and baskets are sometimes preserved. They may tell us what people wore, how they carried things, or the kind of toys used by children. Historic household trash heaps often contain broken pottery pieces and even traces of the food they once held.
Most people no longer keep a trash heap by the kitchen door. Instead, garbage is hauled off to landfills (垃圾填埋池). These landfills can still attract archaeologists. The Garbage Project collected information from landfills from 1987 to 1995. Student archaeologists measured tons of garbage from 15 landfills across the United States and Canada. This garbology, the study of garbage, research led to a better understanding of how people have changed what they consume during this period of time. The findings also led to a better awareness of how quickly various items rot. This helped with city planning for garbage disposal and recycling efforts.
Some found objects that may clearly be of archaeological interest, such as arrowheads and spear points. It is typically against the law to collect these on public lands, so they should be left in place. If you take a photo and note the location, you can notify the state archaeologist or the government branch that is in charge of the land, such as the National Park Service or the Bureau of Land Management.
Everyone is responsible for protecting archaeological resources, which is a concept known as “archaeological stewardship.” Sometimes this even means protecting old garbage.
1. Why is old trash important according to archaeologists?A.It can teach us about the past. |
B.It might help us locate metal mines. |
C.It can contribute to modern material industry. |
D.It might encourage us to protect our environment. |
A.They conducted a study on modern trash. |
B.They recycled waste from some landfills. |
C.They offered some creative city planning ideas. |
D.They compared ancient trash heaps with modern landfills. |
A.Donate it to public collections. |
B.Take it to proper authorities. |
C.Leave it in a safe place. |
D.Mark the place of it. |
A.Past or Future? | B.Trash or Treasure? |
C.Protection of Damage? | D.Problem or Resource? |
10 . “How do they walk in these things?” complains Jack Lemmon, walking with difficulty in his heels, newly dressed as his another identity Josephine, in the film “Some Like It Hot”.
High heels were, in fact, originally designed for men — and had an extremely practical purpose. Soldiers on horseback wore them in 10th-century Persia, according to Elizabeth Semmel hack of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. The heel helped keep them stable as they stood up in their stirrups ( 马镫) and took aim at enemies with bows and arrows (cowboy boots still use heels in this way). Over time, heels appeared on the shoes of male nobles across Europe. Yet from the mid-17th century, heels became associated with supposedly “feminine” qualities, and so became women’s wear. Until the mid-20th century heels were heavy, heavy things. After the Second World War, techniques and materials used in aircraft engineering were applied to shoes, creating the stiletto ( 细高跟). The high, narrow heel requires a thin metal pole, strong enough to bear the wearer’s weight yet flexible enough to allow the shoe to move.
Shoemakers have searched actively for a right heel. They aim to reduce the angle created by a high heel, which forces the few square centimeteres of the ball of your foot to bear the entire weight of your body. Joan Oloff, a podiatrist-turned-shoe-designer, makes footwear lined with memory foam ( 泡沫) to absorb the shock of each painful step. The bottom part of the shoe is crafted to support the arch of the foot and distribute the wearer’s weight more equally. Antonia Saint Dunbar, an entrepreneur, makes shoes with a heel cup and strips inside to stop the foot slipping around and getting blisters ( 水泡). And growing numbers of companies make shoes with adjustable heels: two inches for the boardroom, four for the nightclub, none for home.
However, the wisest are stepping down altogether: in 2016, for the first time, more British women bought trainers than heels.
1. Why is a scene in “Some Like It Hot” mentioned in Paragraph 1?A.To recommend this film. |
B.To explain Jack’s double identity. |
C.To introduce the topic of high heels. |
D.To stress the difficulty of walking in heels. |
A.By presenting research findings. |
B.By analyzing cause and effect. |
C.By following the order of time. |
D.By following the order of importance. |
A.To keep soldiers fighting on horseback steady. |
B.To keep cowboys standing up in stirrups safe. |
C.To show off the beauty of women. |
D.To show the nobility of Europeans. |
A.Popularize shoes with adjustable heels. |
B.Help women find the right high heels. |
C.Encourage women to wear trainers. |
D.Make high heels comfortable. |