1 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Porcelain, a fine and delicate ceramic, has long been prized for its beauty and elegance. Each piece, whether ancient or modern,     1     (reflect) the unique traditions, aesthetics (审美), and skills of its makers. The fact     2     the country and the material share the same name in English — “China”, is a testament to the Europeans’ long     3     (aware) of the significance of porcelain in Chinese civilization.

Porcelain found     4     (it) way to Europe in the 15th century, occupying an important position in the exchanges between China and other countries. The Keise l Randy Museum in Germany, for instance, houses a blue-and-white bowl     5     (date) back to the Ming dynasty, representative of the conciseness and elegance that Chinese porcelain symbolizes.

Throughout history, China, along with other Asian countries, maintained a busy and vast trade in porcelain     6     Europe. From 1602 to 1682, the Dutch East India Company transported over 16 million porcelain     7     (article) to Europe, further establishing China’s reputation for producing delicate ceramics.

Porcelain played     8     important role in the European idealization of China during the 17th and 18th centuries. The rococo style, popular in Europe during that period,     9     (influence) by the “Chinese vogue,” evident in the styles of porcelain and gardens inspired by China.

In conclusion, porcelain remains an eternal material,     10     beauty and diversity continue to appeal to people, making it a timeless treasure.

2 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

“Cold the iron chains spanning over the Dadu River,” Chairman Mao Zedong wrote in a poem, describing the do-or-die battle which took place on the Luding Bridge. The Bridge,     1     (measure) 103.67 meters in length and 3 meters in width, is located in Sichuan Province, which was     2     (original) built in 1705 during the Qing Dynasty. Near the Luding Bridge considered a historical landmark    3     (stand) a museum, in front of which there is a bronze statue of the soldiers whose spirit makes the bridge a household name.

Over 80 years ago, the bridge was crucial to the survival of the CPC-led Red Army during the Long March because if the soldiers had failed to dash through the Luding Bridge then, the Red Army might have been wiped out. Upon their     4     (arrive), the Red Army found only thirteen heavy iron chains    5     (leave) across the river. With no time to waste, one by one the Red soldiers ventured forward to risk their lives and of those who offered    6     (they), thirty were chosen. Though several soldiers fell into     7    fast-flowing river,the others crawled along the wood boards they had laid until they finally took control of the east bank .

Probably never before had people seen fighters like these-men for whom soldiering was not just a rice bowl,     8    a mission. They astonishingly accomplished    9     seemed like a task impossible and their    10    (courage) spirit will always stick in our mind.

3 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The United Kingdom     1     (surround) by the sea is made up of four countries, lying in north-west of Europe. The capital city London, which has a history dating back to Roman times, is     2     ancient port city.

The UK has a long history of development, during which four different groups ever influenced it     3     different times. The Roman s who ruled England in the first century had towns and roads     4     (build), which changed the civilization of the native. Next, the Anglo-Saxons arrived in the fifth century when great achievements     5     (make) in the English language. With the invasion of the Vikings in the eighth century, lots of new words were added to English,     6     enlarged the vocabulary greatly. It was the Normans conquering England in the 11th century that made a series of     7     (change) to the legal system, forming its own the unique Norman civilization.

The UK is a land of festivities,     8     (especial) during the fall and winter months. Of all the festivities, Christmas is of the greatest     9     (significant) in England. People     10     (celebrate) it on the 25th of December can decorate the Christmas trees, share gifts and enjoy traditional food.

4 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The Yinxu Museum opens in Anyang, Henan province, to display the brilliance of the 3,000-year-old Shang civilization.

Nearly 4,000 unearthed cultural relics are displayed in the museum. More than three quarters of these have never been     1     (public) exhibited before. The 23 vehicles unearthed from Yinxu are the     2     (highlight) in the new galleries. Also on display     3     (be) Shang relics collected from across the rest of present-day China.

The Yinxu Ruins,     4     (list) as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006, hosted a later period Shang capital city. The site also produced rich findings of 3,300-year-old bones,     5     (reveal) the oldest-known established writing system of Chinese characters,     6     are extraordinary and serve as a vital link in the development of the Chinese nation.

Many key breakthroughs     7     (make) in recent years at the Yinxu site and its surrounding areas. For example,     8     urban road system and the remains of an artificial lake in the royal temple area were found.

These discoveries further displayed a grand picture of a capital city     9     carried forward the project of tracking the origins of the Chinese civilization. Through the exhibits, the public can comprehensively understand the achievements made by the Shang Dynasty in terms     10     politics, economy, agriculture, military affairs, among others.

5 . 阅读下面材料，在题后空白处填入适当的内容（每空一词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

Piyingxi, or Chinese shadow puppetry is a traditional opera art among Chinese people. According to historical records, shadow puppetry originated     1     Western Han Dynasty and became popular in Ming & Qing.

Shadow puppetry is an art with a perfect     2     (combine) of light, image, sound and color. In lamp light, the shadow puppet looks crystalline (似水晶的) and graceful, with the cut-out parts brighter than     3     rest.

The performers hold joysticks in their hands that they grab, grind, roll, and press     4     (create) flowing motions, which is exactly     5     the ancient called “a million soldiers in two hands.” In addition to images, performers tell their stories in the locally popular tone with musicians     6     (play) instruments in the background.

The coloring is also an     7     (amaze) step in making a shadow figure. The favorite colors are the pure ones, most of     8     are red, green and black in practice, as yellow is the original color of the skins, and the light leaked through the cut-outs is     9     (natural) white.

The harmonious co-existence of sounds, colors, light and shadow     10     (make) shadow puppetry a colorful addition to people’s leisure time.

6 . 阅读下而短文, 在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Anyone visiting Tibet and exploring its culture would visit the temples to view the colorful and educational Tibetan Thangka (唐卡) paintings. They are traditionally painted on either cotton or silk, with     1     (loose) woven cotton being the most common. The paintings usually show religious scenes, as indicated by their name, Thangka,     2     (mean) “recorded message” in Tibetan.

The Tibetan Thangka is     3     art form that originated in Nepal and was brought to Tibet later. The Thangka paintings were developed over the centuries from the early murals (壁画) that can be seen in     4     is titled “Library Caves”, such as the Ajanta Caves in India and the Mogao Caves in China.

The Mogao Caves were previously a storage place of many Tibetan paintings on cloth, including the earliest surviving Thangka dated to be from around 780-848 AD     5     the region was under Tibetan rule. Historians note that between the 14th and 15th century, Tibetan paintings     6     (integrate) many elements from the Chinese murals.

The Thangka painting is not a flat creation but consists of a painted picture panel, over which a fabric is mounted, and then over which     7     (lay) a cover, usually silk. It is the nature of     8     (delicate) that makes Thangkas prefer dry places     9     (prevent) the quality of the silk from being affected by wetness. When they are not in use, they remain rolled up, with coverings on the back and front to protect the painting.     10     (keep) in this way helps Thangkas last for a very long time.

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

A tea bag is a small, porous packet that contains     1     (dry) plant material, which, when soaked in hot water, helps to make tea. Tea bags are     2     (general) made of filter paper.

Tea bags range from a square or rectangular shape to a tetrahedral (四面体的) and even circular shape. There’s typically     3     small string attached to each tea bag with a paper label at the top.

Tea bags     4     (use) since the 8th century — in the era of the Tang dynasty. In those days, paper was folded and sewn into square bags so that tea flavors could be preserved for a long time,     5     (lay) the foundation for modern tea bags.

The modern version of tea bags first appeared in the Western World as early as 1903. Commercially, however, tea bags made their appearance around 1908,     6     coffee importer Thomas Sullivan shipped his silk tea bags all over the world. Those tea bags were supposed     7     (tear) before use, and their loose contents were then poured into hot water to brew tea.

However, people found that it was more convenient to brew tea     8     the tea leaves still enclosed in the bags. Since dipping tea bags into water didn’t seem to cause any change in the taste, people gradually did away with the practice of     9     (remove) the tea bag, and started dipping it directly into hot water instead.

It’s generally advised to not squeeze a tea bag soaked in hot water. When you squeeze a tea bag, more tannins (鞣质) are released into the liquid. The result of this is that the drink becomes too bitter, or     10     some call it, “too strong”.

8 . Mesopotamia was home to some of the very first cities in existence, leading many to link it to the birth of civilization. The origin of these cities is still unknown today, although many theories exist. One suggestion is that the development and building of temples created a place where people would gather, and thus served as points of contact between different groups of people.

Others believe that people sought sanctuary from natural disasters. As the Mesopotamians were able to develop technology to help them control the nearby rivers, such as levees, they could ensure a good crop. They had no need to be nomadic, and were able to settle in one place comfortably. It is for this reason that all the early cities were built along the two major rivers.

From the moment the Sumerians began to form these cities, it forever altered human history. People went from being ruled by nature, to attempting to control it and make it work for them. By 4,500 BCE the first recorded city rose in the form of Uruk. However, the only urban structure at this point was the temple, which regulated all economic and social matters.

The central purpose of these early cities was to help regulate trade, as southern Mesopotamia was reliable on outside resources. This need encouraged the spread of urbanization. However, communication between the cities was difficult, so each city developed into an individual city-state. This led to territorial disputes and, inevitably, war.

In order to keep their cities protected, the Mesopotamians built fortifications, and walled cities rose. Migration to these cities increased, and more buildings were erected. Cities gradually expanded and rulers were proclaimed, who then began looking outwards for trade and conquest.

1. What does the underlined word “sanctuary” mean?

A．Rescue.

B．Stability.

C．Shelter.

D．Accommodation.

2. What is paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．The function of early cities.	B．The structure of early cities.
C．The regulation of early cities.	D．The appearance of early cities.

3. What caused cities to become city-states?

A．War and conflicts.	B．Limited interaction.
C．The spread of urbanization.	D．Competition for resources.

4. What is the best title?

A．The birth of city-states.	B．The first cities in the world.
C．The urban expansion in the world.	D．The conquest of nature in Mesopotamia.

9 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The Shanghai Museum celebrated the Lunar New Year with new exhibition in February, Longing for Spring: A Celebration of the Year of the Dragon.

The dragon, or long in Chinese, is the only mythical creature among the 12 Chinese zodiac     1    (sign). It has been present in legends for thousands of years, and recognized as a national totem (图腾) and has     2     long-held spiritual importance in Chinese culture.

Dragons can     3     (find) throughout ancient Chinese art. There are many objects bearing the image of the dragon in the Shanghai Museum’s collection, among which the jade Jue dragon     4     (date) back around 7,000 years. It has a large head, with     5     (point) ears and protruding (伸出的) jaws. Jue objects are widely believed to be the earliest images of the dragon, and archaeologists have speculated that the image could     6     (original) have been based on a pig, bear or even a silkworm. Another one is a flat vase from the reign of Emperor Qianlong. It is a blue-and-white vase     7     two handles, and depicts a red dragon in clouds     8     four feet spread as if it is dancing, looking especially lively.

This is the sixth time that the museum has presented a Lunar New Year exhibition,     9     (feature) zodiac animals. They hope that visitors will find the various     10     (represent) of the dragon in Chinese culture imperial and solemn (庄严), as well as vivid, attractive and lovable.

10 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Originally unearthed in the late 1920s, the Sanxingdui Ruins have been regarded as one of the world’s greatest archaeological     1     (finding) of the 20th century. In July this year, a     2     (new) completed exhibition hall at the world-famous Sanxingdui Museum opened in Guanghan, Sichuan Province.

    3     (cover) an area of nearly 55,000 square meters, the exhibition hall is now the largest single exhibition building showcasing the cultural relics     4     (dig) from historical sites in southwest China. The new hall     5     (hold) more than 1,500 cultural items, with 600 of them on show for the first time.

One iconic (标志性的) exhibit is the four-meter-tall bronze sacred tree,     6     takes up the central position in the new hall. And it makes a much     7     (strong) visual impression than it did in the old hall. The bronze altar (青铜神坛) that was discovered last year is also     8     impressive piece of artwork. It is made up of three parts and shows ancient sacrificial (献祭的) scenes.

Divided into three themed areas, the exhibition hall makes use of a range of new technologies     9     (celebrate) the cultural features and social development of the Shu civilization. It also shows China’s latest achievements     10     archaeological research.