1. Where did the woman find the old medicine bottle?
| A．In a shop. | B．In a hole. | C．Near the village gate. |
| A．A teapot. | B．Some coins. | C．A metal horse. |
| A．About 50 years. | B．About 100 years. | C．About 200 years. |
Wandering sounds, irregular rhythms and a carrier of gentle emotions define the musical language of guqin, a seven string instrument created in ancient China.
The earliest piece of guqin in China,
The tone of a guqin is quiet, light and
The guqin
This graceful dialogue, flowing from brushed fingertips and
3 . The Union Jack is the national flag of the United Kingdom. It is so called because it combines the emblems (象征) of three countries—England, Scotland and Ireland (although since 1921 only Northern Ireland has been part of the United Kingdom).
The term “Union Jack” possibly dates from Queen Anne’s time, but its origin is uncertain. It may come from the “Jacket” of the English or Scottish soldiers; or from the name of James Ⅰ who originated the first union in 1603, in either its Latin or French form “Jacobus” or “Jacques”; or, as “jack” once meant small, the name may come from a royal proclamation (声明) issued by Charles Ⅱ that the flag should be flown only by ships of the Royal Navy as a jack, a small flag at the bowsprit (船首).
The Union Jack was originally a royal flag (when the present design was made official in 1801, it was ordered to be flown on all the King’s forts and castles, but not elsewhere); it is today flown above Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle when the Queen is not in residence. On news of a royal death, the Union Jack will be flown at halfmast (下半旗).
The flying of the Union Jack on public buildings is decided by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport at the Queen’s command. The Union Jack is flown on government buildings on days marking the birthdays of members of the royal family, such as the Queen’s official birthday, and on the days of the State Opening and prorogation (休会) of Parliament; it is also flown on St David’s Day, St George’s Day, St Andrew’s Day, and St Patrick’s Day.
Although the Union Jack originated as a royal flag, it is now also flown by many people and organizations elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Its use as an emblem has extended beyond the form of a flag and the Union Jack is frequently shown on other objects.
1. The reason why the national flag of the United Kingdom is called the Union Jack is that ________.| A．the flag is made of jacket |
| B．the flag combines the emblems of three countries |
| C．the flag shows the symbol of unity |
| D．the flag originated from the existence of the United Kingdom |
| A．the origin of the national flag |
| B．the history of the national flag |
| C．the reason why the Union Jack has become the national flag |
| D．the way how the Union Jack has become the national flag |
| A．Once the Union Jack was not flown elsewhere except royal places. |
| B．The Union Jack will be flown at halfmast if a member of the royal family dies. |
| C．Many people and organizations can flow the Union Jack in the world. |
| D．The Union Jack can be flown in many places and on many days in the United Kingdom. |
| A．The Union Jack Everywhere | B．The Union Jack at Anytime |
| C．National Flag, the Union Jack | D．The History of the Union Jack |
4 . There is a famous story about how Walt Disney was inspired to build Disneyland. The story goes that during an afternoon visit to Griffith Park located near the Burbank Studios, Walt took a seat while his two young daughters rode the merry-go-round. Walt thought there should be a place where both children and their parents could enjoy spending some time together in an environment that would be both entertaining and pleasing to the eye, so with this thought came the idea for Disneyland.
Walt’s original plan was to build an eight-acre park located near the Burbank Studios that would be a place for his employees and their families. Those plans were put on hold because of the start of World War II. By 1952, Walt had created a special department that was devoted to planning his dream.
Finally in 1953, the first steps in building the park happened when Walt employed the Stanford Research Institute to make a survey to determine the best possible location for the future park. Considering population growth and the future freeway construction (建设), they finally found a location in Anaheim and 160 acres of land were bought for the site of the new park.
The building of the park was very expensive and to collect money for the project, Walt developed the idea of the “Walt Disney’s Disneyland” television show. It turned out to be a marvelous idea—not only gaining the money to build the park but also presenting the park to the American public.
Construction officially began on July 21, 1954, and it was an ambitious (野心勃勃的) building schedule of less than one year to complete the new park for the projected opening day. Walt watched over the park’s construction and progress continued with just a few minor hold-ups. Finally, the park was ready for the Opening Day on July 17, 1955.
1. What inspired Walt Disney to build Disneyland?| A．The special design of Griffith Park. | B．A trip to a park with his daughters. |
| C．Requests from his family and employees. | D．The idea to build a park for his daughters. |
| A．Walt Disney’s personal preference. | B．The natural environment. |
| C．The advice of the public. | D．Local traffic. |
| A．It was smooth generally. | B．It was affected by World War II. |
| C．It was completed later than expected. | D．It was influenced by a shortage of money. |
| A．A travel journal. | B．An autobiography. |
| C．A magazine. | D．A guidebook. |
5 . Although English is not as old as Chinese, it is spoken by many people around the world every day. English speakers are always creating new words, and we are often able to know where most words come from.
Sometimes, however, no one may really know where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers (汉堡包) are called hamburgers, especially when they are not made with ham (火腿)? About a hundred years ago, some men went to America from Europe. They came from a big city in Germany called Hamburg. They did not speak good English, but they ate good food. When some Americans saw them eating round pieces of beef, they asked the Germans what it was. The Germans did not understand the question and answered, “We come from Hamburg.” One of these Americans owned a restaurant, and had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of beef like those which the men from Hamburg ate. Then he put each between two pieces of bread and started selling them. Such bread came to be called “hamburgers”. Today “hamburgers” are sold in many countries around the world.
Whether this story is true or not, it certainly is interesting. Knowing why any word has a certain meaning is interesting, too. This reason, for most English words, can be found in any large English dictionary.
1. About a hundred years ago, Hamburg was .| A．An American city | B．a Chinese city |
| C．the name of a village | D．a city in Germany |
| A．beef, bread | B．only made with beef |
| C．bread, potato | D．only made with bread |
| A．Where all the new words come from |
| B．Where those Germans came from |
| C．The reason why an English word has a certain meaning |
| D．The reason why English is spoken around the world |
| A．China because it has a long history |
| B．England because Germans don’t speak good English |
| C．the round pieces of beef which those people from Hamburg were eating |
| D．English speakers because they always create new words |
In Sarek National Park, I wake up to the sound of the wind buffeting the cloth of my tent.
For hundreds of years, the Sami lived off reindeer. With reindeer on the move, the Sami would pick
In the times of Queen Victoria people were exposed to cholera, a deadly disease. Neither its cause nor its cure
8 . A seven-word sentence was discovered on a 3,700-year-old comb (梳子),which is likely the oldest known sentence written in letters,according to a new study. The sentence is in Canaanite (迦南语),which is the source (来源) of later letter systems in European languages.
The comb was first discovered in 2016 in Israeli. However,it wasn’t until 2021 that a researcher from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem first noticed the words when checking the photo of the comb. The researchers were not able to directly date the comb. They believed it dated from around 1700 BC based on comparison of the letters with those on pottery (陶器) with a known age.
Garfinkel,a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,said,“The Canaanites invented the letters. Nowadays every person in the world can read and write using the letter system. This is really one of the most important achievements of humankind. When you are writing in English,you’re really using Canaanite.”
Small groups of Canaanite letters discovered on broken pieces of pottery before did not leave much room for further research on the lives of the Canaanites. But this find of a sentence written in the first letter-based language opens up the debate about the history during the ancient time period.
Garfinkel said,“The sentence was found on an ivory comb in the ancient city’s palace and temple area,which could suggest that only wealthy men were able to read and write.” The earliest writing system started around 5,000 years ago,which relied on hundreds of pictographs (象形文字) to represent words,ideas and sounds. Canaanites were the first to use letters in their writing system. “It shows that even in the most ancient times there were full sentences,which further suggests that Canaanites stood out among the early civilizations in their use of the written word.”
1. What do we know about Canaanite?| A．It has a history of 3,700 years. | B．It is the oldest known language. |
| C．Its sentences are in many languages. | D．Its letters are still in use at present. |
| A．It was discovered on some pottery. | B．It was identified on a comb in 2016. |
| C．It was recognized when dating the comb. | D．It was recognized on a photo of the comb. |
| A．The influence of Canaanite letters. |
| B．The rules of using Canaanite letters. |
| C．The problem in identifying the Canaanite sentence. |
| D．The explanation of the discovered Canaanite sentence. |
| A．Useless. | B．Meaningful. | C．Confusing. | D．Unacceptable. |
When foreigners come to China, they may be surprised at Chinese’s special fondness and
Seals are believed
Then the local governments also needed seals for the same function. Meanwhile, private seals were carved in
10 . One of the most common beliefs among researchers is that humans first arrived in North America 16,000 years ago. According to a recent fossil discovery, that might not be true. The new finding suggests that humans might have arrived in North America far earlier.
In 2013, a damaged mammoth (猛犸象) skull and other bones that looked “deliberately broken” were found. The damage to the bones suggested that humans were the ones who caused it to make tools. Carbon- dating analysis suggested the pieces are roughly 37 ,000 years old. This discovery could shift our understanding of humans ‘earliest existence in North America. These fossils suggest humans killed animals in the area much earlier than 16, 000 years ago.
Previous research led scientists to believe the first humans that settled in North America belonged to the Clovis culture. This was a group of people who left behind carefully made tools 16,000 years ago. However, carbon-dating analysis of the mammoth bones indicates that the site is around 36, 250 to 38, 900 years old. That means it’s the oldest known site left behind by ancient humans in North America.
“That’s not the only interesting thing about the discovery,” said Timothy Rowe, a professor at the University of Texas. “The similar findings supporting an earlier date for human arrival have been mostly ignored. This is because they have contradicted previous research.”
Now, however, he thinks there’s a good chance that researchers will find evidence of humans farther back in time.
The early humans shaped bones into sharp blades, which were used to take apart animals’ remains, according to Rowe. There are also signs that they cooked the animal bones over a fire to melt off the fat. “The real evidence that we have has to do with the breakage patterns, and how thorough they are. They must have used rocks or hammer stones to bust the skeleton apart... These people would use whatever they could,” Rowe told USA Today.
1. What can be learnt about the earliest humans in North America?| A．They arrived there 16,000 years ago. | B．They caused mammoth to disappear. |
| C．They belonged to the Clovis culture. | D．They could make tools with bones. |
| A．They lack a good chance. | B．They fail to draw attention. |
| C．They disagree with earlier research. | D．They aren’t studied scientifically. |
| A．Inspiring. | B．Annoying. | C．Puzzling. | D．Embarrassing. |
| A．The Earliest Humans’ Settling in North America |
| B．Evidence of Earlier Humans’ Arrival in North America |
| C．The Earliest Tool Makers in North America |
| D．Research on Mammoths in North America |
