| A．About 1, 500 years ago. | B．About 3, 500 years ago. | C．About 5, 000 years ago. |
As we all know, China has countless
Zhoukoudian is a small village lying about 50 kilometers to the southwest of Beijing City. In the 1920s, archaeologists discovered some prehistoric human bones there,
In 1929, a complete skull (颅骨)
Zhoukoudian was listed
Eight years ago, several Chinese businessmen traveling to the Bolaven Plateau of Laos found their surprise, that aging tea trees
The natural conditions in Laos are very
Due to the Belt and Road Initiative, Laos has received a lot of investment ( 投 资 )from China,
5 . THE CHINESE WRITING SYSTEM:
CONNECTING THE PAST AND THE PRESENT
China is widely known for its ancient civilisation which has continued all the way through into modern times, despite the many ups and downs in its history. There are many reasons why this has been possible, but one of the main factors has been the Chinese writing system.
At the beginning, written Chinese was a picture-based language. It dates back several thousand years to the use of longgu — animal bones and shells on which symbols were carved by ancient Chinese people. Some of the ancient symbols can still be seen in today’s hanzi.
By the Shang Dynasty (around 1600-1046 BCE), these symbols had become a well-developed writing system. Over the years, the system developed into different forms, as it was a time when people were divided geographically, leading to many varieties of dialects and characters. This, however, changed under Emperor Emperor Qinshihuang of the QinDynasty (221-207 BCE).
Emperor Qinshihuang united the seven major states into one unified country where the Chinese writing system began to develop in one direction. That writing system was of great importance in uniting the Chinese people and culture. Even today, no matter where Chinese people live or what dialect they speak, they can all still communicate in writing
Written Chinese has also become an important means by which China’s present is connected with its past. People in modern times can read the classic works which were written by Chinese in ancient times. The high regard for the Chinese writing system can be seen in the development of Chinese characters as an art form, known as Chinese calligraphy, which has become an important part of Chinese culture.
Today, the Chinese writing system is still an important part of Chinese culture. As China plays a greater role in global affairs, an increasing number of international students are beginning to appreciate China’s culture and history through this amazing language.
1. What happened at the third important time of the development of the Chinese writing system?| A．Written Chinese was a picture-based language. |
| B．The writing system developed into different forms. |
| C．The Chinese writing system began to develop in one unified direction. |
| D．Symbols carved on Longgu had become a well-developed writing system. |
| A．It allowed Chinese people to communicate with each other. |
| B．It helped Chinese people record what they had done. |
| C．It made it possible for the government to issue orders. |
| D．It made the Chinese people think alike. |
| A．The ancient Chinese wrote large numbers of articles for the people today to read. |
| B．Chinese people today can read and understand classic works from ancient times. |
| C．It helped Emperor Qinshihuang unite the seven major states into one unified country. |
| D．Chinese people today are connected with those of the past by writing calligrapgy. |
| A．The continuous development of China’s agriculture. |
| B．A relatively powerful government. |
| C．The large population. |
| D．An open mind to embrace different cultures. |
6 . 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 |
The earliest written evidence of a soccer-like game comes from China. During the second and third centuries B.C., Chinese soldiers took part in an activity that involved kicking a ball into a small net. Historians think the game was a skill-building exercise for the soldiers.
Years of Development
In ancient Greece and Rome, teams of up to 27 players played a soccer-type game. In Britain hundreds of years later, during the thirteenth century A.D., whole villages played against each other. With hundreds of people playing, these games were both long and rough. Kicking, punching, and biting were common and allowed.
In 1331, English King Edward II passed a law in an attempt to put a stop to the popular but violent game. The king of Scotland spoke against the game a hundred years later. Queen Elizabeth I, during the late 1500s, passed a law that called for a week of jail for anyone caught playing “football”, or soccer, as we call it. But the game could not be stopped.
The Modern Game Emerges
Two hundred and fifty years later, people in Britain were still playing a game we would recognize as soccer. A well-known English college Eton developed a set of rules in 1815. A number of other colleges soon agreed to use the same rules, and those schools played against each other. Finally, 50 years later, a formal association was formed to oversee the playing of the game and its rules. In 1869, a rule against handling the ball with the hands transformed the game into the sport of soccer that is wildly popular all around the world.
1. What do historians think that soccer might have started out as?| A．A leisure activity. | B．A political issue. |
| C．A skill-building activity. | D．A military strategy. |
| A．English King Edward III. | B．The king of Scotland. |
| C．Queen Elizabeth I. | D．The Roman Emperor. |
| A．To share and reflect on playing soccer. | B．To advocate the exercise of soccer. |
| C．To introduce the history of soccer. | D．To suggest new ways of playing soccer. |
8 . A young lady was sitting in her garden under a tree drinking tea.
The story of the young woman and her tea is a popular Chinese legend (传说) about
As the production of silk increased, it began to be put into industrial
Silk was
| A．Suddenly | B．Fortunately | C．Obviously | D．Importantly |
| A．disappeared | B．hid | C．landed | D．hung |
| A．air | B．tea | C．tree | D．garden |
| A．creature | B．chemical | C．plant | D．material |
| A．catch hold of | B．make use of | C．run out of | D．drop out of |
| A．familiar | B．humorous | C．exciting | D．horrible |
| A．report | B．record | C．picture | D．idea |
| A．knocked | B．attacked | C．touched | D．fixed |
| A．industry | B．trade | C．silk | D．clothing |
| A．chosen | B．designed | C．admired | D．worn |
| A．enjoyed | B．began | C．considered | D．admitted |
| A．use | B．management | C．operation | D．standard |
| A．conveniently | B．strangely | C．secretly | D．widely |
| A．debate | B．contact | C．competition | D．pressure |
| A．why | B．when | C．where | D．how |
China’s ancient civilisation has continued into modern times, despite the many ups and downs in its history. One of the main factors
The writing system is not only of great
With China playing a greater role in global affairs, an increasing number of international students are beginning to learn Chinese
10 . Today, the Vikings are mostly known as violent pirates (海盗). But they were also traders. At their height, the Vikings attacked, settled or traded on four continents.
All of their travel, trade and warfare were made possible by Viking ships, which were far more advanced than anything else sailing around Europe at the time. The most famous, and most feared, was the drekar. At sea, these ships could move quickly thanks to their large sails. The hulls (船体) of the ships were shallow and fat, which made them ride high in the water. The ships were also light enough that they could be carried from one body of water to another over short sections of land. This greatly extended their range.
But Viking ships weren’t just built for warfare. Another type, called the knarr, had cargo (货物) holds built in the hull. One such cargo ship was capable of carrying 24 tons. The knarrs would have looked similar to the drekars except they were longer, fatter and taller. These were the backbones of the Viking empire, which they used to carry everything from gold coins to spices and fine fabrics.
Both the drekar and the knarr were built using the same method. Traditionally, oceangoing ships have used a keel (龙骨), shaped like the fin of a fish. The keel sinks into the water below the hull. It helps the ship maintain a straight line through the water and counters the force of the wind against the sail, which otherwise might blow the ship over. Viking ships had no deep keel. Instead, they were built fat enough to carry lots of soldiers or pieces of cargo whose weight helped keep the ship planted in the water.
Viking ships were so advanced for their time that they often were the biggest, tallest and most striking ships many people had ever seen. A monk at the St. Omar Monastery, in Franco, wrote this description of a royal Viking ship in 1013.
“On one side lions molded in gold were to be seen on the ships, on the other birds on the tops of the poles indicated by their movements the winds as they blew…”
The Vikings built a wealthy empire through trade as well as robbery and used their wealth to continuously improve their ships.
1. What does the author intend to tell us?| A．The Vikings were not violent pirates but traders. |
| B．The Vikings used to take a lead in the world trade. |
| C．Viking ships could carry more cargo than ships today. |
| D．Viking ships contributed to the extension of their empire. |
| A．They were not designed for warfare. |
| B．They were faster than the drekars. |
| C．They were designed to carry soldiers. |
| D．They served the same purpose as drekars. |
| A．They both use a deep keel shaped like the fin of a fish. |
| B．They both make the hull shallow and fat with large sails. |
| C．They both take measures to keep the ship planted in water. |
| D．They both install something to counter the force of wind. |
| A．To show how advanced Viking ships were for their time. |
| B．To show how interested the monk was in traveling by sea. |
| C．To show that Viking ships were designed in a strange way. |
| D．To show that Viking ships were continuously improved. |
