1 . The New York Times bestselling author Dan Brown is famous for the novel, The Da Vinci Code, published in 2003. The award-winning author is back with another book Inferno, which is set in Florence, Italy. Now we are highlighting a few of the amazing places in Florence mentioned in the novel Inferno.
Boboli Gardens
The Boboli Gardens are one of the most famous open-air museums in Florence. The park sits at the heart of the city. It features breathtaking landscapes and stone statues. In Brown’s novel, Boboli Gardens are the site where characters, Robert Langdon and Sienna Brooks, escape from mysterious men who are chasing them.
Ponte vecchio
Ponte Vecchio is the oldest bridge in Florence and was the only bridge in the city until the construction of the Ponte alla Carraia in 1218. The current bridge was rebuilt in 1345 and still stands today. Ponte Vecchio is also one of the most historically relevant landmarks in Florence. In the book, Brown mentions a tragic incident which happened on Ponte Vecchio.
Signoria Palace and Museum
Signoria Palace and Museum is a huge square, which was named after the Palazzo della Signoria and also called Palazzo Vecchio. It is important in the history of the Florence.
Florence Cathedral
Florence Cathedral is the most famous church in Italy. The cathedral was built in 1296 and completed in 1436. Florence Cathedral is located in Piazza del Duomo. It is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence. In the novel Inferno, the cathedral contains clues about the origins of the city.
1. What can we learn about Ponte Vecchio?| A．It was completed in 1218. |
| B．It is one of the landmarks in Florence. |
| C．It is the only bridge in the city. |
| D．It is the site where Robert Langdon escapes. |
| A．Boboli Gardens. | B．Ponte Vecchio. |
| C．Signoria Palace and Museum. | D．Florence Cathedral. |
| A．A travel guidebook. | B．The novel Inferno. |
| C．The novel The Da Vinci Code. | D．A geography textbook. |
2 . The Chicago Fire of 1871 was the worst disaster of the 19th century.
The fire is said to have started one evening in Mrs. O’Leary’s barn (牲口棚) on the West Side of Chicago. Several hours after she milked her cow, it kicked over an oil lamp, and the cow started the fire. We do not know if the story is true, but we do know that the fire began in a barn on the West Side.
The fire spread quickly because of the wooden buildings, a strong wind, and a dry season. The fire lasted 27 hours and spread to all parts of the city. Other cities sent 25 fire companies to help put out the fire. Federal troops (联邦军队) were also used to help fight the fire and keep order, too. At last rain put out the fire.
There was a lot of damage. 90,000 people were homeless, and 18,000 buildings were destroyed. Property damage (财产损失) was almost 200 million dollars. In addition, about 300 people died.
People from all over the world helped Chicago by sending food and clothing. Within a month, 4,000 cottages (小屋) with two rooms had been built. In a few years, Chicago was completely rebuilt.
1. Which parts of the city were hurt by the fire?| A．The West Side. | B．The South Side and the East Side. |
| C．The North Side. | D．All sides. |
| A．90,000. | B．18,000. | C．almost 200. | D．about 300. |
| A．courage | B．fear | C．weakness | D．laziness |
| A．A cow. | B．Firemen. | C．The weather. | D．Carelessness. |
3 . Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to vanquish Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.
In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.
For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Though many people still follow the routine nowadays, more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.
The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”. Since independence, Ireland has revived (复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish songs which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.
1. What does the underlined word “vanquish” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Conquer. | B．Ruin. | C．Protect. | D．Free. |
| A．The Irish were killed by the English rulers. |
| B．The Irish were affected by a deadly disease. |
| C．The Irish were not eager to give birth to babies. |
| D．The Irish suffered from food and work shortage. |
| A．By working in the fields. | B．By working in factories. |
| C．By trading with other countries. | D．By performing musical instruments. |
| A．Life in Ireland | B．Ireland, Past and Present |
| C．A Very Difficult History | D．The Independence of Ireland |
In ancient times, builders and
Red, the color of fire and blood, has long been important in Chinese symbolism. Traditionally, red represents
Yellow was another obvious color in old Beijing,
The color blue symbolized heaven and heavenly blessings with the best example of the rooftops of structures at the Temple of Heaven.
5 . Discoveries at the famous Sanxingdui ruins in Southwest China show that the region’s ancient Shu Kingdom Civilization shared similarities with the Maya.
The Sanxingdui ruins belonged to the Shu Kingdom that existed at least 4,800 years ago and lasted more than 2,000 years, while the Mayan civilization built its city-states around 200 AD.
The bronze-made remains of tress unearthed at the ruins of the Shu Kingdom resemble the sacred ceiba tree, which symbolized the union of heaven, earth and the underworld in the Mayan civilization. “They are very important similarities,” says Santos, a Mexican archaeologist (考古学家) stressing that “the representations of tress in both cultures provide a symbolism that is very similar”.
The findings at the Sanxingdui ruins, considered one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century, also show a new aspect of Bronze Age culture, indicating the ancient civilization already had technologies that were thought to have been developed much later.
While the lime span between the Shu kingdom and the Mayan culture is great, the findings highlight the closeness between the two civilizations. They developed in areas with comparable climates and reflected their worldview through related symbols. “In the end, man is still man, independent of time and space. What we have is that, at this latitude (纬度), both the Shu people and the Mayans looked at the same sky and had the same stars on the horizon,” the expert says.
One notable feature of the recent discoveries at Sanxingdui was the cross-subject work and technology applied by teams of Chinese archaeologists, which allowed the unearthing of artifacts as fragile as silk remains, which other types of less careful digging methods would not have been able to register.
Cooperation between Chinese and Mexican archaeologists could benefit projects in the Mayan world, where the rainy climate and humidity are problematic for the conservation of ruins.
“Every time our cultural knowledge increases, regardless of whether we speak one language or another, what it shows us is that we continue to be sister cultures and, therefore, the exchange of such knowledge is fundamental,” says Santos.
1. What is a similarity between the Shu Kingdom and Maya civilization?| A．Their starting time. |
| B．Their historical origins. |
| C．Their cultural symbols. |
| D．Their ceremony traditions. |
| A．silk was a common clothing material then |
| B．some technologies were developed much earlier |
| C．the Bronze Age started earlier than previously assumed |
| D．the Shu Kingdom and the Mayan world had close contact |
| A．Damp weather. | B．Positioning of ruins. |
| C．High latitude. | D．Language barriers. |
| A．The future of the China-Mexico cooperation. |
| B．The benefits of speaking a different language. |
| C．The importance of the exchange of cultural knowledge. |
| D．The increasing sisterhood in culture between China and Mexico. |
The Silk Road is in fact a relatively recent term.These ancient roads had no particular name until in the midnineteenth century; Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen
In the nineteenth century, a new type of travelers stepped onto the Silk Road: archaeologists and geographers, enthusiastic explorers who were eager
Today，many historic
Some time after 10,000 BC, people made the first real attempt to control the world they lived
Farming produced more food per person
By about 6000 BC，people
This style of farming lasted for quite a long time. Then，with
8 . Golden Gate Bridge
Located in San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge started in the year 1933 to connect the San Francisco Peninsula with Marin County. It was finally thrown open to public traffic in 1937. It cost $25.7 million in the construction. Till the year 1957, the Golden Gate Bridge, at a length of 2,737 meters, was the longest suspension bridge in the world.
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is located in Brooklyn. It is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States, having been opened in the year 1883. The length of the bridge is 1,843 meters. The bridge has been featured in several Hollywood movies.
George Washington Bridge
Also known as the Hudson River Bridge and the Columbus Bridge, the George Washington Bridge which connects Fort Lee to Manhattan came into use in 1931 after a construction period of almost 4 years. It is a two level suspension bridge that cost about $52 million to build.
Mackinac Bridge
This is the third biggest suspension bridge in the world at a length of 8,038 meters. The architect of this bridge was Dr. David B. Steinman, who directed the construction of the bridge which started in the year 1954 and opened to the public in 1958. People using this bridge are charged a certain amount of money.
Navajo Bridge
Located in Arizona, this bridge crosses the Colorado River and is almost 250 meters long. The construction of this bridge started in the year 1927, ending two years later, costing $390,000. In the 1990s, a second bridge was built which was opened to the public in 1994. The first bridge is now used only by pedestrians.
1. What do we know about the Golden Gate Bridge?| A．It consists of two bridges. |
| B．It costs the least of the five bridges. |
| C．It is the longest suspension bridge in the world. |
| D．It takes about 4 years to complete the construction. |
| A．Golden Gate Bridge. |
| B．Brooklyn Bridge. |
| C．George Washington Bridge. |
| D．Navajo Bridge. |
| A．Have to pay some money. |
| B．Use the second bridge. |
| C．Cover nearly 250 meters. |
| D．See the statue of Dr. David B. Steinman. |
In much of Asia, especially the so-called “rice bowl” cultures of China, Japan, Korea,
Chopsticks are usually two long, thin pieces of wood or bamboo. They can also be made of plastic, animal bone or metal. Sometimes chopsticks are quite artistic. Truly elegant chopsticks might
The Chinese have used chopsticks for five thousand years. People probably cooked their food in large pots,
Food in small pieces could be eaten easily with twigs which
Some people think that the great Chinese scholar Confucius,
Chopsticks are not used everywhere in Asia. In India, for example, most people traditionally eat
●as head of the state，the Queen represents the UK on visits other would leaders to visit the UK.
●as head of the armed force，only the Queen can declare when the UK is at war or when the war is over。
●as head of the Church of England。
Not just the Queen，the royal family spend a great deal of their time traveling up and there should be royal family。Sometimes the press and media criticize（批评）the royal family as well。One criticism is that the British people should not have to pay for the royal through their taxes。Another is that the Buckingham Palace should be open to the public more often，in order to pay for the building repairs that are necessary。
1. Today，the British royal still represents ____of the UK。
| A．the honor and pride | B．history and tradition |
| C．function and law | D．politics and culture |
| A．Visiting foreign countries. |
| B．Fighting in wars. |
| C．Writing government documents. |
| D．Repairing the church. |
| A．Because the royal don’t do anything for the country. |
| B．Because more people want to visit Buckingham Palace. |
| C．Because some people don’t want their taxes to be used for the royal family. |
| D．Because the Queen is too meet busy to meet with her people. |
