1 . Remote controls are one of the most common symbols of our modern technologies. In fact, remote controls are an invention born in the 1800s. Famous inventor Nikola Tesla created one of the world’s first wireless remote controls, which he exhibited in public at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1898.

Tesla called his system a “teleautomaton”, which could be used to control a mechanical device. For his demonstration, Tesla employed a minitype boat, which had a metal air wire that could receive exactly one radio frequency. He showed how his remote-controlled boat worked and whole process attracted many people. However, financially, Tesla’s remote-controlled boat was a failure. His intended client, the U.S. Navy, thought the technology was too easily damaged during use. But the concept of remote control caught on and quickly spread to many other types of equipment.

In the 1930s and 1940s, a new consumer electronics, such as garage door openers and model airplanes, arrived with remote controls. In the mid-1950s, Zenith engineer Eugene Polley designed his Flashmatic TV remote control, which used directional flashes of light to control the television. In 1956, Polley’s colleague, Robert Adler, created the Space Command control, which employed high-frequency, ultrasonic (超声的) sounds instead of light. This style of remote control increased the price of a new TV by a third, but that didn’t stop people from buying in mass quantities. Remote controls kept evolving, too. Ultrasonic sound remote controls were the standard for TVs until the 1980s, when remote controls began using the infrared (红外线) light signals that are very common today.

These days, you can find remote control capability built into a huge array of products such as toy cars and helicopters, video game consoles (控制台), ceiling fans, etc. There’s a good chance you can find a version that’s controlled by remote control. You can even buy a remote-controlled toilet.

Remote controls have allowed humans to perform many tasks that would be difficult, if not impossible. And although remote controls have a long history, they are anything but over. As we continue to introduce technology to every aspect of our lives, it’s very likely that we’ll need remote controls to keep things under control.

1. What made the U.S. Navy think poorly of Tesla’s remote-controlled boat?

A．Its high cost.

B．Its unsatisfactory quality.

C．Its damage to people’s health.

D．Its inaccuracy in sending signals.

2. What did Robert Alder use in his remote control?

A．Directional flashes of light.	B．Infrared light signals.
C．Various metal air wires.	D．High-frequency, ultrasonic sounds.

3. Why did the author mention those products in Paragraph 4?

A．To advertise some modern inventions.

B．To prove the rapid evolution of kids’ toy.

C．To show the wide application of remote controls.

D．To show the principle of some high-tech products.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Human are too dependent on technology.

B．Remote controls are necessary in our life

C．Humans are trying to keep everything under control.

D．Remote controls will probably fade away in the future.

5. What does the author mainly tell us in this text?

A．The history of remote controls.

B．The developments of our modern technologies.

C．The achievements of some great inventors.

D．The popularity of remote controls in our daily life.

2 . 根据课文内容，在空白处填入所缺的单词。

Almost everywhere you go in the UK, you will be surrounded by     1     of four different groups of people who took     2     at different times throughout history. The first group, the Romans, came in the first century. Some of their great     3     included building towns and roads.

4 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

A Stone Age bird sculpture uncovered in China could be a “missing link” in our understanding of prehistoric art. Dating back almost 13,500 years, the sculpture is now the oldest known example of three-dimensional art in East Asia.

Described     1     being in “an exceptional state of preservation,” the sculpture     2    (find) at an archeological site in Lingjing, Henan Province. It was hand-carved from burned animal bane. Researchers say the sculpture depicts(刻画) a bird on a base, pointing to deliberate marks     3     the creature’s eyes and bill(嘴) would be. It is believed that the bird’s oversized tail was made     4    (prevent) the sculpture from leaning forward when     5    (lay) on a surface. This discovery identifies a(n)     6    (origin) artistic tradition and pushes back by more than 8,500 years the representation of birds in Chinese art. The sculpture differs     7    (technologic) from other sculptures found in Western Europe and Siberia, and it could be the missing link     8    (trace) the origin of Chinese statues back to the early part of the Stone Age. Li Zhanyang, who led     9     study, has contributed to other archeological findings in Lingjing, including various ancient     10    (tool) and two skulls belonging to an extinct species of early humans.

6 . The Silk Road is the name of different roads that long ago connected Europe, Africa and Asia. People reached these different places along these roads. Scientists believe people began to travel the Silk Road about 3000 years ago. By the time the Chinese silk trade became important in the world, the Silk Road covered almost 6500 kilometers. It spread from Rome to China, which is from the West to the Far East.

Traders travelling along the Silk Road carried silk, of course. They also carried and traded spices (香料), cloth, valuable stones and gold.

There is a famous old story along the old road. It is said that Roman soldiers travelled through central Asia. They started to live somewhere near the ancient Chinese village of Liqian. Sortie of these Romans married local Chinese women and the story of blue-eyed villages of China was started.

During its busiest period, the Silk Road allowed people from many different cultures and countries to meet each other and mix. The Silk Road allowed the sharing of valuable goods and new ideas. These included people and trading goods from the Mediterranean, Persian, Magyar, Armenian, Bactrian, Indian and Chinese areas. All these peoples travelled the Silk Road, and they shared goods, stories, languages, and cultures.

In modern times, the old Silk Road routes (路线) are still used, but now they are crossed by trains instead of camels and horses. There is even a Silk Route Museum in Jiuquan in China. It has over 35,000, objects from all along the Silk Road. In this way, China protects the history of many countries and peoples.

1. How many kilometers did the Silk Road cover?

A．About 3000.

B．Nearly 6500.

C．Almost 2000.

D．Over 35,000.

2. Which of the following goods is not mentioned in the passage?

A．Silk.

B．Cloth.

C．Gold.

D．Tea.

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Valuable things could not be sold along the Silk Road.

B．The Silk Road allowed people from different countries to mix.

C．Ancient Chinese along the Silk Road maybe able to speak different languages.

D．The objects in the museum in Jiuquan in China are from all along the Silk Road.

4. Which part of a magazine can this passage come from?

A．History and Geography.	B．Sports World.
C．Man and Animals.	D．Popular Science.

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.

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,     1     (discover) in Hubei province in 2016, dates back to the Zhou Dynasty. The body of a guqin is made of lacquered (上漆的) wood and the strings of twisted silk. Unlike its seemingly simple appearance, making a guqin is    2    (extreme) demanding. An outstanding piece can take anywhere from two to several decades    3    (create). It is a result of art and time.

The tone of a guqin is quiet, light and    4    (distance). Vibrations (琴弦振动) are used to produce a flowing and lingering (持续的) quality,    5    abundant empty notes in between. As the listener fills in the gaps in their own minds, a connection is formed between music and man.

The guqin     6    (favor) by the scholars in ancient China. The most well-known guqin musician was Yu Boya in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. As he played his guqin in the mountains, a woodcutter named Zhong Ziqi heard the music and understood exactly    7    Yu wanted to express. This deep understanding formed     8    strong bond between them, and they became close friends. This is the famous tale behind the guqin masterpiece, Flowing Water, High Mountains. The piece has been passed down through     9    (generation) and is considered one of the most famous and important compositions in Chinese guqin music.

This graceful dialogue, flowing from brushed fingertips and    10    (travel) for thousands of years, is continuing to this day.

9 . 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

2. The second paragraph mainly talks about ________.

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

3. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

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.

4. What is the best title of the passage?

A．The Union Jack Everywhere	B．The Union Jack at Anytime
C．National Flag, the Union Jack	D．The History of the Union Jack

10 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

Table tennis started as an after-dinner game, but is now a fast, high-tech sport. It also has     1     most players of any sport in the world.

    2     is believed that upper-class Victorians in England invented table tennis in the 1880s as an after-dinner alternative (可能的选择) to tennis,     3     (use) whatever they could find as equipment. A line of books would often be the net, and sometimes a cigarette box cover would be a racket.

In 1926, at a meeting     4     (hold) in Berlin, the International Table Tennis Federation was formed. The first World Championships were held in London in the same year, but the sport had to wait a long time before it was given a chance     5     (make) its first appearance at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.

The sport     6     (progress) greatly since it was first invented. Nowadays, players use     7     (special) developed rackets and a lightweight, hollow (空心的) ball. Thanks to their high-tech rackets, they can now enjoy the     8     (magic) feeling of hitting the ball at over 150 kilometres per hour!

Over the years, table tennis has developed into a worldwide sport. There are perhaps 40 million competitive table tennis players and countless millions     9     play less seriously. Hopefully, table tennis     10     (play) by more people all over the world in the future.