1 . A huge fire broke out on 2 September 1666 in London. The fire, known as the Great Fire of London, was the worst fire in the history of London. It burned down more than three quarters of the old city.
The fire started in the very early hours of Sunday morning in the house of the king’s baker. A strong wind blew the fire from the baker’s house into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning.
At that time, most of the buildings in London were made of wood, so it was easy for the fire to spread quickly. By eight o’clock, three hundred houses were on fire. By Monday, nearly a kilometre of the city was burning along the Thames River. On Tuesday, which was considered the worst day, the fire destroyed many well-known buildings, including the old St Paul’s Cathedral.
The fire burned until finally hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire were destroyed to create a firebreak. The fire then died out eventually with nothing left to burn.
1. Why is the fire of 1666 called the Great Fire of London?| A．The fire broke out in the capital of England. |
| B．The fire was the worst fire in the history of London. |
| C．People in England will never forget the fire. |
| D．The fire spread fast into Thames Street. |
| A．In the house of the king’s baker. |
| B．In Thames Street. |
| C．In the house of the baker’s neighbour. |
| D．In St Paul’s Cathedral. |
| A．It started in a baker’s house. |
| B．It broke out on a Sunday morning. |
| C．A hotel was next to the baker’s house. |
| D．Most of the buildings in London were wooden. |
| A．The old St Paul’s Cathedral. |
| B．Hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire. |
| C．Hundreds of wooden houses. |
| D．All of the above. |
2 . Paper is one of the most important products ever invented by man. Wide spread use of written language would not have been possible without some cheap and practical material to write on. The invention of paper meant that more people could be educated because more books could be printed and distributed. Together with the printing press, paper provided an extremely important way to communicate knowledge.
How much paper do you use every year? Probably you cannot answer that question quickly. In 1900 the world's use of paper was about one kilogram for each person a year. Now some countries use as much as 50 kilograms of paper for each person a year. Countries like the United States, England and Sweden use more paper than other countries.
Paper, like many other things that we use today, was first made in China. In Egypt and the West, paper was not very commonly used before the year 1400. The Egyptians wrote on a kind of material made of a water plant. Europeans used parchment for many hundreds of years. Parchment was very strong; it was made from the skin of certain young animals. We have learnt of the most important facts of European history from records that were kept on parchment.
1. What's the meaning for the word 'parchment'? ________| A．The skin of young animals. |
| B．A kind of paper made from the skin of certain young animals. |
| C．The paper used by European countries. |
| D．The paper of Egypt. |
| A．More jobs could be provided than before. |
| B．More people could be educated than before. |
| C．More books could be printed and distributed. |
| D．More ways could be used to exchange knowledge. |
| A．Around 1400. | B．Around 1900. | C．Around 400. | D．Around 900. |
| A．China. | B．Sweden. | C．Egypt | D．Japan. |
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); today it is 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 half-mast (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．The Union Jack Everywhere |
| B．The Union Jack at Anytime |
| C．National Flag, the Union Jack |
| D．The History of the Union Jack |
4 . Canada is a bilingual country with "co-official" languages. English and French enjoy equal status as the official languages of the country. This means that the public has the right to communicate with and receive services from federal(联邦的)government institutions in either English or French. Federal government employees have the right to work in the official language of their choice in bilingual regions.
Like the United States, Canada started as a colony. Beginning in the 1500s, it was part of New France but later became a British colony after the Seven Years' War. As a result, the Canadian government officially recognized the languages of both colonizers: France and England. The Constitution(宪法)Act of 1867 legally accepts the use of both languages in federal courts. Years later, Canada strengthened its commitment to bilingualism when it passed the Official Languages Act of 1969, which restated the constitutional origins of its co-official languages and set out the protections afforded by its dual-language status.
Recognition of both English and French protects the rights of all Canadians. Among other benefits, the 1969 Act recognized that Canadian citizens should be able to access federal laws and government documents, whether their native language was French or English. The general law also requires that consumer products feature bilingual packaging throughout the country.
The Canadian federal government is committed to advancing the equality of status and use of the English and French languages, within Canadian society. However, the reality is that some Canadians speak English, and of course, some Canadians speak the other language entirely.
Although the federal government theoretically guarantees bilingual services in all areas, there are many regions of Canada where English is the clear majority language, so the local government does not always seek services in French in those regions. Canadians use the phrase "where numbers warrant" to determine whether a local population's language usage requires bilingual services from the federal government.
While many Canadians are bilingual, they are not only speaking English or French. Statistics Canada finds that more than 200 languages that were not English or French, were reported as a language spoken by its people. About two-thirds of the respondents who spoke one of these languages also spoke either English or French.
1. The acceptance of two official languages in Canada is due to______________.| A．the language-using tradition caused by Canada's colonial history |
| B．the convenience for business dealings by using two languages in the country |
| C．the welcome attitude toward immigrates from all over the world. |
| D．the mastery of two languages of Canadians because of school education |
| A．the legal order from the federal government |
| B．the popularity of the language in the world |
| C．the number of schools teaching the language |
| D．the number of local people using the language |
| A．English has gained superior legal position to French because of bigger number of users in Canada. |
| B．The legal court usage of French and English was established in Canada in 1969. |
| C．Both French and English should be used on products in Canada according to federal law. |
| D．Canadian people speak either French or English in social communication. |
| A．The advantages of using multiple languages in Canada. |
| B．The history and current situation of two languages used in Canada. |
| C．The disadvantaged status of the French language used in Canada. |
| D．Canadians' advancement in balancing two languages in business world. |
5 . Architectural history can take you through the evolution of those structures that served as a mark to remote civilizations, like the Egyptians and their architecture, reflected in pyramids, tombs, and many other ancient buildings along the Nile River．
In fact, the first big architectural design recorded in history was the work of Imhotep, Egyptian high priest（主教）, who designed and built the complex（综合建筑群） that took the name of his king, between the years 2630 to 2611 BC．
Ruins of the most varied architecture speak for themselves about the most varied civilizations, traditions, and beliefs around the world．Without architecture, the history of mankind would be incomplete．
Many surviving buildings of the ancient world are examples of the great things that architecture can do for the world．Among them, we can name the Great Pyramid, listed as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and the great Wall of China, built between the years 221 to 206 BC．
As time passed, all buildings and designs began to take special characteristics, becoming symbols of different eras identified as architectural styles．In ancient Greece, where buildings seemed to always be the same, there were three types of columns to identify each period of time．
The Romans inherited from the Greeks most of their traditions, beliefs, and customs, including architecture, but they also developed their own．
Architectural history was influenced by artistic, economic, politic, and socio-cultural events throughout the centuries, and Europe became the cradle（摇篮） of many well-known architects in the years following the fall of the Roman Empire．
As time passes, the actual architecture differs in shape, materials, construction methods, and designing goals, but the work of the architects will continue for generations to come．
1. Who made the first big architectural design recorded in history?| A．Chinese | B．Indians | C．Egyptians | D．British |
| A．They give tourists chances to visit them． |
| B．They help to satisfy the needs of houses． |
| C．They can bring in a great deal of money for the local people． |
| D．They represent different cultivations, traditions, and beliefs there and then． |
| A．To show its strength | B．To tell us its importance |
| C．To show its special style | D．To prove the function of architecture |
| A．Architectural history was only influenced by economic and politic events． |
| B．The Roman Empire was the cradle of famous architects earlier than Europe． |
| C．The actual architecture remains the same in shape, material and designing goals． |
| D．Europe was the cradle of famous architects earlier than the Roman Empire． |
6 . Thousands of years ago, people didn't live in cold places because they didn't know how to keep themselves warm. Later they learned to make clothes. When an animal was killed, they made use of its skins to cover their bodies. The skins kept them warm. Nature is people's good friend. It once helped people find fire, when lightning(闪电) hit a forest and started a fire. People took some of this fire to their homes. The fire kept them warm, and also frightened wild animals. Soon people found the food cooked tasted much better, so they began to use the fire to cook food. But people still didn't know how to make a fire. When they got a fire from the forest they tried to keep it burning. If it went out, they had to wait for years. But later they found different ways to make fire. For example, they made fire by burning wood or knocking two pieces of stones.
Today it's easy for people to make fire because they have matches, lighters and different kinds of heaters. They can make fire at any time they need.
1. Once people lived only in hot places because they did not know how to _____.| A．kill animals | B．take fire from forest |
| C．keep themselves warm | D．make matches |
| A．for food | B．to make fire | C．for burning | D．to warm themselves |
| A．cook food | B．kill animals | C．cut off an animal’s skin | D．burn wood |
| A．stones | B．wood | C．dry leaves | D．animal skins |
