1 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

China is widely known     1     its ancient civilization. There are many factors for its     2       (survive) , one of which is the Chinese writing system.

At the beginning,     3     (write) Chinese was a picture-based language. By the Shang Dynasty, these symbols     4     (become) a well-developed writing system. Over the years, the system developed into different forms, as it was a time when people were divided     5    (geography), leading to many varieties of dialects and characters. It was during the Qin Dynasty     6     the Chinese writing system began to develop     7     one direction. The writing system was of great importance in uniting the Chinese people and culture. It has also become an important means by which China’s present     8     (connect) with its past.

Today, the Chinese writing system is still     9     important part of Chinese culture. As China plays a     10     (great) role in global affairs, an increasing number of people are beginning to appreciate China’s culture and history through this amazing language.

2 . 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。

Kite flying dated from China and became popular around the country. With a long history, it is considered as the    1    (early) aircraft we have ever known. Kites were used for military(军事的)purposes in the very. beginning, such as measurement and signaling. Later kite flying gradually became    2    outdoor activity for recreation as well as art and    3    (be) warmly welcome for centuries.

In the past, people fastened bamboo-made whistles onto a kite. While    4    (fly) through the wind, it produced sound like the music produced by gu-zheng,     5    is a traditional Chinese instrument. Therefore, kite has    6    (it) modern name as fengzheng.

In the 7^th century, kite    7    (introduce) to neighboring countries including Korea and Japan. Around the 13^th century, Marco Polo introduced it to Europe and Arab countries.

Around the Qingming Festival, usually on early April, many people fly kites in public squares. The sky is dotted with kites of different designs, such as dancing butterflies, bounding dragons, and swimming fish. When people look at those kites, they feel as if they were flying away with the kites    8    (escape) the noisy world and step into the nature with their body and soul. Besides, it is a way for people to pray    9    blessings and fortune.

The traditional Chinese kite expresses    10    (harmonious) between human and nature, a long-held belief treasured by the Chinese people.

3 . 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。

Happy Birthday to You is a happy song,     1     the story behind it may not be known to all. Two sisters, Mildred Hill and Dr. Patty     2    (write) a song for children     3    (call) Good Morning to All. The song was sure to be     4     success due to    5    talents. The sisters published the song in 1893.

Thirty-one years later, a gentleman by the name of Robert H. Coleman published the song without the sisters     6    ( permit). And     7    (make) matters worse, he added a second verse, which was the familiar Happy Birthday to you.

Mr. Coleman's addition of the second verse     8    (popular) the song and eventually, Happy Birthday to You, the one and only birthday song totally replaced the sisters' Good Morning to All.

After Mildred died in 1916, Patty took Mr. Coleman to court. In court, she proved that she and her sister owned the melody. Because the family     9    (legal)owns the song, they are entitled to royalties from it whenever it is sung     10    commercial purposes.

4 . Up in the air—a history of ballooning

The first kind of air transportation was the balloon. People traveled by balloon one hundred years before there were planes or jet aircraft. Those early days of ballooning were exciting, but they were also risky.     1     However, the danger did not stop the balloonists.

The first real balloon flight was in France in 1783. Two French brothers made a balloon.     2    Hot air is lighter than cold air, so it goes up. The hot air balloon went up 1,000 feet in the sky.

    3    They built a fire under the balloon to make the air hot. This made the balloon stay up in the air for a few hours. But their balloon was tied to the ground. So it could not go anywhere.

Soon balloonists tried longer flights. In 1785, an American and a Frenchman flew over the English Channel. They left England on a cold, clear January day. Halfway across, their balloon began to drop toward the water. They threw out some equipment and food to make the balloon lighter. The balloon continued to fall, so they threw out almost everything in the basket -even some of their clothes.     4    

During the nineteenth century, ballooning became a popular sport and balloons were also used by scientists to study the air and by armies in war time. After the airplane was invented, however, interest in balloons decreased dramatically. But some people today still like to go up in balloons.     5    What’s more, they have a wonderful view of the world below.

A．They filled a very large paper bag with hot air.

B．High up in the balloon basket, they find quiet.

C．Sometimes the balloons fell suddenly and sometimes they burned.

D．Back then, few people understood how they were able to fly so far.

E．Finally, after about three hours, they landed in France, cold but safe.

F．Balloon races and displays remain popular all over the world to this very day.

G．Later that same year, two other Frenchmen ascended in a basket under a balloon.

5 . “The Lion King” is one of Disney’s highest earners. But behind “The Lion King”, a true story of Sundiata Keita is still largely invisible outside his own country.

Known as the Lion of Mali, Sundiata was the founder of the Malian Empire, the largest kingdom in West Africa. His empire expanded more than 1,000 miles from the Atlantic coast all the way to the Niger River. Sundiata ruled from 1235 to 1255.

Sundiata’s father, King Naré Maghann Konaté, was told by fortune tellers that if he married an ugly woman she would give birth to a son who would become a mighty and magnificent king. He already had a wife named Sassouma Bereté and a son named Dankaran Tourman. However, Konate took Sogolon Kedjou as his second wife. She gave birth to Sundiata, who was born disabled. Though the king favored him, both Sogolon and Sundiata were unfairly teased for his disability.

Sundiata became a great leader among his people, sparking resentment from his half-brother Tourman who wanted the throne for himself. When Konaté died, many suspected that he had been murdered. Fearful of an attack on their lives. Sogolon took Sundiata and the rest of her children and fled. The Mandinka people were taken over by the cruel and unfair King Soumaoro Kante of the Sosso people.

In need of their true leader, the people sent word for Sundiata to return and take his rightful place as the king. Outside of the country, Sundiata built alliances with the king of Mema and other local rulers. He gathered an army to free the Mandinka people and defeat the Sosso king. Upon his victorious return, he adopted a new title for himself. “Mansa,” which means king or emperor in Mandinka. Sundiata’s kingdom became one of the most wealthy and powerful empires in history.

1. Why is the movie “The Lion King” mentioned in paragraph 1?

A．To show us one of Disney’s achievements.

B．To encourage a view of the movie.

C．To introduce a true story.

D．To tell us its popularity among the public.

2. Why did Konaté get married to Sogolon Kedjou?

A．Because she was a recognized beauty.

B．Because he expected her to produce a great successor.

C．Because she adored him for his immense power.

D．Because he was not content with his first wife.

3. What does the underlined word “resentment” in paragraph 4 refer to?

A．Inspiration.	B．Anger.
C．Admiration.	D．Guilt.

4. Where is this text most likely from?

A．A magazine.	B．A diary.
C．A guidebook.	D．A novel.

6 . Beginning with Chinese efforts to explore and connect with Central Asia, the Silk Road consisted of massive small routes and was named after the silk cloth the Chinese produced.     1     Through these routes, Chinese silk, porcelain, lacquer work and ironware were shipped to the West, while pepper, flax, spices, grape and pomegranate entered China.

    2     They promoted flow of knowledge as well. Arab astronomy, calendar and medicine found their way to China, while China’s four great inventions and silkworm breeding spread to other parts of the world.     3     For example, Buddhism originated in India, blossomed in China and was enriched in Southeast Asia. Confucianism, which was born in China, gained appreciation by European thinkers such as Leibniz and Voltaire. Herein lies the appeal of mutual learning.

The ancient silk routes witnessed the busy scenes of visits and trade over land and ships calling at ports. Along these major routes, capital, technology and people flowed freely.     4     The ancient prosperous cities and ports developed, so did the Roman Empire as well as Parthia and Kushan Kingdoms. The Han and Tang Dynasties of China entered the golden age. The ancient silk routes brought prosperity to these regions and contributed to their development.

Some regions along the ancient Silk Road used to be a land of milk and honey. Yet today, these places are often associated with conflict, crisis and challenge.     5     Now, the Belt and Road Initiative intends to build an open platform of cooperation and a broad community of shared interests. It will not only achieve economic growth and balanced development, but also connect different civilizations. Mutual understanding, mutual respect, and mutual trust among different countries will be boosted.

A．More importantly ideas were also exchanged.

B．The ancient silk routes were not only for trade.

C．Goods, resources and benefits were widely shared.

D．Such state of affairs should not be allowed to continue.

E．However, silk was just one of many goods traded on these routes.

F．Large empires provided stability and protection for the trade routes.

G．The Silk Road was never an actual road, or even a single massive trade route.

7 . 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。

When foreigners negotiate, or register in certain areas of China, they may be     1    (surprise) at Chinese’s special fondness and preference for seals. To Chinese, seals are an art of deep cultural roots,     2     combines the essence of both calligraphy(书法) and sculpture and inspires generations to study, to appreciate and to collect.

It is believed that seals came out as early     3     8,000 years ago after our ancestors could make pottery wares(陶瓷)and had private property. They were assumed to make marks on     4    (they) own possessions to prevent them from being stolen. When the first dynasty     5    (found),the king began to use seals to empower(授权)and to show lordly credits. Only the king’s special seal was then called “Xi”,     6    (represent) the highest authority. The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, had his “Xi”    7    (make) out of the invaluable and beautiful jade “Heshi Bi”.

Then the local governments also needed seals for     8     same function. Meanwhile, private seals were carved in a variety of lucky     9    (character)and vivid animal patterns.    10    (gradual). the sphragistics (印章学) came into being.

8 . The history of writing instruments, with which humans have recorded and conveyed thoughts and feelings, is the history of civilization itself. This is how we know about our ancestors and their life.

The handy sharpened-stone was adapted into the first writing instrument. Around 24,000 BC, the cave man started drawing pictures with the stone onto the walls of his cave.    1    Walls at the Apollo site in Namibia are believed to be the oldest rock paintings to date.

Before paper came along, people used clay or wax tablets on which they wrote with sharp objects such as metal sticks or bones. Around 6000 years ago, the Egyptians invented the first paperlike material called papyrus. The word “paper” actually comes from the word “papyrus”.

    2    Bones or metal sticks were no longer useful as the papyrus could not be scratched. So the Egyptians created a reed-pen perfect for the papyrus.    3    And thus, ancient Egyptians transformed bamboo stems (茎) into an early form of a fountain pen.

Another writing instrument that remained active in history for a long period was the quill (鹅毛) pen. Introduced around 700 AD, the quill was a pen made from a bird feather. Goose feathers were most common.    4    For making fine line drawings, crow feathers were the best.

When writers had better inks and paper and handwriting had developed into both an art form and an everyday occurrence, man’s inventive nature once again turned to improving the writing instrument.    5    

A．Now something was needed to write upon the papyrus.

B．The papyrus became the most popular material at that time.

C．Swan feathers were of a high quality, being rare and most expensive.

D．Bamboo stems were better and much more expensive than goose feathers.

E．This led to the development of the modern fountain pen in the 19th century.

F．These were mostly the stems of grasses, especially from the bamboo plant.

G．These drawings showed events in daily life like the planting of crops or hunting victories.

9 . What happens when you want to go from one place to another, but there's water in the way？That's the problem people faced for hundreds of years in the area that is now New York City. In the city, there is a natural canal called the Narrows, separating Brooklyn on one side from Staten Island on the other.

But the Narrows isn't really so narrow. The water is almost a mile wide, and it's more than 100 feet deep.     1     When they wanted to talk to each other, they climbed into their boats and sailed across.

By the late 1800s, circumstances had changed dramatically. Population growth meant there were now many people needing to travel between Staten Island and Brooklyn for work.     2    

Between 1888 and 1920 there were two major efforts to build a train tunnel to connect the areas.     3     Proposals to build a connecting bridge made during the 1910s also ended in failure due to opposition from the US Navy.

Finally, after World War II, there were so many people living in New York City that leaders decided Brooklyn and Staten Island needed a direct connection. Since tunnels were too expensive, they decided to build a bridge. The design selected had two separate roadways stacked on top of each other.     4     Construction, which took five years, was completed in 1964 and cost $320 million. Today about 190,000 cars and trucks cross the bridge every day.

    5     But in the case of the Narrows, figuring out a good solution took hundreds of years.

A．Sometimes getting from one place to another is easy.

B．Both were quickly abandoned however due to the high costs involved.

C．Neither road was large enough to satisfy the existing transport demands.

D．It was anticipated that the new train system would help the areas grow even faster.

E．Taking a boat every time was very slow, expensive and, in bad weather, unreliable.

F．Both would hang in the air from thick steel cables, supported by two giant steel towers.

G．For a long time that wasn't a problem, because only a few people lived in Brooklyn and Staten Island.

10 . I visited Elba last June, joining Mary and John on a bicycling vacation. They made the arrangements for the car, hotel and bicycles. I studied the history of the island, which of course particularly features Napoleon.

Napoleon (now I know) picked Elba as a place for peace when he was forced to give up the throne (王权) as Emperor of France in 1814. Far from being a prison island, Elba is beautiful with towering mountains, thick forests and sweeping bays and beaches.

It is also an island filled with treasure. Very early on this island, locals discovered rich deposits of iron. Soon outsiders, too, discovered the iron and 150 other valuable minerals on this little piece of land. Long before Etruscans and other Greeks set foot on it, Dorians had moved in by the tenth century B. C. and were mining the island. The Romans ruled next, obtaining the minerals and building grand houses overlooking the sea. From the twelfth century until the nineteenth, the island was traded back and forth and was passed to France in 1802. Then came Napoleon, the new ruler of Elba.

I was eager to visit his house in Portoferraio. The Emperor lived with his court and his mother, but his wife, Marie Louise had ensconced herself in the splendid Viennese palace of her father, Emperor of Austria. She lived safely there and showed little interest in visiting her husband in his mini-kingdom. Apparently, Napoleon wasn’t troubled much by this. He was too busy riding everywhere on horseback, building roads, modernizing agriculture and, above all, sharpening his tiny army and navy into readiness for his escape.

In the formal gardens behind the house it seemed to me that I could imagine the exiled (流放的) conqueror’s anxious thoughts. He might gaze over where I stood now, toward the lighthouse of the Stella fort, the sandy bay, and across it, the green mountains of the Tuscan coast. Napoleon spent only ten months here before making his victorious return to France and the throne.

1. What did the author do for the visit to Elba?

A．He did research on its past.

B．He arranged transportation.

C．He planned bicycling routes.

D．He booked accommodation.

2. Who might be the earliest outsiders to Elba according to the text?

A．Napoleon and his army.	B．Etruscans and other Greeks.
C．Dorians.	D．Romans.

3. What does the underlined word “ensconced” probably mean?

A．Settled.	B．Locked.
C．Cured.	D．Controlled.

4. What came to the author’s mind during his visit to Napoleon’s gardens?

A．Beautiful views on Elba.

B．Terrible living conditions on Elba.

C．Napoleon’s ambition to regain power.

D．Hardship of Napoleon’s return to France.