1 . 假如你上周去北京旅游了，参观了长城，请根据以下的信息要点写一篇100词左右的英语短文，介绍该景点并谈谈你的参观感受。

历史	有两千多年的历史
特点	世界上最长的城墙，长6000多千米 建筑材料主要为石头、砖头，修建工作都是人工进行 主要用于防御外来入侵者，沿墙每隔几百米就有烽火台（watchtower）
现状	世界著名旅游景点之一，每年吸引许多外国游客到长城观光旅游

注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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2 . 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.

3 . There are hundreds of types of birthday cake in the world. You are likely to enjoy one during at least one of your birthday parties. But have you ever stopped and wondered, “Why am I eating this? What makes this dessert fit to celebrate the day of my birth?”

It’s because you are as important and beloved as the gods.

The ancient Egyptians are thought to have “invented” the celebration of birthdays. They believed when pharaohs (法老) were crowned, they became gods, so their coronation (加冕) day was their “birth” as a god.

Ancient Greeks borrowed the tradition, but realized that a dessert would make the celebration more meaningful. So they baked moon-shaped cakes to offer up to the goddess of the moon. They decorated them with lighted candles to make the cakes shine like the moon. It is the reason why we light our birthday cakes on fire.

Modern birthday parties are said to get their roots from an 18th century German celebration. On the morning of a child’s birthday, he or she would receive a cake with lighted candles that added up to the kid’s age, plus one. This extra candle was called the “light of life,” representing the hope of another full year lived.

And then, torture — because no one could eat the cake until after dinner. The family replaced the candles as they burned out throughout the day. Finally, when the moment came, the birthday child would make a wish, try to blow out all the candles in one breath, and dig in.

Since the ingredients (原料) to make cakes were pretty expensive, this birthday custom didn’t become popular until the Industrial Revolution. More ingredients were available, which made them cheaper, and bakeries even started selling pre-baked cakes.

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A．The origin of birthday cakes.	B．The significance of birthday cakes.
C．The history of birthday parties.	D．The introduction of cake production.

2. Who established the tradition of celebrating birthdays with cakes according to the passage?

A．Germans.	B．Pharaohs.
C．Ancient Greeks.	D．Ancient Egyptians.

3. The underlined word “torture” in Paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to ________.

A．pleasure	B．replacement
C．sharing	D．suffering

4. Why was the birthday cake custom unpopular before the Industrial Revolution?

A．The transport was inconvenient.

B．The ingredients of cakes were expensive.

C．The cake could not be eaten before dinner.

D．The bakeries would not sell pre-baked cakes.

4 . The idea that history is an outdated course of study that will lead to limited career options has spread.     1     It is a wonderful way to prepare for a successful future. Here are a few reasons why it’s important that today’s students continue to learn about the past.

Understanding where people come from is key in understanding who we are.     2     It’s deeply influenced the world and its citizens. For this reason, it’s important to understand history in order to understand why people are the way that they are.

    3     Through history classes, you can experience a change in the way you think. You’ll look at things from a new angle, as you understand the world in a new way. In the end, this change can improve your ability to assess and understand situations, make educated decisions, and learn how to weigh the consequences linked with each choice before you.

Learning from the past prevents future mistakes.     4     From wars to fashion to political trends, historians are often able to make predictions about the future based upon the past. By having a firm grasp on what happened in the past, today’s generation can better prepare for a brighter future by making the right decisions — instead of repeating old mistakes.

    5     The idea that a degree in history can’t lead to a good career is untrue. In fact, students who graduate with degrees in history can become lawyers, business owners, foundation leaders, and non-profit leaders. Besides, history degrees can lead to working as an educator, a leader in a historical organization, a writer, an editor, a journalist, or a producer of multimedia materials.

A．You will understand the world much better.

B．History degrees can lead to well-paying careers.

C．Many people don’t know well about themselves.

D．Learning history can change how you think.

E．But the truth is that studying history is still important.

F．The idea that history repeats itself is rooted in truth.

G．History has shaped cultures, attitudes, and social structures.

5 . 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.

6 . 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.

7 . 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.

8 . The Song Dynasty (960-1279) is often thought of as the Chinese Renaissance (文艺复兴). For about three and a quarter centuries, under its rule, China enjoyed a period of economic growth with great and amazing artistic achievements.

One of the most important factors in the Song Renaissance was the printing press (印刷机) which made for a rebirth of classical Confucian (儒学的) learning. By the 10th century, printers had produced a large number of copies of the classical Confucian texts. With this increase in the production of books, education spread and became widely available.

Printing also had its greatest influence on the Chinese political system. In the Song Dynasty, government examinations became the most important way to gain political power in China. For almost 1,000 years, China was governed by men who had done very well in examinations. Thousands of students studied for the exams, and thousands of inexpensive books were required. Without printing, such a system would not have been possible.

The Song period was also the golden age of Chinese painting. Emperor Huizong was a talented painter who encouraged the arts. A royal painting school was created and many fine artists were supported. The period is best known for nature subjects and landscape paintings. Guo Xi used perspective in his paintings and The Quiet Valley is one of his best-known works. One of the greatest landscape painters of the period was Fan Kuan. His famous work, Travelling among Mountains and Streams, is one of the most famous Chinese paintings. Completed around the year 1000, it was inspired by the power of nature and the relative insignificance of humans.

1. When was the Chinese Renaissance?

A．Immediately after the Renaissance in Europe.	B．During the Song Dynasty.
C．At the time of Confucius.	D．In the year 1000.

2. What contributed to spreading the ideas of Confucius?

A．The spread of education to all people.

B．People’s new interest in classical texts.

C．The development of painting.

D．The printing press and a wide availability of books.

3. How did people become politicians at the time?

A．By studying Confucian ideas.	B．By reading many printed books.
C．By learning painting.	D．By taking government examinations.

4. From the passage we can know the painter of Travelling among Mountains and Streams is __________.

A．Guo Xi	B．Emperor Huizong
C．Fan Kuan	D．Confucius

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 . Before the 1830s, most newspapers were sold through annual subscriptions in America, usually $8 to $10 a year. Today $8 or $10 seems a small amount of money, but at that time these amounts were forbidding to most citizens. Accordingly, newspapers were read almost only by rich people in politics or the trades. In addition, most newspapers had little in them that would appeal to a mass audience. They were dull and visually forbidding. But the revolution that was taking place in the 1830s would change all that.

The trend, then, was toward the “penny paper”—a term referring to papers made widely available to the public. It meant any inexpensive newspaper; perhaps more importantly it meant newspapers that could be bought in single copies on the street.

This development did not take place overnight. It had been possible(but not easy) to buy single copies of newspapers before 1830, but this usually meant the reader had to go down to the printer’s office to purchase a copy. Street sales were almost unknown. However, within a few years, street sales of newspapers would be commonplace in eastern cities. At first the price of single copies was seldom a penny—usually two or three cents was charged—and some of the older well-known papers charged five or six cents. But the phrase “penny paper” caught the public’s fancy, and soon there would be papers that did indeed sell for only a penny.

This new trend of newspapers for “the man on the street” did not begin well. Some of the early ventures(企业) were immediate failures. Publishers already in business, people who were owners of successful papers, had little desire to change the tradition. It took a few youthful and daring businessmen to get the ball rolling.

1. Which of the following best describes newspapers in America before the 1830s?

A．Academic.

B．Unattractive.

C．Inexpensive.

D．Confidential.

2. What did street sales mean to newspapers?

A．They would be priced higher.	B．They would disappear from cities.
C．They could have more readers.	D．They could regain public trust.

3. Who were the newspapers of the new trend targeted at?

A．Local politicians.	B．Common people.
C．Young publishers.	D．Rich businessmen.

4. What can we say about the birth of the penny paper?

A．It was a difficult process.	B．It was a temporary success.
C．It was a robbery of the poor.	D．It was a disaster for printers.