1 . The first organized system for sending messages began in Egypt around 1500 B.C. This system developed because the pharaohs frequently needed to send messages up and down the Nile River in order to keep their empire running smoothly. Later, the Persians developed a more efficient system for sending messages using men and horses. Messages carriers rode along the road system stretching from one end of the Persian Empire to the other. Along these roads, fresh men and horses waited at special stations to take and pass along any messages that needed to be sent. The stations where riders passed messages back and forth were built 23 kilometers apart, so the men and horses were able to travel quickly between them. The Romans later took up his idea and improved it by using a more advanced and extensive road system.

In China, however, Kublai Khan had built up his own system for delivering messages. This system worked in the same basic way as the Roman system. The difference was that Kublai Khan kept 300,000 horses along the roads of this delivery lines. There were over 10,000 stations where a message would be passed from one rider to another with a fresh horse. In this way, Kublai Khan could receive messages from anywhere in the country in only a few days.

It was not until the 1500s that a well-organized postal system appeared again in Europe. One family, the von Taxis family, gained the right to deliver mail for the Holy Roman Empire and parts of Spain. This family continued to carry mail, both government and private, throughout Europe for almost 300 years.

In 1653, a Frenchman, Renouard de Velayer, established a system for delivering post in Paris. Postal charges at that time were paid by the recipient , but de Velayer's system was unique by allowing the sender to pre-pay the charges, in a similar way to the modern stamp. Unfortunately, de Velayer's system came to an end when jealous competitors put live mice in his letter boxes, ruining his business. Eventually, government-controlled postal systems took over from private postal businesses, and by the 1700s government ownership of most postal systems in Europe was an accepted fact of life.

The thing that all these early systems had in common was that they were quite expensive for public use, and were intended for use by the government and the wealthy. However, in 1840, a British schoolteacher named Roland Hill suggested introducing postage stamps, and a postal rate based on weight. This resulted in lowering postal rates, encouraging more people to use the system to stay in touch with each other, His idea helped the British postal system begin to earn profits as early as 1850. Soon after that many other countries took up Mr. Hill's idea. And letter writing became accessible to anyone who could write. Today, the Roland Hill awards are given each year to "encourage and reward fresh ideas which help promote philately"     (stamp collecting).

1. What is the main topic of the passage?

A．How international letters travel.	B．A surprising method for delivering mail.
C．The history of postal systems.	D．Changes in the methods of communication.

2. Which of the following statements about Renouard de Velayer is true?

A．His was a government-controlled system.

B．His competitors destroyed his business.

C．His system lasted for hundreds of years.

D．In his system, the person who received the letter paid the postage fees.

3. Which of the systems mentioned in the passage was most like the postal system today?

A．Egyptian.	B．Chinese.
C．de Velayer's.	D．von Taxis's.

4. What was Roland Hill's greatest achievement?

A．He made letter writing accessible to the average person.

B．He made a lot of money for the British postal system.

C．He made stamp collecting a popular hobby.

D．He won an award for letter writing.

2 . When our ancestors were peasants in the earliest days of agriculture, the daily schedule was: work in field all day, eat midday meal in field, continue working in field. Today, after centuries of human advancement, it goes something like: work in coffee shop all day, buy and eat lunch there, continue toiling away on laptop until the sun sets. Though it may seem like the tech boom and gig economy(临时工经济) led the way in this modern mobile work style, working and dining have always been intertwined. In major cities like New York, Washington D.C., Sydney and Hong Kong, restaurants are changing into official co-working spaces during off-peak hours.

Dr. Megan Elias, director of the gastronomy program at Boston University, says food and business have been linked since as far back as the ancient Sumer (who established civilization as we know it around 4000 B.C.) “What we think of as street food has always been part of human civilization,” she says. “There have always been marketplaces where humans came together to conduct some kind of business — like trading grain, trading animals or building houses. As long as there have been marketplaces, people have been eating at them while also doing business.”

The first example of a brick-and-mortar “restaurant” came during the merchant economy in the 15th and 16th centuries, according to Elias. During this stage in European, African, and East and South Asian history, inns allowed merchant businessmen to rest — and of course, eat — throughout their travels. During the colonial era of the 1600s and 1700s, concrete examples of American restaurants emerged as “Coffee Houses”. Coffee Houses were places that had newspapers, which at the time were very small and commercial," author and social historian Jan Whitaker explains.

Coffee houses remained tradesman staples throughout the early 19th century, with simple menu items like rolls and meat pies. More “grand meals,” as Elias calls them, were still taking place within homes for non-traveling folk. But, when the U.S. began industrializing in the 1840s and people stayed near workplaces during the day, eating establishments popped up around factories.

“Industrialization of the city is also restaurantization of the city,” Elias says. “Places sprung up to serve a business lunch crowd and an after-work dining crowd again, still doing business.”

1. How does the author mentioned our ancestors in paragraph1?

A．To make comparisons	B．To present figures.
C．To raise questions	D．To give examples

2. When did restaurants begin to provide not only eating but sheltering?

A．around 4000 B.C.	B．in the 15th and 16th centuries.
C．During the 1600s and 1700s.	D．In the early 19th century.

3. What can we learn about Coffee houses?

A．Newspapers were produced there first.

B．The food served there was limited at first.

C．They were especially popular around factories.

D．It was a perfect place for entertainment and eating.

4. What can be best title of the text?

A．the function of eating out.	B．The slow formation of the modern city.
C．the evolution of the restaurant.	D．The age of more work, less eating.

3 . Recently according to a new research, humans have had a link to starches (含淀粉的食物) for up to 120,000 years — that’s more than 100,000 years longer than we’ve been able to plant them in the soil during the time of the ice Age’s drawing to an end. The research is part of an ongoing study into the history of Middle Stone Age communities.

An international team of scientists identified evidence of prehistoric starch consumption in the Klasies River Cave, in present-day South Africa. Analyzing small, ashy, undisturbed hearths(壁炉) inside the cave, the researchers found “pieces of burned starches” ranging from around 120,000 to 65,000 years old. It made them the oldest known examples of starches eaten by humans.

The findings do not come as a complete surprise — but rather as welcome confirmation of older theories that lacked the related evidence. The lead author Cynthia Larbey said that there had previously only been genetic biological evidence to suggest that humans had been eating starch for this long. This new evidence, however, takes us directly to the dinner table, and supports the previous assumption that humans’ digestion genes gradually evolved in order to fit into an increased digestion of starch.

Co-author Sarah Wurz said, “The starch remains show that these early humans living in the Klasies River Cave could battle against their tough environment and find suitable foods and perhaps medicines. And as much as we all still desire the tubers (块茎), these cave communities were gilling starches such as potatoes on their foot-long hearths. They knew how to balance their diets as well as they could, with fats from local fish and other animals.”

As early as the 1990s, some researchers started to study the hearths in the Klasies River Cave. Scientist Hilary Deacon first suggested that these hearths contained burned plants. At the time, the proper methods of examining the remains were not yet available. We now know human beings have always been searching for their desired things.

1. When did humans begin to farm starches?

A．After the Ice Age.	B．After the Middle Stone Age.
C．About 20,000 years ago.	D．About 100,000 years ago.

2. What was the previous assumption of starches?

A．Starch diet promoted food culture.	B．Starch diet shaped humans’ evolution.
C．Starches had a variety of functions.	D．Starches offered humans rich nutrition.

3. What can we learn about the early humans described by Sarah Wurz?

A．They were smart and tough.	B．They preferred plants to meat.
C．They were generally very healthy.	D．They got along with each other.

4. What’s the best title for the text?

A．Great Civilization of South Africa	B．The Evolution of Foods in History
C．Starches--the Important Food of Today	D．Big Findings--the Starches in Ancient Times

4 . 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。

Jingdezhen porcelain(瓷器)is Chinese porcelain produced in or near Jingdezhen in southern China. Jingdezhen has produced porcelain     1     (century)ago. And the town     2    was named Jingdezhen by Emperor Zhenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty became a major kiln(窑)site around 1004.During the period, the     3    (produce)of porcelain in this area first became     4    (know).By the 14th century it had become the largest centre of producing Chinese porcelain, which remained in the following times. In the Ming Dynasty, official kilns in Jingdezhen     5    (control)by the emperor, making quality porcelain in large quantities for the emperor to give abroad as gifts. As a result, the town was     6    (close)linked to the world.

Although being a remote town in a hilly area, Jingdezhen is near the quality porcelain stone and forests which can provide plenty of wood for the kilns. It also has     7    river flowing from north to south,     8    (benefit)the transport of the fragile objects.

Jingdezhen has produced a great variety of     9     (value) porcelain. As a result, the town is famous     10     the “Porcelain Capital”. One type of its well-known high quality porcelain object is the blue and white porcelain from the 1330s.

5 . 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。

The lion dance is one of the most outstanding    1    (tradition) folk dances in China. It can date back to the Three Kingdoms Period (220—280).

The lion    2    (regard) as a symbol of bravery and strength by ancient people. They thought that it could drive away evil and protect people and    3    (they) livestock such as cattle, sheep and so on. Therefore, lion dances are performed at important events,     4    (especial) the Lantern Festival.

The lion dance requires two highly-trained    5    (perform) in a lion suit. One acts as the head and forelegs, and    6    other the hind legs. Under the guidance of a choreographer(编舞者), the “lion” dances    7    the beat of a drum, a gong(锣), and cymbals(钹). Sometimes they jump, roll, and do difficult acts such as walking on stilts(桩子).

In one lion dance, the “lion” moves from place to place looking for some green vegetables, in    8    red envelopes with money inside are hidden. The acting is very amusing and everyone enjoys it very much.

In the past decades, the lion dance    9    (spread) to many other countries with overseas Chinese. In many Chinese communities of Europe and America, Chinese people use lion dances or dragon dances    10     (celebrate) every Spring Festival and other important events.

6 . 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。

Du Fu was a Chinese poet and politician of the Tang Dynasty. Along with Li Bai, he is     1       （frequent） called the greatest of the Chinese poets.     2    （bear） into a scholarly family, Du Fu received a     3    （tradition） Confucian education but failed in the imperial examinations of 735. As a result, he     4    （spend） much of his youth traveling. During his travels he was recognized as a poet and met other poets of the period,     5     （include） the great Li Bai. He had a strong     6     （admire） for this older, freewheeling contemporary.

Du Fu's early poetry celebrated the beauty of the natural world and bemoaned （惋惜）the passage of time. He soon began to write about war—as in “Bingche   xing”・ And with hidden satire （讽刺）9 he wrote “Liren xing",     7     speaks of the luxury （奢侈） of the court. As he matured, and especially during     8     chaotic period of 755 to 759, his poems began to sound a note of sympathy for humanity caught in the senseless war.

Du Fu's irreplaceable position in the history of Chinese literature     9     （rest） on his superb classicism。. He was an expert     10     all poetic styles current in his day, and his mastery was at its height in the lvshi, or "regulated verse”.

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。

Britons are well known     1     the amount of tea that they drink. The average person in the UK consumes around 1.9kg of tea annually. Tea     2     (drink)by all sections of society. But tea does not grow in Britain. The vast majority of tea is grown in India and China.

At the beginning of the 1700s，the amount of tea     3     (arrive)in Britain increased gradually. At first people drank the tea       4     (exact)as it was in China. They soon discovered that it mixed really well with a little milk and sugar，giving the drink a special British characteristic.

In the 1800s tea was still a product       5       (enjoy)only by people with money. At this time they began to have“afternoon tea”. This involves drinking tea with a snack around 4 p.m. to avoid feeling     6     (hunger) between lunch and dinner. It is a tradition that is still going today     7     has become less popular in recent times. Tearooms—shops     8     you could buy and drink tea—started to appear across the country. At     9     start of the 20th century，Britons began to make tea in their homes whenever they felt like it.     10     (kettle)became essential in every kitchen.

8 . Tea, the most typical of English drinks, is a relative latecomer to British shores. Although the custom of drinking tea dates back to the third millennium (一千年) BC in China, it was not until the mid-17th century that the drink first appeared in England. It was the Portuguese and Dutch traders who first imported tea to Europe, reaching the Continent by the way of Venice   around 1560, with regular shipments by 1610.

Curiously, it was the London coffee houses that were responsible for introducing tea to England. One of the first coffee house merchants to offer tea was Thomas Garway. He sold both liquid and dry tea to the public as early as 1657. Three years later he issued a broadsheet advertising tea at £6 to £10 per pound, touting ( 兜 售 ) its virtues at “making the body active and lusty (健壮的)”, and “preserving perfect health until extreme old age”.

Tea gained popularity quickly in the coffee houses, and by 1700 over 500 coffee houses sold it. This distressed the pub owners, as tea cut their sales of beer, and it was bad news for the government, who depended upon a steady stream of revenue (税收) from taxes on liquor sales. By 1750 tea had become the favoured drink of Britain’s lower classes.

A 1676 act taxed tea and required coffee house operators to apply for a license. This was just the start of government attempts to control, or at least, to profit from the popularity of tea in Britain. By the mid-18th century the duty on tea had reached a ridiculous 119 percent. This heavy taxation had the effect of creating a whole new industry — tea smuggling ( 走 私 ). Ships from Holland and Scandinavia brought tea to the British coast, then stood offshore while smugglers met them and unloaded the precious cargo in small vessels. The smugglers, often local fishermen, secretly moved the tea inland through underground passages and hidden paths to special hiding places. One of the best hiding places was in the local church!

Even smuggled tea was expensive, however, and therefore extremely profitable, so many smugglers began to adulterate (掺假) the tea with other substances, such as willow and sloe leaves. Used tea leaves were also redried and added to fresh leaves.

Finally, in 1784 William Pitt the Younger introduced the Commutation Act,   which dropped the tax on tea from 119% to 12.5%, effectively ending smuggling. Adulteration remained a problem, though, until the Food and Drug Act of 1875 brought in severe punishment for the practice.

1. According to the passage, tea drinking _______.

A．is the favorite pastime of the Dutch

B．is an important British tradition

C．was well-received by the Portuguese centuries ago

D．could be found everywhere in the world in 1560

2. Who might be annoyed by the popularity of the tea?

A．Coffee house owners.	B．Wine sellers.
C．Britain’s lower classes.	D．Smugglers.

3. Which of the following statements about tea smuggling is TRUE?

A．Churches provided convenience for smuggling.

B．Fishermen and farmers contributed a lot to tea industry.

C．Underground passages and boats were ideal hiding places for tea.

D．The government encouraged tea smuggling for taxes on tea.

4. How was the order of the tea market finally restored in Britain?

A．By passing an act related to a tax rise.

B．By imposing mild punishment.

C．By punishing those who sold fake tea.

D．By mixing redried used leaves with fresh tea leaves.

9 . The World Heritage application of the ancient Tea Horse Road, jointly carried out by China, Mongolia and Russia, will serve as an example for international cooperation, according to Sergey Kalashnikov, chairman of Russia International Cooperation Association.

The cooperation among China, Mongolia and Russia on this application process will not only promote the cultural and economic development of the countries, provinces, cities and counties along the ancient Tea Horse Road but also provide new perspectives for international cooperation on culture, technology and trade, Sergey said.

Sergey made the remarks at a forum on the application process which was held in the city of Wuyishan in East China's Fujian province on Sunday. Attendees of the forum include scholars from China, Mongolia and Russia, as well as representatives from cities along the road.

The ancient Tea Horse Road, which dates back to the 17th century, was a network of ancient trade routes that came into being after the Silk Road. Starting from the Wuyi Mountain, it passed through Chinese provinces including Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Henan, Hebei and Shanxi and Inner Mongolia autonomous region, and extended to Mongolia and Russia, stretching about 13,000 km and boosting the development of more than 200 cities along the way.

The heritage along the ancient Tea Horse Road includes ancient tea gardens, tea-making techniques, ports and intangible cultural heritage. The ancient Tea Horse Road was inscribed on the "World Heritage Tentative List in China" in March 2019.

1. The cooperation on the application will bring the following benefits EXCEPT:

A．Presenting the cultural development.

B．Promoting the economic development.

C．Developing new perspectives for international cooperation.

D．Providing new platform to strengthen friendship among the countries.

2. Which of the following statement is true?

A．The Silk Road can date back to the 17th century.

B．Wuyishan is where the Tea Horse Road started

C．The Tea Horse Road came into being before the Silk Road

D．There are about 200cities along the Tea Horse Road

3. What is the best title for the passage?

A．The Tea Horse Road.

B．The silk Road.

C．A successful cooperation.

D．The World Heritage application.

10 . 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｡

A motorcycle, also    1     (call)a motorbike, bike, or cycle, is a two-or three-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycle design varies greatly    2    (suit)a range of different purposes: long distance travel, commuting, cruising, and sports including racing and off-road riding. Motorcycling is about riding a motorcycle and some related     3    (society)activities such as joining a motorcycle club and     4    (attend)motorcycle rallies(拉力赛车)｡

In 1894, Hildebrand&. Wolfmuller became the first series production motorcycle, and the first to

be called a motorcycle. In 2012, the three top motorcycle producers globally by volume    5    (be) Honda from Japan, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp,    6    were from India.

The motorcycle is a kind of luxury goods in the developed world, where they are used mostly for leisure, as a lifestyle accessory or a symbol of personal identity. In developing countries, motorcycles are     7     (extreme)practical due to lower prices and greater fuel economy.     8    all the motorcycles in the world, 58%are in the Asia Pacific and Southern and Eastern Asia     9     (region), except car-centric Japan.

However, there is data that people should pay attention to. According to the United States Department of Transportation,     10    number of deaths caused by motorcycles was 37 times larger than cars.