1 . London has already hosted the Olympics twice before and the 2021 Olympics will make it the first city in history to have held three Olympic games.
The first London Olympics in 1908
These games were going to be held in Rome but, because of a volcano, Rome wasn’t ready. London agreed to stage the games and the White City Olympic Stadium was built in just 10 months. What was new at these Olympics was the opening ceremony where athletes paraded (列队行进) with their teams behind their national flags. Only 22 countries took part and the profits were just over ￡21,000!
The second London Olympics
Because of the Second World War, the 1944 Olympics were cancelled. Four years later the war was over and London was able to hold the Games in 1948.Things were very different in London during these Olympic Games and many years of war had left the UK poor and hungry. People called them the “Austerity Games”. But there were still some great sports and some exciting events!
59 countries took part, more than at any other Olympics before and the USA won the most medals with 84. For the first time, cameras filmed the games and broadcast them on television so that people could watch them in their own homes.
The third London Olympics in 2021
The Games this year are going to be bigger, better and more exciting than ever before. There will be more than 10,000 athletes from 204 countries taking part!
London wants to make sure that the benefits of the Olympics don’t just last for a few weeks in summer but go on much longer. The buildings have been designed and constructed so that they can be used for different things when the Games are over.
1. The text is mainly about _____.| A．London will host the Olympics again | B．London’s Olympic history |
| C．London’s Olympics will last much longer | D．London is ready for the Olympics |
| A．London could build a stadium in 10 months | B．only 22 countries took part |
| C．there was a volcano eruption in Rome | D．London could make more profits than Rome |
| A．the UK were poor and hungry then | B．there were some great sports |
| C．the previous Olympic Games was cancelled | D．about 59 countries took part |
| A．the 59 countries | B．the 84 gold medals |
| C．all the athletes | D．the games |
| A．the benefits of the Olympics used to last for months afterwards |
| B．the 2nd London Olympics attracted more countries than any other Olympics |
| C．the buildings for the 3rd London Olympics have more functions for future use |
| D．the 2nd London Olympics were cancelled because of the Second World War |
2 . Britons are well known for the amount of tea that they drink. The average person in the UK consumes around 1.9 kg of tea yearly. That’s around 876 cups of tea. Tea is drunk by all sections of society. But tea is not native to Britain. Most tea is grown in India and China. So, how did it become an important part of British culture?
Tea arrived in London in the 1600s. At this time, British ships were exploring the world and came across the drink in China. It was not long before green tea was available to buy. However, this was only available to the richer sections of society.
At the beginning of the 1700s, the amount of tea arriving in Britain increased gradually. Black tea arrived at this time. At first people drank this tea exactly 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 enjoyed only by people with money. At this time they began to have “afternoon tea”. This involves drinking tea with a snack around 4 pm to avoid feeling hungry between lunch and dinner. It is a tradition that is still going today but has become less popular in recent times.
In the late 1800s, the price of tea decreased sharply as more tea began to arrive on ships from India and China. It was no longer a drink just for rich people. Tearooms — shops where you could buy and drink tea — started to appear across the country. People enjoyed drinking tea and socialising in these places. At the start of the 20th century, Britons began to make tea in their homes whenever they felt like it. Kettles became necessary in every kitchen.
1. How does the passage mainly develop?| A．By providing examples. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By following the order of time. | D．By following the order of importance. |
| A．Tea reached Britain from China centuries ago. | B．Britons are famous for planting tea. |
| C．Green tea was popular in China. | D．Most tea is grown in Britain. |
| A．how British people drank black tea | B．why the amount of tea increased |
| C．when green tea arrived in China | D．who discovered black tea |
| A．In the early 1700s. | B．In the early 1800s. |
| C．In the late 1800s. | D．In the late 20th century. |
| A．To describe how to drink tea. | B．To explain why people love tea. |
| C．To compare black tea with green tea. | D．To introduce the history of British tea culture. |
3 . A study of art history might be a good way to learn more about a culture than is possible to learn in general history classes. Most typical history courses concentrate on politics, economics, and war. But art history focuses on much more than this because art reflects not only the political values of a people, but also religious beliefs, emotions, and psychology. In addition, information about the daily activities of our ancestors — or of people very different from our own — can be provided by art. In short, art expresses the essential qualities of a time and a place, and a study of it clearly offers us a deeper understanding than can be found in most history books.
In history books, objective information about the political life of a country is presented; that is, facts about politics are given, but opinions are not expressed. Art, on the other hand, is subjective; it reflects emotions and opinions. The great Spanish painter Francisco Goya was perhaps the first truly “political” artist. In his well known painting The Third of May, 1808, he criticized the Spanish government for its misuse of power over people. Over a hundred years later, symbolic images were used in Pablo Picasso’s Guernica to express the horror of war. Meanwhile, on another continent, the powerful paintings of Diego Rivera, and David Alfaro Siqueiros — as well as the works of Alfredo Ramos Martines — depicted these Mexican artists’ deep anger and sadness about social problems.
In the same way, art can reflect a culture’s religious beliefs. For hundreds of years in Europe, religious art was almost the only type of art that existed. Churches and other religious buildings were filled with paintings that depicted people and stories from the Bible. Although most people couldn’t read, they could still understand biblical stories in the pictures on church walls. By contrast, one of the main characteristics of art in the Middle East was and still is its absence of human and animal images. This reflects the Islamic belief that statues are unholy.
1. From Paragraph one, we know that _____.| A．art history reveals a people’s religious and emotional life as well as its political views and psychology |
| B．general history provides us with information about everyday life of ancient people |
| C．general history gives us an insight into the basic situations of a time and a place |
| D．art history regards politics as an unworthy topic |
| A．records what people felt and thought at a particular time |
| B．expresses the essential qualities of a time and a place |
| C．often gives us a better understanding of our history |
| D．often presents the subjective message about the political life of a country |
| A．Islamic artists painted images on church walls as a way of teaching |
| B．war was not one of the topics art history address |
| C．Europeans respected images of biblical figures |
| D．for some time in Europe, art was the only way to understand religion |
| A．His criticism to the religious beliefs of his country. |
| B．His explanation about the political values of his country. |
| C．His dissatisfaction to the war, his government or the social problems. |
| D．His concern about the daily life of the poor in his country. |
| A．the difference between general history and art history |
| B．the value of art history in understanding history |
| C．the importance of artists in art history |
| D．the importance of art in religion |
1.花木兰的生平故事；
2.花木兰在中国人心中的地位与影响。
注意：1.词数80-100；2.开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：dress up装扮；a symbol of .....的象征；
Dear Peter,
I’m glad to know that you are interested in the story of Mulan.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
5 . During the annual political meetings, environmental protection was definitely among the biggest concerns. Actually, it was also an issue that ancient Chinese paid great attention to. In fact, the world’s earliest environmental protection concept, ministry and laws were all born in China. So, what did the ancient Chinese do to protect the environment?
In early ancient China, environmental protection was promoted to the political level. Xunzi, a famous thinker in Warring States Period, brought up the concept of managing state affairs through environmental protection. He stated in his book that vegetation (植被) should not be damaged at will. Guan Zhong, an official 400 years ahead of Xunzi, was also an environmental protection expert. During his term of office, he claimed that “a King who cannot protect his vegetation is not qualified to be a king”.
According to a record in Qing dynasty, the environmental protection ministry in early ancient China was called “Yu”, standing both for the institution and the official title. Although most functions were similar to such ministries today, the administration range of it was much larger, including the mountains, forests, rivers, lakes and so on.
The nine ministries established by Shun, an ancient Chinese king, already included “Yu”, the environmental protection ministry. The first “Yu” official was a man called Boyi, who was indeed an environmental protection expert. He was a capable assistant to Dayu, an ancient Chinese water-control expert. He invented wells, protecting people’s drinking water from pollution. He knew a lot about animals and also called for animal protection.
Environmental protection laws dated back to the ruling period of Dayu, which was more than 4,000 years ago. During his rule, he issued a ban, forbidding people to cut down wood in March or catch fish in June, the time when they were supposed to boom.
In Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period almost 3,000 years ago, “environmental protection laws” appeared in its true sense in Qin, which was recorded in Law of Fields and regarded as China’s earliest environmental protection laws.
1. Which statement would Xunzi probably agree with?| A．Vegetation shouldn’t be damaged at all. |
| B．Much attention should be paid to people’s drinking water. |
| C．The king who failed to protect the environment should be removed. |
| D．Running a country and environmental protection should be combined. |
| A．The Qing dynasty. | B．The ministry of Yu. |
| C．The official title. | D．The modern ministry. |
| A．Fish didn’t taste delicious in June. |
| B．It was too hot to catch fish in June. |
| C．Fish had a period of rapid growth in June. |
| D．Fish-catching time had already passed in June. |
| A．Shun. | B．Boyi. | C．Xunzi. | D．Guan Zhong. |
| A．How the Ancient Chinese Protect the Environment |
| B．Famous Environmental Protection Experts in Ancient China |
| C．Dayu — a Great Environmental Protector |
| D．Measures of the World’s Earliest Environmental Protection |
6 . One of the greatest contributors to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual. In 1879, Oxford University in England asked Prof. James Murray to serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language. It would include every English word possible and would give not only the definition but also the history of the word and quotations showing how it was used.
This was a huge task, so Murray had to find volunteers from Britain, the United States, and the British colonies to search every newspaper, magazine, and book ever written in English. Hundreds of volunteers responded, including William Chester Minor. Dr. Minor was an American surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England. He gave his address as "Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire," 50 miles from Oxford.
Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray. Over the next 17 years, he became one of the staff's most valued contributors.
But he was also a mystery. In spite of many invitations, he would always decline to visit Oxford. So in 1897, Murray finally decided to travel to Crowthorne himself. When he arrived, he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell at the Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane.
Murray and Minor became friends, sharing their love of words. Minor continued contributing to the dictionary, sending in more than 10,000 submissions in 20 years. Murray continued to visit Minor regularly, sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds.
In 1910, Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum in his native America. Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable friend.
Minor died in 1920, seven years before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed. The 12 volumes defined 414,825 words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient.
1. According to the text, the first Oxford English Dictionary________.| A．was intended to be the most ambitious English dictionary |
| B．included the English words invented by Murray |
| C．was edited by an American volunteer |
| D．came out before Minor died |
| A．He sent newspapers, magazines and books to Murray. |
| B．He provided a great number of words and quotations. |
| C．He helped Murray to find hundreds of volunteers. |
| D．He went to England to work with Murray. |
| A．He was busy writing a book | B．He was shut in an asylum. |
| C．He lived far from Oxford. | D．He disliked traveling. |
| A．Considerate and optimistic. | B．Friendly and determined. |
| C．Unusual and scholarly. | D．Cautious and friendly. |
| A．Broadmoor Asylum and its patients. | B．The history of the English language. |
| C．The friendship between Murray and Minor. | D．Minor and the first Oxford English Dictionary. |
Marco Polo came from a wealthy family and received a good education. He was only six years old when his father and uncle left for a journey to China or Cathay, as it was called at that time. At the age of 17, Marco followed his father and uncle on their second journey to Asia.
The Polos traveled through many countries, over mountains and along the Silk Road, the main travel route for traders. Marco would keep detailed journals and record his findings. The Polos also stopped for a year in the Mongol region. There they learnt about the lives and culture of the people. This was useful as Marco was able to share what he had learnt with the Emperor of China, Kublai Khab. The Emperor was impressed with him. The Polos traveled 9,000 kilometres in more than three and a half years before reaching China. There Marco was most surprised to find the stones that burnt like logs. The Chinese had found a source of fuel that nobody in Europe could have imagined. It was called coal.
In 1298, Marco wrote a book called The Travels of Marco Polo which was a record of his travels in Asia. The book enabled the Europeans to understand and carry out trading activities more easily with Asians.
1. What was China also called in the past? (1 word)2. What was the Silk Road mainly used as in ancient times? (no more than 10 words)
3. What did the Polos do during their stay in the Mongol region? (no more than 12 words)
4. Why was Marco impressed with the stones? (no more than 6 words)
5. What is the main idea of the last paragraph? (no more than 10 words)
8 . While most people don’t think much about garbage, trash (垃圾) is beloved by archaeologist (考古学家). A favorite site for study is a midden (贝丘), an old trash or garbage heap (堆). A midden might contain damaged stone or metal items, which tell us about the weapons and tools people used. Softer materials such as wood, cloth, leather, and baskets are sometimes preserved. They may tell us what people wore, how they carried things, or the kind of toys used by children. Historic household trash heaps often contain broken pottery pieces and even traces of the food they once held.
Most people no longer keep a trash heap by the kitchen door. Instead, garbage is hauled off to landfills (垃圾填埋池). These landfills can still attract archaeologists. The Garbage Project collected information from landfills from 1987 to 1995. Student archaeologists measured tons of garbage from 15 landfills across the United States and Canada. This garbology, the study of garbage, research led to a better understanding of how people have changed what they consume during this period of time. The findings also led to a better awareness of how quickly various items rot. This helped with city planning for garbage disposal and recycling efforts.
Some found objects that may clearly be of archaeological interest, such as arrowheads and spear points. It is typically against the law to collect these on public lands, so they should be left in place. If you take a photo and note the location, you can notify the state archaeologist or the government branch that is in charge of the land, such as the National Park Service or the Bureau of Land Management.
Everyone is responsible for protecting archaeological resources, which is a concept known as “archaeological stewardship.” Sometimes this even means protecting old garbage.
1. Why is old trash important according to archaeologists?| A．It can teach us about the past. |
| B．It might help us locate metal mines. |
| C．It can contribute to modern material industry. |
| D．It might encourage us to protect our environment. |
| A．They conducted a study on modern trash. |
| B．They recycled waste from some landfills. |
| C．They offered some creative city planning ideas. |
| D．They compared ancient trash heaps with modern landfills. |
| A．Donate it to public collections. |
| B．Take it to proper authorities. |
| C．Leave it in a safe place. |
| D．Mark the place of it. |
| A．Past or Future? | B．Trash or Treasure? |
| C．Protection of Damage? | D．Problem or Resource? |
9 . “How do they walk in these things?” complains Jack Lemmon, walking with difficulty in his heels, newly dressed as his another identity Josephine, in the film “Some Like It Hot”.
High heels were, in fact, originally designed for men — and had an extremely practical purpose. Soldiers on horseback wore them in 10th-century Persia, according to Elizabeth Semmel hack of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. The heel helped keep them stable as they stood up in their stirrups ( 马镫) and took aim at enemies with bows and arrows (cowboy boots still use heels in this way). Over time, heels appeared on the shoes of male nobles across Europe. Yet from the mid-17th century, heels became associated with supposedly “feminine” qualities, and so became women’s wear. Until the mid-20th century heels were heavy, heavy things. After the Second World War, techniques and materials used in aircraft engineering were applied to shoes, creating the stiletto ( 细高跟). The high, narrow heel requires a thin metal pole, strong enough to bear the wearer’s weight yet flexible enough to allow the shoe to move.
Shoemakers have searched actively for a right heel. They aim to reduce the angle created by a high heel, which forces the few square centimeteres of the ball of your foot to bear the entire weight of your body. Joan Oloff, a podiatrist-turned-shoe-designer, makes footwear lined with memory foam ( 泡沫) to absorb the shock of each painful step. The bottom part of the shoe is crafted to support the arch of the foot and distribute the wearer’s weight more equally. Antonia Saint Dunbar, an entrepreneur, makes shoes with a heel cup and strips inside to stop the foot slipping around and getting blisters ( 水泡). And growing numbers of companies make shoes with adjustable heels: two inches for the boardroom, four for the nightclub, none for home.
However, the wisest are stepping down altogether: in 2016, for the first time, more British women bought trainers than heels.
1. Why is a scene in “Some Like It Hot” mentioned in Paragraph 1?| A．To recommend this film. |
| B．To explain Jack’s double identity. |
| C．To introduce the topic of high heels. |
| D．To stress the difficulty of walking in heels. |
| A．By presenting research findings. |
| B．By analyzing cause and effect. |
| C．By following the order of time. |
| D．By following the order of importance. |
| A．To keep soldiers fighting on horseback steady. |
| B．To keep cowboys standing up in stirrups safe. |
| C．To show off the beauty of women. |
| D．To show the nobility of Europeans. |
| A．Popularize shoes with adjustable heels. |
| B．Help women find the right high heels. |
| C．Encourage women to wear trainers. |
| D．Make high heels comfortable. |
10 . Early people didn’t need to know the exact time of day. They slept when it was dark and worked when it was light.
33,000—28,000 B.C.
People notice that changes in the weather (the seasons) are connected to changes in the sun, moon, and stars.
8,000 B.C.
Chinese, the Maya, and Sumerians develop calendars based on the cycles of the sun (a year) and the moon (a month). Most people are farmers. Calendars tell them when to plant crops and when their animals will have babies.
1,500 B.C.
People in Egypt and Sumer develop some of the first water clocks. Unlike sundials, water clocks measure time even when it’s cloudy.
1370—1410
European cities build towers with mechanical clocks inside. Every hour, a bell is rung for all to hear.
1850
Most Americans now have clocks at home. Trains keep exact schedules. Railroad workers carry pocket watches that don’t gain or lose more than 30 seconds in a week.
1955
An atomic clock is built in England. It measures oscillations(颤动) of light from cesium atoms. The light oscillates even faster than quartz crystals. Atomic clocks are the most accurate clocks yet.
Today
People rely on the Internet and cell-phone networks, which need super precise timing. Atomic clocks keep getting better.
1. How can ancient Chinese tell when to plant crops?| A．By using calendars. | B．By observing the cycles of the sun. |
| C．By watching the animals. | D．By predicting the weather changes. |
| A．Chinese. | B．Americans. | C．Europeans. | D．Egyptians. |
| A．Chinese calendars. | B．Water clocks. | C．Mechanical clocks. | D．Atomic clocks. |
