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。

Alice Thompson is a girl from Sydney, Australia. She had her first long     1     (distant) train ride at the age of 18. Together with a friend, she got     2     the famous Ghan train in Sydney and got off in Alice Springs. During the two days and nights, they ate meals     3     (cook) by experts and saw fields, desert and     4     (abandon) farms. In the daytime, Alice talked to other passengers and read some books. At night, she watched the stars in the sky     5     shone like diamonds.

Why is the train     6     (call) the Ghan? It is short for Afghanistan. A long time ago, Australians wanted to travel to the middle of their country, so they brought some     7     (train) camels from Afghanistan    8     (carry) food and other supplies, and returned with wool and other     9     (produce). They did that until     10     1920s, when the government built a new railway line and took the place of camels.

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。

Cholera used to be one of the most feared diseases in the world. In the early 19th century, when cholera     1     (break) out in Europe, John Snow became frustrated because no one knew how to prevent or treat cholera. However, he never lost his desire to destroy cholera once and for all. Snow subscribed     2     the theory that cholera was caused by an infection from germs in food or water. He suspected that the water pump was     3     (blame). Snow began by marking on a map the exact places     4     all those who died had lived. As     5     consequence, John Snow was able to announce that the pump water carried cholera germs.     6     (according), he had the handle of the pump     7     (remove) so that it could not be used. The truth was     8     there was a link between cases of cholera and the different water companies in London. The people who drank this water were much     9     (likely) to get cholera than those who drank pure or boiled water. Fortunately, we now know how to prevent cholera, thanks to the work of John Snow. Moreover, by     10    (use) maps and statistics, Snow transformed the way scientists study diseases. For this reason, Snow is considered the father of modern epidemiology.

8 . 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 fan can drive summer heat away and help bring a cool breeze (微风).     1     ancient times, the Chinese fan has been carrying artistic and unique     2     (nation) style. China has always been regarded as “the kingdom of fans”.

The fan first appeared in China about 3,000 years ago, in the Shang and Zhou dynasties. In the early period, the fan was called “the fan of honor”,     3     (serve) as the symbol of etiquette (礼仪).

After the Qin and Han dynasties, the main     4     (shape) of fans were square, round and hexagon (六边形). The materials used to make fans     5     (be) mainly silk. People called the silk fans “court fans”    6     they were often used in royal court. The person     7     held the silk fan always looked gentle.

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the common fans were round fans, feather fans, and some paper fans. The folding fan     8     (gradual) became popular after the Song dynasty. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the folding fan was popular in Zhejiang, Suzhou and Sichuan. Then the     9     (popular) of writing poems and drawing pictures on the cover of a fan was rising. Later, this skill     10     (introduce) to Europe and other parts of the world.

9 . A fresh and gentle wind on your face, soft sand under your feet and blue waters as far as the eye can see. Is there any other Olympic sport that is played in such pleasant conditions as beach volleyball？

“I’ve gone to a lot of beautiful places, and met a lot of beautiful people. That wouldn’t have happened if I had been playing another sport.” said Randy Stoklos, America’s most famous beach volleyball player.

The sport began as a four-a-side game on beaches in Southern California in the 1920s. The first recorded two-man game took place there in 1930, and the first tournament (锦标赛) was held in Los Angeles 18 years later. The winners were awarded a case of Pepsi. In the 1950s, women started playing and the sport soon spread to Europe and South America. Yet at that time, beach volleyball was more an entertainment show than a sport, with beauty contests included. The Association of Volleyball Professionals was founded in 1983 and beach volleyball developed into a fast, athletic sport. Its world-wide popularity won beach volleyball a place at the 1996 Olympics in Atalanta, where 24 male teams and 16 female teams took part. At present, the US and Brazil are the best in the world at beach volleyball.

The game came to China in the early 1990s and there have been national tournaments since 1994. It became an official event at the Eighth National Games in 1997. China’s You Wenhui and Wang Lu finished ninth in the women’s beach volleyball world championships in Brazil.

1. The passage is mainly about ______.

A．the history of beach volleyball

B．how to play beach volleyball

C．the importance of beach volleyball

D．women’s beach volleyball in China

2. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE？

A．Beach volleyball was first played like other Olympic: sports.

B．Beach volleyball has always been an entertainment show rather than a sport.

C．Beach volleyball began on beaches in Souther California.

D．Women started playing beach volleyball in South America in 1945.

3. When did beach volleyball officially become an Olympic event？

A．In 1948,

B．In 1996.

C．In 1950.

D．In 1997.

4. According to the passage, we can learn that______.

A．in 1996, beach volleyball became an official event in China

B．China’s beach volleyball team is the best in the world

C．China’s beach volleyball players won the first place in Brazil

D．beach volleyball came to China in the early 1990s

10 . Lost cities that have been found

The White City

In 2015, a team of explorers to Honduras in search of"the Lost City of the Monke God"led to the discovery of the White City. They found the ruins in the Mosquitia region of the Central American country which is known for poisonous snakes, vicious jaguars and deadly insects. It is believed that local people hid here when the Spanish conquerors(征服者) occupied their homeland in the16th century.

Canopus and Heracleion

Modern researchers were teased by the ancient writings about the Egyptian cities Canopus and Heracleion- where Queen Cleopatra often visited. But the cities weren’t found until 1992, when a search in Alexandria waters found that the two cities had been flooded for centuries. Artifacts(史前器物) showed that the cities once highly developed as a trade network, which helped researchers piece together more about the last queen of Egypt.

Machu Picchu

A Yale professor discovered "the Lost City in the Clouds"in 1911. A combination of palaces, plazas, temples and homes, Machu Picchu displays the Inca Empire at the height of its rule. The city, which was abandoned in the 16th century for unknown reasons,was hidden by the local people from the Spanish conquerors for centuries keeping it so well preserved.

Troy

The ancient city of Troy in homer's The Iliad was considered a fictional setting for his characters to run wild. But in 1871, explorations in northwestern Turkey exposed nine ancient cities layered (层叠) on top of each other, the earliest dating back to about 5,000 years before. It was later determined that the sixth or seventh layer contained the lost city of Troy and that it was actually destroyed by an earthquake, not a wooden horse.

1. Why did people hide in the White City in the 16th century?

A．To survive the war

B．To search for a lost city.

C．To protect their country.

D．To avoid dangerous animals

2. Which of the following was related to a royal family member?

A．The White City

B．Canopus and Heracleion

C．Machu Picchu

D．Troy

3. What can we learn about Troy?

A．It was built by Homer.

B．It consisted of nine cities

C．It had a history of 5,000 years

D．It was ruined by a natural disaster.