1 . 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。

With time    1     (go) by, styles in Western art have changed a lot. During the Middle Ages, the main aim of painters was     2     (represent) religious themes. But it was     3     (evidence) that ideas changed when painters began to paint in a more realistic way. People in the Renaissance adopted a more humanistic attitude     4     life. During this period, rich people     5     (pay) famous artists to paint pictures of themselves, their houses and possessions as well as their     6     (activity) and achievements. By coincidence, oil paints were also developed. From the late 19th century, the Impressionists     7    paintings were thought ridiculous drew     8     (quick) to show how light and shadow fell on objects. Today, they     9     (accept) as the beginning of modern art. On the one hand, some modern art is abstract, but on    10     other hand, some is realistic. It is not easy to predict the painting styles in the future.

2 . About a quarter of the world drives on the left, and the countries that do so are mostly old British colonies (殖民地) like Australia, and Ireland. But Thailand, Indonesia and Japan have also developed this habit.

This strange phenomenon puzzles the rest of the world; however, there is a perfectly good reason. Up to the late 1700s, everybody travelled on the left side of the road because it was the sensible option for violent, feudal (封建的) societies of mostly right-handed people. Soldiers with their swords under their right arms naturally passed on each other’s right, and if you passed a stranger on the road, you walked on the left to ensure that your protective sword arm was between you and him.

Revolutionary France, however, got rid of this practice as part of its sweeping social rethink, and thanks to Napoleon, this change was carried out all over continental Europe. Since he was left-handed, his armies had to march on the right so he could keep his sword arm between him and any opponent. From then on, any country colonized by the French took to driving on the right.

After the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), the US became independent and decided to make traffic drive on the right in order to cut all remaining links to its British colonial past. Once America became the center of the car industry, if you wanted a good reliable vehicle, you bought an American car with right-hand drive. From then on, many countries changed out of necessity.

Today, the EU would like Britain to fall into line with the rest of Europe, but this would cost billions of pounds to change everything round. The last European country to convert to driving on the right was Sweden in 1967. This ironically caused a reduction in car accidents because everyone drove carefully while getting used to the new system.

1. Why did people travel on the left before the late 18th century?

A．They were required to do so.	B．They were mostly left-landed.
C．It was easier to cross the street.	D．They could feel safer from attacks.

2. What was Napoleon’s attitude about walking on the left?

A．Supportive.

B．unconcerned

C．Doubtful.

D．Disagreeing.

3. For Americans, driving on the right was a way to show ________.

A．the connection with France was broken

B．the US was no longer ruled by the UK

C．the American Revolution War had ended

D．America was the center of the car industry

4. What is the main reason for UK’s resistance to the European system?

A．It would cost too much to change.	B．Its increasing traffic accidents.
C．Its influence on the colonies.	D．Its fast-developing car industry.

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。

What comes to your mind when you think of music in Austria? You might think of Mozart or the film The Sound of Music, but Austrian music started off quite     1     (different).

One of the earliest types of Austrian music may not seem like music at all. Yodelling, a form of singing that alternates (交替) in pitch (音高) between low and high,     2     (be) thought to have begun as a way for animal owners in the mountains     3     (call) their animals. Even today, yodelling     4     (use) in pop, rock and country music.

In the 18th century the Austrian royal family drew many famous musicians to Vienna, making     5     a centre for musical innovation and performances. Some classical composers even used     6     (tradition) Austrian folk songs or tunes in their works.

Opera has also been popular in Austria. Not only rich Austrians     7     regular citizens flooded into Vienna to attend performances. Even today, there are operas     8     (perform) every year at the St. Margarethen Opera Festival, in a very unusual location: a quarry (采石场). They all take place in the open air under the stars,     9     (take) advantage of the quarry’s unique acoustics (音响效果).

Austria has a long and rich musical history, from folk songs and dances     10     classical symphonies and operas. The sounds of Austrian music are everywhere.

4 . 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。

Delicate strokes (笔画), carved onto wood, with ultimate precision. This is woodblock printing,     1     ancient printing technique that has promoted human civilization.

Certain people are believed     2     (bring) Buddhism into China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), when there was a strong need to produce a large number of Buddhist scriptures (经文), and copying by hand could not meet the     3     (rise) demand. Ancient Chinese craftsmen thus came up with a novel way to create printed works massively. Hence came the     4     (origin) version of woodblock printing.

Traditional woodblock printing can be divided into four major steps: writing, engraving, printing, and binding. With each step then sub-divided into several procedures,     5     takes roughly 30 steps to produce a woodblock print. Characters and images     6     (carve) to produce raised areas or lines, which calls for skilled hands.

The Buddhist scripture Diamond Sutra, the “earliest dated printed book”, can only be seen in the British Library,     7     a lot of Chinese treasures are stored. It is just one example of ancient works of art that not only tells the     8     (wise) of our ancestors, but also is a witness     9     the pursuit of beauty by Chinese craftsmen throughout centuries.

The invention of writing gave life to great thoughts, but it was the invention of printing     10     made knowledge a shareable fruit for all humankind.

5 . 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。

Xu Xiake was born in 1587．    1     (he) parents were rich landowners. Yet he gave up a     2     (comfort) life, and decided to explore the mountains and rivers on foot.

China has more famous explorers. There was: Zhang Qian,     3     traveled into Central Asia during the second century BC, opening a trade road that became what is known as the Silk Road. Or Zheng He, the sailor who in     4     15th century sailed as far away as Africa. Yet these explorations     5     (support) by governments. Xu was totally different.

“On the surface, Xu’s travels can neither be classified as great affairs of state nor great adventures that changed the course of history,” writes cultural historian Cheng Pei-kai. “Xu travelled to satisfy his own     6     (curious).”

Scholar Julian Ward agrees, describing the lonely Chinese wanderer like the Middle Kingdom’s version of John Muir: “Deep in love with nature and eager to find freedom     7     worldly concerns, Xu was a man addicted to     8     (see) and describing the landscape.”

“The few coins     9     (slip) from a hole in my pocket while I was climbing a mountain in Yunnan. When I finally managed to the town, I sold all my clothes, bought myself a bottle of wine and a good dinner     10     (celebrate) my survival,” the dreamy explorer wrote in his diaries, which mix details of geology, geography and botany with such personal travel experiences.