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。

Dream interpreting is popular in China, and the most famous     1     (refer) for dream interpreting is the book Duke of Zhou Interprets Dreams.

The book is said to be written by Ji Dan, who     2     (title) Duke Wen of Zhou during the Western Zhou Dynasty. He assisted Emperor Wu and Emperor Cheng     3     (establish) systems of rites and music, making the Western Zhou Dynasty peaceful and prosperous, which led to him     4     (address) as the Sage.

The Duke of Zhou was, and still     5     (be), honored as a wise ruler and his attributed works influence Chinese thought to this day. One area     6     this is particularly the case is in the area of dreams.

Though some people consider the book as a superstition(迷信), it is     7     (scientific) reasonable to some degree. Zhou’s dream interpretations were so accurate     8     they were widely accepted as the standard for centuries. His interpretations were based on the belief that dreams are a reflection of our innermost thoughts and feelings. He believed that dreams could provide insight     9     our unconscious desires and reveal hidden truths about our lives.

Handed down over thousands of years, the book still has plenty of     10     (mystery) waiting for us to explore.

3 . The days when art was an Olympic sport

Did you know that creating works of art used to be an Olympic competition?     1     In the first year, Walter Winans became the first and the only Olympian to win medals for both art and sports. Despite this seemingly optimistic start, the idea of the arts being included in the Olympic Games soon met with disinterest, finally resulting in the removal of the art competition from the Olympic Games.

    2    

The idea to include art in the Olympics came from Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who was the founder of the International Olympic Committee, which created the modern Olympics. Coubertin believed that the arts and sports were linked and was impressed by anyone who had a firm command of both a sport and an artistic discipline(项目).

Why aren’t the arts included in the Olympics today?

For starters, only amateurs were allowed to compete in the arts part of the Olympics.     3     Having artists of average quality competing while only the most competent athletes were allowed to compete created a dramatic divide and gave the impression that the arts were not as important as sports.

Secondly, works of art created had to have sports as the subject matter.     4     Limiting the subjects also contributed to making the arts part of the Olympic Games boring to the general public.

Finally, one of the biggest reasons was that the arts are subjective. Sports can be judged by time and distance, making it easy to determine who is the winner.     5     This difficulty in judging a definite winner resulted in the arts part becoming a non-competitive exhibition that ran for the duration of the Olympic Games.

A．Why was art made an Olympic discipline?

B．What is a discipline in the Olympic Games?

C．This rule made the objects produced seem really boring.

D．The arts, on the other hand, are not quite so easy to judge

E．However, the arts part of the Olympics Games was soon abandoned

F．This means that many famous artists were banned from participating.

G．For 36 years, from 1912 to 1948, artists participated in the Olympic Games.

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，并将答案填写在答题卡上。

Zhao Taisheng, the principal sanxian player in the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (HKCO), has a mission    1    (keep)the traditional instrument, sanxian, alive and    2     (devote) his career to perfecting his skill on the instrument and preserving this ancient art since he graduated from college.

Musician Zhao Taisheng calls his favored instrument—the sanxian, or three-stringed lute—a voice for his emotions, a vehicle for charm and honor,     3    a ticket to an eventful life. He regards the sanxian    4    an important part of Chinese folk music tradition. He explains that, in the early decades of the 2Oth century, the number of students of the sanxian       5    ( be)similar to that of those studying other traditional Chinese string instruments such as the pipa or guzheng. However, the instrument began to lose    6    (popular) with the adoption of Western orchestra styles, which preferred softer harmonies.

In fact, the sanxian has    7    attractive appearance: lt is usually around 120 centimeters long, and has three strings stretched over a fingerboard,    8    allows for extensive glissando, or the glide from one pitch to another. Like most folk traditions, it is difficult to trace the origins of the sanxian. By some     9    (account), it may date back to the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC). Images of similar instruments can be found in a Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) sculpture, and the characters     10    (literal)mean“three strings”, first appeared in a Ming Dynasty(1368-1644)text.

5 . Before the Renaissance (文艺复兴), art developed very slowly for about 1,000 years in Europe. Most art was made to serve the Church. Human beings in the art work were typically described as morally fallen and had to be saved by God and human life was regarded just a preparation for the happiness in the other world.

But the Renaissance (14〜16 century) upended all the above ideas. The “Renaissance Men” thought that the best way to serve God was not to bow down in church all day long but to recognize and make better use of the talents that God gave them. Human life was much more than a preparation for the other world.

For the Renaissance artists, they started to combine art and science in their work. They studied human bodies like doctors, nature like biologists and the laws of perspective like mathematicians to create realistic paintings and statues. For example, Leonardo da Vinci — an Italian sculptor, engineer, inventor and thinker — studied human bodies and observed the flight of birds. Another equally inventive and fearless Italian artist, Michelangelo Buonarroti, even went so far as to show in his work that human beings were truly made in God’s own image and that they were as great as their own creator. Raffaello Santi, the youngest of the great three Italian Renaissance artists，combined the quiet elegance of Leonardo with the raw power of Michelangelo. In his huge painting, The School of Athens, Raffaello celebrated the great ancient thinkers — a shocking break from Church tradition. And to make these once forbidden figures seem even greater, Raffaello presented the great thinkers of ancient Greece as the leading geniuses of his generation. Not only did these Renaissance-era Italians appreciate the great minds of the ancient world, they considered themselves in the same league.

Although the cultural explosion slowed down in Italy by 1600, people from around the world were already attracted to see the Renaissance-era masterpieces by then. Especially today, people continue to get inspiration from the great works of the era in the country.

1. What did the “Renaissance Men” think of human beings?

A．They should make best use of their own talents.

B．They were playthings of the religious authorities.

C．They were morally bad guys and had to be saved by God.

D．They had to abandon God in order to enjoy life in this world.

2. What can we say about Michelangelo Buonarroti?

A．He was innocent.	B．He was unfearing.
C．He was unashamed.	D．He was too out-spoken.

3. What message does the author seem to convey in the last paragraph?

A．Italy has a long history.

B．Nothing can exist forever.

C．The Renaissance has a lasting influence.

D．People love beautiful and thoughtful things.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．The Greatest Renaissance Thinker in Greece

B．The Renaissance’s Artistic Significance in Italy

C．The Causes Leading to Slow Development in Europe

D．The Bad Influence of the Church Before the Renaissance

6 . In 1879, an 8-year-old girl made a discovery that would rock our understanding of human history. On the walls of Altamira cave in northern Spain, she spotted amazing drawings of wild cows, painted in vivid red and black. More striking even than the images was their age: they were made thousands of years ago by modern humans’ supposedly primitive ancestors. Today, nearly 400 caves across Europe have been found decorated with hand stencils (模板), strange symbols and beautiful images of animals created by these skillful artists.

The discoveries led to the view that artistic talent arose after modern humans arrived in the region some 40,000 years ago, as part of a “cultural explosion” reflecting a flowering of the human mind. But more recent evidence has blown this idea out of the water. For a start, modern humans might not have been the first artists in Europe. What’s more, a collection of cave paintings emerging in Indonesia has dismissed the idea that Europe was the centre of creativity.

Local people have long known that the caves of the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, contain many painted images. Modern humans are thought to have reached the region some 65,000 years ago, but nobody imagined the art could be very old because ancient paintings seem unlikely to survive in the environment of high temperatures. A team of researchers led by Maxime Aubert, now at Griffith University in Australia, upended this idea using a technique that is shifting our understanding of cave art. Using this technique in seven caves, they found a hand stencil was at least 39,900 years old, making it the oldest known hand stencil at that time.

This opened a floodgate to new discoveries in Indonesia. These included a hunting scene created at least 43,900 years ago, and by far the oldest descriptive artwork. “When we found that image, we were absolutely delighted, but when it turned out to be that old, we were almost jumping with joy,” says Adam Brumm, also at Griffith University.

1. What did the girl find in the cave?

A．Wild animals.	B．Ancient images.
C．Painting techniques.	D．Recording artists.

2. What was a misunderstanding removed by recent evidence about the cave art?

A．It can be traced back to Europe.

B．It reflected the flowering of human minds.

C．Modern humans led to its rise in Indonesia.

D．Modern humans might not have been real artists.

3. What does the underlined word “upended” mean in paragraph 3?

A．Proved.

B．Strengthened.

C．Overturned.

D．Overemphasized.

4. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?

A．The amazing discoveries.	B．The researchers’ expectations.
C．The benefits of the technique.	D．The description of the cave art.

8 . A bridge is a structure constructed to connect two places without blocking the way beneath it. Below are four famous bridges in the world.

Bridge of Sighs

The Bridge of Sighs is in Venice, Italy, which was designed by Antonio Contino. The bridge’s construction was begun in 1600 and completed in 1603. The bridge was supposed to be the last view for prisoners, who would sigh at the beauty of Venice, before being taken to prison. That is why it is called the Bridge of Sighs.

Tsing Ma Bridge

The bridge is named after the two islands it connects-Ma Wan and Tsing Yi in Hong Kong. It has both a roadway and a railway and is the longest suspension bridge (悬索桥) with two decks. The bridge is 4518 feet long and 676 feet tall, which was designed by Mott MacDonald. The construction was begun in 1992 and completed in 1997.

Tower Bridge

The Tower Bridge is situated in London, which is a combination of the drawbridge (开合桥) and suspension bridge. Designed by Horace Jones and John Wolfe Barry, it was built between 1886 and 1894. The bridge stretches across the River Thames near the Tower of London. The drawbridge is drawn about 1,000 times a year.

Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge joins the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, whose chief designer was Jbseph Strauss. The bridge has been named the most beautiful and most photographed bridge in the world. It is 8,981 feet long, 746 feet tall and 90 feet wide. Construction of the bridge was begun in 1933 and completed in 1937. In 1987, the bridge was named a California historic landmark.

1. Which bridge has the longest history?

A．The Bridge of Sighs.	B．The Tsing Ma Bridge.
C．The Tower Bridge.	D．The Golden Gate Bridge.

2. How did the Tsing Ma Bridge get its name?

A．It was named by its designer.	B．It was named by the government.
C．It got its name because of its length.	D．It got its name from the two islands it connected.

3. What can we know about the Golden Gate Bridge from the last paragraph?

A．It links two oceans.

B．It is the longest bridge in the world.

C．It is a historic landmark in California.

D．It is a combination of the drawbridge and suspension bridge.

9 . 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。

The Silk Road was a network of trade routes     1    (connect) the East and the West in ancient and Medieval times. In addition to silk, varieties of other goods     2    (trade) along the Silk Road, and the network was also important for migrants and travellers, and for the spread of religion, philosophy, science, technology, and     3     (art) ideals. The Silk Road had a significant impact on the lands     4    which the routes passed, and the trade played a significant role in the development of towns and cities along the Silk Road routes.

Many merchants along the Silk Road were involved in relay trade,     5    an item would change owners many times and travel a little bit with each one of them     6    reaching its final buyer. It seems to have been     7    (high) unusual for any individual merchant to travel all the way between China and Europe or Northern Africa. Instead, various merchants specialized in transporting goods through various sections of the Silk Road.

The Silk Road established     8    (early) connection between the East and the West. It was of great significance in the promotion of world     9    (civil) and the progress of human society. Research and development of the Silk Road today continue to have     10    incredible impact.

10 . 阅读下面短文，在空处填入1个适的单或插号内单词的正确形式。

Located in Guanghan city of Southwest China’s Sichuan Province and covering an area of 12 square kilometers. Sanxingdui Site is the remains of the ancient Shu culture, which dates back     1     4,800-2,600 years ago, and is considered to be one of the     2     (great) archaeological (考古的) discoveries in the 20th century. This particular discovery is a strong proof of the     3     (exist) of the ancient Shu State and the integrative pattern of the multi-cultures of the Chinese nation.

In fact, as a cultural site,, Sanxingdui had come into the notice of archaeologists in as early as the 1930s, and     4     (exploration) were made soon. It all began     5     a farmer called Yan Daocheng dug out a number of treasures     6     (accidental) in the spring of 1929. In the summer of 1986, thousands of rare treasures were unearthed from two large newly-discovered sacrificial pits (祭祀坑). The unearthed objects are unique in shape and superior in techniques,     7     (confirm) the extraordinary creativity of the ancient Shu people and their desires     8     (connect) with and understand the universe.

After sleeping for 3,000 years, their awakening has shocked the world. When our eyes     9     (caught) by the creations of the ancient Shu ancestors, it is     10     encounter with a civilization lost for 3,000 years.