1 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. unremarkable     B.drawn        C. practical   D.sensation     E.setbacks       F.resolving G.applauding              H.inevitably          I.originality     J. subsequent       K.essentially

How did the Wright brothers take flight?

Wilbur and Orville Wright didn’t care much for attention. But after publicly demonstrating their flying machine, the inventors of the airplane became overnight international    1    . Crowds gathered, watching them go airborne (升空) and    2    their genius and courage. Thousands followed their achievements, which repeatedly made front-page news. While it might sound nice to say the Wrights were born inventors and geniuses who had always been     3     to aeronautics (航空学), that’s not really the case. Beginning in their Midwestern youth, the brothers faced numerous    4    . Their achievements stemmed from their own initiative and    5    .

Before they made history, Wilbur and Orville were, in one sense, fairly    6     children. They didn’t meet the typical standards of success.Though Wilbur was well read and Orville took advanced courses, neither graduated from high school and both struggled to get by on their own early in life. At the start, the brothers didn’t intend to invent the airplane. They simply reviewed what others had published about aeronautic, hoping they could make some sort of contributions. And that was when they noticed, to their surprise, very little progress had been made in the field. Wilbur and Orville realized that flight experiments had hit three main roadblocks to progress. They lacked a way to control the aircraft, a good wing design and a propulsion (推动力) system to power the flight. From there,     7    these problems became the brothers’ goal. Through trial and error, on December 17, 1903, the brothers flew the first manageable aircraft into the air, which proved the Wright Flyer could make a sustained, controlled and powered heavier-than-air flight. The aerial age truly began.

Though the Wright brothers had made history, their airplane was    8    only a proof of concept. It could make straight-line flights, but the design didn’t yet have any     9    use for society. In the     10    years of hard work and devotion, the brothers refined their aircraft. In1908, Wilbur demonstrated their plane in France, successfully proving what he and Orville had done.

2 . Hanwengong Shrine

Now we come to Hanwengong Shrine, which is beside Hangjiang river and west of Bijia mountain.     1     In the square in front of the hall, an ancient book-shaped stone is carved with two famous sayings of Han Yu on it, meaning hard work is the precondition for success, and deep thought is the guarantee of success.

In the year of A.D. 819, for some political reason, Han Yu was exiled (流放) to Chaozhou, a backland at that time. But he was not depressed by this, and he helped local people to develop education, agriculture, irrigation and release slaves.     2    

The shrine was built against the mountain and divided into two parts, the front part and the back part. Now we play a small game: count the stone steps, and later I’ll tell you a secret. How many steps are there? Yes, 51 steps! Why?     3     The first time Han Yu came to Chaozhou, he was impressed by the beautiful scenery and hospitality of local people. You see that old tree? People say the more flowers in the tree, the more well-educated students are. But in Qing Dynasty, this magic tree, planted by Han Yu himself, died, so people planted this tree instead.

    4     Here is one: when Han Yu was living in Chaozhou, there was a very fierce and cruel crocodile in the Hanjiang river, which was a big social harm. One day, Han Yu drafted a statement against the crocodile and made it public by the river. Incredibly, from the next day on, the crocodile was gone. Later, the statue, made of a portrait of Han Yu, was built and his words were left on the monument to mark his achievements.

A．When Han Yu came to Chaozhou, he was 51 years old.

B．Han Yu was a Confucian figure, and there are many stories about him in Chaozhou.

C．Although Han Yu’s ideas had no obvious practical effect at the time, they had a great impact on society decades later.

D．Built in the Song dynasty, the shrine is the oldest and best preserved monument to Han Yu, one of the greatest literary men in the Tang dynasty.

E．To memorize what he had contributed to the development of Chaozhou, people constructed this shrine and named him Hanwengong respectfully.

F．There are so many tourists that, to relieve the pressure on the monuments, the scenic spot requires that a maximum of 500 people visit at a time.

3 . Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word. For the other blanks, fill in each blank with one proper word. Make sure that your answers are grammatically correct.

DNA analysis reveals two waves of migration

The results of the study, published in the Science Bulletin, revealed two major migration waves in history. In this pioneering study, scientists from Fudan University     1     (dig) into the ancient DNA of individuals buried in Gansu province, revealing interesting insights into the genetic makeup of Hexi Corridor residents dating back over 12 centuries. The research employed ancient DNA data     2     (explore) human migration along the Hexi Corridor.

The Hexi Corridor, was a narrow yet crucial link     3     (connect) the heartland of ancient China to the Western Territory. Characterized by its lofty mountains and deserts, the ancient pathway was dotted with cities     4     (found) along short rivers.

Historical documents attest (证实) to the Hexi Corridor’s significance as a crossroads     5     Western and Eastern civilizations mixed through trade, religion and occasional conflicts following the establishment of the Silk Road during the Han Dynasty.

    6     technological advances in biology open new avenues for exploration, archaeologists are increasingly drawn to analyzing DNA samples. Led by Wen Shaoqing from Fudan University’s Institute of Archaeological Science, the team successfully extracted DNA data     7     the teeth and bones found at two sites near Dunhuang.

The DNA analysis pinpointed two outliers (异常样本) dating to the Wei Dynasty and the Tang. Further examination revealed one had approximately 50 percent western Eurasian ancestry and       8     30 percent, suggesting the individuals were likely descendants of unions between western Eurasian women and local men.

    9     the team concluded was that the genetic mix could be partially attributed to those migrations. Experts said the second major migration period       10     (mark) by a significant shift in the gene pool. Historical records say migration facilitated by Chinese explorer Zhang Qian’s visit to the Western Territory from 138 BC resulted in the creation of the Silk Road.

4 . 根据提示，运用本单元的词汇、短语及句式或使用词汇的正确形式完成下面的语篇。

When it comes to the Silk Road, Zhang Qian, one of the most influential explorers of the Silk Road, will come to my mind.

Zhang Qian was a great explorer during the Han Dynasty.     1     (不管天气多坏), he never abandoned his     2     (assign). He made great contributions to opening the east­west route connecting China’s Han with the western regions. Furthermore, (he not only introduced silk and other products to the west but he also brought back many new products and knowledge of technologies of the outside world)     3     (用倒装句升级加黑体部分).     4     (激励我的是他完成探险的毅力和决心).

5 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What would the woman like to do?

A．Live on the Silk Road.

B．Read about the Silk Road.

C．Travel along the Silk Road.

2. Where would the woman like to go?

A．To India.

B．To Iran.

C．To Afghanistan.

3. What does the woman probably like about India?

A．The art.

B．The climate.

C．The history.

6 . 语法填空

Archaeologists have uncovered an ancient     1     (bury) town in Ethiopia that was inhabited for 1, 400 years. The town was part of a powerful civilisation called Aksum that dominated East Africa for centuries.

“This is one of the most important ancient     2     (civilisation), but people in the Western world don't know it,” says Michael Harrower, who has thrown himself     3    the study of the surrounding area. After discussions with the local people, the archaeologists set out     4     (dig) near a village, where they found piles of stone wall spread over fourteen hectares of land, which turned out to be a hill created by     5     (ruin).

According to Michael, future research at the site has the potential to clarify a range of topics, including the rise of one of Africa's first complex societies. Currently, they plan to do a further     6     (investigate) to look     7    this complex, yet still rather mysterious, society.

7 . Human faces cut into stone up to 2,000 years ago have again been found on a rocky area along the Amazon River in northern Brazil. The stone carvings (雕刻品) appeared as a result of a big drop in water levels because of dry weather in parts of northern Brazil. The water level had dropped to the lowest level in the history of the river.

“People had reported some of the stone carvings before during periods when water levels were low. But now a greater number have been identified. That will help researchers establish the history of the carvings, and more secrets of historical relics will come to light,” researcher Jaime de Santana Oliveira said recently.

One area shows smooth marks in the rock thought to be where natives once sharpened their tools such   as arrows and spears before European settlers arrived.

“The carvings are prehistoric, or precolonial (殖民地时期前的). We can’t be sure of their precise date but based on the evidence of human living places of the area, we believe they are about 1, 000 to 2, 000 years old.” Oliveira said.

The rocky area is on the north shore of the Amazon River near the place where the Rio Negro River joins it.

Oliveira said the carvings were first seen in 2010, but this year’s drought has been more serious than earlier dry periods. The Rio Negro’s levels have dropped 15 meters since July, uncovering large areas of rocks and sand where there had been no beaches.

“This time we found not just more carvings, but the statue of a human face cut into the rock,” said Oliveira, who works for the Brazilian government’s National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute. The organization watches the care of historic places in Brazil.

1. What plays a key role in finding the stone carvings?

A．People’s report.	B．Natural disaster.
C．High technology.	D．Researchers’ effort.

2. What can researchers do with more identified stone carvings?

A．Explore the history of historical sites.	B．Move the valuable carvings to safety.
C．Discover more underwater stone carvings.	D．Make the carvings popular among visitors.

3. What does the underlined word “precise” mean in paragraph 4?

A．Fixed.

B．Exact.

C．Best.

D．Future.

4. What does Oliveira stress in the last paragraph?

A．The human face stone carvings.	B．The number of stone carvings.
C．The real value of stone carvings.	D．The place where stone carvings were found.

8 . 阅读下面短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个恰当的单词， 在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

The Terracotta Army (兵马俑) was found in 1974 near Xi’an. It is formed of more than 8,000 sculptures, which     1     (bury) alongside the emperor Qin Shi Huang more than 2,200 years ago. Now, researchers have recreated the shoes of one soldier and analysis of them     2     (suggest) that shoes worn by the terracotta sculptures were surprisingly flexible and slip resistant. If the recreated shoes     3     (true) reflect the real ones, they can help build a better picture of     4     Qin dynasty soldiers wore and how this might have aided them in battles.

9 . The history of the school bus can date back to 1886 when the Wayne Works company made horse-drawn carriages (四轮马车) known as “ school wagons” or “kid hacks” in Indiana.     1    

In the early 1900s, the car industry was beginning to develop fast.    2     The company managed to make its carriages powered by engines. But the design remained mostly the same as that of the previous ones, with students sitting along the walls of the bus while facing inside.

In 1927, a man built the first bus that primarily used steel. Before long, Wayne Works introduced the first all-steel school bus body with safety glass windows.     3     This led to a turning point in the history of the school bus in 1939, when a conference was organised at Manhattan College to develop school bus standards.

Many new national standards were created, determining everything from seating designs to the famous yellow color that school buses still sport today. The reason why the color was chosen was simple.     4    The color is especially easy to see in the early morning and evening light when school buses usually operate.

    5     For example, a variety of changes have been made to enable the school bus to not only be safer but also have better fuel (燃料) economy, be easier to drive, etc. The most creative approach among all of these is probably a kind of stop signal arm that warns traffic of a stop in progress, which states began to require in the early 1950s.

A．Horses were easy to control.

B．Not all chose to paint their buses yellow.

C．Yellow is quite eye-catching to human beings.

D．Before then, many children simply walked to school.

E．Now, school buses have had many more improvements.

F．Still, parents were increasingly concerned for children’s safety.

G．This gave Wayne Works a great opportunity to improve its carriages.

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。

On Feb 8, 2001, workers at a construction site in Jinsha village, Chengdu, found many pieces of ivory and jade and the hidden ruins of the capital of the ancient Shu Kingdom were brought     1    light by archaeologists. Among the over 5,000 precious relics     2    (excavate)from the ruins, the most eye-catching is the Golden Sun Bird. It is made from delicate gold foil(箔), just one     3    (five)of a millimeter thick. It has two sections: The center is a sun pattern with 12 rays     4    (indicate)the rotation(自转)of the sun and around the sun are four birds flying anticlockwise. According to archaeologists, the four birds symbolize four seasons, while the 12 rays     5    (mean)to represent 12 months of the year. Hence, it could be inferred that over 3000 years ago ancient Shu people possessed     6     good knowledge of astronomy and nature. Furthermore, this masterpiece is believed to be an illustration of an ancient Chinese myth recorded in the classic The Legends of Mountains and Seas,     7     was written about 2,500 years ago. According to the book, ancient people believed the sun was carried up     8    down by birds daily.

In 2005, the pattern was     9    (successful)selected as the symbol of China’s cultural heritage to showcase the ancient Chinese people’s     10    ( wise)and aspirations.