1 . Cities usually have a good reason for being where they are, like a nearby port or river. People settle in these places because they are easy to get to and naturally suited to communications and trade. New York City, for example, is near a large harbour at the mouth of the Hudson River. Over 300 years its population grew gradually from 800 people to 8 million. But not all cities develop slowly over a long period of time. Boom towns grow from nothing almost overnight. In 1896, Dawson, Canada, was unmapped wilderness(荒野). But gold was discovered there in 1897, and two years later, it was one of the largest cities in the West, with a population of 30,000.

Dawson did not have any of the natural conveniences of cities like London or Paris. People went there for gold. They travelled over snow-covered mountains and sailed hundreds of miles up icy rivers. The path to Dawson was covered with thirty feet of wet snow that could fall without warming. An avalanche(雪崩) once closed the path, killing 63 people. For many who made it to Dawson, however, the rewards were worth the difficult trip. Of the first 20,000 people who dug for gold, 4,000 got rich. About 100 of these stayed rich men for the rest of their lives.

But no matter how rich they were, Dawson was never comfortable. Necessities like food and wood were very expensive. But soon, the gold that Dawson depended on had all been found. The city was crowded with disappointed people with no interest in settling down, and when they heard there were new gold discoveries in Alaska, they left Dawson City as quickly as they had come. Today, people still come and go — to see where the Canadian gold rush happened. Tourism is now the chief industry of Dawson City — its present population is 762.

1. What attracted the early settlers to New York City?

A．Its business culture.

B．Its small population.

C．Its geographical position.

D．Its favourable climate.

2. What do we know about those who first dug for gold in Dawson?

A．Two-thirds of them stayed there.

B．One out of five people got rich.

C．Almost everyone gave up.

D．Half of them died.

3. What was the main reason for many people to leave Dawson?

A．They found the city too crowded.

B．They wanted to try their luck elsewhere.

C．They were unable to stand the winter.

D．They were short of food.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The rise and fall of a city.

B．The gold rush in Canada.

C．Journeys into the wilderness.

D．Tourism in Dawson.

2 . Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to conquer (征服) Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.

In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.

For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.

The Irish are famous for being warm－hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”. Since independence, Ireland has revived (复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish songs which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.

1. What does the author tell us in Paragraph 1?

A．How the Irish fought against the English.

B．How Ireland gained independence.

C．How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland.

D．How two “Irelands” came into being.

2. We learn from the text that in Ireland ________.

A．food shortages and a lack of work in the 1840s led to a decline in population

B．people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside

C．it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker

D．different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments

3. The last paragraph is mainly about ________.

A．the Irish character	B．the Irish culture
C．Irish musical instruments	D．a famous Irish writer

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Life in Ireland	B．A Very Difficult History
C．Ireland, Past and Present	D．The Independence of Ireland

3 . The United States of America is the most culturally diverse country in the world in terms of culture, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation. As a combination of various races and cultures, America is home to all. The culture here is so unique that citizens can be just as proud of their original cultural heritage as they are to be Americans.

What is now the US was initially inhabited (居住) by native people until the land was settled by various European groups and African slaves. Since the 20th century, the country has become a heaven for people from all over the globe.

The arrival of immigrants has removed populations from rural areas into cities because immigrants tend to settle in urban areas. At present, 81 percent of the citizens in the US live in cities.

Cultural and ethnic diversity adds a unique flavor to cities that is expressed through different neighborhoods, restaurants, places of worship, museums, nightlife and multicultural learning environments.

Unique musical forms, such as jazz, rock and roll, Chicano music, and the blues, grow in the US by mixing a variety of culturally distinct musical traditions to create a new form.

At the executive (行政的) level, the country is headed by a mixed-race president; two posts on the Supreme Court are held by members of the country’s two largest minorities. There is also diversity in state and local governments.

Without its rich mixture of races and cultures, America would not be the nation that it is today. Founded upon the basis of equality and freedom, America acts as ad stage where different cultures not only coexist peacefully, but develop well.

1. According to the passage, America is a country        .

A．that welcomes people from all over the world

B．where citizens take more pride in their original culture

C．that is mostly settled by Europeans and Africans

D．where 81% of the population are immigrants

2. Where did most people live before many immigrants came to America?

A．In the urban areas.

B．In the rural areas.

C．In the southern part of America.

D．In the northern part of America.

3. We can learn from the sixth paragraph that        .

A．diversity has existed in America in almost every aspect

B．most posts in America state governments are held by mixed-race people

C．equality and freedom make America a fair country

D．diversity has greatly affected the American political field

4. What’s the best title for this passage?

A．The Effects of Culture and Diversity on America

B．The Influence of Globalization on America

C．The Political Development of America

D．The Bright Future of America

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。

The United Kingdom, Great Britain, Britain, England—many people are     1     (confuse) by what these different names mean. So what is the     2     (different) between them, if any?     3     (get) to know     4     little bit about British history will help you solve this puzzle.

In the 16th century, the nearby country of Wales was joined to the Kingdom of England. Later, in the 18th century, the country Scotland was joined     5    (create) the Kingdom of Great Britain. In the 19th century, the Kingdom of Ireland was added to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.     6    (final), in the 20th century, the southern part of Ireland     7     (break) away from the UK, which resulted     8     the full name we have today: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Most people just use the shortened name: “the United Kingdom” or “the UK”. People from the UK are called “British”,     9     means the UK is also often     10     (refer) to as Britain or Great Britain.

7 . When it comes to the greatest inventions of the world, China’s name is sure to be mentioned several times. There are hundreds of things which were invented by the Chinese.

Alcohol

Shocked? I was because when they said alcohol I thought about either the US or the UK. China had never crossed my mind. In China, alcohol was made by two legendary persons named Yi Di and Du Kang who belonged to the Xia Dynasty. This period was about 2000 BC - 1600 BC. Research says that in ancient China, beer with 4% alcoholic content was widely consumed by people.

Tea

China is the proud inventor of tea which was first drunk by Shen Nong, a Chinese emperor around 2737 BC. Tea production was rapidly developed, making tea a popular drink during the Tang and Song Dynasties.

The Mechanical Clock

Have you ever wondered what on earth we would be doing without any idea of time? A clock really is an invention without which things were incomplete. The credit of making the first mechanical clock goes to ancient China. The first mechanical clock was invented by Yi Xing in the Tang Dynasty. This was during 618 and 907.

Silk Fabric

Silk, the favorite fabric of many girls out there, is also a Chinese invention. Although we all know that silk is made by silkworms, it was Chinese people who first invented a way to harvest the silk and then use it to make clothes. The oldest silk which has been found so far is in Henan Province and dates back to 3630 BC.

1. We can learn from Paragraph 2 that ________.

A．people in the US like alcohol

B．beer was popular in the Xia Dynasty

C．Yi Di and Du Kang invented alcohol by accident

D．the author didn’t know alcohol is a Chinese invention

2. The author asks the question in Paragraph 4 to show ________.

A．ancient Chinese inventors were wiser

B．many things in our lives are incomplete

C．ancient Chinese people never wasted time

D．the invention of the mechanical clock is important

3. Which of the following invention has a longer history?

A．Tea.	B．Alcohol.
C．Silk fabric.	D．The mechanical clock.

8 . Do you know Australia? Australia is the largest island in the world. It is a little smaller than China. It is in the south of the earth. Australia is big, but its population is not large. The population of Australia is nearly as large as that of Shanghai.

The government has made enough laws to fight pollution. The cities in Australia have got little air or water pollution. The sky is blue and the water is clean. You can clearly see fish swimming in the rivers. Plants grow very well.

Last month we visited Perth, the biggest city in Western Australia, and went to a wild flowers’ exhibition. There we saw a large number of wild flowers we had never seen before. We had a wonderful time. Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. In spring every year Perth has the wild flowers’ exhibition.

After visiting Perth, we spent the day in the countryside. We sat down and had a rest near a path at the foot of a hill. It was quiet and we enjoyed ourselves. Suddenly we heard bells ringing at the top of the hill. What we saw made us pick up all our things and run back to the car as quickly as we could. There were about three hundred sheep coming towards us down the path.

Australia is famous for its sheep and kangaroos (袋鼠). After a short drive from any town, you will find yourself in the middle of white sheep. Sheep, sheep, everywhere are sheep.

1. Australia is_________ .

A．the largest country in the world	B．as large as Shanghai
C．not as large as China	D．the largest island in the north of the earth

2. The government had made __________ .

A．a great number of laws to fight pollution	B．so many laws that it cannot fight pollution
C．enough laws that it can hardly fight pollution	D．enough laws because the pollution is very serious

3. In Perth you may visit a wild flowers’ show in________ .

A．Summer

B．Fall

C．Winter

D．Spring

4. According to the last two paragraphs, which of the following is true?

A．Australia is famous for its sheep, kangaroos and wild flowers.

B．We ran back to the car because we were in the middle of white sheep.

C．Three hundred sheep came towards us because they saw us.

D．If you go to the countryside in Australia, you will see a large number of white sheep.

9 . 语法填空

When scholars of international relations predict that the 21st century will be a “Chinese century”，they are full of reasons.     1    America remains the only superpower, China is responsible for an important share of global change. Since the start of the    2     (finance) crisis in 2008, for example, China has accounted     3     45% of the gain in world GDP. In 1990 about 750 million Chinese people lived in extreme     4     (poor); today fewer than 10 million do. Its GDP per person, in terms of purchasing power，    5     (rise) ten times since 1990.

China’s     6     (amaze) performance has greatly affected the world’s economic output.The Economist has worked out a geographic center of the global economy by taking an average of each country’s latitude and longitude (经纬度),     7     (measure) by     8     (it) GDP. At the height of America’s control, this point previously sat in the north Atlantic. But China has pulled it so far east    9    the global center of economic gravity    10     (be) now in Siberia.

10 . 阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或使用括号中单词的正确形式填空。

Peru is a country on the central western coast of South America facing the Pacific Ocean. Three parts make     1     the country: narrow, dry, flat land     2    (run) along the coast, the Andes Mountains, and the Amazon Rainforset.

Spanish is the main official language of Peru. It is because Peru     3    (rule)by Spanish from the 16^th century to 1821. But before that, Peru was the center of the ancient Inca Empire, and its emperor lived in what is now known as the site Machu Picchu.

Peru is an     4    ( amaze) destination with something for tourists. Here     5    (be) two magical tours: Amazon Rainforest and Machu Picchu Tour.

In Amazon Rainforet Tour, you can first take     6     short flight into the Amazon rainforest and then will travel for a day to your     7    (accommodate) by boat. In the following three days, you can explore the unique rainforest with a local guide, In the other tour, you can take a four-day hike through the Andes to the city of Machu Picchu. After     8     (explore )the ancient city, you will find it very fantastic,     9    (especial) the Incas’ dry stone method of building. Inca builders cut stones so exactly     10    nothing was needed to hold walls together.