1 . Mention the terms Italian culture and Renaissance art and one is immediately reminded of the mysterious smile of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.
The Renaissance had a deep effect on the development of European culture. Having its beginnings in Italy, by the 16th century, it had spread to the rest of Europe. Its influence was felt in different fields such as philosophy, literature, religion, science, politics, and, of course, art. The scholars of the Renaissance period applied the humanistic method to every field of study, and wanted to have human emotion and realism in art.
Renaissance scholars studied the ancient Latin and Greek texts, searching the libraries of Europe for works of ancient times that had become obscure, in their hunt for reforming and perfecting their worldly knowledge. However, that does not mean that they refused religion. In fact, many of the greatest works of the Renaissance period were devoted to it, with the church supporting a lot of the works of Renaissance art. However, there were slight changes in the manner in which the scholars began to treat religion, which affected the cultural life of society, which in turn influenced the artists of that period and therefore was reflected in their art.
In Raphael’s The School of Athens, for example, some well-known people were described as classical scholars with Leonardo da Vinci given as much importance as Plato in his time. Giotto di Bondone, 1266-1337, a Florentine, who is regarded as the greatest Italian painter just earlier than the Renaissance period, is thought to be the first artist who treated a painting as a window into space.
However, it was only after the writings of Filippo Brunelleschi, 1377-1446, who is considered the first great builder of the Italian Renaissance, that perspective (透视法) was formally accepted as an artistic technique.
1. What makes Italy stand out in a way in world history?| A．Its artists during the Renaissance were numerous. | B．It was the center of the European countries. |
| C．It had many famous inventors in different fields. | D．It was home to the Renaissance. |
| A．meaningless and hard to recognize | B．clear and meaningful to guiding people |
| C．unclear and difficult to understand or see | D．easy to understand but having little meaning |
| A．After the completion of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. |
| B．After Leonardo da Vinci’s being compared to Plato. |
| C．After Giotto di Bondone’s paintings were respected. |
| D．After Filippo Brunelleschi’s completing his writings. |
| A．Italy’s Renaissance art and artists | B．the famous artists in Italy’s history |
| C．Italy’s influence on the world in culture | D．the hardships during the Renaissance in Italy |
2 . America’s first transcontinental railroad, completed 150 years ago today at Promontory Summit in Utah, connected the vast United States and brought America into the modern age. Chinese immigrants contributed greatly to this notable achievement, but the historical accounts that followed often ignored their role.
Between 1863 and 1869, as many as 20,000 Chinese workers helped build the dangerous western part of the railroad, a winding ribbon of track known as the Central Pacific. At first, the Central Pacific Railroad’s directors wanted a whites-only workforce. When not enough white men signed up, the railroad began hiring Chinese men for the backbreaking labor. Company leaders were skeptical of the new recruits’ ability to do the work, but they proved themselves not only capable but even superior to the other workers.
Chinese workers cut through dense forests, filled deep narrow steep-sided valley, constructed long trestles(高架桥) and built enormous retaining walls(防护墙) -- some of which remain complete and undamaged today. All work was done by hand using carts, shovels and picks but no machinery. However, progress came at great cost: an estimated 1,200 Chinese laborers died along the Central Pacific route.
Despite these facts, Chinese workers were often left out of the official story because of their identity of foreigners. On the transcontinental railroad's 100th birthday, the Chinese workers were still not honored. It was another fifty years later that their role was gradually highlighted. To celebrate the railroad’s 150th anniversary in 2019, the California assembly passed a resolution in 2017 to recognize and honor the Chinese railroad workers by designating May 10, 2017, and every May 10 thereafter, as California Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial Day.
1. What might be the best title for the text?| A．The Birth of the Central Pacific Cost Dearly |
| B．May 10--A Special Day for Chinese Immigrants |
| C．Chinese Workers’ Contributions Gained Recognition |
| D．The 150th anniversary of the Central Pacific Railroad |
| A．Chinese laborers. | B．White workers. |
| C．Company leaders. | D．Railroad directors. |
| A．To prove Chinese workers’ superior skills. |
| B．To stress the danger and difficulty of the work. |
| C．To describe the grand scenery along the railroad. |
| D．To show notable achievements made by Chinese workers. |
| A．None so blind as those who won’t see. | B．No pains, no gains. |
| C．Truth will come to light sooner or later. | D．Doing is better than saying. |
3 . A ship that sank off the coast of California decades ago was recently reconstructed in detail. The 3D digital model even included hundreds of sponges (海绵动物) that have gathered on the ship’s surface since it sank.
Named American Heritage, the supply ship sank in Santa Monica Bay on May 4, 1995, and for decades its exact location was unknown. Researchers with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) spotted a strange shape in that area in 2008. But it wasn’t until May 2018 that MBARI scientists identified its exact location and mapped the site in detail, showing what appeared to be a shipwreck (失事船只).
Even then, the identity of the shipwreck was uncertain. Yet another MBARI team revisited the location to do further exploration. They sent remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and took photos of the damaged ship. Though it was covered with deep-sea sponges and other animals, the scientists were able to spot letters spelling out its name, confirming that the shipwreck was American Heritage.
As one of the MBARI scientists who found American Heritage, chief ROV pilot Knute Brekke had worked on the ship before. And he was on duty with the diving company American Pacific Marine — the owner of American Heritage — the night the ship began taking in water and eventually sank.
MBARI spokesperson Kim Fulton -Bennett said to Live Science about the discovery, “The model is not complete, as floating ropes and poor visibility kept the pilots from getting too close to the wreck. But the 3D reconstruction is detailed enough to show that American Heritage is now home to thousands of sponges. Shipwrecks often turn into the shelter for diverse communities of ocean life.”
1. What is the main idea of the text?| A．A valuable treasure was discovered. |
| B．Special sponges were found under sea. |
| C．3D model reconstructed a sunken ship. |
| D．A sunken ship was gotten out of water. |
① Something strange was found in the area.
② ROVs were sent under sea to take photos.
③ A ship sank in Santa Monica Bay.
④ The identity of the ship was confirmed.
⑤ Scientists tried to locate the shipwreck.
| A．②③⑤④① | B．③①⑤②④ |
| C．⑤③①④② | D．④③①②⑤ |
| A．He was familiar with the sunken ship. |
| B．He was in charge of a diving company. |
| C．He was responsible for the rescue work. |
| D．He was the first one to witness the accident. |
| A．Critical. | B．Doubtful. | C．Amazed. | D．Objective. |
4 . Mr.Selfridge, the Wisconsin-born retailer (零售商) who left school at 14, rose to become a partner in Marshall Field’s, Chicago. Founded in 1852, it was one of the first and most ambitious US department stores. Mr.Selfridge had done well with Marshall Field’s. He liked to say, “The customer is always right,” which made the Chicago store popular. And he is believed to have invented the phrase “Only (so many) Shopping Days until Christmas”.
When he visited London on holiday in 1906 he was surprised to find most of the city’s department stores were no match of their American and Parisian competitors. This led Selfridge to leave the US and establish Selfridges, a department store named after him, at the west end of London’s Oxford Street. In Oxford Street, Selfridge’s design team shaped an ambitious classical palace building with a wall of plate glass windows.
Opened in 1909, Selfridges offered customers a hundred departments along with restaurants, a roof garden,reading and writing rooms, reception areas for foreign visitors, a first aid room and most importantly, a small army of knowledgeable floor-walking assistants who served as guides as well as being thoroughly instructed in the art of making a sale.
Mr.Selfridge did much to make the department store a destination rather than just a big and comprehensively stocked city shop. It became a place to meet and for ladies to lunch. Mr.Selfridge later introduced the department store as a key element of the 20th Century culture, and Chaplin acknowledged the growing trend for shopping in the department store in his film The Floorwalker.
1. What can be learned about Mr.Selfridge from Paragraph 1?| A．He was well-educated. | B．He was a modest man. |
| C．He was a gifted businessman. | D．He was dishonest. |
| A．The broad choice of goods. | B．The large number of departments. |
| C．The small group of guards. | D．The well-trained sales guides. |
| A．To encourage shoppers to spend more. | B．To introduce the history of Selfridges. |
| C．To compare different department stores. | D．To explain how to start a department store. |
Searching for Guinevere
Stories of kings and queens have appealed to readers for centuries, and arguably, the tales of King Arthur and Guinevere are among the most appealing. Arthur ruled the kingdom of Camelot, and Guinevere was his queen.
Guinevere is identified by Geoffrey a noblewoman of Roman descent （血统） who met King Arthur in the court of Duke Cador of Cornwall.
As many Arthurian scholars know, the distinction between history and literature was unclear in the Middle Ages.
| A．Geoffrey’s historical treatment of the legend is often mentioned as evidence that Guinevere existed, as the book deals with the lives of a number of historical rulers. |
| B．Consequently, the true identity of Guinevere may never be known with certainty. |
| C．So why were they so much welcomed by writers? |
| D．In Le Morte d’Arthur, Sir Thomas Malory describes a prosperous England under King Arthur and Guinevere. |
| E．Three centuries later, however, THomas Malory painted a very different portrait of Guinevere in Le Morte d’Arthur. |
| F．But were they real people or fictional characters? |
6 . Can we humans avoid war? Can war be prevented ?
Our task now is not to blame the past，but to plan for the future.
If there is peace in the world, men can use their rockets to explore the mystery of space,their submarines to explore the depth of the sea,their missiles to deliver to mails and their fine equipment to penetrate(穿透）jungles of Africa ,instead of using them military.
Governments can use their money to build more schools,so that more children can be educated to be useful citizens.
We know that neither peace nor such a dream world can come true in a day or month.
| A．How can a peaceful world be achieved? |
| B．The process may even take decades or centuries. |
| C．Peace can be won through the efforts of all human beings. |
| D．Things for military use can be transformed to peaceful use. |
| E．Scientists can use atomic energy to power steamships and planes. |
| F．I am sure that we would not like to experience another world war, |
| G．History tells that there were wars, great or small，in every century, in every decade. |
7 . Zhoukoudian is a small village situated about 50 kilometers to Beijing City. In the 1920s, archaeologists discovered some prehistoric human bones there which changed people’s view of China’s history. They came from an unknown species of man and were the first evidence of human life in China thousands of years ago. The remains were three teeth!
In 1929, a complete skull was also discovered. Eventually, archaeologists found almost 200 items, including six skulls and more than 150 teeth. These discoveries proved the existence of a human species who lived in the area between 700,000 and 200,000 years ago. Four sites where Peking Man and their relatives lived were discovered on the northern face of Longgushan. They lived in the caves in the area.
However, the lifespan of Peking Man was short. About 70% of the people probably died before the age of 14. Fewer than 5% lived to the age of 50. Ashes were found alongside the fossils, which showed they had used fire for cooking food and also for light, warmth, and protection against wild animals. This is the earliest evidence of the use of fire in the world. They also made tools of bones and stones.
Unfortunately, when Japan invaded China in 1937, excavations at the Peking Man Site stopped and most of the fossils disappeared, including a Peking Man skull. After the People’s Republic of China was established in 1949, the work started again.
Zhoukoudian was listed as a World Heritage Site in December 1987. It has not only given us important information about prehistoric Asian societies, but also provided amazing evidence about the process of evolution. Today, parts of the caves have been badly eroded (侵蚀) by rain. Some areas are almost completely covered in weeds, causing serious damage. Pollution from the nearby factories has also contributed to the problem. This is a very serious matter and the Chinese Academy of Sciences is trying to raise public awareness of it.
1. According to the passage, archaeologists ______.| A．thought that Zhoukoudian was a beautiful village |
| B．thought that the findings wouldn’t change the history of China |
| C．discovered some prehistoric human bones in Zhoukoudian |
| D．thought that the findings were the first evidence of human life in Asia |
| A．The digging was delayed by the Japanese invasion in the 1930s. |
| B．These ancient Chinese were the first people to use fire in daily life. |
| C．Some valuable things excavated from the site are still missing. |
| D．The digging of Zhoukoudian is famous and is well funded. |
| A．Peking Man had a short life |
| B．Peking Man lived in the caves of Longgushan |
| C．the work of excavating the Peking Man Site didn’t proceed smoothly |
| D．archaeologists found six complete skulls and more than 150 teeth in 1929 |
| A．The digging of Zhoukoudian is still under way. |
| B．Zhoukoudian plays an important part in the study of prehistoric societies. |
| C．Zhoukoudian is a World Heritage Site. |
| D．Zhoukoudian is in great need of protection. |
8 . The printing press has a long history. It was invented in Germany by Joannes Gutenberg around 1440, and brought to England by William Caxton in the 1470s.Yet the basic technology of printing remained the same up to the end of the 18th century, requiring two men to operate a wooden screw press by hand, producing about 200 impressions an hour. The 19th century was the period in which this process was mechanised, automated, and made many times faster.
A key moment in the development of mass newspapers was the development of the steam-powered printing press, adopted by the times in 1814. The new presses were able to print per hour around five times the number produced by the machines. The editor, John Walter, had the machines fixed secretly at night, so that when his printers reported for duty the next morning the majority of them found that they were out of work. The Times went from a circulation of 5,000 a day in 1815 to around 50,000 in the middle of the century. This was not caused by the steam press, but neither could it have happened without it.
Later developments improved this effect: the Applegath machine achieved 5,000 impressions per hour, and the Hoe press, an import from the United States, reached to 20,000 impressions per hour. Increase in the speed of papermaking in this period brought down the cost of printed materials both for the producer and the customer. In 1896, the Daily Mail was sold at the cost of only half a penny, and by 1900 it was selling nearly 1,000,000 copies a day.
If print production was completely changed in those years, then so was its distribution. The appearance of the steam railway meant that for the first time newspapers could be distributed across the country on a daily basis.
1. What can we learn about the basic technology of printing?| A．It was invented first in the middle of the 15th century. |
| B．It was brought into England by Joannes Gutenberg. |
| C．It took over 400 years to change after invention. |
| D．It took two hours to produce about 200 impressions. |
| A．About 20,000. | B．About 1,000. |
| C．About 2,000. | D．About 5,000. |
| A．the invention of steam printing press | B．the development of the steam railway |
| C．the appearance of the Daily Mail | D．the decline of printing expenses |
| A．providing examples | B．making comparisons |
| C．following the order of time | D．following the order of space |
9 . On 20th July 1969, millions of people saw Neil Armstrong take his first steps in space on television. Armstrong got out of the spacecraft Apollo 11, touched the ground of the moon and said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
A conspiracy(阴谋)theory has existed since the night of his lunar handing. Armstrong’s achievements were considered amazing, but people wondered if it really happened. Many people believe that the scene on the moon wasn’t real. Rumours spread throughout coffee shops, street comers, and newspapers, but it soon died down.
But theories resurfaced in 2001 Suspicion began when an American television network aired a program called Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon? The show argued that NASA did not have the money for such a voyage, and that the whole scene was probably filmed in a movie studio. Many critics say that there were no stars in the background during the lunar landing, so it must have been a fake. They also point out that the American flag that was posted was waving. How could that be if there is no wind on the moon?
NASA(National Aeronautics and Space Administration)has denied these rumours many times. They explained that now photographers can capture the brightness of the astronauts with the dimness of the stars behind them. Also, they said that the flag was waving because the astronauts were pulling it back and forth trying to get it deeper into the rock. NASA also points out that the television program fails to mention that Armstrong and his team brought back 800 pounds of rock from the moon.
Nell Armstrong is seen as a national icon in the US and his lunar landing is one of the most historic events in the country’s history. But either way, this conspiracy theory still exists today.
1. What didn’t the TV program Did We Land on the Moon? mention?| A．money | B．stars |
| C．the flag | D．rocks |
| A．It showed great anger | B．It had to accept the rumor |
| C．It turned a deaf ear to the rumor | D．It gave explanations against the rumor |
| A．the wind | B．the astronauts’ pulling |
| C．the gravity | D．the camera’s moving |
