1 . The Egyptian city Thonis-Heracleion was founded in the eighth century B.C. For centuries, its location at the mouth of the Nile River made it a gateway to Egypt which foreign traders needed to pass through. This brought it both wealth and influence. Its name shows the city' s foreign ties: Thonis was its Egyptian name, but the Greeks, who had close contact with the Egyptians, named it Heracleion after the hero Hercules.

The neighboring city Canopus shared Thonis-Heracleion' s wealth and prestige (声望). Both cities appear in the writings of ancient historians and poets. But then they disappeared from all records. For centuries, no one even knew where these once-great cities were located.

In 1933 a British pilot flew over a bay in Egypt and spotted ruins. He reported his find, but nothing came of it. Not until 2000 did anyone research into the bay thoroughly. That year French archaeologist Franck Goddio used a tool that measured variations in the earth's magnetic field ( 磁场 ) to make a detailed map of the ocean floor. The map helped him and his team choose the most promising areas to dig.

At the bottom of the ocean, Goddio’s team found the remains of Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus. They carefully dug the cities out from mountains of sand that had settled over them. They made some amazing discoveries, such as a five-meter-tall statue. A stele, (石碑) records the city' s name and information about laws, such as tax regulations. And 69 ships lay buried in the same bay - the largest group of ancient ships ever found.

For all their glory, these cities were built on a foundation of soft clay ( 黏 土 ). As their populations grew, the weight of people and homes pressed the clay. In A.D. 800 the ground below the city collapsed (坍塌), causing people to run away. The ground collapsed again some time later, and over the course of 1,000 years, the land sank under the waves. Under the water, sand settled gently over the ruins, saving them from being destroyed.

1. What can we learn about the city Thonis-Heracicion?

A．It was less famous than Canopus.

B．It was once an important center of trade.

C．It   was   once under the   control   of the Greeks.

D．It was recorded in more detail than Canopus.

2. Goddio found the sites of Thonis-Heraclcion and Canopus   .

A．completely by chance

B．according to the historical records

C．with the support of the British pilot

D．thanks to the map of the ocean floor he made

3. What do we know about the treasures found by Goddio's team?

A．They are still in good condition.	B．They are of little historical value.
C．They were hidden in the mountains.	D．They belonged to Thonis-Heracleion.

2 . 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.

2. What was Selfridges’ most impressive characteristic?

A．The broad choice of goods.	B．The large number of departments.
C．The small group of guards.	D．The well-trained sales guides.

3. What is the main purpose of the article?

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.

3 . Every March, the country celebrates the achievements of women in American history. Even though these achievements go back a long way, most schools didn’t start focusing on women pioneers and their achievements until recently. Today, most schools teach kids about the many contributions women have made to our country.   How did this change come about?

On March 19, 1911, a German woman named Clara Zetkin organized the very first International Women’s Day. Inspired by American working women, the event took on the causes of peace in an effort to end World War I as well as women’s rights. However, people’s interest in International Women’s Day still dwindled over the years. It gained momentum (势头) again in the 1960’s when the women’s movement caused women to wonder why they weren’t included in the history books.

By the 1970s, more female historians began to look back at women’s contributions in history. In 1978, a California school district started Women’s History Week to promote the teaching of women’s history. School officials picked the week of March 8 to include International Women’s Day. It was so popular that, in 1981, Congress passed a resolution, making the week a celebration for the entire country. The concept of studying women’s history continued to grow in popularity. In 1987, a group of women asked Congress to expand the celebration. That same year, Congress declared the entire month of March National Women’s History Month.

Today, schools and communities across the country celebrate the month with special lessons and activities designed to teach the ways women have helped shape the US. The women who have worked hard to make Women’s History Month a reality would like to see women’s history studied all year, not just every March. In 1996, the National Women’s History Museum was founded. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and celebrating the various historic contributions of women. The organization is working with Congress to open a permanent (永久的) museum site in Washington, D.C.

1. What was ignored in school education in the past according to the text?

A．Popularizing American history.

B．Introducing the history of WWI.

C．Sharing Americans’ global contributions.

D．Teaching about American women’s achievements.

2. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “dwindled” in paragraph 2?

A．Started.

B．Survived.

C．Decreased.

D．Completed.

3. What is mainly discussed in Paragraph 3?

A．How Women’s History Month became a reality.

B．How women were included in the history books.

C．Why women’s history should be taught at school.

D．Why women’s contributions should be honored in history.

4 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the sentences given below. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

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.     1     The debate has continued for centuries. Though many scholars have found evidence that the legendary Arthur was, at the very least, based on a real person who lived in Britain roughly between 450 and 500 CE, they continue to search for the historical identity of Guinevere. Guinevere first appeared as King Arthur’s queen in one of the most widely-studied works of Arthurian literature, The History of the Kings of Britain , written by Geoffrey of Monmouth around 1135 CE.     2    

Guinevere is identified by Geoffrey a noblewoman of Roman descent （血统） who met King Arthur in the court of Duke Cador of Cornwall.     3     In Malory’s portrayal, Guinevere had no real power as a monarch but served as a kind of spiritual leader, providing guidance and moral support to the knights in their roles as defenders of the kingdom. Le Morte d’Arthur was also one of the first works to refer to Guinevere’s romance with the knight, Sir Lancelot.

As many Arthurian scholars know, the distinction between history and literature was unclear in the Middle Ages.     4     Yet regardless of whether Guinevere was real or fictional, her story has endured centuries-and through each retelling, she continues to live on in the imaginations of people around the world.

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?

5 . Can we humans avoid war? Can war be prevented ?

    1    . Throughout the ages, from the Stone Age to the Atomic Age, men     have been fighting, first with swords and shields, then with pins and cannous, and now,hydrogen bombs and missiles are used for military purpose. But, in spite of all these. it is still belief that war can prevented and prace can be won, but it requires the effort of every one of us.

    2    If it ever happens, two - thirds of the world and much of the civilization which men have gained   through time,patience and effort will be destroyed.Will then the remaining one - third of the world be able to   survive on its own?

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.    3    , They can also design new machines to increase the production of goods and thus improve the way of the people.

    4    It requires,in my opinion,the understanding and friendship be-tween all people from all nations.Let no one suffer discrimination by reason of color,race,reli-gion,or national origin.Let the rich support the poor and the strong help the weak.

We know that neither peace nor such a dream world can come true in a day or month.    5    .But let us plan and begin now.

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.

6 . Nottingham Goose (鹅) Fair started on the first Thursday in October and lasted 3 days. However, nowadays you won’t find any geese there.

The fair opened at 12:00 on the Thursday by the Lord Mayor of Nottingham, but it has an interesting and shocking history.

For starters, it wasn’t always the largest fair in the area. And the main fair for the people of Nottingham in terms of trade and economy was the Lenton Fair held at Lenton Priory.

In the Middle Ages the Lenton Fair overshadowed (使显得逊色) the Goose Fair in size and importance. Harrisons Calendar of Fairs for 1587 mentions the Lenton Fair but not the Goose Fair. However, the Goose Fair competed with its local competitors and every year over 20,000 geese from the Fens in Lincolnshire arrived to be sold to provide the traditional Michaelmas dish.

It wasn’t just for geese either. All kinds of things were sold at the Goose Fair: sheep, horses and cattle were also sold.

The fair has been under threat of closure many times over the years. In 1764 they actually had cheese riots (暴乱) due to an increase of a third on the price of cheese compared with the previous year, which resulted in an attack on the stallholders (摊主) at the fair.

By 1880 the fair was reduced to a three-day event, which started on the first Thursday of October. In 1928 the fair was moved from the market square to its present site in the forest which is far away from the city centre. Despite attempts throughout its history to prevent the fair, the income from rents paid by the stallholders is financially beneficial to the local government. So regardless of the cheese riots and the various attempts to prohibit it, Nottingham Goose Fair has survived to celebrate over eight centuries of fun.

1. The cheese riots in 1764 were mentioned to show            .

A．the Goose Fair met strong competition from its competitors

B．stallholders usually benefited most from the Goose Fair

C．the Goose Fair gradually lost popularity with time going by

D．violence and troubles used to put the Goose Fair in danger

2. The Goose Fair has lasted till today mainly because            .

A．it is full of fun and enjoyed by most people	B．it brings great benefits to the local economy
C．it has strong support from the mayor of Nottingham	D．it is representative of the traditions of Nottingham

3. We can learn from the text that            .

A．the Goose Fair didn’t become famous until 1587

B．the Goose Fair used to last longer than it does today

C．those against the Goose Fair were mostly from the countryside

D．the Lenton Fair was once held at the same time as the Goose Fair

4. What does the underlined word “prohibit” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Prevent.

B．Follow.

C．Ignore.

D．Describe.

7 . A total of 17 paintings worth between 10 and 15 million euros were stolen at a museum in northern Italy,local officials said.

Three armed men with masked faces broke into the Castelvecchio Museum in Verona at night, a local newspaper reported.Located inside a castle which was built in 1354, the Castelvecchio Museum is one of the most important museums in the northern city.

The stolen paintings included masterworks from Andrea Mantegna, Jacopo Tintoretto, Peter Paul Rubens, Jacopo Bellini, Hans de Jode and other world-famous artists.

The group controlled the only private security guard who was there and the cashier, and then forced the guard to accompany them to the rooms where they stole the paintings.

Verona Mayor Flavio Tosi, who stayed at the scene until late in the night, said that surely someone sent them, because they acted professionally, and knew what they were looking for."The paintings stolen,"he added,"basically are the most valuable works on display."An investigation was opened over the theft.

The museum displays a very important collection of Italian and European art in 29 rooms on various levels exhibiting early Christian finds, Lombard gold work, sculptures from the 10th to the 14th century, medieval arms and armor, and paintings from the 14th to the 18th century.

The museum's director, Paola Marini, called herself shocked by the theft. The experienced art historian, who is about to leave her post after over 20 years, was receiving an award in a nearby restaurant when she was informed of what had happened.

The theft came just a day after two stolen paintings recently recovered by Italian heritage police were displayed in Rome during a ceremony attended by President Sergio Mattarella and Culture Minister Dario Franceschini.

1. Where does the article probably come from?

A．A journal.	B．A newspaper.
C．A magazine.	D．A storybook.

2. What do we know about the theft from the passage?

A．The stolen paintings are never on display.

B．The cashier asked the stealers to do it.

C．The security guard was killed.

D．The stealers were sent to do it.

3. What do we know about the Castelvecchio Museum?

A．It is used as a castle.

B．It was built in 1354.

C．It is in the north of Italy.

D．It is the most important museum in Italy.

4. What do we know about Paola Marini?

A．She was charged with the theft.

B．She was about to leave the museum when the theft happened.

C．She was having dinner outside when the theft took place.

D．She has been in charge of the museum for many years.

8 . During his years, American author Mark Twain noted that "life would be surely happier if we could only be born at the age of 80 and gradually approach 18". Twain's words were only one of many complaints about aging that have been recorded for as long as humans have feared the downside of a long life. The ancient Greek poet Homer called old age"hateful", and William Shakespeare termed it "terrible winter".

Alexander the Great, who conquered most of the known world before he died around 323 BC, may have been looking for a river that treated the damage of age. During the 12th century AD, a king known as Prester John ruled a land that had a river of gold and a fountain of youth.

But the name linked most closely to the search for a fountain of youth is 16th-century Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León, who thought it would be found in Florida. In St. Augustine, the oldest city in the US, there's a tourist attraction that purports(标榜) to be the fountain of youth that Ponce de León discovered soon after he arrived in what is now Florida in 1513. However,elderly visitors who drink the spring's water don't turn into teenagers.

But the tale of the search for a fountain of youth is so attracting that it survives anyway, says Ryan K. Smith, a professor of history. "People are more interested by the story of looking and not finding it than they are by the idea that the fountain might be out there somewhere."

Still, a few grains of truth have helped the story. Kathleen Deagan, a professor,says a cemetery(墓地) and the remains of a Spanish mission dating back to St. Augustine's founding in 1565 have been discovered near the so-called fountain of youth. Michelle Reyna, a spokesperson for the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park in St. Augustine, says the fountain has been a tourist attraction since at least the 1900s and may have been attracting visitors since the 1860s.

1. Who is the most famous to look for the fountain of youth?

A．A king known as Prester John.

B．Ryan K. Smith,a professor of history.

C．Alexander the Great.

D．Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León.

2. What is the attitude of people towards the fountain of youth?

A．People find much pleasure in looking for it.

B．People believe the existence of it.

C．People have no interest in searching for it.

D．People consider the idea of the fountain of youth to be absurd.

3. The earliest city was built in America in _____.

A．1901	B．1565
C．1860	D．1513

4. The passage is mainly about ______.

A．where the fountain of youth comes from

B．why some famous people hate becoming old

C．how people can remain young forever

D．whether the fountain of youth exists

9 . What happens when you want to go from one place to another, but there's water in the way？That's the problem people faced for hundreds of years in the area that is now New York City. In the city, there is a natural canal called the Narrows, separating Brooklyn on one side from Staten Island on the other.

But the Narrows isn't really so narrow. The water is almost a mile wide, and it's more than 100 feet deep.     1     When they wanted to talk to each other, they climbed into their boats and sailed across.

By the late 1800s, circumstances had changed dramatically. Population growth meant there were now many people needing to travel between Staten Island and Brooklyn for work.     2    

Between 1888 and 1920 there were two major efforts to build a train tunnel to connect the areas.     3     Proposals to build a connecting bridge made during the 1910s also ended in failure due to opposition from the US Navy.

Finally, after World War II, there were so many people living in New York City that leaders decided Brooklyn and Staten Island needed a direct connection. Since tunnels were too expensive, they decided to build a bridge. The design selected had two separate roadways stacked on top of each other.     4     Construction, which took five years, was completed in 1964 and cost $320 million. Today about 190,000 cars and trucks cross the bridge every day.

    5     But in the case of the Narrows, figuring out a good solution took hundreds of years.

A．Sometimes getting from one place to another is easy.

B．Both were quickly abandoned however due to the high costs involved.

C．Neither road was large enough to satisfy the existing transport demands.

D．It was anticipated that the new train system would help the areas grow even faster.

E．Taking a boat every time was very slow, expensive and, in bad weather, unreliable.

F．Both would hang in the air from thick steel cables, supported by two giant steel towers.

G．For a long time that wasn't a problem, because only a few people lived in Brooklyn and Staten Island.

10 . Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

“My work is done.” Those words were some of the last penned by George Eastman. He included them in his suicide note. They mark an ignoble end to a noble life, the leave taking of a truly great man. The same words could now be said for the company he left behind. Actually, the Eastman Kodak Company is through. It has been mismanaged financially, technologically and competitively.     1     One of America’s bedrock brands is about to disappear, the Kodak moment has passed.

But George Eastman is not how he died, and the Eastman Kodak Company is not how it is being killed. Though the ends are needless and premature, they must not be allowed to overshadow the greatness that came before. Few companies have done so much good for so many people, or defined and lifted so profoundly the spirit of a nation and perhaps the world.     2    

Kodak served mankind through entertainment, science, national defense and the stockpiling of family memories. Kodak took us to the top of Mount Suribachi and to the Sea of Tranquility. It introduced us to the merry old Land of Oz and to stars from Charlie Chaplin to John Wayne, and Elizabeth Taylor to Tom Hanks.     3     When that sailor kissed the nurse, and when the spy planes saw missiles in Cuba, Kodak was the eyes of a nation. From the deck of the Missouri to the grandeur of Monument Valley, Kodak took us there. Virtually every significant image of the 20th Century is a gift to generation from the Eastman Kodak Company.     4     Yes, there were photographers, and for relatively large sums of money they would take unnatural pictures in studios and formal settings. But most people couldn’t afford photographs, and so all they had to remember distant loved ones, or earlier times of their lives, was memory. Children could not know what their parents had looked like as young people, grandparents far away might never learn what their grandchildren looked like. Eastman Kodak allowed memory to move from the uncertainty of recollection, to the permanence of a photograph. But it wasn’t just people whose features were savable; it was events, the precious times that families cherish. The Kodak moment, was humanity’s moment.

A．It showed us the shot that killed President Kennedy, and his brother bleeding out on a kitchen floor.

B．George Eastman was not only interested in commercial profits, but also in the improvement of other people’s lives.

C．In an era of easy digital photography, when we can take a picture of anything at any time, we cannot imagine what life was like before George Eastman brought photography to people.

D．For 20 years, its leaders have foolishly spent down the patrimony(祖传的财物) of a century’s prosperity.

E．Before George Eastman brought photography to people, painting was the only way for people to keep a record of their ancestors.

F．It is impossible to understand the 20th Century without recognizing the role of the Eastman Kodak Company.