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 . There were many battles that took place during the American Revolutionary War (1775—1783), but perhaps so ne of the worst battles involved. the American Continental Army versus(对抗) the winter at Valley Forge in 1777 and 1778. Here many people believe was where the American Army was born. Valley Forge is located about 25 miles northwest of Philadelphia in the southeastern corner of Pennsylvania.
General George Washington was the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and he decided to setup winter camp at Valley Forge. It was close to Philadelphia, which was where the British had been camping out for the winter. This allowed him to keep a watchful eye on their movements. There were high areas in Mount Joy and Mount Misery where the army could make fortifications(防御工事). Nearby was also the Schuylkill River, which was used as a barrier to the North.
The army's stay at Valley Forge turned into a time of training. Besides Washington, two other leaders included General Friedrich von Steuben and General Marquis de Lafayette.
Steuben was born in Prussia and arrived at Valley Forge with a recommendation letter from statesman and scientist Benjamin Franklin. He trained the Continental Army using the daily drill(操练), even in the extremely cold weather. In fact, he was responsible for writing the army's Revolutionary War Drill Manual, which served as the standard United States drill manual(手册) until the War of 1812.
Lafayette was a French military leader, working for no pay, and asking for no special treatment. He later became an important commander in several key battles during the war.
Besides the freezing weather, it was consistently cold, wet, and snowy at Valley Forge. In addition, food was lacking, and there were very few warm clothes, shoes, or blankets. The log cabins they lived in were crowded, cold and damp, and allowed diseases to easily spread. Of the 10,000 men at Valley Forge, 2,500 died before the break of spring mostly from diseases.
Following the winter at Valley Forge, under Washington's leadership, a better-disciplined, trained, and more powerful army, in high spirits, left on June 19, 1778. Nine days later, their first victory against the British occurred at the Battle of Monmouth in New Jersey.
1. Why was Valley Forge chosen as the site of a winter camp?| A．It was key to the effective conduct of war. | B．It was an ideal place for military training. |
| C．It was very far from the British camp. | D．It was an area with adequate supplies. |
| A．Benjamin Franklin. | B．George Washington. |
| C．Marquis de Lafayette. | D．Friedrich von Steuben. |
| A．Strange. | B．Tough. | C．Favorable. | D．Relaxing. |
| A．It was taken over by the American Army. | B．It won more support from the people. |
| C．It had many more soldiers. | D．It became a stronger army. |
3 . Life for miners on the goldfields in Victoria, Australia during the 1850s was quite difficult.The name to a miner at that time was “digger”.Few diggers actually found any gold and even fewer struck it rich.Mostly diggers struggled in poor conditions.They struggled with the weather and living conditions in an often poor environment and they were often ill-equipped.
The worst thing about being a digger was the requirement to pay for a mining licence（许可证）.This licence allowed a miner to search for gold.Without the licence a digger had to pay money as a punishment.The police always went to mining camps to check mining licences.Few miners could afford the money to get a licence and hated the law which they believed was unjust.In June 1854 Governor Hotham announced that the police would carry out mining licence checks twice a week.This made the miners outraged and set them towards armed rebellion（叛乱）against the police.
The rebellion at the Eureka diggings in 1854 is often referred to as the Eureka Stockade.Led by Peter Lalor, the diggers constructed a wall preventing people from going through and burned their unfair licences as a form of rebellion.The miners said, “We stand truly by each other to protect our rights.”
The diggers lost the battle of the Eureka Stockade but they won the legal battle that their rebellion led to.In 1855 the Victorian Government introduced a mining tax（税）, as a tax on gold found, to take the place of the unfair miner’s licence which had to be paid no matter whether the miner found gold or not.In Australia’s history the Eureka Rebellion is the only time armed rebellion has been used to change unfair laws.
1. What is a digger in the next?| A．A gold miner. | B．A citizen in Victoria. |
| C．A machine for digging. | D．A rebellious Australian. |
| A．The weather on the goldfields. |
| B．Having to pay a mining tax. |
| C．Having to pay for a licence. |
| D．Poor living conditions. |
| A．Angry. | B．Worried. | C．Doubtful. | D．Ashamed. |
| A．The miners won. | B．It resulted in a new tax. |
| C．The wall was brought down. | D．It led to the introduction of new licences. |
4 . About 60,000 Pacific Islanders worked as indentured labourers (签订契约的劳工）on Queensland’s sugar cane（甘蔗）fields between 1863 and 1903.They were mainly males, aged 9 to 30, transported to Australia by ship.Some came freely, wanting the new life promised to them, some were tricked, and some were kidnapped（绑架）.
The practice of kidnapping people for labour was called “blackbirding”.“Blackbird” was a term used instead of slave, because slavery was actually illegal.Britain had passed the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833 and as a British colony (殖民地）,Queensland had to follow the Act It is said that a third of Pacific Islanders who worked as indentured labourers were either kidnapped or tricked into coming to Australia.Indentured labour was really just another name for slavery.
Indentured labourers had to work for a required period of time,usually three years,to pay back their passage to Australia and then they could earn money as free labourers.It was hard, dirty work in the Queensland countryside.Most indentured labourers were badly treated, many returning to their homelands as soon as their indentured period was finished.A small number married into local communities and stayed.Free labourers were also badly treated on the cane fields, working for low pay and living in very poor conditions.
Then the Australian Government’s White Australia Policy forced Pacific Islanders to leave Australia.Even people who were born in Australia to Pacific Islander parents were driven out of the country due to their colour.If they didn’t leave voluntarily, they were rounded up and driven away forcibly between 1906 and 1908.This practice destroyed many families.Some of the people had lived in Australia most, if not all, of their lives.Only a few who had married Australians were allowed to stay.A few managed to hide and avoid being driven away.
1. What happened from 1863 to 1903?| A．Australians had a new life. |
| B．Many Australians were kidnapped. |
| C．Australia was in want of labourers. |
| D．Australia’s sugar industry began to slow down. |
| A．It was lawful before 1863. | B．It came to an end in 1833. |
| C．It was introduced by the British. | D．It replaced the word “blackbirding” . |
| A．To escape mistreatment. | B．To get a better-paid job. |
| C．To avoid being kidnapped. | D．To be involved in local communities. |
| A．Slaves for sugar | B．Laws in Australia |
| C．Pacific Islanders’ new home | D．Sugar cane industry's development |
5 . World War II began when the UK and France declared war on Germany, after German troops led by Adolf Hitler had invaded Poland on 1 September 1939 to claim land there as their own. Hitler had already invaded Austria and Czechoslovakia, so the war began over his plan to take more land for Germany.
The Siege of Leningrad is a famous event during World War II. For 900 days—from 8 September 1941 to 27 January 1944—the city of Leningrad in Russia was surrounded by German troops. That meant everyone inside the city had to stay there, and that there wasn't any way for food or other sources like medicine to get in. Many hundreds of thousands of people died during this time because there wasn't enough food or heating to go around, but the people who lived in Leningrad refused to surrender to the Germans.
In 1940, the French port of Dunkirk was the location of a big turning point for the Allie：in World War II. Hitler's armies bombed Dunkirk heavily, and many Allied troops were waiting on the beach to be rescued because they didn't have the resources they needed to fight back. From 26 May to 4 June, over 550, 000 troops were ferried to safety across the English Channel-the code name for this was 'Operation Dynamo'. Some British civilians（people who weren't in the army）even used their own boats to help save as many people as they could. The rescue operation helped to boost morale（士气）in Britain, where they really needed some good news. This helped in going into the next major event in World War II, the Battle of Britain.
June 6,1944 is also known as D-Day. On that day, the Allied forces launched a huge invasion of land that Adolf Hitler's Nazi troops had taken over. It all began with boats and boats full of Allied troops landing on beaches in the French region of Normandy. They broke through the German defences and carried on fighting them back through Europe for the next 11 months until they reached Berlin, where Hitler was then hiding.
1. What led to the outbreak of the second World War?| A．UK and France's declaring war on Germany. |
| B．German troops' invading Poland in 1939. |
| C．Hiter's starting an attack on Austria. |
| D．Hiter's plan for occupying more land. |
| A．This event lasted about two and a half years. |
| B．German troops cut all the supplies to Leningrad. |
| C．Many people were killed by German soldiers. |
| D．Leningrad was finally occupied by Germans. |
| A．The Siege of Leningrad. | B．Operation Dynamo. |
| C．The Battle of Britain. | D．The D-day Landings. |
| A．Causes of WWⅡ. | B．Hitler's Invasion. |
| C．Great Wars in WWⅡ. | D．War and Peace. |
6 . 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. |
7 . Bill Bowerman was a track coach.He wanted to help athletes run faster. So he had learned how to make running shoes. He had also started a shoe company with a friend. It was 1971. Running shoes at the time were heavy. They had spikes(鞋钉)on the sole(鞋底). The spikes tore up the track and slowed down runners.
To make a lighter shoe, Bill tried the skins of fish. To make a better sole, he wanted to replace the spikes. Bill look through his wife Barbara's jewelry box. He hoped to find a piece of jewelry with an interesting pattern. He would then copy the pattern onto the new soles. Nothing worked. Bill was stumped. Then, one Sunday morning, Barbara made Bill waffles(华夫饼)for breakfast. Bill watched her cook. He studied the cross pattern on their old waffle iron.
Inspiration(灵感)hit.
The pattern on a waffle iron was just what Bill was looking for. The squares were fatter and wider than sharp spikes. The pattern would help the shoes grip (抓牢) any surface without tearing into it.
When Barbara left the house, Bill ran to his lab. He took the liquid chemicals that, when mixed, would harden into the sole of a shoe. He poured the mixture into the waffle iron and the Waffle Trainer was born.
Bill's company put the Waffle Trainer on the market in 1974. It was a huge hit. Maybe you've heard of that company called Nike. And today it's worth around $100 billion.
It was the waffle iron that had changed the course of Bill's life and helped turn Nike into a well-known name. Today, the waffle iron is kept at Nike headquarters. It serves as a reminder that if we keep trying, we can find a solution to even the toughest problems. And those solutions can come from unlikely places，even the breakfast table.
1. What was wrong with the running shoes before the Wattle Trainer was made?| A．They were easily worn out. | B．The spikes hurt runners' feet. |
| C．The spikes were sharp and heavy. | D．They were too expensive. |
| A．Inspired. | B．Defeated. |
| C．Satisfied. | D．Doubted. |
| A．It was made quite by accident. | B．It was invented by Bill's wife. |
| C．It was based on many lab tests. | D．It was supported by another company. |
| A．Where there's a will, there's a way. | B．Good is rewarded with good. |
| C．Two heads are better than one. | D．A misfortune may turn out a blessing. |
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. |
| 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. |
| A．1901 | B．1565 |
| C．1860 | D．1513 |
| 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.
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.
Between 1888 and 1920 there were two major efforts to build a train tunnel to connect the areas.
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.
| 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 . A valuable sketch (素描) from World WarⅠhas turned up in a garage sale in Perth. It’s a sketch of soldiers playing soccer with a tin can during an unofficial truce (停战) between German and Allied soldiers on the Western Front in 1914. The artwork was drawn by an unnamed German soldier during the war on the Western Front.
The artwork was given to Private Jack Shelley, a British soldier, when he was defending the town of Frelinghien, France. The sketch is an important historical document, as it provides evidence that the tales of enemy soldiers socializing together are true. But for Private Shelley’s descendants(后代) it has even greater value, since it was his prized possession. Jessie Shelley, Jack’s great-granddaughter, has fond memories of the old man sharing stories about his experiences in the war when he came to live permanently in Australia in 1930. the family lost track of the artwork after Jack’s possessions were moved during the sale of his house when he died in 1984.
‘Great-grandpa had a tobacco tin with a dozen or so buttons from the uniforms of men from both sides. He told us all the details of every one of those buttons. To Great-grandpa they represented real people he had known, some of whom hadn’t come home from the war. He had at least two buttons from German uniforms that he told us were exchanged between the men involved in the Christmas Day Truce.’
On Christmas Day of 1914, the soldiers came out of their trenches(战壕) into no-man’s-land and shared food, drinks and cigarettes. Some even exchanged small gifts. The men even played football games together. Later, this spirit of cooperation continued in unofficial agreements between the sides to stop shooting at mealtimes and even at times when soldiers were working in the open.
This fascinating image of peace and humanity during the war has continued through the years. The sketch is a symbol of the potential for humanity, hope and kindness to exist in even the most violent circumstances.
1. In what situation was the sketch done?| A．It was done in a garage |
| B．It was done on the front line. |
| C．It was done during a formal soccer match. |
| D．It was done by a soldier fighting in Germany. |
| A．It explains the specific reason for the war. |
| B．It shows the war on the Western Front came to an end. |
| C．It proves enemy soldiers could live in peace sometimes. |
| D．It is evidence that soldiers could adapt quickly to society. |
| A．They were from German uniforms. |
| B．Some of them represented his honor. |
| C．Some of their owners didn’t survive the war. |
| D．They were collected during Christmas Day in 1914. |
| A．It brought about more truces. |
| B．It started wide information exchanges. |
| C．It led to no agreement between the sides. |
| D．It resulted in more celebrations between the sides. |
