The Silk Road is a historically important international trade route between China and the Mediterranean(地中海). It began during the Western Han Dynasty and has been a bridge between East and West for over 2 000 years.

The ancient road started from Chang'an (now Xi'an) and ended in Eastern Europe, near today's Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea. It was about 6 500 kilometers long and went across one-fourth of the planet.

The Silk Road got its name in the 19th century because Chinese silk used to be carried along this road. Silk, jade(玉石), ceramics(陶器) and iron went west to Rome. And from the west came glass, gems(宝石) and food like carrots.

The Silk Road was very important to both China and the rest of the world. It was more than an ancient international trade route. Besides trade, knowledge about arts, science and literature, as well crafts and technologies was shared across the Silk Road. In this way, languages and cultures developed and influenced each other.

Today, China is trying to build the "21st Century Marine(海洋的) Silk Road". With the help of APEC held in Beijing in November 2014, the dream of One Belt One Road (the "Silk Road Economic(经济的) Belt" and "gist Century Marine Silk Road")("一带一路") is coming true.

1.The underlined word "route" in Paragraph 1 probably means ________.

A. 方式 B. 路线 C. 成就 D. 关系

2.When did the Silk Road begin?

A. In the 19th century. B. In the 18th century.

C. During the Western Han Dynasty. D. During the Eastern Han Dynasty.

3.How long was the ancient Silk Road?

A. It was about 6 500 meters long.

B. It was about 5 000 kilometers long.

C. It went across one-third of the planet.

D. It went across one fourth of the earth.

4.Why was it named the Silk Road?

A. Because Chinese silk was carried along this road.

B. Because Chinese silk was produced along this road.

C. Because things were traded from market to market along this road.

D. Because the ancient traders bought and sold things along this road.

5.It can be inferred(推断) from this passage that

A. the Silk Road was only an ancient international trade route

B. many new silk roads have been built by the Chinese government so far

C. the Silk Road was a very important line of communication connecting East and-West

D. the Silk Road prevented the development of languages and cultures between East and West

I lived in a poor family with my wonderful mother. She often told me that no matter how poor a person was, he could still afford a dream.

My dream was athletics. When I was sixteen, I started playing baseball. I could throw a ninety-mile-per-hour fastball and_______anything that moved on the field.I was also________: my high school coach was John, who believed in me and taught me how to believe in myself. He taught me the difference ________having a dream and remaining true to that dream. One unusual________with Coach John changed my life forever.

A friend helped me to find a summer job. This meant a chance for money in my pocket for a new bike, new clothes and the________of saving for a house for my mother. Then I realized I would have to_______up summer baseball and that meant I would have to tell John I wouldn't be playing.

When I told John, he was_______as I expected him to be. "You have your whole life to work," he said. "You don't have too many playing days in your life. You can't afford to waste them." I stood before him with my head________, trying to think of the________that would explain to him why my dream of buying my mom a house and having money in my pocket was worth facing his disappointment in me.

"How much are you going to make at this job, son?" he asked. "3.5 dollars an hour," I replied.

"Well," he asked, "Is $ 3.5 an hour the price of a dream?"

That simple question made me understand the difference between wanting something right now and having a goal. I decided myself to play sports that summer and within the year I was taken on by the Pittsburgh Pirates to play baseball, and was_______ a $ 20 000 agreement. Two years later, I bought my mother the house of my dream!

1.A. kick B. hit C. pass D. play

2.A. right B. shy C. lucky D. comfortable

3.A. between B. to C. about D. in

4.A. accident B. interview C. problem D. experience

5.A. idea B. start C. view D. purpose

6.A. put B. take C. pick D. give

7.A. sad B. happy C. frightened D. helpful

8.A. up B. off C. on D. down

9.A. answers B. excuses C. words D. ways

10.A. got B. paid C. offered D. presented

Almost everyone stood up when the bride appeared in her white dress except the wedding conductor, because she was fixed to her chair. The marriage was held at a restaurant in Hibiya Park in central Tokyo. A four-foot-tall robot called I-Fairy directed the wedding.

“Please lift the bride’s veil(面纱),” I-Fairy said in a tiny voice with flashing eyes and long hair. As the happy persons kissed in front of about 50 guests, she shook her arms in the air. It was the first time that a marriage had been led by a robot.

Japan has one of the most modern robot industries in the world. The government actively supports to make more kinds of robots in the future. Many robot models in factories are very new. Recently Japanese companies are making robots work for people in daily life.

Honda makes a walking robot like children, and other companies have developed robots that can help old people and play baseball. In order to “touch the hearts of the people”, Kokoro makes huge dinosaur robots and other models that can smile.

“This is a lot of fun. I think that Japanese have a strong thought that robots are our friends. People in the robot industry mostly understand this, but people mainly want robots to serve them,” said Satoko Inoue, who works in Kokoro. Now the I-Fairies are in use in Singapore, the US and Japan.

1.Who was the wedding conductor?

_________________________________________________________________________

2.Why does Kokoro make model robots that can smile?

_________________________________________________________________________

3.What do Japanese think about robots?

_______________________________________________________________________

4.What countries use robots called I-Fairy now?

_____________________________________________________________________

5.What do you think of robots? (请自拟一句话回答)

_____________________________________________________________

It’s no secret that reading is helpful. But can it help kids lose weight In the first study to look at the influence of literature on overweight teenagers, researchers at Duke Children’s Hospital discovered that reading the right type of novel may make a difference.

The Duke researchers asked overweight girls aged 9 to 13 who were already in a weight loss program to read a novel called Lake Rescue. It was carefully created with the help of pediatric experts (儿科专家) to include specific healthy lifestyle and weight management guidance, as well as positive messages and strong role models.

Six months later, the Duke researchers found the 31 girls who read Lake Rescue experienced a significant decrease (fall) in their BMI scores (-.71%) when compared to a control group of 14 girls who hadn’t (+.05%), explained Alexandra C. Russell, a fourth-year medical student at Duke who led the study.

“As a pediatrician, I can’t count the number of times I tell parents to buy a book that might provide useful advice, yet I’ve never been able to point to research to back up my recommendations,” says Sarah Armstrong, director of Duke’s Healthy Lifestyles Program where the research took place. “This is the first probable interventional (介入的) study that found literature can have a positive influence on healthy lifestyle changes in young girls.”

Obesity(肥胖) is becoming more widespread in children, according to the CDC (Centres for Disease Control), which reports that 16 percent of children aged 6 to 19 are overweight or obese, a number that has increased since 1980. Researchers are looking at a lot of ways to help kids stay healthy, lose weight and be more active, but Armstrong says, “most don’t work very well. The weight loss choices that are effective typically involve taking powerful medications with side effects, or require long-lasting surgical procedures.”

While the BMI decrease because of the book is small, Armstrong says any decrease in BMI is encouraging because BMI typically increases in children as they grow and develop. That’s okay as long as it follows a normal, progressing curve(曲线). In overweight kids, however, BMI usually increases more quickly. “If their BMI percentile (百分位) goes down, it means they are either losing weight or getting tall and not gaining weight. Both are seen as positive signs in kids who are trying to lose weight,” she explains.

1.What did researchers at Duke Children’s Hospital do?

A. They tried to find out the reasons why kids are overweight.

B. They focused on the research into girls’ healthy lifestyle.

C. They studied whether literature could help lose weight.

D. They helped the girls to choose right books to read.

2.The underlined phrase “back up my recommendations” probably means “_____”.

A. influence my research B. change my opinion C. respect my study D. support my advice

3.Which of the following statements about the research is TRUE?

A. The researchers interviewed the girls and studied information.

B. Pediatric experts offered specific guidance to the research.

C. 16 percent of children aged from 9 to 13 were overweight.

D. The girls read a certain novel and gave their reports.

4.What’s the finding of the research?

A. That the girls all grew tall and lost weight after 6 months.

B. That the girls showed great interest in reading literature works.

C. That the girls who read Lake Rescue had a decrease in BMI.

D. That the girls needed to take powerful medications to lose weight.

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