题目内容
The name of Macau comes from the word Magao (A-Ma Temple), which were shrines (圣地) dedicated to Mazu, a holy sea goddess worshiped by Macau people. It was said that when the Portuguese people first came here in the middle of sixteenth century, one of the officers asked a fisherman the name of the land. The man misunderstood the officer’s question, and answered “Magao” – the name of A-Ma Temple in front them.
Many people wonder how Macau is spelled. Is it “Macao” or “Macau”? Both are actually correct. Macao is Portuguese, and this is the official spelling backed by Macau SAR Government. Macau is English, that’s how they spell it in the U.S. and other parts of the world. However, most publications use “Macau” as the preferred spelling.
Members of the Southern Song Dynasty and some 50,000 followers were the first recorded inhabitants (居民) of the area, seeking shelter in Macau from invading Mongols in 1277. They were able to defend their settlements and establish themselves there.
The Hoklo Boat people were the first to show commercial interest in Macau as a trading center for the southern provinces. During the Ming Dynasty (1368–1643), fishermen migrated to Macau from various parts of Guangdong and Fujian provinces and built the A-Ma Temple in which they prayed for safety on the sea.
Chinese fishermen have been living and working in the Pearl River Delta for more than four thousand years. The small peninsula and islands that came to be called Macau were first settled by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century.
In 1998, Chinese (Cantonese) was given official status and the same legal power as Portuguese, the official language. The Chinese government assumed sovereignty over Macau on December 20, 1999, ending 329 years of Portuguese rule.
1. We can learn from the text that the name “Macau”_________.
A. is named after a sea goddess B. is first called by the Portuguese
C. is only used in publications D. is given by a fisherman
2. Which is the correct order of the things that happened in Macau?
a. Portuguese people first came to Macau.
b. The fishermen of Guangdong and Fujian migrated to Macau.
c. The first recorded inhabitants established themselves in Macau.
d. the A-Ma Temple was built in Macau.
A. c, b, d, a B. d, c, b, a C. b, c, a, d D. a, c, b, d
3. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Both Chinese and Portuguese are official languages in Macau.
B. The A-Ma Temple was built in honour of a holy sea goddess.
C. The inhabitants in Macau mainly made their living by fishing before the 16th century.
D. Macau didn’t belong to China until December 20, 1999.
4. Members of the Southern Song Dynasty went to Macau in order to ____.
A. show commercial interest in Macau B. find a good place for fishing
C. get away from their enemies D. establish Macau SAR there
BADC
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What would you think if someone suggested knocking down St Paul’s Cathedral to widen the road? Or pulling down Big Ben to make way for a car park? It would be ridiculous, right? But when it comes to devastation (毁灭) of the natural world, we aren’t so easily shocked. But we should be…or we’ll be in a lot of trouble.
Nature is shrinking by the day. Ancient forests are destroyed. Wetlands are becoming dry. Woodland is disappearing, and all in the name of progress. This is bad in itself, but it’s devastating for biodiversity.
Biodiversity refers to the variety of plants, animals and other living things that are all interconnected. The ecological services provided by biodiversity are vital to everyday life. The air we breathe is a product of photosynthesis (光合作用) by green plants. Insects, worms and bacteria break down waste and make soils rich. And tiny organisms clean the water in rivers and sea. In fact, all life on the earth exists thanks to the benefits of biodiversity. More than 90 percent of the calories consumed by people worldwide are produced from 80 plant species. And 30 percent of medicines are developed from plants and animals. Maintaining a wide diversity of species in each ecosystem is necessary to preserve all living things.
The loss of biodiversity could be devastating. “It is wrong to think that biodiversity can be reduced indefinitely without threatening humans,” said Harvard University biologist Edward O. Wilson, known as the “father of biodiversity”. He warned, “We are about to reach a critical point beyond which biodiversity loss will become irreversible (不可挽回的).”
But what can we do? The present problem is that the concept of biodiversity is so vague (含糊的). People might care about giant pandas, but it is much harder to excite them about the fate of tiny sea creatures which are being boiled to death in the cooling systems of power stations along coastlines. The Guardian newspaper is trying to help. It has launched the Biodiversity 100 campaign to try to convince governments around the world to take action to deal with the widespread concerns about biodiversity. This includes persuading the UK government to create a series of marine reserves to reserve the decrease in the sea-life caused by industrial fishing, stopping fishing sharks by the Japanese fishermen and banning the killing of dingoes (wild dogs) in Australia, among many other things.
There is a lot to do. And we’d better act quickly if we don’t want to end up with a planet that can’t sustain life!
【小题1】The writer thinks it ________ to pull down Big Ben to make way for a car park.
A.unreasonable | B.necessary | C.difficult | D.reasonable |
A.nature is badly polluted by humans |
B.species are becoming fewer and fewer day by day |
C.rainforests are being cut down every day |
D.nature is full of mysteries |
A.it doesn’t matter to reduce biodiversity |
B.people have done enough to preserve biodiversity |
C.the situation of biodiversity is very serious |
D.biodiversity loss has become irreversible |
A.people might not clearly know what is biodiversity and what should be protected |
B.people are not aware that giant pandas are endangered |
C.people don’t realize that biodiversity is vital to everyday life |
D.people hunt sea creatures for food |
A.The UK government. | B.The concept of biodiversity. |
C.The action to deal with the problem. | D.The Guardian newspaper. |