题目内容
A new World Calendar is published every year, and provides the latest information about many places and things. For example, you can find the names of past academy-award winners, the names of award-winning athletes, and information about American cities and states.
The book also provides information about other nations. It includes world history, geography, business, science and technology and languages.
It presents the most important and most unusual news stories of the past year. And it gives interesting facts, such as the nation with the most refugees (难民) (Pakistan), the nation with the most vacation days each year (Italy), and the most popular breed (品种) of dog in the United States.
The New York World newspaper published the first World Calendar in 1868. The World Calendar website says the publication has even played a part in American politics. For example, in 1923, Calvin Coolidge was sworn (宣誓) in as president after the sudden death of President Warren Harding. Mr. Coolidge’s father, a judge, read the oath of office from a copy of the World Calendar. The website also says that several recent American presidents have used the book. It says there are photographs of presidents John Kennedy and Bill Clinton that show copies of the World Calendar on or near their desks.
The website also claims that the World Calendar is the best-selling American reference book of all time. It says that more than 80 million copies have been sold.
The World Calendar now also publishes a digital version (版本), as well as a separate calendar for children. The Kids Calendar provides information children might need for school reports. It also has games, puzzles and other activities children enjoy.
60. According to the passage, all the following are available in the new World Calendar EXCEPT ______.
A. information about famous awards in America
B. some interesting news stories
C. introductions to some American cities
D. Calvin Coolidge’s oath of office
61. Who is the owner of the World Calendar, according to the passage?
A. The New York World newspaper.
B. The World Calendar website.
C. John Kennedy.
D. The Kids Calendar.
62. According to the passage, the World Calendar has a history of about ______ years.
A. 140 B. 85 C. 55 D. 105
60---62 DAA
【解析】略
The idea of sailing west to reach the riches of the East Indies and the Asian mainland was much in fashion with cultured Europeans during the late fifteenth century. Learned people agreed that the earth was round: their only questions were how long and how dangerous would be a trip to reach the Orient. Christopher Columbus, the son of an unknown weaver, and himself a weaver of ambitious dreams, made his historic voyage to the New World in 1492. He didn't go to school very much, but be learned to read and write Spanish during his travels. He also taught himself Latin because all the geography books were written in Latin. Sailing with a tiny fleet of three ships, the Santa Maria and two smaller ships, the Pinta and the Nina and a crew of ninety sailors, be found the thirty-three-day crossing easier than his nearly-decade-long effort to find royal sponsors willing to support it. The trip drew not only on his own skills as an expert ship's captain, but also on his ability to plan such an expedition, obtain governmental approval and financing, and finally, demonstrate its success so that such explorations could continue. He tried for years to get King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to supply him with ships and money. Finally they agreed, but he made more demands. He wanted to be made a knight, admiral of the Ocean Sea. He wanted to be the viceroy(总督)and governor general of all lands he would discover. Also he wanted one-tenth of everything he found of value in the new lands. The explorations that followed Columbus-those of Cabot, Verrazano, Cartier, and many others-benefited from a new maritime technology borrowed from Arab sailors and from a variety of new vessels (船,舰) such as the light-weight caravels employed by Columbus. Sailors also perfected sails and various types of riggings that gave ships added stability and greater maneuverability(可操作性)on the open seas. And when leaving sight of the coast, new navigational aids-charts, compasses, and astrolabes-permitted them to determine their position with some, though not perfect, accuracy. Columbus himself made a total of four voyages to the New World but he did not become rich as he had hoped. At the end of his life he only had a pension the king and queen had given him because he was the first to reach the New World. He spent the last few months of his life in bed because of the pain of arthritis(关). Columbus not only discovered a New World, but led the way for other explorers.
【小题1】What was the dream destination of Europeans in the late fifteenth century?
A.The oriental countries. | B.The East Indonesia. |
C.The Old World. | D.The African mainland. . |
①He planned the expedition thoroughly.
②He spent almost ten years in looking for sponsors.
③He gathered a great many ships.
④He hired 90 sailors.
⑤He demonstrated his success of former far-reaching explorations.
A.①②③④⑤ | B.①②④ | C.①④⑤ | D.②④⑤ |
A.Christopher Columbus was an ambitious explorer |
B.he was a geologist with ambitious dreams |
C.Columbus became extremely wealthy after making a total of four voyages |
D.he was an unsuccessful canvasser(游说者) |
A.A variety of new vessels. | B.The light-weighted caravels. |
C.Various types of riggings. | D.Charts, compasses and astrolabes. |
A.the tragedy of Columbus's life as a whole |
B.Columbus's life story and his achievements |
C.Columbus's exploration to the East Indies and Asia |
D.how Columbus arrived in the New World . |
Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy. He was the oldest of five children in his family. His father was a wool weaver. He helped his father with the weaving, but he always wanted to sail the seas.
He didn’t get to school very much, but he learned to read and write Spanish during his travels. He also taught himself Latin because all the geography books were written in Latin. Some people thought he was trying to prove the world was round, but this is not true. He wanted to find a short way to get to the Indies by ship.
He was a Christian and wanted to tell the story of Christ to the people he would find in the far-away lands. He also wanted wealth for himself and for Spain, and he wanted to be famous. He tried for eight years to get King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to supply him with ships and money.
They left Spain on August 3, 1492 and sailed toward the west. After many days, the sailors had covered a long distance on the sea and were ready to turn around for home when they saw land, an island Columbus named San Salvador. He thought he had found the Indies and called the people he saw there “Indians”. When they got to Cuba, he thought he was in Japan. The world was a lot larger than he thought.
On Christmas Eve, the Santa Maria was wrecked near Haiti. Columbus built a fort(城堡) and left 40 men to hunt for gold. Then he returned to Spain on the Nina. The people of Spain welcomed him as a hero. He made three more voyages across the ocean. His 13-year-old son, Ferdinand, went with him on the fourth voyage.
Columbus did not become rich as he had hoped. At the end of his life he only had a pension the king and the queen had given him because he was the first to reach the New World. He spent the last few months of his life in bed because of the pain of arthritis(关节炎). Columbus not only discovered a New World, but he led the way for other explorers.
1.Columbus taught himself Latin because _______.
A. he wanted to prove the earth was round. |
B.he wanted to find a short way to the Indies by sea. |
C.he found Latin was very useful at that time. |
D.he wanted to travel around the world. |
2.How was Columbus able to make his voyage to the west?
A.He was supported by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. |
B.He worked hard for eight for to save enough money for his voyage. |
C.The king and the queen helped him with money and ships. |
D.Many people supported him with money and food for his voyage. |
3.Why did Columbus call the local people in Salvador “Indians”?
A.Because he thought he had arrived in Japan. |
B.Because he thought he looked like in the Indies. |
C.Because he thought it was a wealthy place. |
D.Because he thought he had arrived in the Indies. |
4.From the fifth paragraph we can infer that “Santa Maria” and “Nina” must be the names of_________.
A.trains |
B.ships |
C.cities |
D.women |
5.From the text we know that ________.
A.Columbus lived a difficult life in his later life. |
B.Columbus was considered as a hero all his life. |
C.Columbus didn’t get the wealth as he had hoped for. |
D.Columbus was the first person to travel round the world. |
When we read books we seem to enter a new world. This new world can be similar to the one we are living in, or it can be very 1 . Some stories are told 2 they were true. Real people who live in a normal world do real things; in other words, the stories are about people just like us doing what we do. Other stories, such as the Harry Potter books, are not 3 . They are characters and creatures that are very different from us and do things that would be 4 for us.
But there is more to books and writing than this. If we think about it, even realistic writing is only 5 . How can we tell the difference between what is real and what is not real? For example, when we read about Harry Potter, we do seem to learn something about the real world. And when Harry studies magic at Hogwarts, he also learns more about his real life than 6 . Reading, like writing, is an action. It is a way of 7 . When we read or write something, we do much more than simply look at words on a page. We use our 8 --- which is real --- and our imagination ---which is real in a different way --- to make the words 9 in our minds.
Both realism and fantasy use the imagination and the “magic” of reading and writing to make us think. When we read 10 realistic, we have to imagine that the people we are reading about are just like us, even though we know that we are real and they are not. It sounds 11 , but it works. When we read, we fill in missing information and 12 about the causes and effects of what a character does. We help the writer by pretending that what we read is like real life. In a way, we are writing the book, too.
Most of us probably don’t think about what is going on in our 13 when we are reading. We 14 a book and lose ourselves in a good story, eager to find out what will happen next. Knowing how we feel 15 we read can help us become better readers, and it will help us discover more about the real magic of books.
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