题目内容
Reading Comprehension
Read the following passages, and choose the best answer that can answer the question.
The oldest stone buildings in the world are the pyramids. They have stood for nearly 5, 000 years, and it seems likely that they will continue to stand for thousands of years yet. There are over eighty of them scattered along the banks of the Nile, some of which are different in shape from the true pyramids. The most famous of these are the “Step” pyramid and the “Bent” pyramid.
Some of the, pyramids still look much as they must have done when they were built thousands of years ago. Most of the damage suffered by the others has been at the hands of men who were looking for treasure or, more often, for stone to use in modern buildings. The dry climate of Egypt has helped to protect the pyramids, and their very shape has made them less likely to fall into ruin. These are good reasons why they can still be seen today, but perhaps the most important is that they were planned to last forever.
It is practically certain that plans were made for the building of the pyramids because the plans of other large works have fortunately been protected. However, there are no writings or pictures to show us how the Egyptians planned or built the pyramids themselves. Therefore we are only able to guess at the methods used. Nevertheless, by examining the actual pyramids and various tools which have been found, archaeologists(建筑师) have formed a fairly clear picture of them.
One thing is certain; there must have been months of careful planning before they could begin to build. The first thing they had to do was to choose a suitable place. You may think this would have been easy with miles and miles of empty desert around, but as pyramid could not be built just anywhere. Certain rules had to be followed, and certain problems had to be overcome.
The step pyramid had to be on the west side of the Nile; the side on which the sun set. This was religious reasons. It also had to stand well above the level of the river to protect it against the regular floods. It could not be too far from the Nile, however, as the stones to build it needed to be carried in boats down the river to the nearest point. Water transport was, of course, much under the great weight of the pyramid. Finally, it had to be near the capital, or better still, near the king's palace so that he could visit it easily and personally check the progress being made on the final resting place for his body.
1．We can guess how the pyramids were built because archaeologists have ________.
[ ]
A．studied them and the tools used to build them
B．found the plans of some of them
C．found paintings showing each stage of construction
D．found descriptions of how some were built
2．Why did the Egyptians build the pyramids along the banks of the Nile ________.
[ ]
A．This must have been for religious reasons.
B．It was difficult to find large rock bases far from the river.
C．Pyramids had to be. built on the Westside of the Nile.
D．The river gave them a lot of sand for building.
3．Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
[ ]
A．Kings regularly visited their pyramids to check on their progress.
B．All pyramids were built very close to each other.
C．The pyramids were built on bases of rock.
D．Boats were used to transport stones.
4．Generally speaking, ________.
[ ]
A．all pyramids are the same
B．there are two kinds of pyramids－“step” and “bent”
C．all the pyramids are standing together
D．the pyramids seems to continue to stand, but they are sure to fall down within a thousand years.
5．________ has helped the pyramids be free from complete destruction?
[ ]
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ents are mostly from nontraditional families| Welcome to my Message Board! | |
| Subject Slimming down classics? | |
| Mr. Handsome  2007-5-12&24 AM | Orion Books,which decides there is a market in creating cut-down classics(经典著作)，is slimming down some novels by such great writers as L.Tolstoy,M.Mitchell and C.Bronte.Now,each of them has been whittled down to about 400 pages by cutting 30 to 40 per cent of the original,with words,sentences,paragraphs and,in a few cases,chapters removed.The first six shortened editions,all priced at ￡6.99 and advertised as great reads “in half the time”,will go on sale next month,with plans for 50 to 100 more to follow.The publishing house believes that modern readers will welcome the shorter versions. |
| Mr. Edwards  2007-5-12 9:40 AM | Well,I’m publisher of Orion Group.Thanks for your attention,Mr.Handsome. I must say,the idea developed from a game of “shame”in my office.Each of us was required to confess(承认)to the most embarrassing blanks in his or her reading.I admitted that I had never read Anna Karenina and tried but failed to get through Gone with the Wind several times.One of my colleagues acknowledged skipping(跳读)Jane Eyre.We realised that life is too short to read all the books you want to and we never were going to read these ones. As a leading publishing house,we are trying to make classics convenient for readers but it’s not as if we’re withdrawing the original versions.They are still there if you want to read them. |
Ms.Weir 2007-5-12 11:35 AM | I’m director of the online bookclub www.lovereading.co.uk. Mr.Edwards,I think your shortened editions is a breath of fresh air.I’m guilty of never having read Anna Karenina,because it’s just so long.I’d much rather read two 300-page books than one 600-page book.I am looking forward to more shortened classics! |
| Mr. Crockatt  2007-5-124:38 PM | I’m from the London independent bookshop Crockatt & Powell. In my opinion,the practice is completely ridiculous.How can you edit the classics?I’m afraid reading some of these books is hard work,and that is why you have to develop as a reader.If people don’t have time to read Anna Karenina,then fine.But don’t read a shortened version and kid yourself it’s the real thing. |
| A．opposes the reading of original classics |
| B．is embarrassed for cutting down classics |
| C．thinks cut-down classics have a bright future |
| D．is cautious in its decision to cut down classics |
| A．make them easier to read |
| B．meet a large demand in the market |
| C．increase the sales of literary books |
| D．compete with their original versions |
| A．speaks highly of the cut-down classics |
| B．shows gailty of the original classics |
| C．feels guilty of not reading the classics |
| D．disapproves of shortening the classics |
| A．reading the classic works is a confusing attempt |
| B．shortening the classics does harm to the original |
| C．publishing the cub-down classics is a difficult job |
| D．editing the classic works satisfies children’s needs |
Britain is set to face an increase in cold winters, with up to one-in-seven hitting the UK with longer periods of time when temperatures are below freezing, a study has suggested．The prediction was based on research that found out how low solar activi
ty affected winter weather patterns．
However, the researchers were eager to stress that their findings did not suggest that the region was about to fall suddenly into a "little ice age"．The findings appear in the journal Environmental Research Letters．"We could get to the point where one-in-seven winters are very cold, as we had at the start of last winter and all through the winter before last," said co-author Mike Lockwood, professor of space environment physics at the University of Reading．
Using the Central England Temperature （CET） record, the world's longest instrumental data series that dates back to 1659, the team said that in general temperatures during recent winters had been obviously lower than the longer-term temperatures．"The mean CET for December, January and February for the recent relatively cold winters of 2008 ~ 2009 and 2009~2010 were 3．50℃ and 2．53℃ respectively," they wrote．
"However, the mean value for the previous 20 winters had been 5．04℃．The series of lower winter temperatures in the UK during the last three years had raised questions about the probability of more similar, or even colder, winters occurring in the future．"
Last year．Professor Lockwood and colleagues published a paper that found a link between fewer sunspots and atmospheric conditio
ns that "blocked" warm westerly winds reaching Europe during winter months, opening the way for cold easterly winds from the Arctic and Russia to sweep across the region．Professor Lockwood, while acknowledging that there were a range of possible meteorological factors （气象因素） that could influence blocking events, said the latest study moved things forward by showing that there was "impro
vement in the predictive skill" when solar activity was taken into consideration．
【小题1】We can know from the second paragraph that _____．
| A．research shows that Britain will soon fall into an ice age |
| B．Mike Lockwood's research focuses on space environment physics |
| C．it was quite cold in Britain over the entire winter last year |
| D．so far one-in-seven winters have been very cold in Britain |
| A．average | B．stable | C．ungenerous | D．changeable |
| A．It was sunspots that blocked warm westerly winds reaching Europe． |
| B．Meteorological factors hardly have any influence on blocking events． |
| C．The latest study done by Professor Lockwood was of little practical value． |
| D．Considering solar activity or not affects the accuracy of weather forecasting． |
| A．Another big danger approaching the UK |
| B．Research finds out solar activity is to blame for the cold |
| C．UK faces more cold winters due to weaker solar activity |
| D．Changes in weather patterns should be responsible for low solar activity |