Pingyao, in the center of Shanxi Province, is a famous historic cultural city of China and a world cultural heritage (遗产) site. It’s 90 kilometers south of Taiyuan on the Fen River.

People lived in Pingyao during the New Stone Age. Its long period as a county government seat has left Pingyao with lots of historic buildings and sites, with a 2,700-year history. Ninety-nine of them are under government protection, including Zhengguo Temple, Shuanglin Temple and Pingyao Ancient City.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, businessmen organized commercial (商业的) groups that did business nationwide. Shanxi Province had some of the most important ones and Pingyao was their center. In 1823, a store, known as Rishengchang (Sunrise Prosperity), traded in bank checks rather than in silver or gold coins. It was the beginning of modern Chinese banking. Branch (分支) banks were soon set up in major cities in China and other parts of Asia, leading to great development in Pingyao. Its lacquer ware (漆器) became well known.

In Pingyao Ancient City are many traditional houses and commercial buildings, 3,797 of which are protected and more than 400 of which are in good condition. Not only do the houses in Pingyao show Shanxi’s history and culture, but this large number is valuable for studying its history, customs, ancient buildings and art. Most of these houses are still used as homes and shops of local people.

In 1997, Ancient Pingyao City was listed in World Heritage List as “World Culture Heritage Site”.

1.What does the underlined word “them” (in Paragraph 2) refer to?

A．Historic buildings and sites.

B．The three temples.

C．The county government seats.

D．The 2,700-year history.

2.Which of the following about Pingyao is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．Its location.                            B．Its tourism.

C．Its business.                            D．Its history.

3.During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Pingyao was a leading center in _____.

A．agriculture                            B．raising cattle

C．commercial trade                       D．making gold coins

4.If you want to know about the history of banking in China, which of the following places should you visit?

A．Sunrise Prosperity.                      B．Zhengguo Temple.

C．A lacquer ware store.                    D．A commercial house.

                                                                               B

Pingyao, located (坐落于) in the center of Shanxi Province, is a famous historic cultural city of China and a world cultural heritage (遗产) site. It is 90 kilometers south of Taiyuan on the Fen River.

People lived in Pingyao during the New Stone Age. Its long period as a county government seat (县衙) has left Pingyao with lots of historic buildings and sites, with a 2,700-year history. Ninety-nine of them are under government protection, including Zhengguo Temple, Shuanglin Temple and Pingyao Ancient City.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, businessmen organized commercial (商业的) groups that did business nationwide. Shanxi Province had some of the most important ones and Pingyao was their center. In 1823, a store, known as Rishengchang (Sunrise Prosperity), traded in bank checks (支票) rather than in silver or gold coins. It was the beginning of modern Chinese banking. Branch (分支) banks were soon set up in major cities in China and other parts of Asia, leading to great development in Pingyao. Its lacquer ware (漆器) became well known as well.

In Pingyao Ancient City are many traditional houses and commercial buildings, 3,797 of which are protected and more than 400 of which are in good condition. Not only do the houses in Pingyao show Shanxi’s history and culture, but this large number is valuable for studying its history, customs, ancient buildings and art. Most of these houses are still used as homes and shops of local people.

In 1997, Ancient Pingyao City was listed in World Heritage List as “World Culture Heritage Site”(世界文化遗产).

1.What does the underlined word “them” (in Paragraph 2) refer to?

2. Which of the following about Pingyao is NOT mentioned in the passage?

3.During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Pingyao was a leading center in _____.

4.If you want to know about the history of banking in China, which of the following places should you visit?

If you plan on visiting to Fiji, you are probably looking for some fun things to do. Below are four unusual places.

The Poseidon Resort

   The Poseidon resort is an underwater resort that gives visitors a beautiful view of sea life. This resort covers 255 acres. It’s covered and surrounded by a lagoon (咸水湖) that covers 5,000 acres and is about 90 feet under water, giving you a beautiful view of sea life right before your eyes. This resort even has a hotel for those who would prefer to have the unusual experience of sleeping and waking up to the beautiful scenery all around them.

The Sabeto Mud Pool

   If you’re looking for something unusual to do, you can’t pass up the mud pool at Sabeto. It is located in a mountain range with a huge group of Geothermal (地热的) pools full of nice, warm mud. Getting down and into the mud in the pool is believed to have benefits for healthy skin. This is unusual, but adults and especially kids will love it.

Fire Walking

   Fire walking in Fiji is believed to have originated on the island of Beau. Fire walking is when you walk on white-hot stones barefoot. To do this, you have to be mentally prepared for it. Trust me; there is a lot of preparation and strict rules that travelers follow in order to do this safely.

The Fiji Museum

   The Fiji museum is unusual due to all the amazing artifacts you’ll see dating back 3,000-4,000 years. This museum has a certain attraction that makes it funny—a shoe. It’s been said that a man named Thomas Baker was eaten by the locals several centuries ago and the only thing left was his shoe. This unusual museum is a great idea if you bring the whole family to Fiji.

1.Visitors who have the unusual experience of sleeping at the Poseidon resort can _________.

   A. enjoy the excellent service in the hotel

   B. open windows to see sea life swimming

   C. see sea life around them in the room

   D. only watch videos about sea life

2.Why do adults like to get down into the mud pool?

   A. To float on the warm mud

   B. To make them strong

   C. To play with the warm mud

   D. To keep their skin healthy

3.Which of the following things needs more courage and stricter rules?

   A. Trying fire walking

   B. Visiting the Poseidon resort

   C. Getting into the Sabeto Mud Pool

   D. Visiting the Fiji museum

4.The underlined word “artifacts” in Paragraph 5 means__________.

   A. historic things made by man

   B. things invented not long ago

   C. things that look very strange

   D. useful things in people’s daily life

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.

1.What was the dream destination of Europeans in the late fifteenth century?

2.What preparations did Columbus make for his first voyage to the New World?

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.

3.We can learn from the passage that ________.

4.What equipment aided the sailors in locating relatively more accurately?

5.In the passage, the author mainly tells us ________.

Pingyao, in the center of Shanxi Province, is a famous historic cultural city of China and a world cultural heritage site (世界文化遗址). It’s 90 kilometers south of Taiyuan on the Fen River.

   People lived in Pingyao during the New Stone Age. Its long period as a country government seat has left Pingyao with lots of historic buildings and sites, with a 2,700-year history. Ninety-nine of them are under government protection, including Zhengguo Temple, Shuanglin Temple and Pingyao Ancient City.

   During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, businessmen organized commercial (商业的) groups that did business nationwide. Shanxi Province had some of the most important ones and Pingyao was their center. In 1823, a store, known as Rishengchang(Sunrise Prosperity), traded in bank checks rather than in silver or gold coins. It was the beginning of modern Chinese banking. Branch banks were soon set up in major cities in China and other parts of Asia, leading to great development in Pingyao. Its Lacquer ware (漆器) became well known.

   In Pingyao Ancient City are many traditional houses and commercial buildings, 3,797 of which are protected and more than 400 of which are in good condition. Not only do the houses in Pingyao show Shanxi’s history and culture, but this large number is valuable for studying its history, customs, and ancient buildings and art. Most of these houses are still used as homes and shops of local people.

In 1997, Ancient Pingyao City was listed in World Heritage List as “ World Culture Heritage Site”.

What does the underlined word “them”(in the 2^nd paragraph) refer to?

A. Historic buildings and sites.                        B. The three temples.

C. The country government seats.                  D. The 2,700-year history.

Which of the following about Pingyao is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A. Its location (位置).                                B. Its tourism.

C. Its business.                                               D. Its history.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Pingyao was a leading center in __________.

A. agriculture                                         B. raising cattle

C. commercial trade                                       D. making gold coins

If you want to know about the history of banking in China, you’ll visit __________.

A. Sunrise Prosperity                                   B. Zhengguo Temple

   C. A lacquer ware store                                 D. A commercial house

The main idea of the passage is that______________.

   A. Pingyao was the center of commerce

   B. There are many ancient architecture in Pingyao

   C. Pingyao was listed in World Heritage List

   D. Pingyao is a historic cultural city