Zheng He made seven heroic voyages to Asia and Africa between 1405 and 1433, which predated the Westerners’ Voyages of Discovery by almost a century .

Despite Zheng He’s remarkable maritime feats , with larger and matchless fleets until World War I , he is relatively unknown worldwide compared with his Western counterparts like Columbus and Vasco da Gama . Why ?

Sadly , much of the official Chinese records of these voyages were destroyed after his death , by order of his powerful enemies at Court . They were opposed to his expeditions , both on economic and other grounds .

Further , the Ming History made only little mention of his exploits . Most surprisingly , not even his date of death and burial place were recorded . Therefore , his final resting place is still a matter of conjecture .So he became only a legend and folk hero in his life time .

However , hardly any Chinese works on him have been translated into foreign languages . Ironically , it was due to a handful of famous Western researchers like Needham, Zlevathes and , most recently , Menzies that the world is now more familiar with his greatness .

Zhen He’s rightful place in Chinese history has been confirmed by none other than Deng Xiaoping in 1984 , when he addressed the nation’s People’s Congress in Beijing : “…The Ming dynasty , under Yongle Emperor , did wisely pursue an open-door policy resulting in Zheng He’s famous maritime expeditions overseas . However , after Yongle’s death, China deserted this policy resulting in foreign intervention and China’s final humiliation during the 19th century . The open-door policy is therefore the way forward for China.”

Following a more realistic overall appraise by scholars East and West of Zheng He’s achievements , his standing as one of the greatest maritime explorers of all time has at last been firmly recognized worldwide .

56．Which statement is TRUE according to the passage ?

      A．No one knew Zheng He’s maritime achievements in history until World War I .

       B．The Westerners’ Voyages of Discovery fell behind China until 1433 .

       C．No other fleets in the world could be compared with those of China in size for almost over 500 years in history .

       D．Columbus was born in a western country, so he was more famous than Zheng He in the world .

57．From the passage , we can suppose        .

       A．Zheng He had been to Africa for seven times from 1405 to 1433 .

       B．Columbus and Vasco da Gama were relatively unknown in China compared with Zheng He .

       C．the Ming government didn’t know about Zheng He, so they made only little mention of Zheng He’s exploits .

       D．some government officials in the Ming dynasty were strongly against Zheng He’s voyages to Asia and Africa .

58．What’s the meaning of the underlined word “conjecture”?

       A．mistake              B．guess                 C．coincidence        D．imagination

59．Zheng He’s success in his maritime expeditions overseas mainly resulted from        .

      A．his braveness and perseverance                        B．Yongle Emperor’s open-door policy

       C．his strong curiosity to know about Africa         D．the support from his friends and family

Zheng He made seven heroic voyages to Asia and Africa between 1405 and 1433, which predated the Westerners' Voyages of Discovery by almost a century.

    Despite Zheng He's remarkable maritime feats, with larger and matchless fleets until World War I, he is relatively unknown worldwide compared with his Western counterparts like Columbus and Vasco da Gama. Why?

    Sadly, much of the official Chinese records of these voyages were destroyed after his death, by order of his powerful enemies at Court. They were opposed to his expeditions, both on economic and other grounds.

    Further, the Ming History made only little mention of his exploits. Most surprisingly, not even his date of death and burial place were recorded. Therefore, his final resting place is still a matter of conjecture. So he became only a legend and folk hero in his life time.

    However, hardly any Chinese works on him have been translated into foreign languages. Ironically, it was due to a handful of famous Western researchers like Needham, ZLevathes and, most recently, Menzies that the world is now more familiar with his greatness.

    Zheng He's rightful place in Chinese history has been confirmed by none other than Deng Xiaoping in 1984, when he addressed the nation's People's Congress in Beijing: "... The Ming dynasty, under Yongle Emperor, did wisely pursue an open-door policy resulting in Zheng He's famous maritime expeditions overseas. However, after Yongle's death, China deserted this policy resulting in foreign intervention and China's final humiliation during the 19^th century. The open-door policy is therefore the way forward for China."

    Following a more realistic overall appraise by scholars East and West of Zheng He's achievements, his standing as one of the greatest maritime explorers of all time has at last been firmly recognized worldwide.

1. Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?

    A. No one knew Zheng He's maritime achievements in history until World War I.

    B. The Westerners' Voyages of Discovery fell behind China until 1433.

    C. No other fleets in the world could be compared with those of China in size for almost over 500 years in history.

    D. Columbus was born in a western country, so he was more famous than Zheng He in the world.

2. From the passage, we can suppose __________.

   A. Zheng He had been to Africa for seven times from 1405 to 1433.

   B. Columbus and Vasco da Gama were relatively unknown in China compared with Zheng

He.

   C. the Ming government didn't know about Zheng He, so they made only little mention of

Zheng H's exploits.

   D. some government officials in the Ming dynasty were strongly against Zheng He's voyages

to Asia and Africa.

3. What’s the meaning of the underlined word "conjecture"?

    A. mistake        B. guess           C. coincidence                D. imagination

4. Zheng He's success in his maritime expeditions overseas mainly resulted from______.

    A. his braveness and perseverance                      B. Yongle Emperor's open-door policy

    C. his strong curiosity to know about Africa     D. the support from his friends and family

　　Lucky is the man who has no “skeleton in his closet”. When a man has done something in his life that he is ashamed of, that he wants to hide, he is said to have a “skeleton in his closet”. Some people may have more than one skeleton.

　　As we have noted many times, it is hard to find out how these expressions begin. Sometimes, we get some hard facts. But more often we have to depend on guesswork. And that is true of this phrase, which came from England.

　　Before 1932, English law did not permit a doctor to cut open a dead human body for scientific examination, unless it was the corpse(尸体) of an executed(处决) criminal.

　　But when it became legal, more and more doctors demanded skeletons for a more scientific study of medicine. It was helping in the advance of modern medicine. The demand had become so strong that men began to rob tombs and sell skeletons to doctors at high prices.

　　We are told that a doctor would usually buy just one skeleton for scientific study. It became very important in his work. But he had to keep it hidden because most people objected to keeping such a thing. As a rule, the doctor would keep his skeleton in some dark corner where it could not be seen, or hide it in a closet.

　　After a time, people began to suspect(怀疑) every doctor of hiding a skeleton in the closet. From this suspicion, the phrase “a skeleton in the closet” took on a broader, more general meaning to describe anything that a man wanted to keep others from discovering. It could be proof of a criminal act, or something much less serious. Well, that is one theory.

　　One writer, however, believes that the phrase might have come from something that really happened. It is his guess that a hidden closet in some old English country home may have turned up a real skeleton, clear proof of some old family shame or crime. Well, one man’s guess is as good as another. But this sounds like a story by the great French novelist, Balzac.

　　Baizac tells us of a man who suspected his wife of having a lover. The husband comes home by surprise. But she hears him and quickly hides her lover in the closet of her bedroom. He enters her room and asks her if she is hiding her lover. He says he will not open the door to the closet if she promises him there is no one there; He will believe her. She answers firmly that she is not hiding anyone in the closet.

　　The husband then begins to build a solid brick wall against the closet. His wife watches, knowing that her lover will never come out alive. But she will not change her story and admit her guilt.   

1. Which of the following situations is suitable for using the phrase “skeleton in the closet” ?

　　A. You have stolen something precious and don’t want it discovered.

　　B. You are a doctor and have to keep a skeleton for research.

　　C. If you have cut open a dead human body for scientific examination you should keep the skeleton secret.

　　D. You have done a crime or done something foolish, but you want to keep other from discovering it.

2. From the text we know that there are _______ theories about how the phrase “skeleton in the closet” came into being.

　　A. one 　　　　　      B. two 　　　　　      C. three 　　　　D. four

3. In Chinese the world “skeleton” means _______.

　　A. 尸体 　　　　　B. 标本 　　　　　C. 收藏 　　　　D. 骷髅

4. Which of the following is right according to the text?

　    A. In the 20th century, doctors realized the importance of anatomy(解剖) in the development of medicine.

　　B. The doctors of the ancient times liked to collect as many skeleton as possible.

　　C. The thieves stole skeletons from tombs in order to help the doctors.

　　D. It was legal that corpses of anybody were cut open for scientific examination in history.

5. From the story Balzac told we know that the wife’s lover must have become _______.

A. a corpse 　　　　B. a phrase 　　　　C. a skeleton 　　　D. a secret

       When someone gives you advice, listen without judgment, try to find value in what you’re hearing, and say “Thank you”．This wise advice is easy to understand yet hard to practice．I’ll give you an example from my life when I totally blew it in terms of practicing what I teach．

       In my work I travel constantly．I always put off going to the airport until the last second．My wife, Lynda, was sitting next to me in the front seat．I was racing along and not paying much attention．Lynda cried out, “Look out! There is a red light up ahead．”

       Being a trained behavioral science professional --- who teaches others the value of encouraging advice --- I naturally screamed at her, “I know there is a red light up ahead! Don’t you think I can see?” When we arrived at the airport, Lynda didn’t speak to me．I wondered why she seemed mad at me．

       During the flight to New York, I did a cost-benefit analysis．I asked myself, “What was the cost of just listening when Lynda called out the warning? Zero．” I then reasoned, “What was the potential benefit? What could have been saved?” Several potential benefits came to mind, including her life, my life, and the lives of other people．

I landed in New York feeling ashamed of myself．I immediately called Lynda and told her my cost-benefit story．I convinced her, “The next time you help me with my driving, I am just going to say, ‘Thank you．’”

       A few months passed, and I had long forgotten the incident．Again, I was racing off to the airport, when Lynda cried out, “Look out for the red light!” I was embarrassed, and then shouted, “Thank you!”

       I’m a long way from perfect, but I’m getting better．My suggestion is that you get in the habit of asking the important people in your life how you can do things better．And be ready for an answer．Some people may tell you things like “Look out for the red light．” When this happens, remember that there is possibly some potential benefit．Then just say, “Thank you．”

What do we know about the author?

       A．He is expert at behavioral science．      B．He is gifted in cost-benefit analysis．

       C．He seldom takes his wife’s advice．      D．He often runs the red traffic light．

The underlined part “blew it” in Paragraph 1 probably means “__________”．

       A．lost personal judgment    B．forgot the practical method

       C．became annoyed with the adviser    D．failed to say “Thank you”

It can be inferred from the passage that people __________．

       A．should give their opinions patiently       B．tend to be defensive when given advice

       C．had better study behavioral science D．intend to follow others’ suggestions

The purpose of the passage is to advise people to __________．

       A．do a cost-benefit analysis in daily life   B．discover potential benefits

       C．learn from the author’s experiences       D．treasure others’ suggestions

A cook will be immediately fired if he is found　　　 in the kitchen.

A.smoke　　　　B.smoking　　　　C.to smoke　　　　D.smoked