On the east of the city ___a museum , in which many ancient things are on show.

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

According to legend, the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, Italy, which connects the Palazzo Ducale to an ancient prison, got its name because the walk across it gave prisoners on their way to jail a final chance to enjoy the beauty of the city. The view from the bridge today, however, is more likely to be of a giant billboard selling Bulgari or Coca-cola.

???? But when the Coke billboards went up this summer on buildings near the Piazza San Marco,which is at the historic heart of Venice, there was a public debate.

???? "We can't commercialize everything, " said Alessandra Mottola? Molfino,? a Venetian.

???? "We couldn't stay quiet, " said Maria Camilla Bianchini d'Alberigo, president of a heritage protection association.

??? City of officials. however, argue that without these ads, the city could not afford to maintain its heritage. Many have been damaged by centuries of wear and are even a threat to public safety.

???? "I can't turn down the image of a bottle when there are pieces of the Palazzo Ducale falling to the ground, " said Renata Codello,? a Culture Ministry official.

???? The Culture Minister has a budget of about $ 47 million (315 million yuan) for restoration of monuments. but Italy has a rich architectural heritage, and funds are always tight. Of that amount,? $ 1. 8 million was given to the entire Veneto region, which includes Venice.

???? Two years ago, the city signed an agreement with the Dottor Group, a company responsible for the restoration of the Bridge of Sighs and the Palazzo Ducale. It allows it to sell ad space.

???? But there is a condition in the agreement: The ads should not offend public taste.

???? In August, Venice banned US actress Julianne Moore's Bulgrari ad from a billboard in the Piazza San Marco.

???? The photo shows a naked Moore covered with lion cubs. handbags and jewelry. Mayor Giorgio Orsoni called the image too racy (猥亵) and unsuitable for the Piazza San Marco.

???? "l consider the fact that Venice is part of the real world_ but we cannot accept these Hollywood-style images. There are wise sponsors. and we need to come up with advertising that suits Venice. not Times Square, " he said in a speech.

1.The article is mainly about__________in Venice.

A. restoration of cultural heritage

B. widespread commercialization

C. the conflict between ads and cultural heritage

D. the difficulty of restoring monuments

2. In the first paragraph, the beautiful view from the Bridge of Sighs is mentioned to__________.

A. introduce other monuments of the ancient city

B. show many ancient structures need repairing

C. indicate that the view is blocked by huge ads

D. attract readers' interest in the famous city

3. From the article we can conclude that Renata Codello__________? the advertising.

A. is in favor of??????? B. is worried about??? C. objects to?????????? D. doesn't mind

4.Why do many Venetians complain about the ads?

A. They support commercialization.

B. They feel the ads are damaging the city.

C. The ads are usually racy and in an American style.

D. The ads don't present a traditional view of Venice.

5.It can be inferred from the passage that

A. Hollywood stars' ads cannot go up in Venice

B. people can buy Bulgari or Coca-cola on the Bridge of Sighs

C. the Dottor Group may stop its restoration work for lack of funds

D. the mayor of Venice is expecting new advertising

D
Skyscrapers and domed stadiums can amaze us. These modern “wonders of the world” are great achievements in building. Some skyscrapers stretch more than 100 stories toward the sky. The Sears Tower, the tallest building in Chicago, soars 110 stories above the city. Domed stadiums like the Astrodome in Huston, Texas, have seats for thousands of people. Inside these stadiums, people can watch their favorite sports without the bother of heat, cold, rain, or snow. Modern skyscrapers and domed stadiums are certainly marvelous structures!
On the other hand, our modern buildings may seem small when compared to some structures of the ancient world. Our buildings may be large, hold many people, and protect us from the weather. However, many ancient structures stand as some of the greatest achievements in building. Ancient builders used great creativity and physical strength to plan and complete these buildings. Today, we could make most of these ancient structures easily, but it is hard to understand how people built them hundreds and hundreds of years ago.
Stonehenge is a huge stone circle in Europe. It was built more than 4,000 years ago. The circle has stone slabs that stand up to 30 feet tall. The heaviest stones in the circle weigh about 50 tons. How did people build Stonehenge without cranes or other modern equipment? Scientists have studied Stonehenge for years and think it probably took more than 30 million hours to complete the project.
Tourists in Africa like to see the Great Pyramids of Egypt. These tombs for Egyptian kings were built over 4,000 years ago. Each tomb has walls shaped like triangles and a square base. The largest pyramid is more than 450 feet tall and contains more than two million stones. Each stone weighs more than two tons. Some of the stones weigh as much as 200 tons. More than 900 workers worked to move the largest stones into place.
The stone faces are unusual structures on Easter Island. The faces are 12 to 20 feet high. Islanders made the stone faces more than 1,000 years ago. We do not know why they built them. There are more than 600 stone faces on the island. The great number of stone faces is surprising, since Easter Island is only 11 miles long and 15 miles wide.
Stonehenge, the Great Pyramids, and the stone faces on Easter Island give only a glimpse of the ancient achievements in building. If we look back through history, we can find many more examples of marvelous structures built without the aid of modern tools and equipment.
68．What is the main idea of this passage?
A．Modern builders have learned a great deal by studying ancient structures.
B．Modern builders have shown great creativity in the structures they have made.
C．Ancient builders could not create structures as great as modern ones.
D．Ancient builders created some of the world’s finest structures without the use of the modern methods or materials.
69．According to the passage, ancient structures are amazing because they were built ______ .
A．in places like Egypt and Europe            B．without the use of modern equipment
C．from stone slabs                     D．over long periods of time
70．The author of this passage would probably describe the achievements of ancient builders as _____.
A．ordinary      B．amazing       C．strange        D．impossible
71．Which of the following is an OPINION expressed in this passage?
A．The stone slabs at Stonehenge stand up to 30 feet tall.
B．Modern skyscrapers and domed stadiums are certainly marvelous structures.
C．Some ancient structures required 900 workers to complete them.
D．The Sears Tower is 110 stories high.

Nine 1700?year?old brick tombs have been discovered in northwest China's Xinjiang.Experts say that they can provide valuable clues for the research of exchanges between the central Chinese government at that time and faraway Western Regions.

It is the first time ancient tombs with typical characteristics of China's main Han nationality have been found in the Uygur ethnic region(自治区)．

Archaeologists from Beijing，Shanxi and Xinjiang concluded that the tombs were built between the middle and late third century and fourth century.

The tombs were unearthed during the construction of a road earlier this year in Kuqa county,740 km from Xinjiang's capital Urumqi and part of the ancient Qiuci State.Qiuci State，which existed between the second century BC and 860 AD，was one of the 36 states in the Western Regions.

The tombs would help archaeologists with research into the political，economic and cultural exchanges between the Central Plains government and states in the west，and on the cultural influence of the Central Plains on the Western Regions.

Archaeologists from the Xinjiang institute have dug nine tombs since August 22，finding bodies of more than 30 people，some ancient coins and more than 60 pottery(陶器)jars.It is thought there are another three tombs to be dug.

The people buried in the tombs were probably either people from the western regions deeply influenced by the Han culture or the Han residents(居民)in the region.

1How many 1700?year?old tombs have been dug or are to be dug in Xinjiang?

A．3. B．6.　 C．9. D 12

2According to the passage，the tombs were found ______.

A．by chance B．by mistake　 C．on purpose D．with plans

3What would the tombs help archaeologists to make a study of?

A．The cultural exchanges between the Central Plains government and Western Regions.

B．The cultural influence of the Central Plains on Western Regions.

C．The whole history of Han Dynasty.

D．A and B.

4What is the best title of this passage?

A．1700?year?old tombs were found in Xinjiang

B．Archaeologists are working in Xinjiang

C．There are many ancient tombs in Xinjiang

D．An introduction of Western Regions