摘要:The West Lake remains even in such a cloudy day. A.well B.beautiful C.beauty D.beautifully

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Empty Deserts

    In the 19th century Americans from the eastern states moved out west to settle in the rich new lands along the Pacific coast. The most difficult part of their trip was crossing the “Great American Desert in the western part of the United States by horse and wagon.

The western desert can be very dangerous. There is little water and there are few trees. But the desert also has scenery of great beauty. Tall towers of red and yellow stone rise sharply from the flat sandy valley floor. The scene has been photographed many times and appears in movies and in TV.

    In Arizona, man made dams across the Colorado River have made two large lakes in the middle of the dry desert country. At Lake Powell, the red stone arch of Rainbow Bridge rises high above the blue lake.

    There are few roads. Many areas of Lake Powell’s shore can only be reached by boat or on foot. But hikers in this empty desert land sometimes find very old native American pictures, painted on the rocks.

    In Death Valley, California, the summer temperature rises to 130 degrees. There is less than two inches of rain each year. Death Valley is the lowest place in America---- 925 meters below sea level. In the 1800s, many travelers died when they tried to cross this waterless valley in the terrible heat.

    Although the desert is dry and seems empty, there is plenty of life if you look closely. Small insects, snakes and rats have learned how to live in the desert heat. They live under ground and come out at night, when it is cool. Plants such as cacti need very little water.  When it does rain in the desert (sometimes only once or twice a year), plants grow quickly, and flowers open in a single day. For a short time, the desert is covered with brilliant colors.

1.In the 19th century, Americans moved from the east to the west because they ______.

A. enjoy the trip                    B. wanted to make their home there

C. wanted to find new grassland there   D. had no water to drink

2.From the passage, we can conclude that ______.

A.       the western desert is a good place for people to live in

B.        there is little water but there are many trees in the desert

C.        the desert is dangerous but it is full of life

D.       till now, people know little about the desert

3. If you want to find some old native American pictures painted on the rock you must go ______.

A. on foot    B. by boat    C. by car    D. by plane

4.In the 1800s many travelers died in Death Valley because of ______.

A. illness                         B. high temperature   

C. cold weather                   D. poisonous water

5.In the desert, animals will die ______.

A. if they move about      B. if they cannot make holes underground

C. if they come out at night  D. if they drink much water

 

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   Runners in a relay(接力) race pass a stick in one direction. However, merchants passed silk, gold, fruit, and glass along the Silk Road in more than one direction. They earned their living by traveling the famous Silk Road.

The Silk Road was not a simple trading network. It passed through thousands of citied and towns. It started from eastern China, across Central Asia and the Middle East, and ended in the Mediterranean Sea. It was used from about 200 B, C, to about A, D, 1300, when sea travel offered new routes(路线) , It was sometimes called the world’s longest highway. However, the Silk Road was made up of many routes, not one smooth path. They passed through what are now 18 countries. The routes crossed mountains and deserts and had many dangers of hot sun, deep snow and even battles. Only experienced traders could return safe.

    The Silk Road got its name from its most prized product. Silk could be used like money to pay taxes or buy goods. But the traders carried more than just silk. Gold, silver, and glass from Europe were much found in the Middle East and Asia. Horses traded from other areas changed farming practices in China. Indian merchants traded salt and other valuable goods. Chinese merchants traded paper, which produced an immediate effect on the West. Apples traveled from central Asia to Rome. The Chinese had learned to graft(嫁接) different trees together to make new kinds of fruit. They passed this science on to others, including the Romans. The Romans used grafting to grow the apple. Trading along the Silk Road led to world-wide business 2,000 years before the World Wide Web.

The people along the Silk Road did not share just goods. They also shared their beliefs. The Silk Road provided pathways for learning, diplomacy(外交), and religion (宗教)

1.It’s probable that traders along the Silk Road needed         .

A. to remember the entire trade route       B. to know the making of products

C. to receive certain special training        D. to deal with a lot of difficulties

2.The Silk Road became less important because          .

A. it was made up of different routes        B. silk trading became less popular

C. sea travel provided easier routes         D. people needed fewer foreign goods

3.New technologies could travel along the Silk Road because people          .

A. learned from one another               B. shared each other’s beliefs

C. traded goods along the route             D. earned their living by traveling

4.What is the best title for the passage?

   A. The Silk Road ; Past and Present         B. The Silk Road; East Meets West

C. The Silk Road; Routes Full of Dangers    D. The Silk Road; Pathways for Learning

 

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Societies all over the world name places in similar ways. Quite often there is no official naming ceremony but places tend to be called names as points of reference by people. Then an organized body steps in and gives the place a name. Frequently it happens that a place has two names: One is named by the people and the other by the government. As in many areas, old habits died hard, and the place continues to be called by its unofficial name long after the meaning is lost.

Many roads and places in Singapore are named in order that the pioneers will be remembered by future generations. Thus we have names such as Stamford Road and Raffles Place. This is in keeping with traditions in many countries ---- in both the West and the East.

Another way of naming places is naming them after other places. Perhaps they were named to promote friendships between the two places or it could be that the people who used to live there were originally from the places that the roads were named after. The mystery is clearer when we see some of the roads named in former British bases. If you step into Selector Airbase you will see Piccadilly Circus ---- obviously named by some homesick Royal Air Force personnel.

Some places were named after the activities that used to go on at those places. Bras Basah Road is an interesting example, “Base Basah” means “wet rice” in Malay(马来语). Now why would anyone want to name a road “Wet Rice Road”? The reason is simple. During the pioneering days, wet rice was laid out to dry along this road.

A few roads in Singapore are named by their shapes. There is “Circular Road” for one. Other roads may have part of their names to describe their shapes, like “Paya Lebar Crescent”. This road is called a crescent(月牙) because it begins on the main road, makes a crescent and comes back to join the main road again.

1.We learn from Paragraph 1 that _____.

A. the government is usually the first to name a place

B. a ceremony will be held when a place is named

C. many places tend to have more than one name

D. people prefer the place names given by the government

2. What does the underlined phrase “die hard” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A. Change suddenly.                                  B. Change significantly.

C. Disappear mysteriously.                         D. Disappear very slowly.

3. Which of the following places is named after a person?

A. Raffles Place.                                       B. Selector Airbase.             

C. Piccadilly Circus.                                  D. Paya Lebar Crescent.

4.Bras Basah Road is named _______.

A. after a person           B. after an activity  C. after a place       D. by its shape

 

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Paris is the capital of France, a country in the west of Europe. It is also one of the most beautiful and most famous cities in the world.

Paris is called the City of Light. It is also an international fashion center. What modern women are wearing in Paris will soon be worn by many women in other parts of the world. Paris is also a famous world center of education. For instance, the headquarters of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, is in Paris.

The Seine River divides the city into two parts. Thirty-two bridges cross this scenic river. The oldest and perhaps most well-known is the Pont Neuf, which was built in the sixteenth century. The Sorbonne, a famous university, is located on the Left Bank (south side) of the river. The beautiful white church Sacre Coeur lies on top of the hill called Montmartre on the Right Bank (north bank) of the Seine.

There are many other famous places in Paris, such as the famous museum the Louvre as well as the cathedral of Notre Dame. However, the most famous landmark in this city must be the Eiffel Tower.

Paris is named after a group of people called the Parisii. They built a small village on an island in the middle of the Seine River about two thousand years ago. This island, called the le de la Cite, is where Notre Dame is located. Today around eight million people live in the Paris area.

1. The best title for the text would be ______.

A. The City of Paris    B. The French Language                                      

C. Education and Culture in France       D. The Eiffel Tower, the Symbol of Paris

2.The underlined word “headquarters” (paragraph 2) means _______.

A. buildings    B. research center   C. market   D. head office

3.We can infer from the text that Notre Dame is located ______.

A. on the Right Bank   B. on the Left Bank   C. on neither bank   D. on both banks

 

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If you ask people to name the one person who had the greatest effect on the English language, you will get answers like “Shakespeare,” “Samuel Johnson,” and “Webster,” but none of these men had any effect at all compared to a man who didn’t even speak English-William the Conqueror.

Before 1066, in the land we now call Great Britain lived peoples belonging to two major language groups. In the west central region lived the Welsh, who spoke a Celtic language, and in the north lived the Scots, whose language, though not the same as Welsh, was also Celtic. In the rest of the country lived the Saxons, actually a mixture of Anglos, Saxons, and other Germanic and Nordic peoples, who spoke what we now call Anglo-Saxon (or Old English), a Germanic language. If this state of affairs had lasted, English today would be close to German.

But this state of affairs did not last. In l066 the Normans led by William defeated the Saxons and began their rule over England. For about a century, French became the official language of Eng-land while Old English became the language of peasants. As a result, English words of Politics and the law come from French rather than German. In some cases, modern English even shows a distinction (区别) between upper-class French and lower-class Anglo-Saxon in its words. We even have different words for some foods, meat in particular, depending on whether it is still out in the fields or at home ready to be cooked, which shows the fact that the Saxon peasants were doing the farming, while the upper-class Normans were doing most of the eating.

When Americans visit Europe for the first time, they usually find Germany more "foreign" than France because the German they see on signs and advertisements seems much more different from English than French does. Few realize that the English language is actually Germanic in its beginning and that the French influences are all the result of one man's ambition.

1. The two major languages spoken in what is now called Great Britain before l066 were       

A.Welsh and Scottish

B.Nordic and Germanic

C.Celtic and Old English.

D.Anglo-Saxon and Germanic

2. Which of the following groups of words are, by inference, rooted in French?

A.president, Lawyer, beef

B.president, bread, water

C.bread, field, sheep

D.folk, field, cow

3.Why does France appear less foreign than Germany to Americans on their first visit to Europe?

A.Most advertisements in France appear in English.

B.They know little of the history of the English language.

C.Many French words are similar to English ones.

D.They know French better than German.

4. What is the subject discussed in the text?

A.The history of Great Britain.

B.The similarity between English and French.

C.The rule of England by William the Conqueror.

D.The French influences on the English language.

 

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