Cloze Test

Read the following passage, and choose the one that best fits into the passage.

　　The Aswan High Dam was completed in 1970. It was built for several 1 . First, the River Nile used to 2 large areas every year and destroyed 3 and crops. The Aswan High Dam 4 the waters of the Nile 5 they now run regularly all through the year. Second, 6 can now be made from the water which rushes 7 the base of the dam.

　　 8 they began to build the dam, people 9 knew that there were going to be several 10 . As a 11 of the dam, the water level of the lake was going to 12 by 63 meters. It would be 13 to move 53, 000 people from their villages. 14 , around the area of Aswan there are a lot of important old temples, 15 date from about 1250 BC. These temples were in 16 ; when the dame was finished, many of them would be covered by the waters of the new 17 .

　　One of the most important temples in danger was 18 at Abu Simbel. It was carved in rock and had on the outside four large stone 19 , each of which was 20 meters high. Engineers studied the problem and made several different 20 for rescuing the temple.

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New archaeological discoveries suggest that trade between Europe and Asia along the Silk Road probably began in some form many centuries earlier than once thought. The findings, coupled with a widening range of scientific and historical research could add a fascinating new page to the epic (史诗) of the Silk Road.
The most surprising discovery is pieces of silk found in the hair of an Egyptian mummy from about 1000 BC, long before regular traffic on the Silk Road and at least one thousand years before silk was previously thought to be used in Egypt. Other research may extend human activity along this route back even further, perhaps a million years to the migration of human ancestors into eastern Asia.
The official origin of East-West trade along the road is usually placed in the late 2^nd century BC when an agent of the Chinese Emperor Wu-di returned from a dangerous secret mission（使命）across the desert into the remote high country of Central Asia. The agent, Zhang Qian, travelled as far as Afghanistan and brought back knowledge of even more distant lands such as Persia, Syria and a place known as Lijien, perhaps Rome. Historians have called this one of the most important journeys in ancient times. His journey opened the way for what have been thought to be the first indirect contacts between the ancient world’s two superpowers, China and Rome. Chinese silk, first traded to central Asian tribes for war horses and to the Parthian for acrobats and ostrich eggs, was soon finding its way through a network of merchants to the luxury (奢侈品) markets in Rome.
But the new discoveries show that Chinese silk was apparently present in the West long before the Han emperor started organized trade over the Silk Road. The research could change thinking about the early history of world trade and provide insights into the mystery of just how and when Europe and the Mediterranean lands first became aware of the glorious culture at the other end of Eurasia.
【小题1】The word “coupled” in the first paragraph could best be replaced by        .

A．Egyptians had probably travelled to China to buy silk

B．new light can now be thrown on ancient trading practices

C．historical research often achieves fascinating results

D．trade along the Silk Road began earlier than once thought

Johann Gutenberg, who worked as a goldsmith(金匠)，took what has already been discovered, and created a small invention that changed history. He created a machine that allowed him to move small blocks of letters in such a way that written material could be printed and mass-produced. Few people could read before Johann Gutenberg made the invention, but once books became less expensive, more Europeans could read and write.

Block printing existed long before Gutenberg. The Chinese had been using wood blocks to print books as early as 868, but a new set of woodcuts(木刻印版) had to be made for each book. Producing one book was not easy; producing all kinds of books was more difficult.

Writing ink dates from about 2500 BC in Egypt and China. Johann Gutenberg use an oil-base printing ink that would last longer than other inks used in his time. We don’t know much about Gutenberg because he was not famous during his lifetime. He was born in Germany about 1400. In 1448, Gutenberg developed signatures for each number, letter, and punctuation mark(标点符号). He then built the molds (模型) to hold the signatures in place. Johann Gutenberg published the first mass-produced book: a 1,282 page Bible. To this day, more copies of the Bible have been printed the any other book.

Copies of Gutenberg’s invention spread throughout Europe, but the German goldsmith did not get rich from his invention. Some officials denounced the invention of printing because they feared that it would spread bad ideas. By 1500 there 1,700 printing presses in Europe. The presses had already produced about 20 million volumes of 40,000 different books.

1.What happened after Johann Gutenberg’s invention?

2.Compared with block printing in China, Johann Gutenberg’s method __________.

3.The underlined word “denounced” in the paragraph means __________.

4.What is the best title for the passage?

     New archaeological discovers suggest that trade between Europe and Asia along the Silk

Road probably began in some form many countries earlier than once thought. The findings, coupled with a widening range of scientific and historical research, could add a fascinating new

page to the epic of the Silk Road.

    The latest and most surprising discovery is pieces of silk found in the hair of an Egyptian mummy from about 1000 BC, long before regular traffic on the Silk Road and at least one thousand years before silk was previously thought to be used in Egypt. Other research may extend human activity along this route back even further, perhaps a million years to the migration of human ancestors into eastern Asia.

    The official origin of East-West commerce along the road is usually placed in the late 2nd century BC when an agent of the Chinese Emperor Wu-di returned from a dangerous secret mission（使命）across the desert into the remote high country of Central Asia. The agent, Zhang Qian, travelled as far as Afghanistan and brought back knowledge of even more distant lands such as Persia, Syria and a place known as Lijien, perhaps Rome. Historians have called this one of the most important journeys in ancient times. His journey opened the way for what have been thought to be the first indirect contacts between the ancient world’s two superpowers, China and Rome. Chinese silk, first traded to central Asian tribes for war horses and to the Parthians of old Persia in exchange for acrobats and ostrich eggs, was soon finding its way through a network of merchants to the luxury markets of Rome.

    But the new discoveries show that Chinese silk was apparently present in the West long before the Han emperor started organized trade over the Silk Road. The research could change thinking about the early history of world trade and provide insights into the mystery of just how and when Europe and the Mediterranean lands first became aware of the glorious culture at the other end of Eurasia.

The word “coupled” in the first paragraph could best be replaced by ______.

 A. produced       B. contributed      C. doubled        D. combined

The silk thread found in the hair of an Egyptian mummy suggests that ______.

 A. Egyptians had probably travelled to China to buy silk

 B. trade along the Silk Road began earlier than once thought

 C. historical research often achieves fascinating results

 D. new light can now be thrown on ancient trading practices

Until recently most historians believed that trade along the Silk Road _______.

 A. originated in the 2nd century BC

 B. extended human migration into eastern Asia

 C. began a million years ago

 D. primarily benefited the Egyptians

Historians have always considered Zhang Qian’s mission important because they believe ______.

 A. be brought back knowledge of Rome to the emperor     B. be discovered the Silk Road

 C. be helped establish East-West trade               D. be travelled as far as Afghanistan

Hilton English Language Center

Information for New Students

CLASS TIME: 9:00a.m.---10:30a.m., 11:00a.m.---12:30p.m., 1:30p.m.---3:00p.m.. The Language Center is open Monday to Friday. Each class has one afternoon free per week. On the first day, go to the lecture hall to check your timetable.

SELF-ACCESS: The language laboratory (Room 1110) is open Monday to Friday from 3:15p.m. to 5:00p.m. for all full-time students.

You can learn how to use computers for language games or word-processing（文字处理）. There are tapes for students to borrow to practice their English. Go in and ask the teacher to show you. If you plan to take public examinations, there are dictation（听写）and listening comprehension tapes for you to practice with. There are cloze exercises on the computers. Ask your class teacher for a list of past exam essays. Students can borrow tapes to take home but they must be returned after two days.

ATTENDANCE（出勤）：All students are expected to attend classes regularly. Students who do not attend classes will be reported to OSS. Eighty percent attendance is required for students to receive their certificates（证书）when they finish their courses. It is also required by OSS for an extension to your visa.

BOOKS: If students are given course books, the books are their responsibility. If a book is lost, the student will be expected to pay for it.

If students wish to buy books, there is a bookshop in the college specializing in English books (Room 3520).

When do classes begin and end on a full day?

A. 9:00a.m. ---1:30p.m.     B. 9:00a.m. ---3:00p.m.

C. 9:00a.m. ---3:15p.m.     D. 3:15p.m. ---5:00p.m.

How many afternoons does a class meet each week?

A. Two.    B.  Three.   C. Four.   D. Five.

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. No teachers are in the language lab.

B. 90% attendance is required for the students.

C. Books can’t be taken out of the center.

D. Students can prepare for exams by listening to tapes.

Timetable can be seen in _____.

A. the lecture hall    B. Room 3520     C. the classroom  D. Room 1110