Question

【题目】

Marco Polo was born in Italy in 1254. When he was 17, he travelled along the Silk Road with his father, who wanted to trade with the Chinese. Finally, they arrived in Beijing. They were guests at the Emperor's Palace Marco was very clever and could speak four languages. The Emperor was impressed by him and they became friends. He asked Marco to serve in his court (宫殿) and sent him to do many important jobs all over the country.

Marco was amazed by how beautiful China was. He was impressed by Beijing and the Emperor's Palace, especial the Summer Palace which was described as "The greatest palace that I’ve ever seen". The walls were covered with gold and silver and the hall was so big that it could easily hold 6,000 people for dinner.

Marco was also attracted (吸引) by the inventions and developments in China which couldn't be found in Europe at that time. Marco was surprised to see Chinese people using paper money in the markets. In Europe, people paid for goods(货物) with gold and silver. He could not understand how people paid for food and valuable things with paper! He was also puzzled by the black stones people used to burn to produce heat. The black stones were coal, but Marco had never seen coal before!

After he served the Emperor for 17 years. in 1291, Marco returned to Italy. He was a very wealthy man then. A writer wrote down all the stories that Marco told him in a book called The Description of the World, which became one of the best-selling books in Europe.

People enjoyed the book, but many of them thought that Marcos stories about China were too fantastic to be true. However, Marco always stood by his tales. Just before he died, aged 70, Marco was asked the question, “Was it all true?” And this was his answer, “I have only told a half what I saw!”

请根据短文内容，完成下列表格。

Marco Polo and China
Before arriving in China	In 1254, he was bon in Italy. At the age of 17, he travelled along the 【1】 with his father to trade with the Chinese.
During his living in China	He made friends with the Emperor and served in the court. He did many【2】 around China.
	The beauty of China impressed him.
	The 【3】 in China attracted Marco. ①Paper money was used to buy goods in the markets. ②Chinese people used【4】 to produce heat.
After returning to Italy	He became wealthy. A book written about his traveling experiences around the world sold well in Europe.
The underlined sentence tells us that【5】.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】Silk Road

【2】important jobs

【3】inventions and developments

【4】(the) black stones/ coal

【5】it couldn’t be described in one book about the development of China/ Marco didn’t tell all the things that he had experienced in China/（此题为开放性试题，考生回答符合情理即可得分）

【解析】

本篇文章难度适中，主要讲述马可波罗1254年出生在意大利，17岁来到中国，被中国的美丽所征服，而且发现了欧洲没有的东西，例如煤和纸币，有人根据他的经历写了《东方见闻录》，成为畅销书。

【1】细节理解题。根据When he was 17, he travelled along the Silk Road with his father, who wanted to trade with the Chinese可知，他们沿着丝绸之路和中国人做生意。故填Silk Road。

【2】细节理解题。根据He asked Marco to serve in his court (宫殿) and sent him to do many important jobs all over the country可知，他在宫中做一些重要的工作，故填important jobs。

【3】细节理解题。根据Marco was also attracted (吸引) by the inventions and developments in China which couldn't be found in Europe at that time可知，他被中国的发明和发展所吸引，故填inventions and developments。

【4】细节理解题。根据He was also puzzled by the black stones people used to burn to produce heat. The black stones were coal可知，中国人用黑色的石头（即煤）取暖，故填(the) black stones/ coal。

【5】开放性试题。根据“Was it all true?” And this was his answer, “I have only told a half what I saw!”可知，他不能用一本书就能描述完中国的发展，即不能告诉人们所有他在中国经历的事情。故填it couldn’t be described in one book about the development of China/ Marco didn’t tell all the things that he had experienced in China