The heart of Mexico is a high, oval valley surrounded by mountains. Once, forests covered the mountainsides, and broad, shining lakes covered nearly all the valley floor. Now, the mountains are bare and scarred with erosion(侵蚀), and much of the valley floor is dry and dusty.

Cortez and his Spanish soldiers were the first Europeans to enter this valley. They saw the thriving Aztec city of Tenochtitlan rising from an island in one of the lakes. Surrounding it were green floating gardens. The Spaniards said it was as beautiful as a dream. Then the conquest  began. 

By 1521, when the Spaniards had conquered the fierce Aztecs, the island city was in ruins. Cortez decided to rebuild it after the pattern of European cities. Using the conquered Aztecs as slave laborers, Cortez built the new city, now Mexico City, in just four years.

“But a generation had scarcely passed after the conquest before a sad change came over these scenes so beautiful,” writes one historian. The broad, shining lakes began to dry up.

Modern historians believe that Cortez began the destruction of the valley’s lakes when be ordered the city rebuilt. A great deal of charcoal was needed to burn the limestone (石灰石) from which cement (水泥) and mortar were made. Wood was needed to finish the interiors of the buildings.

The mountainside forests were destroyed to provide the charcoal and wood. Once the sloped were bare, rainfall o longer seeped (渗漏) slowly into the earth to feed the springs that filled the valley’s lakes. Instead, rainfall poured off the mountainsides the city from floods, later rulers made a cut through the mountains so that the water drained away into another valley. Mexico City, once an island, had become a city of a dry plain.

The underlined word “thriving” in the second paragraph means _______.

A. developing successfully          B. increasing

C. failing                         D. growing little

Which statement does this article lead you to believe?

Keeping nature’s balance is not important any more.

Men thought nature’s resources would last forever.

New forests always automatically replace old ones.

The Aztecs didn’t begin to flourish until Cortez came.

Why did later rulers cut through the mountains ?

They wanted to fill the city with rainwater.

They wanted the valleys to flood regularly.

They wanted to plant more trees.

They wanted to protect the city from floods.

One the whole, the article tells about ______.

Mexico as it looked when it was a European city

Modern historians who write about Mexico City

Mexico city before and after the Spaniards came

The beautiful scenery in Mexico

What is the author’s purpose of writing this article?

A .To tell the beauty and ugliness of Mexico City

B. To introduce the terrible change of Mexico City

C. To explain how Mexico City changed

D. To make people aware of the importance of nature balance

Around 5:30 p.m., I was on the bus one day and everybody on the bus was quiet. People had just  36 from work, students had just finished their 37 class and everybody was a little  38  from a long day. It wasn't a particularly good day for me as I was feeling quite tired too. I was just looking outside of the 39 without any specific thought in my mind. It was the same 40  I had seen many times before, people hurrying home.
In front of me, there was a man sitting in the seat who didn't look too clean. 41  he was looking out of the window, the man suddenly 42 to me and pointed at something outside. "Hey, look." He had a big smile on his face. I turned to the  43  he was pointing to and there it was ---- the beautiful Catalina mountains burning with a beautiful  44 . The mountains were coated with bright pink light and shadows. He turned to other people on the bus and told them to look at the mountains. He  45   
" Wow" and " It's so beautiful" again and again. Everybody on the bus  46  the views indeed.
The  47 view also helped me to 48  my long tiring day with a good feeling in my heart. But, more 49  , I was so inspired (鼓舞)to see that this man wanted to 50  the beautiful view with everybody on the bus, total strangers. His 51 act made me accidentally find something that I had lost which I didn't even know I had lost. He made me  52 that I had lost the feelings and the excitement I  53 have everyday. In my daily life, many things had  54  their color and movement. But he 55 me that things are still there ---- they never get lost.

【小题1】
A.gone by B.got offC.given upD.taken up
【小题2】A morning        B. important     C. last            D. boring
【小题3】
A.excitedB.tiredC.puzzledD.disappointed
【小题4】
A.window B.classroom C.mountain D.city
【小题5】
A.people B.bus C.troubleD.view
【小题6】
A.SoB.Once C.As D.If
【小题7】
A.referred B.attended C.turned D.object
【小题8】
A.finger B.driver C.direction D.sky
【小题9】
A.sunset .B.memory C.sunrise D.journey
【小题10】
A.wrote B.followed C.discussed D.said
【小题11】
A.enjoyed B.impressed C.described D.recorded
【小题12】
A.beautiful B.full C.same D.simple
【小题13】
A.saveB.hateC.challenge D.end
【小题14】
A.fortunately B.naturally C.beautifully D.importantly
【小题15】
A.share B.connect C.compare D.comment
【小题16】
A.final B.kind C.violent D.direct
【小题17】
A.decide B.believe C.realize D.learn
【小题18】
A.used toB.was used toC.got used toD.used
【小题19】
A.increased B.showed C.faded D.lost
【小题20】
A.warned B.remindedC.advised D.persuaded

Xinjiang Yumin Mountain Flower Festival opened yesterday. It opens once a year. This is the fourth Flower Festival. It shows the great beauty of this area. The festival will last for 100 days. Visitors can visit the beautiful mountainous county(县) during the Flower Festival. They will enjoy a beautiful flower world.

Yumin is in the western part of Xinjiang. There are 24 rivers going through the area. The special geographical position(地理位置) and proper weather have made the county one of China's most interesting places. Visitors can enjoy the beautiful flowers, green grass, blue sky and so on.

The county is home to more than 1,000 kinds of plants. Different kinds of flowers come out in May every year. It's so beautiful. There are also more than 90 kinds of animals. In the past, it was known only by a small number of outdoor travel fans. But now it's very famous. So if you want to go on a trip to Yumin, you can start your trips in early May, when most of the county's wild flowers come out.

1.Does Xinjiang Yumin Mountain Flower Festival open once a year? (no more than 3 words)

________________________________________________________

2.How long will the fourth Flower Festival last? (no more than 8 words)

_________________________________________________________

3.Why has Yumin become one of China's most interesting places?(no more than 14 words)

_________________________________________________________

4.When is the best time to visit Yumin? (no more than 5 words)

_________________________________________________________

 

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