The Mayan Indians lived in Mexico for thousands of years. The Maya were so bright that they achieved a lot. They had farms, temples and cities with many buildings. They knew much about nature and the world around them. This knowledge helped them to live a better life than most people of that time.

In ancient Mexico there were many small clearings in the forest. In each clearing was a village with fields of crops around it. The Maya planted seeds after they cleared the land. A farmer was able to grow crops that produced for several people. But not every Maya had to be a farmer. Some were builders or priests (祭司).

The Maya believed in many gods. They built large temples to honor them. Skillful workers built cities around these temples. It was difficult because they had to carry all of the building materials themselves. Today, many of these ancient Mayan cities and temples are still standing.

Although the Maya worked hard to build the beautiful cities, very few of them lived in them. Usually, only the priests lived in the cities. The other people lived in small villages in the forests. Their houses were much simpler. Most Maya lived a simple life close to nature.

Measuring time correctly was important to the Maya, so Mayan priests made a system to keep track of time. They wrote numbers as dots ( … ) and bars ( — ). They also made a calendar (日历). The year was divided into 18 months of 20 days each with five days left over.

Around the year 800, the Maya left their villages and beautiful cities, never to return. No one knows why this happened. They may have died from a deadly disease. They may have left because the soil could no longer grow crops. The lost secrets of the Maya are still beyond the reach of modern people. They are still one of our greatest mysteries (神秘).

1.The Maya lived better than most people of their times because _____.

A．they had skillful workers

B．they believed in many gods

C．they knew better about nature

D．they could measure time correctly

2.It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

A．the calendar was first invented by the ancient Maya

B．the ancient Mayan cities and temples were well built

C．the ancient Mayan people led a happy life in the cities

D．the priests were not highly respected by the ancient Maya

3.The underlined word “they” in the passage refers to _____.

A．the Mayan people                       B．the Mayan villages

C．the Mayan cities                        D．the lost secrets of the Maya

4.Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?

A．The Life of the Maya                     B．The Cities of the Maya

C．The Mystery of the Maya                  D．The Belief of the Maya

The Mayan Indians lived in Mexico for thousands of years. The Maya were so bright that they achieved a lot. They had farms, temples and cities with many buildings. They knew much about nature and the world around them. This knowledge helped them to live a better life than most people of that time.
In ancient Mexico there were many small clearings in the forest. In each clearing was a village with fields of crops around it. The Maya planted seeds after they cleared the land. A farmer was able to grow crops that produced for several people. But not every Maya had to be a farmer. Some were builders or priests (祭司).
The Maya believed in many gods. They built large temples to honor them. Skillful workers built cities around these temples. It was difficult because they had to carry all of the building materials themselves. Today, many of these ancient Mayan cities and temples are still standing.
Although the Maya worked hard to build the beautiful cities, very few of them lived in them. Usually, only the priests lived in the cities. The other people lived in small villages in the forests. Their houses were much simpler. Most Maya lived a simple life close to nature.
Measuring time correctly was important to the Maya, so Mayan priests made a system to keep track of time. They wrote numbers as dots ( … ) and bars ( — ). They also made a calendar (日历). The year was divided into 18 months of 20 days each with five days left over.
Around the year 800, the Maya left their villages and beautiful cities, never to return. No one knows why this happened. They may have died from a deadly disease. They may have left because the soil could no longer grow crops. The lost secrets of the Maya are still beyond the reach of modern people. They are still one of our greatest mysteries (神秘).
【小题1】The Maya lived better than most people of their times because _____.

The Mayan Indians lived in Mexico for thousands of years. The Maya were so bright that they achieved a lot. They had farms, temples and cities with many buildings. They knew much about nature and the world around them. This knowledge helped them to live a better life than most people of that time.
In ancient Mexico there were many small clearings in the forest. In each clearing was a village with fields of crops around it. The Maya planted seeds after they cleared the land. A farmer was able to grow crops that produced for several people. But not every Maya had to be a farmer. Some were builders or priests (祭司).
The Maya believed in many gods. They built large temples to honor them. Skillful workers built cities around these temples. It was difficult because they had to carry all of the building materials themselves. Today, many of these ancient Mayan cities and temples are still standing.
Although the Maya worked hard to build the beautiful cities, very few of them lived in them. Usually, only the priests lived in the cities. The other people lived in small villages in the forests. Their houses were much simpler. Most Maya lived a simple life close to nature.
Measuring time correctly was important to the Maya, so Mayan priests made a system to keep track of time. They wrote numbers as dots ( … ) and bars ( — ). They also made a calendar (日历). The year was divided into 18 months of 20 days each with five days left over.
Around the year 800, the Maya left their villages and beautiful cities, never to return. No one knows why this happened. They may have died from a deadly disease. They may have left because the soil could no longer grow crops. The lost secrets of the Maya are still beyond the reach of modern people. They are still one of our greatest mysteries (神秘)

1. 1.

   The Maya lived better than most people of their times because _____

   1. A.
      they had skillful workers
   2. B.
      they believed in many gods
   3. C.
      they knew better about nature
   4. D.
      they could measure time correctly
2. 2.

   It can be inferred from the passage that _____

   1. A.
      the calendar was first invented by the ancient Maya
   2. B.
      the ancient Mayan cities and temples were well built
   3. C.
      the ancient Mayan people led a happy life in the cities
   4. D.
      the priests were not highly respected by the ancient Maya
3. 3.

   The underlined word “they” in the passage refers to _____

   1. A.
      the Mayan people
   2. B.
      the Mayan villages
   3. C.
      the Mayan cities
   4. D.
      the lost secrets of the Maya
4. 4.

   Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?

   1. A.
      The Life of the Maya
   2. B.
      The Cities of the Maya
   3. C.
      The Mystery of the Maya
   4. D.
      The Belief of the Maya

       Some of the bridges, like the George Washington Bridge, and some of the tunnels, such as the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels, are famous．But the most famous of all is the Brooklyn Bridge, which was built over 100 years ago．

       Today, engineers have the experience and the special machines to do such things, but at that time, no one knew how to do them．The Brooklyn Bridge was the first bridge of its kind in the world．The box which Washington had studied in Europe was used．It was the size of a house and it was made of wood．It had three sides and a top, but no bottom．Air was forced into the box and water was forced out so the workers could work underwater．No one understood the problems of this kind of work．It was very dangerous and many men were sick．Needless to say （不用说）, they were also frightened．Accidents were frequent．Roebling spent a great deal of time with the workers in the box to encourage them．

       The box began to affect the men．Some of them felt strange pains in different parts of their bodies．One day, a worker began to have strong pains in his stomach．He had been well and had begun work only half an hour before, but within minutes he was dead．This sudden incident was repeated several more times with other men．Roebling himself had a similar attack．He couldn’t talk or hear．Within days he became paralyzed（瘫痪的） and people feared that he, too, might die．But he recovered after a week or two and went back to work．A little while later, Roebling had a second attack, more serious than the first．This time he was crippled．He was unable to work again for the rest of his life．

       The bridge was a great success．People came from everywhere to see this strong and beautiful structure．It was one of the wonders of the nineteenth century, and it is still a wonder today．There is more traffic on it than ever before, yet the bridge remains sturdy．

1．Choose the one which is true．

       A．Roebling was put in charge of the building．

       B．His son returned from Europe with the idea of working in a large box underwater．

       C．Roebling was badly injured．

       D．Before dying, he asked his son to continue his work．

2．The box was used so that __________．

       A．workers working underwater could breathe and move about as if they were on the ground．

       B．workers could stand on it．

       C．more air could come to it．

       D．more water would come into it．

3．The Brooklyn Bridge is a monument to Roebling’s _________．

       A．devotion and contribution               B．interest

       C．life                              D．all of the above

4．Why was the building of Brooklyn Bridge very dangerous?

       A．Because all the workers were frightened．

       B．Because there is a rushing torrent（急流）．

       C．Because all the workers had to work underwater．

       D．Because no one was able to foretell the problems of this kind of work．

The workers could hardly        the boss’s bad temper but under his supervision they had to              themselves to working harder.

A．tolerate; contribute       B．bear; dedicate

C．stand; resign               D．put up with; invest