A. the wonderful scenery on the way B. the large church building in a small town C. the deserted street with empty shops D. the delicious seafood in the restaurant 4. What did the author think of Xitang?
A. It is an imaginary Chinese town. C. It is an ordinary Chinese town. 5. What is the best title for the passage?
A. Xitang’s Sea Fishing Experience B. A Wonderful Tour
C. One Self-organized Trip to Xitang D. How to Enjoy a Good Time in Xitang
B. It is an old Chinese town. D. It is an open Chinese town.
B
The Age of Discovery
Have you ever wondered how some inventions have changed human history? Do you know the meaning of the “Age of Discovery”? What is the meaning of your city’s name? Do you sometimes ask yourself how some places got their names? Let us look at a brief story of the activities of the early European explorers who discovered America and other places.
The years between the 14th and 17th centuries are popularly called the Renaissance(文艺复兴)period. The word renaissance means reawakening(复兴)or rebirth. The Renaissance period was marked by a rebirth in learning. It began in Italy and quickly spread to other parts of Europe, such as England, Germany, France and Spain. The rebirth in learning was made possible by the invention of printing and other technologies. These facilitated(促进)the production of books and the spread of knowledge. This period was also the beginning of the Age of Discovery. Led by Portugal and Spain, exploration began to spread beyond the waters of the known world to discover new lands.
One of the main reasons for the increasing interest in sea travels was Europe’s desire to find a sea route to the countries of the Far Eastern countries, especially to India, at first by sailing around the continent of Africa. In their search for a new sea route to India, the Europeans discovered new lands they had never known existed before. One of the greatest accidental discoveries in history was Christopher Columbus’ discovery of America. He had set out hoping to discover a sea route to India. When he arrived
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in America in 1492 he thought he had reached Asia. Until his death Columbus truly believed that he had discovered India. Columbus’ mistake has lived on to present times as Native Americans are still called Indians, and the islands of the Caribbean are still called the West Indies. Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian explorer, later realized that what Columbus had discovered was actually a separate continent. Later, a German expert, Martin Waldseemuller published a map of the then known world. He named the new land America in honour of Amerigo Vespucci.
6. The period between the 14th and 17th centuries was called the Renaissance because _________. A. a general interest in learning and knowledge reawakened B. people reawakened from a long sleep C. more babies were being born D. many new things were invented
7. The Renaissance was made possible because _________. A. people were eager to learn B. it began in Italy
C. new inventions made learning easier than before D. everyone agreed that there should be a renaissance 8. Which of these statements is true?
A. Only Portugal and Spain went out to discover new places. B. The Renaissance is the same as the Age of Discovery. C. Columbus discovered Asia.
D. Portugal and Spain were leaders in the discovery of new lands. 9. The Europeans started sailing to faraway places because _________. A. they wanted to sail around Africa
B. they wanted to look for a sea route to the Far East C. there was no road between Europe and the Far East D. they wanted to give European names to new places
10. Why did Christopher Columbus believe that he had arrived in India?
A. He saw many Indians. B. It was an accidental discovery.
C. The American Indians told him it was India.
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D. At the very beginning, he set out to discover a sea route to India
Ⅶ. 阅读理解
A
According to statistics(统计数字), more than 100 million Chinese suffer from natural disasters every year. Many natural disasters are likely to hit China, including typhoons, droughts, earthquakes, fires, landslides and serious snowstorms. Northern China mostly suffers from droughts while the southern and central provinces suffer from water and wind-related disasters. Floods are common in central and southern China because these areas have higher rainfalls than the north. They also have wetlands, lakes and so many rivers like the Yangtze River. Heavy rainfalls often cause the water levels to rise dangerously.
Natural disasters almost always cause human and material losses. In 2008 China met one of the deadliest earthquakes in the country in recent years. The earthquake was centred in the small town of Wenchuan, in Sichuan province, but its effects were felt throughout the whole province and even as far away as Beijing. More than 70 thousand people died while over 370 thousand were seriously injured. Farmlands, housed, animals and crops were severely damaged or entirely destroyed.
These material losses from natural disasters, on top of the injuries and deaths, lead to further suffering long after the disasters have passed. China experienced this just recently, as it is still dealing with the effects of the worst snowstorms in fifty years. In January and February of 2008 unexpected changes in weather in central and southern China led to heavy snowstorms that cut off power lines and blocked roads and railway tracks. Millions of people could not go back to their homes for the Spring Festival holiday. The human losses were not very high, but many farmers’ crops were destroyed. By January 31st the total economic loss had reached 53.8 billion yuan. 1. What is the main idea of the passage? A. Natural disasters can cause great losses.
B. Floods are common in central and southern China. C. Natural disasters often occur in China. D. The deadliest earthquake happened in China. 2. Why do floods often happen in southern China? A. Southern China has many rivers. B. Southern China has higher rainfalls.
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C. Southern China has serious snowstorms. D. Southern China has many wetlands and big lakes.
3. Which of the following was NOT a result of the 2008 snowstorms in China? A. The power lines were cut off.
B. The roads and railway tracks were blocked. C. Many farmers’ houses were destroyed. D. Millions of people could not go back home.
4. According to the passage, which of the following disasters is most likely to happen in Hubei province? A. Droughts.
B. Typhoons.
C. Floods.
D. Earthquakes.
5. Which of the following sentences is TRUE according to the passage? A. China has more disasters than other countries.
B. The central part of China has had few disasters than other parts.
C. The number of people killed in the Wenchuan earthquake was the largest in modern history. D. There were human losses as well as material losses in the 2008 snowstorms.
B
Dear Li Jun,
Last night I saw a TV documentary(纪实电视节目)about the 1976 Tangshan earthquake in China. I noticed one thing that is common with most natural disasters. The killer disasters come either early in the morning or late at night, when people are either resting or preparing to rest and, unfortunately, when people are least attentive to warning signs.
The Tangshan disaster struck early in the morning when the people were still sleeping. Many people died in their sleep. Miners were trapped deep below the earth. Some died. Survivors waited in the dark. They hoped that rescuers would come and pull them out. It is a horrible thing to be in a situation where you can do nothing to save yourself.
It seems that, Mother Nature has always attacked us as if she were afraid that we would fight back. Otherwise why would she come only as a thief? I have a story to tell you. This one happened in August 1986 in the villages near Lake Nyos in Cameroon’s northwest province. Large amounts of carbon dioxide(CO2) gas had been collecting at the bottom of the lake. It was clear that nobody knew about the gas or about how dangerous it was. Suddenly, before dawn on August 26, 1986, a large quantity of gas was released(gave off)from the lake. CO2 is heavier than air, so it spread out over the nearby villages. The
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blanket of CO2 floated for 25 kilometres. Many people died in their sleep from lack of oxygen(O2). Before sunrise, more than 1,700 people had lost their lives. And thousands of animals were also killed by the gas. At first scientists believed that the gas was caused by an earthquake or a volcano. However, further studies proved that there had been no volcanic activity. Nobody is very certain how such a large amount of gas was released from the lake. Scientists from the USA, the EU, Japan and Cameroon have been studying the lake for the past twenty years. Yet they still have not found an answer.
Well, Jun, let me leave Mother Nature and her timid(胆小的)way of attacking us. I need to run out for some noodles at a nearby Chinese restaurant.
Take good care of yourself.
Theresa 6. What were most people doing when the Tangshan earthquake happened? A. They were watching TV. B. They were preparing to rest. C. They were mining below the earth. D. They were sleeping. 7. What caused so many people to die near Lake Nyos?
A. A large quantity of poisonous gas. B. A lack of oxygen. C. A thick cloud in the sky. D. A thief. 8. Which of the following sentences is NOT true according to the passage? A. People seem to be more attentive to signs of disasters in the daytime. B. The author is familiar with China.
C. Mother Nature was afraid that people would fight back. D. Animals were also killed by the gas near Lake Nyos. 9. What does the underlined sentence mean at the end of the letter? A. The writer decided to leave nature and hide away.
B. The writer decided not to fight with nature because she was timid. C. The writer decided to stop writing about the topic. D. The writer decided to attack nature bravely.
10. What figure of speech is used in the name of “Mother Nature”?
A. Simile.(明喻) C. Personification. (拟人)
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B. Metaphor. (暗喻) D. Comparison. (比较)
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