Runners in a relay（接力） race pass a stick in one direction．However, merchants passed silk, gold, fruit, and glass along the Silk Road in more than one direction．They earned their living by traveling the famous Silk Road．
The Silk Road was not a simple trading network．It passed through thousands of cities and towns．It started from eastern China, across Central Asia and the Middle East, and ended in the Mediterranean Sea．It was used from about 200 B．C．to about 1300 A．D．, when sea travel offered new routes（路线）．It was sometimes called the world’s longest highway．However, the Silk Road was made up of many routes, not one smooth path．They passed through what are now 18 countries．The routes crossed mountains and deserts and had many dangers of hot sun, deep snow and even battles．Only experienced traders could return safe．
The Silk Road got its name from its most prized product．Silk could be used like money to pay taxes or buy goods．But the traders carried more than just silk．Gold, silver, and glass from Europe were much found in the Middle East and Asia．Horses traded from other areas changed farming practices in China．Indian merchants traded salt and other valuable goods．Chinese merchants traded paper, which produced an immediate effect on the West．Apples traveled from central Asia to Rome．The Chinese had learned to graft（嫁接） different trees together to make new kinds of fruit．They passed this science on to others, including the Romans．The Romans used grafting to grow the apple．Trading along the Silk Road led to world-wide business 2,000 years before the World Wide Web．
The people along the Silk Road did not share just goods．They also shared their beliefs．The Silk Road provided pathways for learning, diplomacy（外交）, and religion （宗教）．
It’s probable that traders along the Silk Road needed ．
| A．to remember the entire trade route | B．to know the making of products |
| C．to receive certain special training | D．to deal with a lot of difficulties |
The Silk Road became less important because ．
| A．it was made up of different routes | B．silk trading became less popular |
| C．sea travel provided easier routes | D．people needed fewer foreign goods |
What does the underlined part in Paragraph 3 refer to?
| A．Silk． | B．A trading network． |
| C．The world’s longest highway． | D．Goods．k.s.5.u |
Maurice Mountain is a retired lawyer in Washington, D. C He developed a prototype(原型机) for a device he calls the Presto Emergency Boat Ladder. His invention is a small folding ladder that attaches to the side of a boat to help people who fall into the water. Mr. Mountain plans to mass-produce his boat ladder.
He created his invention at a workshop called TechShop . Mr. Mountain says, "I think it encourages innovation. I think people who probably have had ideas rolling around in the back of their minds for years but have never had the opportunity to actually put them into production or even experiment with them would find this place wonderful. Members of TechShop use high-tech equipment to develop and produce ideas they have for inventions. "Isabella Musachio manages a TechShop in Arlington, Virginia. She says the shop has many different kinds of equipment.
"TechShop is a do-it-yourself maker space. So when you come in we have all these different areas of the shop, and we have a metal shop, wood shop, lasers, 3D printers, electronics. I mean, we have so many different areas and we have all the equipment that is available to anybody above the age of 12. "
Membership costs for TechShop start at just over $ 100 per month. Members are able to use costly machines including 3D modeling tools and laser cutters. Isabella Musachio says TechShop helps its members build their dreams.
"Our motto is 'build your dreams here' because you can really come in with just an idea, and then with the help of TechShop make that leap from an idea to building your project o, your prototype or even your business."
Jim Newton is the founder of TechShop. He first introduced the idea for the technology workshops at an arts and sciences event called Maker Faire in San Mateo, California in 2006. His idea attracted hundreds of members during that event, Now, there are eight TechShop locations in the U. S. In all, there are more than 6,000 members. Two more-TechShop locations in the cities of St. Louis and Look Angeles will be set upThe invention Mr. Mountain invented will be used to____ .
A save the drowning people
B. help people climb the ladderWhat can be inferred from what Mr. Mountain says in Paragraph 2?.
| A．People with imagination can achieve their dreams. |
| B．TechShop can help turn some people’s ideas into reality. |
| C．TechShop is a place where people can put forward their new ideas. |
| D．It's hard for people to put their ideas into practice. |
From the last paragraph, we can know _____.
| A．Jim Newton is a very great invention |
| B．people didn't like TechShop at first |
| C．TechShop will become more and more popular |
| D．TechShop greeted with bad reviews in 2006 |
What can we know about TechShop from the passage?
A,TechShop is founded by Maurice Mountain.
B. TechShop puts high-tech dreams within reach.
C. TechShop is a non-profit organization.
D. TechShop offers its members more ideas.
When I began planning to move to Auckland to study, my mother was a little worried about the uncertainty of living in a place that was so different from India, where we lived. She worried particularly about the lack of jobs and cultural differences and the chance that I would face racism.
Despite these concerns, I came to New Zealand in July 2009. I have found the place and the people very nice and supportive. Soon after I arrived, I realized the importance of getting a job to supply my living expenses.
Determined to do this on my own, I spent a whole day going from door to door for a job. However, I received little or no response(回应).
One afternoon, I walked into a building to ask if there were any job opportunities(机会). The people there were very surprised and advised me not to continue my job search in that manner .As I was about to leave, a clerk in the building, who had been listening to what others had said, approached me and asked me to wait outside. Fifteen minutes later, he returned ,He asked me what my plans were and encouraged me to stay confident. Then he offered to take me to Royal Oak to search for a job.
I was a little surprised, but had a good feeling about him,so I went along. Along the way ,I realized that I had run out of resumes(简历). Seeing this, the man stopped at his business partner’s office to make me fifteen extra copies. He also gave me tips on dressing and speaking and added that I should give him a call if I ever needed anything. I handed out my resume and went home feeling very satisfied. The following day, I received a call from a store in Royal Oak offering me a job.
It seems that the world always gives back to you when you need it .And this time, it was a complete stranger who turned out to be a real blessing.What wasn’t the author’s mother worried about?
| A．People might look down on the author. |
| B．The author couldn’t speak the local language. |
| C．The author wasn’t familiar with the local customs. |
| D．It might be difficult for the author to find a job. |
After staying in New Zealand for a short time, the author _______.
| A．decided to go back to his own country. |
| B．felt the local people were not very friendly |
| C．had to find a job to cover his living expenses |
| D．wanted to get a job that needed practical skills |
When the author went into a building to look for a job, ________.
| A．a clerk gave him encouragement and advice |
| B．he was confident that he would find a good one |
| C．he found many college students like him already there |
| D．a clerk recommended him to the company he worked for |
What is the story mainly about?
| A．How a stranger offered the author a job. |
| B．How a stranger turned out to be a real blessing. |
| C．How the author adapted himself to a new situation. |
| D．How the author was helped to get a job for a stranger. |
In April 2014, the world’s oldest known message in a bottle was discovered floating in the Baltic Sea. It had spent 101years lost in the ocean! The message was finally sent to the author’s granddaughter.
A German fisherman named Konrad Fischer found the brown bottle near Kiel, Germany. He said he nearly threw the bottle back into the water after pulling it out of a fishing net. Then he noticed something inside.
The bottle in good condition contained a Danish postcard with two German stamps, dated May 17, 1913. Although dampness had made most of the writing illegible(字迹模糊的), the readable part of the message asked whoever found it to return it to an address in Berlin. It even contained two stamps to pay for postage.
From the address, researchers found that the postcard was written by a man named Richard Platz, who was 20 years old when he wrote the message. While he was hiking on the Baltic coast with a nature appreciation group, he threw the bottle into the sea. Then the researcher began a research for any living relatives of his. Sure enough, they were able to find his 62-year-old grandfather, Angela Erdmann, who still lives in Berlin.
"It was almost unbelievable," Erdmann said upon being presented with her grandfather's bottle and message, as quoted in The Local. "That was a pretty moving moment. Tears rolled down my face."
Erdmann never knew her grandfather, who died in 1946, but says that the discovery of the bottle has made her want to learn more about him.
The bottle remained on display at the International Maritime Museum Hamburg until May 1. After that, the researchers examined the postcard and tried to figure out the meaning of the rest of the message.
Previously, the oldest message found in a bottle spent nearly 98 years at sea and was discovered in April 2012, according to Guinness World Records.When Konrad picked up the bottle from the sea, __________.
| A．he thought it would bring him good luck. |
| B．he noticed the postcard inside immediately. |
| C．he decided to uncover the secret of the bottle. |
| D．he wanted to throw it back into the sea at first. |
Why did Richard Platz throw the bottle with the message into the sea?
| A．He expected his grandfather could find the postcard. |
| B．He wished the finder would send the postcard to his home. |
| C．He believed his postcard would be kept secret at sea forever. |
| D．He thought he could make friends with the finder of the bottle. |
What can be the best title for this passage?
| A．The finding of a floating bottle at the sea. |
| B．A one-century-old letter to a grandfather. |
| C．The world’s oldest message in a floating bottle. |
| D．The oldest Danish postcard in a floating bottle. |
| A factory tour this summer! Here are some great ones to consider. |
|
| The Jelly Belly Bean Company Fairfield, CA At this working factory, guests can watch the process of making this famous candy. Have lunch at the Visitor Center Café, where you can order a jelly bean-shaped pizza or hamburger! It is located an hour north of San Francisco. There’s no admission charge for the 40-minute walking tour. Tours are given most days from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, but come during a weekday to see the candy making in process. |
Louisville Slugger Baseball Bat Museum Louisville, KY See how each bat is carefully carved out at this family-favorite factory tour. Tour visitors leave with a miniature bat souvenir and personalized bats can be ordered when you arrive and picked up before you leave. Adult tickets are $9. Child tickets are $4. Ages five and under are free. It opens at 9:00 am Mondays through Saturdays. Check the website for specific days and times. |
| E-One Fire Truck Factory Ocala, FL Take this walking tour of a plant in Florida and see for yourself the technology and skill required to build these emergency vehicles. Tours are offered Monday to Friday, at 9:00 am and 11:00 am. Prices are $8 for adults and $6 for children. Kids under 6 are not permitted on the tour for safety reasons. Reservations are required for all tours. Please call 352-861-3524 to schedule a tour. Firefighters can tour for free! |
Crayola Crayon Company Easton, PA No, this isn’t the actual place where the waxy rainbows are made. But it’s an even-better visitor center where families can not only see how crayons are made, but can explore and use the wide variety of Crayola art tools and products. Kids can use the latest Crayola products to create masterpieces on site. The visitor center is open most days from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm. The online calendar shows special hours, themes, and daily activities. Tickets are $9.50 each. |
Which of the following is true about the Jelly Belly Bean Company?
| A．Three meals are prepared for you. |
| B．It lies to the north of San Francisco. |
| C．You have to spend some money visiting it. |
| D．It is open every day. |
If a five-year-old boy and his parents visit Louisville Slugger Baseball Bat Museum, they have to pay _______.
| A．$22 | B．$13 | C．$17 | D．$18 |
The factory tour this summer involves _______.
| A．politics, economics, science and culture |
| B．diet, sports, traffic and art |
| C．history, literature, education and custom |
| D．health, invention, astronomy and car |
Wikipedia (维基百科) is a non-profit website funded by donations, started on 15thJanuary, 2001. “Wiki” means “quick” in the Hawaiian language. These days, most people go straight to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia (百科), to look something up. But how reliable is it?
The site attracts 78 million visitors every month, and it is available in more than 270 different languages. It’s one of the most comprehensive (综合的) resources available, and it’s got much more information than an ordinary encyclopedia. The site is updated on a daily basis by thousands of people around the world. Anyone with an Internet connection can look through and edit the contents or add a new page at any time. And you don’t need any formal training.
Of course, there are some controls. Wikipedia has a team of more than 1,500 administrators who check for false information. And main targets for horrible comments (such as politicians) are forbidden to public editing. But with more than 16 million articles to keep an eye on, it isn’t easy. So, while Wikipedia benefits from being constantly updated with information from all over the world, it’s also open to “vandals”(故意捣乱者).
Some of the damage is easy to notice. Someone drew horns and a moustache on Microsoft chairman Bill Gates’ photo. But other things are harder to spot. The most common form of vandalism involves adding tiny items of false information into the biography of a famous person. Unbelievably, some of this misinformation has appeared in newspapers, withThe Daily Mail, The GuardianandThe Independentall having fallen victim to the tricks. For example, in an obituary (讣告) for British comedian Sir Norman Wisdom, one newspaper claimed that he co-wrote Dame Vera Lynn’s wartime song “There’ll be Bluebirds over the White Cliffs of Dover”. In fact, he did no such thing.
So if you’re going to use any information from Wikipedia, make sure you double-check it first.What do we know about Wikipedia?
| A．It makes profits from its users. |
| B．It is run by the Hawaiian government. |
| C．It provides a huge amount of information. |
| D．It is the most popular website worldwide. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A． 78 million people visit Wiki each day |
| B．To forbid wrong public editings is quite easy |
| C． Formal education is needed to do editing for Wifi |
| D．Some people change the information on Wiki just for fun |
The example of Norman Wisdom’s obituary is used to show _________.
| A．Wikipedia sometimes contains false information |
| B．some newspapers likeThe Guardianare irresponsible |
| C．Norman Wisdom is unpopular with some people |
| D．Wikipedia affects people’s lives greatly |
What does the author advise readers to do?
| A．To look through Wikipedia frequently. |
| B．To update Wikipedia on a daily basis. |
| C．To turn to other websites for valid information. |
| D．To be careful when using the information from Wikipedia. |