Zheng He (1371-1435), or Cheng Ho, is arguably（可论证地） China’s most famous navigator. Starting from the beginning of the 15th Century, he traveled to the West seven times. In 28 years, he traveled more than 50,000km and visited over 30 countries, including Singapore. Zheng He died in the tenth year of the reign（统治） of the Ming emperor Xuande (1435) and was buried in the southern suburbs of Bull’s Head Hill (Niushou) in Nanjing.
In 1985, during the 580th anniversary（周年纪念） of Zheng He’s voyage, his tomb（坟墓） was rebuilt. The new tomb was built on the site of the original tomb in Nanjing and reconstructed according to the customs of Islamic teachings, as Zheng He was a Muslim.
At the entrance to the tomb is a Ming-style building, which was a memorial hall. Inside are paintings of the man himself and his navigation maps. To get to the tomb, there are newly laid stone platforms and steps. The stairway consists of 28 stone steps that are divided into four sections with each section having seven steps. This represents Zheng He’s seven journeys to the West. The Arabic words which mean “Allah (God) is great” are written on top of the tomb.
Zheng He built many wooden ships, some of which are the largest in history, in Nanjing. Three of the shipyards still exist today.
56. Zheng He’s tomb was rebuilt ________.
A. because he was a Muslim B. following the Islamic customs
C. to celebrate Zheng’s 580th birthday D. beside the original one
57. You can see _____ at Zheng He’s tomb.
A. a Ming-style hall in the tomb B. ZhengHe’s portraits and his maps for his voyage
C. Arabic-style buildings and materials D. four flights of 28 stone steps
58. The passage mainly tells us ______.
A. how ZhengHe built his ships B. something about his tomb
C. that ZhengHe was a Muslim navigator D. about ZhengHe, his voyages and his tomb
Every year in late April, students at Renmin University of China become the subjects of admiration and jealousy of their peers on other campuses in Beijing. Why? Because they get a week off in the middle of term, the so-called spring break.
“It’s been a unique tradition of our school for a decade,” said Wang Yueran, 20, a journalism major at Renmin University, who organized a weeklong trip to Sichuan with 12 classmates last year.
But having fun is just one dimension of the spring break. Field trips, voluntary work, and social projects are all on students’ to-do lists. Experts say the spring break is not just for students to enjoy a few days off, but for them to gain new experiences beyond the campus walls.
Push them out
The traditional Chinese belief of the exploration of knowledge and truth emphasizes “reading 10,000 books and traveling 10,000 miles”, which indicates the importance of experience as much as theory. But while Chinese universities have the tradition of spring outings, what’s the benefit of making spring break an institution?
Qin Jianguo, of the student affairs office at Shenzhen University, thinks the idea of the spring break in some universities in China comes from the intention of pushing students out of theivory towerto experience morediversityin their lives.
“Take traveling for example. A week traveling is a very different experience to a one- or two-day outing,” said Qin. “Students are expected to acquire the spirit of teamwork and compromise, and learn survival and communication skills when put out there in an unfamiliar context.”
Diverse approaches
Many countries have similar vacations in the middle of the semester for students to do things out of their own interest. Taking Japan as an example, instead of partying like their US counterparts, many Japanese students choose to work as interns or engage in study-related projects.
“The spring break is an opportunity for many of our students to put their learning to use,” said Hiroshi Kanno, dean of the Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy at Hitotsubashi University, in the school’s description of a recent spring break project.
As for Chinese students who take a week off around the Labor Day holiday, many tend to do volunteer work. Duan Zhipeng, a 22-year-old economics major at Renmin University, applied for a project to go back to his hometown in Jiangxi province to introduce his university’s enrollment policies and campus culture to local high school students.
Not a trend yet
Apart from Renmin University, only a few other universities, such as Yantai University, have a spring break for their students. The concept in China is still far from the culture and norms built around it in the US.
Wei Xiang, a professor specializing in holiday economics at Beijing International Studies University, said that the spring break is a good experiment for universities to make study schedules smoother in order to give students more options to arrange their own leisure and study activities.According to the text, up to now, Apart from Renmin University, which University has a spring break for their students.
| A．Yantai University |
| B．Peking University |
| C．Suzhou University |
| D．Nankai University |
The underlined word “it” refers to ______
| A．field trips | B．exploration of knowledge |
| C．spring break | D．ivory tower |
According to the passage,why do the students in the other universities admire the students at Renmin University?
| A．Because they tend to do volunteer work. |
| B．Because they go home to meet their relatives. |
| C．Because they get a spring break. |
| D．Because they have lesser courses . |
Which of the following is the best title?
| A．Reading 10,000 books and traveling 10,000 miles |
| B．Spring break expands horizons |
| C．Enjoy yourselves |
| D．A weeklong trip |
Which of the following is Not true according to the passage?
| A．Spring break can help students to gain new experiences beyond the campus walls. |
| B．Students are expected to acquire the spirit of teamwork through pring break. |
| C．Spring break can help students tolearn survival and communication skills when in an unfamiliar context. |
| D．Spring break is not common in the US. |
Air pollution by sources ranging from cooking fires to auto fumes contributed to an estimated seven million deaths worldwide in 2012, the UN health agency has said.
"Air pollution, and we're talking about both indoors and outdoors, is now the biggest environmental health problem, and it is affecting everyone, both developed and developing countries," said Maria Neira, the World Health Organisation's public and environmental health chief.
Globally, pollution was linked to one death in eight in 2012, new WHO research found.
The biggest pollution-related killers were heart disease, stroke, pulmonary disease and lung cancer.
The hardest-hit regions of the globe were what the WHO labels Southeast Asia, which includes India and Indonesia, and the Western Pacific, ranging from China and South Korea to Japan and the Philippines. Together, they accounted for 5.9 million deaths.
The global death toll included 4.3 million deaths due to indoor air pollution, chiefly caused by cooking over coal, wood and biomass stoves. The toll from outdoor pollution was 3.7 million, with sources ranging from coal heating fires to diesel engines.
Many people are exposed to both indoor and outdoor pollution, the WHO said, and due to that overlap the separate death toll attributed to the two sources cannot simply be added together, hence the figure of seven million deaths. The new figure is "shocking and worrying", Ms Neira told reporters.
When it last released an estimate for deaths related to air pollution, in 2008, the agency had put the figure related to outdoor pollution at 1.3 million, while the number blamed on indoor pollution was 1.9 million. But a change in research methods makes comparison difficult between the 2008 estimate and the 2012 figures, Neira said.
In the past, for example, the WHO did not take into account the overlap between exposure to both forms, and only assessed urban pollution. Satellite imagery has made it easier to assess rural pollution, and new knowledge about the health impact of exposure has enabled a better count. "The risks from air pollution are now far greater than previously thought or understood, particularly for heart disease and strokes," said Neira. "Few risks have a greater impact on global health today than air pollution. The evidence signals the need for concerted action to clean up the air we all breathe."
According to the WHO, some 2.9 billion people in poor nations live in homes that use fires as their principle method of cooking and heating. Carlos Dora, the WHO's public and environmental health coordinator, said that turned homes into "combustion chambers". Simple measures to stem the impact include so-called "clean cook stoves", which are a low-tech option, as well as improved ventilation, he said.
Countries also need to rethink policies, Mr Dora said, pointing to the impact in the developed world of a shift to cleaner power sources, more efficient management of energy demand, and technical strides in the auto industry. He also said transport policies needed a shake-up. With air pollution having sparked a recent scare in France, leading to restrictions on car use and the temporary scrapping of public transport fees in Paris, Mr Dora said such measures could be applied in the longer term. "You can't buy clean air in a bottle," he said."The air is a shared resource. In order to breathe clean air, we have to have interventions in the areas that pollute air." The WHO said it planned by the end of this year to release a ranking of the world's 1,600 most polluted cities.The main idea of this article is that .
| A．In the past, the WHO did not take into account the overlap between exposure to both forms. |
| B．Air pollution by sources ranging from cooking fires to auto fumes caused an estimated seven million deaths worldwide in 2012. |
| C．According to the WHO, some 2.9 billion people use fires as their principle method of cooking and heating. |
| D．The WHO will release a ranking of the world's 1,600 most polluted cities by the end of this year. |
The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to “ ”..
| A．The risks |
| B．cooking fires |
| C．environmental health problem |
| D．Air pollution |
Which of the following is True according to the passage? .
| A．The biggest pollution-related killers were heart disease, stroke, pulmonary disease and lung cancer. |
| B．Air pollution only affects developing countries. |
| C．The risks from air pollution are now not serious. |
| D．Maria Neira said that we can't buy clean air in a bottle. |
What is main idea of the last paragraph?
| A．The air is a our shared resource. |
| B．The WHO will release a ranking of the world's 1,600 most polluted cities. |
| C．The government should make effective policies to control the air pollution. |
| D．The transport policies need a shake-up. |
The death toll in 2008 can hardly compare with that in 2012 because________.
| A．the death toll included 4.3 million deaths due to indoor air pollution. |
| B．in 2008 the WHO only assessed rural pollution. |
| C．the research methods changed. |
| D．the risks from air pollution are now far greater than previously thought. |
U.S. first lady Michelle Obama arrived in Beijing on Thursday evening, the official Xinhua news agency said, beginning a hotly anticipated week-long trip during which she will promote education and cultural ties.
Obama, a Harvard-educated lawyer, is expected to spend Friday with China's charismatic first lady, Peng Liyuan, who is admired at home as both a glamorous songstress and fashion icon.
Besides Beijing, Obama will visit the western historic city of Xi'an and the southern city of Chengdu, where she will visit a panda preserve. Obama's two daughters are accompanying her, as well as her mother. She also plans to visit American and Chinese students to promote education and cultural exchanges, and visit historical landmarks like the Great Wall of China.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the visit would help deepen ties between the world's two largest economies. "We believe that this visit will play an important role in increasing mutual understanding between the two countries and expanding friendship." Hong told reporters ahead of Obama's arrival.
News of Obama's arrival spread fast on Sina Weibo, where users speculated on what the trip would bring - as well as what Obama would wear and eat. "Two intellectual women playing the game of great power politics - how beautiful." wrote one user.The underlined word “charismatic” in Paragraph 2 probably means _____.
| A．smart | B．serious |
| C．charming | D．kindhearted |
From this passage we know that U.S. first lady Michelle Obama _____
| A．is a Harvard-educated lawyer | B．will visit China alone |
| C．arrived in Beijing on Friday evening | D．will promote laws and cultural exchanges. |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Michelle Obama will visit the western historic city of Xi'an and the southern city of Chengdu. |
| B．Sina Weibo users didn’t care about what the trip would bring. |
| C．Michelle Obama is expected to spend Friday with China's first lady, Peng Liyuan. |
| D．The U.S. first lady Michelle Obama will visit historical landmarks like the Great Wall of China. |
In which part of a magazine can we probably read this passage?
| A．Entertainment. | B．Education. | C．Culture. | D．News. |
According to the Foreign Ministry spokesman，which of the following is NOT true？
| A．The visit would help deepen ties between the world's two largest economies. |
| B．The visit will play an important role in increasing mutual understanding between the two countries. |
| C．The visit will promote education and cultural exchanges. |
| D．The visit will expand mutual friendship between the two countries. |
A time capsule buried by Apple founder Steve Jobs 30 years ago has been discovered after its location was long forgotten.In 1983, the young tech innovator was attending a conference in Aspen when he and the group decided to bury as a stunt during a design convention.
The tube that was filled with an eclectic collection of goods- ranging from the then-new apple mouse to a six-pack of beer for the people who discovered the time capsule- was meant to be dug up 20 years later.
There was a problem with that plan, however, as everyone involved forgot where it was buried.
The final discovery happened at the hands of the crew from the National Geographic Channel`s reality show called Diggers.The discovery was well documented and is surely going to be featured on an upcoming episode, and even the experts had problems finding this particular treasure.
CNET reports that in spite of their preparations and clear idea of where the 13-foot-long tube was, it still took them two hours to dig it up using heavy machinery.
To anyone removed from the tech industry, the accomplishment in finding the tube appears to be the biggest accomplishment. To others, the most interesting object would likely be the `Lisa` mouse placed in the tube by the hands of a then-28-year-old Jobs.The Lisa Mouse, which Jobs named after his daughter, was one of the first commercial computer mice soled publicly, making it a rarity at the time.
The Aspen Historical Society is going to help the show creators catalogue the tube`s contents- but no word yet whether or not the Diggers cracked open one of the six bottles of Boddington`s Ale that was left inside for the people who found the tube.Who found the time capsule buried by Steve Jobs?
| A．Apple founder Steve Jobs himself. |
| B．the crew from the National Geographic Channel`s reality show called Diggers. |
| C．Steve Jobs' friends. |
| D．Steve Jobs’ daughter. |
Which is the best title of the passage ?
| A．A time capsule buried by Apple founder Steve Jobs. |
| B．Steve Jobs' plan. |
| C．Steve Jobs' time capsule is uncovered. |
| D．The tube by Steve Jobs. |
How old is Steve Jobs now?
| A．58 years old . |
| B．20 years old. |
| C．30 years old. |
| D．48 years old. |
BEIJING - China will build a nation-wide network within three to five years to monitor the impact of air pollution on health, a latest step to deal with a persistent smog crisis in big cities, an official said.
A total of 43 monitoring spots will be set up in 16 provinces and municipalities frequently engulfed by smog so as to facilitate research on air pollutants in different regions, the impact on the health of vulnerable groups and the study of related diseases, said Xu Dongqun, an official with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
With funds allocated by the central government, the study will provide reference for preventive efforts to reduce the PM 2.5, Xu said.
Thick and dangerous smog have hit 17 provinces and municipalities with a population of 600 million this year. One of the major cities is Beijing, which has been shrouded in smog for several days during the ongoing seven-day national holiday in 2013.
China recently issued a 1.75 trillion-yuan (284.2 billion U.S. dollars) plan to deal with the worsening air, improving air quality within five years in order to decrease the number of heavily polluted days and improve the air in major city clusters. China will build a nation-wide network in order to_________.
| A．monitor the impact of air pollution on health |
| B．improve air quality |
| C．improve air pollution |
| D．increase the PM 2.5 |
The underlined word “persistent” means“________”.
| A．短时的 | B．持久的 | C．短暂的 | D．停留的 |
China will take measures to deal with air pollution except________.
| A．China recently issued a 1.75 trillion-yuan (284.2 billion U.S. dollars) plan |
| B．set up monitoring spots in 16 provinces and municipalities |
| C．improveliving standard |
| D．improve the air in major city clusters |
We can infer from the paragraph________.
| A．Thick and dangerous smog have hit 17 provinces and municipalities |
| B．air pollution impacted a population of 600 million this year |
| C．The people in Beijing probably wore masks when they walked on the street during the national holiday in 2013. |
| D．the study will provide reference for preventive efforts to reduce the PM 2.5 |