There are many thoughts on the origins of civilization. One of the major factors involved was the increase in population. The development of techniques, primarily irrigation and flood control, which permitted agriculture in special areas such as the flood plain of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, made possible the support of large population. Once populations reach a certain number, the older pattern of social organization breaks down and new ones develop. Specifically the older system, whereby each individual participated in food production and maintained a similar standard of living and whereby kinship(家属关系) served as the basic method of social organization, was replaced by the occupational division of labor, political and religious hierarchies(等级制度), public works such as road and public building construction, class systems, codes of law, markets, new forms of warfare, and urban centres. Allied with these important sociological traits are material traits, such as monumental architecture and the development of science and, in many cases, metallurgy(冶金学) and writing systems.
The earliest civilization, Sumer, developed in the Middle East. This was the Bronze Age of the Old World, during which people first developed the art of metallurgy, civilization also arose in other parts of the Old World, first in Egypt, China, and India, and later in Europe and Africa. At this time, civilization also developed independently in the New World, in the Mexican area and in Peru and its adjacent(邻近的) areas.
In the Old World the Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age, which saw the rise and fall of great empires and the shift of power from the Middle East to Greece and Rome and then to Western Europe. In the 1700s the Industrial Age began, leading directly to the modern civilization of today.
46. The author of this passage __________________________________.
A. gives a comparison between ancient civilization and modern civilization
B. suggests that population increase is most important in the development of civilization
C. tries to explain how civilization developed in human history
D. explore the relation between agriculture and industry
47. According to the first paragraph, the increase in population __________________.
A. resulted in the development of agricultural technology
B. resulted from the breakdown of old social organization
C. caused the occupational division of labor
D. was impossible without the development of agriculture
48. The word “traits” in Paragraph One most likely means ____________________.
A. main appearances B. great achievements
C. distinguishing features D. outstanding successes
49. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. The Bronze Age is one of the earliest civilizations.
B. The Industrial Age started in the Middle East.
C. The Bronze Age developed into the Iron Age.
D. The use of metal instruments started from the Bronze Age.
50. Which of the following is NOT included in the expression “the Old World” used in the passage?
A. American continent. B. Both Western and Eastern Europe.
C. African continent. D. Asian countries.
There are a number of special days of the year that are celebrated in different countries.The origins of most of the days are unknown.They were certainly not created by individual people.Other days，however，especially those celebrated in western countries often owe their origins to a particular person.One of the most popular of these，even though it is fairly recent，is Mother’s Day.Mothers have always been highly regarded in all cultures.The ancient Romans had a festival known as Hilaria，during which children took presents to the temple of the “Mother of the Gods”．The Christian Church adopted this idea and called it Mothering Sunday.However，over the years this custom was gradually forgotten，and almost disappeared by the end of the 19th century.
Born in 1864 in Virginia，USA，Anna Jarvis was a school teacher and believed children should show gratitude to their mothers for all their love and care.Encouraged by a friend，she wrote to thousands of important people—politicians，churchmen，doctors，city officials and asked them to support her idea：a special day of the year for thanking mothers.
In 1910 the Governor of West Virginia introduced Mother’s Day into the state.The date chosen was May 10—the second Sunday in May，which is still observed in America today.This date was chosen because May 10 was the date on which in 1908 Anna Jarvis’s mother died.In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson made May 10 the official date for Mother’s Day throughout the United States.
Soon there was a Mother’s Day International Association and the custom began to be adopted in many countries of the world.
Anna Jarvis，a sad and disillusioned woman died in 1948.The custom she had worked hard to establish and which had become almost universal had lost its original purpose.It had been taken over by business.As with Christmas，the giving of presents and the sending of cards had become a multimillion dollar industry.The story is about ________.
| A．Mothering Sunday for Christmas |
| B．the origin of a special day for mothers |
| C．President Wilson and Anna Jarvis |
| D．how people celebrate Mother’s Day |
Hilaria was a festival in ________.
| A．ancient Rome |
| B．America |
| C．China |
| D．the Christian Church |
Anna Jarvis wanted to ________.
| A．thank her mother for her care |
| B．introduce a celebration for mothers |
| C．meet thousands of important people |
| D．make her pupils celebrate her on Mother’s Day |
May 10 became the date for Mother’s Day because ________.
| A．May is in the American spring |
| B．it was the second Sunday in May in 1910 |
| C．President Wilson liked the date |
| D．this was the date on which Anna Jarvis’s mother died |
Unfortunately，Anna Jarvis was not happy with Mother’s Day when she died because ________.
| A．her mother was not there to see it |
| B．she had never been a mother herself |
| C．people were too interested in making it a business |
| D．no one gave any presents or cards to their mothers |
If you look for a book as a present for a child，you will be spoiled for choice even in a year where there is no new Harry Potter J．K Rowling’s wizard is not alone：the past decade has been a harvest for good children’s books，which has set off a large quantity of films and in turn led to increased sales of classics such as The Lord of the Rings.
Yet despite that，reading is increasingly unpopular among children.According to statistics，in 1997,23% said they didn’t like reading at all.In 2003,35% did.And around 6% of children leave primary school each year unable to read properly.
Maybe the decline is caused by the increasing availability of computer games.Maybe the books boom has affected only the top of the educational pile.Either way，Chancellor Gordon Brown plans to change things for the bottom of the class.In his prebudget report，he announced the national project of Reading Recovery to help the children struggling most.
Reading Recovery is aimed at six year olds，who receive four months of individual daily halfhour classes with a specially trained teacher.An evaluation earlier this year reported that children on the scheme made 20 months’ progress in just one year，whereas similarly weak readers without special help made just five months’ progress, and so ended the year even further below the level expected for their age.
International research tends to find that when British children leave primary school they read well，but read less often for fun than those elsewhere.Reading for fun matters because children who are keen on reading can expect lifelong pleasure and loving books is an excellent indicator of future educational success.According to the OECD，being a regular and enthusiastic reader is of great advantage.Which of the following is TRUE of Paragraph 1?
| A．Many children’s books have been adapted from films. |
| B．Many highquality children’s books have been published. |
| C．The sales of classics have led to the popularity of films. |
| D．The sales of presents for children have increased. |
Statistics suggested that________.
| A．the number of top students increased with the use of computers |
| B．a decreasing number of children showed interest in reading |
| C．a minority of primary school children read properly |
| D．a large percentage of children read regularly |
What do we know about Reading Recovery?
| A．An evaluation of it will be made sometime this year. |
| B．Weak readers on the project were the most hardworking. |
| C．It aims to train special teachers to help children with reading. |
| D．Children on the project showed noticeable progress in reading. |
Reading for fun is important because bookloving children________.
| A．take greater advantage of the project |
| B．show the potential to enjoy a long life |
| C．are likely to succeed in their education |
| D．would make excellent future researchers |
The aim of this text would probably be________.
| A．to overcome primary school pupils’ reading difficulty |
| B．to encourage the publication of more children’s books |
| C．to remind children of the importance of reading for fun |
| D．to introduce a way to improve early childhood reading |
One of the bestknown American writers of children’s books is Alfred Strong，or Doctor Strong，as he is better known to readers everywhere.Now，an art show called “Doctor Strong From Then To Now” is travelling around the United States.The pictures and drawings show the history of Doctor Strong.
Doctor Strong first became famous almost fifty years ago when his first children’s book was published.Since then，he has written fortyfive books that have sold more than one hundred million copies around the world.
Doctor Strong’s books are known for their easy use of words and colorful，handdrawn pictures.These drawings bring life to his imaginary creatures，The Cat in the Hat，Horton the Elephant，The Grinch Who Stole Christmas，and hundreds of others.
The San Diego Museum，in California，organized the show.It included about three hundred Doctor Strong’s original (最早的) drawings and some of his writings.
Most of Doctor Strong’s books，although written in a funny way，have serious messages.For example，in Mc Elligot’s Pool，he describes the danger of pollution.He discusses the arms race in The Butter Battle Book，written in nineteen eightyfour.
Doctor Strong is almost eightyfour years old now.He says he never plans to write stories just for children.He says he writes stories that interest people of all ages.He says he uses easy words so that everyone，even a child，can understand.Alfred Strong is a famous ________ in the United States.
| A．doctor |
| B．artist |
| C．writer |
| D．reader |
Doctor Strong first became famous in ________.
| A．his eighties when an art show was travelling around the United States |
| B．his fifties when his drawings and writings were published |
| C．nineteeneightyfour when his book Mc Elligot’s Pool was published |
| D．his thirties when his first book was published |
Doctor Strong’s books are very popular in America because ________.
| A．they are stories about animals such as cats，elephants and so on |
| B．they are written in easy words with colorful pictures |
| C．he organized an art show in California |
| D．they are written in a funny way |
His purpose of writing many such books is ________.
| A．to show his original pictures and drawings |
| B．to organize a special art show of his own |
| C．to make his readers laugh when they read his books |
| D．not only to interest people but to expose(uncover)some serious social problems |
Doctor Strong says he writes his stories ________.
| A．for all people |
| B．for all his patients |
| C．just for grownups |
| D．just for children |
I suppose that having been brought up in the countryside and close to animals，it wasn’t remarkable(不平常的)when I decided to become a vet(兽医)．Luckily I was also good at all the necessary science subjects.So after the college entrance examination I found myself at a veterinary college，training to look after animals in all kinds of situations.I hoped that I would be able to work in the research field so that I could find cures for animal diseases.
Much to my surprise，I found public health care was a very important aspect of my course. This is an area of animal medicine where a vet’s work has many things in common with the work of a doctor of human diseases.I particularly liked it because I recognized that the study of animal diseases can help human medicine.As we know，many infectious diseases come from animals—including SARS and bird flu.
Some of the infections have only been understood after carefully analytical work in labs by animal doctors. They helped identify the animal source for diseases such as SARS. They were also the first to identify various kinds of viruses. Sometimes vets are also able to suggest a cure for human illnesses.When I found this out I was determined to make public health medicine my chosen career.
After graduation，I applied for a job in public health.Soon I found myself concerned with the problem of bird flu.This is an illness that attacks birds，but humans can catch the disease if they are in close contact with infected birds.Though the job is dangerous，it makes me proud that vets and other animal disease researchers are in the front line helping to fight these unknown human diseases.The writer wanted to become a vet mainly because
______.
| A．he did well in all necessary subjects |
| B．he wanted to help animals |
| C．he was close to animals in his early life |
| D．he wanted to find cures for human diseases |
What made the writer particularly like the course of public health care was that________.
| A．it was both important and interesting |
| B．it could help him connect many human diseases with animals |
| C．it made a vet’s work very much like a doctor’s |
| D．it could help human medicine by studying animal diseases |
What can be followed if this passage continues?
| A．The writer’s happy family life. |
| B．How the writer did research work in studying bird flu. |
| C．How the writer dealt with the relationship with other workmates. |
| D．What difficulty the writer met in the research work. |
Which of the following is implied in the passage?
| A．Animals with infectious diseases should be killed. |
| B．Keeping animals is dangerous to humans. |
| C．Dangerous as a vet’s job is，it is significant to the human race. |
| D．Animal researchers work in the same way as human doctors. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Being a vet is helpful to both animals and humans. |
| B．Vets can cure both animals and humans. |
| C．Vets helped identify animal resources for SARS. |
| D．Both SARS and bird flu are infectious diseases coming from animals. |
Language experts say that spoken English was almost the same in the American colonies and Britain two hundred years ago.Americans began to change the sound of their speech after the Revolutionary War in seventeenseventysix. They wanted to make it different to separate themselves from the British in language，in the same way they separated themselves from the British government.
Some American leaders proposed major changes in the language.Benjamin Franklin wanted a whole new system of spelling.His reforms were not accepted. But his ideas did influence others.One was Noah Webster.
Webster wrote language books for schools.He believed the United States should have a system of its own language as well as government.Webster published a dictionary of the American language in eighteentwentyeight. It established rules for speaking and spelling the words used in American English.
Webster wrote that all words should be said in the order of the letters that spell them.This is why Americans use the letters“e-r”to end many words instead of the British“r-e.”He spelled the word“center，”for example，“c-e-n-t-e-r，”instead of the British“c-e-n-t-r-e.”
Webster’s rule for saying every part of a word made American English easier for foreign settlers to learn.They learned to say“waistcoat，”for example，the way it is spelled instead of the British“weskit.”
The different languages of many people who came to the United States also helped make American and British English different.Many of their foreign words and expressions became part of English as Americans speak them.
Sometimes Americans and British people do not understand each other because of different word meanings. For example，the word“jumper”in Britain means a sweater.In the United States，it is a dress.The British word“brolly” is an“umbrella”in America.And the British call potato chips“crisps”．All of these differences led British writer George Bernard Shaw to joke that Britain and America are two countries separated by the same language!What does the underlined word“it”in the first paragraph refer to?
| A．Separating themselves from the British in language. |
| B．Written English in America. |
| C．Spoken English in America. |
| D．Spoken English in Britain. |
Why did American want their language to differ from British English?
| A．Because they found British English hard to speak. |
| B．Because they found British English hard to spell. |
| C．Because they wanted to have their own language and government. |
| D．Because foreign settlers wanted them to change their language. |
Why do Americans use the word“meter”instead of the word“metre”？
| A．Because Benjamin Franklin didn’t like the word“metre”． |
| B．Because the word“meter”was absorbed from other languages. |
| C．Because Webster thought the word should be said in order of the letters that are spelt. |
| D．Because Webster thought American English should be made easier for foreign settlers to learn. |
Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons why English began to change in America?
| A．The government leaders. |
| B．Noah Webster. |
| C．Immigration to America. |
| D．The difficulty Americans had in understanding the British. |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．Noah Webster’s simplifying the spelling of English words. |
| B．Differences and similarities between British and American English. |
| C．The reasons why American English was formed and its development. |
| D．Varieties of English throughout the world. |