New archaeological discoveries suggest that trade between E
urope and Asia along the Silk Road probably began in some form many centuries earlier than once thought. The findings, coupled with a widening range of scientific and historical research could add a fascinating new page to the epic (史诗) of the Silk Road.
The most surprising discovery is pieces of silk found in the hair of an Egyptian mummy from about 1000 BC, long before regular traffic on the Silk Road and at least one thousand years before silk was previously thought to be used in Egypt. Other research may extend human activity along this route back even further, perhaps a million years to the migration of human ancestors into eastern Asia.
The official origin of East-West trade along the road is usually placed in the late 2nd century BC when an agent of the Chinese Emperor Wu-di returned from a dangerous secret mission（使命）across the desert into the remote high country of Central Asia. The agent, Zhang Qian, travelled as far as Afghanistan and brought back knowledge of even more distant lands such as Persia, Syria and a place known as Lijien, perhaps Rome. Historians have called this one of the most important journeys in ancient times. His journey opened the way for what have been thought to be the first indirect contacts between the ancient world’s two superpowers, China and Rome. Chinese silk, first traded to central Asian tribes for war horses and to the Parthian for acrobats and ostrich eggs, was soon finding its way through a network of merchants to the luxury (奢侈品) markets in Rome.
But the new discoveries show that Chinese silk was apparently present in the West long before the Han emperor started organized trade over the Silk Road. The research could change thinking about the early history of world trade and provide insights into the mystery of just how and when Europe and the Mediterranean lands first became aware of the glorious culture at the other end of Eurasia. The word “coupled” in the first paragraph could best be replaced by .
| A．combined | B．contributed | C．doubled | D．produced |
The silk thread found in the hair of an Egyptian mummy suggests that .
| A．Egyptians had probably travelled to China to buy silk |
B．new light can now be thrown on ancient trading pr actices |
| C．historical research often achieves fascinating results |
| D．trade along the Silk Road began earlier than once thought |
Until recently historians mostly believed that trade along the Silk Road .
| A．began a million years ago |
| B．primarily benefited the Egyptians |
| C．originated in the 2nd century BC |
| D．extended human migration into eastern Asia |
Historians have always considered Zhang Qian’s mission important because they believe .
| A．he discovered the Silk Road |
| B．he helped establish East-West trade |
| C．he travelled as far as Afghanistan |
| D．he brought back knowledge of Rome to the emperor |
Culture means any human behavior that is learned in human society. All of the meaningful parts of a culture are passed on to different generations through tradition or social learning. From this view point, all human groups have a culture. Culture exists in agricultural as well as industrialized societies.
Culture is necessary for the survival and existence of human beings as human beings. Practically everything humans know, think, value, feel, and do is learned through taking part in a socio-cultural system. This statement is well supported by some well-written cases. Here is one of the cases of children growing up apart from human society. In the province of Kidnaper in India, the director of a children’s home was told by local villagers that there were “ghost（鬼）” in the forest. Upon looking into the case, the director found that two children, one about eight years old and the other about six years old, appeared to have been living with a pack of wolves in the forest. These children were the ghosts described by the local people. In his diary, the director describes his first view of Kamala(as the older child was named) and Amala(the name given to the younger child).
Kamala was a terrible-looking being—the head, a big ball of something covering the shoulders. Close at its heels there came another terrible creature exactly like the first, but smaller in size. Their eyes were very bright and sharp, unlike human eyes. They were very fond of raw meat and raw milk. Gradually, as they got stronger, they began going on all fours, and afterwards began to run on all fours like squirrels. Children learn human language in the same way they learn other kinds of human behavior by taking part in a cultural community. They learn a certain human language as well as certain kinds of human behavior through their membership in a certain cultural community.
1. From the passage we can learn that .
A. human beings can develop human abilities only if they are raised by their biological parents
B. Amala and Kamala were raised in forest by ghosts
C. human beings will not grow up human unless they are raised by human beings in human culture
D. culture refers only to the high art and classical music of a particular society
2. Who were the “ghosts” of the Kidnapper forest seen by the local villagers?
A. They were two children Amala and Kamala, who ran on fours.
B. They were two squirrels, Amala and Kamala, who ran on fours.
C. They were two young wolves, Amala and Kamala, whose eyes were bright and sharp.
D. They were two children, Amala and Kamala, who were growing up in a children’s home.
3. How would you understand the description by the director “they began going on all fours,” in his
diary?
A. They began to continue with all their four eyes.
B. They started walking with their four feet.
C. They began going with their four hands.
D. They started walking with both their hands and feet.
4. Which of the following do you think is the best title to this passage?
A. Wolf-childrenB. Culture and Human Behavior
C. Culture and Language LearningD. A director’s Diary
Pocket Tape-Recorders“Family and Home Magazine”test what’s on the market now.
1）Pearlcorder S702 $64
This simple model at the bottom of the Olympus range scored the most points for its excellent quality of recording. Background noise hardly affects the sound and recording from a pocket is perfectly possible, but it doesn’t turn off automatically.
Tape length: 30 minutes per side. Weight:240g.
2）Sony M9 $49.95
Small and very good looking, sony’s latest offering scored most for appearance. Sounds clear, but there is slight machine noise. The big control buttons are a great improvement on some of the complicated little controls on other tape-recorders. Doesn’t switch off automatically but a red light shows if the machine is still running.
Tape length: 60 minutes per side. Weight: 195g.
3）Sony M400 $115
Lots of little control buttons that make a noise and are difficult to use . Recording was good but machine noise lost points. Tape counter and automatic switch-off when tape has finished recording or rewinding are useful Tape length: 60 minutes per side. Weight: 230g.
4）Imperial OEM. MC $29.95
Cheap and simple compared with the rest, but recording was good as long as there was no background noise. Use only its own make of cassette. No light to show it is on; no fast forward button and the record button makes a loud noise.
Tape length: 30 minutes per side. Weight: 285g.
5）Philips 585 $80
Handsome and simple to use, but recording is very poor at more than the recommended distance of 5 cm-designed for dictation. No recording light. Tape length: 15 minutes per side. Weight: 220g.
1．The machine that produces the best recording with the least unwanted noise is the .
A．Pearlcorder S702 B．Sony M9 C．Sony M400 D．Imperial OEM MC7
2．It you want a machine which turns off automatically and weighs very little you should choose the .
A．Pearlcorder S702 B．Sony M9 C．Sony M400 D．Philips 585
3．Which machine is unsuitable for general use?
A．Pearlcorder S702 B．Imperial OEM MC7
C．Sony M400 D．Philips 585
4．What disadvantage does only the Imperial OEM MC7 have?
A．No light shows when it is on B．It requires a special cassette.
C．It picks up background noise. D．The record button makes a noise.
Growing up in Philadelphia, Lieberman started cooking with his stay-at-home dad when he was seven. His food-loving family had two kitchens, and he quickly learned what was the best way to bake his cakes. Lieberman improved his kitchen skills greatly during a year abroad before college, learning from a cook in Italy and studying local specialties（地方特色菜）in Germany, Spain and France. At Yale, he was known for throwing dinner parties, single-handedly frying and baking while mixing drinks for dozens of friends. Just for fun, he and some friends decided to tape a show named Campus Cuisine about his cooking. Lieberman was a real college student showing his classmates how to do things like making drinks out of dining-hall fruit. That helped the show become very popular among the students. They would stop Lieberman after classes to ask for his advice on cooking. Tapes of the show were passed around, with which his name went beyond the school and finally to the Food Network.
Food Network producer Flay hopes the young cook will find a place on the network television. He says Lieberman’s charisma is key. “Food TV isn’t about food anymore,” says Flay. “It’s about your personality and finding a way to keep people’s eyeballs on your show.”
But Lieberman isn’t putting all his eggs in one basket. After taping the first season of the new show, Lieberman was back in his own small kitchen preparing sandwiches. An airline company was looking for some one to come up with a tasteful, inexpensive and easy-to-make menu to serve on its flights, Lieberman got the job.
1. We can learn from the text that Lieberman’s family ____.
A. have relatives in Europe B own a restaurant.
C. love cooking at home D. often hold parties
2. The Food Network got to know Lieberman ____.
A. through his taped show B. from his teachers
C. at one of his parties D. on a television program
3. What does the word “charisma” underlined in the text refer to?
A. Lieberman’s fine cooking skill. B. A way to show one’s achievement.
C. Lieberman’s after-class interest. D. A natural ability to attract others.
4. Why did the airline company give Lieberman the job?
A. He could prepare meals in a small kitchen.
B. He could cook cheap, delicious and simple meals.
C. He was good at using eggs to make sandwiches.
D. He was famous for his shows on Food TV.
5. What can we learn about Lieberman from the text?
A. he is friendly and active. B. He is clever but lonely.
C. He enjoys traveling around. D. He often changes his menus.
Once again, I was in a new school. So was a girl in my class named Lisa. That’s where the similarities ended.
I was tall and she was small. My thick black hair had been recently cut short into an untidy style. Her natural blonde hair flowed to her waist and looked great. I was 12 and one of the oldest in the class while she was 11 and the youngest. I was awkward and shy. She wasn’t. I couldn’t stand her, considering her my enemy. But she liked me and wanted to be friends.
One day, she invited me over and I said yes—I was too shocked to answer any other way. My family had moved six times in six years, and I had never managed to develop any friendships. But this girl who wore the latest fashions wanted me to go home with her after school..
She lived in a fun part of town that had two pizza places, an all-right bookstore, a movie theater and a park. As we walked from the school bus stop through her neighborhood, I tried to guess which house might be hers. Was it the white one with the perfect lawn or the three –story house with a front porch? I got very surprised when she led me into an old apartment building. She lived on the fourth floor in a two-room place with her mother, her stepfather, her two brothers and her sister.
When we got into the room she shared with her sister, she took out a big case of Barbies, which was my next surprise. I had never played with them. We sat on the floor, laughing as we made up crazy stories about the Barbies. We found out that we both wanted to be writers when we were older and both had wild imaginations. We had a great day that afternoon.
Lisa was loved by the whole neighborhood. The bookstore owners lent her fashion magazines; the movie theater gave her free tickets…. Soon I was included in her magic world. We slept over at each other’s houses and spent every free moment together.
Lisa, my first real friend since childhood, helped me get through the rough years of early adolescence and taught me an amazing and very surprising thing about making friends: your worst enemy can turn out to be your best friend.
1．The writer and Lisa were similar in the way that .
A．they were both tall B．they had the same hair styles
C．they were both new students D．they were of the same age
2．One day Lisa invited the writer .
A．to go to the movie B．to go to walk in a park
C．to go to her home D．to go to a pizza place
3．In the passage the writer described Lisa as a girl who was .
A．friendly and lovely B．rich and happy
C．quiet and lonely D．awkward and shy
4．Which of the following did the writer learn from Lisa?
A．How to make up stories. B．How to deal with enemies.
C．How to live a better life. D．How to make friends.
第三部分阅读理解(共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
The Kingdome in Seattle was destroyed on March 26，2000．It was taken down to make room for a new stadium．The blast(爆破)from the falling building caused the earth to shake as if an earthquake had happened．
Scientists placed more than 200 earthquake recorders in the earth to measure the movement．They found which parts of the city shook the most．This information helped them know which parts of the city would be damaged in a real earthquake at an early time．
A real earthquake happened on February 28, 2001 in Seattle．The Nisqually earthquake was 6.8 on the Richter scale(里氏)．It damaged the same parts of Seattle that scientists had predicted from the pulling down of the Kingdome．It was a plate quake．It started deep in the earth, 37 miles below the surface on the Juan de Fuca Plate．Sometimes，huge plates under the earth cause earthquakes when the plates move against each other suddenly．
Scientists have learned that deep earthquakes have very few aftershocks．The Nisqually earthquake had only 4 ones．Another earthquake in California that was close to the surface had over 120 aftershocks．Scientists do not know why the deep earthquakes have fewer aftershocks．
Scientists plan to blast in the ground near Seattle with the purpose of testing the plate．The shockwaves from the blast will jump off the plate and give them all idea of where the plate is and how it is moving．This will give them more information in case another real earthquake hits the area．
1．What will happen after a deep earthquake according to the scientists?
A．There will be very few aftershocks
B．There will be many aftershocks．
C．There will be little damage．
D．The Richter scale of the quakes will be 6.8 or more．
2．According to the passage， have the most aftershocks．
A．deep earthquakes
B．shockwave earthquakes
C．earthquakes more than 6.8 Richter scale
D．earthquakes close to the surface
3．By studying the blast in the ground near Seattle, scientists hope to
A．destroy the Kingdome
B．find out how many plates there are in the ground there
C．learn where the plate is and how it is moving
D．know which places are likely to have the most damage