Runners in a relay race pass a stick in one direction．However，merchants(商人) passed silk，gold, fruit，and g1ass 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 A.D.1300, 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 centre 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.·It’s probable that traders along the Silk Road needed__________.
| A．to remember the entire trade route |
| B．to deal with a lot of difficulties |
| C．to receive certain special training |
| D．to know the making of products |
The Silk Road became less important because___________.
| A．sea travel provided easier routes |
| B．silk trading became less popular |
| C．it was made up of different routes |
| D．people needed fewer foreign goods |
New technologies could travel along the Silk Road because people_________·
| A．traded goods along the route | B．shared each other’s beliefs |
| C．1earned from one another | D．earned their living by traveling |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．The Silk Road: Pathways for Learning |
| B．The Silk Road：Past and Present |
| C．The Silk Road: Routes Full of Dangers |
| D．The Silk Road：East Meets West |
One day in l965, when I worked at View Ridge School in Seattle, a fourth-grade teacher approached me. She had a student who finished his work before all the others and needed a challenge. "Could he help in the library?" She asked. I said, "Send him along."
Soon a slight, sandy-haired boy in jeans and a T-shift appeared. "Do you have a job for me?" he asked.
I told him about the Dewey Decimal System for shelving books. He picked up the idea immediately. Then I showed him a stack of cards for long-overdue books that I was beginning to think had actually been returned but were misshelved with the wrong cards in them. He said, "Is it kind of a detective job?" I answered yes, and he became working.
He had found three books with wrong cards by the time his teacher opened the door and announced, "Time for break!" He argued for finishing the finding job; She made the case for fresh air. She won.
The next morning, he arrived early. "I want to finish these books," he said. At the end of the day, when he asked to be a librarian on a regular basis, it was easy to say yes. He worked untiringly.
After a few weeks I found a note on my desk, inviting me to dinner at the boy's home. At the end of a pleasant evening, his mother announced that the family would be moving to neighbouring school district. Her son's first concern, she said, was leaving the View Ridge library. "Who will find the lost books?" he asked.
When the time came, I said a reluctant good-bye. I missed him, but not for long. A few days later he came back and joyfully announced: "The librarian over there doesn't let boys work in the library. My mother got me transferred back to View Ridge. My dad will drop me off on his way to work. And if he can't, I'll walk!"
I should have had an inkling(感觉) such focused determination would take that young man wherever he wanted to go. What I could not have guessed, however, was that he would become a wizard of the Information Age: Bill Gates, tycoon of Microsoft and America's richest man. What was the author when the story happened?
| A．A teacher. | B．A librarian. |
| C．A detective. | D．A professor. |
What was the boy told to do on his first day in the library?
| A．To rearrange the books according to the new system. |
| B．To put those overdue books back to the shelves. |
| C．To find out the books with wrong cards in them. |
| D．To put the cards back in the long-overdue books. |
The boy got transferred back to View Ridge because _______.
| A．he did not like his life in the new school |
| B．the transportation there was not convenient |
| C．he missed his old schoolmates and teachers |
| D．he was not allowed to work in the school library |
What impressed the author most was that the boy _______.
| A．had a thirst for learning |
| B．had a strong will |
| C．was extremely quick at learning |
| D．had a kind heart |
A German study suggests that people who were too optimistic about their future actually faced greater risk of disability or death within 10 years than those pessimists( 悲观者)who expected their future to be worse.
The paper, published this March in Psychology and Aging, examined health and welfare surveys from roughly 40,000 Germans between ages 18 and 96. The surveys were conducted every year from 1993 to 2003.
Survey respondents (受访者) were asked to estimate their present and future life satisfaction on a scale of 0 to 10, among other questions.
The researchers found that young adults (age 18 to 39) routinely overestimated their future life satisfaction, while middle-aged adults (age 40 to 64) more accurately predicted how they would feel in the future. Adults of 65 and older, however, were far more likely to underestimate their future life satisfaction. Not only did they feel more satisfied than they thought they would, the older pessimists seemed to suffer a lower ratio (比率) of disability and death for the study period.
“We observed that being too optimistic in predicting a better future than actually observed was associated with a greater risk of disability and a greater risk of death within the following decade,” wrote Frieder R. Lang, a professor at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.
Lang and his colleagues believed that people who were pessimistic about their future may be more careful about their actions than people who expected a rosy future.
“Seeing a dark future may encourage positive evaluations of the actual self and may contribute to taking improved precautions (预防措施),” the authors wrote.
Surprisingly, compared with those in poor health or who had low incomes, respondents who enjoyed good health or income were associated with expecting a greater decline. Also, the researchers said that higher income was related to a greater risk of disability.
The authors of the study noted that there were limitations to their conclusions. Illness, medical treatment and personal loss could also have driven health outcomes. However, the researchers said a pattern was clear. “We found that from early to late adulthood, individuals adapt their expectations of future life satisfaction from optimistic, to accurate, to pessimistic,” the authors concluded.According to the study, who made the most accurate prediction of their future life satisfaction?
| A．Optimistic adults. |
| B．Middle-aged adults. |
| C．Adults in poor health. |
| D．Adults of lower income. |
Pessimism may be positive in some way because it causes people ______.
| A．to fully enjoy their present life |
| B．to estimate their contribution accurately |
| C．to take measures against potential risks |
| D．to value health more highly than wealth |
How do people of higher income see their future?
| A．They will earn less money. |
| B．They will become pessimistic. |
| C．They will suffer mental illness. |
| D．They will have less time to enjoy life. |
What is the clear conclusion of the study?
| A．Pessimism guarantees chances of survival. |
| B．Good financial condition leads to good health. |
| C．Medical treatment determines health outcomes. |
| D．Expectations of future life satisfaction decline with age. |
Do you love the holidays，but hate the pounds that follow? You are not alone. Holidays are times for feasting and celebrating. Many people are worried about their weight.With proper planning，though，it is possible to keep normal weight during the holidays.Whether it is celebrating at the office party or sitting down for the traditional family dinner，regard eating as a time for tasting a variety of the foods.The idea is to enjoy the holidays but not to eat too much. You don't have to turn away from the foods that you enjoy.
Here are some tips for preventing weight gain and maintaining physical fitness：
Don't skip meals.Before you leave home，have a small，low-fat meal or snack.This may help to avoid getting too excited before delicious foods.
Control portions.Use a small plate (about 10 inches) and put aside the large ones that may encourage you to “load up.” You should be most comfortable eating an amount of food about the size of your fist. Once you have your “tasting” serving，move away from the buffet(自助餐). Doing so will make it less tempting to be eating constantly as your appetite is inspired by the sight of food.
Begin with soup and fruit or vegetables. Fill up beforehand on water-based soup and raw fruit or vegetables. Or drink a large glass of water before you eat to help you feel full.
Stick to physical activity. Don't let exercise take a break during the holidays. A 20-minute walk after a meal can help burn off excess calories.
Avoid high-fat foods. Dishes that look oily or creamy may have a large amount of fat. Choose lean meats. Fill your plate with salad and green vegetables. Use lemon juice instead of dessert or butter.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．You had better turn your attention away from delicious foods. |
| B．Drinking some water or soup before eating helps you eat less. |
| C．Holidays are happy days with pleasure but they may bring weight problems. |
| D．Physical exercise can reduce the chance of putting on weight. |
Which of the following CANNOT help lose weight according to the passage?
| A．Lean meats. |
| B．Dessert or butter. |
| C．Raw fruit or vegetables. |
| D．Physical exercise. |
Many people can't control their weight after the holidays mainly because they _______.
| A．can't help being tempted to eat constantly |
| B．take part in too many parties |
| C．enjoy delicious foods |
| D．can't help turning away from the foods |
If the passage appears in the newspaper，you think it should belong to ______ Column.
| A．Holidays and Festivals | B．Health and Fitness |
| C．Fashion and Frontier | D．Student Times Club |
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Mail coupon today! Or call the number below 1-800-372-1589. Call any time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. www. Harcourt-learning. Com. E-mail：Harcourt＠learning. com.This advertisement aims at calling on people to ______.
| A．attend full-time universities |
| B．work part time to further their education |
| C．improve their education at home to get better jobs |
| D．earn their degrees in different ways that suit them |
What does the writer of this ad intend to say by naming General Electric, IBM, Ford, etc.?
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| B．To show that the training program is fully supported by famous companies in the U. S. |
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| D．To show the importance of getting recognized by the most famous companies. |
It seems to the writer that the greatest attraction for people to take their training is_____.
| A．its convenience |
| B．the degree’s nation-wide recognition |
| C．the economic benefit it will bring about |
| D．the hot fields the training will help people to enter |
How many ways are mentioned in the ad for people to get in touch with the Harcourt Learning Direct?
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
Riding a London subway, a person from China will notice one major difference: in London, people do not look at each other. In fact, eye contact is avoided at all times. That’s not rudeness—people are just too busy to bother looking.
Busy doing what, you ask? Well, they’re certainly not using the time for a moment of quiet reflection, nor are they reading a book. New technology has replaced quiet habits. Today the only acceptable form of book on the London underground is an e-book.
Apple must earn a fortune from London commuters(乘车上下班的人). Since the launch of the iPhone in 2007, over 40,000—yes, that’s 40,000—“apps” (programs downloaded for the iPhone) have been designed.
Commuters love them because they are the perfect time-fillers. One “app”, called iShoot, is a game that features tanks. Another one, Tube Exits, tells passengers where to sit on the train to be closest to the exit of their destination. ISteam clouds the iPhone screen when you breathe into the microphone. You can then write in the “ steam” on your phone screen.
For those without an iPhone, another Apple product, the iPod, may be another choice. It’s not just teenagers who “plug in” to their music—iPods are a popular way to pass the time for all ages.
And if games, e-books and music aren’t enough to keep you engaged, then perhaps you would prefer a film. The development of palm DVD technology means many commuters watch their favorite TV show or film on the way to work. With all these entertainments, it’s amazing that people still remember to get off the train.People in London do not make eye contact on the subway because they are busy_____.
| A．playing games, reading e-books, listening to music or watching films. |
| B．going to work |
| C．reading books |
| D．thinking about private things |
Those who like war games can download _____to their iPhones.
| A．Tube Exits | B．iShoot |
| C．ISteam | D．iPod |
The underlined word “engaged” in the last paragraph probably means______.
| A．delighted | B．busy | C．controlled | D．amused |
The article tells us that_____.
| A．London commuters are unfriendly to strangers |
| B．Apple has earned a lot of money from selling 40,000 iPhones |
| C．with all the new time-fillers, London commuters often forget to get off the train. |
| D．technology is changing the way London commuters spend their traveling time. |