The ancient city is in Pingyao county, Shanxi Province. The city wall was first built during the Zhou Dynasty. Since 1997, it has been listed as a World Heritage Site. Now Pingyao city is the only one in China completely protected as it was hundreds of years ago.
The perimeter(周长) of this square city is 6.4km long and the city wall is the earliest and largest city wall in China. It is 12 m high with width of 5 m. The wall was built with earth and covered with bricks. Outside the city wall there is a river, 4 m wide and 4 m deep.
There are several gates of the city, two each on the east and west and one each on the south and north side. All the gates have two doors each. This has given the city the name “Turtle City” with the two gates on the south and north standing for the head and tail of the turtle and four gates on the east and west as the four legs. The doors on the south and north stand opposite each other, like the head of the turtle extending out and two wells just beyond southern gate are like a turtle’s two eyes.
Located on the trade route between Beijing and Xi’an, Pingyao developed into a merchant center where the local people set up the nation’s earliest banks. These banks were the first in China to use checks.
Several old courtyards have been turned into museums, most of which were homes and offices of Pingyao’s old banks. One of the most unusual aspects of a visit here is realizing that this place was very important to China’s financial(金融的) history. What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．The ancient city—Pingyao. |
| B．China’s ancient financial center—Pingyao. |
| C．The city wall of Pingyao. |
| D．The museums in Pingyao. |
How many gates are there in Pingyao city?
| A．Four. | B．Five. | C．Six. | D．Seven. |
Which gate in Pingyao city stands for the head of the turtle?
| A．The gate on the north. |
| B．The gate on the south. |
| C．The gate on the east. |
| D．The gate on the west. |
It can be inferred from the last two paragraphs that__________.
| A．Pingyao city played an important role in ancient China’s finance. |
| B．museums in Pingyao city are now used for bank offices. |
| C．Pingyao city was one of the largest cities in ancient China. |
| D．old banks in ancient Pingyao city used checks only. |
More and more often we heard of people talking about Karaoke（卡拉OK）。 But what on earth it is about， still remains a question for many people. Karaoke is a sort of acoustic equipment which was invented in Japan around the middle of the 1970's. It means "a band without people" in Japanese. In fact， it is just a music tape without words. This equipment first appeared in some public houses and snack bars， and mainly for the customers to enjoy themselves. Most of the music in Karaoke was popular music. Therefore， at times， when anyone felt like it， he might sing songs to the accompaniment of the music that came from the equipment. Shortly after its invention， Karaoke was spread to the whole world. It was introduced to China and was welcomed by many people. Although you are not a good singer， or even sometimes you may sing out of tune， you can always enjoy yourself by singing Karaoke.
1. In this passage "band" means "group of persons ________."
A. who play games on the sports ground
B. who play music together
C. living in the same neighborhood
D. doing things together under a leader and with a common purpose
2. Karaoke is just a ______.
A. cassette tape with only music
B. cassette tape recorder
C. band from Japan
D. voice recording equipment
3. Karaoke was spread to the whole world ________.
A. as soon as it was invented
B. long before
C. not long after it was invented
D. before long
4. The main idea of this passage is ______.
A. all persons like to play Karaoke
B. to introduce Karaoke to the people
C. Karaoke is a wonderful equipment
D. Karaoke is used everywhere including snack bars
Mrs. Blake teaches English in a large school in the inner area of a big city on the west of coast. Even since she was a young girl,she has wanted to become a teacher. She has taught eight years now and hasn‘t changed her mind. After she graduated from high school， she went on to college. Four years later， she received her bachelor’s degree （B A） in English and her teaching certificate（证书）。 Then she went to teach in the secondary schools of her state. In the summers， Mrs. Blake takes more classes； she hopes to get a master‘s degree （M A）。 With an MA， she will receive a higher salary and if possible， she hopes to get a doctor’s degree as well. The school day at Mrs. Blake‘s high school， like that in many high schools in the United States， is divided into one hour each. Mrs. Blake must teach five of these periods. During her free period， which for her is from 2 to 3 P.M. ， Mrs. Blake must meet with parents， make out examinations， check assignments at all， Mrs. Blake works continuously from the time she arrives at school in the morning till the time she leaves for home late in the afternoon.
1. How long is it since Mrs. Blake graduated from middle school？
A. four years B. eight years C. twelve years d. twenty years
2. According to the article， which is the right order of the degrees a person can receive after going to university？
A. a doctor‘s degree – a bachelor’s degree – a master‘s degree
B. a bachelor’s degree – a master‘s degree – a doctor’s degree
C. a master‘s degree—a bachelor’s degree – a doctor‘s degree
D. a bachelor’s degree – a doctor‘s degree—a master’s degree
3. How many degrees has Mrs. Blake achieved so far？
A. one B. two C. three D. none
4. Which of the following sentences is not true？
A. Mrs. Blake teaches in the inner area of big city on the east of the United Sates
B. Mrs. Blake has turned her wish of becoming a teacher into reality.
C. Mrs. Blake is still studying in her holidays in order to get higher degrees.
D. The working hours in the school where Mrs. Blake works are similar to those of many other high schools in the states.
Plants are very important living things. Life could not go on if there were no plants. This is because plants can make food from air， water and sunlight. Animals and man cannot make food from air， water and sunlight. Animals get their food by eating plants and other animals. Therefore animals and man need plants in order to live. This is why we find that there are so many plants around us. If you look carefully at the plants around you， you will find that there are two kinds of plants： flowering plants and non-flowering plants. Flowering plants can make seeds. The seeds are protected by the fruits. Some fruits have one seed， some have two， three or four， and some have many seeds. But a few fruits have no seeds at all. An example of a fruit without seeds is the banana fruit. Most non-flowering plants do not grow from seeds. They grow from spores（胚芽）。 Spores are very small. Some spores are so small and light that they can float in the air. We may say that spores are quite the same as seeds. When these spores are all on wet and shady places， they usually grow into new plants.
1. The main idea of the first paragraph is that ______.
A. plants are important for life B. plants cannot grow without air
C. there are many plants in the world D. we can not live without water
2. Plants can make food from______.
A. flower， water and air B. water， sunlight and air
C. air， water and soil D. air， sun and light
3. What can we infer（推断）from the passage ？
A. Of all living things animals are most important
B. Spores are seeds
C. All fruits of flowering plants have seeds
D. Without plants， man will die out
4. This passage may be taken from______.
A. a medicine book B. a novel
C. a science magazine D. an experiment report
第三部分:阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
阅读下列短文，从每篇短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项
Valencia is in the east part of Spain. It has a port on the sea， two miles away on the coast. It is the capital of a province that is also named Valencia. The city is a market centre for what is produced by the land around the city. Most of the city‘s money is made from farming. It is also a busy business city， with ships， railways， clothes and machine factories. Valencia has an old part with white buildings， coloured roofs， and narrow streets. The modern part has long， wide streets and new buildings. Valencia is well known for its parks and gardens. It has many old churches and museums. The university in the centre of the city was built in the 13th century. The city of Valencia has been known since the 2nd century. In the 8th century it was the capital of Spain. There is also an important city in Venezuela（委内瑞拉） named Valencia.
1.From the text， how many places have the name Valencia？
A. one B. two C. three D. four
2. What is the main difference between the two parts of Valencia？
A. The colour of the building B. The length of the streets
C. The age of the buildings D. The colour of the roofs
3. What is Valencia famous for？
A. Its seaport B. Its university
C. Its churches and museums D. Its parks and gardens
4. The main income of the city of Valencia is from its ______.
A. markets B. business C. factories D. farming
James Blunt is one of the most popular singers in the UK. His first album, Back to Bedlam, and his number one hit, You’re Beautiful, brought him fame in 2005. His music is a mix of pop, rock and folk.
Blunt comes to China for the first time this month, he will hold two concerts, one in Beijing and one in Shanghai on April 18 and 19 respectively.
Blunt, 34, took an unusual path to stardom. His father was a soldier and so was his grandfather.
“The only music he heard growing up was Happy Birthday and Silent Night. His father considered all music, even classical, to be unnecessary noise,” reads Blunt’s official website.
Even though Blunt did not want to join the military, he eventually followed his father’s wishes, and served as a soldier in Kosovo on peacekeeping duty.
“Like any parents, mine wanted me to have a secure job with a regular wage and career prospects,” Blunt said. “And the one job my father knew of, that he’d had experience of himself, was the army, so he could help me in that direction.”
Blunt eventually became a Captain. One of his final duties in the army before retirement was carrying the coffin (棺材) at the funeral of the Queen Mother of England in 2002.
But Blunt couldn’t escape his love for music. So, after leaving the British Army he moved to Los Angeles and worked on his first album. While in LA, Blunt lived with the actress Carrie Fisher, who played the lead female role in the Star Wars movie. He recorded his song, Goodbye My Lover, in his bathroom, where he kept a piano.
Blunt took his new album back to England where it was not very successful. But he kept performing and eventually his song, You’re Beautiful, became a number one hit.
Now Blunt has won numerous awards, sold millions of records and dated super models.
But his greatest accomplishment might be that his father now enjoys music!
1. All of the following belong to Blunt EXCEPT _____________.
A. Back to Bedlam B. Silent Night
C. Goodbye My Lover D. You’re Beautiful
2. Which of the following proves “Blunt took an unusual path to stardom”?
A. Blunt was 34 when he became famous.
B. Blunt recorded his most famous song in a bathroom.
C. Blunt’s father wanted him to have a secure job.
D. Blunt began to pursue a career in music after military service.
3. We can infer from the passage that _____________.
A. Blunt is living in Los Angeles at present
B. Blunt rose to fame two years after he left the army
C. Blunt became successful immediately he recorded his first song
D. Blunt has changed his father’s attitude towards music
4. What is the passage mainly about?
A. Blunt’s visit to China.B. Blunt’s military life.
C. How Blunt became famous. D. How Blunt’s father fell in love with music.