The Silk Road is the name of different roads that long ago connected Europe，Africa and Asia．People reached these different places along these roads．Scientists believe people began to travel the Silk Road about 3000 years ago．By the time the Chinese silk trade became important in the word，the Silk Road covered almost 6500 kilometers．It spread from Rome to China，which is from the West to the Far East．
Traders travelling along the Silk Road carried silk，of course．They also carried and traded spices（香料），cloth，valuable stones and gold．
There is a famous old story along the old road．It is said that Roman soldiers（士兵） travelled through central Asia．They started to live somewhere near the ancient Chinese village of Liqian．Some of these Romans married local Chinese women and the story of blue﹣eyed villages of China was started．
During its busiest period，the Silk Rond allowed people from many different cultures and countries to meet each other and mix．The Silk Road allowed the sharing of valuable goods and new ideas．These included people and trading goods from the Mediterranean，Persian，Magyar，Armenian，Bactian，Indian and Chinese areas．All these peoples travelled the Silk Road，and they shared goods，stories，languages，and cultures．
In modern times，the old Silk Roads routes（路线） are still used，but now they are crossed by trains instead of camels and horses．There is even a Silk Route Museum in Jiuquan in China．It has over 35，000 objects from all along the Silk Road．In this way，China protects the of many countries and peoples．
（1）How many kilometers did the Silk Road cover？
A．About 3000．
B．Nearly 6500
C．Almost 2000．
D．Over 35，000
（2）Traders carried all kinds of goods along the Silk Road．Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage？
A．Silk．
B．Cloth．
C．Gold
D．Tea
（3）Who married ancient Chinese women in the story of blue﹣eyed villages of China？
A．Asian soldiers．
B．African soldiers
C．European soldiers
D．American soldiers．
（4）What can infer（推断） from the passage？
A．Valuable things could not be sold along the Silk Road．
B．The Silk Road allowed people from different countries to mix．
C．Ancient Chinese along the Silk Road may be able to speak different languages．
D．The objects in the museum in Jiuquan in China are from all along the Silk Road
（5）Which part of a magazine can this passage come from？
A．History and Geography
B．Sports World
C．Man and Animals
D．Popular Seience．
Is there intelligent (有智力的) life on other planets? For years, scientists said “no.” or “we don’t know.” But today this is changing. Seth Shostak and Alexandra Barnett are astronomers(天文学家). They believe intelligent life exists (存在) somewhere in the universe. They also think we sill soon contact these beings(人；生物).
Why do Shostak and Barnett think intelligent life exists on other planets? The first reason is time. Scientists believe the universe is about 12 billion years old. “This is long enough for other planets to have intelligent life,” say Shostak and Barnett. The second reason is size—the universe is huge. “Tools like the Hubble Telescope(哈勃望远镜) have shown that there are at least 100 billion galaxies,” says Shostak. “And our galaxy, the Milky Way, has at least 100 billion stars. Some planets going around these stars might be similar to Earth.”
In the past, it was hard to look for signs of intelligent life in the universe. But now, powerful telescopes(高倍望远镜) allow scientists to discover smaller planets—the size of Mars or Earth—in other solar systems. These planets might have intelligent life.
Have beings from space already visited Earth? “Probably not,” says Shostak. “It’s a long way away. However, intelligent beings may contact us in other way, such as radio signals(信号). In fact, they may be trying to communicate with us now, but we don’t have the right tools to receive their messages. However, this is changing. By 2025, we could make contact with other life forms in our universe and we might help each other.”Seth Shostak and Alexandra Barnett are _____.
| A．astronomers | B．farmers |
| C．singers | D．drivers |
What is the best title for Paragraph 2?
| A．The Age and Size of Earth |
| B．Our Galaxy: The Milky Way |
| C．Why Intelligent Life Might Exist |
| D．Earth: The Only Planet with Intelligent Life |
Why was it hard to look for signs of intelligent life in the universe in the past?
| A．There were not any smaller planets. |
| B．There were not any powerful telescopes. |
| C．The astronomers were not interested in them. |
| D．The Milky Way didn’t exist at that time, |
Why haven’t beings from space visited us yet according to Shostak?
| A．They’re afraid of us. |
| B．It’s a long way away. |
| C．They don’t want to see us. |
| D．They don’t know how to use radio signals. |
A man had a little dog, and he was very fond of it. He would pat its head, and take it on his knee, and talk to it. Then he would give it little bits of food from his own plate. A donkey looked in at the window and saw the man and the dog. "Why does he not make a pet of me?" said the donkey. "It is not fair. I work hard, and the dog only wags its tail, and barks, and jumps on its master's knee. It is not fair."
Then the donkey said to himself, "If I do what the dog does, he may make a pet of me." So the donkey ran into the room. It brayed as loudly as it could. It wagged its tail so hard that it knocked over a jar on the table. Then it tried to jump on to its master's knee. The master thought the donkey was mad, and he shouted, "Help! Help!" Men came running in with sticks, and they beat the donkey till it ran out of the house, and they drove it back to the field.
"I only did what the dog does," said the donkey," and yet they make a pet of the dog, and they beat me with sticks. It is not fair."The man liked the dog. He did a lot except __________.
| A．patting the dog’s head | B．sleeping with the dog |
| C．talking to the dog | D．taking the dog on his knee |
Which is not the reason why the man treated the dog well?
| A．It barked |
| B．It worked hard. |
| C．It jumped on the master’s knee |
| D．It wagged its tail |
What happened to the donkey at last?
| A．The donkey jumped onto the man’s knees. |
| B．The man liked it as the dog. |
| C．The donkey was driven back to the field. |
| D．The men beat it to death. |
任务型阅读根据短文内容完成表格中所缺信息，在答题卷上相应的横线上填写答案，每空限填一个单词。
Whenever we meet with difficulty or failure, teachers, parents or others often say to us or perhaps we say to ourselves, ―Never give up.
These can be encouraging words and words of determination. A person who believes in himself will keep trying to reach his goal no matter how many times he fails. In my opinion, the quality of determination to succeed is an important one to have. Therefore, I believe that we should never give up.
One reason is that if we give up too easily, we will rarely achieve anything. It is not unusual for us to fail in our first attempt at something new, so we should not feel disappointed and should try again. Besides, if we always give up when we fail, we will not be able to develop new skills and grow.
Another reason we should never give up is that we can learn from our mistakes so that we can not make the same ones. If we do not try again, the lesson we have learned is wasted. Finally, we should never give up because as we work to reach our goals, we develop confidence, and this confidence can help us succeed in other areas of our lives. If we never challenge ourselves, we will begin to doubt our abilities.
In short, it is important that we do not give up when working for our goals. Whether we succeed in the end or not, we will learn something, and what we learn will help us to become better and more confident. Furthermore, if we give up, we have no chance of attaining our goals any more, but if we keep making great efforts, there is always a chance that we will succeed one day.
| Possible meanings and the author’s opinions |
●The words——Never give up can ●A person who wants to succeed should have the quality. So we should never give up. |
| The |
●If we give up too easily, maybe we will achieve ●Always giving up means that we will not be able to make any progress. ●Never giving up will make us learn from the mistakes we’ve made before and learn the lesson so as not to make the same mistakes. ●To reach our goals and develop the confidence which can help us |
| Conclusion |
If you give up, you will have no |
A team of US psychologists(心理学家) have found that talking to another person for ten minutes a day helps with memory.
“Socializing(交际) is just as effective as more traditional kinds of mental exercise in boosting memory and intellectual(智力的) performance,” Oscar Ybarra, a psychologist at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, said in a statement.
In one investigation, they analyzed data on 3610 people, aged 24 to 96.
They found that the higher their level of social interaction(交流), the better their cognitive(认知的) functioning. Social interaction includes getting together or having phone chats with relatives, friends and neighbors.
In another experiment, the researchers conducted laboratory tests on 76 college students, aged 18 to 21, to evaluate(评估) how social interactions and intellectual exercises affected the results of memory and mental performance tests.
The students were divided into three groups: the social interaction group had a discussion of a social issue for 10 minutes before taking the tests; the intellectual activities group completed three tasks (including a reading comprehension exercise and a crossword puzzle) before the tests; and a control group(对照组) watched a 10-minute clip(电影片段) of the Seinfeld television show.
“We found that short-term social interaction lasting for just 10 minutes improved participants’ (参与者) intellectual performance as much as engaging in (从事) so-called ‘intellectual’ activities for the same amount of time,” Ybarra said.
The study was expected to be published in the February issue of the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.What does the underlined word “boosting” in the second paragraph probably mean?
| A．Improving. | B．Reducing. |
| C．Preventing. | D．Training. |
Which is not included in social interaction?
| A．Having a talk with a neighbor. |
| B．Attending a birthday party. |
| C．Watching TV at home alone. |
| D．Calling your classmates. |
What’s the purpose of the experiment on 76 college students?
| A．To judge the effect of social interaction on memory and intelligence. |
| B．To find out what is real social interaction. |
| C．To learn how much time is needed for social interaction. |
| D．To show the function of people's cognition. |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Intellectual exercises make your memory better. |
| B．Different people have different ways of communication. |
| C．Communicating with others keeps you healthy. |
| D．Social interaction makes you smart. |
We see with our eyes and taste with our tongues. Ears are for hearing, skin is for feeling and noses are for smelling. Would anyone say that ears can smell, or that tongues can see? Actually, yes. Paul Bach-y-Rita, a scientist at the University of Wisconsin, believes that the senses can changeable. For example, a tongue can be used for seeing. The brain, as we know, is a complex organ(复杂的器官). Even when part of it is hurt, it will try to carry out the same function by sending the function to another area of the brain.
A college student was asked to take part in an experiment. In the experiment, his eyes were covered with a small video camera. The camera was connected to a long plastic line which went into his mouth. A computer would change the video’s picture. The picture would travel through the plastic line as an electric current(电流), reaching the electrodes(电极板) inside the student’s mouth. The scientist would roll a ball towards his right side, left side, or centre, and the student would have to catch it. When the scientist rolled the ball, pain passed over the student’s tongue. For the position of the pain on the tongue, the student reached out his hand and caught the ball.
If the brain can see a ball through a camera and a wet tongue, blindness and deafness can be overcame.How many senses are talked about in the first paragraph?
| A．4. | B．5. | C．3. | D．2. |
What is the right order according to the experiment?
①The scientist rolled a ball.
② The student caught the ball.
③ The student felt pain on his tongue.
④The scientist connected the camera to a long plastic line.
| A．①②③④ | B．②①④③ | C．④①③② | D．④③①② |
What could be the best title for the passage?
| A．Senses Are Important | B．An Interesting Experiment |
| C．A Famous Scientist | D．Senses Are Changeable |