Marco Polo was born in Italy in 1254.When he was 17，he travelled along the Silk Road with his father，who wanted to do trade with the Chinese.Finally，they arrived in Beijing.They were guests at the Emperor's Palace.Although Marco was young，he was very clever and could speak four languages.The Emperor was impressed by him and they became friends.The Emperor asked Marco to help him and sent him to do many important jobs all over the country.
Marco was amazed by how great China was.He was impressed by the Emperor's Palace which he described as "The greatest palace that I've ever seen".The walls were covered with gold and silver and the hall was so large.
Marco was also attracted by lots of strange things in China.Marco was surprised to see Chinese people using paper money in the markets.In Europe，people paid for goods with gold and silver.He could not understand how people paid for food and valuable things with paper!He was also puzzled by the black stones people used to burn to produce heat.The black stones were coal，but Marco had never seen coal before!
After he served the Emperor for 17 years，in 1291，Marco returned to Italy.He had a lot of money then.A writer wrote down all the stories that Marco told him in a book called The Description of the World，which became one of the best﹣selling books in Europe.
阅读短文，填表格，每空一词。
Marco Polo and China |
|
Before（1） in China |
He was born in Italy in 1254. At the age of 17，he travelled to China along the Silk Road with his father. |
During his living in China |
He made friends with the Chinese Emperor. He helped the Emperor do the（2） of many jobs around China. The beauty of China（3） him.He described the Summer Palace as the greatest palace that he had ever seen. Some things which he never saw before attracted him. •Paper money was used in the markets. •The Chinese used coal to produce heat. |
After returning to Italy |
He became very（4） . A book was（5） about his travelling experiences. |
【海南省2015年中考英语试题】阅读理解（共 15 小题，每小题 2 分，满分 30 分）
阅读下列两篇语言材料，根据语言材料的内容，从每小题所给的 A、B、C 三个选项中 选出能回答所提问题或完成所给句子的最佳选项。
C
阅读下面短文，按要求完成各小题。
Do you often help the people who are in need?
One day, two boys were walking along the road to school when they saw an old woman carrying a large basket of pears. The old woman looked very tired. They went up and said, “Are you going to town? If you are, we’ll help you carry your basket.”
“Thank you,” said the woman. “That’s very kind of you.” Then she told them that she was going to the market to sell the pears. So the boys decided to lift the basket together. They walked slowly with the heavy basket, but they were happy.
The other day, I saw a little girl pick up a piece of banana peel(水果皮). She threw it into the dustbin(垃圾箱). “I hope nobody would throw that on the street,” she said. “Someone may slip (滑倒) and fall.”
Perhaps some people may say that these are not great things. That’s right. But almost all great things are made up of such small things. We shouldn’t wait for the time to do great things. We should begin with these things that are full of love.What was the old woman carrying?（根据短文内容回答问题）
Where were the two boys going? （根据短文内容回答问题）
Should we wait for the time to do great things?（根据短文内容回答问题）
从短文中找出与下面句子画线部分意思相同或相近的单词。
But almost all great things are made up of such small things.In the passage, the underlined word “it” refers to .
【广东省汕尾市2015年初中毕业生学业考试英语试题】阅读理解
A
“Where there is a will, there is a way.” Perhaps not many students can understand this better than 22-year-old Michael Ha. Because of his story of success, he has become an example of young people.
Michael Ha was born in a very poor family. His parents worked in Vietnam before they moved to Britain in 1980. They couldn’t find work in Britain because they spoke little English. The whole family had to live on benefits(救济金) and they lived in a small house in Hackney, a poor area in East London. Growing up is not easy for Michael, but he never gave up.
At the age of ten, he set his heart on going to Cambridge University. It was not easy, either. Michael studied at a school, which used to be called “the worst school in Britain”. However, young Michael made his mind to try his best, no matter what kind of school he was studying at. The smart boy studied very hard and did well in every subject at school. Once he made a bet with his friend to learn further math. As a result, after just spending four months teaching himself from a textbook, he got an A in AS-level further math.
Now Michael is the star medical student in John’s College, Cambridge and has just won an award for his excellent grades. He hopes he will be an inspiration for other young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.When was Michael born？
| A．In 1994 | B．in 1980 |
| C．in 1900 | D．in 1984 |
Where did Michael’s parents work before 1980?
| A．in Britain | B．in Vietnam |
| C．in Cambridge | D．in Hackney |
what does Michael learn about in Cambridge University ?
| A．English | B．History |
| C．Geography | D．Medicine |
which of the following is TURE?
| A．Michael’s parents couldn’t find work in Britain because they had little work experience. |
| B．Michael had a dream of studying at Cambridge university when he was eleven years old. |
| C．in order to get an A in AS-level further math, Michael spent four months teaching himself. |
| D．Michael has won two awards for his excellent grades. |
what is the best title of the passage?
| A．How to deal with the difficulties. |
| B．How to become a good student. |
| C．From a poor area to Cambridge |
| D．From “worst school ” to Cambridge University. |
【广东省梅州市2015年中考英语试题】阅读理解。（本大题共15小题，每小题2分，共30分）
阅读A、B两篇短文，从每小题给的四个选项中，选出能回答所提问题或完成所给句子的最佳答案，并将答题卡上对应题目所选的选项涂黑。
A
“Where there is a will, there is a way.” Perhaps not many students can understand this better than 22-year-old Michael Ha. Because of his story of success, he has become an example to many young people.
Michael Ha was born in a very poor family. His parents worked in Vietnam before they moved to Britain in 1980. They couldn’t find work in Britain because they spoke little English. The whole family had to live on benefits (救济金) and they lived in a small house in Hackney, a poor area in East London. Growing up was not easy for Michael, but he never gave up.
At the age of 10, he set his heart on going to Cambridge University. It was not easy, either. Michael studied at a school, which used to be called “the worst school in Britain”. However, young Michael made up his mind to try his best, no matter what kind of school he was studying at. The smart boy studied very hard and did well in every subject at school. Once he made a bet (打赌) with his friend to learn further math. As a result, after spending just four months teaching himself from a textbook, he got an A in AS-level further math.
Now Michael is the star medical student at St. John’s College, Cambridge and has just won an award (奖) for his excellent grades. He hopes he will be an inspiration for other young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.When was Michael born?
| A．In 1994. | B．In 1980. |
| C．In 1990. | D．In 1984. |
Where did Michael’s parents work before 1980?
| A．In Britain. | B．In Vietnam. |
| C．In Cambridge. | D．In Hackney. |
What does Michael learn about in Cambridge University?
| A．English. | B．History. |
| C．Geography. | D．Medicine. |
Which of the following is TURE?
| A．Michael‟s parents couldn‟t find work in Britain because they had little work experience. |
| B．Michael had a dream of studying at Cambridge University when he was eleven years old. |
| C．In order to get an A in AS-level further math, Michael spent four months teaching himself. |
| D．Michael has won two awards for his excellent grades. |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．How to deal with the difficulties. |
| B．How to become a good student. |
| C．From a poor area to Cambridge. |
| D．From “worst school” to Cambridge University. |
【北京市2015年中考英语试题】阅读下列短文，根据短文内容，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳选项。（共30分，每小题2分）
B
Bags of Love
Last year, I worked in a middle school near my mother’s house, and I stayed with her for a month. During that time, I helped her do some housework and buy some food.
After the first week, I noticed that the food was eaten up very quickly. Then I began keeping an eye on my mum. To my surprise, I found that she would put some of the food into a paper bag and go out with it at about nine every morning. And finally, I decided to follow her. I saw her taking the food to the street children. She would also spend a lot of time talking and playing with them.
One day, I talked to a neighbour and found out that my mum was well-known in the area. The children were very friendly with her and even thought of her as their own mother. Then it hit me – why wouldn’t she want to tell me about it? Was she worried that I would stop buying food if I found out?
When my mum got home, I gave her a big hug (拥抱).I told her she didn’t need to keep it a secret from me. And she told me something about the children. Some of them lived with an old lady in a small house. Others slept on the street. For years, she was helping the poor street children by giving them food. After she told me everything, I was so moved by how selfless (无私的) she was. She helped others in need. As her son, I was so proud of my mum.
I continued to buy food for my mum after that. But I always added one more bag for her other children.After the first week, the writer noticed that _____.
| A．the food was put into a big box |
| B．his mum followed the children |
| C．the food was eaten up quickly |
| D．his mum stopped buying food |
The street children thought of the writer’s mum as their _____.
| A．old grandma | B．own mother |
| C．new neighbour | D．dear teacher |
How did the writer feel about his mum after she told him everything?
| A．He was proud of her. |
| B．He was confident in her. |
| C．He was angry with her |
| D．He was worried about her. |
The writer added one more bag of food to _____.
| A．make friends with the children |
| B．get a hug from his mother |
| C．become well-known in the area |
| D．help the poor street children |
【山东省青岛市2015年中考英语试题】阅读理解 阅读下面短文，做出正误判断或选出最佳答案。A篇为判断正（A）误（B）题，B、C篇为选择题(共15道小题，每小题1分，共20分)
A
An important part of learning something is making sure you plan your time and use it well. If you want to remember
things well, you need to review information you’ve learned. Try to follow the advice:
| DO |
DON’T |
| ●Make a study timetable at least three weeks before your exams and follow time to relax and have fun. ●Review little and often. ●While you’re studying, have short regular breaks. A short break every 45 minutes is good idea. Stand up and walk around— you will feel more awake. ●Try making a weekly plan showing what you do every day(school, travel, meals, etc). You might see where you’re wasting time that you could use to study or read. |
●Study for hours every night a week before your exam! Studying for hours the night before will make you tired and your brain won’t work well. ●Study for a long period of time without a break. You probably won’t remember information very well if you do this ●Worry too much. If you feel nervous, you won’t learn as well as if you’re relaxed. |
When learning something, you’d better make a plan first.
Make sure to review as much as possible every time.
You’ll feel more awake after a 45-minute break while studying.
If you worry too much, you can’t learn well.
You should stay up late the night before exams.