The Great Wall of China is one of Beijing’s biggest
draws for tourists; despite its fame and ubiquity in
postcards across the world, it rarely fails to attract tourists at
the first proper sight.
Yet the authorities open only certain sections of the wall
as fit for viewing, and few get to visit the unauthorized sections.
|
Fewer still are aware of the existence of at least one part of the Wall that remains in almost original condition, nearly 1,500 years after construction of legendary fortification began. But there’s a good reason for this – it’s underwater.
American journalist Steven Sch
wankert has been diving since age 10. It was though his setting – up of a diving school
that Schwankert came to explore some of lesser – known areas
of China’s lakes – and discovered the underwater Wall under a
reservoir.
“The most fascinating piece of diving I ever did in China must be the Great Wall. I managed to find out about it via the Internet. It wasn’t difficult to get to Pan Jiakou in Hebei Province, near the East Qing Tomb about 4 hour’s drive from Beijing. Why do I want to dive the Great Wall? Why do people want to walk on the Great Wall? It’s the same answer.”
There are, however, advantages of visiting the Great Wall in a diving suit over being on foot. The water acts as a preservative by preventing the kind of mass tourism that has brought trouble on other parts of the Wall. “Unlike the people who walk in the Wall, we as divers never need to actually touch it. I’ve dived twice there, the last time in July. I found that the water then was much deeper than it was before – 13 meters deep.” When he first dived, parts of the Wall were visible above the surface. Now even the guard tower is completely submerged. “It’s better that the Wall is deep under water, as there are lots of boats coming in and out around that area. Their wave action could potentially damage the brickwork. So, the deeper, the better.”
| A．collecting photos of the Wall | B．walking along on the Wall |
| C．diving the underwater Wall | D．visiting some famous lakes |
What does the underlined word “submerged” in Paragraph 5 most probably mean?
| A．Damaged by water. | B．Washed by water. |
| C．Preserved by water. | D．Covered by water. |
What is the topic discussed in the last paragraph?
| A．Advantages of walking on the Great Wall. |
| B．Advantages of visiting the underwater Wall. |
| C．The reasons why the Wall is deep under water. |
| D．The reasons why the underwater Wall is protected. |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．The underwater Wall will sink deeper year by year. |
| B．Diving the Wall is popular with divers all over the world. |
| C．Diving is a good way to visit the Wall without causing much damage. |
| D．More and more tourists will come to visit the underwater Wall in China. |
The Story of the Farmer and His Donkey (驴子)
One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried pitifully for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway and it just wasn’t worth to save the donkey. So, he decided to bury（埋） it!
He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all took shovel（铲子）and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly, then slowly he quieted down till nothing more was heard.
A few shovels later, the farmer finally looked down into the well, and was surprised at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something wonderful—he would shake it off and take a step up!
As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was surprised as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and went off quickly!
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells by not stopping, never giving up, shaking it off, and taking a step up!
1. The donkey quieted down, because ________.
A. it was dead B. it was tired
C. it had given up trying D. it had a good way to survive
2. We know from the story that ________.
A. all the donkeys in the world are clever
B. it is easy for donkeys to fall into a well
C. the neighbors helped bury the donkey
D. the owner pushed the donkey into the well
3. The writer of the passage is most probably ________.
A. an optimistic person B. a pet lover
C. an animal protector D. a cold-hearted man
4. The writer wants to tell us “________”.
A. A cat has 9 lives B. Facing difficulties, never give up
C. A friend in need is a friend indeed D. No pains, no gains
How can Omar’s class help?
Omar’s class at school learned about taking care of our planet. Children in his class worked hard at collecting newspapers, cans, and bottles. Their teacher took what they collected to a company where the things would be recycled（回收）and used again. Omar hoped that doing his would make progress toward cleaning up our Earth. Omar wished that they could do more. Then Omar’s teacher gave the class this form.
| YOU can make a difference! |
||
| Help Clean Up Our Texas Beaches |
||
| Who? |
|
Children from all the schools in our city |
| When? |
|
Saturday, November 16 Buses will leave from the parking lot at City Park at 8:00 A.M. They will return at 3:00 P.M. |
| Where? |
|
Padre Island on the Texas coast |
| What should you bring? |
|
Lunch and something to drink; Work gloves (We will have gloves to give to children who do not have a pair.) |
| What should teachers bring? |
|
Empty bags and small shovels（铲子） |
| When to sign up? |
|
By Wednesday, November 13 |
| Where to sign up? |
|
Have a parent sign at the back of this form to show that your family will permit you to go. Return this form to your teacher. |
| Teachers and students will use small shovels and gloves to gather trash on the beach. Papers, cans, and bottles will each be put in different bags. Be sure to sort（分类）trash and put it in the proper bag. At the end of the day, each child will receive a T-shirt that says “I made a difference.” Children will also be treated to a pizza party at the Pizza Palace on the way back to City Park. Each school will receive a small oak tree to plant on the school’s grounds. Keeping our beaches clean is important. Please sign up. Parents who want to go should call 555-9753 and talk to Mr. Smith. |
1. After the cleanup, the children will ________.
A. report to Mr. Smith B. go to the Pizza Palace
C. join the Clean Earth Club D. buy an oak tree
2 “I made a difference” in the passage probably means “ ________”.
A. I was different from others
B. I became more interested than before
C. I did something for a friend
D. I made something better than it was
3. If you help in the cleanup, at the end of the day you will receive a ________.
A. pair of gloves B. breakfast C. small shovel D. T-shirt
4. What is the main idea of this passage?
A. Schools organized a general cleaning. B. Children can help clean up our Earth.
C. More bottles are thrown away than cans. D. Recycling costs a lot of money.
The greatest cartoon-maker in cinema history was Walt Disney, who has often been quoted as saying, “…… it was all started by a mouse.” It was, and Mickey Mouse has gone on to become an international cartoon superstar. Without him, Disney could not have made his own dreams come true.
Mickey was created in 1928. It’s not clear if it was Disney or his business and animation（动画片制作）partner Ub Iwerks who designed the original mouse. But many credit(相信是) Iwerks, who animated all of the earliest cartoons.
The mouse’s original name was Mortimer but was changed to Mickey on the advice of Walt Disney’s wife Lillian. The first and second Mickey Mouse Cartoons were not a success with the public. It was only with the third cartoon, titled Steamboat Willy, that Mickey began to achieve wide recognition(认可). Since then, Mickey’s appearance and personality have changed. His body was changed a few times until they found the best shape for his head, body and ears. Until 1946, Walt Disney provided Mickey’s voice himself.
Mickey has starred in more than a hundred cartoons. He’s often joined by four other famous Disney characters, Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse, Goofy and Pluto, who have also become children’s favourite cartoon characters all over the world
1.According to the passage, Disney’s early dream may probably be ________.
A. to create Mickey Mouse B. to marry his wife Lillian
C. to become a cartoon maker D. to become a superstar
2.Which of the following about Mickey Mouse is true?
A. Mickey became famous in his first cartoon.
B. The original mouse was designed by Disney’s wife.
C. Cartoons starred by Mickey are always very successful.
D. There have been some changes in Mickey’s name and body.
3.From the passage we know that ________.
A. Walt Disney was known as a great cartoon maker
B. less than 100 cartoons have been starred by Mickey
C. there are four Disney characters in Disney’s cartoons
D. Mickey’s voice has been provided by Walt Disney since 1946
4.The best title for this passage is ________.
A. Mickey Mouse — A Cartoon Hero B. Walt Disney — A Famous Cartoon Maker
C. Walt Disney and His Wife D. How Mickey Mouse Got His Name
It was reported today that in China, 56% of people who write blogs(博客) do so as a personal diary and 83% use their blogs for sending messages to friends. It was also found that there is a strong East- West difference. In places like the US, blogs that offer information on news attract more readers but in China, blogs are more likely to be about sharing personal feelings.
It seems that bloggers can be divided into three types: IT(信息技术) bloggers, bloggers who record their ordinary feelings and media（媒体） bloggers.
When blogging first started, the IT people had the technological advantage and they took the chance to put their thoughts on the web. Some of these IT people now have had over a million people read their blogs.
The next wave of bloggers did not have any training as writers or in IT and wrote about normal daily life. Media bloggers, however, are trained writers, such as journalists and editors. When the many media bloggers showed up, the everyday bloggers lost most of their readers. Media bloggers have the advantage of knowing how to communicate well through the written words.
However, the normal bloggers are still out there and increasing in number. It seems that blogging is the new way to express your feelings. People feel like the world is listening to, or rather reading, their problems, even if they are not.
1. From the passage we know that________.
A.56% of the Chinese write blogs
B. people in US like to read blogs for news
C. the Chinese share feelings with each other mainly through blogs
D. the way that Chinese use blogs is not different from the West
2. ________wrote more blogs at the very beginning and now have more readers than others.
A.IT bloggers B. Media bloggers C. Normal bloggers D. US bloggers
3. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. There will be more and more normal bloggers.
B. Only bloggers express their feelings through the Internet.
C. All people in the world are listening to the bloggers’ voice.
D. Media bloggers have more readers because of their popularity.
4.The underlined expression in the passage can be best replaced by “________”.
A. increased. B. appeared . C. arrived. D. grew.
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A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出最佳选项.
About a year ago, I went to stay at a Detroit hotel. I didn’t want to carry too much money with me, so I asked the desk clerk（服务员） to put a hundred-dollar bill in the safe(保险箱) for me.
The next morning, however, the clerk said he knew nothing about my money. I didn’t have any proof that I had given the man the money. There was nothing I could do but go to the nearest lawyer.
The lawyer advised me to return to the hotel with him and give another hundred-dollar bill to the clerk. This I did. An hour later, I went back to the desk and asked for my money. Since I had the lawyer as an eyewitness（证人） to the second hundred-dollar bill, the clerk could not say he knew nothing about it.
Another hour later, I put the second part of the lawyer’s plan into action. This time both the lawyer and I went to the hotel. I asked for the hundred-dollar bill once again, and when the clerk insisted he had already given it to me, I didn’t admit it. The lawyer said to him, “I saw this gentleman give you a hundred dollars. If you don’t hand it over immediately, I’ll be forced to call the police.”
The clerk realized he had been tricked, so he gave me back the first hundred-dollar bill.
“I don’t know how to thank you enough for getting my money back,” I said to the lawyer. And what do you suppose he answered?
He said, “Oh, don’t thank me. That will be a hundred dollars, please.”
1. The writer went to a Detroit hotel one day in order to_______.
A. get his money back B. stay for the night
C. ask the lawyer for help D. put a hundred-dollar bill in the safe
2. The hotel clerk at last returned the first hundred-dollar bill to the writer because _______.
A. he was afraid of the writer very much
B. he found the lawyer tricking him
C. he didn’t want to get into trouble with the police
D. he wanted to give the writer a surprise
3. It is clear that the hotel clerk was________.
A. dishonest B. helpful
C. careless D. foolish
4. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. The writer didn’t get his 200 dollars back..
B. The lawyer asked for 100 dollars as his pay.
C. The writer was so grateful as to offer the lawyer some money.
D. The lawyer was disappointed that the writer got both his bills back.
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