The First Lady’s Travel Journal: Touring the Forbidden City
March 21, 2014
After visiting the Beijing Normal School, Madame Peng took Sasha and Malia, my mother, and me to the Forbidden City, which is right in the heart of Beijing.
For more than 2,000 years (up until 1912), China was ruled by emperors who descended (传递)from many different dynasties, or families, who passed ruling positions on from generation to generation — and for nearly 500 years, the Forbidden City used as the emperor’s home.
Like the name suggests, the Forbidden City is large enough to be a city of its own — it includes nearly 1,000 buildings and nearly 10,000 rooms.
In 1925, the new Chinese government turned the Forbidden City into a museum so that visitors like us from all over the world can stroll (闲逛) through many of the beautiful rooms and outdoor spaces.
The Forbidden City is too large to fully experience in a single visit, but highlights include the following: The Hall of Union and Peace has almost 14,000 ornamental dragons. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is where the emperor(皇帝) watched birthday celebrations and coronation (加冕) ceremonies from his Dragon Throne. And then there are the Imperial Gardens, where you can walk along the paths and pavilions, admiring the beautiful rock arrangements, flowers and cypress (柏树) trees.
While we loved our visit to the Forbidden City, we only wish we had more time to see everything. But then again, I’m not sure there could ever be enough time to fully enjoy all of the art and history in this wonderful place. The writer visited The Forbidden City with _______.
| A．her daughters |
| B．her husband |
| C．her mother |
| D．her mother and two daughters |
The Forbidden City is a _______.
| A．city | B．palace | C．village | D．garden |
The Forbidden City was used as _______ for nearly 500 years until 1912.
| A．a museum |
| B．the emperor’s short-lived home |
| C．a place of interest for public |
| D．the emperor’s home |
What does the word “highlights” mean in the passage?
| A．景观亮点 | B．聚光灯 | C．光亮 | D．最大的部分 |
According to the passage, we can infer(推断) that _______.
| A．They had enough time to visit every room |
| B．The Forbidden City was used as a museum till 1925 |
| C．The first lady enjoyed all of the art and history in this wonderful place |
| D．There are more than 1,000 buildings and less than 10,000 rooms |
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the nine o’clock Mystery Hour. Today we’ll show you two British stories. We hope you’ll enjoy them.
About 900 years ago two green children arrived in a small village in south England. Their eyes and skin were green and they spoke a strange language. They were very tired and weak, so the people of the village looked after them. The boy died a year later, but the girl grew strong and lived the rest of her life there. And her skin color turned back to normal day by day. Scientists say that sometimes of people don’t have enough food to eat for a long time, their skin goes very pale and can turn green.
Loch Ness is the largest lake in Scotland. It’s a very deep and cold lake. For hundreds of years, people have talked about a monster(怪物) called Nessie which lives in the lake. About seventy years ago, two people saw something moving in the lake. They said that the animal was playing and rolling around in the water. Since then many people say they have seen the monster. Their descriptions are always the same. It looks like a dinosaur, with a very long neck and a small head. It has a big bump(肿块)on its back. People have tried to photograph the animal, but the pictures have not been very clear. Scientists don’t know whether there is a monster or not. Some say it may be a whale or a very large fish. Some think it’s a snake. Others say there’s nothing at all— nothing but people’s imagination. Maybe we’ll never know what’s in Loch Ness.What kind of story is talked about in this program?
| A．Romantic stories. | B．Mysteries. | C．Horror stories. | D．Comedies. |
Where did the stories happen?
| A． | B． | C． | D． |
Which sentence is TRUE about the two green children?
| A．They both enjoyed a long and happy life. |
| B．The girl’s eyes and skin were green all her life. |
| C．At first they spoke the same language as people in the small village did. |
| D．Maybe they hadn’t eaten enough for long before they reached the village. |
What does Nessie look like according to some witnesses?
What can we learn from the second story?
| A．Scientists are still not sure whether there is a monster or not in Loch Ness. |
| B．Loch Ness is very deep and warm lake in Scotland. |
| C．People have taken very clear pictures of Nessie. |
| D．In fact Nessie is a whale or a snake. |
Do you know who is the most popular star on the Internet now? Yes, he is “Brother Coat”Zhu Zhiwen!
A few months ago, Zhu Zhiwen was an unknown farmer. A video of his show has been watched by more than millions of people，now his videos are the most popular. Zhu Zhiwen attracts Chinese netizens' hearts. And he is called “Brother Coat” by them.
In March 2011, he took part in a program called “I’m a Big Star”. He walked out onto the stage in a dark green coat. Then he began to sing the me song of the TV drama Romance of Three Kingdoms. When the audiences heard rich and powerful voice，all of them stood up and cheered. After that, he became a well-known person. The judges asked him if he had any professional training. Zhu said no.“When he started, I thought someone played the original tape(原声带) by mistake. But later on, I got it, "said one of them, “we can’t judge a book by its cover.” At last, he won the first prize in the program of “I’ m a Big Star”．
Zhu Zhiwen was born in a village of Shandong in 1969. He liked listening to the radio. When the music played, he sang it along. Every morning, he would get up early and practiced singing near a river. He keeps doing it for nearly 30 years.“When I’m working in the fields, ”said Zhu Zhiwen, “I often sing for myself, some villagers even think me crazy，but I really love it. I’m not singing for money, I’ m singing for ordinary people in China.”
Mrs. Sun, a 56yearold engineer, one of his fans said, “I watched his videos without getting tired of it! It is amazing, and every time I watch it, I am filled with excitement and his voice is perfect! I am crossing my fingers in hope that he has a bright future.”Who gave Zhu Zhiwen the nickname of “Brother Coat”?
| A．His father. | B．The villagers. | C．His mother. | D．The netizens. |
When did Zhu Zhiwen become a well-known person?
| A．In 1969. | B．In 2011 | C．Two years ago. | D．A few years ago. |
Why did the audiences stand up and cheered when Zhu Zhiwen sang the song?
| A．Because he was funny. |
| B．Because he wore a dark green coat. |
| C．Because his voice was rich and powerful. |
| D．Because he gave some gifts to the audiences. |
The underlined phrase “judge a book by cover” in Paragraph 4 means ________.
| A．以貌取人 | B．志存高远 | C．众口铄金 | D．哗众取宠 |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Zhu Zhiwen is 45 years old now. |
| B．Mrs. Sun enujoys Zhu Zhiwen’s songs. |
| C．A famous singer taught Zhu Zhiwen to sing. |
| D．Zhu Zhiwen often sang for his fans when he was young. |
Which of the following pictures could be Bob?
A B C DAlice is worrying about ________.
A. her friends B. her marks C. her height D her weightBob should ________ according to George’s letter.
| A．plan his meals | B．talk to his friends |
| C．join a basketball team | D．learn some French. |
George advises Alice to talk to _____ for help.
| A．her mother | B．her pen pal | C．her doctor | D．her teacher and friends |
Maybe George is probably _________
A. a reporter B an actor C a doctor D an engineer
阅读理解
It was Zhang Lei’s first time to visit Singapore. He lived in his uncle’s home. It was sunny most days. He visited many places and had many kinds of nice food. Linda spent her vacation in Hawaii. She had a great time there. The beaches were beautiful and the weather was fine. She had lots of delicious food. People there were friendly. Mrs. Brown didn’t enjoy her vacation in London. The bus trip was boring. And it rained every day, so she stayed at the hotel for 6 days. On the last day, she went shopping. But the shops were crowded and things were really expensive.
根据短文内容，回答下列问题。Where did Zhang Lei live when he was in Singapore?
___________________________________________________How was the weather in Singapore?
___________________________________________________Where did Linda go on vacation?
___________________________________________________How were the people in Hawaii?
___________________________________________________Why did Mrs. Brown stay in the hotel for 6 days?
___________________________________________________
Do you sometimes argue about what seems to you to be a simple fact? Do you argue whether it’s cold outdoors or whether the car in front of you is going faster than the speed limit (限速)?
If you get into such arguments, try to think about the story about the six blind men and the elephant. The first blind man who felt the elephant’s trunk (象鼻) said it was like a snake. The second who felt the elephant’s side said it was like a wall, while the third said it was like a spear( 矛 ) as he touched the animal’s tusk. The fourth, who took hold of the elephant’s tail, insisted that it was like a rope. The fifth man said it looked like a tree as he put his arms around one of the elephant’s legs. The last, who was tall and got hold of the elephant’s ears, said it was like a huge fan.
Each man’s idea of the animal came from his own experience. So if someone disagrees with you about a “simple fact”, it’s often because his experience in the matter is different from yours.
To see how hard it is for even one person to make up his mind about a “simple fact”, try this simple experiment. Get three large bowls. Put ice water in one. Put hot water in the second. Put lukewarm water (温水)in the third. Now put your left hand in the hot water. Put your right hand in the lukewarm water. Your right hand will tell you the water is cold. Your left hand will tell you it is hot.There were _______ blind man who were trying to tell what an elephant was like in the story.
| A．two | B．four | C．five | D．six |
The man who touched the elephant’s ears must be very_______.
| A．heavy | B．thin | C．tall | D．strong |
The underlined word “it” in the last line of the paragraph refers to ___.
| A．your left hand | B．your right hand | C．the water | D．the bowl |
What makes people think about simple facts differently?
| A．People’s wrong ideas. |
| B．People’s different experience. |
| C．Simple facts are different sometimes. |
| D．People often disagree with each other. |
It can be inferred from the passage that we should__________.
| A．learn from the blind men |
| B．not agree about simple facts |
| C．never think about simple facts |
| D．never decide anything with one side |
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