Marco Polo was born in Italy in 1254． When he was 17， he travelled along the Silk Road with his father． who wanted to trade with the Chinese． Finally， they arrived in Beijing． They were guests at the Emperor's Palace． Marco was very clever and could speak four languages． The Emperor was impressed by him and they became friends． He asked Marco to serve in his court （宫殿） and sent him to do many important jobs all over the country．
Marco was amazed by how beautiful China was． He was impressed by Beijing and the Emperor's Palace， especially the Summer Palace which was described as "The greatest palace that I've ever seen"． The walls were covered with gold and silver and the hall was so big that it could easily hold 6，000 people for dinner．"
Marco was also attracted （吸引） by the inventions and developments in China which couldn't be found in Europe at that time． Marco was surprised to see Chinese people using paper money in the markets． In Europe， people paid for goods（货物） 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 was a very wealthy man 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．
People enjoyed the book， but many of them thought that Marco's stories about China were too fantastic to be true． However， Marco always stood by his tales． Just before he died， aged 70， Marco was asked the question， "Was it all true？" And this was his answer， "I have only told a half what I saw!"
Marco Polo and China |
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Before arriving in China |
◆ In 1254， he was born in Italy． ◆ At the age of 17， he travelled along the （1） with his father to trade with the Chinese． |
During his living in China |
◆ He made friends with the Emperor and served in the court． ◆ He did many （2） _____around China． |
◆ The beauty of China impressed him． |
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◆ The （3） _____in China attracted Marco． ①Paper money was used to buy goods in the markets． ②Chinese people used （4） to produce heat． |
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After returning to Italy |
◆ He became wealthy． ◆ A book written about his traveling experiences around the world sold well in Europe． |
◆ The underlined sentence tells us that （5） ． |
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"What's the meaning of life？" This is a question we all ask（1） at one point or another． The best answer that I came across was written by the great psychologist， Viktor Frankl． He wrote that "The meaning of life is to give life meaning"．
When I was a young boy， I gave my life meaning by（2） playing， running， jumping， swimming， laughing and riding my bike．
When I went to school， I gave my life meaning by learning， studying hard， getting good grades and trying to make my mom and dad （3） ．
When I was a teenager， I found meaning in playing sports， （4） out with my friends and trying to impress girls．
In college， I found my life meaning by deciding what I wanted to study and what career（职业） I would （5） for．
When I was working as a teacher， I found meaning in helping to open young minds to new （6） and old wisdom．
When I married and had kids， I found meaning in protecting and watching over those I loved． When I found out （7） of my sons were mentally handicapped（智障）， I found meaning in loving them， （8） them and learning so much from them about life， love， patience， faith and joy．
（9） I grew older， I began to understand meaning isn't something that comes and goes． We can give meaning to every moment of our life． We can bring meaning to the thoughts we have． We can bring meaning to the things we do． We can bring meaning to the hearts we （10） ． All we have to do is to love．
It is love that makes life worth living． It is love that gives life meaning．
（1）A． ourselves |
B． ours |
C． us |
（2）A． exactly |
B． simply |
C． widely |
（3）A． wise |
B． serious |
C． proud |
（4）A． hanging |
B． bringing |
C． giving |
（5）A． provide |
B． prepare |
C． cheer |
（6）A． ideas |
B． advice |
C． promises |
（7）A． neither |
B． either |
C． both |
（8）A． growing up |
B． caring for |
C． taking after |
（9）A． As |
B． Unless |
C． Since |
（10）A． feel |
B． touch |
C． beat |
I live in Pennsylvania． It is a （1） （north） state of America， which is the 33rd （2） （large） state in America． You might know some of the cities， like Philadelphia， Pittsburgh and Allentown． The state capital is Harrisburg． Now let me tell you a little more about my state．
Several Indian tribes（部落） lived in Pennsylvania before（3） （Europe）came． The Dutch came first， （4） （follow） by Sweden． England started colonies（殖民地） later． After a few fights， they （5） （take） control of the land．
Pennsylvania （6） （give） to the Penn family later． That is how Pennsylvania got its name． Pennsylvania was the （7） （two） to join the nation． The city of Philadelphia （8） （be）an important city since the colony was founded． It was even the capital of America， too!
Today， Pennsylvania is sometimes regarded as the snack capital of the country． It is famous for snacks， like pretzels and chips， Heinz ketchup and sauces． There is also Hershey， which is well （9） （know） as the chocolate company．
There are steel companies in the state， as well as a lot of colleges． There are plenty of things （10）（do） in Pennsylvania． There are several major sports teams． Pennsylvania has 121 state parks， and they all have free（11） （enter）． Hunting is popular here， too．
Are you thinking about （12） （visit） the state？
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