For many years, no one could communicate with people who had been born without learning. These deaf people were not able to use a spoken language.
But, beginning in the 1700s, the deaf were taught a special language. Using this language, they could share thoughts and ideas with others. The language they used was a language without sound. It was a sign language.
How did this sign language work?  The deaf were taught to make certain movements with their hands, faces and bodies. These movements stood for things and ideas. A man might move his finger across his lips. This meant, “You are not telling the truth.” He might tap his chin (下巴, 下顎)with three fingers. This meant “my uncle”.
The deaf were also taught to use a finger alphabet（字母表）. They used their fingers to make letters of the alphabet. In this way, they spelled out words. Some deaf people could spell out words at a speed of 130 words per minute.
Sign language and finger spelling are not used as much as they once could. Today, the deaf are taught to understand others by watching their lips. They are also taught how to speak.
小題1:The passage is mainly about ___ .

A．how the deaf communicate with others

B．teaching the deaf to speak with their mouths

C．learning how to spell words with one’s hands

D．how sign languages came into being

小題2:From the passage we can infer that ___.

A．there is still no way to communicate with the deaf

B．the deaf must have special teachers to teach them

C．in order to make a living, deaf people must make signs

D．it is not very difficult for the deaf to learn sign language

小題3:How did sign languages help the deaf?

A．It helped them learn to read

B．The deaf could understand sign languages even if they had not learned them

C．It helped them to communicate with other people

D．It helped them speak with their mouths

小題4:Which of the following sentences do you think is right according to the passage?

A．Deaf people draw signs	B．Deaf people read with their fingers
C．Many deaf people now can speak	D．Deaf people can hear what others say now

The twin towns of LAUFEN/OBERNDORF


Laufen owes its former economical and cultural significance to the river Salzach,which forms a peninsula with its sharp curves（彎） there.
Laufen’s economic boom began with the salt trade and the shipping on the river.The salt—mainly coming from Hallein and Bad Reichenhall—was loaded onto bigger ships downstream,which made Laufen one of the most important ports of shipment for salt in Salzburg and Bavaria.
The archbishop（大教主） of Salzburg had given special privileges to the people who were involved in the shipping of salt on the river Salzach.
The Napoleonic Wars brought occupation and serious disturbances.They brought the sudden end to the independent state of the Duke—Archbishop of Salzburg.The end of the 18th century brought a decrease in shipping because of the general economic situation.On the 1st May 1816 Salzburg definitively became a part of Austria （Munich agreement） that’s why the Salzach became the border between Bavaria and Austria.Laufen’s suburbs Oberndorf and Altach were divided up.The number of inhabitants fell from 1392 to 809.Even the re－unification of the two towns’shipsmen’s guilds（行會(huì)） and the reorganization of 1928 could not prevent the decline of shipping which finally came to an end in the late 19th century.
小題1:________played an important role in Laufen’s economy and culture life.

A．Salt

B．Shipment

C．Guilds

D．Theriver Salzach

小題2:The underlined word“boom”probably means________.

A．pleasant sounds

B．sudden increase

C．sudden decrease

D．trade

小題3:The main idea of this passage is mainly about ________.

A．how the economy declined in Laufen

B．the effects of The Napoleonic Wars

C．how the twin towns of LAUFEN and OBERNDORF came into being

D．the history of Salzburg

If we say the four great inventions (Gunpowder,Compass,Paper and Art of Printing) reflected ancient China’s scientific achievements,then Zhaozhou Stone Bridge perfectly represented one of the greatest contributions to ancient China’s bridge building.Nobody was unfamiliar with the stone bridge full of legends and vivid folk stories.
The ancient Zhaozhou stone bridge started to be built in 590 during the Sui Dynasty (581～618) and established in 608.The pioneer for building the bridge was Li Chun who overcame unimaginable difficulties,undergoing all hardships.The location of the bridge is in Zhao County south,Hebei Province.It lay across the Xiaoshui River,far away from the mountains that provided rocky materials.In ancient times,it was such a busy,deep and wide river that could be used as an important carriage to transport heavy rocks and other materials.As we know,no train,no lifting machine could be used to move granite(花崗巖)blocks to the construction site.As an intelligent stonemason and engineer,Li Chun worked out his plan and design all from his own direct observation and investigation.It took his whole life-time in completing the great historical project inChina.Nowadays it is not only a historical remarkable model of architecture,but also a brilliant Chinese cultural crystallization(結(jié)晶) of wisdom.
The entire length of the bridge is 50.82 meters with 10 meters width.The whole stone bridge looks like a big bow,the span of which is 37.02 meters,and its height from the top to the surface of water at a regular position is 7.23 meters.The bridge arch seems to be moving smoothly and flatly.The whole arch consists of 28 big granite blocks connected each other tightly together.On both end sides of the general arch there are 4 smaller arches,2 of which on one side,the other 2 on the other side.The smaller arches could be used to decrease the weight of the bridge and save stone materials,and help flood get through easily,which seems to be much prettier.Such a hard-thinking and careful consideration of the engineering article is really a model of design and layout.The span was much wider than the other stone bridge in ancient times all over China.
Today Zhaozhou Stone Bridge is one of international cultural relics and perfectly protected and preserved by the concerned administration of China.
小題1:The best title of this passage is _________.

A．Great engineer in ancient China	B．Zhaozhou stone bridge
C．Four great inventions	D．How to build a bridge

小題2:The third paragraph mainly tells us _________.

A．the materials of Zhaozhou bridge	B．the structure of Zhaozhou bridge
C．the arches of Zhaozhou bridge	D．the importance of Zhaozhou bridge

小題3:The underlined word “carriage” probably refers to _________.

A．cart

B．transport

C．channel

D．resourse

Archery(射箭) may be the oldest sport in the world. There are prehistoric drawings which show that bows and arrows were used 20 000 years ago. In early times, animals were always hunted and killed with bows and arrows. Good archers were very important when country fought against country. One of the most famous legends(傳奇,傳奇故事) in ?European? history is the story of Wilhelm Tell. He was a Swiss who refused to work for an Austrian, and was ordered to shoot an apple from the head of his son. He hit the apple, and then shot the Austrian. Switzerland has been free since then, so the story goes.
Archers shoot at targets at 30, 50, 70 or 90 meters' distance from them. The targets are round,80 centimeters across, and have 5 circles painted round the centre. Bows are made of steel, wood and strong plastic, and arrows of wood. The sport is enjoyed in the open air in summer and in a building in winter. Archery is good for the chest, the arms and the back. Men and women can shoot together since being strong is not so important. Women usually use lighter bows. People who can't walk or who have been ill can also enjoy it. For Zen Buddhists(佛教徒) archery is not only a sport but also something deeper. It helps the individual to understand himself and the meaning of life.
小題1:Good archers, were needed by countries in order to_______.?

A．make bows and arrows	B．hunt animals?
C．do drawings	D．kill enemies?

小題2:The legend says Switzerland has been free since Wilhelm Tell_______.?

A．killed an Austrian	B．invented a story?
C．started working for an Austrian	D．shot an apple at his child?

小題3:“Target” in Paragraph 2 most nearly means_______.

A．a(chǎn)n image of a person?

B．something to be aimed at in shooting-practice?

C．a(chǎn)n animal which is painted 5 circles?

D．a(chǎn) dead animal used for shooting-practice??

The name “cowboy” conjures up many different images from movies, songs and TV. These imagined cowboys range from white-hat-wearing heroes to gun-shooting hooligans(流氓).But, cowboys are actually real people from US history.?
When the US Civil War ended, many soldiers had no place to call home. So, they began to drift to the country's rural West. Ranchers(農(nóng)場(chǎng)主) hired these men to take care of the cattle and work around the ranch. When the ranch owner wanted to sell the cattle, the cowboys would round up the herd from the open prairie(牧場(chǎng)) and drive the cattle miles to the market.?
With the invention of barbed wire(鐵絲網(wǎng)),the cowboy era(1865-1890) began to come to an end. But people in the East had always been curious about their lifestyle. Many country/western songs during this time tried to capture the true cowboy spirit. Newspapers published cowboy tales in serial form and adventure novels followed. The bigger the fiction, the better the sales. These novels often portrayed cowboys as cruel and violent men. Cowboys carried the bad reputation for many years afterwards.
When movies began to be popular in the 1920s,the cowboy image changed again. Now, a cowboy became the great white knight(騎士) that loved his horse more than the beautiful ladies he rescued. As the cowboy of the “Old West” spent more time with his horse than the ladies, this era's image was not entirely false.
Then, in the 50s,Hollywood began producing so-called “spaghetti westerns(意大利西部片)”.They earned the nickname because Italian companies financed the films and TV shows. This started the decade's “Cowboy Craze”.While this didn't last long, it made modern country/western music, fashion and dance extremely popular.?
In recent years, with the help of musicians, radio stations and bars, cowboy nostalgia(懷舊情緒) has returned. Even though his image is still changing—somewhere between ballad singing country boy and bar?room fighter—there's one thing for sure, you can't keep the cowboy down.?
小題1:The purpose of this story is to _______.

A．introduce cowboy movies and novels?

B．introduce various productions associated with cowboys?

C．show the cowboy's everlasting charm　?

D．inform us about the cowboy's spirit?

小題2: Before they became cowboys, they _______.

A．served in the army	B．worked as bar-room fighters?
C．owned ranches	D．were adventurous explorers?

小題3:During “the cowboy era” mentioned in the story, _______.?

A．the cowboy often came to the rescue of ladies in newspaper tales?

B．the distant Wild West appealed to people in the East?

C．cowboys were shown as cruel and violent men on the silver screen?

D．country music started the cowboy craze which swept the whole country

小題4:By saying “you can't keep the cowboy down”,the writer means that _______.

A．cowboys are real people in history	B．cowboys still fascinate people?
C．you can't make cowboys unhappy	D．you can't grasp the cowboy spirit?

　　In 1826, a Frenchman named Niepce needed pictures for his business. But he was not a good artist. So he invented a very simple cameras. He put it in a window of his house and took a picture of his yard. That was the first photograph.
　　The next important date in the history! of photography was 1837. That year, Daguerre, another French, took a picture of his studio. He used a new kind of camera and a different process. In his pictures, you could see everything very clearly, even the smallest details. This kind of photograph was called a daguerreotype.
　　Soon, other people began to use Daguerre's process. Travelers brought back daguerreotypes from all around the world. People photographed famous buildings, cities and mountains.
　　In about 1840, the process was improved. Then photographers could take pictures of people and moving things. The process was not simple. The photographers had to cary lots of films and processing equipment. But this did not stop the photographers, especially in the United States. After 1840s daguerreotype artists were popular in most cities.
　　Mathew Brady was a well - known American photographer. He took many pictures of famous people. The pictures were unusual because they were very life - like and full of personality （個(gè)性）.
　　Brady was also the first preson to take pictures of war. His 1862 Civil War pictures showed dead soldiers and ruined cities. They made the war seem more real and more terrible.
　　In the 1880s, new inventions began to change photography... Photographers could buy films readymade in rolls（卷）. So they did not have to make the film themselves. Also, they did not have to process the film immediately. They could bring it back to their studios and develop it later meaning that they did not have to carry lots of equipment. And finally, the invention of the small handheld camera made photography less expensive.
　　With the small camera, anyone could be a photographer. People began to use cameras just for fun. They took pictures of their families, friends and favorite places. They called these pictures" snapshot".
　　Photographs became very popular in newspapers in the 1890s. Soon magazines and books also used documentary photographs. These pictures showed true events and people. They were much more real than drawing.
　　Photography also turned into a form of art by the end of the 10th century. Some photographs were not just copies of the real world. They showed ideas and feelings, like other art forms.
　　小題1:The passage is mainly about ________.

A．the inventoin of cameras

B．a(chǎn) kind of new art - photography

C．the development of photography

D．the important dates in the history of photography

　　　小題2:The first pictures of a war were taken by________.

A．a(chǎn) French photographer in the 1840s

B．a(chǎn)n American photographer in the 1860s

C．a(chǎn) German reporter in the 1880s

D．a(chǎn) French artist in the 1890s

　　小題3:Photography can also be an art form because artists can ________.

A．take anything they like

B．keep a record of real life

C．take photos of the famous

D．show ideas and feeling in pictures

When in 1789，George Washington became the first president of the United States，there was no permanent(永久的)capital in which to house the government.During the Revolutionary War seven different cities had served as the national capital.In addition，members of congress(國(guó)會(huì))could not agree as to where this permanent capital should be located.Some officials wanted it in the north，others wanted it in the south.Each of the states hoped that the capital might lie within its own state lines.At last it was decided that the capital should occupy a section(區(qū)域)by itself，separate from any of the states.The place chosen was situated on the Potomas River.The land belonged originally(原先地) to the state of Maryland，but Maryland agreed to the national government.The section was named the District of Columbia after Christopher Columbus.The city itself was named Washington，after George Washington.Work was begun on the new capital in 1791.In the year 1799 Congress occupied the new capital building at the same time the White House was opened as the home of all future presidents.
小題1:Before the year 1800，the capital of America had been located in_________.

A．Maryland

B．Washington

C．New York

D．several cities

小題2:Why was it decided that the capital should be separated from any of the states?Because_________.

A．the District of Columbia was on the borders(邊境) of several states

B．the District of Columbia was in the center of America

C．Maryland insisted that the capital lie in its own state

D．each of the states wanted the capital might lie within its own state

小題3:Presidents of the United States live in_________.
A.the capital building           C.Maryland           C.New York           D.the White House
小題4:Which of the following statements is true?

A．Capital is the place for presidents to live in.

B．Capital should be the largest city in the country.

C．It took nine years to build the capital of Washington.

D．Since 1791，Washington has been the capital of the United States.

Shundagarh is a village on India's east-facing coast.It is a village of simple mud and grass houses built on the beach just above the waterline.The Khadra Hills rise immediately behind the village,to a height of one hundred and fifty meters.A simple,good-hearted old man,whose name was Jalpur,farmed two small fields on the very edge of these hills.From his fields he could see the fishing boats that travelled up and down the coast.He could see the children playing on the sands;their mothers washing clothes on the flat stones where the Shiva River flowed into the sea;and their fathers landing the latest catch or repairing nets and telling stories that had no end.
All Jalpur owned in the world were the clothes he wore day in and day out,the miserable hut(小屋) that he slept in at night,a few tools and cooking pots—and his fields.The corn that he grew was all that made life possible.If the weather was kind and the harvest was good,Jalpur could live happily enough—not well,but happily.When the sun was fierce,and there was little or no rain,then he came close to the line between life and death.
Last year the weather had been so kind,and the harvest promised to be so good,that Jalpur had been wondering whether he could sell all that he had and live with his son farther up the coast.He had been thinking about doing this for some years.It was his dearest wish to spend his last days with his son and his wife.But he would go only if he could give;he would not go if it meant taking food out of the mouths of his grandchildren.He would rather die hungry than do this.
On the day when Jalpur decided that he would harvest his corn,sell it,and move up the coast,he looked out to sea and saw a huge wave,several kilometers out,advancing on the coast and on the village of Shundagarh.Within ten minutes everyone in Shundagarh would be drowned.Jalpur would have shouted,but the people were too far away to hear.He would have run down the hill,but he was too old to run.He was prepared to do anything to save the people of Shundagarh,so he did the only thing that he could do: he set fire to his corn.In a matter of seconds the flames were rising high and smoke was rising higher.Within a minute the people of Shundagarh were racing up the hill to see what had happened.There,in the middle of his blackened cornfield,they found Jalpur;and there they buried him.
On his grave,they wrote the words: Here lies Jalpur,a man who gave,living: a man who died,giving.
小題1:Which of the following could Jalpur NOT see from his Fields?

A．Mothers washing clothes.

B．Fathers taking their corn to market.

C．Fishing boats traveling on the sea.

D．Children playing on the sands.

小題2:Why didn't Jalpur live well?

A．He didn't work hard.

B．He had too many children to feed.

C．He only depended on good weather and harvest for survival.

D．The villagers kept taking his corn.

小題3:Jalpur's dearest wish was to _________.

A．move away from his son

B．take a vacation up the coast

C．make a great deal of money in order to live an easy life

D．spend his last days with his son and his wife

小題4:What did Jalpur do when he saw the huge wave?

A．He set his corn on fire so the people of Shundagarh would leave the beach.

B．He screamed loudly to get the villagers' attention.

C．He ran down the hill to tell the people.

D．He stood still,not knowing what to do.

Over a hundred years ago people in London were surprised to see a very unusual boat come sailing up the Thames River.The boat was eighty feet long flat-bottomed,with big wooden eyes on both sides in the front and was colorfully painted at the back.
People came to know that it was a sailing boat from Fuzhou in distant China.The boat had sailed round the Cape of Good Hope(好望角) up the western coast of Africa,and finally to England.It had covered fifteen thousand miles—more than half of the distance round the world.
Although it was unexpected,the Chinese were warmly welcomed.The boat carried goods such as silk and tea as well as a number of gifts from the Emperor of China for the Queen of England.
People had always mistakenly thought of the Chinese as a people not used to sea.However,from centuries of trading and sailing in dangerous seas,the Chinese had learned how to build good boats and sailed them well.The coming of this sailing boat to London proved once again that the Chinese could sail to distant countries in the world.
小題1:The boat was considered unusual because _________.

A．it was a small wooden boat

B．it carried Chinese silk and tea

C．it had traveled fifteen thousand miles

D．it looked strange in several ways

小題2:According to this article,which of the following is TRUE?

A．The distance round the earth measures less than thirty thousand miles.

B．The Chinese Emperor gave silk and tea to the English Queen as gifts.

C．The Chinese boat came to London by accident.

D．The Chinese people were not good at sailing in dangerous seas.

小題3:The boat reached London by sailing _________.

A．round the southern end of Africa

B．up the west coast of England

C．through the Arctic Ocean

D．round Asia and Europe

小題4:.The writer wants to prove that a long time ago the Chinese _________.

A．carried silk,tea and other goods to England

B．could reach many parts of the world by sea

C．could sail along the Thames River

D．surprised Londoners with an unusual boat

Americans have contributed to many art forms,but jazz,a type of music,is one of the art forms that was started in the United States.Black Americans,who sang and played the music of their homeland,created jazz.
Jazz is a mixture of the music of Africa,the work songs the slaves sang,and religious（宗教）music.Improvisation is an important part of jazz.This means that the musicians make the music up as they go along,or create the music on the spot.This is why a jazz song might sound a little different each time it is played.
Jazz bands formed in the late 1800s.They played in bars and clubs in many towns and cities of the South,especially New Orleans.New Orleans is an international seaport,and people from all over the world come to New Orleans to hear jazz.
Jazz became more and more popular.By the 1920s,jazz was popular all over the United States.By the 1940s,you could hear jazz not only in clubs and bars,but in concert halls as well.Today,people from all over the world play jazz.Jazz musicians from the United States,Asia,Africa,South America,and Europe meet and share their music at festivals on every continent.In this way jazz continues to grow and change.
小題1:What can be the best title of the passage?

A．American Art Forms	B．The Development of Jazz
C．The Music of Black Americans	D．The Birthplace of Jazz

小題2:Which of the following is TRUE?

A．Jazz is now popular all over the world.

B．Jazz is now a kind of religious music.

C．Jazz is now played only in bars and clubs.

D．Jazz is now played a little differently sometimes.

小題3:From the text it can be inferred that_________.

A．New Orleans is the place where jazz was first produced

B．the American people are all jazz lovers

C．jazz is merely sung by the black when working

D．jazz may become more popular as time goes on

小題4:It took about _________ years to make jazz popular in the United States.

A．200

B．120

C．80

D．40