The “One Belt One Road” strategy proposed by President Xi Jinping has drawn public attention to Silk Road. Silk Road refers to the old overland trade route1.was formed in the Western Han Dynasty. This route stretched 4, 350 miles from Chang’an to western China, central Asia, and even to Europe,2.（enable）these to have better communications in diplomacy, business and culture.
China was the first country3.（produce）silk fabric. This skill reached a 4.（fair）advanced level in the Zhou Dynasty. As a major export to Europe, “silk”5.(use) to name this great route by a German geographer, Ferdinand von Richthofen. China’s silk was introduced into western6.（country）through this old trade route. People were not familiar with this product at the beginning, and made many guesses at how7.was produced. According to the record, the idea that silk was picked from trees was widely accepted by folks in Europe.
Clothes made of this fabric were always best sellers, and were considered a social status symbol. Even the gorgeous Egyptian queen, Cleopatra, was also a big fan of the silk. This fascination led to an 8.（increase）demand9.this product, and promoted the10.(develop)of this trading route.
The exact cause of the crime cannot be remembered as it happened a long time ago, but the punishment is still _______ and vivid: Dig up the fig tree（无花果）in the backyard and plant it at Mumsy’s place in the country. As I often did when sentenced to hard labor in the garden, I suspected this was my parents’ way of _______me to do their dirty work.
It was a Sunday morning. With some tools, I went at the tree, cutting it branch by branch and limb by limb, _______all that remained of the once-proud specimen（标本，样本）was a sorry-looking stump of a thing.
“What did that_________ever do to you?” my father said, “You should have left some taproot (主根)of it, at least. Go and load up the truck.” On any other day before, during the_______to Mumsy’s, we would have pleasantly_______school as usual, but I fenced myself off that time.
Then, at Mumsy’s, instead of sitting back to watch me work, he_______me. As my father and I took turns to work, I could feel my anger_______, making room for the simple satisfaction of working at my father’s side_______a common goal.
“Well,” my father said when we________, “we’ve done what we can do.” “Do you think there’s any________that it can grow up?” I asked. “It’s rich dirt. They say you can________toenails（指甲）in it and grow little kids.” My father answered. I never tried the toenail trick, but I did________as it settled in, took root, and began to prosper. I was amazed and________when bowls of figs began to fill the fridge.
In a perfectly________world, I don’t deserve the reward. I had________the tree for my own complaints. What right did I have to the fruit? Years later, I put this________to my father. Watching him slide a bowl of figs from the fridge one morning, I felt a sudden stab of shame for my boyhood________. My father took a fig from the________and let me think of the fruit as forgiveness. “You,” he said, “________some of that.”
1.A. certain B. strange C. common D. clear
2.A. inviting B. letting C. getting D. helping
3.A. since B. when C. until D. after
4.A. truck B. tool C. tree D. taproot
5.A. rest B. flight C. walk D. ride
6.A. thought over B. talked about C. broke into D. gave up
7.A. forgave B. tricked C. entertained D. joined
8.A. disappeared B. concentrated C. approached D. exploded
9.A. through B. against C. toward D. off
10.A. argued B. continued C. started D. finished
11.A. relationship B. value C. advantage D. chance
12.A. dig B. plant C. remove D. observe
13.A. understand B. determine C. watch D. feel
14.A. confused B. happy C. regretful D. disappointed
15.A. fair B. strange C. usual D. easy
16.A. frogotten B. cut C. helped D. guarded
17.A. task B. answer C. question D. action
18.A. suffering B. misfortune C. sorrow D. rudeness
19.A. bowl B. desk C. kitchen D. fridge
20.A. deserve B. receive C. protect D. suspect
From an early stage in your life, you are taught to respect others, and do kind things for them. However, in some cases, people begin to take advantage of your kind nature, expecting more from you.1. If you feel as if there are people in your life who take you for granted, it’s time to protect yourself.
Know that you have the right to feel respected. Social and cultural pressures may encourage you to believe that it’s rude to say “no” to others when they ask you for things. You may also have been taught to feel that your work is less valuable than others’ and does not deserve recognition 2.. Everyone has the right to be respected and appreciated, and it isn’t wrong to want to be treated that way.
Identify what has changed in the relationship. If you feel taken for granted, it may be because you once felt valued by the person who is now taking you for granted. It might also be because the knowledge that you should feel appreciated but do not 3.. It can also help you find a solution for the relationship.
4.You know that you don’t want to feel taken for granted. But what do you want It will be hard to see any change in your situation if you feel vague dissatisfaction but have no clear ideas on what would improve it. 5.Once you know the change about the relationship clearly, you’ll be able to take better action to get you there.
A. Think about what you want.
B. Practice what you want to say.
C. These things can lead to you feeling taken for granted.
D. Try making a list of things that you would like to see the change about the relationship.
E. If you feel taken for granted by others, you need to communicate that to the other person.
F. Such people may repeatedly ask you for favors without returning any favors or showing you any respect.
G. Whatever the cause is, identifying what has changed your interactions with the other person can help you feel better.
Honesty varies. First there’s self-honesty. Is what people see the real article or do you appear through smoke and mirrors? I find that if I try to be something I’m not, I feel unsure of myself and take out a part from my PBA(personal bank account). I love how singer Judy Garland put it, “Always be a first-class version(版本) of yourself, instead of a second-class version of somebody else.”
Then there’s honesty in our actions. Are you honest at school, with your parents, and with your boss? If you’ve ever been dishonest, I think we all have, try being honest, and notice how whole it makes you feel. Remember, you can’t do wrong and feel right. This story by Jeff is a good example of that:
In my second year of study, there were three kids in my math class who didn’t do well. I was really good at it. I would charge them three dollars for each test that I helped them pass. I’d write on a little piece of paper all the right answers, and hand them off.
At first I felt like I was making money, kind of a nice job. I wasn’t thinking about how it could hurt all of us. After a while I realized I shouldn’t do that anymore, because I wasn’t really helping them. They weren’t learning anything, and it would only get harder down the road. Cheating certainly wasn’t helping me.
It takes courage to be honest when people all around you are getting away with cheating on tests, lying to their parents, and stealing at work. But, remember, every act of honesty is a deposit into your PBA and will build strength.
1.The underlined part “appear through smoke and mirrors” in the first paragraph means ''________''.
A. to be honest B. to be clear
C. to be creative D. to be unreal
2.Which of the following can best explain Judy Garland’s words?
A. Don’t copy others or you can’t be the first class.
B. Be your true self rather than follow others.
C. Make efforts to be the first instead of the second.
D. Don’t learn from others unless they’re excellent.
3.What does the author expect to show by Jeff’s story?
A. Honesty can be of great help.
B. A bad thing can be turned into a good one.
C. Helping others cheat can do good to nobody but yourself.
D. One should realize the wrong in his bad deeds.
4.In the last paragraph the author mainly wants to express ________.
A. one must be brave to be honest
B. it’s difficult to be honest when others are not
C. one should be honest when making a deposit
D. honesty in one’s actions can help him in the future
In a land often shaken by earthquake, how have Japan's wooden pagodas（佛塔）remained standing for centuries? Japanese scholars have been confident for ages about their resilience（抗震性）.
For centuries, many believed the resilience of pagodas is caused by its big central columns known as shinbashira actually does not carry any weight at all but is hanging down loosely from the top of the pagoda through the middle of the building. The weight of the building is supported entirely by twelve outer and four inner columns.
And what is the role of the shinbashira, the central column? Mr. Ishida, known as ‘Professor Pagoda’ has built a series of models and tested them on a ‘shake-table’ in his laboratory. In short, the shinbashira was acting like a big pendulum(钟摆). Under pressure, a pagoda’s loose floors could be made to move back and forth independently. Viewed from the side, the pagoda seemed to be doing a snake dance—with each floor moving in the opposite direction to its neighbors above and below. The shinbashira, running up through a hole in the centre of the building, made it unlikely that individual floors moved too far because, after moving a certain distance, they banged into it, transmitting energy away along the column.
Another strange feature of the Japanese pagoda is its shape, with each floor being smaller than the one below. In other words, a five-storey pagoda contains not column that travels right up through the building. More surprising is the fact that the individual storeys of a Japanese pagoda are not actually connected to each other. They are simply put on top of another like a small hill of hats.
The extra-wide eaves（屋檐）also play a part. Think of them as a balancing pole of tightrope-walkers. The bigger the mass at each end of the pole, the easier it is for tightrope walker to maintain his or her balance. The same holds true for a pagoda.
1.Shuzo Ishida performs experiments in order to ________.
A. put the pendulum into practice
B. gain insight into the “shake-table” model
C. learn about the function of the shinbashira
D. locate shinbashira’s excat position in a pagoda
2.The underlined word “loose” in paragraph 3 can be replaced by ________?
A. lost B. relaxed
C. base D. shakable
3.Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to the article?
A. Some columns may extend from the bottom to the top of a pagoda.
B. The functions of extra eaves and balancing poles are similar.
C. The storeys of a Japanese pagoda aren’t built firmly.
D. Pagodas’s amazing resilience has long puzzled scholars.
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A. How Shinbashira Plays Its Role
B. Why Pagodas Do Not Fall Down
C. Distinct Features of Japanese Architecture
D. Shuzo Ishida, a Famous Engineer
In Michael Morpurgo’s novel War Horse, the horse is not only the principal character, he is the teller of his own story.
Set in England and France 100 years ago War Horse tells the story of Joey, a handsome young horse who strikes up a close relationship with Albert, the teenage son of Joey’s owner. But war breaks out and they are separated and plunged into the horrors of the war in France. Both survive and are finally reunited after a remarkable series of events seen through the eyes of the splendid war horse, Joey.
The following cutting comes from near the beginning of the book.
It was some months later, on the way back from cutting the grass in Great Field that Albert first talked to us about the war. His whistling stopped in mid-tune. “Mother says there’s likely to be a war,” he said softly. “I don’t know what it is about—something about some old duke(公爵) that’s been shot at somewhere. Can’t think why that should matter to anyone, but she says we will be in it all the same. But it will not affect us, not down here. We will go on just the same. At fifteen I am too young to go, anyway—well, that’s what she said. But I tell you, Joey, if there is a war I’d want to go. I think I’d make a good soldier, don’t you? Look fine in a uniform, wouldn’t I? And I have always wanted to march to the beat of a band. Can you imagine that, Joey? Come to that, you’d make a good war horse yourself, wouldn’t you. If you ride as well as you pull, and I know you will. God help the Germans if they ever have to fight the two of us.”
One hot summer evening, after a long and dusty day in the fields, I was having my dinner, with Albert still rubbing me down with straw and talking on about the plenty of good straw they’d have for the winter months when I heard his father’s heavy steps coming across the yard towards us. “Mother,” he shouted. “Mother, come out, Mother. It is war, Mother. I have just heard it in the village. Postman came in this afternoon with news.”
1.Who is the teller of the cutting?
A. Michael Morpurgo. B. Joey.
C. Albert. D. Albert’s mother.
2.Which of the following is the right order?
a. The war broke out.
b. Alert and Joey were reunited after their survivals of the war.
c. The old duke had been shot dead.
d. Alert and Joey were plunged into the war and were separated.
A. c. a. d. b B. d. a. b. c
C. d. c. a. d D. c. d. a. b
3.As for the coming war, Mother said that ________.
A. their village would get involved very soon
B. Albert was not grown up enough to join the army
C. the old duke’s death maybe meant nothing to them
D. both Albert and Joey could be tough fighters
4.Which of the following best describes Albert according to the cutting from War Horse?
A. Imaginative but frightened. B. Quiet but thoughtful.
C. Determined but cold. D. Childish but brave.
