____________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________

    The Amber Room, 1.______ was made of seven thousand tons of amber with gold and jewels,
was 2.______ to be the best and biggest work of amber ever 3.______.It 4.______ a team of
best artists in Prussia ten years to make it.
    In 1716, Frederick William I presented the Amber Room to Peter the Great, 5.______ a
gift of friendship from the Prussian to the Russian people. About four meters long,the
Room 6.______ as a small reception hall in the Czar's winter palace in St Petersburg. Late
r, Catherine Ⅱ had the Room moved outside St Petersburg and also had it 7.______, 8.______
more details to its design. In 1770, the Room was completed the 9.______ she wanted, with
almost 600 candles 10.______ the room and scores of mirrors and pictures shining 11.______
gold.
    But sadly, the Amber Room, one of the great 12.______ of the world, got lost during
the war 13.______ Russia and Germany in 1941. The Russians weren't able to remove the Room
14.______ the Nazi German army got to summer palace. Some of the Nazis secretly stole
the Room,taking it by train to a German city. After that, what 15.______ to the Amber Room
remains a mystery.

   _________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

    A "lost tribe" that reached America from Australia may have been the first Native
Americans, according to a new theory.
    If proved by DNA evidence, the theory will break long established beliefs about the
southerly migration of people who entered America across the Bering Strait, found it
empty and occupied it.
    On this theory rests the belief of Native Americans to have been the first true
Americans. They would be classified to the ranks of escapee, beaten to the New World by
Aboriginals (土著人) in boats.
    To a European, this may seem like an academic argument, but to Americans it is a
philosophical question about identity, Silvia Gonzales, of Liverpool University said.
    Her claims are based on skeletons found in the California Peninsula of Mexico that
have skulls quite unlike the broad Mongolian features of Native Americans. These narrow-
skulled people have more in common with southern Asians, Aboriginal Australians and people
of the South Pacific Region.
    The bones, stored at the National Museum of Anthropology (人類學(xué)) in Mexico City,
have been carbon-dated and one is 12,700 years old, which places it several thousand
years before the arrival of people from the North. "We think there were several migration
waves into the Americas at different times by different human groups," Dr. Gonzales said.
"The timing, route and point of origin of the first colonization of the Americas remains
a most contentious topic in human evolution."
    But comparisons based on skull shape are not considered conclusive by anthropologists,
so a team of Mexican and British scientists, backed by the Natural Environment Research
Council, has also attempted to take out DNA from the bones. Dr. Gonzales declined yesterday
to say exactly what the results were, as they need to be checked, but indicated that they
were consistent (一致) with an Australian origin.

1. It is generally considered that the first Native Americans came from ______.

A. North Asia
B. Australia
C. South Pacific
D. South Asia

2. The skeletons found in the California Peninsula of Mexico have ______.

A. the broad skull shape
B. the narrow skull shape
C. different features of Aboriginal Australians
D. the same features of Native Americans

3. The underlined "contentious" is similar in meaning to "______".

A. likely to cause great interest
B. difficult to solve
C. well-known to all
D. likely to cause argument

4. Which of the following statements is true according to the text?

A. Research on skulls can draw an exact conclusion.
B. DNA tests have proved the fact that the first Native Americans came from Australian.
C. Scientists are still not sure about the origin of the Native Americans.
D. People began to enter America across the Bering Strait about 12,700 years ago.

    The Taj Mahal (泰姬陵) is considered to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the
world and the finest example of the late style of Indian architecture (建筑). It is at Agra
in northern India. It lies beside the River Jumna in the middle of gardens with quiet pools. 　 　
    The Taj Mahal was built by the Mogul emperor (皇帝) Shah Jehan, who ruled India in
the seventeenth century. It is in memory of his favorite wife, Arjumand Banu Bagam, known
as Mumtaz Mahal, who died in 1631. The building, which was completed between 1632 and
1638, was designed by a local Muslim architect (建筑師), Ustad Ahmad Lahori. The whole
building, with gardens and gateway structures, was completed in 1643. The Taj Mahal stands
at one end of the garden tomb with marble (大理石) path. The room is softly lighted by the
light that passes through double screens of carved marble set high in the walls. The
building now is kept in good condition. 　 　
    The Taj Mahal took 22 years to build. Shah Jehan planned a similar building, but in
black instead of white, to lie on the other side of the river. But before it could be
built, Shah Jehan was imprisoned (監(jiān)禁) by his son and buried next to his wife in the
Taj Mahal.

1. The Taj Mahal was built for _____.

A. Mumtaz
B. Shah
C. Either Mumtaz or Shah 　
D. Both Mumtaz and Shah

2. Why do you think Shah Jehan was buried next to his wife?

A. His own tomb hadn't been built.　
B. He hoped to be buried there.
C. King and Queen should be buried together.
D. He liked Mumtaz all his life.

3. The passage mainly tells us _____.

A. why the Taj Mahal was built
B. the love story between Shah and Mumtaz
C. some information about the Taj Mahal
D. the Taj Mahal-the pride of Indians

4. Form the passage we can learn that _____.

A. the Taj Mahal looks more beautiful than before.
B. the Taj Mahal doesn't exist now.
C. the Taj Mahal has completely changed.
D. the Taj Mahal has become a place of interest.

    With its budget of $80 million, John Woo as director, and an all-star cast (明星云集
的演員陣容), Red Cliff is the most expensive and ambitious Asian-financed film ever. Last
week I saw the release of the second part, and boy oh boy does it shows.
    But watching the film as a foreigner I felt I was missing out on something. Not knowing
my Cao Cao's from my Zhou Yu's, I was not even sure whom I wanted to win. Certainly after
the opening scene, in which Cao Cao is seen watching a game of Cuju, an ancient Chinese
variation of football, I knew who had my support. After all, any man who enjoys his
football is someone after my own heart. But after Cao Cao resorted to some evil strategies
against his enemies in the south, I wasn't so sure he was the man I should be rooting for. 
    And there is a lot more to Red Cliff 2 than just extravagant battle scenes. The film
does not take itself too seriously. Conversations between leaders are littered with one-
liners, many of which had the audience in laughter. There is even enough to keep fans of
more romantic entertainment happy too. This includes a charming relationship between a
southern spy (偵探) and an innocent northern soldier. The characters' interaction provides
some genuinely heart-warming moments in the middle of the battle.
    Clocking in at(結(jié)束于) around two hours, the film certainly does justice to the
history story. When I walked out the cinema, I felt as drained (精疲力竭) as Cao Cao's
soldiers must have 1,800 years ago.

1. By expressing "boy oh boy" in the first paragraph, the author seems to show that _____.

A. the film characters are like boys who are childish.
B. the film provides amazing and surprising scenes for audience.
C. the film is suitable for younger boys to watch.
D. the film scene is so bloody that boys shouldn't watch it.

2. When did the author change his attitude toward Cao Cao?

A. When he read the history story about Cao Cao.
B. When he saw Cao Cao was watching a game of Cuju,
C. When he realized that Cao Cao took some bad measures to beat his enemies.
D. When he saw the romantic love story of Cao Cao and a southern spy.

3. The following factors of the film are all mentioned in the passage except _____.

A. high budget
B. leading roles
C. actors and actress
D. conversations

4. From the passage we can infer that _____.

A. the author is a football fan in a foreign country
B. Cuju is the name of an ancient Chinese variation of football
C. the film Red Cliff 2 lasts about two hours
D. the author was very tired after about two hours' battle

    Unusual incidents are being reported across the Arctic. Inuit (因紐特人) families going
off on snowmobiles to prepare their summer hunting camps have found themselves cut
off from home by a sea of mud. There are also reports of sea ice breaking up earlier than
usual, carrying seals beyond the reach of hunters. Climate change may still be a rather
abstract (抽象的) idea to most of us, but in the Arctic it is already having great effect-
if summertime ice continues to shrink at its present rate, the Arctic Ocean could soon
become almost ice-free in summer. The knock-on effects (連鎖反應(yīng)) are likely to include
more warming, cloudier skies and higher sea levels. Scientists are increasingly eager to find
out what's going on in the Arctic.
    For the Inuit the problem is urgent. They live in unsteady balance with one of the toughest
environments on earth. Climate change, whatever its causes, is a direct danger to their way
of life. Nobody knows the Arctic as well as the locals, which is why they are not content
simply to stand back and let outsider experts tell them what's happening. In Canada, where
the Inuit people are trying hard to guard their hard-won autonomy (自治權(quán)) in the country's
newest land, Nunavut, they believe their best hope of survival in this changing environment
lies in combining their ancestral (祖先的) knowledge with the best of modern science. This
is a challenge in itself.
    The Canadian Arctic is a vast, treeless polar desert that's covered with snow for most of
the year. Adventure into this area and you get some idea of the hardships facing anyone who
calls this home. Farming is out of the question and nature offers few pickings. Humans first
settled in the Arctic a mere 4,500 years ago, surviving by taking advantage of sea first. The
environment tested them to the limits: sometimes the settlers were successful; sometimes they
failed and disappeared. But around a thousand years ago, one group appeared that was uniquely
well adapted to deal with the Arctic environment. These Thule people moved in from Alaska,
bringing dogs, iron tools and the like. They are the ancestors of today's Inuit people.

1. Which of the following is likely to be the effect of climate change?

A. Shorter and shorter summertime.
B. Ice-free summer around the Arctic.
C. Lower sea levels.
D. More rainy skies.

2. The Inuit people believe the solution to the climate change problem is _____.

A. to change their way of life
B. to do as their ancestors
C. to try to protect the environment from now on
D. to use their ancestral knowledge and modern science

3. It can be concluded from the last paragraph that _____.

A. the first settlers in the Arctic survived there quite easily
B. it's hard to farm in the Arctic due to climate change
C. the ancestors of Inuit people stood out among the settlers
D. the Thule people from Alaska invented iron tools

4. Which of the following is the best title for this text?

A. Climate Change and the Inuit
B. Climate Change around the Arctic
C. Global Warming around the World
D. The Inuit and Their Ancestors around the World

    Millions of people all over the world use the word OK. In fact, some people say the word
is used more often than any other word in the world. OK means all right or acceptable. It
expresses agreement or approval. 
    1______ Some people say it came from the Native American Indian tribe known as the
Choctaw (喬克托語(yǔ)). The Choctaw word "okeh" means the same as the American word okay.
Experts say early explorers in the American West spoke the Choctaw language in the nineteenth
century.
    But many people doubt this. Language expert Allen Walker Read wrote about the word "OK"
in reports published in the 1960s. He said the word began being used in the 1830s. 2______ Some
foreign-born people wrote "all correct" as "o-l-l-k-o-r-r-e-c-t", and used the letters OK. Other
people say a railroad worker named Obadiah Kelly invented the word long ago. They said he put
the first letters of his name-O and K-on each object people gave him to send on the train. 
    3______ The organization supported Martin Van Buren for president in 1840.They called their
group the OK club. The letters were taken from the name of the town where Martin was born-Old
Kinderhook, New York.
    Then there is the expression A-OK. It is a space-age expression. It was used in 1961 during the
flight of astronaut Alan Shepard. He was the first American to be launched into space. His flight
ended when his spacecraft landed in the ocean, as planned. Shepard reported, "Everything is A-OK."
4______ One story says it was first used during the early days of the telephone to tell an operator
that a message had been received.
    There are also funny ways to say okay. 5______ These expressions were first used in the 1930s.
Today, a character on the American television series "The Simpsons" says it another way. He says
okely-doke.

A. Some people say okey-dokey or okey-doke.
B. Still others say a political organization invented the word.
C. Therefore, it has become popular in that area from then on.
D. But many experts don't agree on what the expression means.
E. Still, language experts do not agree about where the word came from.
F. It was a short way of writing a different spelling of the word "all correct".
G. However, some experts say the expression did not begin with the space age.

     According to legend, the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, Italy, which connects the Palazzo Ducale to an
ancient prison, got its name because the walk across it gave prisoners on their way to jail a final chance
to appreciate the beauty of the city.
     The view from the bridge today, however, is more likely to be of a giant billboard selling Bulgari or
Coca-cola. Beyond the billboards, monuments are being restored. The money comes from advertising
profits.
     But when the Coke billboards went up this summer on buildings near the Piazza San Marco, which is
at the historic heart of Venice, there was a public debate.
     "We can't commercialize everything," said Alessandra Mottola Molfino, a Venetian. "The lesson that
goes out is that a price is for everything."
     "We couldn't stay quiet," said Maria Camilla Bianchini d'Alberigo, president of a heritage protection
association. "Too much is too much."
     There needed to be rules, she added, rules that prevent the advertising billboards clashing (沖突) with
the monuments of the city.
     City of officials, however, argue that without these ads, the city could not afford to maintain its heritage.
Many have been damaged by centuries of wear and are even a threat to public safety.
     "I can't turn down the image of bottle when there are pieces of the Palazzo Ducale falling to the ground,"
said Renata Codello, a Culture Ministry official.
     The Culture Minister has a budget of about $ 47 million (315 million yuan) for restoration of monuments,
but Italy has a rich architectural heritage, and funds are always tight．Of that amount, $ 1.8 million was given
to the entire Vector region, which includes Venice. 
     Two years ago, the city signed an agreement with the Dotter Group, a company responsible for the
restoration of the Bridge of Sighs and the Palazzo Ducale．It allows it to sell ad space. 
     But there is a condition in the agreement: The ads should not offend public taste.
     In August, Venice banned US actress Julianne Moore's Bulgrari ad from a billboard in the Piazza San
Marco.
     The photo shows a naked Moore covered with lion cubs, handbags and jewelry, Mayor Giorgio Orsoni
called the image too racy (猥褻) and unsuitable for the Piazza San Marco. 
     "I take account of the fact that Venice is part of the real world…but we cannot accept these Hollywood-
style images. There arc intelligent sponsors, and we need to come up with advertising that suits Venice, not
Times Square," he said in a speech.  

1. The article is mainly about _____ in Venice.

A. restoration of cultural heritage
B. widespread commercialization
C. the conflict between ads and cultural heritage
D. the difficulty of restoring monuments

2. In the first paragraph, the beautiful view from the Bridge of Sighs is mentioned to _____.

A. introduce other monuments of the ancient city
B. show how much many ancient structures need restoring
C. indicate that the view is blocked by huge ads
D. create interest in the famous city

3. From the article we can conclude that Rcnata Codello _____ the advertising.

A. is in favor of
B. is worried about
C. objects to
D. doesn't mind

4. Why do many Venetians complain about the ads?

A. They are intolerant of commercialization.
B. They feel the ads are damaging the city.
C. The ads are usually racy and in an American style.
D. The ads don't present a traditional view of Venice.

5. It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

A. Hollywood stars' ads cannot go up in Venice
B. the mayor of Venice is expecting new advertising
C. the Dotter Group may stop its restoration work for lack of funds
D. people can buy Bulgaria or Coca-cola on the Bridge of Sighs

     Situated in the South West of England, between Exeter and Plymouth, Torquay is one of the most popular
holiday resorts in Britain. It provides sophisticated (精致) entertainment, sports of every kind and cultural
facilities, all set in a position of outstanding natural beauty. Visitors can choose between luxury hotels by the
sea, with private suites (套房), swimming pools, and comfortable but less expensive guest houses. There are
camping sites, too, and hundreds of houses displaying "B & B" signs.
     As well as a number of small quiet bays, which are ideal for beach barbecues (野餐) away from the crowds,
Torquay has large sandy beaches where you can buy refreshments (飲料) and hire deck chairs, boats and even
beach houses. There are large areas of grassland overlooking the sea, and miles of winding cliff paths for
walkers who just want to enjoy the scenery and what is often said to be the healthiest air in the country. For the
sportsmen and women there are opportunities not only for golf, tennis, but also for water-skiing, hang-gliding
(懸掛式滑翔機(jī)) and deep-sea fishing.
     After a day in the open air, there's lots to do in the evenings, too. There are plenty of discos, the occasional
opera or ballet, and summer variety shows in the seafront theatres. For the children, there is a beautiful model
village with a complicated railway layout which is remarkably realistic-especially when the lights are all on at
night.
     Of course, there's no need to spend your whole holidays in Torquay. Only a short drive away is Dartmoor
National Park, where you can walk for miles through dramatic (戲劇性的), unspoiled (未損壞的) countryside,
or picnic by beautiful rivers and streams. Or, nearer to home, you can sail across Tor Bay to the lovely old
fishing village of Brixham.
     Torquay seems to have something for everyone. But don't take my word for it-come and see for yourself.

1. Which of the following best explains what "B & B" means on the signs?

A. Bed and breakfast.
B. Breakfast and bathroom.
C. Bathroom and barbecue .
D. Beautiful and British.

2. According to the first two paragraphs, Torquay might be described as _____.

A. comfortable and expensive
B. crowded and lively
C. dramatic and beautiful
D. natural and healthy

3. What is special about the model village?

A. It opens at night.
B. It has some toys for the children.
C. It's in the open air.
D. It has a nearly real railway system.

4. What is the purpose of writing this passage?

A. To introduce the geography of Torquay to students.
B. To make some places known to visitors.
C. To show the beauty of resorts.
D. To attract more tourists.