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A

The crystal clear, blue water and the magnificent sun make the Caribbean Island of Saint Maarten a favorite vacation spot, one that is popular with North Americans during their winter holidays from December through March, as well as with South Americans and Europeans from April through August. The French and Dutch settled on the island in the 1600s, and to this day, the island is divided between the two of them. The French capital is Marigot; the Dutch capital is Philipsburg.

Tourists soon discover that Saint Maarten has an interesting history. Ancient artifacts (手工艺术) found on the island date back to the Stone Age, 6,000 years ago! Tourists also learn that 1,200 years ago the Arawak Indians lived on all the islands of the West India and were peaceful people living under the guidance of their chiefs. Three hundred years after the Arawaks first arrived on Saint Maarten, in the 1300s, they were defeated and forced to give up the island by a hostile tribe of Indians originating in South America. This new tribe was called the Carib. The Caribbean Sea was named after them. Unlike the Arawaks, they had no permanent chiefs or leaders, except in times of when the chiefs led them to fight. And they were extremely warlike. Worse, they were man-eaters, eating the enemy warriors they caught. In fact, the very word cannibal (means man-eater) comes from the Spanish name for the Carib Indians. The Spanish arrived in the fifteenth century and, unfortunately, they carried diseases to which the Indians had no immunity (免疫).

Many Indians were infected with common European illnesses; others died from the hard labor forced upon them.

26. One can infer from the passage that the Stone Age people lived on Saint Maarten around the

year ________.

A. 6000 B.C B. 4000 B.C C. 800 A.D D. 1300 A.D

27. Which of the following is NOT true about the Carib Indians?

A. The sea was named after them B. They were peaceful fishermen, hunters and farmers

C. They ate human flesh D. They settled after defeating the Arawak Indians

28. According to the passage, the Carib Indians were finally defeated by _________.

A. sickness and forced labor B. the more aggressive Arawak tribe

C. the Dutch West Indian Company D. The French explorers

29. We can infer from the passage that the underlined word “strife” means _________.

A. thief B. war C. duty-free D. danger

30. According to the article, present-day Saint Maarten __________.

A. belongs to the Spanish B. is independent

C. is shared by the French and the Dutch D. is part of the US Virgin Islands

B

Deserts are found where there is little rainfall or where rain for a whole year falls in only a few weeks' time. Ten inches of rain may be enough for many plants to survive (存活) if the rain is spread throughout the year, If it falls, within one or two months and the rest of the year is dry, those plants may die and a desert may form.

Sand begins as tiny pieces of rock that get smaller and smaller as wind and weather wear them down. Sand dunes (沙丘) are formed as winds move the sand across the desert. Bit by bit, the dunes grow over the years, always moving with the winds and changing the shape. Most of them are only a few feet tall, but they can grow to be several hundred feet high.

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States, cliffs (悬崖) and deep valleys were formed from thick mud that once lay beneath a sea more than millions of years ago. Over the centuries, the water dried up. Wind, sand , rain, heat and cold all wore away at the remaining rocks. The faces of the desert mountains are always changing –-very, very slowly ---as these forces of nature continue to work on the rock.

Most deserts have a surprising variety of life. There are plants, animals and insects that have adapted to life in the desert. During the heat of the day, a visitor may see very few signs of living things, but as the air begins to cool in the evening, the desert comes to life. As the sun begins to rise again in the sky, the desert once again becomes quiet and lonely.

31. Many plants may survive in deserts when__________________.

A. the rain is spread out in a year B. the rain falls only in a few weeks

C. there is little rain in a year D. it is dry all the year round

32. Sand dunes are formed when___________________.

A. sand piles up gradually B. there is plenty of rain in a year

C. the sea has dried up over the years D. pieces of rock get smaller

33. The underlined sentence in the third paragraph probably means that in a desert there is____________.

A. too much sand B. more sand than before

C. nothing except sand D. something else besides sand

34. It can be learned from the text that in a desert____________.

A. there is no rainfall throughout the year B. life exists in rough conditions

C. all sand dunes are a few feet high D. rocks are worn away only by wind and heat

35. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Even if it rains, a desert may come into being.

B. When evening comes, most animals go to sleep in the deserts.

C. After the sun sets, various living things can be seen in the deserts.

D. We can find cliffs were formed from thick mud that lay under the sea for over several centuries.

C

The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses(兵马俑) are the most significant archeological excavations (挖掘) of the 20th century. Work is ongoing at this site, which is around 1.5 kilometers east of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum（陵墓）, Lintong County, Shaanxi Province. It is a sight not to be missed by any visitor to China.

Upon ascending （登上）the throne at the age of 13 (in 246 BC), Qin Shi Huang, later the first Emperor of all China, had begun to work for his mausoleum. It took 11 years to finish. It is estimated that many buried treasures and sacrificial （献祭的）objects had accompanied the emperor in his after life. A group of peasants uncovered some pottery while digging for a well nearby the royal tomb in 1974. It caught the attention of archeologists immediately. They came to Xian in droves to study and to extend the digs. They had established beyond doubt that these artifacts were associated with the Qin Dynasty (211-206 BC).

The museum covers an area of 16,300 square meters, divided into three sections: No. 1 Pit, No. 2 Pit, and No. 3 Pit respectively. They were tagged in the order of their discoveries. No. 1 Pit is the largest, first opened to the public on China's National Day, 1979. There are columns of soldiers at the front, followed by war chariots at the back.

No. 2 Pit, found in 1976, is 20 meters northeast of No. 1 Pit. It contained over a thousand warriors and 90 chariots of wood. It was unveiled (揭幕) to the public in 1994. Archeologists came upon No. 3 Pit also in 1976, 25 meters northwest of No. 1 Pit. It looked like to be the

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command center of the armed forces.

Altogether over 7,000 pottery soldiers, horses, chariots, and even weapons have been unearthed from these pits. Most of them have been restored to their former grandeur.

The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses is a sensational archeological find of all times. It has put Xian on the map for tourists. It was listed by UNESCO in 1987 as one of the world cultural heritages.

36. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. A brief introduction to Emperor Qin Shi Huang

B. An introduction to the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses

C. The process of building the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses

D. The reason why the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses is important to archeologists.

37. When was the No.1 Pit found?

A. Before 1976 B. In 1989 C. In 1979 D. After 1979

38. Which of the following is true?

A. It was archeologists who first found the site of the Terra Cotta Warriors and horses.

B. No.2 Pit and No.3 Pit are 45 meters apart.

C. Both No.2 Pit and No.3 Pit were found in 1976.

D. Both No.2 Pit and No.1 Pit were found in 1976

39. What can we infer from the passage?

A. Peasants found a well in their fields.

B. The No.2 Pit is a command center in the tomb

C. All 7,000 objects from the site have been restored.

D. Xi’an has become a world famous place of interest.

40. What’s the author’s attitude towards the three pits?

A. Negative B. Positive C. Indifferent D. Objective

D

Since the beginning of time，man has been interested in the moon. The Romans designed a special day to show admiration and respect to the moon. They called it "Moonday"，or "Monday"，as we know it today. Later，the great mind of Leonardo da Vinci studied the moon and designed a machine to carry a human to the moon. Leonardo said that one day a great machine bird would take a person to the moon and bring great honor to the home where it was born.

Four and a half centuries later，Leonardo's idea was realized. Apollo II took three Americans－Collins，Aldrin，and Armstrong－to the moon. The mission (任务) did fill the whole world with great surprise，as Leonardo had said it would. Numerous essays，articles，and books were written about man's first moon mission. But perhaps the most interesting story was one written before the event-over100 years before.

In 1865，French author Jules Verne wrote a story about the first journey to the moon. His story was very similar to the 1969 ApolloⅡ mission.

Verne's spacecraft also contained three men－two Americans and a Frenchman. The spacecraft was described as being almost the same size as ApolloⅡ.The launch(发射) site in Verne's story was also in Florida. The spacecraft in Verne's story was named the "Columbiad". The ApolloⅡcommand ship was called "Columbia". His account of sending the spacecraft into the space could easily have been written about how ApolloⅡwas sent into the space.

Verne's story was the same as the actual event in several other respects. The speed of Verne's spacecraft was36,000 feet per second；Apollo's was 35,533feet per second. Verne's spacecraft took 97 hours to reach the moon; Apollo's time was 103 hours. Like Apollo's spacemen，Verne's spacemen took pictures of the moon's surface，relaxed on their seats，cooked with gas，and experienced weightlessness. They too came down in the Pacific and were picked up by an

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American warship.

What were the reasons for Jules Verne's extreme accuracy in describing an event 100 years or more before it actually occurred? He based his writings on the laws of physics and astronomy(天文学).Nineteenth-century science and the vivid Verne's imagination gave people an unbelievably accurate preview of one of the greatest events of the 20th century.

41. Leonardo da Vinci said that a great machine bird would__________ .

A. bring great honor to the moon B. fly toward the sun

C. explore the heavens D. take people to the moon

42. Jules Verne wrote his story of a man's visit to the moon about __________.

A.100 years before the ApolloⅡmission B.10 years before the ApolloⅡmission

C. four and one-half centuries ago D.100 years ago

43. Verne's story is very similar to__________ .

A. the first U.S. space mission B. the Apollo Ⅱ mission

C. Leonardo da Vinci's story D. numerous other books on the same subject

44.The passage suggests that Jules Verne__________ .

A. developed the laws of physics

B. based his writings on the works of Leonardo da Vinci

C. was very lucky in what he had described about the future

D. knew a great deal about the laws of physics and astronomy

45.The passage mainly describes __________.

A. the rapid progress of mankind B. Verne's accurate preview of the future

C. the 1969 Apollo Ⅱ moon mission D. the 19th-century science and technology

26-30 BBABC 31-35 AADBC 36-40 BACDD 41-45 DABDB

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