The Silk Road was a historical network of trade routes that connected China and the Mediterranean Sea，allowing cultural and economic interaction between the East and the West. Begun in the 2nd Century B C” the Silk Road carried goods，ideas, and even illness for thousands of miles between great civilizations for more than a thousand years. 1. It was the creation of Germany’s Ferdinand von Richthofen, who traveled to China several times in the second half of the 19th Century.
China’s powerful Han Dynasty began expanding its trade routes towards the West in the years around 100 B.C. 2. Some shipments made it through to Europe and to northern and eastern Africa, through the port of Alexandria.
As its name suggests, the Silk Road was home to large amount of silk, which made its way from China to the Mediterranean and，to Rome. It wasn’t only silk，however, that was carried along the Silk Road 3. Chinese traders brought delicate porcelain plates and thin but durable paper money. Romans brought delicately carved pottery (陶器）and jewelry to China.
4. Merchants carried shipments from major center, and then others carried the foods farther on the route. Many merchants traveled in groups, called carvans (商队). Many carvans and individual merchants traveled with bodyguards because theft along the routes was not uncommon.
Several cities along the Silk Road became major trading centers. Some of the more famous of these were Alexandria，Karakorum, Antioch，Constantinople, and Persepolis. Local taxes placed on goods traveling along the route were quite common. 5.
A. The name，however，is a modem idea.
B. Diseases also spread along the Silk Road.
C. It sent silk and other goods to other civilizations.
D. Merchants would prepare some supplies in advance.
E. Goods did not travel with the same person all along the route.
F. As a result, many goods traveled only part of the way due to the high cost
G. Many other things made their way from the East to the West, or from the West to the East.
Craft (手工艺）is becoming a heritage industry — but a record of disappearing skills might just come in handy in the future.
Mr. Lobb (of John Lobb the bootmaker) mentioned that custom clothing and shoe-making were once the norm for everyone. How come，then，today a pair of normal Lobbs would set you back over £2,000? The price has obviously gone up because of lack of competition and higher wages，but would custom clothing once again be affordable to all if the demand was there? Do we just wave goodbye to these skills，or should we fight to maintain them?
The disposable (一次性的）culture we “enjoy” today has existed in our life for almost two generations now. We like our products to be made by either a robot or invisible，cheap hands so that we can accumulate them cheaply and frequently. The concept of “craft” is something that’s now largely considered to be strange，and seems to be limited to museums and dusty, independent shops. Hobby crafts such as knitting do undergo revivals (复兴）from time to time，but I think that’s because they are seen as short-lived fashionable leisure pursuits rather than a craft worthy of revivals on a commercially feasible (可行的）scale.
To drive a revival in any of these crafts, you would probably need to apply the same marketing techniques that are used to sell any other items today. The consumer must believe that they just have to have it. If they don't have it now, it will either go up in price or go out of fashion --- both reasons enough in themselves for a shopper to act.
But does it finally matter if these skills will no longer serve any practicable use in the decades to come? I don’t know the answer to that，but I have long thought it would be a good idea if we “banked” these skills somehow，just as we are not attempting to do with seeds. You just never know whether we’ll need them in the future. Maybe it’s time to establish a worldwide network of volunteers to record，through the written words and videos，as many of these dying skills as possible. Actually, a rough look on YouTube fills me with hope that an army of willing volunteers is probably out there already and just needs someone or something to gather them together.
1.According to the text，the custom clothing is dying in that_
A. it serves no useful purpose
B. it doesn’t meet people’s demand any more
C. it is too costly for most people to afford
D. it has long been lack of competition all along
2.What does the author really want to express about the occasional revival of hobby crafts?
A. It is a sign of disposable culture.
B. It indicates the direction of fashion.
C. It can’t help revive the traditional crafts.
D. It creates no commercial value in the long run.
3.Which of the following measures may take effect in reviving crafts?
A. Making them as affordable as possible for the foreigners.
B. Adopting modem marketing strategies used to sell other items.
C. Establishing a network of volunteers to sell them worldwide.
D. Drawing people’s attention to the videos of these crafts.
4.From the last paragraph，we know the author_.
A. shows great interest in craft
B. doesn’t want craft to disappear
C. feels sad about the disappearance of craft
D. tries to explain the reason for craft’s disappearance
Fireworks are exciting, but also hard to control. The Chinese artist Cai Guoqiang，though, has developed a way to harness the visual and physical power of fireworks to make art He recently used them to create a burning sculpture that stretched high into the sky. Guoqiang fittingly named the work Sky Ladder.
Guoqiang built Sky Ladder by making a frame out of metal. He coated the frame with gunpowder，the main chemical material in fireworks.
The artist tried one end of the frame to the ground and attached a large weather balloon to the other end. The balloon was filled with helium 一 a gas that is lighter than air. When released，the balloon floated upward, pulling the top of the ladder 500 meters into the sky. That’s higher than the top of the Empire State Building.
Guoqiang set fire to the bottom of the ladder，and the crackling（啪啪作响） flames raced skyward up the frame. The sculpture burned for two-and-a-half minutes before its flames began to die out from the bottom up.
Dealing with explosive (炸药）is challenging, and conditions had to be perfect for Guoqiang to achieve his desired effect. He first attempted Sky Ladder in 1994，but bad weather prevented him from successfully completing the work. Guoqiang put Sky Ladder aside so that he could work on other projects, perhaps most famously the fireworks display that opened the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Finally，after two more failed attempts，Guoqiang successfully sent his flaming ladder skyward last year. He presented Sky Ladder in his hometown, a quiet fishing village near Huiyu Island, Quanzhou. He offered the work as a gift to his 100-year-old grandmother，other family members，his friends and his town.
“Behind Sky Ladder lies a clear childhood dream of mine，"Guoqiang explains. “Despite all life’s twists and turns, I have always been determined to realize it. The ladder rose toward the morning sun, carrying hope. For me, this not only means a return, but also the start of a new journey."
1.Which of the following can replace the underlined word “harness” in Paragraph 1 ?
A. control and use B. find and collect
C. save and develop D. count and produce.
2.What can we learn about the work Sky Ladder Cai Guoqiang built last year?
A. It proved to be a failure.
B. It could fly free in the sky.
C. It kept burning for 2.5 minutes.
D. It was sent skyward in the evening.
3.When did Cai Guoqiang first imagine a ladder of fire?
A. When he was a young boy.
B. When he saw the Empire State Building.
C. When the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games opened.
D. When his grandmother had her 100th birthday. ，
4.What may be the best title for the text?
A. Living with hope B. A birthday gift
C. Burning man D. Art on fire
Full House was an American :television show from the 1980s to the 1990s. It was among the most popular TV shows of its time The show followed a single father who asks his friends to help him raise his three young girls. The last episode (集）of Full House aired in May 1995.
But on Friday，the No 1 trending topic on Twitter in the U.S. was Fuller House. The new show is the long-awaited sequel (续集）series that follows the now-adult characters from Full House. The streaming service Netflix released 13 episodes of the new series at midnight Friday.
Fuller House trended throughout the night and into Friday morning on Twitter and Facebook. The actors on the show were among :he :op 10 U.S. Google searches，as well Longtime fans of Full House admitted that they stayed up all night to watch the entire season.
Excited fans tweeted about having waited more than 20 years for the sequel. But some viewers were not impressed with Fuller House. And television critic Hank Steuver of The Washington Post called the show, “a retread' He says the show is not some golden treasure* of family-friendly programming.
Although most of the main characters from the original Full House have returned for Fuller House, the show’s youngest character，Michelle Tanner，refused. Michelle was played by twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. The Olsens are now active in the fashion world. One episode of Fuller House even joked about their absence. One of her sisters on the show asks where Michelle is. Her father，Danny Tanner， responds: “Oh，she’s busy in New York running her fashion empire.”
1.What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?
A. The last episode of Full House was exciting.
B. Full House tells a story about a poor father.
C. It was Netflix that played Full House in 1995.
D. The original characters come back in the sequel.
2.The fans of Full House_.
A. don’t like its characters
B. think highly of Full House
C. show great interest in its sequel
D. like to watch its sequel at night
3.What did Hank Steuver think of Full Housel？
A. Disappointing. B. Exciting.
C. Interesting. D. Encouraging.
4.What does the last paragraph mainly tell us?
A. The twins didn’t appear in the new show.
B. The Olsens are successful businesswomen.
C. Danny Tanner is not satisfied with the Olsens.
D. Michelle was an important role in Full House.
Here are four tourist attractions in Havana in Cuba.
Museum of the City
The Museum of the City was built in 179L The building once served as the Presidential Palace and home to colonial governors. The museum’s exhibits include collections of weapons，history and art as well as rooms documenting wars for Cuban independence.
+53-7-861-6130 .
Open: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
Admission: $ 3
Revolution Square
Revolution Square is one of the largest open public spaces in Cuba and one of the largest public squares in the world. The site is home to the 138-foot Jose Mart Memorial, the tallest structure in Havana，which celebrates the national hero. Cuba’s important leaders, including Fidel Castro, usually use the platform in front of the memorial to address the large crowds that gather on the square. The Jose Marti Memorial also includes a museum and an elevator that takes tourists to the top of the monument.
+53-7-338-6363
Open: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.，Monday through Saturday.
Admission: $ 5
Cigar Factories
.Cubans famous cigar-making factories are open to the public. Three cigar factories in Havana offer public tours that show how Cuba’s cigars are hand-rolled in the traditional way. The Partagas Cigar Factory，founded in 1827，is the oldest in Havana. The other two factories open for tours are La Corona and Romeo Julieta, and they include gift shops.
+53-7-338-060
Open: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Admission: $ 10
Old Havana
Old Havana is the capital’s historic district，which dates back to 1519 when Spain used the city as a colonial port. Old Havana was important Spanish naval (海军的）base. Presently，Old Havana’s stone streets are home to museums, hotels and restaurants among the grand colonial buildings that once housed Spanish power.
+53-7-885-752
Open: daily.
Admission: free
1.When is the Museum of the City closed?
A. Friday. B. Saturday.
C. Sunday. D. Monday
2.Where might you see Fidel Castro?
A. In front of the Jose Marti Memorial.
B. On the stone streets of Old Havana.
C. In the Partagas cigar factory.
D. In the Museum of the City.
3.Which number should you call if you want to know about cigarette production?
A. +53-7-338-060 B. +53-7-885-752
C. +53-7-338-6363 D. +53-7-861-6130
假设你是李华，你的英国朋友Emily来信说她非常喜欢中国的民族舞，并打算最近来中国学习民族舞，想请你帮她推荐一位舞蹈老师。请你根据以下要点给她写一封信，推荐一位老师。
要点:
1. 介绍你所推荐的老师；
2. 推荐该老师的原因；
3. 祝愿她拜师成功。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Emily,
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
