The Taj Mahal
Shah Jahan finished building Taj Mahal in 1648. He was a rich and powerful emperor, and he built the Taj Mahal as a memorial for his wife. 1. The word “taj” means crown, “Mahal” was the name of his wife. Twenty thousand people worked for 18 years to complete this beautiful domed(圆顶屋) building. A thousand elephants carried huge stones and jewels from all over India and central Asia to the Taj. Shah Jahan wanted this memorial to be a burial place for himself and his wife.
The Taj Mahal is on the Yamuna River in Agra in northern India. 2. Its picture is in most travel books and brochures. It is open daily from sunrise to sunset. For about fifteen rupees (or about US$0.33), anyone can enter this peaceful and quiet place.
As you enter, you pass through beautiful, silent gardens. From the gardens, you cross a wide courtyard. Suddenly, you see the dome of the main building through a tall, red sandstone gate. At daybreak, the Taj Mahal’s white walls turn rose. At noon, they blaze（发光）white. At dusk, they become dark grey. 3.
After you pass through the gate, you step onto a wide stone platform. You look over another garden with pools. Everything is arranged carefully in fours. 4. The garden is divided into four parts. There are straight rows of colorful flowers and trees in each of the parts. At the four corners of the Taj Mahal, there are pointed tall towers. After the gardens, you go down stone steps towards the main building with the tomb and the graves of Shah Jahan and his wife.
After hundreds of years, the Taj Mahal remains a lovely and peaceful place. 5.
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A．It was a monument of love. |
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B．Four is a special number in the Moslem religion. |
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C．Many people want to visit the Taj Mahal some day. |
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D．This beautiful building is truly a jewel for all people. |
E. The Taj Mahal is most beautiful by the light of the full moon.
F. To many people around the world, the Taj Mahal is a symbol of India.
G. From the cool, dark gates, the Taj Mahal seems to float between earth and sky.
Based on cultural traditions and the changing face of contemporary British communities, the Festival of Muslim Cultures joins young people from Muslim and non-Muslim backgrounds together through the creation of innovative(创新的), high quality cultural activities.
We have been working with arts and educational institutions across the UK to promote the mainstreaming of Muslim cultures within UK everyday life. The Festival was created out of the need to encourage a better understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims, to promote respect for Muslim cultures and to show how culture creates the pathways that connect us all together.
The program launched with a visit by the Festival’s patron(赞助人), the Prince of Wales, to the exhibition “Palace and Mosque” in Sheffield and since then there have been more than 100 events that have ranged from a Somali community day in Cardiff at the National Museum of Wales to a late-night Dance with Radio Tarifa (from Spain) and Dimi Mint Abba (form Mauritania) in the Royal Albert Hall and from a home-grown play in Nottingham about the Kashmir earthquake to the exhibition“Beyond the Palace Walls” at the Royal Museum Edinburgh of Islamic art from the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.
We are now working on a number of long-term projects which stay true to our commitment to promoting Muslim cultures through arts collaborations(协作) and build on the extensive network of local, national and international partners that Festival has created. These include a three-year national program that connects young Muslims to their local cultural institutions; a UK Muslim cookbook; an exhibition of the Ottoman architect Sinan; and a project for schools around the 1000-year old story “The Animals’ Lawsuit against Humanity”.
For more information about the Festival, please click on another page: Who’s Who.
1.The best title of this passage would be _______.
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A．Welcome to the Celebration of Muslim Cultures |
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B．The History and Development of Muslim Cultures |
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C．The Exhibition of “Beyond the Palace Walls” |
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D．New Ways to Connect Muslims to Local Cultures |
2.Which is NOT the purpose of holding the Festival of Muslim Cultures?
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A．To promote people’s respect for Muslim cultures. |
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B．To show to people how cultures join the people together. |
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C．To try to change the beliefs of various religions. |
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D．To make Muslims and non-Muslims understand each other better. |
3.This passage was probably taken from _________.
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A．a website |
B．a newspaper |
C．a book |
D．a magazine |
Uncle Tom gave little Vicki Black a birthday gift one week before her birthday. He told her not to open it until her birthday. She knew her mother wouldn’t tolerate any disrespect to the kind man who helped them out after Vicki’s father passed away. Besides, Vicki didn’t want Uncle Tom to get angry. But little Vicky didn’t want to just hold it and guess what was in it. After all, she looked forward to his coming to show her interesting things, like how to turn an old sock into a doll.
All the day, Vicki couldn’t stop thinking about the gift. While her teacher was giving a lecture¸ Vicki sat still in her seat, drawing paper dolls inside the box. When school was done, she raced home. Walking into the room, again, she shook the present, but she heard nothing. Holding her breath, she opened the box and looked inside. Seconds later, she cried. When Mrs. Black saw the box, she said angrily, “Didn’t I tell you to leave it alone?” Vicki sobbed and said, “Mommy, you don’t understand.”
“Don’t cry to me. You have missed everything now, just because you couldn’t wait,” Mrs. Black accused. “What will Uncle Tom think now?”
“Uncle Tom gave me nothing,” Vicki cried and handed the empty box to her mother. “He played a trick on me.”
Mrs. Black said doubtfully, “Uncle Tom is not like that. You must have dropped it.”
Vicki kept crying. Only a rapid knock on the door made the house quiet. It was Uncle Tom. He looked at the empty box. “You have already done it? I told you to wait for your birthday.”
“You didn’t give me a gift.” Fresh tears filled her eyes.
“I try to give you something. I know your birthday is a special day. I tell myself to give you something valuable to last your whole life. I think hard and get the idea to give you an important lesson. If you open it on birthday, I see you learn. Then I will make a big party to celebrate. Maybe next year you listen and then you will understand the gift better.
Vicki’s cheeks flushed.
1.We can learn from the text that Vicki_______.
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A．often received gifts from her father |
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B．expected Uncle Tom to give her a doll |
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C．was sad because of her father’s death |
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D．liked and respected Uncle Tom |
2.What do the underlined words “done it” refer to?
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A．Guessed the result |
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B．Opened the box |
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C．Realized Uncle Tom’s purpose |
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D．Known what her birthday gift was |
3.What kind of person is Uncle Tom?
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A．Thoughtful |
B．Humorous |
C．Mysterious |
D．Funny |
4.What did Uncle Tom want to teach Vicki?
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A．How to respect others |
B．The meaning of gifts |
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C．How to deal with gifts |
D．The value of a promise |
We like to consider ourselves the superior race, and we are. It’s true that we are getting to know more and more, and we actually live in “the information age”. Our human vanity(虚荣心) makes us believe that we really have to know everything! Surprisingly, we do not have this ability. The question “what is happening in the Bermuda Triangle” is the very proof.
Where is the Bermuda Triangle located? The mysterious triangle is believed to be situated between Florida, Bermuda and Puerto Rico, where too many unusual events have happened.
On December the 5th 1945, five U.S. military planes took off from Florida on a clear day only to disappear over Bermuda. Furthermore, some other disappearances took place; in 1947, an American C54 plane simply disappeared at 100 miles from Bermuda; at 80 miles, a Star Tiger plane disappeared in 1948.
Even Columbus had trouble in Bermuda. Some of his journals were about the strange happenings there: “the waters are changing their colors” and “compasses are going wild”.
Maybe it’s why it is called the Devil’s triangle or the Atlantic cemetery.
Many hypotheses were stated in order to explain the strange events. In spite of these attempts, the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle remains unsolved.
Some people get to say that maybe aliens are involved in it. Other imaginative scientists relate the happenings in Bermuda to Einstein’s theory, saying that the missing ships and planes are translated to another dimension of space and time and taken into another world.
Maybe we will just have to wait to go to Heaven and ask the One who made it. The answer will surely be a satisfying one!
1.The writer may probably think that______.
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A．humans have to and can know everything strange |
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B．the missing ships are taken into another world |
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C．humans can know more in “the information age” |
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D．God created the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle |
2. Columbus’ journals told us that in Bermuda _______.
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A．an American C54 plane disappeared |
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B．there were some strange happenings |
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C．the compasses were lost |
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D．a cemetery was found |
3.The underlined word “hypotheses” in the 6th paragraph probably means______.
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A．guesses |
B．reports |
C．places |
D．stories |
4.The purpose of the writer is to______.
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A．tell some stories about the Bermuda Triangle |
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B．warn people not to travel to the Bermuda Triangle |
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C．laugh at man’s vanity to know everything |
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D．prove man does not have the ability to know all |
It was an unforgettable experience. By the time we made it to the 36 , my hands were wet. I 37 he would remember everything I had taught him over and over again. 38 he stopped and asked, “So, Mom, how do you like my 39 ?”
I must admit that his performance was 40 . He had both hands on the wheel. His eyes never left the highway and his handling was far better than I’d ever imagined it would be, 41 it still needed improving.
Several 42 ago, I was teaching him to ride his bike. We started 43 . The third grade primary school student was 44 that his training wheels were taken off. Of course it was a long evening. He 45 several times but always got up quickly and kept 46 until he mastered riding.
Viewing the 47 , I guess it really wasn’t about him driving. It was about him 48 ---gaining more and more independence; not 49 me so much anymore.
He will be a(n) 50 in high school this fall. This will truly be a 51 year for both of us. He’s ready to have one of the best years of his young life and I will have (a) complete mental 52 . For this is probably the last year that my baby will be at home on a(n) 53 basis.
After this school year, he’ll go to college and then into the real world. Things all happen so 54 .
Now I see the time has just arrived for him to perform what he’s learned.
So, I guess you could say his driving lessons are lessons for me too. Yes, I’m being 55 that it’s his time to drive through life’s green lights and move towards his future as smoothly and skillfully as possible.
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---_________?
---With pleasure. What is it?
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A．May I ask a favor of you |
B．Can I do something for you |
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C．How do you find it |
D．Are you satisfied with a job |
