Silk production has a long and colourful history unknown to most people. Scientific discoveries have shown that silk production existed in China from around 2500 B.C., although it could be much older. For hundreds of years, China kept the secret of silk to itself as one for the most closely protected secrets in history. Anyone revealing the secret of silkworms or trying to take silkworm eggs out of ancient China was punished by death.
At one time silk was reserved only for the Chinese emperor. Gradually, others began wearing silk. In addition to being used for clothing, silk came to have industrial uses in ancient China, something that happened in the West only in modern times. Silk was used to make musical instruments, fishing lines, weapons, ropes and even paper. During the Han Dynasty silk became a form of money. Farmers paid taxes in both rice and silk. The prices of goods were calculated in lengths of silk just as they had once been calculated in gold. The importance of silk is even reflected in the Chinese language. For example, of the 5000 most common Chinese characters, around 500 have silk as their “key”.
In spite of their secrecy, the Chinese eventually lost their monopoly on silk production. It reached Korea in around 200 B.C. when immigrants from China arrived there. Silk production came to India in 300 A.D.. It was not until 500 A.D. that silk production came to Europe when travellers smuggled out silkworms in hollow tubes of bamboo. These were used to establish silk industry in Rome (modern-day Italy), although Chinese silk was still considered to be the best.
Silk was brought to Rome from China by means of the Silk Road. There were actually two Silk Roads, one over land and one on the sea. The land route in particular had a huge effect in history. All sorts of trade goods — silver, gold, jade, porcelain — passed along this road. Ideas travelled the Silk Road too. For example the religion of Buddhism was carried to China from India by traders on the Silk Road. The Silk Road created the first international culture, exposing many people to the ideas and treasures of both Western and Chinese cultures.
1. How was China able to keep the secret of silk production?
A. It refused to sell its silk to other countries.
B. Foreigners were not permitted to enter China.
C. The silkworms needed were not able to survive outside China.
D. Chinese passing on the secret to foreigners were seriously punished.
2. Which of the following uses of silk is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A. A way of purchasing goods people sold.
B. A material used for making different products.
C. A method of paying money to the government.
D. A valuable gift given to foreigners travelling in China.
3.In what order did silk production spread throughout the world according to the passage?
A. Europe à India à Korea à China. B. China à Korea à India à Europe.
C. China à India à Korea à Europe. D. China à Europe à India à Korea.
4.The underlined phrase “smuggled out” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ________.
A. quietly traded B. openly removed
C. illegally transported D. violently stole
5.Which of the following is true about the Silk Road?
A. It allowed for economic and cultural exchanges between countries.
B. It made China the most powerful country in the ancient world.
C. It could only be completed by travellers with access to a boat.
D. It was first developed for transferring religious ideas.
Michael J. “Crocodile Dundee” (also called Mick), played by Paul Hogan, is the main character in the fictional Crocodile Dundee film series consisting of Crocodile Dundee, Crocodile Dundee II, and Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles. The character is a crocodile hunter, hence the nickname.
In the first film, Crocodile Dundee, Mick is visited by a New York reporter, Sue Charlton, who travels to Australia to investigate a report she heard of a crocodile hunter, who had his leg bitten off by a crocodile in the outback. The hunter supposedly walked more than a hundred miles back to civilization and miraculously survived his injuries. However, by the time she meets him, the story turns out to be a somewhat exaggerated legend where the “bitten-off leg” turns out to be just being some bad scarring on his leg; a “love bite” as Mick calls it. Still intrigued by the idea of “Crocodile Dundee”, Sue continues with the story. They travel together out to where the incident occurred, and follow his route through the bush to the nearest hospital. Despite his old-fashioned views, the pair eventually become close, especially after Mick saves Sue from a crocodile attack.
Feeling there is still more to the story, Sue invites Mick back to New York with her, as his first trip to a city (or “first trip anywhere,” as Dundee says). The rest of the film depicts Dundee as a “fish out of water,” showing how, despite his expert knowledge of living outdoors, he knows little of city life. Mick meets Sue’s boyfriend, Richard, but they do not get along. By the end of the film, Mick is on his way home, lovesick, when Sue realizes she loves Mick, too, and not Richard. She runs to the subway station to stop Mick from leaving and, by passing on messages through the packed-to-the-gills crowd, she tells him she won’t marry Richard, and she loves him instead. With the help of the other people in the subway, Mick and Sue have a loving reunion as the film ends.
1. Which of the following statements is true about Mick?
A. He is a crocodile hunter living in Los Angeles.
B. He is based on a real person in Australia.
C. He got his nickname because of his job.
D. He wrote a film series about himself.
2. In the film Crocodile Dundee, Mick ________.
A. pretends he was bitten by a crocodile
B. urges Sue Charlton to write his life story
C. hasn’t been abroad before his trip to America
D. shows Sue Charlton around the town he lives in
3. The underlined word “intrigued” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ________.
A. annoyed B. interested C. troubled D. surprised
4. When in New York, Mick ________.
A. makes friends with Richard
B. makes full use of his bush skills
C. feels excited about living in a big city
D. doesn’t know how to fit into city life
5. The film Crocodile Dundee can be best described as ________.
A. a romantic story B. an action movie
C. a science fiction D. a frightening story
Robert Burns is the most famous poet to write in Scots, the traditional language of Scotland.
Born in Ayrshire, Scotland to a poor farming family, his parents made sure that he was well educated as a child. In 1783 he started composing poetry 1. a traditional style using the Ayrshire dialect of Scots. These poems were well received 2. (local) and in 1786 they were published in the volume, Poems, Chiefly, 3. made him famous in Scotland overnight.
4. , his fame was not accompanied by money and he found 5. necessary to return to farming. 6. this also proved unprofitable, he entered government service in 1789.
He died at the age of 37 as a result of a weak heart, brought on by years of poor working conditions on the farm 7. (date) back to his childhood. Within a short time of his death, money started pouring in from all over Scotland 8. (support) his widow and children.
Today, his memory 9. (celebrate) by Burns clubs across the world and his birthday is
10. unofficial “National Day” for Scots and those with Scottish ancestry, celebrated with Burns suppers.
If you give employees the right to telework, be careful! The very technology that enables working from home could be 1 its value to your company. Although productivity may increase in the short term, working from home may prevent your teams from working 2 .
While remote workers may indeed be happier, more carefree and 3 , that doesn’t mean it’s good for their 4 . A company is more than just the work that needs to be done, plus the workers who are there to do it.
A healthy organization has a 5 that allows the sharing of values and ideas and the 6
of competitive spirit that allows a company to be flexible and creative.
However, working from home can fail to motivate remote workers in the same way as a/an
7 company environment. As a result, companies 8 — despite the increases in productivity and happiness that come with teleworking.
In work environments where co-workers socialize and have 9 lunchtime chats, some real learning gets done. A lot of information 10 takes place, which allows the very same workers to increase their 11 to the organization. There is something 12 about spending the time together, about sharing meals, about 13 ideas, and about asking.
Magical or not, the fact remains that teleworking generally doesn’t work well. As technological change 14 and marketplace pressures increase, companies need to become more flexible and creative, just to keep up.
Strange as it sounds, the very technology that made teleworking a real option is now requiring workers to remain in the 15 .
1.A. testing B. destroying C. keeping D. assessing
2.A. effectively B. normally C. formally D. separately
3.A. attentive B. talkative C. productive D. sensitive
4.A. workers B. companies C. health D. family
5.A. leader B. rule C. party D. culture
6.A. sense B. cost C. way D. lack
7.A. independent B. different C. special D. shared
8.A. develop B. survive C. suffer D. expand
9.A. official B. regular C. required D. planned
10.A. exchange B. technology C. gap D. search
11.A. availability B. damage C. value D. disappointment
12.A. reasonable B. magical C. psychological D. typical
13.A. discussing B. changing C. welcoming D. selling
14.A. varies B. differs C. accelerates D. stops
15.A. place B. house C. distance D. office
Whenever my grandmother calls just to chat with me，I drop everything and enjoy the moment，knowing these times__________pass．
A．call B. must C．shall D．might
—You have to believe in yourself．No one else will，if you don’t．
—__________．Confidence is really important．
A．It’S not my cup of tea B．That’S not the point
C．I don’t think so D．I couldn’t agree more
