You’ve probably heard of Marco Polo, but how much do you actually know about him and his incredible journey? Marco was the original travel writer, whose trade contacts with Asia changed Europe, opening it up to new ideas and cultures.
Marco Polo was born in the Venetian Republic around 1254．At the time, Venice was one of the most powerful trading cities in the world, and was ruled as an independent city state．Marco’s mother died when he was young, so he was brought up by his aunt and uncle．When Marco was born, his brother (Maffeo) and father (Niccolo), who were successful merchants, were away on a trading voyage．They didn’t get back until Marco was about 15.
In 1271, Niccolo and Maffeo set off again for Asia, this time taking Marco with them．On a previous journey they’d met Kublai Khan (the Yuan Dynasty), and they were keen to establish trade links between Kublai’s empire and Venice．The Polos sailed across the Mediterranean to Acre (now in northern Israel)．Then, they traveled by camel to the port of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf．Their plan was to sail to China but they couldn’t find any good boats．So, they continued the journey overland, finally meeting Kublai Khan at his summer palace in Xanadu, about 275 kms north of modern Beijing．Marco was now probably 21 years ol
The journey had taken over three years.
The Polos had learnt a great deal about the world during their travels and so Kublai employed Marco as a government official．This gave Marco the opportunity to travel around much of Kublai’s empire in China．In fact, Kublai found the Polos so useful that he was unwilling to let them return home．However, in 1292, the Polos eventually left, sailing from China and ending up in Hormuz again．The journey was extremely dangerous: of the 600 travelers who set off, only 18 arrived in Hormuz, including all three of the Polo family．
The Polos finally returned to Venice in 1295, twenty-four years after setting off．They had traveled 24,000 kms．By this time Venice was at war with Genoa, its trade rival．Unfortunately for Marco, he was captured by the Genoese and imprisione
However, he used his time as a prisoner to write a book about his family’s travels: II Milione (known as The Travels of Marco Polo in English)．It was the first book to tell Europeans about China and the East．No original copy survives, but there are several versions of it．Marco’s writings influenced many other travelers, most notably Christopher Columbus, who carried a copy of II Milione with him on his voyage in search of Asia.
After his release from prison in 1299, Marco rejoined his father and uncle in Venice．The family were now even wealthier than before thanks to the many treasures they’d brought back from the East．Marco financed many more trading journeys but never left the city again．He died in 1324 and was buried in the church of San Lorenzo in Venice．
1.What is the correct order of what Marco Polo has done?
a.met Kublai Khan in Xanadu
b.sailed across the Mediterranean
c.sailed for Hormuz
d.left Venice for Asia
e.went to Hormuz by camel
f.employed as a government official in China
A．b-c-d-f-a-c
B．d-c-b-a-f-e
C．b-d-c-f-a-e
D．d-b-e-a-f-c
2.The last paragraph but one mainly tells us something about _____.
A．Marco’s life in Genoa
B．Marco’s book II Milione
C．Marco’s influence on Columbus
D．Marco’s safe return to Venice
3.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A．Soon after his mother’s death, Marco was raised by his father.
B．Marco spent about six years on the way to China and back to Venice.
C．Marco died at the age of 70 in the church of San Lorenzo in Venice.
D．Marco was born into a very poor family but died in wealth．
4.The passage is most probably taken from _____．
A．a newspaper
B．a geography book
C．a history book
D．a traveler’s guide
请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
Everyone procrastinates．We put things off because we don’t want to do them, or because we have too many other things on our plates．Putting things off – big or small – is part of being human．But procrastination does have consequences．When your procrastination leaves you feeling discouraged, it is time to take action, and one of the best ways to get rid of it is to make an un-schedule。
An un-schedule is a weekly calendar of all the ways in which your time is already accounted for．You consider not only your timed commitments such as classes and meetings, but also your untimed activities such as meals, exercise, time with friends, and the like．Once you have made your un-schedule, you may be able to see your time is often filled with more activities than you realize, for instance, that you really don’t have five hours to spend writing on the night before your paper is due．Procrastinators’ views of time tend to be unrealistic, and the un-schedule can help you outline a realistic plan．By planning accordingly, you will not only get a better night’s sleep, you may also end up with a better paper．
The un-schedule might also be a good way to get started on a larger project, such as a term paper or an honors paper．You may think that you have “all semester” to get the writing done, but if you really map out how much time you have available to write on a daily and weekly basis, you will see that you need to get started sooner, rather than later．In addition, the un-schedule may reveal especially busy weeks or months, which will help you budget time for long-term projects．
Perhaps most importantly, the un-schedule can help you examine how you spend your time．You may be surprised at how much time you spend watching television, and decide to make a change．It’s especially important that you build time for fun activities into your un-schedule．Otherwise, you will procrastinate in order to steal time for relaxation．
You can also use the un-schedule to record your progress towards your goal．Reward yourself for your small successes．Seeing what you’ve achieved will help you reinforce (强化) the productive behavior, and you will feel more motivated in the following process．
As you explore ways to conquer procrastination, don’t expect overnight transformation．You developed the habit over a long time; you aren’t going stop magically．But you can change the behavior, bit by bit．If you start to make an un-schedule now, you will eventually develop new habits．
1.From Paragraph 2, we can know that procrastinators __________．
A．usually have sleeping problems
B．tend to be unrealistic in daily life
C．spend more time in doing exercise
D．often fail to notice untimed activities
2.Which of the following statements best reflects an un-schedule?
A．“Now I have more time for fun.”
B．“I can start my big project later.”
C．“I’ll treat myself to a movie for my progress.”
D．“I’m going to have more time to finish my paper.”
3.According to the writer, people need to make an un-schedule because of their _．
A．interests in doing things differently
B．determination to try out new things
C．inability to manage time properly
D．lack of concentration on a project
请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
Dear Reader:
I receive many letters from children and can't answer them all -- there wouldn't be time enough in a day．That is why I am sending you this printed reply to your letter．I'll try to answer some of the questions that are commonly asked.
Where did I get the idea for Stuart Little and for Charlotte's Web? Well, many years ago I went to bed one night in a railway sleeping car, and during the night I dreamed about a tiny boy who acted rather like a mouse．That's how the story of Stuart Little got started.
As for Charlotte's Web, I like animals and my barn is a very pleasant place to be, at all hours．One day when I was on my way to feed the pig, I began feeling sorry for the pig because, like most pigs, he was doomed to die．This made me sa
So I started thinking of ways to save a pig's life．I had been watching a big grey spider at her work and was impressed by how clever she was at weaving．Gradually I worked the spider into the story that you know, a story of friendship and salvation(拯救) on a farm．Three years after I started writing it, it was publishe
(I am not a fast worker, as you can see.)
Sometimes I'm asked how old I was when I started to write, and what made me want to write．I started early – as soon as I could spell．In fact, I can't remember any time in my life when I wasn't busy writing．I don't know what caused me to do it, or why I enjoyed it, but I think children often find pleasure and satisfaction is trying to set their thoughts down on paper, either in words or in pictures．I was no good at drawing, so I used words instea
As I grew older, I found that writing can be a way of earning a living.
Some of my readers want me to visit their school．Some want me to send a picture, or an autograph, or a book．And some ask questions about my family and my animals and my pets．Much as I'd like to, I can't go visiting．I can't send books, either – you can find them in a bookstore or a library．Many children assume that a writer owns (or even makes) his own books．This is not true – books are made by the publisher．If a writer wants a copy, he must buy it．That's why I can't send books．And I do not send autographs – I leave that to the movie stars．I live most of the year in the country, in New Englan
From our windows we can look out at the sea and the mountains．I live near my married son and three grandchildren.
Are my stories true, you ask? No, they are imaginary tales, containing fantastic characters and events．In real life, a family doesn't have a child who looks like a mouse; in real life, a spider doesn't spin words in her we
In real life, a swan doesn't blow a trumpet．But real life is only one kind of life – there is also the life of the imagination．And although my stories are imaginary, I like to think that there is some truth in them, too – truth about the way people and animals feel and think and act.
Yours sincerely,
White
1.How many animal characters in E.B.White’s books have been mentioned in his letter?
A．2.
B．3
C．4.
D．5.
2.Which of the following has inspired E.B.White to write his famous Charlotte’s Web?
A．His dream of a little boy acting like a mouse．
B．His sympathy for a dying pig.
C．His impression of spiders wearing skill.
D．His imagination of a swan blowing a trumpet.
3.Which of the following may not be the question asked by E.B.White’s readers?
A．Where do you live?
B．Are your stories true?
C．Can you come and visit our school?
D．Why do you send us this printed letter?
4.From the letter, we can know that E.B.White _____.
A．could spell at a very young age
B．makes a living by writing
C．lives under a roof of four generations
D．is busy writing animals all his life
完形填空（共1小题）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I used to find notes left in the church’s collection basket, beautiful notes about my homilies （讲道）and about the writer’s thoughts on the daily readings．The______fascinated（吸引）me, but it was a long time______I met the author of the notes．
One Sunday morning, I was ______that someone was waiting for me in the office, a young woman who said she______all the notes． When I saw her I was ______, since I had no idea that it was she who wrote the notes．She was sitting in a chair in the office．Her41was bowed and when she raised it to look at me, she could barely______without pain． Her face was disfigured（畸形）, so smiling was very______for her．
We______for a while that Sunday morning and agreed to meet for lunch later that week．
As it ______, we went to lunch several times and told each other about our______．We spoke of authors we had both______, and it was easy to tell that______were a great love of hers．
She suffered from a disfigurement that cannot be made to look_____．I know that her condition_____her deeply．Yet there was beauty to her that had nothing to do with_____．She was one to be listened to, whose words came from a wounded but _____heart． She possessed a fine tuned sense of beauty．Her only _____in life was the loss of a frien
The truth of her life was a desire to see beyond the _____for a glimpse of what it is that matters．She found beauty and _____and they befriended her, and showed her what is real．
1.A．questions B．ideas C．notes D．basket
2.A．since B．after C．when D．before
3.A．told B．warned C．informed D．showed
4.A．lost B．left C．dropped D．collected
5.A．shocked B．satisfied C．frightened D．disappointed
6.A．hand B．arm C．head D．body
7.A．stand B．smile C．speak D．sit
8.A．pleasant B．bitter C．beautiful D．difficult
9.A．chatted B．discussed C．drank D．greeted
10.A．turned out B．turned up C．came out D．came up
11.A．families B．beliefs C．hobbies D．lives
12.A．known B．read C．met D．heard
13.A．friends B．churches C．writings D．books
14.A．friendly B．happy C．attractive D．normal
15.A．hurt B．impressed C．changed D．helped
16.A．fame B．wealth C．interest D．looks
17.A．cheerful B．interesting C．loving D．exciting
18.A．fear B．wonder C．defeat D．regret
19.A．dream B．surface C．imagination D．time
20.A．success B．hope C．grace D．help
They don’t think the problem so far they_______.（ ）
A．have had has been solved
B．have had been solved
C．have to solve been solved
D．have solved has been solved
The glorious moment would live in my mind ______ our football team won the championship．（ ）
A．whenB．whereC．thatD．which
