Machu Picchu is an unusual site in Peru and one of the most mysterious wonders of the world. Built at almost 10,000 feet on the top of an Andean mountain, the Incas built hundreds of structures made of stone. A large number of Machu Picchu’s surrounding structures date back to the early 13th century, but it was considered a chief sacred site far before then. The Inca people changed the large site into a very small but wonderful city, completely self-sufficient and hidden from below. Agricultural terraces (梯田) surrounded the entire city, fed by natural spring water, supporting the entire population.
Inca Trail
The trail is one of the most famous in the world and regarded as one of the best. It covers only 26 miles, combining cloud forest, green mountain scenery, forest, and plenty of tunnels, paving stones, and ruins. The four-day hike begins slowly but quickly changes into a difficult journey suitable for those in excellent shape. The trail winds through the Andes, leading alongside and through ruins. Though independent hiking was once permitted, now it must be done with a guide.
Funerary Rock
It is believed that the Funerary Rock at Machu Picchu was used as a place to prepare Inca nobles for preservation, or mummifying (做成木乃伊), a common habit among the tribe. Nobles would be laid out to be mummified by the hot sun and freezing cold nights after their organs were removed. The rock is also famous as a spot from which a view of the city is afforded.
Temple of the Sun
Within the city’s castle, deep within Machu Picchu, is the Temple of the Sun, accessed only by the Emperor and
Inca priests. It means the Inca’s advanced knowledge of religion, weather, and nature, showing the great extent
Incas went to adapt to and learn about nature. Still unbroken, the temple was built to honor the god Inti, who is exactly the sun. The temple was effectively protected. It was also a very important scientific center, built in half-moon shape with openings facing north and east. The windows’ shadows in the center of the temple helped see the start of winter solstice (至日), showing farming season.
1.What do we know about the Inca Trail?
A. The scene is very beautiful along the trail.
B. One person alone is permitted to hike on the trail.
C. Only healthy people can do the four-day hike trail.
D. The trail covers a distance of 80 miles in all.
2.Temple of the Sun suggests that .
A. Incas had a good knowledge of math
B. Incas are rich in farming experiences
C. Inca had a desire to go to the moon
D. Incas adapted and learned about nature
3.What can be the best title for the passage?
A. Inca Trail B. Funerary Rock
C. Machu Picchu D. Temple of the Sun
Facebook is an Internet-based social network site that lets people get in touch with family and friends and reach out to people with common interests around the world, all through computer. It is very popular, with more than 900 million users. If Facebook were a country, it would have about three times the population of the United States.
Documents filed with US. financial regulators say Facebook has hundreds of millions of active users who send billions of messages each day and upload 250 million photographs on their personal pages. Facebook users have registered 100 billion “friends.”
On Facebook, “Friending” someone means you add the person to your list of people you can communicate with directly, which often allows the person to see more information about you than you share with the general public.
Facebook was started by Mark Zuckerberg and other students at Harvard University in 2004, and has grown at an amazingly fast pace.
Facebook makes money when advertisers pay to get access to hundreds of millions of Facebook users. Advertisers can often direct their messages to the people most interested in their products because Facebook computers keep track of information that users place on their pages. For example, a person interested in diving, planning a wedding, looking for work, or suffering from diabetes(糖尿病) may see advertisements related to those topics.
Facebook has become so much a part of the culture of the United States and other nations that it has been the subject of a Hollywood movie. It is a key marketing tool for many businesses, and its users’ content has been used as evidence in some divorce or criminal cases.
1.From the first paragraph, we can learn that ________.
A. about 900 million Americans are using Facebook
B. Facebook is widely used in the world
C. Facebook is a country in the Internet
D. Facebook is a place where people can meet face to face
2.If you are a friend of someone on Facebook, you__________ .
A. will have 100 billion friends
B. can download 250 million photographs
C. will share more private information
D. have to send message every day
3.Advertisers use Facebook because they can know__________.
A. who are interested in their products
B. how to keep track of information
C. what products are popular with the young
D. where their products are sold well
4.What might be the most suitable title for the passage?
A. Who starts Facebook?
B. How to use Facebook?
C. When is Facebook on?
D. What is Facebook?
Here comes a story that many years ago a man arrived at a village in India to catch monkeys so he could sell them to zoos. The monkeys, however, were very clever and every sort of trap he set failed. A young boy watched the man's pathetic efforts and laughed.
The man said, “If you can catch me a monkey, I'll give you $ 2.” That was a huge amount of money then.
The boy went to his home and took a clay pot with a narrow neck. He placed a few nuts around the pot and put lots of nuts inside. He then tied the pot to a tree and told the man, “We should have a rest in a few hours. Let's wait in the village. The monkey will call us when he is ready.”
Certainly enough, a band of monkeys soon discovered the nuts and the pot. One slipped his hand in the pot and grabbed a handful of nuts, but he couldn't pull his hand out of the narrow opening of the pot because his fist(拳头) was clenched. The monkey feared and started making loud noises. Some of the other monkeys tried unsuccessfully to pull the pot off his hand.
The boy and the man heard the noises and the boy got a big strong bag. As they approached the monkeys they all ran away except the one with its hand in the pot. The boy grabbed the monkey and the pot. The man was amazed and asked the boy the secret of his monkey trap, “Why was it so easy for the monkey to get his hand in but so hard to get it out?”
The boy laughed and said, “The monkey could have easily got his hand back out and escaped, but he would have had to let go of the nuts in the pot and he just wasn't willing to let go. They never are.”
What lessons can be learned from this story? Do people sometimes trap themselves by holding onto things that they should let go? Do you?
1.What does the underlined word “clenched” in the 4th paragraph probably mean?
A. quickly pushed B. lightly pulled
C. tightly fastened D. closely held
2.Why couldn’t the monkey pull his hand out of the pot? The reason lies in that .
A. the pot’s neck was too narrow B. the monkey wouldn’t let go of the nuts
C. the monkey’s fist was too big D. the nuts in the pot were too delicious
3.Which of the statement is NOT true according to the story?
A. The boy just played a trick on the man.
B. The monkeys were too clever to be trapped.
C. The boy was helpful.
D. The boy could ask for $2 from the man.
4.What might be the best title of this passage?
A. the monkey and the boy B. the boy and the pot
C. the monkey and the pot D. the man and the pot
The plan had been made to create a beautiful nature park with a large man-made lake on the outer parts of the city of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province. However, thanks to a terrible trick played by nature, what the officials have ended up with, is a natural sandy mess!
The government wanted to create a beautiful place where people of this busy industrial city could come to relax. But things did not quite turn out that way---shortly after digging up thousands of tons of sand, the underground water dried up. As a result, the dry sand has changed into a Sahara-like desert. While official reports show that the sand is piled up to 10 meters high, some people say that it is ten times more or about a 100-feet high in certain areas.
If that is not bad enough, the sand hills that now spread across an area the size of four football fields, have influenced the environment. What’s worse is that on windy days, the dry sand moves into the city center, making it almost impossible to drive and forcing people to wear face masks and protective eyewear to prevent the sand from getting into their eyes, nose, and mouth.
In an act of trying to keep the sand and provide the illusion(幻想) of green fields, the officials have even tried covering it with a green plastic netting. However, that has not done much to improve the terrible situation!
As you can imagine, many of Zhengzhou’s residents are upset by the disaster. They think that desert wasteland that looks nothing like the green landscape they were promised, has resulted in polluting their pleasant city environment. Some think it is even stopping businessmen from coming to the city.
1.The author may agree that it is_________ to build a large man-made lake.
A. possible
B. impossible
C. great
D. interesting
2.The dry sand has changed into a Sahara-like desert because________.
A. the weather in Zhengzhou is too dry
B. there are enough trees in Zhengzhou
C. they haven’t finished digging the lake
D. there is no underground water
3.What kind of pollution have the sand hills caused?
A. Light pollution. B. Water pollution.
C. Air pollution. D. Sound pollution.
4.What do Zhengzhou’s residents think of the man-made lake?
A. Scary. B. Small.
C. Helpful. D. Great.
海洋与我们的生活密切相关，没有海洋就没有人类。那么，我们应该如何保护海洋呢？请你根据以下要点，给你校的英语刊物写一篇短文，引起同学们对保护海洋的重视。
1．减少塑料的使用； 2．保持海滩和水路干净； 3．向更多人宣传海洋保护
注意：
1．词数100左右；
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：水路waterway
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Today I attended a meeting holding in our school. At the meeting over forty model students praised. For our joy, Li Ding, the monitor of our class, who was among them. We all felt proud of her. Then the headmaster gave them a talk. He wanted us to learn these students and hoped that more and more students will be praised at the next school meeting. I was great encouraged and made up my mind to work harder. Next week there will be a English exam. I’ll try to get good marks.
