高二英语话题阅读训练WeekEleven历史地理.docx

高二英语话题阅读训练WeekEleven历史地理.docx

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高二英语话题阅读训练WeekEleven历史地理

WeekEleven历史地理

一、阅读理解（共7小题；共14.0分）

A

ThisisastorythathappenedinEuropeinthe17thcentury.Tulips（郁金香）wereintroducedintoHollandbeforethe17thcenturybutitdidnottakelongfortheflowerstogainpopularityamongtheupperclasses.Flowersofsuchbeautysoonbecamesymbolsofpowerandtherichtriedtheirbesttolaytheirhandsonsometodisplaythemintheirgardens.Whenmorepeoplelearnedofthepricesthattherichwerewillingtopayfortulips,theyknewtheyjustfounda“get-rich-quick”goldmine.

By1634,thewholecountrywassoattractedbytulipsthatallotheractivitiesalmostcametoastop.Peopleweretradingintulipsandevenbuyingandsellingbulbs（球茎）.Atthattime,onerarebulbcostasmuchastentonsofcheese.

Manymadeafortuneinthebeginning.Asthepricesmovedinonedirection,theyonlyneededtobuylowandsellhigh,buyhighandsellhigher.Afterthegains,confidenceroseandmanysoldawayalltheirpropertyinordertoinvestmoremoneyintulips,hopingtomakemoremoney.Thedesirewassostrongthatthosewhowerewatchingalsorushedtothetulipmarket.Everyonethoughtthatthehighdemandfortulipswouldcontinueforeverandpricescouldonlygoupbecausemoreandmorepeoplefromallovertheworldwouldstarttoliketulips.

Whenthepricesoftulipswasmuchhigherthanitshouldbe,fewpeopleboughtthemforplantingintheirgardens.Therealdemandfortheflowersseemedgreaterthanitreallywas.Manypeoplewerebuyingthemforspeculation（投机）,notappreciation.In1637,forsomeunknownreasons,agroupofpeoplesuddenlyrealizedthedanger.Thepricesoftulipsbegantofallandthemarketcrashed.Whenconfidencewasdestroyed,itcouldnotberecoveredandpriceskeptfalling.Soonthenoblesandtherichbecamepoor.CriesofsufferingwereheardeverywhereinHolland.

1.Whydidtheupperclassesbuytulipsinthebeginning?

A.Becausethepricesoftulipswerelow.

B.Becausetheywantedtomakeafortune.

C.Becausetulipswereintroducedfromabroad.

D.Becausetulipswerebeautifulandrepresentedpower.

2.Itcanbeinferredfromthepassagethat .

A.greed（贪婪）wasthereasonwhysomanypeopleweremadabouttulips

B.tulipsbecamepopularamongtheupperclassesveryslowly

C.peoplewhoweremadabouttulipsboughtthemforappreciation

D.whenthepriceswereextremelyhigh,mostpeopleplantedtulipsintheirgardens

3.Thepassageismainlyabout .

A.Europeinthe17thcentury

B.buyingandsellingtulips

C.beingmadabouttulips

D.thelifeofthenoblesandtherich

B

Themostcommonsymbolofanationinthemodernworldisalsooneofthemostancient.Withaclearsymbolicmeaning,theflaginthetraditionalformisstillusedtodaytomarkbuildings,shipsandothervehiclesrelatedtoacountry.

Thenationalflagasweknowittodayisinnowayaprimitive（原始的）artifact.Itis,rather,theproductofthousandsofyears'development.Historiansbelievethatithadtwomajorancestors,ofwhichtheearlierservedtoshowwinddirection.

Earlyhumanbeingsusedveryfragile（脆弱的）housesandboats.Oftenstrongwindswouldtearroofsfromhousesorcausehighwavesthatendangeredtravelers.People'sfoodsuppliesweresimilarlyvulnerable.Evenaftertheyhadlearnedhowtoplantgrains,theystillneededhelpfromnaturetoensuregoodharvests.Thereforetheyfearedanddependedonthepowerofthewind,whichcouldbringwarmthfromonedirectionandcoldfromanother.

Usingasimplepieceofclothtiedtothetopofaposttotellthedirectionofthewindwasmoredependablethanearliermethods,suchaswatchingtherisingofsmokefromafire.Theconnectionoftheflagwithheavenlypowerwasthereforereasonable.Earlyhumansocietiesbegantofixlongpiecesofclothtothetopsoftotems（图腾）beforecarryingthemintobattle.Theybelievedthatthepowerofthewindwouldbeaddedtothegoodwishesofgodsandancestorsrepresentedbythetotemsthemselves.

Theseflagsdevelopedveryslowlyintomodernflags.Thefirstknownflagofanationorarulerwasunmarked:

ThekingofChinaaround1000BCwasknowntohaveawhiteflagcarriedaheadofhim.ThispracticemighthavebeenlearnedfromEgyptiansevenfurtherinthepast,butitwasfromChinathatitspreadovertraderoutesthroughIndia,thenacrossArabLands,andfinallytoEurope,whereitmetupwiththeotherancestorofthenationalflag.

4.Thebesttitleforthepassagewouldbe .

A.DevelopmentoftheNationalFlag

B.PoweroftheNationalFlag

C.TypeofFlags

D.Usesofflags

5.Theunderlinedword"vulnerable"inparagraph3means .

A.impossibletomakesureofB.likelytobeprotected

C.easytodamageD.difficulttofind

6.Whatdoestheauthorknowofthefirstnationalflag?

A.HeknowswhenitwassenttoEurope.

B.HebelievesitwasmadeinChina.

C.HethinksitcamefromChina.

D.Hedoubtswhereitstarted.

7.Whatwilltheauthormostprobablytalkaboutnext?

A.TheroleofChinainthespreadofthenationalflag.

B.Thesecondancestorofthenationalflag.

C.TheuseofmodernflagsinEurope.

D.Theimportanceofmodernflags.

二、阅读理解（共4小题；共8.0分）

NewarchaeologicaldiscoveriessuggestthattradebetweenEuropeandAsiaalongtheSilkRoadprobablybeganmanycenturiesearlierthanoncethought.Thefindings,coupledwitharangeofscientificandhistoricalresearch,couldaddafascinatingnewpagetotheepicoftheSilkRoad.

ThelatestandmostsurprisingdiscoveryispiecesofsilkfoundinthehairofanEgyptianmummyfromabout1,000BC,longbeforeregulartrafficontheSilkRoadandatleastonethousandyearsbeforesilkwaspreviouslythoughttobeusedinEgypt.

TheofficialoriginofEast-Westcommercealongtheroadisusuallyplacedinthelate2ndcenturyBCwhenanagentoftheChineseEmperorWudireturnedfromadangeroussecretmission（使命）acrossthewesterndesertintotheremoteCentralAsia.Theagent,ZhangQian,travelledasfarasAfghanistanandbroughtbackknowledgeofevenmoredistantlandssuchasPersia,SyriaandaplaceknownasLijien,perhapsRome.Historianshavecalledthisoneofthemostimportantjourneysinancienttimes.Hisjourneyopenedthewayforwhathavebeenthoughttobethefirstindirectcontactsbetweentheancientworld'stwosuperpowers,ChinaandRome.Chinesesilk,firsttradedtocentralAsiantribesforwarhorsesandtotheParthiansofoldPersiainexchangeforacrobatsandostricheggs,wassoonfindingitswaythroughanetworkofmerchantstotheluxurymarketsofRome.

ButthenewdiscoveriesshowthatChinesesilkwasapparentlypresentintheWestlongbeforetheHanemperorstartedorganizedtradeovertheSilkRoad.TheresearchcouldchangethinkingabouttheearlyhistoryofworldtradeandwonderthemysteryofjustwhenandhowEuropeandtheMediterraneanlandsfirstbecameawareofthegloriousculture.

8.Theunderlinedword"coupled"inthefirstparagraphcouldbestbereplacedby .

A.producedB.continuedC.doubledD.combined

9.ThesilkthreadfoundinthehairofanEgyptianmummysuggeststhat .

A.EgyptianshadprobablytravelledtoChinatobuysilk

B.tradealongtheSilkRoadbeganearlierthanoncethought

C.historicalresearchoftenachievesfascinatingresults

D.newlightcannowbethrownonancienttradingpractices

10.UntilrecentlymosthistoriansofficiallybelievedthattradealongtheSilkRoad .

A.originatedinthe2ndcenturyBC

B.extendedhumanmigrationintoeasternAsia

C.beganamillionyearsago

D.primarilybenefitedtheEgyptians

11.HistorianshavealwaysconsideredZhangQian'sjourneyimportantbecausetheybelieve .

A.hebroughtbackknowledgeofRometotheemperor

B.hediscoveredtheSilkRoad

C.hehelpedestablishEast-Westtrade

D.hetravelledasfarasAfghanistan

三、阅读理解（共5小题；共10.0分）

AIDS-relatedillnesseshavekilledmorethan30millionpeoplesince1981.That'shalfasmanydeathsasinWorldWarII.Andit'snotover.Anestimated1.1millionAmericansareamongthe33millionpeopleworldwidewhoarenowlivingwithHIV,thevirusthatcausesAIDS.

Between1884and1924,somewherenearmodern-dayKinshasainWestCentralAfrica,ahunterkillsachimpanzee.Someoftheanimal'sbloodentersthehunter'sbody,possiblythroughanopenwound.Thebloodcarriesavirusharmlesstothechimpbutdeadlytohumans:

HIV.

InJune,1981,theCDCpublishesareportfromLosAngelesoffiveyounghomosexualmenwithfatalorlife-threateningPCPpneumonia.Firstcasesrecognized.In1985,RockHudsondiesofAIDS.LarryKramer'sAIDSplay,"TheNormalHeart."shocksNewYorkaudiences.

In1986,forthefirsttime,PresidentReaganpubliclyutterstheword"AIDS."In1987,PrincessDianaisphotographedhuggingpeoplewithAIDS.ReaganmakeshisfirstspeechonAIDS.LiberacediesofAIDS.Threeyearslater,PhotographerRobertMapplethorpediesofAIDS.

In1988,thefirstWorldAIDSDAYisheldonDec.1.During1991-1992,theredribbonisintroducedasasymbolofAIDSsolidarity（团结一致）.ButAIDSbecomestheleadingcauseofdeathinU.S.menaged25-44andtenyearslater,AIDSbecomestheleadingcauseofdeathworldwideforpeopleaged15to59.

In2008,forthefirsttime,globalAIDSdeathsdecline.UNAIDScalculatesthattheglobalspreadofAIDSpeakedin1996at3.5millionnewinfections.Deathspeakedin2004,at2.2million.YetAIDSDay2009bringssurprisingfigures:

2.7millionnew