I grew up in a house where the TV was seldom turned on and with one wall in my bedroom entirely lined with bookshelves, most of my childhood was spent on books I could get hold of. In fact, I grew up thinking of reading as natural as breathing and books unbelievably powerful in shaping perspectives (觀點) by creating worlds we could step into, take part in and live in.

With this unshakable belief, I, at fourteen, decided to become a writer. Here too, reading became useful. Every writer starts off knowing that he has something to say, but being unable to find the right ways to say it. He has to find his own voice by reading widely and discovering which parts of the writers he agrees or disagrees with, or agrees with so strongly that it reshapes his own world. He cannot write without loving to read, because only through reading other people’s writing can one discover what works, what doesn’t and, in the end, together with lots of practice, what voice he has.

Now I am in college, and have come to realize how important it is to read fiction (文學作品)．As a. law student, my reading is in fact limited to subject matter—the volume (量) of what I have to read for classes every week means there is little time to read anything else. Such reading made it all the clearer to me that I live in a very small part in this great place called life. Reading fiction reminds me that there is life beyond my own. It allows me to travel across the high seas and along the Silk Road, all from the comfort of my own armchair, to experience, though secondhand, exciting experiences that I wouldn't necessarily be able to have in my lifetime.

1.What can be inferred about the author as a child?

A.  He never watched TV.

B.  He read what he had to.

C.  He found reading unbelievable.

D.  He considered reading part of his life.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

2. The underlined word "voice" in the second paragraph most probably means “       ”.

A.  an idea     

B.  a sound quality

C.  a way of writing

D.  a  world to write about

3.What effect does reading have on the author?

A.  It helps him to realize his dream.

B.  It opens up a wider world for him.

C.  It makes his college life more interesting.

D.  It increases his interest in worldwide travel.

4.Which of the following can be the best title of this text?

A.  Why do I read?

B.  How do I read?

C.  What do I read? 

D.  When do I read?

   Runners in a relay(接力) race pass a stick in one direction. However, merchants passed silk, gold, fruit, and glass along the Silk Road in more than one direction. They earned their living by traveling the famous Silk Road.

The Silk Road was not a simple trading network. It passed through thousands of citied and towns. It started from eastern China, across Central Asia and the Middle East, and ended in the Mediterranean Sea. It was used from about 200 B, C, to about A, D, 1300, when sea travel offered new routes(路線)　, It was sometimes called the world’s longest highway. However, the Silk Road was made up of many routes, not one smooth path. They passed through what are now 18 countries. The routes crossed mountains and deserts and had many dangers of hot sun, deep snow and even battles. Only experienced traders could return safe.

    The Silk Road got its name from its most prized product. Silk could be used like money to pay taxes or buy goods. But the traders carried more than just silk. Gold, silver, and glass from Europe were much found in the Middle East and Asia. Horses traded from other areas changed farming practices in China. Indian merchants traded salt and other valuable goods. Chinese merchants traded paper, which produced an immediate effect on the West. Apples traveled from central Asia to Rome. The Chinese had learned to graft(嫁接)　different trees together to make new kinds of fruit. They passed this science on to others, including the Romans. The Romans used grafting to grow the apple. Trading along the Silk Road led to world-wide business 2,000 years before the World Wide Web.

The people along the Silk Road did not share just goods. They also shared their beliefs. The Silk Road provided pathways for learning, diplomacy(外交), and religion (宗教)

1.It’s probable that traders along the Silk Road needed         .

A. to remember the entire trade route       B. to know the making of products

C. to receive certain special training        D. to deal with a lot of difficulties

2.The Silk Road became less important because          .

A. it was made up of different routes        B. silk trading became less popular

C. sea travel provided easier routes         D. people needed fewer foreign goods

3.New technologies could travel along the Silk Road because people          .

A. learned from one another               B. shared each other’s beliefs

C. traded goods along the route             D. earned their living by traveling

4.What is the best title for the passage?

   A. The Silk Road ; Past and Present         B. The Silk Road; East Meets West

C. The Silk Road; Routes Full of Dangers    D. The Silk Road; Pathways for Learning

On the evening of June 21, 1992, a tall man with brown hair and blue eyes entered the beautiful hall of the Bell Tower Hotel in Xi’an with his bicycle. The hotel workers received him and teleponed the manager, for they had never seen a bicycle in the hotel hall before though they lived in “the kingdom of bicycles”.

Robert Friedlander, an American, arrived in Xi’an on his bicycle trip across Asia which started last December in New Delhi, India. When he was 11, he read the book Marco Polo and made up his mind to visit the Silk Road. Now, after 44 years, he was on the Silk Road in Xi’an and his early dreams were coming true.

Robert Friedlander’s next destinations (目的地) were Lanzhou, Dunhuang, Urumqi, etc. He will complete his trip in Pakistan.

1.The best headline (標題) for this newspaper article would be.

A．The Kingdom of Bicycles                  B．A Beautiful Hotel in Xi’an

C．Marco Polo and the Silk Road              D．An American Achieving His Aims

2.The hotel workers told the manager about Friedlander coming to the hotel because______.

A．he asked to see the manager

B．he entered the hall with a bike

C．the manager had to know about all foreign guests

D．the manager knew about his trip and was expecting him

3.What made Friedlander want to come to China?

A．The stories about Marco Polo.              B．The famous sights in Xi’an.

C．His interest in Chinese silk.                D．His childhood dreams about bicycles.

4.Friedlander can be said to be.

A．clever            B．friendly           C．hardworking       D．strong-minded

B
Daban town is famous for girls and windmills（風車）, while Loulan is a myth（神話）in the desert. From Daban, we move to another ancient city, Loulan.
Two thousand years ago, beside the beautiful and rich Luobu Lake, there lay Loulan, ancient city on the Silk Road. Businessmen from every country gathered here and there were dancing parties. Everything shows that people in Loulan lived a rich life then.
However, two thousand years later, this rich land suddenly disappeared from the map of China. Then it became an area covered with sand and dead tree trunks.
Loulan was first “discovered” by a Swedish man Sven Hedin in 1900. People from America, Britain, Japan and Sweden, all set foot here. Then in the 1930s, a Chinese named Huang Wenbi came to Loulan for the first time. He visited and studied this area and found many relics that were beautifully and carefully made.
It is recorded that the ancient city of Loulan was the capital of Loulan Kingdom during the Han and Jin dynasties. In the past century many things have been dug out there including Han Dynasty coins, mirrors and many others from Greece and Rome. All these things show that a lot of business between East and West once took place there.
Lying on the northwest of the Lop Nur area, the Loulan Kingdom is now a lifeless area with endless “forests” of mounds（小丘）which aren’t easily seen in other parts of the world. Its mystery (神秘) has been attracting so many people from so many countries.
65. The first person to set foot in Loulan in the 20th century is       .
A. a European                 B. an American
C. an Englishman              D. a Japanese
66. Before Loulan disappeared,          .
A. a lot of business between East and West had taken place there
B. people from America and Japan had set foot there
C. a lifeless area with lots of mounds could easily be seen there
D. Africans had visited the ancient country
67. We can infer from the passage that       .
A. Loulan was destroyed by the terrible weather there
B. wars between dynasties made Loulan disappear
C. foreigners came to Loulan and destroyed it
D. how Loulan disappeared is still unknown to us
68. What makes so many people visit Loulan Kingdom?
A. The beautiful scenery there.
B. Its developed business in the past.
C. Its mysterious stories
D. Those buried treasures there

第二節(jié) 信息匹配（共5小題；每小題2分，滿分10分)

請閱讀下列廣告和相關(guān)信息，并按照要求匹配信息。請在答題卡上將對應題號（46-50）的相應選項字母涂黑。首先，請閱讀下列廣告：

下面是上海博物館展品的介紹，請閱讀下列應用文和相關(guān)信息，并按照要求匹配信息。請在答題卡上將對應題號的相應選項字母涂黑。

A.

A collection of over 3,000 pieces covers the history of the birth and development of Chinese currency. The ancient Silk Road coins record the economic history of those ancient nations along the Silk Road.

B.

About 100 pieces of furniture illustrate the elegant simplicity of Ming style and the brilliant appearance of Qing style. A Ming-style reception hall and a study, together with a set of furniture models unearthed from a Ming tomb, represent the household life of centuries back.

C.

Beginning with the writing carved on oracle(94E) bones and bronzes, to the age of bamboo slips and stone steles (石碑), about ?0 masterpieces, including those by Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, present the interpretations of seal, official, running, cursive and regular scripts.

D.

Long long rolls by masters from Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties are displayed in the showcases by the long corridor, unfolding the glorious history of Chinese painting.

E.

Over 400 bronzes of unique shapes, delicate d6cor and excellent techniques tell you the 1500-year history of the great Chinese Bronze Age from 18th century B.C. till 3rd century B.C.

F.

About 120 statues in the gallery cover the development of Chinese sculpture art from the Warring States to the Ming dynasty. The Buddhist sculptures show how Buddhism confronted and harmonized with Chinese traditional culture over the history.

下面是部分參觀者的信息，請為他們找到各自需要的展館。

46. Liu Qiang -- Liu Qiang is a middle-school student, who is fond of art handwriting. He is curious about the development of all art handwriting in history.

47. Cha Leon -- Cha Leon is from Thai and he is a devoted Buddhism believer. He wants to learn what Buddhism has brought into Chinese culture, especially at an aspect of art.

48. Mr. Chang -- Mr. Chang is a successful businessman. One of his hobbies is to collect house fittings in old look but delicate and unique shaped, especially beds, chairs or desks centuries ago. He won't lose a chance to appreciate such kind of things.

49. Mai Ya -- Mai Ya is studying in a university majoring in economy. Next week she will present her project with a lot of pictures of ancient money in her PPT, but she still needs to learn more about the money and the history period.

50. Xiao Yang -- Xiao Yang is fond of fine art. He believes enjoying masterpieces is a shortcut for him to develop painting ability, and he is fond of Chinese traditional ones