Chinese Ancient Science & Inventions
Chinese Inventions—Can You Name Them?
The Invention of Paper and find out everything about paper-making at The Rober C.Williams American Museum of Papermaking.
The Art of Printing(Matteo Ricci)
The Origin of Chinese Books and Printing
Chinese bookmaking an ancient craft
Paper,a contribution to human progress
The History of Chinese Ｍathematics
Chinese Ancient Science & Technology
Chinese Ancient Agriculture
The Coins of Ancient China
Chinese Agriculture
The Coins of Ancient China
Chinese Agriculture
Invented in China?
The History of Calculating(abacus)
Return of the Dragon:Hazards of Man-Made Magnetism(a discussion)
Chinese Ancient & Modern Think-tanks
Kong Fu Zi—Confucius(James A.A.Tucker)
The Philosopher Confucius (551～479 B.C.)
The Analects—Confucius (English text)
The Great Learning—Confucius (English text)
The Doctrine of the Mean—Confucius (English text)
Mencius—Meng Zi and some text (GB)
Mao Zedong—A Great Man in China History
Man of the Year—Teng Hsiao-ping (Times)
The Tao Te Ching—Lao Tzu (Translated by S.Mitchell)
XUN KUANG (Xunzi—25 B C)
Han Fei
Welcome to Taoist Resource Center A Complete Guide to Taoism and its many applications.
ASIAWEEK—MAO NOW—The Great Helmsman led China into some of the most monumental disasters of the modern era.Now,20 years after his death,Mao Zedong’s star is shining asbrightly as ever.How can it be so?
Chairman Mao’s Poems—In Chinese (GIF).
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen—The founding father of Republic of China.
Mao Zedong—An unofficial site which collects quotations of Mao and some articles on Mao.(CHINESE GB) (CHINESE PS)
Mao Zedong—A Great Man in China History—Internet resources on Mao & his era.
Sun Yat-Sen:Fundamentals of National Reconstruction—“This book is Sun Yat-sen’s most important political statement.It enunciates his famous three principles whereby he set China on the road to modernity.”
DENG Xiaoping—Deng Xiaoping leads a far-reaching,audacious but Risky Second Revolution.(Man of the Year 1985,Time Magazine)(in English)
...For more information Click the Underlined.This passage is probably take from _________.
| A．magazine | B．a webpage | C．text book | D．TV programme |
How many webpages offer the information about Confucius?
| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. | D．Two. |
The passage is designed mainly to _________.
| A．make us learn the great people and inventions of China |
| B．give some information about China |
| C．stress the importance of confuciusm |
| D．describe the printing in China |
Can you remember the first time you learned to ride a bike or drive a car？Learning these skills changed your life forever and opened up new horizons（视野）.Learning about computers can be like learning how to ride a bike or drive a car.Once you have invested the time to master the skills，you will never go back to the old days.The new technology is simply too convenient and too powerful.
Technological developments through the years have enabled us to do more with less effort.We have continuously looked for better ways of doing things.Each invention and new development has allowed us to extend our capabilities.Today we see one of the most dramatic technologies ever developed—the computer.It extends the capabilities of our minds.
Computers have saved organizations millions of dollars. Furthermore，these same computer systems have opened up new opportunities that would have gone undiscovered or neglected.The computer may multiply what we can do，and the return on investment is high.The growth of computer usage is surprising. On the other hand，the computer can do serious damage.Invasion of privacy（侵犯隐私），fraud（欺诈），and computer-related mistakes are just a few shocking examples.The computer is like a double-edged sword.It has the ability to cut us free from some activities，but it can also cut deep into profits，personal privacy，and our society in general.How it is used is not a function of technology.It is strictly a function of how people decide to use or misuse this new technology.The choice is yours，and only through a knowledge of computer systems will you be able to avoid the dangers while enjoying the many，many benefits of the computer age.The writer thinks learning about computers is like learning how to ride a bike or drive a car because ______.
| A．it is simple and practical | B．it needs a lot of practice |
| C．it leads people to new life experiences | D．it takes much time to master the skills |
According to the passage，computers bring people the following benefits except ______.
| A．avoiding mistakes | B．saving money |
| C．making money | D．opening up opportunities |
According to the writer，the bad effects of computers can be avoided if we ______.
| A．have some knowledge of computer systems |
| B．tell people not to misuse computers |
| C．have strict rules over the use of computers |
| D．make more investments in the technology |
This passage is probably written for ______.
| A．computers | B．computer producers |
| C．computer learners | D．computer programmers |
Two thieves came to a house to steal something.They dug a hole in the wall of the house.
There lived many mice in the house.The woman in the moonlight saw a mouse crawl（爬行）into the house.“Look！In comes one，”she said to the man in the house.The thief was so frightened that he hurriedly crawled out of the house and said to the one waiting outside，“She found me when I was just in.” But the thief outside didn’t believe him，so he said，“Let us two try to crawl into the house together.”At that time two mice happened to crawl into the house，too.The woman saw the mice and shouted，“In come two，catch them！” The two thieves were terribly frightened.The man in the house said，“You saw them come in but where are they？ I will catch them tonight.”The two thieves started running away at once.
The two thieves wanted to make it clear whether they had been found or not the night before.The next day they acted as men selling sweet potatoes and came before the house.The man and the woman were ploughing in their fields.The rein（缰绳）broke and the woman came home for a rope.She saw two men selling sweet potatoes and wanted to buy some.She picked out two which looked like mice.At the time the man couldn’t wait for her any longer in the fields and he ran back from the fields to hurry her up.The woman showed the sweet potatoes to the man and said，“How they look like the two of last night.”The man said，“I asked you to fetch a rope，why don’t you hurry for it？”The two thieves ran away quickly without their sweet potatoes.The two thieves failed to steal anything from the house because______.
| A．they were found out |
| B．they were frightened by what they had heard in the house |
| C．they didn’t work together well with each other |
| D．mice stopped them from doing so |
From the last paragraph，we know that ______.
| A．the two thieves were famous selling sweet potatoes |
| B．the woman recognized the two thieves |
| C．the woman pretended to know nothing about the two thieves and made fun of them |
| D．the two thieves didn’t know that they were not found at all |
“______”is the best title for this passage.
| A．Two Clever Thieves | B．Terrible Mice |
| C．Hit the Mark by a Fluke（歪打正着） | D．A Clever Couple |
Which of the following statements is false？
| A．The two thieves not only failed to steal things but also lost their sweet potatoes. |
| B．Whenever they found mice，the people in the house would try to catch them. |
| C．The two thieves ran away at once，because they thought the woman had seen them. |
| D．The man let the woman go home for a rope，which would be used for catching the thieves. |
After several days’ warm weather around the New Year’s Day，a strong cold wave with a sandstorm from Mongolia attacked Tianjin Sunday afternoon.
From 3 o’clock p.m.，the strong cold wave from Mongolia engulfed（吞没）most areas of North China and the biggest wind-force was 7.Tianjin also suffered this year’s first sandstorm with the cold wind whistling.The sky became dusky and the air was permeated with sand.By 11 o’clock at night，the wind became weaker and the sandstorm died down.From Monday morning，the northern areas had a big drop in temperature.It is learned that flu and the infection of the upper respiratory tract are easy to be infected due to the severe pollution by dust in the air.Relevant experts remind residents to pay attention to their health care..The underlined word“permeated”most probably means______.
| A．cleared | B．filled | C．blowing | D．replaced |
We learn that ______from the passage.
| A．sandstorms result in the fall of temperature |
| B．we can easily get infected by the dusty air |
| C．it is usually warmer before sandstorms come |
| D．sandstorms usually come around the New Year’s Day |
In a natural disaster—a hurricane,flood,tornado,volcanic eruption,or other calamity—minutes and even seconds of warning can be the difference between life and death.Because of this,scientists and government officials are working to use the latest technological advances to predict when and where disasters will happen.They are also studying how best to analyze and communicate this information once it is obtained.The goal is to put technology to effective use in saving lives and property when nature unleashes its power with devastating results.
On September 29,1998,Hurricane Georges made landfall in Biloxi,Mississippi,after devastating Haiti,the Dominican Republic,Puerto Rico,and several islands of the Caribbean with torrential rains and winds up to 160 km/h （100 mph）.Few people lost their lives along the Gulf Coast of the United States,although hundreds died in the Caribbean.
This was a very different outcome from 1900,when a powerful Gulf Coast hurricane made an unexpected direct hit on Galveston,Texas,killing at least 6 000 people.Vastly improved hurricane warnings explain the different circumstances at either end of the 20th century—residents of Galveston had no advance warning that a storm was approaching,while residents of Biloxi had been warned days in advance of Georges’s approach,allowing for extensive safety precautions.
At the same time that people in Biloxi were thankful for the advance warning,some residents of New Orleans,Louisiana,120 km to the west,were less satisfied.A day before Georges made landfall,forecasters were predicting that the hurricane had a good chance of striking New Orleans.Because much of New Orleans lies below sea level,the city is at risk for flooding.In addition,because New Orleans has a large population in vulnerable locations,emergency management officials must begin evacuations well before a storm strikes.But evacuation costs money:Businesses close,tourists leave,and citizens take precautionary measures.The mayor of New Orleans estimated that his city’s preparations for Georges cost more than 50 million.After the full fury of Georges missed New Orleans,some residents questioned the value of the hurricane forecasts in the face of such high costs.
The differing views on the early warnings for Hurricane Georges illustrate some of the complexities involved in predicting disasters.Disaster prediction is more than just forecasting the future with advanced technology—it is also a process of providing scientific information to the government officials and other decision makers who must respond to those predictions.
In general,the process has three phases.First,there is the challenge of forecasting the event itself.In the case of Georges,scientists worked to predict the future direction and strength of the hurricane days in advance.
A second important challenge is communicating the forecast to decision－makers.Because forecasts are always uncertain,a central factor in disaster predictions is communicating this uncertainty.Uncertainty is usually described in terms of odds or probabilities,much like daily weather forecasts.The media plays an important role in communicating predictions and their uncertainty to the public.
The third part of the process is the use of predictive information by decision makers.Even the most accurate information is of little value if the decision maker does not use it appropriately,for example in deciding whether to order an evacuation.If there is a breakdown in any of these three phases of prediction,the result is increased danger and a higher risk of loss of life.The underlined word“calamity”refers to ______.
| A．nature | B．thunderstorms | C．disaster | D．dangers |
According the passage,the purpose of disaster prediction is to______.
| A．demonstrate the power of advanced technology |
| B．bring out the truth between life and death |
| C．prevent such natural disasters from happening |
| D．reduce human casualties and loss of property |
Which of the following areas suffered the most severe damage?
| A．Biloxi,Mississippi. | B．Gulf Coast of U. S. |
| C．Galveston,Texas. | D．New Orleans. |
“Earthquake!”The word flashed in my brain.A roaring sound filled my ears.I tried to slide beneath my desk.The desk did a wild tap dance,slipping and sliding towards the centre of the room.I twisted my body and grabbed at the windowsill behind me,somehow kicking free of my dancing chair.I tried to stand.My legs skated away as if on a bucking escalator.
My fingers shook,grasped and held the windowsill tightly.Somewhere through the roar sounded the terrified scream of some wounded animal.I looked behind me and tried to steady my gaze on the other kids but the scene was a dizzy nightmare.Some of the class were sitting in the middle of the room,surrounded by chairs and desks.One girl was screaming.A boy was trying to claw his way across the floor to the door in a crazy overarm crawl.
My grip froze me to the windowsill.
I cried aloud,“I’m going to die.I’m going to die.Save me,I’m not ready to die,I’m not ready!”
I hunched forward on my knees and pressed my face against my clenched fingers.I looked at the backs of my fingers and stupidly noticed the fragile pale hairs growing out of the pores.The fingers would soon cease to exist.Somehow the impending horror of my death was too terrible to even cry about.
Suddenly,I became aware that the rocking had ceased.Perhaps I wasn’t going to die.The roaring sound was made by______.
| A．a wounded animal | B．people screaming |
| C．children running | D．an earthquake |
When the narrator clenches his fingers he is ______.
| A．afraid | B．angry | C．injured | D．impatient |
Paragraph two describes the______.
| A．injuries suffered by the narrator | B．effects of a bad nightmare |
| C．disorder in the classroom | D．narrator’s fear of death |
At the end of the passage there is a feeling of______.
| A．panic | B．hope | C．sorrow | D．excitement |
When newspapers and radio describe the damage caused by a hurricane named Hazel,girls named Hazel are probably teased by their friends.To keep out of trouble,the Weather Bureau says,“Any resemblance between hurricane names and the names of particular girls is purely accidental.”
Some women became angry because hurricanes are given their names,but many other women are proud to see their names make headlines.They don’t even care that they are the names of destructive storms.Because more women seem to like it than dislike it,the Weather Bureau has decided to continue using girl’s names for hurricanes.
In some ways a hurricane is like a person.After it is born,it grows and develops,then becomes old and dies.Each hurricane has a character of its own.Each follows its own path through the world,and people remember it long after it gone.So it is natural to give hurricanes’ names,and to talk about them almost if they were alive.What happens to girls named Hazel according to the passage?
| A．They suffer from hurricanes. |
| B．The Weather Bureau look for them. |
| C．Others often make fun of them. |
| D．They can’t find boyfriend. |
The underlined word“resemblance”probably means ______.
| A．trouble | B．difference | C．sameness | D．success |
According to the passage,which is more reasonable?
| A．Some women feel unhappy because hurricanes are given their names. |
| B．A lot of women complain of the Weather Bureau. |
| C．Many women want to be known. |
| D．All the hurricanes are caused by women. |
Public opinions make the Weather Bureau ______.
| A．consider the disagreement of some women |
| B．go on naming hurricanes after women |
| C．name hurricanes after men |
| D．look for a new method to name hurricanes |
Geologists have been studying volcanoes for a long time.Though they have learned a great deal,they still have not discovered the cause of volcanic action.They know that the inside of the earth is very hot,but they are not sure exactly what causes the great heat.Some geologists have thought that the heat is caused by the great pressure of the earth’s outer layers.Or the heat may be left from the time when the earth was formed.During the last sixty years scientists have learned about radium,uranium,thorium,and other radioactive elements.Many scientists now believe that much of the heat inside the earth is produced by radioactive elements.
Whatever the cause of the heat may be,we do know that the earth gets hotter the farther down we dig.In deep mines and oil wells the temperatures rise about 1°F for every 50 feet.At this rate of the temperature 40 miles below the earth’s surface should be over 4 000°.This is much hotter than necessary to melt rock.However,the pressure of the rock above keeps most materials from melting at their usual melting points.Geologists believe that the rock deep in the earth may be plastic,or puttylike（油灰状的）.In other words,the rock yields slowly to pressure but is not liquid.But if some change in the earth’s crust releases the pressure,the rock melts.Then the hot,liquid rock can move up toward the surface.The cause for the great heat inside of the earth is______.
| A．great pressure of the earth’s outer layers |
| B．the heat left from the time when the earth was formed |
| C．radioactive elements giving out heat |
| D．not sure |
According to the passage,______ prevents most rock from melting at its usual melting points.
| A．the pressure of the rock itself |
| B．the pressure of the rock above |
| C．the pressure of the earth’s outer layers |
| D．the heat given out by some radioactive elements |
According to the passage,which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The farther down,the hotter the earth gets. |
| B．The rock deep in the earth is liquid. |
| C．When the pressure releases from the earth’s crust,the rock melts. |
| D．Rock would be melted at 4 000°. |
An Announcement
It was a small town which lay by the coast.Most people there lived by catching fish.The hurricanes often struck the area from July to October.Some of the people died on the sea when their boats were blown over by the high winds.So they paid much attention to the weather forecasts.They were afraid to meet with the hurricanes when they were catching fish on the sea.Each of the families had a radio and people always took them with themselves and listened to them at any time.
It was September.A hurricane attacked the town one night.Plenty of trees were pushed over and all the electric and telephone lines were broken.People couldn’t watch TV,or call their friends,or go to work.To their anger,they couldn’t listen to the weather forecasts the Town Radio Station broadcast.The food and fresh water would soon be short and the patients couldn’t be given medical care—no medicine could be carried there.People didn’t know what would happen and they looked anxious.
On the fourth day they read an announcement（通告）on the Town Weekly.It was written,“Recently we have to stop the weather forecast because of the bad weather.We usually get the forecasts from the airport.But the roads are all blocked by the fallen trees and stones.Whether or not we’ll be able to broadcast the weather forecast tomorrow depends on the weather！”The people in the town often took radios with themselves because______.
| A．they felt lonely when catching fish on the sea and listened to the weather forecasts |
| B．they were interested in the weather forecasts |
| C．they couldn’t watch TV on the sea |
| D．they hoped to listen to some good news |
The writer writes the passage mainly to ______.
| A．desrcibe the importance of weather forecast |
| B．give a news report |
| C．describe a bad effect of natural disasters |
| D．to warn people to be careful against hurricane |
Read the announcement,the people were______.
| A．encouraged | B．happy | C．excited | D．disappointed |
Alzheimer’s disease is a major national health problem.Nearly 2 million Americans over the age of 65 have Alzheimer’s disease.It is a leading cause of death among the elderly.But Alzheimer’s disease is not confined （限于） to the aged.There may be a million or more people under the age of 65 suffering from the disease.
At one time,people suffering from the disease were said to be“getting old”.The disease was thought to be a natural part of growing old,but it is now known that Alzheimer’s disease strikes young and old alike.It is an organic （器官的） disease,that destroys brain cells.
Alzheimer’s disease affects the patient’s memory,speech,and movement.In the beginning stages of the disease,the patient may seem slightly confused.He may have trouble speaking,then the patient’s memory begins to fail.He may forget dates,numbers,names and plans.
As the disease progresses,the patient may not recognize family and friends.These symptoms（症状） often cause terrible anxiety in the patient.He may feel lost and frightened.Sometimes the patient reacts with wild and bad behavior.
In the last stages of the disease,the patient may not be able to take care of himself.He may have lost the ability to speak and walk.
Scientists don’t know exactly what causes Alzheimer’s disease.It may be caused by a virus （病毒）.It may be caused by a poisonous substance（物质） in the environment.At present,there is no cure for the disease.But there are ways to slow its progress.Exercise and physical treatment can help the patients of this disease.The main idea of the passage is that Alzheimer’s disease ________.
| A．is a terrible part of the aging process |
| B．is an organic disease that affects young and old |
| C．can be cured by physical treatment |
| D．causes forgetfulness |
All of the following are symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease EXCEPT________.
| A．forgetfulness | B．difficulty in speaking |
| C．loss of sight | D．loss of the ability to walk |
According to the passage,which of the following may be a cause of Alzheimer’s disease?
| A．Poisons produced by the brain. | B．Getting old. |
| C．A virus. | D．Lack of exercise. |
The press of Alzheimer’s disease can be slowed by________.
| A．operation | B．a change in environment |
| C．medicines | D．physical treatment and exercise |
Bill and his family has been living in the six－family building for years.All the neighbours got along fairly well with each other until recently.
An old man and his wife used to live on the second floor.Bill’s mother and the old lady were good friends.Unfortunately the lady died last month.Her husband could not live alone,so he had his grandson move over and live with him.
The grandson has become a problem to all the neighbours,especially to Bill’s family.The walls of the building are thin and he is noisy.Bill is used to peace and quiet but the young man likes to listen to the radio late at night.Sometimes friends of his visit and they make a lot of noise.That is too much for Bill’s family.
Bill’s mother once asked the old man politely if he was able to sleep well at night,but obviously the man didn’t understand what she meant.If he did and spoke to his grandson,the young man obviously didn’t listen,since things haven’t changed any.Everyone in Bill’s family agrees that something must be done though they don’t want to hurt the kind old man.Bill’s family got angry because ________.
| A．the old lady had died |
| B．a young man moved in |
| C．the old man could not live alone |
| D．the grandson made a lot of noise |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．The old man could not live without his wife’s help. |
| B．The old man and his wife were sometimes making trouble too. |
| C．Bill’s mother was kind to her neighbours. |
| D．Bill’s mother was the only one who likes the young man. |
It seems that ________to solve the problem.
| A．anyone is able | B．only the grandfather is going |
| C．Bill’s mother is able | D．nobody is likely |
Tourism probably started in Roman times.Rich Romans visited friends and family who were working in another part of the Roman empire.But when the empire broke down,this kind of tourism stopped.
In the early 17th century,the idea of the“Grand Tour”was born.Rich young English people sailed across the English Channel（英吉利海峡）.They visited the most beautiful and important European cities of the time,including Paris in France,and Rome and Venice（威尼斯）in Italy.Their tours lasted for two to four years,and the tourists stayed a few weeks or months in each city.The“Grand Tour”was an important part of young people’s education—but only for the rich.
In the 18th century,tourism began to change.For example,people in the UK started to visit some towns,such as Bath to“take the waters”.They believed that the water there was good for their health.So large and expensive hotels were built in these towns.
In the 19th century,travel became much more popular and faster.When the first railways were built in the 1820s,it was easier for people to travel between towns,so they started to go for holidays by the sea.And some started to have holidays in the countryside as cities became larger,noisier and dirtier.
Traveling by sea also became faster and safer when the first steamships were built.People began to travel more to far away countries.
The 20th century saw cars become more and more popular among ordinary people.Planes were made larger,so ticket prices dropped and more people used them.
Thus tourism grew.In 1949,Russian journalist Vladimir Raitz started a company called Horizon Holidays.The company organizes everything—plane tickets,hotel rooms,even food—and tourists pay for it all before they leave home.The package tour and modern tourist industry was born.
The first travel agency in China was set up as early as 1949.But tourism did not take off until 1978.In 2002,the industry was worth 500 billion yuan and became an important part of China’s social development.In the early times,the travelers ________.
| A．all came from Roman |
| B．were very young and strong |
| C．had lots of money |
| D．traveled by boat |
________ played the most important role in the tourism development.
| A．Education | B．Money | C．Transportation | D．People’s ideas |
Modern tourism was born ________.
| A．in 1949 | B．in Roman times |
| C．in the early 17th century | D．in the 19th century |
The underlined phrase“take off”means ________.
| A．a plane rising into the air |
| B．develop very fast |
| C．remove hats and clothes |
| D．bring down the prices |
The twin towns of LAUFEN/OBERNDORF
Laufen owes its former economical and cultural significance to the river Salzach,which forms a peninsula with its sharp curves（弯） there.
Laufen’s economic boom began with the salt trade and the shipping on the river.The salt—mainly coming from Hallein and Bad Reichenhall—was loaded onto bigger ships downstream,which made Laufen one of the most important ports of shipment for salt in Salzburg and Bavaria.
The archbishop（大教主） of Salzburg had given special privileges to the people who were involved in the shipping of salt on the river Salzach.
The Napoleonic Wars brought occupation and serious disturbances.They brought the sudden end to the independent state of the Duke—Archbishop of Salzburg.The end of the 18th century brought a decrease in shipping because of the general economic situation.On the 1st May 1816 Salzburg definitively became a part of Austria （Munich agreement） that’s why the Salzach became the border between Bavaria and Austria.Laufen’s suburbs Oberndorf and Altach were divided up.The number of inhabitants fell from 1392 to 809.Even the re－unification of the two towns’shipsmen’s guilds（行会） and the reorganization of 1928 could not prevent the decline of shipping which finally came to an end in the late 19th century.________played an important role in Laufen’s economy and culture life.
| A．Salt | B．Shipment | C．Guilds | D．Theriver Salzach |
The underlined word“boom”probably means________.
| A．pleasant sounds | B．sudden increase | C．sudden decrease | D．trade |
The main idea of this passage is mainly about ________.
| A．how the economy declined in Laufen |
| B．the effects of The Napoleonic Wars |
| C．how the twin towns of LAUFEN and OBERNDORF came into being |
| D．the history of Salzburg |
Vive la Tower!
Until New York’s Chrysler Building was completed in 1930,the Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure in the world.Located by the river Seine,on an avenue named after its designer,this 985－foot （300－meter） tower is the most famous edifice（大建筑物） in the city of Paris.Gustave Eiffel’s idea was certainly chosen from among 700 proposals（提议） to represent the city in the International Exhibition of Paris in 1889.It commemorated（纪念） the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. 
In 1887,three hundred steel workers spent two years constructing the 7 000－ton tower.Yet,it was almost torn down two decades after its completion.Luckily,its antenna（天线）,used for telegraphy at the time,saved it.Last July,it looked to observers as though the tower might be destroyed after all,as ominous（不吉利的） black clouds of smoke encircled the structure.Luck was again smiling upon the tower:the fire turned out to be a small one that was quickly put out by attendants on duty.
To date,more than 200 million people have visited the Eiffel Tower.However,it has not always been a beloved tourist attraction.At first,Parisians despised it.Its architectural style and metallic composition were not considered pleasing.Today,the Eiffel Tower is adorned（装饰） with special lights that sparkle for ten minutes each hour,from sunset until one a.m.If you happen to be passing by,look up at this breathtaking monument for an astonishing sight.The Eiffel Tower,composed of iron and steel,is greater than the sum of its parts.If you wanted to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle,when might you stop by?
| A．1:15 a.m. | B．3:30 p.m. | C．9:10 p.m. | D．0:00 a.m. |
When was the Eiffel Tower almost torn down?
| A．1907. | B．1909. | C．1889. | D．2003. |
At first,what did Parisians think about the tower?
| A．The steel and iron parts were unimpressive. |
| B．The awe－inspiring design was attracting. |
| C．Both A and B are correct. |
| D．Neither A nor B is correct. |
The South Pole is a particular place on the earth.When people stand at the top of it looking around,they will find all directions face to north.No matter how they make their first step in which direction,they will always walk towards the north.That’s to say,only north and south exist there,neither east nor west exists.
At the top of the South Pole,any clock or watch keeps good time because all meridians（子午线） join there.All kinds of local time are completely suitable there.It is even difficult to distinguish（区别） New Year’s Eve from New Year’s Day.
The explorers and scientists from different countries always fix the time according to their own.Therefore the time by their watches was different when the people with different nationality gathered there.
The Winter Solstice（冬至日） is an important festival at the South Pole.It is always on June 21 or 22.This day is called Midwinter Festival,on which the daytime is the shortest in a year and the night the longest.All people at the South Pole extend greetings to each other and present gifts to each other.They usually give all kinds of celebrations.From that day on,the daytime will get longer day by day.At the top of the South Pole,your watch will ________.
| A．keep good time | B．be five minutes fast |
| C．stop | D．be ten minutes slow |
The Winter Solstice is an important festival ________.
| A．in the world | B．at the South Pole | C．at the North Pole | D．in China |
On the Winter Solstice,________ is the shortest in a year.
| A．the night | B．the noon | C．the morning | D．the daytime |
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