题型:任务型阅读 题类:常考题 难易度:困难
江苏省盐城市2018-2019学年高二上学期英语期末考试试卷
注意:每个空格只填1个单词。
New discoveries suggest that trade between Europe and Asia along the Silk Road probably began many centuries earlier than once thought. The findings add a fascinating new page to the epic(史诗)of the Silk Road, which spread far and wide in no time.
The latest and most surprising discovery is pieces of silk found in the hair of an Egyptian mummy from about 1,000 BC, long before regular traffic on the Silk Road and at least one thousand years before silk was previously thought to be used in Egypt. Other research may extend human activity along this route back even further, perhaps a million years to the moving of human ancestors into eastern Asia
The official origin of East-West trade along the road is usually placed in the late 2nd century BC when an agent of the Chinese Emperor Wudi returned from a dangerous secret mission across the desert into the remote high country of Central Asia. The agent, Zhang Qian, traveled as far as Afghanistan and brought back knowledge of even more distant lands such as Persia, Syria and a place known as Lijien, perhaps Rome. Historians(历史学家)have called this one of the most important journeys in ancient times. His journey opened the way for what have been thought to be the first indirect contacts between the ancient world's two superpowers, China and Rome. Chinese silk, first traded to Central Asia for war horses, was soon finding its way to the markets of Rome through a network of businessmen.
But the new discoveries show that Chinese silk apparently existed in the West long before the Han emperor started organized trade over the Silk Road. The research could change thinking about the early history of world trade and provide insights into the mystery(谜) of just how and when Europe first realized the glorious culture at the other end of Eurasia.
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Supporting details |
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Introduction |
New findings about the of trade along the Silk Road are spread far and wide in no time. |
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The latest discovery |
The silk thread found in the hair of an Egyptian mummy from about 1,0 BC makes all feel greatly surprised. The discovery suggests the trade along the Silk Road may back to an earlier time than once . |
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Zhang Qian's mission |
The accepted official of East-West commerce along the Silk Road. |
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Opening the way for the first indirect contacts betweenthe two ancient superpowers, China and Rome Chinese silk to Central Asia and Persia Making Chinese silk the markets of Rome. |
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Show the of Chinese silk in the West long before the Han Dynasty. Change thinking about the early history of world peace. Help people find out more facts about Europe first Chinese culture. |
Students in the US and {#blank#}1{#/blank#} | Students in China, Japan and Korean | |
What do they value? | {#blank#}2{#/blank#} | {#blank#}3{#/blank#} goals and purposes |
Ways of study | working individually | listen to the teachers |
forming their own ideas and opinions | memorizing and {#blank#}4{#/blank#} | |
a lot of discussion in the classroom | not much discussion | |
{#blank#}5{#/blank#} | Learning to think for themselves | learning much more math and {#blank#}6{#/blank#} by the end of high {#blank#}7{#/blank#} |
studying more hours each day and more days each year | ||
good for a society that values {#blank#}8{#/blank#} ideas. | good for a society valuing {#blank#}9{#/blank#} and self-control | |
disadvantages | students haven't memorized many basic rules and facts when before {#blank#}10{#/blank#} | Information is forgotten easily |
Lindsay Renwick, the mayor of Deniliquin, a country town in New South Wales, misses the constant whir(嗡嗡声)of the rice mill whose giant fans dried the rice. The Deniliquin mill, the largest rice mill in the Southern Hemisphere (南半球), once processed enough grain to meet the needs of 20 million people globally. But six years of drought have had a destructive effect, reducing Australia's rice crop by 98 percent and leading to the mothballing of the mill last December.
Drought affects every agriculture industry based in Australia, not just rice – from sheep farming, the country's other backbone, to the cultivation of grapes for wine, the fastest-growing crop there, with that expansion often coming at the expense of rice. The drought's effect on rice has produced the greatest impact on the rest of the world, so far. It is one factor contributing to skyrocketing prices, and many scientists believe it is among the earliest signs that a warming planet is starting to affect food production.
Researchers are looking for solutions to global rice shortages – for example, rice that blooms earlier in the day, when it is cooler, to fight against global warming. Rice plants that happen to bloom on hot days are less likely to produce grains of rice, a difficulty that is already starting to emerge in inland areas of China and other Asian countries as temperatures begin to climb. 'there will be problems very soon unless we have new varieties of rice in place,” said Reiner Wassmann, climate change director at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The recent reports on climate change carried a warning that could make the news even worse: that existing models for the effects of climate change on agriculture did not yet include newer findings that global warming could reduce rainfall and make it more variable.
Yet the effects of climate change are not uniformly bad for rice. Rising concentrations (浓度) of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, can actually help rice – although the effect reduces or disappears if the plants face unnecessary heat, inadequate water, severe pollution or other stresses. Still, the flexibility of farmers here has persuaded some climate experts that, particularly in developed countries, the effects of climate change may be relieved, if not completely avoided. “I'm not as negative as most people,” said Will Steffen, director of the Fenner School of Environment and Society at Australian National University. “Farmers are learning how to do things differently.”
Meanwhile, changes like the use of water to grow wine grapes instead of rice carry their own costs, as the developing world is discovering. “Rice is an essential food,” said Graeme Haley, the general manager of the town of Deniliquin. “Wine is not.”
Phenomenon | Six years of drought reduced Australia's rice crop by 98%, leaving the rice mill{#blank#}1{#/blank#} |
{#blank#}2{#/blank#}of drought and climate change | Every Australian agriculture industry is affected,{#blank#}3{#/blank#}from sheep farming to the cultivation of grapes for wine. The whole world is in{#blank#}4{#/blank#}of rice. Prices rise{#blank#}5{#/blank#} . Temperatures begin to climb, causing{#blank#}6{#/blank#}rice production. |
{#blank#}7{#/blank#}to global rice shortages | Seek a new variety of rice that blooms earlier when it is cooler as a{#blank#}8{#/blank#} |
Some good news | Unless faced with unnecessary heat, inadequate water or other stress, the main green house gas can actually do{#blank#}9{#/blank#}to rice. Farmers are flexible and they can do things{#blank#}10{#/blank#}. |
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