A road is just like a bridge between two places. The Silk Road has been a bridge between East and West. But the Silk Road is not a single route! It is a series of trade and cultural transmission routes. From the time Zhang Qian opened up the world-famous Silk Road during the Han Dynasty, until the Yuan Dynasty, it enjoyed a history of about 1,600 years.

 This ancient road begins at Chang'an (now Xi'an), and it reaches Dunhuang, where it divides into three, the Southern Route, Central Route and Northern Route. And then it ends in Eastern Europe, near the Mediterranean Sea(地中海). The Silk Road is about 6,500 kilometers long. It goes across one-fourth of the planet. (3)In fact, there is another trade road which is called the “Silk Road on the Sea” in the southwest of China.

 The Silk Road was very important to both China and the rest of the world. Besides trade, knowledge about science, arts and technologies were shared across the Silk Road. The Four Great Inventions of China was introduced to the West and Chinese also knew about the religions of the West. (4)In this way, languages and cultures developed and influenced each other. Today, places along the Silk Road are great places of interest, such as the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an and Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu.

    Mr. Johnson lives outside of the town. His wife is often ill and his six children are studying at school. He works hard but he is often short of money. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    One afternoon, on Mr. Johnson's way home, it suddenly began to rain. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} His wife washed the clothes and shoes for him and aired them outside. Before she went to bed, she brought the clothes into the room but forgot the shoes.

    The next morning Mr. Johnson couldn't find his shoes. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Then he went to the police station and told the policemen about it.

   "I paid ten dollars for my shoes, sir," said the man." Look! I have to wear such a pair of worn-out shoes now!"

    Several days later, the police caught a thief and found the shoes. They were worn-out, too.

    "{#blank#}4{#/blank#}" said a policeman." The shopkeeper told me a pair of new shoes like them costs only seven dollars!"

    "You're right, sir," said Mr. Johnson." I've had them for five years and I had them fixed six times. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}"

    Kyra Komac, 28 years old, now has 25 furniture(家具）stores all over the country. The new store, in London's Camden High Street, takes her back to where it all started.  She tells us about how the business began.

    "When I was little, my mother began selling flowers in Camden Market. She couldn't leave me at home on my own, so I had to go to the market with her. To begin with, I didn't have to do anything. I just sat there, and my mum told me jokes and stories so I didn't get bored. When I got older, I gave my mum a hand and I really enjoyed it."

    "Then, one year, my grandma gave me a book for Christmas. It was all about making candles and I loved it. I was 14, and I didn't have to go to the market anymore because Mum could leave me at home on my own. I spent my free time making candles of all shapes and sizes. I made hundreds of them."

    "One day, my mother was ill so I had to go to the market on my own. I decided to take some candles with me and see if I could sell them. They were sold out in twenty minutes! The next week, my mum gave me some money to buy some wax(蜡）to make more candles. They were sold out really quickly, too."

    "Nine months later, we decided to stop selling flowers. My mum and I couldn't make enough candles during the week, so some of my school friends started to give us a hand. I paid them one pound for every candle, and we used to sell them for three or four times. It was fun and my friends worked with me in the market."

    "At the age of 22, my uncle lent me some money and I opened my first shop in Portobello Road. Since then, I've never looked back, even in difficulties. In the first store,  we only sold candles, but now we sell everything from furniture to paintings. Oh, and candles，of course."

    Leonardo da Vinci (莱奥纳多·达多奇) was a famous artist who was born in Italy. He was also a great inventor. Many of his inventions have become important in modern life. Although Leonardo hated war, he invented many different machines used for war. His most special invention was the machine gun, which was produced and used in war. Besides, Leonardo spent days thinking about how to save time. He developed ideas for something like cutting machines.

    Leonard was a strange man. He never ate meat. That was very unusual in those times ( 时代). He never published (发表) scientific discoveries. He usually used mirror writing, which looks like usual writing in a mirror, starting from the right side of the page and moving to the left side.

    Only a few of his paintings are left today. Many paintings were not finished because he thought they were not perfect.

    Leonardo was talented and creative. He was regarded as one of the most intelligent men in the world.

A.    B.     C.   D.     E.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Sara--I went to Beijing this summer vacation. I climbed the Great Wall on a sunny day. The Great Wall is very tall. It was hard to climb, but I got to the top.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Jack-I went to Huangguoshu Waterfall with my parents. Huangguoshu Waterfall is really wonderful. We rowed a boat near it. We all enjoyed ourselves.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Andy- I took a trip to Sanya with my uncle in the summer holiday. We went there by air, because we wanted to get there soon. I loved swimming in the sea. It made me feel cool.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Mary I didn't take a trip. I just went to my grandparents' house. There is a mountain behind their town, so I climbed the mountain with my brother. We took many photos on the mountain.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Lily I went to Beijing, too. But I didn't go to the Great Wall. I went to Tian' anmen Square. I never saw such great buildings like them before. Look, this is a photo I took there.

⑴{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Alice: I want to get some pictures of Jay Chou,

⑵{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Kate: I hope to buy some Christmas cards online.

⑶{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Tom: I need some information on pollution(污染).

⑷{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Harry: I would like to have some information about basketball.

⑸{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Dick: I will go to America. I want to know the famous places and the weather there.