Question

Marco Polo was born in Italy in 1254. When he was 17, he travelled across Europe and Asia with his father, who wanted to do trade with the Chinese. Finally they arrived in Beijing. They were guests at the Emperor's Palace. Although Marco Polo was young, he was very clever and could speak some foreign languages. The Emperor was impressed by him. He asked Marco Polo to serve in his court (宫廷) and sent him to do many important tasks across the country.

Marco Polo was amazed by the beautiful China. He was impressed by Beijing and the Emperor’s Palace, especially the Summer Palace which he described as “The greatest palace that ever was...” The walls were covered with gold and silver and the hall was so large that it could easily seat 6,000 people for dinner.

There were inventions and developments in China which were not used in Europe at that time. He was puzzled (困惑的) by the black stones people used to burn to produce heat. The black stones were coal, but Marco Polo had never seen coal before!

In 1295, after 17 years of service to the Emperor, Marco Polo returned to Italy. He was then a very wealthy man. A writer wrote down the stories that Marco Polo told him in a book called The Travels of Marco Polo.

Although people enjoyed reading the book, many of them thought that Marco Polo’s stories about China were too fantastic to be true. But Marco Polo always stood by his tales. Just before he died in 1324, Marco Polo was asked the question, “Were they all true?” And this was his answer, “I have only told half of what I saw!”

1.Marco Polo and his father went to China to ____________.

A.go on a trip B.be asked as guests C.do business D.study Chinese

2.What does the second paragraph mainly talk about?

A.How beautiful China was. B.How developed China was.

C.How big China was. D.How strong China was.

3.We can learn from the passage that __________.

A.Marco Polo used two examples to describe Chinese developments

B.Only a few people didn’t believe what Marco Polo said

C.The Emperor forced Marco Polo to serve him

D.Marco Polo was 70 years old when he died

4.Where can we probably read the passage?

A.From a poster. B.From a guide book.

C.From a fairy tale. D.From a biography (人物传记).

Answer 1