People have been painting pictures for at least 30,000 years. The earliest pictures were painted by people who hun??ted animals. They used to paint pictures of the animals they wanted to catch and kill. Pictures of this kind have been found on the walls of caves in France and Spain. No one knows why they were painted there. Perhaps the painters thought that their pictures would help them to catch these animals. Or per??haps human beings have always wanted to tell stories accord??ing to pictures.

About 5,000 years ago the Egyptians and other people in the Near East began to use pictures as a kind of writing. They drew simple pictures or signs to represent things and ideas, and also to represent the sounds of their language. The signs these people used became a kind of alphabet(字母表).

The Egyptians used to record information and to tell sto??ries by putting picture-writing and pictures together. When an important person died, scenes and stories from his life were painted and carved on the walls of the place where he was bur??ied. Some of these pictures are like modem comic-strip sto??ries. It has been said that Egypt is the home of the comic-strip. But, for the Egyptians, pictures still had magic power. So they did not try to make their way of writing simple. The ordinary people could not understand it.  

By the year 1,000 BC, people who lived in the area a-round the Mediterranean Sea had developed a simpler system of writing. The signs they used were very easy to write, and there were fewer of them than in the Egyptian system. This was because each sign, or letter, represented only one sound in their language. The Greeks developed this system and formed the letters of the Greek alphabet. The Romans copied the idea, and the Roman alphabet is now used all over the world.

These days we can write down a story, or record informa??tion, without using pictures. But we still need pictures of all kinds: drawings, photographs, signs and diagrams. We find them everywhere: in books and newspapers, in the streets, and on the walls of the places where we live and work. Pic??tures help us to understand and remember things more easily, and they can make a story much more interesting.

6. Pictures of animals were painted on the walls of caves in France and Spain because ________.

A. the hunters wanted to see the pictures  B. the painters were animal lovers

C. the painters wanted to show imagination D. the pictures were thought to be helpful

7.The Greek alphabet was simpler than the Egyptian system for all the following reasons EXCEPT that ________.  

A. the former was easy to write         B. there were fewer signs in the former

C. the former was easy to pronounce    D. each sign stood for only one sound

8. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. The Egyptian signs later became a particular alphabet.

B. The Egyptians liked to write comic-strip stories.

C. The Roman alphabet was developed from the Egyptian one.

D. The Greeks copied their writing system from the Egyp??tians.

9. In the last paragraph, the author thinks that pictures　__________.

A. should be made comprehensible         B. should be made interesting

C. are of much use in our life             D. are disappearing from our life

People have been painting pictures for at least 30,000 years. The earliest pictures were painted by people who hun­ted animals. They used to paint pictures of the animals they wanted to catch and kill. Pictures of this kind have been found on the walls of caves in France and Spain. No one knows why they were painted there. Perhaps the painters thought that their pictures would help them to catch these animals. Or per­haps human beings have always wanted to tell stories accord­ing to pictures.

About 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians and other people in the Near East began to use pictures as kind of writing. They drew simple pictures or signs to represent things and ideas, and also to represent the sounds of their language. The signs these people used became a kind of alphabet.

　　The Egyptians used to record information and to tell stories by putting picture writing and pictures together. When an important person died, scenes and stories from his life were painted and carved on the walls of the place where he was buried. Some of these pictures are like modern comic strip stories. It has been said that Egypt is the home of the comic strip. But, for the Egyptians, pictures still had magic power. So they did not try to make their way of writing simple. The ordinary people could not understand it.

　　By the year 1,000 BC, people who lived in the area around the Mediterranean Sea had developed a simpler system of writing. The signs they used were very easy to write, and there were fewer of them than in the Egyptian system. This was because each sign, or letter, represented only one sound in their language. The Greeks developed this system and formed the letters of the Greek alphabet. The Romans copied the idea, and the Roman alphabet is now used all over the world.

　　These days, we can write down a story, or record information, without using pictures. But we still need pictures of all kinds: drawing, photographs, signs and diagrams. We find them everywhere: in books and newspapers, in the street, and on the walls of the places where we live and work. Pictures help us to understand and remember things more easily, and they can make a story much more interesting.

1.Pictures of animals were painted on the walls of caves in France and Spain because______.

A. the hunters wanted to see the pictures

B. the painters were animal lovers

C. the painters wanted to show imagination

D. the pictures were thought to be helpful

2.The Greek alphabet was simpler than the Egyptian system for all the following reasons EXCEPT that______.

A. the former was easy to write

B. there were fewer signs in the former

C. the former was easy to pronounce

D. each sign stood for only one sound

3.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. The Egyptian signs later became a particular alphabet.

B. The Egyptians liked to write comic strip stories.

C. The Roman alphabet was developed from the Egyptian one.

D. The Greeks copied their writing system from the Egyptians.

4. In the last paragraph, the author thinks that pictures ______.

A. should be made comprehensible

B. should be made interesting

C. are of much use in our life

D. have disappeared from our life

 

People have been painting pictures for at least 30,000 years．The earliest pictures were painted by people who hunted animals．They used to paint pictures of the animals they wanted to catch and kill．Pictures of this kind have been found on the walls of caves in France and Spain．No one knows why they were painted there．Perhaps the painters thought that their pictures would help them to catch these animals．Or perhaps human beings have always wanted to tell stories in pictures.

About 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians and other people in the Near East began to use pictures as kind of writing．They drew simple pictures or signs to represent things and ideas, and also to represent the sounds of their language．The signs these people used became a kind of alphabet.

The Egyptians used to record information and to tell stories by putting picture-writing and pictures together．When an important person died, scenes and stories from his life were painted and carved on the walls of the place where he was buried．Some of these pictures are like modern comic strip stories．It has been said that Egypt is the home of the comic strip．But, for the Egyptians, pictures still had magic power．So they did not try to make their way of writing simple．The ordinary people could not understand it.

By the year 1,000 BC, people who lived in the area around the Mediterranean Sea had developed a simpler system of writing．The signs they used were very easy to write, and there were fewer of them than in the Egyptian system．This was because each sign, or letter, represented only one sound in their language．The Greeks developed this system and formed the letters of the Greek alphabet．The Romans copied the idea, and the Roman alphabet is now used all over the world.

These days, we can write down a story, or record information, without using pictures．But we still need pictures of all kinds: drawing, photographs, signs and diagrams．We find them everywhere: in books and newspapers, in the street, and on the walls of the places where we live and work．Pictures help us to understand and remember things more easily, and they can make a story much more interesting.

1.Pictures of animals were painted on the walls of caves in France and Spain because ______.

       A．the hunters wanted to see the pictures    

       B．the painters were animal lovers

       C．the painters wanted to show imagination

       D．the pictures were thought to be helpful

2.The Greek alphabet was simpler than the Egyptian system for all the following reasons      EXCEPT that _______.

     A．the former was easy to write             B．there were fewer signs in the former    

       C．the former was easy to pronounce         D．each sign stood for only one sound

3.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

       A．The Egyptian signs later became a particular alphabet.

       B．The Egyptians liked to write comic-strip stories.

       C．The Roman alphabet was developed from the Egyptian one．   

       D．The Greeks copied their writing system from the Egyptians.

4.In the last paragraph, the author thinks that pictures ___________.

       A．should be made comprehensible           B．should be made interesting

         C．are of much use in our life           D．have disappeared from our life

 

Ⅲ 阅读（共两节。满分40分）

第一节 阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

The idea about the phoenix goes back to Ancient Egypt, where we find the phoenix described as a handsome, eagle-like bird, with part-golden, part-red plumage, that spent most of its life in the Arabian deserts. It was rarely seen and according to one version of the story, only appeared in Egypt once every five hundred years, when it flew to Heliopolis, “city of the sun”, and deliberately burnt itself to ashes by settling on the altar(祭坛) flame there! However, it seems it did not really die because from those same ashes a young, fully formed phoenix was born and flew away, apparently back to Arabia.

It is pretty obvious that no one has ever seen or will see a living phoenix. The interesting thing is that we can find certain clues which may explain one aspect of the Egyptians’ idea. It may sound unbelievable, but some birds are apparently quite charmed by flames and small fires, especially members of the crow family. One zoologist actually proved this by setting fire to some straw near to a tame（驯养的） rook. Far from becoming nervous and backing away, the bird deliberately stood over the flames, with raised and vibrating wings. It didn’t get burnt, but the image it presented by its strange behavior was almost exactly like that shown in illustrations of the mythical phoenix!

Why birds should occasionally behave in this strange way is not clear. One idea is that they carefully use the heat of the flames to relieve the annoyance caused by their feather mites(虱) which all birds have. Whatever the reason, it is quite possible that the Ancient Egyptians saw birds behaving in this way, from time to time, and used it as the basis of their phoenix myth, adding fanciful details which closely linked it to their worship of the sun and their belief in resurrection.

Nowadays, the phoenix is much less important to us than it was to the Egyptians. But the logo of modern fire insurance companies, which employ the phoenix as one of their symbols, refers that in one sense the idea of it remains.  

41. According to the passage, the phoenix ______________ .

A. is a handsome and eagle-like bird living in Arab

B. used to be seen when the Egyptians held religious activities

C. has never really existed in the world

D. is the king of all kinds of birds

42. The reason why birds stand above flames is probably that _____________ .

A. the phoenix used to do so

B. they may get rid of the mites

C. they want to burn their feather

D. they can heat themselves

43. Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

A. The ancient Egyptians worshiped the phoenix.

B. The scientists have discovered why birds are attracted by fire.

C. The modern people still favor the idea of the phoenix.

D. The mythical tales about the phoenix were based on facts.

44. Which of the following is closest to “resurrection” in the 3rd paragraph?

A. living forever        B. offering warmth        C. coming back to life          D. staying healthy

45. What does the phoenix probably mean in the logo of a fire insurance company?

A. Our company can protect you from being harmed by fire.

B. If your property is destroyed by fire, we will help you build it up again.

C. Our company will always be energetic and wealthy.

D. If needed, we will save you at the risk of losing lives.

 

The idea about the phoenix goes back to Ancient Egypt, where we find the phoenix described as a handsome, eagle-like bird, with part-golden, part-red plumage, that spent most of its life in the Arabian deserts. It was rarely seen and according to one version of the story, only appeared in Egypt once every five hundred years, when it flew to Heliopolis, “city of the sun”, and deliberately burnt itself to ashes by settling on the altar (祭坛) flame there! However, it seems it did not really die because from those same ashes a young, fully formed phoenix was born and flew away, apparently back to Arabia.
It is pretty obvious that no one has ever seen or will see a living phoenix. The interesting thing is that we can find certain clues which may explain one aspect of the Egyptians’ idea. It may sound unbelievable, but some birds are apparently quite charmed by flames and small fires, especially members of the crow family. One zoologist actually proved this by setting fire to some straw near to a tame（驯养的）rook, a large black bird like a crow. Far from becoming nervous and backing away, the bird deliberately stood over the flames, with raised and vibrating wings. It didn’t get burnt, but the image it presented by its strange behavior was almost exactly like that shown in illustrations of the mythical phoenix!
Why birds should occasionally behave in this strange way is not clear. One idea is that they carefully use the heat of the flames to relieve the annoyance caused by their feather mites (虱) which all birds have. Whatever the reason, it is quite possible that the Ancient Egyptians saw birds behaving in this way, from time to time, and used it as the basis of their phoenix myth, adding fanciful details which closely linked it to their worship of the sun and their belief in resurrection.
Nowadays, the phoenix is much less important to us than it was to the Egyptians. But the logo of modern fire insurance companies, which employ the phoenix as one of their symbols, refers that in one sense the idea of it remains.  
【小题1】 According to the passage, the phoenix _________ .

A．is a handsome and eagle-like bird living in Arab

B．used to be seen when the Egyptians held religious activities

C．has never really existed in the world

D．is the king of all kinds of birds

【小题2】 The reason why birds stand above flames is probably that _________ .

A．the phoenix used to do so	B．they may get rid of the mites
C．they want to burn their feather	D．they can heat themselves

【小题3】Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

A．The ancient Egyptians worshiped the phoenix.

B．The scientists have discovered why birds are attracted by fire.

C．The modern people still favor the idea of the phoenix.

D．The mythical tales about the phoenix were based on facts.

【小题4】Which of the following is closest to the underlined word “resurrection” in the 3^rd paragraph?

A．living forever	B．offering warmth
C．coming back to life	D．staying healthy

【小题5】What does the phoenix probably mean in the logo of a fire insurance company?

A．Our company can protect you from being harmed by fire.

B．If your property is destroyed by fire, we will help you build it up again.

C．Our company will always be energetic and wealthy.

D．If needed, we will save you at the risk of losing lives.