Have you ever posted letters to your friends or parents? If so, you must have put stamps on the letters before you sent them. But, how did people receive letters before stamps were invented, and who came up with the idea of using stamps?

In the past, stamps and envelopes were not used. When people wanted to send a letter, they would close the paper with a seal（封印）. The person who got the letter had to pay for it. Because costs at that time were very high, most people refused to accept letters. In fact, the sender would often place secret marks on the outside of the letter. The person who was sent the letter would read the secret message. Then, they would refuse to accept the letter and did not have to pay for it.

In Britain, Sir Rowland Hill introduced the “Post Office Reforms” in 1837. He decided that letters could go to any place in the country for a penny even if the letter had to go far away. The cost was to be paid by the sender of the letter. Payment was recorded by placing a small piece of coloured paper on the letter, the stamp! On May 6,1840, the first stamp called the “Penny Black” was born. Because the stamp was printed in black, the stamp became known as the “Penny Black”. This is now the world’s most famous stamp. This new system spread fast.

1.The best title for this passage should be______

A．The First Stamp.	B．How Stamp Was First Made
C．Why the First Stamp Was Made	D．When Was Stamp First Made

2.Before stamps were used,______ would pay for the letter.

A．the sender

B．the receiver

C．the government

D．no one

3.The first stamp was made______.

A．more than 160 years ago	B．more than two centuries ago
C．less than 100 years ago	D．about 100 years ago

4.Which of the following is true about the first stamp of China?

A．It was made much earlier than the first stamp of the US

B．The stamp had a snake on it

C．The stamp couldn’t be found now

D．The stamp had a picture of a dragon on it

 

24．The Dragon Boat Festival had its____as an event in memory of Qu Yuan, a great poet in China.

A．reason

B．explanation

C．origin

D．Resource

 

“I was only thirteen when four of my team members and I were chosen by my swim coach to train with the Chinese National Team. The following piece shows how that experience has influenced me.”
The night before I left for China, my mother called me into her room. I entered not knowing what to expect. I sat down at the end of her very neatly-made bed, opposite the bedroom table on which she kept a Ming-style vase illustrated in great detail. She told me that my great-grandmother was still living in the surroundings of Beijing. Her name was Ren Li Ling and she was 97 years old. This was the first time I had ever heard of her.
The dragon on the vase snaked through the flowers and vines（藤蔓）as my mother said, “Pu Pu, look at me. You need to hear this so that when you go to China you will understand. You must keep this knowledge in your heart.”
She told me a story about my grandfather, Ren Li Ling's son, who left Beijing to go to college in Taiwan. She told me how the Chinese civil war kept him away from his mother for fifty years, so neither of them even knew that the other was alive. No one from Taiwan could visit, write, or call anyone in mainland. All lines of communication were cut off.
She told me of my grandfather's devotion to his own children, and how difficult it was for him to send his daughter to America for her education, fearing that same separation. He gave my mother all that he could give — nineteen years of love and fifty years of savings. I learned how my mother, through means only available in this country, would finally be able to unite my great-grandmother with my grandfather again. The dragon curled around the vase, connecting the separate vines. For a fleeting second, I felt it was present in my mother's room. It was all very strange, yet very clear. I began to understand that this trip to China was not just for me; it was for my mother, and her father, and his mother. Now, I had not only a future, but more significantly, a past. I saw the world with new eyes.
And so I went to China and met my great-grandmother. My great-aunt picked me up at the training center, and we rode in a taxi through the crowded city. The noise of the taxi and the city united into a deep roar. We finally stopped in front of a narrow street lined on either side with small one-level houses. As we made our way to a house like all the others, I drew the stares of many people in the street. My great-aunt led me through a rotting（朽烂的）doorway into a room with a furnace（炉子）, table, and a rocking chair where an old woman wearing gloves sat facing the doorway, covered with a worn brown blanket. I walked over and immediately embraced this frail woman as if I had known her all my life. My limited, broken Chinese wasn't up to expressing my complicated feelings. And even though I couldn't completely understand what she was saying in her thick Beijing accent, I knew — the same way I knew what my mother had been trying to tell me before I left. Her joy shone through her toothless smile. She wouldn't let go of my hand. I haltingly（结结巴巴地）asked her how she had managed to live such a long life. She answered in words I will never forget, “Hope has kept me alive. I have lived this long because I wanted to see my son before I died.”
My fellow team members must have wondered how two people separated by three generations could be so close. Before this trip, I would have wondered the same thing. And even now, I can't quite explain it. We were as different as two people can be; some 85 years and 8,000 miles apart. We came from two entirely different cultures; yet we were connected by a common heritage(传统).
I stayed for dinner which was cooked in a black iron wok（锅）over the furnace. The meal was lavish（过分丰盛的）, prepared in my honor. As I began to eat, with my great-grandmother beside me, I felt the dragon was present. But this time, the feeling didn't pass; the dragon had become a part of me.
My great-grandmother passed away last year at the age of 100. With her highest hopes and wildest dreams fulfilled, I know she died happy.
【小题1】 The writer’s mother called him into her room to ___________________.

A．prepare him for the trip and warn him against possible problems

B．remind him of his origin

C．ask him to look for his great-grandmother

D．share with him the story of her childhood

【小题2】 The dragon is mentioned several times in the passage because __________________.

A．the vase with the dragon on it is very valuable and beautiful

B．it stands for the blood running in every Chinese

C．it is a sign of the writer’s devotion to his birthplace

D．the writer’s mother hoped the writer would be as strong as a dragon

【小题3】 How old was the writer’s mother when she was sent to America for her education.

A．13

B．16

C．19

D．20

【小题4】Which of the following can be inferred from the text?

A．The writer’s grandfather was afraid of a war when sending his daughter to America.

B．The hope to see her son again kept the writer’s great-grandmother alive for this long.

C．It was within the writer’s expectation that he could be so close to his great-grandmother.

D．The writer’s great-grandmother was reunited with her son before she died.

【小题5】Which is the best title for the text?

A．We Share the Same Heritage.

B．Love from My Great-grandmother.

C．A Story from My Mother.

D．An Unforgettable Training Trip.

If you are asked to name some national emblems of China, the dragon will probably be one of the famous images that pop into your head. We Chinese often consider ourselves "the descendants（后代）of the dragon." It is not unfamiliar to you that your parents hope that you "may become the dragon".  
　　As a mythical（神秘的）creature, the dragon is deeply rooted in Chinese culture. Traditionally, dragons are considered to govern rainfall. They have the power to decide where and when the rain falls. In addition, the dragon is a symbol of imperial （帝王的）power. The emperors thought they were real dragons and the sons of the heaven.  　
But the creature is regarded differently in Western countries. In the Bible, dragons represent the devil（恶人）. Western people usually see dragons as cold-blooded reptiles（爬虫）, like snakes and cruel killers. In their eyes, dragons are also dishonest.　　
　　Dragons in Western literature are presented as monsters（怪物）. It is a common tale for a mediaeval knight（中世纪的骑士） to kill a dragon and save a princess and her country from its evil. Even the popular boy wizard Harry Potter has to battle against a dragon.  　　
　　However, dragons are not all bad in the West. "Puff the Magic Dragon" is a well-known song. The lyrics(歌词) tell a bitter-sweet story of the dragon Puff and his playmate Jackie Paper, a little boy. When Jackie grows up, he loses interest in the imaginary adventures of childhood and leaves Puff upset. Puff represents the innocence of a child's imagination, which is very positive for a dragon.  　　
【小题1】The underlined word” emblems” in the first paragraph means “_______”.

A．symbols

B．names

C．places

D．parks

【小题2】What is a dragon presented as according to Western literature?
A wizard      B. A mediaeval knight  C. A princess           D. A monster
【小题3】The writer gave the example of “ Puff the Magic Dragon” to show_____.

A．dragons can represent the innocence of child’s imagination

B．children don’t like to play with dragons

C．dragons are not all bad in the West

D．not all people in the West like dragons

 

In Vietnam(越南), Tet-trung-Thu, or Mid- autumn Festival, is one of the most popular holidays. It is held on the 15th day of the 8th month in lunar calendar

Vietnamese families plan their activities around their children on this special day. In a Vietnamese story, parents were working so hard to prepare for the harvest that they left the childen playing by themselves.  To make up for the lost time, parents would use the Aid-Autumn Festival as a chance to show their love and than for their children.

      As a result, the Mid- autumn Festival is also called the Children’s Festival.  In the USA, this tradition continues in many Vietnamese- American families.  Tet-trung-Thu, activities are often centered on Children and education.  Parents buy lanterns for their children so that they can take part in a lantern parade at dawn.  Lanterns mean brightness, while the parade means success in school.  Vietnamese markets sell different kinds of lanterns, but the most popular children’s lantern is the star lantern. Other children’s activities includes arts and crafts(手工艺) in which children make face mas and lanterns.  Children also perform traditional Vietnamese dances for grown-ups and take part in contests for prizes and scholarships. Unicorn(麒麟) dancers are also very popular at Tet-trung-Thu festivities.

      Like the Chinese, Vietnamese parents tell their children folk stories and serve moon-cakes and other special treats under the bright moon. A favorite folk story is about a carp(鲤鱼) that wanted to bee a dragon.  The carp worked hard and finally changed itself into a dragon. Parents use this story to encourage their children to work hard so that they can bee whatever they want to be.

1. The Tet-trung-Thu Festival is held ________.

A. in China and other Asian countries.           B. in Vietnamese-American families.

C. all over the world, except Vietnam.            D. Across the United States.

2.In Both Vietnam and China, on Mid-autumn Festival people would ___________.

A. eat moon-cakes       B. buy lanterns for children.

C. take part in contests.   D. buy a carp

3.What is the center of the Mid-Autumn festival in Vietnam?

  A. Family get-together.                           B. Children on education.

  C. Relaxation and fun in the middle of the year.

  D. parents having more time with their children.

4.According to the passage, parents tell their children folk stories, because __________.

A. children like listening to folk stories in the evening.

B. parents want to show their love for their children.

C. parents want to teach the children to work hard.

D. parents want to make up for the lost time.