Almost everyone has read about the Taj Mahal in Idaia. It is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. It is said that the Taj Mahal, like the Great Wall in China, is one of the seven wonders in the world. Over three hundred years ago, Shah Jehan built Taj Mahal as a tomb for his wife.

Shah Jehan wanted his wife’s tomb to be perfect. He did not care about time or money. He brought together workmen from all Asia. Altogether, over 20 000 men worked on the building, and it took them over seventeen years to finish it.

The building rests on a platform of red sandstone. Four thin white towers rise from the corners of the terrace（平台）, a large dome（圆屋顶）rises from the center of the buildings. Around this large dome there are four smaller domes.

The building is made of fine white marbles. It has eight sides. There is an open corridor just inside the walls. From the corridor, the visitor looks through marble screen to a center room. The bodies of Shah Jehan and his wife lie in a tomb below this room.

A beautiful garden surrounds the Taj Mahal. The green trees make the marble look even whiter. In front of the main entrance to the building there is a long narrow pool. If you look in this pool, you can see all the beautiful look of the Taj Mahal in the reflection from the water.

Some people think the Taj Mahal is most beautiful at sunset. Then the marble picks up the color of sunset, and the building and its reflection in the pool shines like jewels. Others like it best at noon when the bright sun makes it clear and clean.

Still others think it should be seen by moonlight. On nights when the moon is full, hundreds of people visit the Taj Mahal and spend the night beside the pool. When morning comes and the Taj Mahal turns from silver to gold in the early sunrise, they go away to return, perhaps, when the moon is full again.

（　　 ）1. Shah Jehan built the Taj Mahal 　　　　 .

A. for people to visit　　 　 B. for pleasure　　

C. to show off his treasure D. to place the bodies of his wife and himself

（　　 ）. 2The Tai Mahal in India is almost as 　　　 as the Great Wall in China.

A. well-known　 B. long　　　　　 C. large　　　　 D. perfect

（　　 ）3. How many domes are there on the building?

A. One.　　　　　　　　 B. Four.　　　　 C. Five.　　　　 D. Eight.

（　　 ）4. The pool and the garden make the building 　　　 .

A. colorful　 B. even more beautiful　 C. long and narrow　　　 D. clear and clean

（　　 ）5. The underlined word “reflection” probably means 　　　 .

A. surface　　　 B. bottom　　　　 C. beauty　　　　　 D. image

Stop wasting your time on the wrong mountain

I have two friends who are backpackers. There is a portion of New York’s Adirondack Mountains called the High Peaks region. It is made up of 46 mountains with a___1____ of over 4,000 feet.

The Adirondack Mountain Club gives special honor and a patch to    2    who climbs all 46 mountains. My two friends decided to go for this   3   . It took them several years to accomplish it.

My friends had climbed 10 of the mountains. The left one was the farthest,    4    much effort. A hiking trail led past the base of the mountain,    5    from that point they were on their own.

Early one morning they left their      6    and walked 5 miles on the hiking trail to the base of a    7     of mountains. One of the mountains in this chain was the last one they  8  for their patch.

When they reached the base of the mountain chain they    9     that they had left their compass and map back in the camp.    10     returning to the camp, they decided to go on without them.

For hours they    11    uphill suffering heat and black flies. Finally, late in the afternoon they   12    themselves on the top of a mountain. They were tired but   13   .

The excitement was short-lived however. When they    14    the valley, they saw another higher mountain. They had climbed the    15    hill! It was too late that weekend to correct their    16   . They had to wait another 4 months to climb the right mountain.

This story    17    that often in life we make effort toward a    18    but without the right map and personal compass it is easy to get    19    .

Knowing your life purpose gives you a    20     personal map and compass. And that makes sure you are always climbing the right mountain.

1. A. length          B. height           C. width            D. depth

2. A. something       B. someone          C. anything         D. anyone

3. A. fame            B. award          C. medal            D. gift

4. A. requiring        B. making          C. wasting          D. paying

5. A. and             B. even            C. so               D. but

6. A. village          B. house            C. camp            D. cottage

7. A. series           B. lot              C. chain             D. kind

8. A. needed          B. prepared         C. looked           D. hunted

9. A. understood       B. thought           C. forgot             D. discovered

10. A. Instead          B. Rather than       C. In case of         D. In spite of

11. A. rushed           B. rolled            C. walked           D. ran

12. A. relaxed          B. congratulated     C. enjoyed           D. found

13. A. excited          B. surprised         C. disappointed       D. puzzled

13. A. looked for       B. looked across      C. looked on         D. looked through

15. A. high            B. right             C. wrong            D. small

16. A. direction         B. wrong           C. decision           D. error

17. A. provides         B. brings            C. offers            D. proves

18. A. choice           B. goal               C. promise          D. result

19. A. hurt             B. separated          C. lost             D. bothered

20. A. beautiful          B. famous           C. expensive         D. powerful

Many of the tourists on board had begun bargaining with the tradesmen, but I decided not to buy anything. I had no sooner got off the   1   than I was stopped by a man who wanted to   2   me a diamond ring. I had no   3   of buying one, but I could not deny the fact that I was   4   by the size of the diamonds. Some of them were as   5   as marbles（玻璃球）. The man went to great lengths to   6   that the diamonds were real. As   7   walked past a shop, he held a diamond   8   against the window and made a deep impression in the   9  . It took me over half an hour to get rid of him.

The next man to   10   me was selling expensive pens and watches. I   11   one of the pens closely. It certainly looked   12 . At the base of the gold cap, the words “made in the USA” had been clearly   13  . The man said that the pen was worth ￡50, but as a special   14  , he would let me have it for ￡30. I   15   my head and held up five fingers indicating that I was willing to pay ￡5. Gesturing wildly, the man acted as if he found my   16   shocking, but he eventually   17   the price to ￡10. Shrugging my shoulders, I began to walk away. A moment later, he ran after me and   18   the pen into my hands. Though he kept throwing up his arms in despair, he   19   accepted the ￡5 I gave him. I felt especially pleased with my wonderful   20  —until I got back to the ship. No matter how hard I tried, it was impossible to fill this beautiful pen with ink

1. A. ship                          B. train                         C. plane                       D. bus

2. A. show                           B. sell                           C. buy                         D. give

3. A. money                         B. hobby                      C. experience                D. intention

4. A. ashamed                   B. impressed                 C. moved                            D. cheated

5. A. colorful                       B. big                          C. heavy                      D. small

6. A. prove                          B. explain                     C. instruct                   D. perform

7. A. they                                B. he                            C. we                           D. people

8. A. sharply                        B. quickly                     C. slowly                      D. forcefully

9. A. assistant                   B. shop                        C. glass                        D. door

10. A. approach                    B. call                          C. find                         D. look

11. A. checked                            B. examined                  C. noticed                     D. watched

12. A. expensive                   B. ordinary                   C. natural                            D. real

13. A. marked                      B. signed                      C. found                       D. recognized

14. A. feeling                       B. favour                      C. reason                      D. present

15. A. shook                        B. nodded                     C. held                         D. touched

16. A. decision                            B. answer                            C. offer                        D. solution

17. A. reduced                            B. gave                         C. suggested                 D. had

18. A. threw                        B. snatched                   C. brought                    D. forced

19. A. angrily                       B. disappointedly           C. readily                      D. clearly

20. A. experience                  B. bargain                     C. advice                      D. balance