Mauritius, with its full name the Republic of Mauritius, an island country, lies 1,200 miles off the southeastern coast of Africa, and just east of Madagascar, another African island country, which is larger by far than Mauritius. It covers 788 square miles and has a population of 1,100,000, about 750,000 Indians, 300,000 Chinese and 20,000 Whites included. They are living together peacefully, although they share such different beliefs as Hindu, Roman Catholic, Muslim and so on.

   The country can be divided into many parts with different climates all because of its peculiar terrains (地形). In the center there are volcanoes several thousand feet high, and 90% of its arable land is covered with sugarcane.

   There were no people living on the island before the Dutch landed on it in 1638. The Dutch abandoned it in 1710, and five years later, the French came and succeeded in planting sugarcane there. It was conquered by Britain in 1818. As a result, its official language is English. The main big cities are Beau-Bassin and Mahebourg, with Port Louis as its capital.

   Mauritius has many rare and unique animals, such as the snakes, parrots and lizards. The giraffe is a type of animal with a very long neck and legs and yellow skin with dark spots. It is the tallest of all living animals.

   Mauritius was extremely poor when it declared its independence in 1968. In the past ten years, obvious economic prosperity(繁荣) has shown itself in this island country. Nowadays its business, culture and tourism are developing rapidly. Every year, thousands of millions of people rush there to enjoy the silver sand beach and song and dance performances with native national characteristics.

1. The underlined word “abandoned” in the third paragraph means ___________.

  A. took its place            B. gave it up            

     C. left for it                                                         D. held it out

2.The right order that shows the history of Mauritius should be ___________.

      a. seized by the French                       b. became its master

      c. ruled by the Dutch                     d. conquered by the British

  A. b, a, c, d                                                                 B. a, c, d, b                              

  C. d, c, a, b                                                                 D. c, a, d, b

3. According to the passage all of the following statements are true EXCEPT______.

A.      Arable land covers 90% of the country’s total area

B.      Tourism is one of the driving forces for the economic development of Mauritius.

C.      More than half of Mauritius population are Indians

D.      British ruled the island longer than French and Dutch

4.Which of the following maps shows the right position of Mauritius?

     (Mau = Mauritius; Ma = Madagascar; A = Africa)

     A.                             B.

 

        A                       A

             MA                         MA

 

              Mau                   Mau

 

     C.                             D.

 

       A                         A

 

MA                         MA

                         Mau

    Mau

 

 

Mauritius, with its full name the Republic of Mauritius, an island country, lies 1,200 miles off the southeastern coast of Africa, and just east of Madagascar, another African island country, which is larger by far than Mauritius. It covers 788 square miles and has a population of 1,100,000, about 750,000 Indians, 300,000 Chinese and 20,000 Whites included. They are living together peacefully, although they share such different beliefs as Hindu, Roman Catholic, Muslim and so on.

   The country can be divided into many parts with different climates all because of its peculiar terrains (地形). In the center there are volcanoes several thousand feet high, and 90% of its arable land is covered with sugarcane.

   There were no people living on the island before the Dutch landed on it in 1638. The Dutch abandoned it in 1710, and five years later, the French came and succeeded in planting sugarcane there. It was conquered by Britain in 1818. As a result, its official language is English. The main big cities are Beau-Bassin and Mahebourg, with Port Louis as its capital.

   Mauritius has many rare and unique animals, such as the snakes, parrots and lizards. The giraffe is a type of animal with a very long neck and legs and yellow skin with dark spots. It is the tallest of all living animals.

   Mauritius was extremely poor when it declared its independence in 1968. In the past ten years, obvious economic prosperity(繁荣) has shown itself in this island country. Nowadays its business, culture and tourism are developing rapidly. Every year, thousands of millions of people rush there to enjoy the silver sand beach and song and dance performances with native national characteristics.

The underlined word “abandoned” in the third paragraph means ___________.

  A. took its place          B. gave it up  

       C. left for it                    D. held it out

The right order that shows the history of Mauritius should be ___________.

      a. seized by the French         b. became its master

      c. ruled by the Dutch            d. conquered by the British

  A. b, a, c, d B. a, c, d, b   

  C. d, c, a, b D. c, a, d, b

According to the passage all of the following statements are true EXCEPT______.

Arable land covers 90% of the country’s total area

Tourism is one of the driving forces for the economic development of Mauritius.

More than half of Mauritius population are Indians

British ruled the island longer than French and Dutch

Which of the following maps shows the right position of Mauritius?

       (Mau = Mauritius; Ma = Madagascar; A = Africa)

       A.                             B.

 

        A                       A

             MA                         MA

 

              Mau                   Mau

       C.                             D.

 

       A                         A

MA                         MA

                         Mau

    Mau

 

The name of Macau comes from the word Magao (A-Ma Temple), which were shrines (圣地) dedicated to Mazu, a holy sea goddess worshiped by Macau people. It was said that when the Portuguese people first came here in the middle of sixteenth century, one of the officers asked a fisherman the name of the land. The man misunderstood the officer’s question, and answered “Magao” – the name of A-Ma Temple in front them.

Many people wonder how Macau is spelled. Is it “Macao” or “Macau”? Both are actually correct. Macao is Portuguese, and this is the official spelling backed by Macau SAR Government. Macau is English, that’s how they spell it in the U.S. and other parts of the world. However, most publications use “Macau” as the preferred spelling.

Members of the Southern Song Dynasty and some 50,000 followers were the first recorded inhabitants (居民) of the area, seeking shelter in Macau from invading Mongols in 1277. They were able to defend their settlements and establish themselves there.

The Hoklo Boat people were the first to show commercial interest in Macau as a trading center for the southern provinces. During the Ming Dynasty (1368–1643), fishermen migrated to Macau from various parts of Guangdong and Fujian provinces and built the A-Ma Temple in which they prayed for safety on the sea.

Chinese fishermen have been living and working in the Pearl River Delta for more than four thousand years. The small peninsula and islands that came to be called Macau were first settled by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century.

In 1998, Chinese (Cantonese) was given official status and the same legal power as Portuguese, the official language. The Chinese government assumed sovereignty over Macau on December 20, 1999, ending 329 years of Portuguese rule.

1.We can learn from the text that the name “Macau”_________.

A. is named after a sea goddess         B. is first called by the Portuguese

 is only used in publications        D. is given by a fisherman

2.Which is the correct order of the things that happened in Macau?

a. Portuguese people first came to Macau.

b. The fishermen of Guangdong and Fujian migrated to Macau.

c. The first recorded inhabitants established themselves in Macau.

d. the A-Ma Temple was built in Macau.

A. c, b, d, a           B. d, c, b, a       b, c, a, d      D. a, c, b, d

3.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Both Chinese and Portuguese are official languages in Macau.

B. The A-Ma Temple was built in honour of a holy sea goddess.

 The inhabitants in Macau mainly made their living by fishing before the 16th century.

D. Macau didn’t belong to China until December 20, 1999.

4.Members of the Southern Song Dynasty went to Macau in order to ____.

A. show commercial interest in Macau      B. find a good place for fishing

 get away from their enemies            D. establish Macau SAR there

 

 

Mauritius, with its full name the Republic of Mauritius, an island country, lies 1,200 miles off the southeastern coast of Africa, and just east of Madagascar, another African island country, which is larger by far than Mauritius. It covers 788 square miles and has a population of 1,100,000, about 750,000 Indians, 300,000 Chinese and 20,000 Whites included. They are living together peacefully, although they share such different beliefs as Hindu, Roman Catholic, Muslim and so on.

   The country can be divided into many parts with different climates all because of its peculiar terrains (地形). In the center there are volcanoes several thousand feet high, and 90% of its arable land is covered with sugarcane.

   There were no people living on the island before the Dutch landed on it in 1638. The Dutch abandoned it in 1710, and five years later, the French came and succeeded in planting sugarcane there. It was conquered by Britain in 1818. As a result, its official language is English. The main big cities are Beau-Bassin and Mahebourg, with Port Louis as its capital.

   Mauritius has many rare and unique animals, such as the snakes, parrots and lizards. The giraffe is a type of animal with a very long neck and legs and yellow skin with dark spots. It is the tallest of all living animals.

   Mauritius was extremely poor when it declared its independence in 1968. In the past ten years, obvious economic prosperity(繁荣) has shown itself in this island country. Nowadays its business, culture and tourism are developing rapidly. Every year, thousands of millions of people rush there to enjoy the silver sand beach and song and dance performances with native national characteristics.

1.The underlined word “abandoned” in the third paragraph means ___________.

  A. took its place          B. gave it up        

    C. left for it                                            D. held it out

2.The right order that shows the history of Mauritius should be ___________.

      a. seized by the French                  b. became its master

      c. ruled by the Dutch                 d. conquered by the British

  A. b, a, c, d                                                B. a, c, d, b                     

  C. d, c, a, b                                                D. c, a, d, b

3.According to the passage all of the following statements are true EXCEPT______.

A.   Arable land covers 90% of the country’s total area

B.   Tourism is one of the driving forces for the economic development of Mauritius.

C.   More than half of Mauritius population are Indians

D.   British ruled the island longer than French and Dutch

4.Which of the following maps shows the right position of Mauritius?

    (Mau = Mauritius; Ma = Madagascar; A = Africa)

    A.                             B.

 

        A                       A

             MA                         MA

 

              Mau                   Mau

 

 

    C.                             D.

 

       A                         A

 

MA                         MA

                         Mau

    Mau