Cultural Relics

　　A

　Ever thought of taking off your clothes at the top of the world? I don’t know about you, but a lot of crazy people would like nothing better. And they’ve become a major headache for the government of Nepal.

　Officials in Nepal say they are fed up with nudity1 on Mount Everest, and are taking measures to put an end to "disrespectful" activities on the world’s highest peak.

　"We’re trying to stop people from taking their clothes off and so on," said Ang Tsering Sherpa, the head of Nepal’s official mountaineering body, which gives climbing permits2. "A law is in need," he adds. "Fines have to be included."

　Last year a local climber took off all his clothes and stood naked3 for several minutes on the 8,848-metre peak. He called it the world’s highest display of nudity. It caused anger, and started a big discussion.

　Earlier this year, a Dutchman wanted to set a special record by being the first to climb the mountain wearing only shorts.

　Nepali mountaineers joke that the only thing left to do on the mountain would be to give birth on the peak.

　"It’s disrespectful —the mountains are sacred4; they’re a part of our religion," the Nepal Mountaineering Association president said. "So if people want to set a world record, they have to inform us first."

　The problem is not only the nudity. People should remember that when they visit another country they should respect the customs and tradition of that country. Nudity may be fine in western countries, but not in Nepal. Moreover, the Himalayas are of great religious importance in Nepal.

　Notes:

　1. nudity n. 赤裸

　2. permit n. 通行证, 许可证

　3. naked adj. 赤裸的

　4. sacred adj. 神圣的

　Read the passage and choose the best answer for each question.

　1. Which would be the best title for the passage?

　A. Nepal to Keep Nudity off Everest

　B. A Major Headache for the Nepali Government

　C. Nudity on Mount Everest

　D. Activities on the World’s Highest Peak

　2. The passage is meant to _______.

　A. discuss whether it’s proper to take off one’s clothes at the top of the world

　B. express the attitude of mountaineering authorities in Nepal

　C. focus on the problem of nudism

　D. warn people that they should respect local customs

　B

　In the sixteenth century, Emperor Jahangir ruled India. Prince Khurram was his fifth son. At the age of fifteen, the prince met a beautiful girl, and they fell in love with each other at first sight.

　Growing up, he was always better at everything than his brothers. In honor of his victories in battle, Jahangir gave him the name "Shah Jahan", meaning "King of the World".

　In 1628, Shah Jahan began to rule the country in place of his father. Beside him stood his queen, the girl he had met when he was 15. He gave her the name "Mumtaz Mahal", and she gave him loving loyalty1, wise advice and children.

　In 1631, when Shah Jahan set out with his armies to fight an enemy, Mumtaz Mahal, though in the ninth month of pregnancy2, went with him as she had done many times before. On a warm evening of April in 1631, the queen gave birth to their fourteenth child, but soon afterwards fell ill and died. As she was dying, her husband promised to build her a tomb that the world had never seen.

　Six months after her death, Shah Jahan began work on her memorial3, across the Jamuna River near his palace in Agra —the fabulous Taj Mahal. At the center of the tomb lies the dead body of the Empress. Here, at last, he found comfort.

　Shah Jahan made something for the world to behold —beautiful, great and pure. The Taj Mahal shows all the world how great a man’s love can be for his wife.

　Notes:

　1. loyalty n. 忠诚, 忠实

　2. pregnancy n. 怀孕

　3. memorial n. 纪念馆

　Read the passage and choose the best answer for each question.

　1. The story mainly tells us ______.

　A. how the Taj Mahal was built

　B. why the Taj Mahal was built

　C. when the Taj Mahal was built

　D. where the Taj Mahal was built

　2. The Taj Mahal stands for ______.

　A. a husband’s love for his wife

　B. a wife’s love for her husband

　C. a husband’s loyalty to his wife

　D. a wife’s loyalty to her husband

　3. The passage is ______.

　A. a fairytale

　B. a family story

　C. a love story

　D. a sci-fi story

4. The best title for the story might be_______.

　A. Taj Mahal: Sight of the World

　B. Taj Mahal: Great Tomb

　C. Taj Mahal: Memorial to Loyalty

　D. Taj Mahal: Memorial to Love

　阅读新题型

　The Ups and Downs of the Erie Canal1

　The Erie Canal, America’s first national waterway2, which joins the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean, was completed in October, 1825. To mark the completion, Governor Clinton dropped some water from Lake Erie into the Hudson River.

　Only a few years later, however, trains had become an easier and cheaper way to carry goods. 1 Difficult repairs were needed. But few people in the town seemed sad about the breaks. Many were pleased, in fact. Almost 20,000 men were brought in to repair the damage, more than the normal population of Forestport. People brought a lot of business, eating, drinking, and playing games of chance. The town had money again. 2 New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt became worried, and state officials punished several men from Forestport for damaging canal on purpose.

　Newspaper reporter Michael Doyle wrote a book called "The Forestport Breaks" after talking with people who had lived in Forestport. 3 He warns local officials, and in this way prevents more severe damage. But some of the townspeople were angry with the farmer for what he’d done.

　By 1903, some businesses were asking the New York government to build a whole system of canals. 4 In 1991, people who cared about the historic canal held a big public event, making the same trip that had celebrated the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825. 5

　A few days later, people decided to take measures to redevelop the canal system. Today, boats still use the system to transport heavy goods.

　Questions: Sentence Gap(选项填空):

　a. Life became as profitable and wild as it had been during the best days of trade on the canal.

　b. At the beginning of the book, a farmer describes seeing water flooding over a levee3 in Forestport.

　c. The Erie Canal and other parts of the New York canal system received government help.

　d. As Governor and Mrs. Clinton had done, the group traveled from Buffalo, New York to the Hudson River.

　e. Mr. Doyle said he learned that his great-grandfather had taken part in the wrongdoing.

　f. The Erie Canal could not have been completed without the hard and dangerous labor of many workers.

　g. The Erie Canal was losing business, and some of its levees began to break.

　Notes:

　1. Erie Canal伊利运河,美国历史上著名的运河

　2. waterway n. 水路,航道

　3. levee n. 防洪堤;码头

　参考答案：

　A) 1-2 A D

　B) 1-4 B A C D

　阅读新题型

　1. g 2. a 3. b 4. c 5. d