In the year 480 BC the Greek allies (联军) faced invasion by the King of Persia, Xerxes, who commanded a huge army of about half a million men. When the Persian army marched into northern Greece, the Greek states, led by Athens and Sparta, were ill equipped to deal with the threat. The Persians were well supplied with food and weapons. Their army included infantry, cavalry, and a large navy. It seemed that they would easily defeat the Greeks.
The Greek allies decided to send 10,000 men northwards to slow down the Persians, while the rest prepared to defend their homelands. A group of 300 best Spartan soldiers were chosen to lead the force going north, with Leonidas in command. Leonidas realized that the only hope of slowing the Persians would be to block the narrow passage of land at Thermopylae. The Pass of
Thermopylae was the route between the mountains and the sea, and was so narrow that only a few men could get through at a time.
When the Persian army arrived at Thermopylae, they found Leonidas' tiny army opposing them. The Persians attacked, but could not get through. They attacked again and again, but each time they were driven back by the Greeks, led by the fearless Spartans. Leonidas' plan worked well until a Greek traitor called Ephialtes went m Xerxes. He told the Persian king about a goat's path in the mountains that would take the Persian army past Thermopylae. When Leonidas saw the enemy crossing the mountains, he realized that he could no longer hold Thermopylae. He sent all the Greek soldiers except the 300 Spartans back to their homelands.
The Spartans waited for the 500,000 Persians at the goat’s path. Although hopelessly outnumbered, the Spartans fought bravely. They all died, but the other Greeks were able to get home to strengthen the defenses.
61. Compared with the Persian army, the Greek allies were very________.
A. powerful        B. wise           C. weak          D. foolish
62. The Pass of Thermopylae was very important for the Greeks because __
A. it was easy to hold but hard to attack
B. only very small boats could get through it
C, it was a secret pass unknown to the Persians
D. a huge number of soldiers could be stationed there
63. Why did Leonidas send most of his soldiers back to their homelands?
A. Because their homelands were under attack.
B. Because he found they were not brave enough.
C. Because the Persians gave up attacking Thermopylae.
D. Because he found it impossible to hold Thermopylae.
64. Which of the following is NOT ture according to the passage?
A. Leonidas was a great commander.
B. The Persians failed to pass Thermopylae.
C. Ephialtes betrayed his own country.
D. The 300 Spatans would be regarded as heroes by the Greeks.
65. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. The Greek Allies  B. The Goat’s Path  C. The King of Persia  D. Xerxes and Ephialtes

In the year 480 BC the Greek allies (联军) faced invasion by the King of Persia, Xerxes, who commanded a huge army of about half a million men. When the Persian army marched into northern Greece, the Greek states, led by Athens and Sparta, were ill equipped to deal with the threat. The Persians were well supplied with food and weapons. Their army included infantry, cavalry, and a large navy. It seemed that they would easily defeat the Greeks.

    The Greek allies decided to send 10,000 men northwards to slow down the Persians, while the rest prepared to defend their homelands. A group of 300 best Spartan soldiers were chosen to lead the force going north, with Leonidas in command. Leonidas realized that the only hope of slowing the Persians would be to block the narrow passage of land at Thermopylae. The Pass of

Thermopylae was the route between the mountains and the sea, and was so narrow that only a few men could get through at a time.

     When the Persian army arrived at Thermopylae, they found Leonidas' tiny army opposing them. The Persians attacked, but could not get through. They attacked again and again, but each time they were driven back by the Greeks, led by the fearless Spartans. Leonidas' plan worked well until a Greek traitor called Ephialtes went m Xerxes. He told the Persian king about a goat's path in the mountains that would take the Persian army past Thermopylae. When Leonidas saw the enemy crossing the mountains, he realized that he could no longer hold Thermopylae. He sent all the Greek soldiers except the 300 Spartans back to their homelands.

     The Spartans waited for the 500,000 Persians at the goat’s path. Although hopelessly outnumbered, the Spartans fought bravely. They all died, but the other Greeks were able to get home to strengthen the defenses.

61. Compared with the Persian army, the Greek allies were very________.

    A. powerful        B. wise           C. weak          D. foolish

62. The Pass of Thermopylae was very important for the Greeks because __

    A. it was easy to hold but hard to attack

    B. only very small boats could get through it

    C, it was a secret pass unknown to the Persians

    D. a huge number of soldiers could be stationed there

63. Why did Leonidas send most of his soldiers back to their homelands?

    A. Because their homelands were under attack.

    B. Because he found they were not brave enough.

    C. Because the Persians gave up attacking Thermopylae.

    D. Because he found it impossible to hold Thermopylae.

64. Which of the following is NOT ture according to the passage?

    A. Leonidas was a great commander.

    B. The Persians failed to pass Thermopylae.

    C. Ephialtes betrayed his own country.

    D. The 300 Spatans would be regarded as heroes by the Greeks.

65. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

  A. The Greek Allies  B. The Goat’s Path  C. The King of Persia  D. Xerxes and Ephialtes

The Amber Room was first designed as a palace for Frederick I. When first finished, it was in the f       1.style and was d        2.with gold and jewels. Then the next king of Prussia, Frederick William I, gave it to Peter the Great as a gift. In r        3., he was given a troop of soldiers. The room s        4.as a small reception hall at that time. After that, Catherine II, asked her artists to add more d     5.to the Amber Room, which made it one of the w        6.of the world. Later, the Amber Room b        7.to Katherine was missing and it was said to have been stolen by German Nazi. However, what happened to the Amber Room remains a m        8.. Recently, the Amber Room has been r        9.by the artists by studying old photos of the former one. It was made to c        10.the 300th birthday of the city of St Petersburg.

Once upon a time there was a precious sword. Now, this sword belonged to a great King, and for as long as anyone could remember, the King spent all his time in his place, enjoying its shows and competitions with other swords. One day a great dispute（争端）arouse between this King and the King of a neighbouring country. It ended with both declaring war.

The sword was greatly excited at the prospect of taking part in its first real battle. It would show everyone how truly brave and special it was, and would become well-known throughout the kingdom. On the way to the front line, the sword imagined itself the winner of many battles. However, when it arrived, the first battle had already broken out, and the sword got to see the results of the war. What it saw had nothing in common with what the sword had imagined. No elegant shining knights, successful, with their weapons shining in the sunlight. Instead, all the sword saw was broken weapons, and a large crowd of hungry and thirsty men. There was hardly any food left. Everything was covered in dirt and disgusting smell. Many were half dead and scattered on the ground, bleeding from multiple wounds.

Seeing this, the sword realized it liked neither wars nor battles. It decided it preferred to live in peace and spend its time taking part in tournaments and competitions. So, on the night before what was going to be the big final battle, the sword tried to find a way to prevent it from taking place. After a while, the sword started to vibrate（颤抖）. First it gave out a low buzz, and then this gradually got louder, until it became an annoying metallic noise. The swords and armour（盔甲）of the soldiers asked the King’s sword what it was doing. It told them, “I don’t want there to be a battle tomorrow. I don’t like war.”

One answered, “No one likes it, but what can we do?”

“Make yourself vibrate, just like what I’m doing,” said the King’s sword. “If we make enough noise, no one will sleep.”

So the weapons started vibrating, and the noise became deafening. It was so loud that it reached the enemy camp, and the weapons there, which were equally sick of war, joined the protest.

The next morning, when the battle should have begun, not a single soldier was ready to fight. No one had managed to get even a wink of sleep, not even the King or the Generals. So they spent the whole day catching up on sleep. During the evening they started to wake up, and decided to put off the battle until the next day.

However, the weapons, led by the King’s sword, spent the night repeating their peace song, and again no soldier could rest. The battle had to be postponed yet again, and this carried on for the next seven days. On the evening of the seventh day, the Kings of the two armies met to see what they could do about the situation. Both were very angry at their previous disputes, but after being together for a while they started to discuss their sleepless nights, the surprise on their soldiers’ faces, the confusion between day and night, and the amusing situations all this had created. It wasn’t long before both were laughing, like friends, at these little stories. Fortunately, they forgot their old disputes and they put an end to the war, each returning to their own land with the double joy.

1. From the first paragraph, we can infer that _________.

A．the great King was fond of his precious sword

B．a disagreement led to a war between Kings

C．the two Kings were once good friends before the war

D．the precious sword was used to entertain the great King

2. What is the best word to describe the mood of the sword when it heard about the war?

A．Worried          B．Fearful            C．Eager             D．peaceful

3. When did the sword change its attitude to war?

A．When it fought at the first battle

B．After it realized that it was not powerful

C．When it was on the way to the front line

D．After it saw the terrible results of the first battle

4. What is the right order of the following events?

a. The noise was loud enough to reach the other side

b. The battle had to be postponed because the soldiers in both armies lacked sleep.

c. It let out continuous low noise

d. It persuaded other swords to join in.

e. All the weapons in both side confused day with night

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

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

5. According to the passage, how many times was the battle put off?

A．Seven            B．Eight             C．Nine             D．Ten

6.What do the underlined words in the last paragraph refer to?

A．Both King’s sleepless nights

B．The end of war and being friends

C．The surprise on the soldiers’ faces

D．The confusion of day with night

Once upon a time there was a precious sword. Now, this sword belonged to a great King, and for as long as anyone could remember, the King spent all his time in his place, enjoying its shows and competitions with other swords. One day a great dispute（争端）arouse between this King and the King of a neighbouring country. It ended with both declaring war.
The sword was greatly excited at the prospect of taking part in its first real battle. It would show everyone how truly brave and special it was, and would become well-known throughout the kingdom. On the way to the front line, the sword imagined itself the winner of many battles. However, when it arrived, the first battle had already broken out, and the sword got to see the results of the war. What it saw had nothing in common with what the sword had imagined. No elegant shining knights, successful, with their weapons shining in the sunlight. Instead, all the sword saw was broken weapons, and a large crowd of hungry and thirsty men. There was hardly any food left. Everything was covered in dirt and disgusting smell. Many were half dead and scattered on the ground, bleeding from multiple wounds.
Seeing this, the sword realized it liked neither wars nor battles. It decided it preferred to live in peace and spend its time taking part in tournaments and competitions. So, on the night before what was going to be the big final battle, the sword tried to find a way to prevent it from taking place. After a while, the sword started to vibrate（颤抖）. First it gave out a low buzz, and then this gradually got louder, until it became an annoying metallic noise. The swords and armour（盔甲）of the soldiers asked the King’s sword what it was doing. It told them, “I don’t want there to be a battle tomorrow. I don’t like war.”
One answered, “No one likes it, but what can we do?”
“Make yourself vibrate, just like what I’m doing,” said the King’s sword. “If we make enough noise, no one will sleep.”
So the weapons started vibrating, and the noise became deafening. It was so loud that it reached the enemy camp, and the weapons there, which were equally sick of war, joined the protest.
The next morning, when the battle should have begun, not a single soldier was ready to fight. No one had managed to get even a wink of sleep, not even the King or the Generals. So they spent the whole day catching up on sleep. During the evening they started to wake up, and decided to put off the battle until the next day.
However, the weapons, led by the King’s sword, spent the night repeating their peace song, and again no soldier could rest. The battle had to be postponed yet again, and this carried on for the next seven days. On the evening of the seventh day, the Kings of the two armies met to see what they could do about the situation. Both were very angry at their previous disputes, but after being together for a while they started to discuss their sleepless nights, the surprise on their soldiers’ faces, the confusion between day and night, and the amusing situations all this had created. It wasn’t long before both were laughing, like friends, at these little stories. Fortunately, they forgot their old disputes and they put an end to the war, each returning to their own land with the double joy.
【小题1】 From the first paragraph, we can infer that _________.