The Nazca Lines are a series of large ancient geoglyphs (地画) in the Nazca Desert, in southern Peru. It is ranging from geometric patterns to drawings of different animals and stylized human­like forms. The ancient lines can only be truly taken in from high in the air, leaving generations puzzled as to how these precise works could have been completed long before the documented invention of human flight.

The Lines were first spotted when commercial airlines began flying across the Peruvian desert in the 1920s.  Who built them and what was their purpose? Are they roads, star pointers, maybe even a gigantic map? If the people who lived here 2,000 years ago had only a simple technology, how did they manage to construct such precise figures? Did they have a plan? These markings are like a vast puzzle.

The Nazca Lines are the most outstanding group of geoglyphs in the world. There are also huge geoglyphs in Egypt, Malta, the United States (Mississippi and California), Chile, Holivia and in other countries. But the Nazca geoglyphs, because of their numbers, characteristics, dimensions and cultural continuity as they were made and remade throughout a certain history period, form the most impressive archeological (考古学的) group.

The Nazca plain is unique for its ability to preserve the markings upon it, due to the combination of the climate (one of the driest on Earth, with only twenty minutes of rainfall per year) and the flat, stony ground which minimizes the effect of the wind at ground level. With no dust or sand to cover the plain and little rain or wind to erode (腐蚀) it, lines drawn here tend to stay drawn. These factors, combined with the existence of lighter­colored subsoil beneath the desert surface, provide a vast writing pad that is suited to the artist who wants to leave his mark eternal.

篇章导读：本文是一篇说明文。文章介绍了出现在秘鲁南部Nazca沙漠的大型古代地画the Nazca Lines的神奇之处及形成原因。

1．What can we know about the Nazca Lines from the first two paragraphs?

A．They are built as a big map.

B．They are formed by nature.

C．They are ancient lines in caves.   

D．They are huge markings in a desert.

2．How many factors make the Nazca Lines the most impressive?

A．One.                                B．Two.

C．Three.                              D．Four.

3．Why are the Nazca Lines well preserved?

A．Because of the wind at ground level.

B．Because of the existence of soft soil.

C．Because of the climate and geography.

D．Because of the thick sand on the top.

4．What does the underlined word “eternal” probably mean?

A．Non­stop.                           B．Everlasting.

C．Real­life.                          D．High­end.

Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki has become the first female artist in the Arab world to be nominated (提名) for an Academy Award, or Oscar.

Labaki directed the film Capernaum, a film about a Syrian refugee (难民) boy and a Kenyan baby who live without parents on the streets of Beirut. It was nominated for best foreign language film.

Labaki will be one of the few female directors to compete for an Oscar this year. She told The Associated Press “I wish there were a lot more women filmmakers this year represented，nominated in the Oscars. But I am sure in a few years we won't be having this problem anymore.”

Unlike in the West, women filmmakers are industry leaders in Lebanon.

Capernaum received a 15­minute standing ovation (热烈欢迎) at this year's Cannes Film Festival. It won the Jury Prize—the third­highest award given at Cannes.

The United Nations has publicly praised the film. Lebanon's Foreign Minister said Capernaum put a Lebanese touch on the international film industry.

The Oscar nomination of Capernaum is the second for Lebanon in two years in the film group. It demonstrates the country's rising star power.

Labaki called making the movie a life­changing experience. She said Capernaum helps humanize the real struggles of refugees only briefly talked about in the news.

“We can't help but acknowledge that there is a fear of refugees in general around the world and there are these walls we are building, and this fear keeps growing，” Labaki said.

Capernaum will compete against four other films for the Oscar, including awards season favorite Roma. Directed by Mexico's Alfonso Cuaron, it earned 10 Oscar nominations, including for best picture.

篇章导读：本文是一篇新闻报道。文章主要介绍了黎巴嫩女导演Nadine Labaki及其导演的电影Capernaum的相关情况。

5．Where does Labaki come from?

A．Syria.                              B．Kenya.                                 

C．Lebanon.                            D．Mexico.

6．What do we know from Labaki's words in Paragraph 3?

A．Few women directors have been nominated in the Oscars.

B．She was the first female artist to compete for an Oscar.

C．More women directors will enter for Oscar this year.

D．Female directors have problems with their films.

7．Which of the following best describes Capernaum?

A．It is the best foreign language film.

B．It shows the rising power of women.

C．It has won the first prize at Cannes.

D．It is highly thought of.

8．What does the underlined “it” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．Capernaum.                          B．The Oscar.

C．Roma.                               D．Best picture.

Black Friday is the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the United States. It has been regarded as the beginning of the holiday shopping season. Although it's not an official holiday, millions of employers give their employees the day off, and many people use that day to get a jump­start on their holiday shopping. A similar day in Canada and the Great Britain is called “Boxing Day”．

Black Friday has become somewhat of a marketing sensation in recent years. Since 2005, it has been the busiest shopping day of the year. To lure shoppers, retailers (零售商) routinely open their doors as early as 4 am and offer special sales and promotions to the shoppers that arrive early. Some of the special deals offered by stores are only available in limited quantities. That is why some shoppers intent on getting the best deals often camp out in front of stores overnight so that they'll be the first in line when the doors open.

But why Black Friday? Historians believe the name started in Philadelphia in the mid­1960s. Bus drivers and police used “Black Friday” to describe the heavy traffic that would block city streets the day after Thanksgiving as shoppers headed to the stores.

Businesses, however, didn't like the negative tone associated with the “Black Friday” name. In the early 1980s, a more positive explanation of the name began to circulate. According to this alternative explanation, Black Friday is the day when retailers finally begin to turn a profit for the year. In accounting terms (会计说法), operating at a loss is called being “in the red” because accountants traditionally used red ink to show negative amounts. Positive amounts were usually shown in black ink. Thus，being “in the black” is a good thing because it means stores are operating at a profit.

Recently, for those who are too busy to shop on Black Friday or who just don't want to fight the crowds, the Monday following Black Friday has become known as Cyber Monday (网络星期一) for the many online deals.

篇章导读：本文是一篇说明文。文章介绍了“黑色星期五”相关的信息和名字的由来，让我们了解了西方文化的特定历史知识和文化习俗等。

9．On Black Friday, the Americans  ________.

A．don't have to go to work as usual

B．look exactly like the Canadians

C．are usually busy doing shopping

D．stay at home and relax themselves

10．The underlined word “lure” (in Paragraph 2) probably means  “________”．

A．protect                             B．attract

C．persuade                            D．remind

11．How do the retailers understand Black Friday?

A．It is totally different from Boxing Day.

B．They usually lose some money on that day.

C．It never keeps them very busy.

D．It probably brings them more money.

12．The author writes this passage in order to  ________.

A．state the development of Cyber Monday

B．tell the difference between red and black

C．introduce Black Friday to the readers

D．explain the meaning of Boxing Day

You may be surprised to learn that English gets 30 to 45 percent of its words from French. The reason goes back to the year 1066, when Norman forces invaded (入侵) what is now Britain. The Normans were from northern France and spoke French. During the Norman occupation, French became the language of England's rulers and wealthy class. This lasted for more than 300 years. Other people in England continued to speak English during this period.

Over time, the two languages combined and shared words. Some researchers believe that about 10,000 French words eventually entered the English language. However, although English took many French words, their meanings have not always stayed the same. Sometimes the differences in meanings can be very important, and lead to funny or strange situations if the words are used in the wrong way.

Take, for example, the French word college. In English, college can often be used in place of the word university, or sometimes as a school within a university. However, in French, college actually means “middle school”， or the level of schooling for students in grades five or six through eight.

There are many other similar words in the two languages with completely different meanings. In English, the word chat is a verb which means “to talk casually”； but in French, the word chat is the word for an animal: a cat.

If an English speaker says someone is jolly, that means they are cheerful or friendly. But in French, jolie means someone is good­looking or pleasant to look at. In any case, both are nice things to say to someone.

篇章导读：本文是一篇说明文。文章讲述了英语中存在大量法语词汇的现象，并举例说明英语中的法语单词及其在法语中的不同含义。

13．What language did the upper class speak in Britain of Norman times?

A．English.

B．French.

C．Both English and French.

D．Some unknown language.

14．What does college mean in French?

A．The teenager time.

B．University in French.

C．Middle school in English.

D．University in common sense.

15．What is the text mainly about?

A．Comparison between two languages.

B．Difficulty in grasping English.

C．French words in English.

D．Development of English.

(2018·浙江高考)As cultural symbols go, the American car is quite young. The Model T Ford was built at the Piquette Plant in Michigan a century ago, with the first rolling off the assembly line (装配线) on September 27, 1908. Only eleven cars were produced the next month. But eventually Henry Ford would build fifteen million of them.

Modern America was born on the road,  behind a wheel. The car shaped some of the most lasting aspects of American culture: the roadside diner, the billboard, the motel, even the hamburger. For most of the last century, the car represented what it meant to be American—going forward at high speed to find new worlds. The road novel, the road movie, these are the most typical American ideas, born of abundant petrol, cheap cars and a never­ending interstate highway system, the largest public works project in history.

In 1928 Herbert Hoover imagined an America with “a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage.” Since then, this society has moved onward, never looking back, as the car transformed America from a farm­based society into an industrial power.

The cars that drove the American Dream have helped to create a global ecological disaster. In America the demand for oil has grown by 22 percent since 1990.

The problems of excessive (过度的) energy consumption, climate change and population growth have been described in a book by the American writer Thomas L. Friedman. He fears the worst, but hopes for the best.

Friedman points out that the green economy (经济) is a chance to keep American strength. “The ability to design, build and export green technologies for producing clean water, clean air and healthy and abundant food is going to be the currency of power in the new century.”

篇章导读：本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了汽车对美国文化的造就及产生的影响。

1．Why is hamburger mentioned in Paragraph 2?

A．To explain Americans' love for travelling by car.

B．To show the influence of cars on American culture.

C．To stress the popularity of fast food with Americans.

D．To praise the effectiveness of America's road system.

2．What has the use of cars in America led to?

A．Decline of economy.

B．Environmental problems.

C．A shortage of oil supply.

D．A farm­based society.

3．What is Friedman's attitude towards America's future?

A．Ambiguous.                          B．Doubtful.

C．Hopeful.                            D．Tolerant.