四、阅读理解。〔人与社会——历史、社会与文化〕
For centuries, the power of Chinese emperors relied on their control(控制) of the Grand Canal (大运河). Today, this waterway is shorter than it once was, but it is still the longest man-made river in the world.
The first canal system began around the year 605. China's Emperor Yang realized that he needed a better way to feed his army and move food quickly from China's southern rice-growing area to the north. So, he ordered people to build the first part of the Grand Canal, connecting other canals, lakes and rivers. Over the next 500 years, the canal's importance grew. However, by 1127, many parts had got worse. In 1279, Kublai Khan began to repair and build new parts of the canal. That created a more direct north-south way to and from Beijing. Future rulers continued to improve the waterway, and it became more and more important.
Besides moving rice around China, the Grand Canal also connected the south and the north in other ways. Soldiers, businessmen and artists transported ideas, local foods, and cultures from one part of China to another. It's said that this is how Peking duck, a dish from Shandong Province and the Peking Opera, from Anhui and Hubei, were both brought north through the canal.
Even today, the country's waterway plays an important role in China. Boats carry tons of coal, food, and other goods to points between Hangzhou and Jining—now the northernmost city the canal reaches.
This development comes at a price, though. “Traditionally we talk about 18 main cities on the Grand Canal, and each had something special about it,” said Zhou Xinhua, the former director of the Grand Canal Museum in Hangzhou. “But now many of these cities are all the same: a thousand people with one face.”
1. Why was the first part of the Grand Canal built?
A. To help the army move quickly from the north to the south.
B. To make people from the north be able to visit South China.
C. To transport food from the southern part of China to the north.
D. To improve the communication between the north and the south.
2. Which of the following can best describe the Grand Canal in history?
A. A transport tool.
B. A national lifeline.
C. A place of interest.
D. A great gift of nature.
3. What can be inferred(推断) from the last paragraph?
A. People in the cities on the canal live the same life.
B. Each city needs to find its special way to develop.
C. The development of the canal brings a good result.
D. Protecting the canal is not so important as it was before.
For centuries, the power of Chinese emperors relied on their control(控制) of the Grand Canal (大运河). Today, this waterway is shorter than it once was, but it is still the longest man-made river in the world.
The first canal system began around the year 605. China's Emperor Yang realized that he needed a better way to feed his army and move food quickly from China's southern rice-growing area to the north. So, he ordered people to build the first part of the Grand Canal, connecting other canals, lakes and rivers. Over the next 500 years, the canal's importance grew. However, by 1127, many parts had got worse. In 1279, Kublai Khan began to repair and build new parts of the canal. That created a more direct north-south way to and from Beijing. Future rulers continued to improve the waterway, and it became more and more important.
Besides moving rice around China, the Grand Canal also connected the south and the north in other ways. Soldiers, businessmen and artists transported ideas, local foods, and cultures from one part of China to another. It's said that this is how Peking duck, a dish from Shandong Province and the Peking Opera, from Anhui and Hubei, were both brought north through the canal.
Even today, the country's waterway plays an important role in China. Boats carry tons of coal, food, and other goods to points between Hangzhou and Jining—now the northernmost city the canal reaches.
This development comes at a price, though. “Traditionally we talk about 18 main cities on the Grand Canal, and each had something special about it,” said Zhou Xinhua, the former director of the Grand Canal Museum in Hangzhou. “But now many of these cities are all the same: a thousand people with one face.”
1. Why was the first part of the Grand Canal built?
A. To help the army move quickly from the north to the south.
B. To make people from the north be able to visit South China.
C. To transport food from the southern part of China to the north.
D. To improve the communication between the north and the south.
2. Which of the following can best describe the Grand Canal in history?
A. A transport tool.
B. A national lifeline.
C. A place of interest.
D. A great gift of nature.
3. What can be inferred(推断) from the last paragraph?
A. People in the cities on the canal live the same life.
B. Each city needs to find its special way to develop.
C. The development of the canal brings a good result.
D. Protecting the canal is not so important as it was before.
答案：1~3. CBB