The Song Dynasty (960-1279) is often thought of as the Chinese Renaissance (文艺复兴). For about three and a quarter centuries, under its rule, China enjoyed a period of economic growth with great and amazing artistic achievements.

One of the most important factors in the Song Renaissance was the printing press (印刷机) which made for a rebirth of classical Confucian (儒学的) learning. By the 10th century, printers had produced a large number of copies of the classical Confucian texts. With this increase in the production of books, education spread and became widely available.

Printing also had its greatest influence on the Chinese political system. In the Song Dynasty, government examinations became the most important way to gain political power in China. For almost 1,000 years, China was governed by men who had done very well in examinations. Thousands of students studied for the exams, and thousands of inexpensive books were required. Without printing, such a system would not have been possible.

The Song period was also the golden age of Chinese painting. Emperor Huizong was a talented painter who encouraged the arts. A royal painting school was created and many fine artists were supported. The period is best known for nature subjects and landscape paintings. Guo Xi used perspective in his paintings and The Quiet Valley is one of his best-known works. One of the greatest landscape painters of the period was Fan Kuan. His famous work, Travelling among Mountains and Streams, is one of the most famous Chinese paintings. Completed around the year 1000, it was inspired by the power of nature and the relative insignificance of humans.

【小题1】When was the Chinese Renaissance?
A．Immediately after the Renaissance in Europe. B. During the Song Dynasty.
B．At the time of Confucius.   D. In the year 1000.【小题2】What contributed to spreading the ideas of Confucius?
A．The spread of education to all people.
B．People’s new interest in classical texts.
C．The development of painting.
D．The printing press and a wide availability of books.【小题3】How did people become politicians at the time?
A．By studying Confucian ideas. B. By reading many printed books.
B．By learning painting. D. By taking government examinations.【小题4】From the passage we can know the painter of Travelling among Mountains and Streams is __________.
A．Guo Xi B. Emperor Huizong
B．Fan Kuan D. Confucius

语法填空

Nowadays Chinese are using the solar calendar. But at the same time, Chinese are also using their own lunar calendar. Each lunar year 【小题1】 (give) the name of one of these animals: the rat, the ox, the tiger, the hare, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the sheep, the monkey, the cock, the dog and the pig. This list repeats 【小题2】 (it) every twelve years, 【小题3】 is a main feature of the Chinese lunar calendar.

Each Chinese month starts on the day of the new moon, and the full moon always comes on the 【小题4】 (fifteen) day of the month. The New Year, 【小题5】 (actual) well known as the Spring Festival, always falls 【小题6】 January 21st and February 20th.

On the last day of each lunar year, the Chinese will hold 【小题7】 big family reunion dinner. All the members of a family, with the 【小题8】 (except) of married daughters, will try to be present on this festival occasion, even if they have to travel many miles 【小题9】 (return) to the home of their parents. After the dinner, even children will stay 【小题10】 (wake) until the midnight to welcome the New Year.

D
Freedom and Responsibility
Freedom’s challenge in the Digital Age is a serious topic. We are facing today a strange new world and we are all wondering what we are going to do with it.
Some 2,500 years ago Greece discovered freedom. Before that there was no freedom. There were great civilizations, splendid empires, but no freedom anywhere. Egypt and Babylon were both tyrannies ,  one very powerful man ruling over helpless masses.
In Greece, in Athens (雅典), a little city in a little country, there were no helpless masses. And Athenians willingly obeyed the written laws which they themselves passed, and the unwritten, which must be obeyed if free men live together. They must show each other kindness and pity and the many qualities without which life would be very painful unless one chose to live alone in the desert.The Athenians never thought that a man was free if he could do what he wanted. A man was free if he was self-controlled. To make yourself obey what you approved was freedom. They were saved from looking at their lives as their own private affair. Each one felt responsible for the welfare of Athens, not because it was forced on him from the outside, but because the city was his pride and his safety. The essential belief of the first free government in the world was liberty for all men who could control themselves and would take responsibility for the state.
But discovering freedom is not like discovering computers. It cannot be discovered once for all. If people do not prize it, and work for it, it will go. Constant watch is its price. Athens changed. It was a change that took place without being noticed though it was of the extreme importance, a spiritual change which affected the whole state. It had been the Athenian’ s pride and joy to give to their city. That they could get material benefits from her never entered their minds. There had to be a complete change of attitude before they could look at the city as an employer who paid her citizens for doing her work. Now instead of men giving to the state, the state was to give to them. What the people wanted was a government which would provide a comfortable life for them; and with this as the primary object, ideas of freedom and self-reliance and responsibility were neglected to the point of disappearing. Athens was more and more looked on as a cooperative business possessed of great wealth in which all citizens had a right to share.
Athens reached the point when the freedom she really wanted was freedom from responsibility. There could be only one result. If men insisted on being free from the burden of self-dependence and responsibility for the common good, they would cease to be free. Responsibility is the price every man must pay for freedom. It is to be had on no other terms. Athens, the Athens of Ancient Greece, refused responsibility; she reached the end of freedom and was never to have it again. But, “the excellent becomes the permanent”, Aristotle said. Athens lost freedom forever, but freedom was not lost forever for the world. A great American, James Madison, referred to: “The capacity (能力) of mankind for self-government.” No doubt he had not an idea that he was speaking Greek. Athens was not in the farthest background of his mind, but once man has a great and good idea, it is never completely lost. The Digital Age cannot destroy it. Somehow in this or that man’s thought such an idea lives though unconsidered by the world of action. One can never be sure that it is not on the point of breaking out into action only sure that it will do so sometime.
【小题1】What does the underlined word “tyrannies” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Countries where their people need help.

B．Powerful states with higher civilization.

C．Splendid empires where people enjoy freedom.

D．Governments ruled with absolute power.

【小题2】People believing in freedom are those who________ .

A．regard their life as their own business

B．seek gains as their primary object

C．behave within the laws and value systems

D．treat others with kindness and pity

【小题3】What change in attitude took place in Athens?

A．The Athenians refused to take their responsibility.

B．The Athenians no longer took pride in the city.

C．The Athenians benefited spiritually from the government.

D．The Athenians looked on the government as a business.

【小题4】What does the sentence “There could be only one result.” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A．Athens would continue to be free.

B．Athens would cease to have freedom.

C．Freedom would come from responsibility.

D．Freedom would stop Athens from self-dependence.

【小题5】Why does the author refer to Aristotle and Madison?

A．The author is hopeful about freedom.

B．The author is cautious about self-government.

C．The author is skeptical of Greek civilization.

D．The author is proud of man’s capacity.

【小题6】What is the author’s understanding of freedom?

A．Freedom can be more popular in the digital age.

B．Freedom may come to an end in the digital age.

C．Freedom should have priority over responsibility.

D．Freedom needs to be guaranteed by responsibility.

   The Parthenon（帕特农神庙）in Athens is a building with a long and complex history. Built nearly 2，500 years ago as a temple celebrating the Greek goddess Athena，it was for thousands of years the church of the Virgin Mary of the Athenians，then a mosque（清真寺），and finally a ruin. The building was changed and the sculptures were much damaged over the centuries. By 1800 only about half of the original sculptural decorations remained.

Between 1801 and 1805，Lord Elgin，the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire（奥斯曼帝国），who controlled Athens，acting with the full knowledge and permission of the Ottoman authorities，removed about half of the remaining sculptures from the fallen ruins and from the building itself. Lord Elgin loved Greek history and carried the sculptures back to Britain. The arrival of the sculptures in London had a huge effect on the European public，greatly increasing interest in ancient Greek culture and influencing the present artistic tendency. These sculptures were gained from Lord Elgin by the British Museum in 1816 and since then they have all been on show to the public，free of charge.

Since the early 1980s，however，the Greek government has argued for the return of all the Parthenon sculptures in the British Museum. They have also challenged the Board of Trustees of the British Museum's legal（合法的）title to the sculptures.

The British Museum，however，insists that it exists to tell the story of cultural achievement throughout the world，from the dawn of human history over two million years ago to the present day. The museum considers itself an important resource for the world: the breadth and depth of its collection allow the world public to reexamine cultural identities（身份）and explore the complex network of interconnected world cultures.

It also says that，within the context of this unparalleled collection，the Parthenon sculptures are an important representation of ancient Athenian civilization. Each year millions of visitors admire the artistry of the sculptures and gain insights on how ancient Greece influenced — and was influenced by — the other civilizations that it came across.

【小题1】What can we infer from the passage？

A．The sculptures introduced ancient Greek culture to the west.

B．Ancient Greek culture has greatly influenced world culture.

C．The British Museum has made much money from the Parthenon sculptures.

D．The British Museum is the most suitable place to protect these sculptures.

【小题2】What can we learn about Lord Elgin from the passage?

A．He is greatly admired in Greece.

B．He worked for the Ottoman Empire.

C．He saved the Parthenon sculptures from being destroyed.

D．He had a deep interest in Greek culture.

【小题3】What's the author's main purpose in writing this passage?

A．To tell the history of the Parthenon and its sculptures.

B．To tell what people can see in the British Museum.

C．To tell why the British Museum refuses to return the sculptures.

D．To tell the influence of Greece on British culture.

   Britons are well known for the amount of tea that they drink. The average person in the UK consumes around 1.9 kg of tea yearly. That’s around 876 cups of tea. Tea is drunk by all sections of society. But tea is not native to Britain. Most tea is grown in India and China. So, how did it become an important part of British culture?

Tea arrived in London in the 1600s. At this time, British ships were exploring (探索) the world and came across the drink in China. It was not long before green tea was available to buy. However, this was only available to the richer sections of society.

At the beginning of the 1700s, the amount of tea arriving in Britain increased gradually. Black tea arrived at this time. At first people drank this tea exactly as it was in China. They soon discovered that it mixed really well with a little milk and sugar, giving the drink a special British characteristic (特色).

In the 1800s tea was still a product enjoyed only by people with money. At this time they began to have “afternoon tea”. This involves drinking tea with a snack around 4 pm to avoid feeling hungry between lunch and dinner. It is a tradition that is still going today but has become less popular in recent times.

In the late 1800s, the price of tea decreased sharply as more tea began to arrive on ships from India and China. It was no longer a drink just for rich people. Tearooms — shops where you could buy and drink tea — started to appear across the country. People enjoyed drinking tea and socialising (交际) in these places. At the start of the 20th century, Britons began to make tea in their homes whenever they felt like it. Kettles became necessary in every kitchen.

【小题1】How does the passage mainly develop?

A．By providing examples.	B．By making comparisons.
C．By following the order of time.	D．By following the order of importance.

【小题2】According to the passage, what is the British characteristic of tea?

A．Green tea.	B．Black tea.
C．Tea with a little milk and sugar.	D．Afternoon tea with a snack.

【小题3】The underlined word “decreased” in the last paragraph can be replaced by “________”.

A．went up	B．took off
C．fell off	D．came out

【小题4】When was tea a necessity for ordinary people in Britain?

A．In the 1600s.	B．In the 1800s.
C．In the late 1800s.	D．At the start of the 20th century.