Unit 4 History and traditions Listening and Speaking 分层同步练习 2025-2026学年高中英语人教版必修第二册

Listening and Speaking

Ⅰ.阅读理解

A

(2025山东青岛二中高一上检测)

Ireland has had a very difficult history.The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to conquer Ireland.For hundreds of years,the Irish people fought against the English.Finally,in 1921,the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland.The result is that today there are two “Irelands”.Northern Ireland,in the north,is part of the United Kingdom.The Republic of Ireland,in the south,is an independent country.

In the 1840s the main crop,potatoes,was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger.This,and a shortage (短缺) of work,forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA,the UK,Australia and Canada.As a result of these problems,the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.

For many years,the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers.Today,many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices.Life in the city is very different from life in the countryside,where things move at a quieter and slower pace.

The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly.Oscar Wilde,a famous Irish writer,once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”.Since independence,Ireland has revived its own culture of music,language and literature.Different areas have different styles of old Irish songs which are sung without instruments.Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin,whistles,etc.

1.What does the author tell us in paragraph 1?

A.How Ireland gained independence.

B.How two “Irelands” came into being.

C.How the Irish fought against the English.

D.How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland.

2.What can we learn from the text?

A.Different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments in Ireland.

B.People are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside in Ireland.

C.It is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker in Ireland.

D.Food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in population in Ireland.

3.How did most Irish people make their living?

A.By working in the fields.

B.By working in offices.

C.By working in factories.

D.By performing instruments.

4.What can be the best title for the text?

A.Life in Ireland

B.Ireland,Past and Present

C.A Very Difficult History

D.The Independence of Ireland

B

New archaeological(考古学的) discoveries suggest that trade between Europe and Asia along the Silk Road probably began in some form many centuries earlier than once thought.The findings,coupled with a widening range of scientific and historical research could add a fascinating new page to the epic of the Silk Road.

The latest and most surprising discovery is pieces of silk found in the hair of an Egyptian mummy from about 1000 BCE,long before regular traffic on the Silk Road and at least one thousand years before silk was previously thought to be used in Egypt.Other research may extend human activity along this route back even further,perhaps a million years to the migration of human ancestors into eastern Asia.

The official origin of East-West commerce along the road is usually placed in the late 2nd century BCE when an agent of the Chinese Emperor Wu-di returned from a dangerous secret mission(使命) across the desert into the remote high country of Central Asia.The agent,Zhang Qian,traveled as far as Afghanistan and brought back knowledge of even more distant lands such as Persia and Syria.Historians have called this one of the most important journeys in ancient times.His journey opened the way for what has been thought to be the first indirect contacts between the ancient world’s two superpowers,China and Rome.Chinese silk,first traded to central Asian tribes for war horses and to the Parthians of old Persia in exchange for acrobats and ostrich eggs,was soon finding its way through a network of merchants to the luxury markets in Rome.

But the new discoveries show that Chinese silk was apparently present in the West long before the Han emperor started organized trade over the Silk Road.The research could change thinking about the early history of world trade and provide insights into the mystery of just

how and when Europe and the Mediterranean lands first became aware of the glorious culture at the other end of Eurasia.

5.Which could best be replaced by the word “coupled” in the first paragraph?

A.Produced.　 B.Contributed.

C.Doubled. D.Combined.

6.What did most historians believe the trade along the Silk Road until recently?

A.The trade originated in the 2nd century BCE.

B.The trade extended human migration into eastern Asia.

C.The trade began a million years ago.

D.The trade primarily benefited the Egyptians.

7.Why have historians always considered Zhang Qian’s mission important?

A.Because they believe he brought back knowledge of Rome to the emperor.

B.Because they believe he discovered the Silk Road.

C.Because they believe he helped establish East-West trade.

D.Because they believe he traveled as far as Afghanistan.

Ⅱ.七选五

(2025河南名校联考高一检测)

China has been the birthplace of many of the world’s greatest inventions.It was,for example,the first country to produce paper money.Before the invention of paper money and coins,people used many different kinds of things for buying and selling.　1　 This exchange of goods and services for other goods and services is called bartering. 

　2　 In 1200 BCE,people in China began to use shells(贝壳) as money.Usually the shells used as money were very small.This made it easier for people to carry money over long distances,and allowed for trade to develop between different parts of the country. 

In the years which followed this invention,many other countries around the world began to do the same.　3　 

The next development was in 1000 BCE,when China started making bronze and copper shells.It wasn’t long before the Chinese made round coins out of metal.　4　 By 500 BCE,metal coins had begun to appear in countries like Persia and Greece,and later in the Roman Empire. 

About 1,000 years later,leather was used as money in China,and in 806 CE,the first paper banknotes were produced by the Chinese people.　5　 

A.People also began collecting foreign coins as souvenirs.