ReadingExplorerLevel3U8-A

Before You Read

A. Scanning

Look at the pictures and maps, and read the captions of the reading. Discuss the questions with a partner.

1. Where is the Grand Canal, and when was it built?

2. What are some of the ways a canal like this might be used?

3. What were its northernmost and southernmost cities?

4. How long is the Grand Canal today? What is its northernmost city now?

B. Predict

For what reasons do you think the Grand Canal has been important for China? Share your ideas with a partner. Then read the passage to check your ideas.

习题答案在文末

Paragraph1

For centuries, the power of Chinese emperors rose and fell with their control of the Grand Canal. Today, this important waterway is shorter than it once was, but it is still the longest man-made river in the world, and continuesto play an important cultural and economicrole in modern China.

Paragraph 2

|Construction Begins

The original canal system began around the year 605, when Emperor Yang realized that—in order to feed his army—he needed a way to move food quickly from China's southern rice-growing region to the country's north. An estimated one million people, mostly farmers, worked to build the first section of the Grand Canal, which connected existing canals, lakes, and rivers. Construction took six years and was completed in 611.

Paragraph 3

Over the next 500 years, the canal's importance grew throughout China, but by 1127, parts were deteriorating. In 1279, Kublai Khan (忽必烈) began to repair and build new parts of the canal. This renovation created a more direct north-south route to and from Beijing. Future rulers then continued to expand and improve the canal.

Paragraph 4

|A Nation?x-oss-process=image/format,webp" style="max-width:100%">

ln addition to moving rice around China, the Grand Canal was also an important cultural conduit. Soldiers, merchants, and artists transported ideas, regional foods, and cultural practices from one part of China to another along the country's watery highway. According to legend, this is how Beijing acquired two of its best-known trademarks: Peking duck, a dish from Shandong Province in the south, and Peking opera, from Anhui and Hubei, also in the south.

• If somethingisdeteriorating,it gets worsein someway.

• A conduit is something that connects two or more people, places, or things.(导管，渠道)

• Peking is the former name for Being.

China's Grand Canal was built over 1,400 years agoto connect the agriculturallands in the south withthe political capitals in thenorth. For centuries, thecanal ran 1.770 kilometers(1,100 miles)betweenBeijing and the southern cityof Hangzhou,transportingeverything from food towood and textiles.

China's last dynasty, the Qing, took control in 1644. Emperor Qinglong (above) made six inspection tours of the Grand Canal, visiting different ports and cultural sites, like the Buddhist temple on Tiger Hill (虎丘) in Suzhou.

For almost four decades, the path from Beiiing to Jining has been too dry for shipping. Today, the Grand Canal's main route runs 523 kilometers (325 miles) from Jining to Hangzhou.

习题答案在文末

Multiple Choice

Choose the best answer for each question.

1. Why was the Grand Canal originally built?

a. to allow the army to move quickly from the north to the south

b. to transport food from the southern regions of China to the northern regions

c. to enable more people to visit remote parts of China

d. to promote the cultural and traditional diversity of the south of China

2. What is NOT true about the Grand Canal?

a. It originally took six years to complete its construction.

b. Even today, it is the largest man-made river in the world.

c. Around a million people worked on the first section of the canal.

d. It allowed Peking duck and Peking opera to spread to southern China.

3. What would be the best alternative heading for the 4th paragraph?

a. Renewed Importance

b. Cultural Connections

c. The Army's Highway

d. The Origins of Peking Opera

4. In paragraph 4, the word practices could be replaced with ____

a. traditions

b. repetitions

c. instructions

d. improvements

5. Which of the following is closest in meaning to This

development comes at a price, though. Inparagraph6?

a. But developing the canal involves spending a lot of money.

b. But even after spending money, people might notlike the development.

c. But developing it is a lot more expensive thanone can imagine.

d. But there are some negative consequences to havingthis development.

6.The artist Zhu Bingren would probably most like to see that____

a. the canal and the area around it are declared a heritage site

b. the canal is further expanded in an east-west direction

c. more changes are made to modernize the canal

d. a monument is created to honor China's economic and

cultural importance

7. The following sentence would best be placed at the end of

which paragraph? The city of Yangzhou, for example, has created a beautiful park near its water front.

a. paragraph 1

b.paragraph 4

c.paragraph 5

d. paragraph 7

Understanding Compound Words

Compound words are made when two (or more) words are put together to create a new word. To understand the meaning of a compound word, break it into its parts and look at the meaning of the individual words.

Compound words can be a single word (e.g., waterway), two words (e.g., real estate), or two words linked by a hyphen (e.g., man-made).

A. Definitions

Scan the heading and paragraph 3-4. Find and underline the compound words. Then write them abovetheir definitions.

Join words from the two boxes, and write the compound words in the correct sentences. Use a dictionary to help you.

ln addition to the Grand Canal, China is 1.(?) for another 2.( ? )wonder—the Great Wall.

China's first emperor wanted a wall for protection.3.(?)a wall, his country was vulnerableto attack from the north. Construction began during the firstemperor's4.(?)but work continued formany hundreds of years after his death. Each emperor added to the wall to protect his power. Construction continued until the wall was thousands of kilometers long. Today, the Great Wall still stands. lt can be easily visited on a 5.(?)fromBeijing and is a 6.(?)for many locals andinternational visitors.

A. Completion.

Complete the informationby circlingthe correct word in each pair.

Miraflores Locks, on the Panama Canal

One of the world's greatest engineering achievements, the 77-kilometer (48-mile) Panama Canal links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The United States 1.(repaired / acquired) the canal project from the French in the early 19th century. Its completion in 1914 shortened a ship's voyage between New York City and San Francisco by 8,370 kilometers (5,200 miles). The canal helped fuel trade and 2.(former / economic) growth in countries dependent on shipping.

Although traffic has continued to increase over the years, many of today's ships could not fit through the 3.(original / regional) canal. A $5.2 billion4.(renovation / citizen) and expansion project now allows much larger ships to pass through the canal. This has led to a sharp increase in the amount of goods that can be 5.(demolished / transported) through the canal. Today, more than 14,000 ships pass through the Panama Canal every year.

B. Words in context
Complete each sentencewith the correct answer.

1. If you repair a computer, you(?)it.

a. clean b. fix

2.A former president is a(?)president.

a. past b. future

3. A citizen of a country(?)the legal rights of that country.

a. has b. does not have

4.If you demolish a bridge, you(?)it.

a. build b.destroy

5.A regional language is spoken in(?)a country.

a. a particular area of

b. all parts of

本期答案

Before You Read

A.

1. It was built between 605 and 611. It islocated in eastern China.

2. Initially it was used to transport grain from south to north, but it

also became a path for trade and for movement of people and cultural ideas.

3. Beijing in thenorth and Hangzhou in the south.

4. Today, it is 523 km (325 mi) long, and Jining is its northernterminus.

B.

Predictions will vary. Actual answer is: the canal has facilitated north-south movement of goods, people, and ideas in a country where most of the major rivers run from west to east.

Reading Comprehension

1.b; 2.d; 3.b; 4.a; 5.d; 6.a; 7.c

Reading Skill

A.

1.best-known; 2.highway; 3.trademark; 4.lifeline

B.

1.well known; 2.man-made; 3.Without; 4.lifetime; 5.day trip; 6.highlight

Vocabulary Practice

A.

1.acquired; 2.economic; 3.original; 4.renovation; 5.transported

B.

1.b; 2.a; 3.a; 4. b; 5.a

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