Antigua and Barbuda is the 32nd independent(獨(dú)立的) nation in Latin America.It lies in the Caribbean Sea about 700 kilometers from South America,between Dominica on the west and Guadeloupe on the southeast.Antigua is the main island on which is its capital Saint John.The other two islands are Barbuda and Aedonda.The total area is about 441 square kilometers with a population of 80 thousand.Antigua was first discovered by Columbus in 1493.It was named after a Spanish church in Seville.The Spanish and the French had tried to settle in the place but were not successful.It later fell into the British hand and became a colony（殖民地）for more than three hundred years.It declared independence on November 1,1981.Its main agricultural products are cotton and sugar?cane.But about one third of its national income is from tourism（旅游）.English is the language spoken in the country.

The United Nations accepted it as its 157th member state on November 11,1981.

4.The Europeans discovered Antigua________.?

A.in 1981　　　　　　　　　　 B.in the 19th century

C.300 years ago　　　　　　　 D.over 500 years ago

5.Which of the following is true according to the article??

A.The Spanish and French wanted to divide these islands between them.?

B.The Spanish and the French made peace on these islands.?

C.The British got to these islands before the Spanish.?

D.The Spanish and the French tried to go and live there but failed.?

6.Which of the following is wrong according to the article??

A.Seville is a city in Spain.?

B.At the beginning of the 1980’s there were more than one hundred and fifty member states in the UN.?

C.The British came to these islands earlier than the Spanish.?

D.Antigua and Barbuda was ruled by the British for a long time.?

7.From this article we can conclude??

A.Antigua and Barbuda is the last country accepted by the United Nations.?

B.A citizen may look November 1 as his own independent day in Antigua and Barbuda.

C.November 1 must be the national day of Antigua and Barbuda.?

D.English,Spanish and French are widely used by the government.

閱讀理解

　　Columbus made four voyages to the west between 1492 and 1504 in his vain(徒勞的)search for a sea route to Asia. The mystery of why he failed to find it haunted(縈繞心頭的，耿耿于懷的)him and filled him with sadness.

　　Wherever he went to Cuba(古巴), Puerto Rico(波多黎各), Jamaica(牙買加), South America, Panama(巴拿馬), down the coast of Central America--it was always the same story. Instead of golden palaces, there were grass huts and palm-leaf tents. Instead of silk-robed merchant princes, he found“Indians”who did not have so much as a shirt on their backs.

　　When Columbus explored the West Indies in 1493, he heard tales of a fierce Indian tribe(兇狠的印第安部落) who literally devoured(吞食) its defeated enemies after a battle. These people were called by many names in the area, including Calina, Canima, Carib, and Caniba. Columbus recorded the name of the American natives as Canibales in Spanish, a word which came to refer, within a few years, to any eater of human flesh(食人部落, 食人族). In the similar fashion, the word Caribbean, a title for the sea as well as for the region, came into English.

　　At times Columbus knew that this new land was not China, not Japan，not the Spice Islands. He seemed to accept it as a part of the earth that the geographers of Europe had never heard of before. It was another world--and he called it exactly that--but Columbus also insisted until he died that land he had reached was an unknown part of Asia.

1．What is the best title for this text?

[　　]

A．Sailing to Asia

B．Columbus' voyages

C．West Indies

D．Spice Islands

2．In the course of his four voyages, Columbus succeeded in _____.

[　　]

A．finding China and the Spice Islands

B．trading with many merchants

C．visiting several parts of Central and South America

D．sailing to Asia

3．According to this text, Columbus _____.

[　　]

A．sailed to find new lands for the king

B．sailed to find a water route round the world

C．sailed to establish trading ports

D．named the Caribbean which literally means any eater of human flesh

4．Columbus thought that _____.

[　　]

A．others had sailed to Asia before him

B．it was impossible to sail to Asia

C．the land he had found was not China or Japan

D．the geographers knew about the land he had found

5．The text implies that _____.

[　　]

A．Columbus never realized the full meaning of his discovery

B．Columbus was disappointed with his voyages

C．there was no way to reach Asia from Europe at that time

D．Columbus found exactly what he had intended to

閱讀理解

　　Columbus made four voyages to the west between 1492 and 1504 in his vain(徒勞的)search for a sea route to Asia. The mystery of why he failed to find it haunted(縈繞心頭的，耿耿于懷的)him and filled him with sadness.

　　Wherever he went to Cuba(古巴), Puerto Rico(波多黎各), Jamaica(牙買加), South America, Panama(巴拿馬), down the coast of Central America--it was always the same story. Instead of golden palaces, there were grass huts and palm-leaf tents. Instead of silk-robed merchant princes, he found“Indians”who did not have so much as a shirt on their backs.

　　When Columbus explored the West Indies in 1493, he heard tales of a fierce Indian tribe(兇狠的印第安部落) who literally devoured(吞食) its defeated enemies after a battle. These people were called by many names in the area, including Calina, Canima, Carib, and Caniba. Columbus recorded the name of the American natives as Canibales in Spanish, a word which came to refer, within a few years, to any eater of human flesh(食人部落, 食人族). In the similar fashion, the word Caribbean, a title for the sea as well as for the region, came into English.

　　At times Columbus knew that this new land was not China, not Japan，not the Spice Islands. He seemed to accept it as a part of the earth that the geographers of Europe had never heard of before. It was another world--and he called it exactly that--but Columbus also insisted until he died that land he had reached was an unknown part of Asia.

1．What is the best title for this text?

[　　]

A．Sailing to Asia

B．Columbus' voyages

C．West Indies

D．Spice Islands

2．In the course of his four voyages, Columbus succeeded in _____.

[　　]

A．finding China and the Spice Islands

B．trading with many merchants

C．visiting several parts of Central and South America

D．sailing to Asia

3．According to this text, Columbus _____.

[　　]

A．sailed to find new lands for the king

B．sailed to find a water route round the world

C．sailed to establish trading ports

D．named the Caribbean which literally means any eater of human flesh

4．Columbus thought that _____.

[　　]

A．others had sailed to Asia before him

B．it was impossible to sail to Asia

C．the land he had found was not China or Japan

D．the geographers knew about the land he had found

5．The text implies that _____.

[　　]

A．Columbus never realized the full meaning of his discovery

B．Columbus was disappointed with his voyages

C．there was no way to reach Asia from Europe at that time

D．Columbus found exactly what he had intended to