Unit 5 Into the unknown

Section Ⅰ Starting out & Understanding ideas

基础训练

单词拼写 根据首字母或汉语提示，用本部分所学单词的正确形式填空。

1.Landing on Mars may inspire more people to learn about science and a .

2.My brother b himself in his studies when in high school and as a result he entered his ideal university.

3.A c is a human society with its own social organisation and culture.

4.Those suggestions shouldn’t be d without thinking about them.

5.The two （运河） have proved useful to the county in many ways.

6.One dead man was found in the （废墟） almost two hours after the explosion.

7. （离弃） a child under two years old is a crime.

8.The remarkable （扩大） of public high schools from 1900 to 1920 was very important.

选择填空 用方框中所给短语的适当形式填空。

all the more at one’s peak correspond to fall into ruin on top of

1.A large number of churches after the earthquake.

2.The wing of a bird the arm of a man.

3.Jenny likes the book for its beautiful illustrations.

4.As we know， the Tang Dynasty was in the early 8th century.

5. it being dark， it rained， which made the going even difficult.

课文语法填空

Intrigued by Maya civilisation from a very young age， 15-year-old Canadian William Gadoury thought he had made an incredible 1 （discover） from his study of ancient star charts. Through comparison， he found that the locations of the 117 known Maya cities correspond to the positions of the stars. Based on this， he believed he had spotted an unknown Maya city 2 （bury） deep in the jungle. Although his theory has been dismissed by scholars， it shows 3 powerful the secrets of Ancient Maya civilisation are among people.

It isn’t difficult to see why. Extending south from parts of what we now know as Mexico into Central America， Maya civilisation 4 （surround） by mystery since its rediscovery in the 19th century. The Maya built 5 （impress） palaces and temples， 6 （include） their representative step pyramids. What is most extraordinary about these complex structures is how they were built

7 the use of wheels， metal tools or even animal power. The Maya’s understanding of mathematics and astronomy was also quite amazing. They applied this understanding to the Maya calendar， which was accurate to within 30 seconds per year. On top of all this was 8 achievement unique in the Americas at that time： a true writing system. It contained more than 800 characters， with some signs representing animals， people and objects and others representing 9 （syllable）. It was a writing system so complicated that， so far， no one has been able 10 （interpret） it completely.

1.   2.   3.   4.   5.

6.   7.   8.   9.   10.

阅读理解

The Mayan Indians lived in Mexico for thousands of years. The Maya were so bright that they achieved a lot. They had farms， temples and cities with many buildings. They knew much about nature and the world around them. This knowledge helped them to live a better life than most people of that time.

In ancient Mexico there were many small clearings （林中空地） in the forest. In each clearing was a village with fields of crops around it. The Maya planted seeds after they cleared the land. A farmer was able to grow crops that produced for several people. But not every Maya had to be a farmer. Some were builders or priests.

The Maya believed in many gods. They built large temples to honor them. Skillful workers built cities around these temples. It was difficult because they had to carry all of the building materials themselves. Today， many of these ancient Mayan cities and temples are still standing.

Although the Maya worked hard to build the beautiful cities， very few of them lived in them. Usually， only the priests lived in the cities. The other people lived in small villages in the forests. Their houses were much simpler. Most Maya lived a simple life close to nature.

Around the year 800， the Maya left their villages and beautiful cities， never to return. No one knows why this happened. They may have died from a deadly disease. They may have left because the soil could no longer grow crops. The lost secrets of the Maya are still beyond the reach of modern people. They are still one of our greatest mysteries.

1. Why did the Maya live better than most people of their times？

A. They had skillful workers. B. They believed in many gods.

C. They knew well about nature. D. They could measure time correctly.

2. What can be inferred about the ancient Mayan people？

A. They seldom respect the priests. B. They died out from a serious disease.

C. They led a happy life in the cities. D. They were good at building cities and temples.

3. What does the underlined word “They” in the last paragraph refer to？

A. The Mayan cities. B. The Mayan people.

C. The villages of the Maya. D. The lost secrets of the Maya.

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

A. The Mysterious Maya C. The Ancient Mexico

C. The Incredible Belief D. The Odd Buildings