Ⅰ. Readings
Reading 1 The Maritime Silk Road 
Directions： There is one passage in this reading followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice.
The maritime Silk Road was a conduit for trade and cultural exchange between China’s south-eastern coastal areas and foreign countries. There were two major routes: the East China Sea Silk Route and the South China Sea Silk Route. Through the maritime Silk Road, silks, china, tea, brass and iron were the four main categories exported to foreign countries; while spices, flowers and plants, and rare treasures for the court were brought to China. Therefore, the maritime Silk Road was also known as “the maritime China road” or “the maritime spices road”.
The South China Sea Silk Route was an important conduit for China’s exchanges with the outside world. The South China Sea Silk Route got its name for being centered around the South China Sea, and its starting points at that time were mainly in Guangzhou, Quanzhou and Ningbo.
Like the East China Sea Silk Route, the South China Sea Silk Route was first used in the Qin and Han dynasties, increased its popularity from the Three Kingdoms Period1 to the Sui Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song dynasties, and began to wane in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Before the Sui Dynasty, the maritime Silk Road was the most famous transportation route since the overland Silk Road run, and then the maritime Silk Road became a secondary alternative to it. During the period of the Sui and Tang dynasties, the overland Silk Road was interrupted by wars in the western areas, giving place to the maritime Silk Road. In the late Tang and Song dynasties, technological advances in shipbuilding and navigation led to the opening of new sea lanes to Southeast Asia, Malacca, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and the continent of Africa, which made the maritime Silk Road rise again.
Guangzhou was a great harbor on the maritime Silk Road from the 330s which became the largest one and the oriental port known to the rest of the world in the Tang and Song dynasties. During that period, the voyage route from Guangzhou to the Persian Gulf2 through the South China Sea, Indian Ocean, was the longest one in the world. Although it was later substituted by Quanzhou in the Yuan Dynasty, it was still the second largest trade port in China. Compared with other seaports, Guangzhou was thought to be an enduringly prosperous one over the 2,000 years of the maritime Silk Road. Even in periods of the early Ming and early Qing dynasties, Guangzhou was the only harbor open to foreign countries, and there were three voyage routes starting from it. The American vessel Empress of China first sailed to Guangzhou in 1784, opening the transportation route between America and Guangzhou.
The sites of the maritime Silk Road are applying for World Cultural Heritage status, which is supported by the Guangdong government.
Exercise
1. What were the exports transported along the Maritime Silk Road?
A） Iron， currency， compass and gunpowder.
B） Spices， flowers and plants， and rare treasures for the court.
C） Silks， china， tea， brass and iron.
D） Paper making， gunpowder， printing techniques and the compass.
2. What does the underlined word “conduit” in Para.1 probably mean according to the passage?
A） A method or system that people use to get information， to communicate， or to send things somewhere.
B） A deep passage of water in a river or near the coast that can be used as a route for ships.
C） An organization that is used to pass things or information to other people or places.
D） A pipe， channel or tube which liquid， gas or electrical wire can pass through.
3. Why did the maritime Silk Road replace the overland Silk Road during the Sui and Tang dynasties?
A） Because of the natural disaster in the country.
B） Because of technological advances in shipbuilding and navigation.
C） Because of the development of economy in the Sui and Tang dynasties.
D） Because of the war in the western regions.
4. Which of the following statements is FALSE according to the passage?
A） Guangzhou became the largest port in the world and the Eastern port during the Tang and Song dynasties.
B） Guangzhou was the largest trading port in China during the Yuan Dynasty.
C） Guangzhou has been an important port on the Maritime Silk Road from the 330s.
D） Guangzhou has been regarded as an enduring and prosperous seaport of the Maritime Silk Road for more than 2，000 years.
5. What can we infer from the passage?
A） Guangzhou is one of the birthplaces of the Maritime Silk Road.
B） The South China Sea Silk Route is more important than the East China Sea Silk Route.(https://www.daowen.com)
C） An American ship sailed to Guangzhou for the first time and opened the first transportation route between China and the foreign countries.
D） The sites of the Maritime Silk Road are in Guangzhou.
Glossary
1. heritage: /'herɪtɪdʒ/ n. the history, traditions and qualities that a country or society has had for many years and that are considered an important part of its character 遗产（指一个国家或社会长期以来形成的历史、传统和特色）
2. maritime: /ˈmærɪˌtaɪm/ adj. connected with the sea or ships 海的；海事的；海运的
3. oriental: /ˌɔːriˈent(ə)l / adj. connected with or typical of the eastern part of the world, especially China and Japan, and the people who live there 东方（尤指中国和日本）的；东方人的
4. prosperous: /ˈprɒsp(ə)rəs / adj. rich and successful 繁荣的；成功的；兴旺的
Culture Notes
1. Three Kingdoms Period 三国时期（公元220年—280年）
As the name suggests, the Three Kingdoms Period (220 A.D.-280 A.D.) was composed of three kingdoms—the Kingdoms of Shu, Wei and Wu. As a single era in Chinese history, the Three Kingdoms Period started when the Kingdom of Wei took the power from the Han Dynasty and ended in 280 A.D. when the Kingdom of Wu was defeated by rulers of the Jin—a new dynasty. This period is regarded as a significant historical period filled with wars between the three Kingdoms, leading to the development of advanced military strategies, some of which are still used in modern warfare.
2. Persian Gulf 波斯湾
Persian Gulf is a shallow marginal sea of the Indian Ocean that lies between the Arabian Peninsula and southwestern Iran. The sea has an area of about 93,000 square miles (241,000 square km). Its length is some 615 miles (990 km), and its width varies from a maximum of about 210 miles (340 km) to a minimum of 35 miles (55 km) in the Strait of Hormuz. It is bordered on the north, northeast, and east by Iran; on the southeast and south by part of Oman and by the United Arab Emirates; on the southwest and west by Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia; and on the northwest by Kuwait and Iraq.
Reading 2 Transport to Play a Key Role
in the Greater Bay Area 
Directions： In this reading, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.
Transport was a priority when the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area1 was (1) in 2019, with the word appearing 29 times in its 60 pages. China expects the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to unleash more potential by promoting and improving infrastructure connectivity between the cities. According to the Plan, it will become a world-class bay area with innovation as its main support before 2035. The world-class standard (2) at transportation is to achieve a one-hour living circle2 in the Bay Area.
According to the timetable, half the projects, (3) a distance of 337 km, were started in 2022. The rest will be developed before 2035, when the Bay Area is expected to have a railway network of 5,700 km covering all its cities and counties. It now has more than 1,200 km of high-speed railway line, with the (4) between Guangzhou, Guangdong’s provincial capital, and Hong Kong shortened to one hour in 2018 after the Guangzhou-Hong Kong High-Speed Railway opened. Given that some cities are on (5) sides of the Pearl River3, which empties into the South China Sea, bridges are a vital factor in the successful completion of the one-hour living circle.
Before the Plan was introduced, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge mega project was completed and put into use in 2018. (6) of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel and four artificial islands, the bridge reduced the travel time between Hong Kong, Macao and Zhuhai to just 30 minutes. A similar approach is planned to overcome (7) constraints hindering travel between Zhongshan, on the west bank of the river, and Shenzhen, a vibrant special economic zone on the opposite bank, which (8) necessitate a detour to the north. The travel time between Shenzhen and Zhongshan will be reduced to 20 minutes after the Shenzhong Link is completed in 2024.
The building of a world-class airport (9) is also part of the Plan. Guangzhou’s Baiyun International Airport was the world’s busiest airport last year, welcoming over 42.7 million passengers. That saw it (10) Atlanta Airport in the US to become the world’s No. 1 airport in terms of passenger traffic.
Glossary
1. constraint: /kənˈstreɪnt / n. a thing that limits or restricts sth., or your freedom to do sth. 限制；限定；约束
2. infrastructure: /ˈɪnfrəˌstrʌktʃə(r) / n. the basic systems and services that are necessary for a country or an organization to run smoothly, for example, buildings, transport and water and power supplies （国家或机构的）基础设施；基础建设
3. necessitate: /nəˈsesɪteɪt / v. to make sth. necessary 使成为必要
4. vibrant: /ˈvaɪbrənt / adj. full of life and energy; very bright and strong 充满生机的；生气勃勃的
Culture Notes
1. Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) 粤港澳大湾区
The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area) comprises the two Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao, and the nine municipalities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing in Guangdong Province. The total area is around 56,000 km2. Based on the latest figures provided by Guangdong Province, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (SARG) and the Macao SARG, the total population in the Greater Bay Area is over 86 million and the GDP is over RMB13 trillion in 2022.
2. one-hour living circle 一小时生活圈
As a rising land of opportunities, the Greater Bay Area promises innovation-driven development, economic reform and, most importantly, an ideal network for living, working and traveling. Joining the many cities in the Greater Bay Area are cross-boundary infrastructures that contribute to a “one-hour living circle”, where every destination in the ecosystem is accessible within an hour of commute.
3. Pearl River 珠江
The Pearl River has a length of more than 2,000 kilometers (about 1,243 miles) and is the third longest river in China. It is composed of four separate river systems: the Xijiang River, the Liuxi River, the Beijiang River, and the Dongjiang River. These four rivers join up in Guangzhou, flow for about 70 kilometers (43.5 miles), and then pour into the South China Sea. The section flowing through Guangzhou City is the “Pearl River” that most people are familiar with. In ancient times, it was called “The Pearl Sea” for its 2,000-meter-wide (about 2,187 yards) channel. Later, the channel gradually shrunk, and now it is only 180 meters wide (about 197 yards). Its name is said to derive from a huge boulder in the river bed. This rock, with the name of “Sea Pearl”, is so round and smooth that it looks like a large, shining pearl.