1、More than three hundred years ago, the Russian Czar Peter the Great built a new capital St Petersburg on the Neva River (涅瓦河) in Russia.Peter the Great, like his country, was strong and proud. Many great and beautiful palaces were built during his lifetime.St Petersburg has been the centre of many i
2、mportant events in history.In 1941, the Germans tried to destroy the city.It was under attack for 900 days, but the people of the city never gave in.The Germans burned many of the palaces as they left.St Petersburg was almost in ruins.When the Nazis had gone, the people of St Petersburg began to reb
3、uild the city.It was not easy.Painters and works had to be very careful to save the palaces and buildings without destroying their old beauty.Now after years of hard work, the old palaces have been made as wonderful as in the past.Today Peter the Great on his bronze horse can once again look out ove
4、r the city he built.St Petersburg is legendary for its White Nights：those long summer days when the sun barely dips below the horizon.Revels start in May, when the city finally succumbs to spring and the parks are filled with flowering trees.But even when the skies are grey and the ground is covered
5、 in snow, the rich culture of St Petersburg dazzles and delights.,阅读障碍词1event n事件；大事2destroy vt.破坏；毁坏；消灭3be under attack遭受攻击4give in屈服；让步5in ruins严重受损；破败不堪；成为废墟6beauty n美；美人7bronze n铜；青铜8look out over俯视9revel n狂欢，欢宴10succumb v屈服，屈从；被压垮；死Please match the words with their proper meanings.1civilization
6、A兴建，创建2found B逃跑，逃避3pour C毁坏，摧毁4decorate D装饰5disaster E破坏，毁坏，废墟6destroy F涌流，倒出7commercial G灾难8ruin H文明9flee I商业的，贸易的10remains J剩余物，遗迹答案：15HAFDG610CIEBJAre you familiar with these famous historic sites? Match the following pictures with their names.Athe Summer PalaceBthe Temple of Heaven Cthe Royal M
7、ausoleum of MingDthe Confucius Temple EstonehengeFthe Forbidden City Gthe ruins of YuanmingyuanHthe Taj Mahal Ipyramids答案：15FGIEH69ACDB.Fastreading1Look through the text and then finish the following question.The passage is mainly about a cultural tour to sites_of_lost_civilizations2Summarize the ma
8、in idea of each diary.Diary 1Aa visit to Pompeii cityDiary 2Bthe purpose and destination of the tripDiary 3Cthe discovery of the Loulan kingdomDiary 4Da lecture about Pompeii and the volcanoDiary 5Egeneral information about Loulan答案：Diaries 15BDAEC.Carefulreading()Choose the best answers according t
9、o the text.1Which is the order of the trip route?aItalybPompeiicLoulanAa, b, cBa, c, bCb, a, c Dc, b, a2Loulan is called Chinas Pompeii in the desert because_Aboth of them once had great civilizationsBboth of them once had similar building structuresCthey were both destroyed by volcano eruption Dthe
10、y were both powerful in the ancient past3Which of the following is NOT true about Loulan?AIt was a stopping point on the famous Silk Road.BIt was destroyed by sandstorms gradually.CIt was discovered by the European explorer Sven Hedin more than 100 years ago.DIt wasnt buried completely because of en
11、ormous trees.4Whats the main similarity between Pompeii and Loulan?AThey were buried at the same time.BThey were both wealthy cities 2，000 years ago.CThey were destroyed in the same way.DThey were discovered by explorers.5Walking in the ruins of Pompeii and Loulan, the writer felt _Athankful Bpitifu
12、lCproud Drespectful答案：15AADBB()Fill in each blank with no more than three words.LostcivilizationsLost 1.civilizationsPompeiiLoulanThe time of existingFrom the 8th century BC to AD 792，000 years agoCauses of being 2._destroyedThe volcano 4.eruptedand buried the cityMany people believed it was 7.gradu
13、ally covered over by sandstorms3.RemainsA stone with writing on itSeveral houses 5.with_wall paintingsSeveral houses 5.with_wall paintingsCity walls, palaces, temples, workshops and towersAn ancient water systemFoundersA farmer discovered a stone with writing on it and was 6.preserved and studied by
14、 governmentThe 9.European_explorer Sven Hedin discovered the 10.ruins of the Loulan KingdomLocationIn ItalyOn a stopping point on the famous Silk Road between the East and the West.StudyreadingAnalyze the following difficult sentences in the text.1When I walked around the city, I saw streets just as
15、 they had been, with stepping stones along the road so you did not have to step in the mud on rainy days!句式分析 尝试翻译绕城散步时，我看到街道都仍像过去一样，沿街道铺了阶石，因此在多雨的日子里，你就踩不到泥浆了！2It turns out that after the ash covered the people who failed to flee the city，their bodies nearly completely broke down and disappeared, l
16、eaving empty spaces in the ash.句式分析本句是主从复合句，it是形式主语，真正的主语是由that引导的主语从句。该主语从句中包含一个由after引导的时间状语从句，此状语从句中还含有一个由who引导的定语从句，修饰先行词people。分词短语leaving .in the ash充当结果状语。尝试翻译原来，火山灰覆盖了没能逃离城市的人，他们的身体几乎全部烧化消失了，只留下火山灰里的人形空当。.PostreadingFill in the blanks according to the text.I felt lucky to be picked to repres
17、ent China to go on a cultural expedition to sites of lost civilizations.We visited Pompeii in Italy and Loulan in China.Pompeii was founded in the 8th century BC, then taken_over by the Romans in 89 BC.Later, Pompeii was destroyed by a volcano.It erupted and covered Pompeii with ash.Unfortunately, a
18、ll the people were buried alive.Differently,_Loulan disappeared under the sand.There were just a few ruins left.They both were important commercial cities about 2,000 years ago.what a pity!Lost civilizationsDay 1, 15 JulyI feel lucky to have won a place on this trip. We are in Italy now, and tomorro
19、w we are visiting Pompeii. Next week we are flying to China, and going to Loulan, which is known as Chinas Pompeii in the desert. Both Pompeii and Loulan became lost civilizations long ago.Day 2, 16 JulyThis morning we attended a lecture about Pompeii. The city was founded in the 8th century BC. In
20、89 BC, the Romans took over Pompeii. It then became a rich and busy city. Near the city was a volcano. On 24 August AD 79, the volcano erupted and lava, ash and rocks poured out of it onto the surrounding countryside. It continued to erupt for the next two days. Many people were buried alive, and so
21、 was the city. How unfortunate!Day 3, 17 JulyToday I saw the ancient Roman city of Pompeii as it was 2,000 years ago. How amazing! The city was forgotten for many years until the 18th century when a farmer discovered a stone with writing on it. People started to dig in the area for treasure, which c
22、aused much damage. Thus, in 1860, the area was put under government protection so it could be preserved and studied.When I walked around the city, I saw streets just as they had been, with stepping stones along the road so you did not have to step in the mud on rainy days! I saw several houses which
23、 were decorated with wall paintings. I also saw the people who had been buried alive.It turns out that after the ash covered the people who failed to flee the city, their bodies nearly completely broke down and disappeared, leaving empty spaces in the ash. Years later, researchers were able to use t
24、hese empty spaces to produce truetolife figures of the people who had died in the disaster. You can see them today in Pompeii, in the same places where the people fell. The volcano is still there, but looks very quiet now. Its hard to imagine how this peaceful volcano destroyed the whole city!Day 10
25、, 24 JulyFinally, we arrived in Loulan after several days of travelling. This commercial city was busy and wealthy about 2,000 years ago. It was a stopping point on the famous Silk Road between the East and the West. It is believed to have been gradually covered over by sandstorms from AD 200 to AD
26、400. I am so excited to be here!Day 11, 25 JulyA scholar from the local cultural institute, Professor Zhang, told us that around the year 1900 the European explorer Sven Hedin discovered the ruins of the Loulan Kingdom. Sven found the remains of buildings buried beneath the sand, together with a lot
27、 of treasures, including coins, painted pots, material such as silk, documents and wall paintings. When we went to the city, we saw the city walls, palaces, temples, workshops and towers. We found the ruins most interesting. There was an ancient water system that ran through the middle of the city.
28、The desert was once a green land with huge trees, but they were cut down and that resulted in the city being buried by sand what a pity！失落的文明第1天：7月15日能获得这次旅行的机会，我感到很幸运。我们现在在意大利，明天将参观庞贝。下周我们将飞往中国去楼兰，那是沙漠中的一座被誉为“中国庞贝”的古城。庞贝和楼兰都是很久以前已成为失落的文明。第2天：7月16日今天上午我们参加了一个关于庞贝的讲座。该城建于公元前8世纪。公元前89年，罗马人占领了庞贝。此后，庞贝成
29、了一个富庶而繁忙的城市。离该城不远处有一座火山。公元79年8月24日，该火山突然喷发，熔岩、火山灰和岩石从火山里喷射到周边的乡村。接下来的两天里，火山持续喷发。很多人都被活埋了，整座城市也被掩埋了。多么不幸啊！第3天：7月17日今天，我看到了罗马古城庞贝，它就跟两千年前一模一样。真是令人称奇啊！这座城市被世人遗忘了很多年，直到18世纪一个农夫偶然发现了一块写有文字的石头。人们开始在这个地区挖掘金银财宝，这对遗址造成了很大的破坏。于是，1860年这个地区被政府保护起来，因此它才能够被保存和研究。走在古城中，我看到原样保存下来的街道，上面铺满了垫脚石，这样，下雨天你就不用踩着泥了！我看见了几间装饰
30、着壁画的房子。我还看到了一些被活埋的人。这证明了在火山灰掩埋了那些没能够逃离城市的人之后，这些人的尸体几乎完全分解并消失了，只在火山灰中留下一些人形空当。多年后，研究者能够利用这些人形空当制作出在灾难中死去的人们的逼真模型。今天，在庞贝，在他们沉下去的同一个地方，你可以见到他们。如今，火山依然耸立在那里，但看上去非常平静。真的很难想象这样一座平静的火山如何毁灭了整座城市！第10天：7月24日经过数日的旅行，我们终于来到了楼兰。大约两千年前，这座商业城市繁忙而富庶。当时它是连接东西方著名的丝绸之路上的一个歇脚点。很多人相信，它是在公元200年至公元400年间被风沙渐渐覆盖的。能够来到这里我好兴奋！第11天：7月25日当地文化研究所的学者张教授告诉我们，大约在1900年欧洲探险家斯文海定发现了楼兰王国的遗址。斯文发现了埋藏在沙子下面的建筑物遗迹，以及很多珍品，包括钱币，彩绘罐，材料如丝绸、文献和壁画。我们走进楼兰古城，看到了城墙、宫殿、寺庙、作坊和塔楼。我们发现楼兰遗址极其有趣。有一条古老的供水系统贯穿市中心。这片沙漠曾是一块长着参天大树的绿色土地，但是它们被砍倒了，并且这也导致了这座城市被风沙覆盖多么遗憾啊！