“I left Tangier, my birthplace, the 13th of June 1325 with the intention of making the pilgrimage ¹ [ to Mecca]... to leave all my friends both female and male, to abandon my home as birds abandon their nests. ” So begins an old manuscript in a library in Paris—the travel journal of Ibn Battuta.

    Almost two centuries beforeColumbus, this young Moroccan set off forMecca, returning home three decades later as one of history"s great travelers. Driven by curiosity, he journeyed to remote comers of the Islamic world, traveling through 44 modem countries, three times as far as Marco Polo. Little celebrated in the West 2, his name is well known among Arabs. In his hometown of Tangier, a square, a hotel, a cafe, a ferry boat, and even a hamburger are named after him.

    Ibn Battuta stayed inMeccaas a student for several years, but the urge to travel soon took over. In one adventure, he traveled toIndiaseeking profitable employment with the Sultan of Delhi. 3 On the way, he described his group being attacked in the open country by 80 men on foot, and two horsemen：“we fought ... killing one of their horsemen and about twelve of the foot soldiers ….I was hit by an arrow and my horse by another, but God in his grace preserved me .... We carried the heads of the slain to thecastleofAbu Bak, har ... and suspended them from the wall. ” InDelhi, the sultan gave him the position of judge, based on his prior study atMecca. But the sultan had an unpredictable character, and Ibn Battuta looked for an opportunity to leave. When the sultan offered to finance a trip toChina, he agreed. Ibn Battuta set off in three ships, but misfortune struck while he was still on the shore. A sudden storm grounded and broke up two ships, scattering treasure and drowning many people and horses. As he watched, the third ship, with all his belongings and slaves一one carrying his child—was carried out to sea and never heard from again.

    After a lifetime of incredible adventures, Ibn Battuta was finally ordered by the Sultan of Morocco to return home to share his wisdom with the world. Fortunately, he consented and wrote a book that has been translated into numerous languages, allowing people everywhere to read about his unparalleled journeys.

词汇：

 pilgrimage /"pilgrimidʒ/ n．朝圣，远游

ferry /"feri/ n．渡船

sultan /"sʌltən/ n．苏丹（yī sī lán jiāo 国王，某些伊斯兰国家统治者的称号）

suspend /sə"spend/ vt．吊，挂；暂停

finance /fai"næns/ v．给…提供资金

scatter /"skætə/ vt．撒播，驱散；vi．消散

consent /kən"sent/ vi．同意，赞成

slain: slay的过去分词slay/"slei/ v．杀死，杀戮

unparalleled /ʌn"pærəleld/ adj．无比的，空前的，绝无仅有的

the open country野外

foot soldier 步兵

注释：

1.    …with the intention of making the pilgrimage ..．……打算去朝圣……

2.    Little celebrated in the West,…虽然在西方社会不怎么知名，……

3.    …seeking profitable employment with the Sultan of Delhi.……在德里的苏丹王那里谋到了一份收人颇丰的工作。

The Sultan of Delhigave Ibn Battuta a position of judge because________.

A:the sultan needed a translator B:Ibn Battuta had been a judge before C:Ibn Battuta had studied in Mecca D:Ibn Battuta had traveled to many countries

What is your favorite color Do you like yellow, orange, red If you do, you must be an optimist, a leader, an active person who enjoys life, people and excitement. Do you prefer grays and blues Then you are probably quiet, shy, and you would rather follow than lead. You tend to be a pessimist (悲观主义者). This is what psychologists tell us. They tell us, among other facts, that we don’t choose our favorite color as we grow up—we are born with our preference. If you happen to love brown, you did so as soon as you opened your eyes, or at least as soon as you could see clearly.
Colors do influence our moods; there is no doubt about it. A yellow room makes most people feel more cheerful and more relaxed than a dark green one. On the other hand, black is depressing. A black bridge over the Thames River, near London, used to be the scene of more suicides than any other bridge in the area—until it was repainted green. The number of suicide attempts immediately fell sharply; perhaps it would have fallen even more if the bridge had been done in pink or baby blue.
We often associate a particular color with a piece of music, a book, a play, a person, a number, or a letter. Doesn’t look red and yellow At the beginning of this century a French poet wrote that for him the letter A was always black; E was white, I red, O blue, and U green. For someone else, U might be deep purple or lemon yellow. A tragic (悲观的) story makes you think of black, red, and gold, while love stories vary from red to pink—or may be light blue And why did the black American composers of sad jazz music call the songs "blues"
Remember, then, that if you feel low, you can always brighten your day—or your life—with a new shirt or a few cans of paint. And don’t forget that anyone can guess a lot about your personality when you choose a pair of socks or a lampshade.

A:the bridge over the Thames River was repainted pink B:the bridge over the Thames River was repainted green C:the bridge over the Thames River had been repainted baby blue D:the bridge over the Thames River had been repainted black

The little girl grasped her mother’s arm as she crossed the street.

A:understood B:had a hold over C:took hold of D:left hold of

The little girl grasped her mother's arm as she crossed the street.

A:understood B:had a hold over C:took hold of D:left hold of

The little girl {{U}}grasped{{/U}} her mother's arm as she crossed the street.

A:understood B:had a hold over C:took hold of D:left hold of

The little gift {{U}}grasped{{/U}} her mother's arm as she crossed the street.

A:understood B:had a hold over C:took hold of D:left hold of

The little girl {{U}}grasped{{/U}} her mother's arm as she crossed the street.

A:understood B:had a hold over C:took hold of D:left hold of