Using a simple piece of cloth tied to the top of a post to tell the direction of the wind was more dependable than earlier methods, such as watching the rising of smoke from a fire. The connection of the flag with heavenly power was therefore reasonable. Early human societies began to fix long pieces of cloth to the tops of totems (图腾) before carrying them into battle. They believed that the power of the wind would be added to the good wishes of the gods and ancestors represented by the totems themselves.

These flags developed very slowly into modern flags. The first known flag of a nation or a ruler was unmarked. The king of China around 1000 B.C. was known to have a white flag carried ahead of him. This practice might have been learned from Egyptians even further in the past, but it was from China that it spread over trade routes through India, then across Arab lands, and finally to Europe, where it met up with the other ancestor of the national flag. 41. The best title for the passage would be “________”. A. Development of the National Flag C. Types of Flags

B. Power of the National Flag D. Uses of Flags B. likely to be protected D. difficult to find

42. The underlined word “vulnerable” in Paragraph 3 means ________. A. impossible to make sure of C. easy to be damaged

43. The earliest flags were connected with heavenly power because ________. A. they could tell direction

B. they could bring good luck to ancient fighters C. they were handed down by the ancestors D. they were believed to stand for natural forces 44. What does the author know of the first national flag? A. He knows when it was sent to Europe. B. He believes it was made in Egypt. C. He thinks it came from China. D. He doubts where it started.

45. What will the author most probably talk about next? A. The role of China in the spread of the national flag. B. The second ancestor of the national flag. C. The use of modern flags in Europe. D. The importance of modern flags.

第二节 信息匹配（共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分） 请阅读下列新闻和相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。 首先请阅读下列新闻：

A． “Better road design and training hold the key to cycle safety”, the new Transport Secretary said today as he pledged

to restore Britain s safety record. Patrick McLoughlin told Conservative Party Conference that while cycling was enjoying a post-Olympics boom, the number of casualties among cyclists was also rising. “But the number of accidents has gone up too. That means it needs better design and better education too.” Mr McLoughlin said in his first speech as Transport Secretary.

B. Cycling in the UK will become safer through “sheer weight of numbers,” the founder of one of the world s leading