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There are four great inventions in Chinese history. What are they? They are the compass, gunpowder, paper, and printing technology. Since ancient times, they have made people’s lives easier around the world with a great many of other inventions.

Compass

Before the compass was invented, people had to look at the sun, moon, and stars to look for directions. The ancient Chinese also used magnetic (磁的) rocks to decide north and south. This way was later included into the invention of the compass.

Gunpowder

The Chinese first used gunpowder to make explosives (炸药) used by the military in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The Chinese invented cannons (大炮) made of cast iron, cast iron landmines (地雷), and rockets, and gunpowder was used to make bamboo fireworks in the Song Dynasty.

Paper

The first type of paper was made of hemp, rag, and fishing net. This coarse paper was created in the Western Han Dynasty but it was too hard to write on so it wasn’t widely used. Cai Lun, a eunuch (太监) in the Eastern Han Dynasty court, invented a fine, white paper made of bark, hemp, cloth, and fishing net that could easily be written on.

Woodblock Printing

During the Tang Dynasty, ancient Chinese people, who made beautiful things by hand, came up with a creative way to largely produce printed works. There came the first type of woodblock printing. It put human civilization forward.

1.The four great inventions help people live ______.

A more difficultly

B more easily

C more expensively

D more traditionally

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据第一段最后一句的“they have made people’s lives easier around the world”可知，四大发明让人们的生活变得更容易。故选B。

2.What does the underlined word “directions” mean in Chinese?

A 方向.

B 路线.

C 发明.

D 罗盘.

解析：选A。A 词义猜测题。根据划线单词后文的“to decide north and south”可知，古代中国人用太阳、月亮或者星星来寻找方向，也用磁石来寻找方向。故选A。

3.Fireworks have something to do with _______.

A compass

B gunpowder

C paper

D woodblock printing

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据第三段中的“gunpowder was used to make bamboo fireworks in the Song Dynasty”可知，在宋朝，火药被用来制作烟花爆竹，即烟花和火药有关。故选B。

4.The widely used paper was invented ______.

A in the Song Dynasty

B in the Western Han Dynasty

C in the Tang Dynasty

D in the Eastern Han Dynasty

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据倒数第二段中的“Cai Lun, a eunuch in the Eastern Han Dynasty court, invented a fine, white paper made of bark, hemp, cloth, and fishing net that could easily be written on.”可知，东汉的蔡伦发明了一种纸，该纸被广泛应用。故选D。

5.Who thought of the idea of woodblock printing?

A 牧羊人.

B 陶艺家.

C 手艺人.

D 航海家.

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。根据最后一段中的“ancient Chinese people, who made beautiful things by hand, came up with a creative way to largely produce printed works”中国古代的人们用手工制作美丽的东西，他们想出了一种创造性的方法来大量生产印刷品。即古代的手艺人们想出了木活字印刷的主意。故选C。