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一、题文

The second Monday in October in the United States is Columbus Day．It is a federal holiday．The holiday honors the first visit to America by the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus．Columbus thought he could reach the Far East by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe．He was right．But he was also wrong．He thought the world was much smaller than it is．He did not imagine that another continent and another huge ocean lay between Europe and East Asia．Columbus and his crew arrived in October 1492 on an island they called San Salvador，in today"s Bahamas．Columbus believed these were the coastal islands of East Asia，and then called the Indies．That is why he called the people who lived on the islands"Indians．"He refused to accept he was wrong about the geography，even though local plants where he explored were unknown in Europe or Asia，and native people did not understand any languages spoken in the East．Many people have pointed out that Christopher Columbus never recognized where he really landed．Other European explorer．s did land in what is now the United States．But not Columbus．More importantly，some say，Columbus did not"discover"a new world：many native people already lived here．Critics of Columbus Day also strongly object to the holiday because Columbus treated native people cruelly．He imprisoned some of the West Indians，forcing them to serve the Europeans or search for gold．He controlled parts of the population with violence and oppression．In addition，Columbus and his fellow European voyagers forced native people to accept Christianity．And，they brought new diseases that sickened and killed many of the native people．Columbus"arrival in the Caribbean was destructive to the people there．Even though Columbus Day is one of the most doubtful holidays in the U．S．calendar，scholars say the origins of Columbus Day aimed to bring Americans together．In 1892，President Benjamin Harrison called on the country to observe Columbus Day，and to reflect on their achievements in the 400 years since Columbus landed in San Salvador．32．Why did Columbus fail to reach the Far East？___A．He went in the wrong direction of his voyage．B．He lacked enough geographic knowledge．C．Hrs theory proved to be wrong in practice．D．He didn"t have good enough imagination．33．Which of the following best describes Columbus？___A．Cautious．B．Honest．C．Stubborn．D．Modest．34．What does Paragraph 5 mainly talk about？___A．Great harm Columbus brought to the native people．B．Various Changes since Columbus landed there．C．The way how Columbus controlled the native people．D．Conflicts occurring between Columbus and the natives．35．What was the original purpose of creating Columbus Day？___A．To honour the United States．B．To get relaxed from work．C．To unite American people．D．To show progress of America．

二、解答

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