单选题 Passage Two Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage. The Silk Roads Human beings have always moved from place to place and traded with their neighbors, exchanging goods, skills and ideas. Throughout history, Eurasia (欧亚大陆) was crisscrossed (纵横交错的) with communication routes and paths of trade, which gradually linked up to form what are known today as the Silk Roads; routes across both land and sea, along which silk and many other goods were exchanged between people from across the world. Silk is a textile of ancient Chinese origin, woven from the protein fibre produced by the silkworm to make its cocoon (蚕茧), and was developed, according to Chinese tradition, sometime around the year 2700 BC. Regarded as an extremely high value product, it was reserved for the exclusive usage of the Chinese imperial court for the making of cloths, drapes, banners, and other items of prestige. Its production was kept a fiercely guarded secret within China for some 3,000 years, with imperial decrees sentencing to death anyone who revealed to a foreigner the process of its production. Tombs in the Hubei province dating from the 4th and 3rd centuries BC contain outstanding examples of silk work, including brocade (锦缎), gauze (薄纱) and embroidered silk, and the first complete silk garments. The Chinese monopoly on silk production, however, did not mean that the product was restricted to the Chinese Empire—on the contrary, silk was used as a diplomatic gift, and was also traded extensively, first of all with China's immediate neighbors, and subsequently faraway countries, becoming one of China's chief exports under the Han dynasty (206 BC—220 AD). Indeed, Chinese cloths from this period have been found in Egypt, northern Mongolia, and elsewhere. At some point during the 1st century BC, silk was introduced to the Roman Empire, where it was considered an exotic luxury and became extremely popular, with imperial edicts (法令) being issued to control prices. Its popularity continued throughout the Middle Ages, with detailed Byzantine regulations for the manufacture of silk clothes, illustrating its importance as a royal fabric and an important source of revenue for the crown. Additionally, the needs of the Byzantine Church for silk garments and hangings were substantial. This luxury item was thus one of the early impetuses in the development of trading routes from Europe to the Far East. Knowledge about silk production was very valuable and, despite the efforts of the Chinese emperor to keep it a closely guarded secret, it did eventually spread beyond China, first to India and Japan, then to the Persian Empire and finally to the west in the 6th century AD. This was described by the historian Procopius in his writings in the 6th century. New Words 1. exclusive: adj. limited to only one person or group of people e.g. This room is for the exclusive use of guests. 2. monopoly: n. (an organization or group that has) complete control of something, especially an area of business, so that others have no share e.g. For years Bell Telephone had a monopoly on telephone services in the United States. 3. revenue: n. the income that a government or company receives regularly e.g. They need to restructure the tax system to collect more revenue. Phrases and Expressions 1. be crisscrossed with 纵横交错 2. imperial court 朝廷,宫廷 According to the first paragraph, the Silk Roads are _______________