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Passage 1

It is hard to imagine life without Arabic numbers. No other number system ever invented has a simple way to write a number like 1984. In Roman numeral, it comes out like this MCMLXXXIV. Imagine how difficult it would be for a school pupil to remember it!

The Arabs, however, call their numbers “Indian numerals”. This is probably because they got the original idea a long time ago from India. There were no printed newspapers or scientific magazine then, so mathematics traveled along the same routes that silk did, as businessmen sold and bought goods. The Arabs took the new numbers and made improvements that quickly led to advances in technology.

The achievement of Arabic technology can be seen from a passage in a 10th-century book about an Arabic city: “The neighboring country showed the results of careful work in agriculture, trade, and industry. Rice and many other plants were grown in fields with water supplied by Arab engineers. The city included 900 public baths, stone-covered streets, fountains, and beautiful buildings.” At this time, London was a small town with dirty streets, and Berlin was a farming village. In fact, cities outside the Arab world did not reach the same level of social development until centuries later.

21.This passage tells us that the Arabs were a people _______.

A. inventing Roman numerals

B. having advanced technology long ago

C. growing corn and many other plants then

D. supplying other countries with colorful silk

22.It takes much more efforts to ______.

A. learn Roman numerals than Arab numerals

B. introduce numerals through printed materials

C. make great use of silk roads

D. teach businessmen numerals

23.The Arabs call their numerals “Indian numerals” because _______.

A. the numerals are mainly used in China

B. they copied numerals from Indians

C. Arabic numerals were first used by Indian businessmen

D. they got some ideas about number from the ancient Indians

24.According to the passage, the Arab people ______.

A. did business with the Indians

B. learned some ideas about business from Indians

C. built public baths in London in the 10th century

D. traveled a long way to learn mathematics in Rome

25.From a 10th-century book, we can learn that ______.

A. Berlin was formerly a dirty with sufficient rice and plants

B. London was under the rule of the Romans in the 10th century

C. the Arab world was more advanced than other countries around

D. London chiefly developed industry ten centuries ago