Archaeologists in Germany have uncovered some of the earliest evidence of the use of clothing, with newly discovered cut marks on a cave bear’s paws suggesting the prehistoric animal was skinned for its fur some 300,000 years ago.
The discovery in Schöningen, northern Germany, is exciting because despite the written records of cave men and women covered in fur in some popular cultures, very little is truly known about how early humans clothed their bodies. Fur, leather and other organic materials typically can’t be preserved beyond 100,000 years.
“The study is significant because direct evidence of prehistoric clothing is scant and we know relatively little about how humans in the deep past were protecting themselves from cold winters. From this early time period, there are only a handful of sites that show evidence of bear skinning, with Schöningen providing the most complete picture,” said study author Ivo Verheijen from Tübingen University in Germany.
Cave bears were large animals, about the size of polar bears, that went extinct about 25,000 years ago. The cave bear’s fur, which has long outer hairs that form an airy protective layer, and short, dense hairs that provide good insulation (隔离), was suitable for making simple clothing or bedding.
The clothing in the site probably wrapped the human body without careful tailoring. The eyed needles needed to sew more excellent designs didn’t emerge in the archaeological record until about 45,000 years ago.
“We found the cut marks on the cave bear’s hands and feet where very little meat or fat is present on the bones, which argues against the cut marks originating from the butchering of the animal,” Verheijen said. “In these locations, the skin is much closer to the bones, which makes marking the bones inevitable when an animal is being skinned.”
The Schöningen site in Germany is most famous for the discovery of the oldest known wooden weapons that were used to kill prey 300,000 years ago.
But it’s still challenging to figure out exactly when ancient humans began wearing clothing. Genetic studies of lice (跳蚤) indicate that clothing lice separated from their human head louse ancestors at least 83,000 years ago and possibly as early as 170,000 years ago, which suggests humans were wearing clothes before major migrations out of Africa. Bone tools found in what’s now Morocco suggest that humans were processing animal skins 90,000 to 120,000 years ago.
1. What did archaeologists find in Schöningen?| A．Fur of a cave bear. | B．Bones with cut marks. |
| C．Pieces of prehistoric clothing. | D．Evidence of prehistoric hunting. |
| A．Not correct. | B．Not very much. |
| C．Not valuable. | D．Not clear enough. |
| A．To give an explanation. | B．To provide some examples. |
| C．To offer more details of the study. | D．To show the importance of the study. |
| A．Previous studies on human clothing. |
| B．The process of studying human clothing. |
| C．Other new discoveries of human clothing. |
| D．An unsolved mystery about human clothing. |
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【推荐1】Morpho butterflies are some of the most beautiful butterflies in the world, thanks to their shining blue wings. Now, a new material inspired by butterfly wings was developed by researchers from Shenzhen University in China. This material, a type of colored film, can help keep the objects it is attached to cooler than the temperature around it.
The problem of color and the absorption of heat has troubled scientists for centuries. Any object that contains color will heat up faster. This somewhat complex issue has implications for a surprising number of real-world issues. In buildings, large amounts of energy are used for cooling and running the air conditioner in electric cars can greatly reduce the driving range.
In order to create a material that could avoid these issues, Dr. Wanlin Wang and his team looked to nature for inspiration, as is often the case in science research. Specifically, they looked at the Morpho butterfly. According to New Scientist, the wings of this brilliantly blue butterfly are made of nanoparticles (纳米级颗粒) arranged in a particular way that bend and bounce lightwaves to create color as opposed to absorbing them. This allows them to keep cool.
Wang and his team are not the first team to create materials that allow for passive cooling using the properties of light; however, they are the first to do so in color. All other materials have been white or clear, while the new film comes in bright blue, yellow and red.
In order to test their new material, Wang and his team placed sheets of film in various colors on cars, clothing, cell phones, and roofs, from 9am to 4pm, both in winter and summer. They discovered that the films were more than 59∘ F cooler in the winter and 95∘F cooler in the summer.
Their hope is that eventually this type of film will be used to cover electric cars, but intruth the possibilities are endless: stained glass windows that keep skyscrapers cool, self-cooling camping tents, cool-looking computers that don’t overheat, etc. All of these mayone day be a reality thanks to the beautiful morpho butterfly.
1. What is stressed in paragraph 2?| A．The complexity of cooling down buildings. |
| B．The necessity of creating new cooling materials. |
| C．The principles of color and heat absorption. |
| D．The applications of the recently developed film. |
| A．Its unique shape. |
| B．The property of light waves. |
| C．Its brilliant color. |
| D．The nanostructure of its wings. |
| A．It pioneers passive cooling. | B．It is a colored cooling material. |
| C．Its size varies with temperature. | D．Its creation is inspired by nature. |
| A．Uncertain. |
| B．Discouraging |
| C．Promising. |
| D．Risky. |
【推荐2】Back in April 1939 and armed with $5,000 provided by the Rockefeller Foundation, Columbia University Teachers College professor Frank Cyr took a tour of ten states to make a research about school transportation problems. What he found was that many students had no dependable way to get to school and the ones who did often traveled in unsafe buses in the over 100,000 school areas.
Seeing a need to fix this problem, Cyr organized a meeting- one that would change the future of school buses forever. School officials and transportation experts met to set much-needed standards for buses, including those for color, height and width as well as safety rules that hadn’t been set before or that were different in every state.
There were many different bus colors in the US before this meeting; several areas even planned to have red, white and blue buses as a way of encouraging students to love their country. Cyr presented his new choices to education officials, a reported “50 shades(色度) changing from lemon yellow to deep orange-red”. The matter was settled quickly. Yellow, or “National School Bus Glossy Yellow”, was chosen because it was quite striking, making the school bus easy to be seen. Besides, it made the bold(黑体的), black writing on the side of each bus clear. (The bold, black writing gives information about each school area, telling students which school bus they could take during early morning and late afternoon hours.) Thirty-five states made the changes quickly, and every state was on board by 1974.
Being recognized as the “father of the yellow school bus”, Frank Cyr has surely influenced your life if you ever rode a school bus or saw that noticeable color pulling up to your stop on a dusky morning.
1. What did Frank Cyr find about the school buses in the US?| A．Funny. | B．Surprising. |
| C．Disappointing. | D．Reliable. |
| A．Who attended the meeting. | B．Why the meeting was held. |
| C．What was settled in the meeting. | D．What was discussed in the meeting. |
| A．Soft. | B．Bright. |
| C．Natural. | D．Beautiful. |
| A．Why school buses in the US are yellow. |
| B．How school buses developed in the US. |
| C．How students in the US recognized school buses. |
| D．Why there are school buses for students in the US. |
【推荐3】“Volunteering makes you look at the world differently. You see how little things can change a person’s life for the better, which makes everyone a better person.” Mason, a volunteer said.
National Volunteer Week started in 1974 and is held every April. It is a time to thank volunteers for their achievements. It is also a perfect opportunity to encourage others to take their first step to becoming a volunteer. Making the decision to take the first step can be the biggest problem, because they often wonder if they will be able to meet the organisation’s expections. Some people fear not knowing anyone else in the group. Not having enough time also prevents some from sharing their abilities.
The following tips can help if you have some of these worries.
●Start out slowly, don’t add too much pressure. Even a few hours a month can make a big difference in someone’s life.
●Choose an organization with the same interests and common values.
●Take part in a training meeting for new volunteers, even if it is not asked.
●Work with a veteran volunteer. He volunteered a lot, he can help you increase the confidence and completely understand the organisation’s expections.
●Invite a friend or family member to serve. It is a good experience to volunteer with them.
●Finally, it is most important to enjoy the volunteer experience and to remember that not all volunteer experiences are perfect. If one experience doesn’t work, don’t give up and you’ll surely find the right opportunity.
Spend some time on volunteer work and you will see great changes in people’s lives. As Mason discovered during his volunteer experience, “…little things can change a person’s life.”
1. Volunteering can help______.| A．make a decision | B．make a person’s life better |
| C．thank other people | D．see the world clearly |
| A．They don’t have enough time. | B．They are prevented by their families. |
| C．They fear their abilities are shared. | D．They don’t expect to become volunteers. |
| A．Start out quickly. | B．Organize a training meeting. |
| C．Invite a friend to be with them. | D．Join in a group with different values. |
| A．To tell people to make changes in their lives. |
| B．To encourage people to start their volunteering. |
| C．How to make great achievements in volunteering. |
| D．How to keep on volunteering whatever happened. |
The latest and most surprising discovery is pieces of silk found in the hair of an Egyptian mummy from about 1000 BC, long before regular traffic on the Silk Road and at least one thousand years before silk was previously thought to be used in Egypt. Other research may extend human activity along this route back even further, perhaps a million years to the migration of human ancestors into eastern Asia.
The official origin of East-West commerce along the road is usually placed in the late 2nd century BC when an agent of the Chinese Emperor Wu-di returned from a dangerous secret mission (使命) across the desert into the remote high country of Central Asia. The agent, Zhang Qian, travelled as far as Afghanistan and brought back knowledge of even more distant lands such as Persia, Syria and a place known as Lijien, perhaps Rome. Historians have called this one of the most important journeys in ancient times. His journey opened the way for what have been thought to be the first indirect contacts between the ancient world’s two superpowers, China and Rome. Chinese silk, first traded to central Asian tribes for war horses and to the Parthians of old Persia in exchange for acrobats and ostrich eggs, was soon finding its way through a network of merchants to the luxury markets of Rome.
But the new discoveries show that Chinese silk was apparently present in the West long before the Han emperor started organized trade over the Silk Road. The research could change thinking about the early history of world trade and provide insights into the mystery of just how and when Europe and the Mediterranean lands first became aware of the glorious culture at the other end of Eurasia.
1. The word “coupled” in the first paragraph could best be replaced by ______.
| A．produced | B．contributed | C．doubled | D．combined |
| A．Egyptians had probably travelled to China to buy silk |
| B．trade along the Silk Road began earlier than once thought |
| C．historical research often achieves fascinating results |
| D．new light can now be thrown on ancient trading practices |
| A．originated in the 2nd century BC |
| B．extended human migration into eastern Asia |
| C．began a million years ago |
| D．primarily benefited the Egyptians |
| A．he brought back knowledge of Rome to the emperor | B．he discovered the Silk Road |
| C．he helped establish East-West trade | D．he travelled as far as Afghanistan |
【推荐2】A Chinese coin found in a Hampshire field suggests that medieval (中世纪) trade between England and the Far East was more extensive than previously thought, a historian has said.
The coin of the Northern Song dynasty dates from 1008-1016, but is of a type that remained in wide use in China for several hundred years.
It is the second Chinese coin found in a medieval context in England and experts said that its discovery added weight to the idea that the two coins were genuine medieval losses and not dropped by modern collectors.
The coin was found by a detectorist near Petersfield and about 20 miles from the only other Chinese work of art from medieval England: a piece of blue and white porcelain (瓷器) from a small cup or bowl, which could be placed in Winchester in the 14th century.
Caitlin Green, a historian at the University of Cambridge, suggested in a blog that the coin might have been brought to England at about the same time as the porcelain.
She said the finds of this coin and another Northern Song dynasty coin of 1066-77, unearthed in Cheshire, suggest the Winchester porcelain may have been part of the objects from the Far East in the 14th century rather than a one-off. This was centuries before imports of Chinese goods became widespread in the 1600s, but about the same time as Chinese pottery is known to have been owned by royals in France and Italy.
The history of Chinese goods in Britain goes back further, however, with rich Roman Britons known to have bought Chinese silk.
Dr Green said that goods from China would have reached England over several stages by way of the Middle East and Italy.
1. What can be learned about the two Chinese coins mentioned in the passage?| A．They were unearthed at the same site. |
| B．They were believed to have arrived at England in the 1300s. |
| C．They were found to have been owned by royals in France and Italy. |
| D．They were dropped by modern collectors. |
| A．something that doesn’t happen regularly |
| B．something that doesn’t happen only once |
| C．something that happens on a small scale |
| D．something that happens unexpected |
| A．Chinese coin hints at vast medieval trade route |
| B．Coins and white porcelain trace back to ancient China |
| C．Chinese silk points at a lasting England-China relationship |
| D．History of Chinese goods in Britain has been redefined |
【推荐3】A small group of paleontologists (古生物学家) recently discovered 10 species of ancient mammals previously unknown to science with the help of an enormous number of helpers at their dig site: ants.
The study of ancient mammals throws new light on the diversity of mammals that existed in North America around 33 million to 35 million years ago, when the climate was changing dramatically. It also pays attention to the harvester ants, with which researchers have long had a love-hate relationship. “The ants are not fantastic when they’re biting you,” said Samantha Hopkins, a professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Oregon. “But I’ve got to appreciate them because they make my job a whole lot easier.”
Most species of harvester ants live in subterranean caves that sit beneath a small hill of dirt. They strengthen the dirt by covering it with bits of rock and other tough materials. The ants have been known to travel over a hundred feet from their caves and to dig six feet deep in pursuit of materials that help secure their caves. The materials include fossils. Harvester ants can carry materials 10 times to 50 times the weight of their body, although they do not weigh very much, so the heaviest fossil they can collect weighs less than the average pill.
Given the size, harvester ant hills are hot spots for what scientists call microvertebrate (微型脊椎动物) fossils, which are animal fossils too small to see without a microscope. For over a century, scientists like Dr. Hopkins have found sediment (沉积物) off the sides of harvester ant hills in search of these fossils, making it easier to find large numbers of fossilized mammal teeth without spending hours in the field sifting through (仔细检查) sand and dirt.
1. What is the function of the ants according to Samantha Hopkins?| A．They bite people and spread diseases. |
| B．They make his work easier sometimes. |
| C．They maintain the diversity of mammals. |
| D．They help farmers at the harvest time. |
| A．Coastal. | B．Urban. | C．Underground. | D．Mountainous. |
| A．Their caves are miles deep. |
| B．Materials with fossils are their food. |
| C．They can carry pills around. |
| D．Fossils may be found around their hills. |
| A．To compare two different species. |
| B．To provide evidence for discoveries. |
| C．To introduce a kind of ant as a helper. |
| D．To promote awareness of mammal protection. |
