A handshake seems to be a normal gesture. In fact, in the 9th century BC, an ancient site during the ruling of Shalmaneser III clearly shows two figures holding hands. The Iliad, usually dated to the 8th century BC, mentions that two characters “taking each other’s hands and expressing their loyalty.” Centuries later, Shakespeare once wrote of two characters who shook hands and swore to be brothers in the book As You Like It. Shaking hands seems to be an ancient custom whose roots have disappeared in the sands of time.
Historians who have studied ancient etiquette (礼仪) books note that the modern handshake did not appear until the middle of the 19th century, when it was considered a slightly inappropriate gesture that could only be used between friends. But what if Shakespeare had written about handshaking hundreds of years earlier?
According to author Torbjdm Lundmark in his Tales of Hi and Bye: Greeting and Parting Rituals Around the World. the problem comes in differing definitions of the handshake. The early handshakes mentioned above were part of making deals or peace; King Shalmaneser III referred to a rebellion in which he signed a treaty with the King of Babylon. In the Iliad, Diomedes and Glaucus shook hands when they realized they were guest-friends, and Diomedes declared: 66Lefs not try to kill each other. Shakespeare was similarly referencing settlement of a conflict.
The modern handshake as a form of greeting is harder to trace. As a Dutch sociologist Herman Roodenburg — the chief authority for the history of handshaking ——wrote in a chapter of an anthology called A Cultural History of Gesture, “More than in any other field, that of the study of gesture is one in which the historian has to make the most of only a few clues”.
One of the earliest clues he cites is a 16th-century German translation of the French writer Rabelais’s Gargantua and Pantagruel. When one character meets Gargantua, Rabelais writes, ”He was greeted by countless hugs and countless good days.” But according to Roodenburg, the 16th-century German translation added references to shaking hands.
A popular saying suggests that Cleland’s statements against bowing were actually a wish to go back to a potentially traditional method of greeting in Europe. As the centuries progressed, handshaking was replaced by more hierarchical (等级的)ways of greeting - like bowing. According to Roodenburg, handshaking survived in a few remote places, like in Dutch towns where some would use the gesture to make peace after disagreements. Around the same time, those who valued equality also made use of handshaking. Then, as the Continent’s hierarchy was weakened, handshaking became a common practice among people of the same rank, as it is today.
1. Why does the author mention Shakespeare in the first two paragraphs?| A．To prove that the history of handshaking is hard to find. |
| B．To illustrate that handshaking is a very old custom. |
| C．To show readers that handshaking is common in fiction. |
| D．To explain the value of handshaking in communication. |
| A．The origin of handshaking as a form of greeting is easy to trace. |
| B．Citizens usually shake hands to show friendliness in Holland. |
| C．It was used only between friends and to reach an agreement. |
| D．It is a common practice between people of different social positions. |
| A．the science of mental ability |
| B．a collection of selected literary passages |
| C．a daily written record of experiences |
| D．all the living things of a particular region |
| A．The handshake has disappeared in some remote parts of the Netherlands. |
| B．Handshaking has different meanings in different European countries. |
| C．Handshakes are now common between people of different positions. |
| D．Most Europeans prefer to shake hands owing to the weakening effect of rank. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】You probably like blue, and you’re not alone. Across the globe, a majority of people tend to select blue as their favourite colour. A new study from University of Wisconsin found that not only do we adore blue, but we start to give meaning to colors as we age.
During the study conducted by psychology professor Karen Schloss at the University of Wisconsin in 2019, the researchers investigated the science of how different people perceive colour. They noted that subjects with a preference for a sports team found their favourite team’s colors more favourable. The more they valued their team, the more they favoured the specific colour. “It tells us that our experiences with the world are constantly influencing the way we view colour,” Schloss says.
So, why does blue dominate lists of favorites? From previous surveys the researchers found that blue has been a favourite colour. Even the earliest-recorded colour studies from the 1800s show that blue is universally loved, due at least in part to our fondness for blues in nature. Many colors in nature that we love are blue, especially a blue sky, the sea and many flowers. A blue sky is enough to make many people very happy. It’s possible then, that blue offer plenty of positive experiences, which we unconsciously link to our favourite colour.
But blue isn’t the only attention-grabbing colour. The other finding of the research was that our colour interests change as we gain new experiences. The younger you are, for instance, the more likely you are to enjoy a brighter colour. As you age, you’re more likely to take on darker colors as your favorites; younger women, according to the researchers, tend to enjoy purples and reds, while younger men may lean toward green or yellow-green. The studies showed that dark yellowish-brown was the world’s least liked colour.
To simply put, the things we enjoy most in our lives will drive our colour preferences.
1. What does the underlined word “It” refer to in paragraph 2?| A．People’s preference for a colour. | B．A subject’s personality. |
| C．The specific sports team. | D．The feature of colors. |
| A．Human beings are fully linked to nature. |
| B．Our preference for blue is longstanding. |
| C．It’s a coincidence that blue is our favourite. |
| D．Blue is not necessarily linked to our experiences. |
| A．We may prefer brighter colors as we age. |
| B．Our colour preferences may shift over time. |
| C．Colour preferences change our view of the world. |
| D．We tend to stick with just one colour in our lives. |
| A．Blue Is Probably Your Top Choice of Color |
| B．Studies on Color and Their Findings |
| C．Colour Preferences Shaped by Your Experiences |
| D．Women of Different Ages Prefer Different Colors |
【推荐2】Have you ever been in a situation where you couldn’t understand why someone failed to grasp what you were trying to explain? You thought the concept was so simple, and yet they didn’t seem to get it.
You are influenced by “the curse of knowledge”. It’s a cognitive bias (认知偏差): once we learn something, we kind of lose the memory of not knowing it and the empathy (共鸣) for people who don’t know it.
When we assume that others know what we’re talking about, communication breaks down. We become frustrated and angry at each other, which can lead to misunderstandings and arguments. The curse of knowledge can also make us feel superior to others, which damages our relationships and can create a negative atmosphere in our homes.
Think of a time when you were only 4 and your parents were trying to teach you how to do single digit addition. You kept getting the answers wrong however much they guided. Finally, they shouted, “How come you can’t even solve such a simple question!” Your parents had forgotten what it was like not to know how to do addition, and couldn’t explain it to you in a way that you may have become frustrated or irritated with each other, which only added to the family conflicts.
So, how can we avoid the curse of knowledge? One way is to empathize with others. Try to see things from their perspective and remember what it was like not to know that concept. Use everyday language and simple examples to explain complex ideas. This will help the other person understand and prevent miscommunication. Another is to ask questions. Ask the other person what they understand and what they are confused about. This can help you tailor your explanation to their needs and avoid assumptions that can lead to frustration.
1. What does “the curse of knowledge” refer to?| A．A memory problem that occurs while grasping ideas. |
| B．A personal quality that makes people mean to others. |
| C．A thinking error that results in a communication gap. |
| D．A mental condition that prevents people from learning. |
| A．Its roots. | B．Its effects. | C．Its benefits. | D．Its definition. |
| A．By giving a relevant example. |
| B．By raising a personal question. |
| C．By comparing it to a similar concept. |
| D．By distinguishing it from a general theory. |
| A．A teacher asks students for their feedback in class. |
| B．A parent blames a child for failing to do a simple task. |
| C．A doctor uses medical terms when speaking with a patient. |
| D．A chef gets impatient when teaching a beginner how to cook. |
【推荐3】Everyone has got two personalities—the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real. You don't show your secret personality when you're awake because you can control your behaviour, but when you're asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you. In a normal night, of course, people frequently change their position. The important position is the one that you go to sleep in.
If you go to sleep on your back, you're a very open person. You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by fashion or new ideas. You don't like to upset people, so you never express your real feelings. You're quite shy and you aren't very confident.
If you sleep on your stomach, you are a rather secretive(不坦率的)person. You worry a lot and you're always easily upset. You're very stubborn(顽固的), but you aren't very ambitious. You usually live for today not for tomorrow. This means that you enjoy having a good time.
If you sleep curled up(卷曲), you are probably a very nervous person. You have a low opinion of yourself and so you're often defensive. You're shy and you don't normally like meeting people. You prefer to be on your own. You're easily hurt.
If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well-balanced personality. You know your strengths and weaknesses. You're usually careful. You have a confident personality. You sometimes feel anxious, but you don't often get depressed. You always say what you think even if it annoys people.
1. According to the writer，you naturally show your secret and real personality _______.| A．only in a normal night |
| B．only when you go to sleep |
| C．only when you refuse to show yourself to the world |
| D．only when you change sleeping position |
| A．He or she is always open with others. |
| B．He or she always likes new ideas earlier than others. |
| C．He or she is always easily upset. |
| D．He or she tends to believe in others. |
| A．He or she is careful not to offend others. |
| B．He or she doesn't want to stick to his or her opinion. |
| C．He or she can't be successful in any business. |
| D．He or she likes to bring others happiness. |
| A．He or she would rather be alone than communicate with you. |
| B．He or she is rarely ready to help you. |
| C．He or she prefers staying at home to going out. |
| D．He or she wouldn't like to get help from you. |
| A．he or she always shows sympathy for people |
| B．he or she is confident，but not stubborn |
| C．he or she has more strengths than weaknesses |
| D．he or she often considers annoying people |
【推荐1】About 5,300 years ago, people from the grasslands of modern-day Russia and Ukraine expanded rapidly across Eurasia. Within a few centuries these “Yamnaya” left a lasting genetic mark on populations from central Europe to the Caspian Sea. Today, archaeologists call them “eastern cowboys” for their livestock herding (畜牧) and highly mobile lifestyle.
But one part of the classic cowboy picture was missing: horseback riding. Although cattle bones and solid carriages have been found in Yamnaya sites, horse bones are hard to find, and most archaeologists assumed people did not start to ride horses until at least 1,000 years later.
In a new study published in Science Advances, researchers say they’ve found the earliest evidence of horseback riding not in the bones of ancient horses, but in their Yamnaya riders. “Everyone has focused on horse remains to get an idea of early horse riding,” says co-author and University of Helsinki archaeologist Volker Heyd. “Our approach was to look at humans.”
The researchers looked at more than 150 bones unearthed in Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria — the western frontier of Yamnaya expansion. The Yamnaya were well-fed, healthy, and tall; the chemical composition of their bones showed protein rich diets consistent with herding cattle and sheep. But the bones showed signs of distinctive wear and tear. They also showed thick spots on the leg bone consistent with lots of time spent on the horse back. Healed injuries matched the kinds of damage a kicking horse might cause, or what sports medicine doctors today see in riders thrown from their horses.
“In terms of trying to identify people riding horses, I think they’ve done the best job possible bioarchaeologically,” says bioarchaeologist Jane Buikstra. “That doesn’t mean it’s perfect, or convincing, ultimately.”
More samples — including horse bones with signs of riding, such as bit marks or back bone damage from the weight of a rider — would help make the case, says CU bioarchaeologist Lauren Hosek. What the group has found “is really interesting”, she says. “But there’s a lot more work to be done when the risks of drawing the final conclusion are as high as the earliest horse riding.”
1. Why are the archaeologists looking for the horse bones?| A．To prove the Yamnaya’s rapid expansion. |
| B．To confirm the Yamnaya’s herding variety. |
| C．To further understand the lifestyle of Yamnaya. |
| D．To trace the origin of the classic cowboy picture. |
| A．It includes field trips. | B．It focuses on human bones. |
| C．It is based on horse remains. | D．It compares the compositions of bones. |
| A．Their bones bore the evidence of horse riding. |
| B．Many Yamnaya people died from horse kicks. |
| C．Their lifestyle of herding led to severe injuries. |
| D．They mainly lived in Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria. |
| A．Objective. | B．Favorable. |
| C．Disapproving. | D．Unclear. |
【推荐2】To take the apple as a forbidden fruit is the most unlikely story the Christians ever cooked up. For them, the forbidden fruit from Eden is evil (邪恶的). So when Columbus brought the tomato back from South America, a land mistakenly considered to be Eden, everyone jumped to the too obvious conclusion. Wrongly taken as the apple of Eden, the tomato was shut out of the door of Europeans.
What made it particularly terrifying was its similarity to the mandrake, a plant that was thought to have come from Hell (地狱). What earned the plant its awful reputation was its roots which looked like a dried-up human body occupied by evil spirits. Though the tomato and the mandrake were quite different except that both had bright red or yellow fruit, the general population considered them one and the same, too terrible to touch.
Cautious Europeans long ignored the tomato, and until the early 1700s most of the Western people continued to drag their feet. In the 1880s, the daughter of a well-known farmer wrote that the most interesting part of an afternoon tea at her father’s house had been the “introduction of this wonderful new fruit---or is it a vegetable?” As late as the twentieth century, some writers still classed tomatoes with mandrakes as an “evil fruit”.
But in the end tomatoes carried the day. The hero of the tomato was an American named Robert Johnson, and when he was publicly going to eat the tomato in 1820, people journeyed for hundreds of miles to watch him drop dead. “What are you afraid of ?” he shouted. “I’ll show you fools that these things are good to eat!” Then he bit into the tomato. Some people fainted. But he survived and, according to a local story, set up a tomato-canning factory.
1. The tomato was shut out of the door of early Europeans mainly because ________.| A．it was religiously unacceptable | B．it was the apple of Eden |
| C．it came from a forbidden land | D．it made Christian evil |
| A．The process of ignoring the tomato slowed down. |
| B．The tomato was still refused in most western countries. |
| C．There was little progress in the study of the tomato. |
| D．Most western people continued to get rid of the tomato. |
| A．To make himself a hero. |
| B．To persuade people to buy products from his factory. |
| C．To speed up the popularity of the tomato. |
| D．To remove people’s fear of the tomato. |
| A．To present the change of people’s attitudes to the tomato. |
| B．To give an explanation to people’s dislike of the tomato. |
| C．To challenge people’s fixed concepts of the tomato. |
| D．To show the popularity of the tomato in Europe |
【推荐3】Walking Under Liverpool
In most ways, the English city of Liverpool is no different from other large cities. It is full of people, restaurants, museums, and shops. However, Liverpool stands out in one interesting way.
We now know that the tunnels were built sometime in the early 1800s. A man named Joseph Williamson designed them.
Still others think that Williamson built the tunnels for safety reasons. Perhaps he was afraid that some type of dangerous event would happen.
| A．But there is a lot we still don’t know. |
| B．The ideas are interesting, but no one knows the truth. |
| C．Under the busy streets, there are miles of old tunnels. |
| D．Some people who study the tunnels have got new findings. |
| E．One idea is that Williamson, who was rich, was trying to help others. |
| F．Nor does anyone know for sure even how many of the tunnels there are. |
| G．The tunnels would have offered protection for himself and his loved ones. |
【推荐1】The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is one of the best books I have read in years. This is a page turner with complex characters and situations that will make you think hard about friendship, good and evil, betrayal, etc. It is intense and a great book by many measures.
On one level, The Kite Runner is the story of two boys in Afghanistan and Afghan immigrants in America. It is a story set in a culture that has become of increasing interest to Americans since the September 11, 2001 attacks. It also explores the history of the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan. On this level, it provides a good way for people to learn more about Afghan history and culture in the context of the story.
Looking at The Kite Runner as a story about culture, however, misses what the book is really about. This is a novel about humanity. This is a story about friendship, loyalty, cruelty, longing for acceptance, redemption(救赎), and survival. The core story could be set in any culture because it deals with issues that are universal.
The Kite Runner looks at how the main character, Amir, deals with a secret in his past and how that secret shaped who he became. It tells of Amir’s childhood friendship with Hassan, his relationship with his father and growing up in a privileged place in society. I was drawn in by Amir’s voice. I sympathized with him, cheered for him and felt angry with him at different points. Similarly, I became attracted by Hassan and his father. The characters became real to me, and it was difficult for me to put the book down and leave their world.
I highly recommend this book, especially for book clubs. For those of you who are not in a reading group, read it and then lead it to a friend. You are going to want to talk about it when you finish.
1. The underlined words “a page turner” probably mean that the book is ______.| A．exciting | B．easy | C．ridiculous | D．abstract |
| A．the beauty of language | B．the history of the Taliban |
| C．the reflection of humanity | D．the culture of immigrants |
| A．The story is set in the September 11, 2001 attacks in America. |
| B．The author always feels sympathy for the main character, Amir. |
| C．The story can provide inspiration for readers of various cultures. |
| D．The secret helped Amir to grow up in a privileged place in society. |
| A．A review of a book. | B．An outline of a book. |
| C．A summary of a book. | D．An advertisement of a book. |
【推荐2】Easter Island’s large and mysterious stone statues（雕像） have made it world famous. These statues, whose likenesses look like humans with huge stone cylinders(柱状物) balancing on their heads like hats, have tourists coming from all over the world. The tourists come to see these works of ancient art carved by the early inhabitants of the island. They come to see the mystery that has puzzled historians for decades.
Easter Island is located in a remote part of the South Pacific Ocean about 2,300 miles west of Chile. Easter Island covers just 45 square miles and its Polynesian name is Rapa Nui.
On Easter Sunday 1722, a Dutch explorer named Jacob Roggeveen was the first European to see Easter Island. The early Polynesians carved the statues within the holes of the volcano using only stone tools. Then they moved these huge statues to various destinations throughout the island. These 600 statues range in height from 10 to 40 feet. Some of them weigh as much as 50 tons. How could the early Polynesians lift hundreds of heavy statues out of the volcano? How did they move them across the island to their various locations? All of these questions, as well as many others, remain unanswered.
The early islanders probably worshiped(崇拜) these eyeless giants until sometime around 1670. In 1680, a war broke out between two groups of islanders. The victors of the war and ancestors of the present inhabitants, broke down many of the statues. In most cases, they broke the necks of the statues.
Now 15 of the statues on Easter Island have been repaired to their original positions on their stone platforms. Even today, using modern tools and machinery, putting up such large statues and balancing cylinders on top of their heads presents a challenging task.
1. What do we know about Easter Island?| A．It is a big island of Chile. |
| B．It is located in North Pacific Ocean |
| C．It was named after a Dutch explorer |
| D．Its early inhabitants were Polynesians |
| A．why people built the statues |
| B．where people made the statues |
| C．how people transported the statues |
| D．how many statues there are on the island |
| A．Many statues were damaged |
| B．Another 15 statues were put up |
| C．People began to worship the statues |
| D．The islanders started a war against outsiders |
| A．entertain | B．advertise |
| C．inform | D．persuade |
【推荐3】“I’ve never met a human worth cloning,” says cloning expert Mark Westhusin from his lab at Texas A&M University. “It’s a stupid endeavor.” That’s an interesting choice of adjective, coming from a man who has spent millions of dollars trying to clone a 13-year-old dog named Missy. So far, he and his team have not succeeded, though they have cloned two cows and expect to clone a cat soon. They just might succeed in cloning Missy this spring -------or perhaps not for another 5 years. It seems the reproductive system of man’s best friend is one of the mysteries of modern science.
Westhusin’s experience with cloning animals leaves him upset by all this talk of human cloning. In three years of work on the Missy project, using hundreds upon hundreds of dog’s eggs, the A&M team has produced only a dozen or so embryos carrying Missy’s DNA. None have survived the transfer to a surrogate (代孕的) mother. The wastage of eggs and the many spontaneously aborted fetuses (胎) may be acceptable when you’re dealing with cats or bulls, he argues, but not with humans. “Cloning is incredibly inefficient, and also dangerous,” he says.
Even so, dog cloning is a commercial opportunity, with a nice research payoff. Ever since Dolly the sheep was cloned in 1997, Westhusin’s phone has been ringing with people calling in hopes of making an exact copy of their cats and dogs, cattle and horses. “A lot of people want to clone pets, especially if the price is right,” says Westhusin. Cost is no obstacle for Missy’s mysterious billionaire owner; he’s put up $3.7 million so far to fund A&M’s research.
Contrary to some media reports, Missy is not dead. The owner wants a twin to carry on Missy’s fine qualities after she does die. The prototype is, by all accounts, athletic, good-natured and supersmart. Missy’s master does not expect an exact copy of her. He knows her clone may not have her temperament. In a statement of purpose, Missy’s owner and the A&M team say they are “both looking forward to studying the ways that her clones differ from Missy.”
Besides cloning a great dog, the project may contribute insight into the old question of nature vs. nurture. It could also lead to the cloning of special rescue dogs and many endangered animals.
However, Westhusin is cautious about his work. He knows that even if he gets a dog pregnant, the offspring, should they survive, will face the problems shown at birth by other cloned animals: abnormalities like immature lungs and heart and weight problems. “Why would you ever want to clone humans,” Westhusin asks, “when we’re not even close to getting it worked out in animals yet?”
1. By “stupid endeavor”, Westhusin means to say that ________.| A．animal cloning is not worth the effort at all |
| B．animal cloning is absolutely impractical |
| C．human cloning should be done selectively |
| D．human cloning is a foolish undertaking |
| A．study the possibility of cloning humans |
| B．search for ways to modify its temperament |
| C．examine the reproductive system of the dog species |
| D．find out the differences between Missy and its clones |
| A．Few private cloning companies could afford it. |
| B．Few people have realized its significance. |
| C．An exact copy of a cat or bull can be made. |
| D．It is becoming a prosperous industry. |
| A．Mr. Westhusin is going to clone a dog soon. |
| B．scientists are pessimistic about human cloning. |
| C．human reproductive system has not been understood. |
| D．rich people are only interested in cloning animals. |
