Shoes worn by the warriors of the first emperor of China, famously known as the Terracotta Army, may have been surprisingly flexible and slip resistant. Copies of them are helping to build a better picture of what Qin dynasty soldiers wore and how this might have aided them in battle.
The Terracotta Army found in 1974 near Xi’an, China, is formed of over 8000 sculptures showing the armies of the founder of the Qin dynasty, Qin Shi Huang. The terracotta figures including warriors, chariots and horses, were buried alongside the emperor more than 2200 years ago to guard him in the afterlife.
Analysis of the sculptures has revealed what the ancient Chinese warriors wore and used. Now, Na Cha and Jin Zhou at Sichuan University in China have recreated the shoes of one of the warriors. The pair determined that the warrior’s square-toed shoes had upturned tips and 1.5cm thick sole (鞋底). There were also circular markings on the bottom of the soles, which the researchers took to represent stitches (缝线). There were more circles at the front and the heel, hinting that the real shoe was thinner in the middle.
The terracotta shoes looked like real shoes unearthed from the Qin dynasty, so the researchers used traditional shoe-making techniques and materials from the time to recreate them, even the circular markings on the sole.
The researchers also created copies of other shoes found in the region and wore both types to test them. They found that the army copies were more likely to bend during walking and were more slip resistant than the others. They were even more slip resistant in wet conditions than modern shoes with rubber or plastic soles. If the copied shoes truly reflect the real ones, they would probably have enhanced the soldiers’ fighting abilities, say Cha and Zhou.
1. What’s one of the features of the shoes worn by Qin dynasty soldiers?| A．Strong flexibility. | B．Light weight. | C．Diverse patterns. | D．Poor slip resistance. |
| A．How the shoes soles were made. | B．Whether the real shoes were thinner. |
| C．What the terracotta soldiers’ shoes were like. | D．Why circular markings were made on the bottom. |
| A．By analyzing the circular markings on the sole. |
| B．By studying the fighting abilities of the soldiers. |
| C．By wearing them and walking in wet conditions. |
| D．By comparing them to modern rubber or plastic soles. |
| A．The History of the Terracotta Army’s Shoes | B．The Secret of Terracotta Warrior’s Footwear |
| C．The Property of the Terracotta Army’s Shoes | D．The Shoes Making Technique in Ancient Times |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】What we know of prebirth training makes all this attempt made by a mother to influence the character of her unborn child by studying poetry， art， or mathematics during pregnancy seem totally impossible. How could such extremely complex influences pass from the mother to the child？ There is no connection between their nervous systems. Even the blood vessels of mother and child do not join directly. An emotional shock to the mother will affect her child， because it changes the activity of her glands(腺) and the chemistry of her blood. Any chemical change in the mother's blood will affect the child for better or worse. But we can not see how a looking for mathematics or poetic genius can be dissolved(溶解) in blood and produce a similar liking or genius in the child.
In our discussion of instincts(本能) we saw that there was reason to believe that whatever we inherit(继承) must be of some very simple sort rather than any complicated or very definite kind of behavior. It is certain that no one inherits a knowledge of mathematics. It may be， however， that children inherit more or less of a rather general ability that we may call intelligence. If very intelligent children become deeply interested in mathematics， they will probably make a success of that study.
As for musical ability， it may be that what is inherited is an especially sensitive ear， a special structure of the hands or the vocal(发声的) organs connections between nerves and muscles. If these factors are all organized around music， the child may become a musician. The same factors， in other circumstance， might be organized about some other center of interest.
The rich emotional equipment might find expression in poetry. The capable fingers might develop skill in surgery. It is not the knowledge of music that is inherited， then nor even the love of it， but a certain bodily structure that makes it comparatively easy to acquire musical knowledge and skill. Whether that ability shall be directed toward music or some other fields may be decided entirely by forces in the environment in which a child grows up.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph？| A．Mothers' prebirth training is totally unlikely to influence the character of unborn children. |
| B．A pregnant mother needn't have prebirth training because of no nervous connection with her child. |
| C．A mother can't help her child become a talented poet just by studying poems during pregnancy. |
| D．An emotional shock to the mother has little effect on her unborn child for their unconnected vessels. |
| A．sensitive ears | B．capable fingers |
| C．intelligence | D．a knowledge of maths |
| A．Role of Inheritance | B．Role of the Environment |
| C．An Unborn Child | D．Inherited Talents |
【推荐2】Whenever we see a button on a doorbell or on a remote, we may press it. This is true in most cases. But some buttons are actually fake(假的), like the “close” button on an elevator．
Many people are in the habit of pressing the “close” button because they don’t have the patience to wait for the elevator doors to shut. But according to experts, the buttons are a complete trick—the doors will not close any faster however hard you press.
It started in the 1990s when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed, making sure that all elevators stayed open long enough so that people with disabilities could enter. Only firefighters and maintenance workers(维修工) can use the buttons to speed up the door-closing process if they have a code or special keys. But to normal elevator riders, the buttons aren't completely useless.
According to psychologists, fake buttons can actually make you feel better by offering you a sense of control. Experts have showed that a lot of buttons that don't do anything exist in our lives for this same purpose. For example, pedestrian crosswalk buttons don't live up to their names. Pressing them used to help make the traffic signals change faster, but that was before computer-controlled traffic signals were introduced.
But psychologists found it interesting that even when people are aware of these little “white lies”. They still continue to push fake buttons because as long as the doors eventually close, it is considered to be worth the effort.
That habit is here to stay, John Kounios, a psychology professor at Drexel University in the US, told The New York Times. “After all, I’ve got nothing else to do while waiting. So why not try the chance?”
1. The author writes the text to______________.| A．inform readers of kinds of fake button |
| B．analyze what roles fake buttons play |
| C．explore different ways to push buttons |
| D．explain why fake buttons were introduced |
| A．making people more patient |
| B．improving people’s bad mood |
| C．helping people build up confidence |
| D．offering people a sense of control |
| A．Pressing fake buttons is of no meaning at all. |
| B．People don't know that what they press is fake. |
| C．Some people press fake buttons just to kill time. |
| D．People are supposed to quit pressing fake buttons. |
【推荐3】Scientists believe nature is good for our well-being. But what’s the secret that brings about the benefit? A recent study by researcher Craig Anderson and his workmates suggests it could be awe(敬畏)—that sense of being in the presence of something greater than ourselves that fills us with wonder.
The first part of the study had some people go on a four-day river rafting(漂流)trip. They rowed through dangerous rapids in the forested areas in California. They also camped out in the wild. Before and after the trip, they reported on their well-being, including their stress levels and satisfaction with life. During the trip, they kept diaries about their sentiments, including whether they’d felt awe, peace, gratitude, joy, or pride that day. At the end of the trip, their well-being had increased greatly. After the trip, the researchers discovered awe—above other positive emotions—seemed to explain the improvement.
In the second part,Anderson studied whether awe played a role in more ordinary, everyday nature experiences. The answer is also yes. This is good news, says Anderson, because sometimes it’s not that easy for people to have long wilderness trips.“You don’t have to do amazing experiences in nature to feel awe,” says Anderson.“By taking a few minutes to enjoy flowers or a sunset,you also improve your well-being.“
Anderson says that awe may benefit well-being by causing a“small self”—a sense that you will have when you’re in the presence of something bigger than yourself,which may make worries and stresses less significant by comparison.
But he also says that there could be other ways that nature experiences improve our well-being,besides causing awe. For example, the related physical exercise in nature could have made a difference, too. Anyway, Anderson believes there’s enough evidence to encourage us to add more nature to our daily life.”People need to slow down and make space for that in their lives,”Anderson says.
1. What did the study by Anderson and his workmates mainly find?| A．The benefits a trip has on people. |
| B．What interests travelers in nature. |
| C．The views people have about nature. |
| D．What makes being in nature beneficial. |
| A．Feelings. | B．Desires. |
| C．Discoveries. | D．Experiences. |
| A．By stressing the greatness of nature. |
| B．By helping people forget their worries. |
| C．By encouraging people to be lost in nature. |
| D．By making people’s problems seem less serious. |
| A．Make time to do exercise. | B．Show respect to nature. |
| C．Get in touch with nature. | D．Make a comparison with others. |
【推荐1】Wireless Charging:
Deliver Electricity through the Air
A wireless charging room has been developed by scientists. It can deliver power through the air to any laptop, tablet or phone without the need for plugs or cables.
The new technology involves generating magnetic fields over longer distances without also producing electrical fields that would prove harmful to any people or animals within the room, according to the team from the University of Tokyo.
The system, which has been tested in a single room but is still in its infancy (在初始阶段), can deliver up to 50 watts of power without exceeding current guidelines for human exposure to magnetic fields, the study authors explained. It could be used to charge any device with a wire coil (电线圈) fitted inside, similar to the system used with wireless charging pads currently in use—but without the pad. As well as removing bundles of charging cables from desks, it could allow for more devices to be fully robotized without the need for ports, plugs or cables.
To demonstrate the new system, they installed the unique wireless charging infrastructure in a purpose- built aluminum “test room” that was 10 feet by 10 feet. They then used it to power lamps, fans and mobile phones that drew current from anywhere in the room, regardless of where furniture or people had been placed.
Researchers didn’t say what the technology might cost because it is still very early in development and “years away” from being made available to the public. “This really ups the power of the ubiquitous (无所不在的) computing world- you could put a computer anywhere without ever having to worry about charging or plugging in,” said study coauthor Alanson Sample from the University of Michigan.
There are also clinical applications, according to Sample, who said heart implants currently require a wire from the pump to run through the body and into a socket. “This could eliminate that,” the author said, adding it would act to reduce the risk of infection and improve patients’ quality of life by eliminating the wire completely.
1. What’s the advantage of the new technology according to the text?| A．It is widely used. |
| B．It’s environmentally friendly. |
| C．The cable is essential in the new technology. |
| D．It only could be used to charge some devices. |
| A．Awkward. | B．Artificial. |
| C．Controllable. | D．Automatic. |
| A．The technology takes a lot of investment. |
| B．People can benefit a lot from this technology. |
| C．Heart plants can be conducted with the new technology. |
| D．The technology ups the power of the computing world. |
| A．To persuade. | B．To advertise. |
| C．To inform. | D．To educate. |
【推荐2】The book An Immense World, by science journalist Ed Yong, looks into the remarkable sensory capacities of non-human animals. Other popular works—from naturalist Carl Safina’s Beyond Words to biologist Jonathan Balcombe’s What a Fish Knozws—argue that many animals are individuals with lives that matter to them. These observations are significant, because the degree of care we give to animals seems to rely on how we picture their inner lives.
We humans tend to judge and give consideration to other animals based on their smartness. Instead, I want to suggest that emotion, displayed by animals around us, may even provide our fellow creatures with what we could term a “spiritual” life.
One well-documented case is of a mother elephant named Eleanor. Weakened by age, Eleanor kept collapsing, and a fellow elephant, Grace, kept trying to lift her onto her feet. There’re even examples of elephants becoming depressed when they encounter the body of another species. In one instance, a young, orphaned elephant moaned(呻吟) when it discovered the remains of its rhinoceros companion, killed by hunters.
It’s suggested that non-human animals may be more aware of feelings than we are. I call this “living closer to the bone”. Other creatures might well have stronger, more immediate feelings because, unlike us, they don’t appear to analyze. Even if they can’t tell us what they’re experiencing, we’d be foolish to rule this out.
A story appeared on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle. A female humpback whale became stuck in a pile of crab traps. The whale was badly cut. A rescue team dove underneath her, spending hours helping it. Once the huge animal realized she was free, she swam in a large circle, touching each diver in turn. One of the divers said, “It felt to me like it was thanking us, knowing it was free and that we’d helped it.”
To me, this is an instance of animals’ spirituality on display. I suspect that, the more we learn about fish, birds, and even insects, we’ll recognize further elemental similarities of feeling.
1. Why are the three books mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．They offer us observations on ourselves. |
| B．They remind us to care for animals’ emotions. |
| C．They praise us about non-human animals. |
| D．They show human dependence on animals. |
| A．From their feelings. |
| B．On the basis of their awareness. |
| C．By their appearances. |
| D．According to their intelligence. |
| A．Sympathetic. | B．Indifferent. |
| C．Unconcerned. | D．Cooperative. |
| A．Analyzing animals’ cleverness. |
| B．Offering animals more freedom. |
| C．Giving more understanding of animals. |
| D．Avoiding killing non-human animals. |
【推荐3】On Nov. 30, 2020, NASA flight engineer Kate Rubins pulled out 20 radish (萝卜) plants grown in the space station’s Advanced Plant Habitat, wrapping them in foil for cold storage until they can make the voyage back to Earth next year.
Back on the ground, scientists at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida are growing radishes in a control group. The researchers will compare the space-grown radishes to the vegetables grown on Earth, checking on how space produce measures up on providing the minerals and nutrients astronauts (宇航员) need as they prepare for longer trips.
With their short growing time, radishes present potential advantages as a food source for future astronauts carrying out deep space missions in years to come. The radishes grow quickly, and they can be harvested in 27 days. The root vegetables also don’t require much care from people.
Astronauts have grown 15 different types of plants on the station, which include eight different types of leafy greens. And NASA has already tested more than 100 crops on Earth, identifying which plants to try out next in space. “Growing a range of crops helps us determine which plants grow better in microgravity and offer the best variety and nutritional balance for astronauts on long-time missions,” Dufour said.
Getting space agriculture right matters because the nutrients in the prepackaged food that astronauts currently eat in space degrade (降级) over a period of time, NASA said. Getting humans to Mars and back safely over a two-or-three-year mission requires growing food along the way. That not only gives astronauts more of a supply of fresh nutrients on the voyage, it also serves an emotional need as they tend to crops that are both a figurative (比喻的) and literal taste of home.
1. Why do astronauts choose to plant radishes in the space station?| A．Radishes don’t need too much attention. |
| B．Radishes can be stored in cold conditions. |
| C．Radishes can supply enough nutrients alone. |
| D．Radishes’ growing time can be shortened in space. |
| A．To help researchers carry out experiments more correctly. |
| B．To provide astronauts in space with more choices of food. |
| C．To serve emotional support for astronauts on the voyage. |
| D．To make sure the plants grow well and avoid nutrition loss. |
| A．Astronauts. | B．Nutrients. | C．Researchers. | D．Radishes. |
| A．Agriculture in the future | B．The food for astronauts |
| C．Planting radishes in space | D．Preparations for space mission |
