1 . In the world of Chinese archaeology (考古学), a sign of a dig's importance is the sight of Zhou Mingsheng at work. A field technician who has worked at archaeological sites all around China. Master Zhou is credited with the gentlest touch in his profession. Born into a farming family, he is a “national-level craftsman” with a talent for using simple tools to get relics (遗物) that would crumble in other hands, says his current boss, Wang Xu, director of an archaeological site at Shuanghuaishu, a Neolithic (新石器时代的) settlement near the Yellow River in the central province of Henan.
It is not beauty that attracts visitors to Shuanghuaishu. At 5, 300 years old, the settlement is the work of a culture too simple to have left behind many buried treasures. The single most precious find, to date, is a finger-length sculpture of a silkworm. Nor is the setting lovely: an area surrounded by deafening insects, between a highway and two power stations. Rather, the site's importance is historical. For since the birth of Chinese archaeology in the 1920s, it has been inseparable from claims that China has the oldest unbroken civilisation on Earth.
Leading archaeologists say that the site has the right combination of location, age and distinctive cultural elements to be the capital of an early Chinese kingdom. That would make it a bridge between China's written history and the era of the Yellow Emperor, who is said to rule over these central plains almost 5,000 years ago, though many foreign scholars doubt his existence. Chinese media call the site proof of China's 5,000 years of history.
Foreigners complain about a lack of written records, Mr Wang notes. Perhaps they are missing symbols that will one day be understood, for instance in patterned pottery. Outsiders "can't keep using Western standards to apply to Chinese ruins," he argues.
1. What does the underlined word “crumble” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Result. | B．Break. | C．Wait. | D．Shine. |
| A．It is of great historical significance. | B．It has various precious treasures. |
| C．It has appealing scenery. | D．It is easily accessible. |
| A．Ambiguous. | B．Tolerant. |
| C．Disapproving. | D．Sympathetic. |
| A．Chinese history amazes the world | B．Chinese archaeology catches on |
| C．China follows its tradition | D．China digs its past |
2 . The winners of The Cultural City of East Asia in 2021 have been chosen, with four cities in China, Japan and South Korea winning the title, the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced on Sunday.
Shaoxing of East China’s Zhejiang Province, Dunhuang in Northwest China’s Gansu Province, Suncheon in South Korea and Kitakyushu in Japan were selected through votes held in their respective countries in 2020. Choosing Dunhuang and Shaoxing at the same time marks the first time that one country has selected two cities in the program.
These four cities are major cultural landmarks in their respective countries. Dunhuang was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road and is best known for its nearby Mogao Grottoes, which contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist art from a period extending 1, 000 years. Suncheon is an eco－city in South Korea that is a major agricultural and industrial center and also known for Suncheon Bay. Kitakyushu city was formed in 1963 through a combination of five big cities centered around the ancient city of Kokura. It is also where the already delayed 12th meeting of the three countries’ culture ministers will be held in 2021. Suncheon and Kitakyushu also won The Cultural City of East Asia in 2020.
These four cities are active centers for art and cultural communication. According to the announcement, the four cities will work closely together to promote cultural development and prosperity in East Asia through sustained cultural cooperation and close exchanges, and will jointly support the preparation and hosting of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2021 and the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing in 2022.
The “The Cultural City of East Asia” program was created based on an agreement reached at a meeting of ministers of culture from Japan, China, and South Korea in 2013. Every year one or two cities in each country are selected with the aim to develop their ties through culture and arts; those cities host a variety of cultural and artistic events to introduce traditional and modern arts and culture as well as different lifestyles to visitors.
1. What’s special about the selection of The Cultural City of East Asia in 2021?| A．All the cities were on the list for the first time. |
| B．All the cities are well－known all over the world. |
| C．Two cities of one country were selected in a year. |
| D．Three countries work together to make the selection. |
| A．Shaoxing. | B．Dunhuang. | C．Suncheon. | D．Kitakyushu. |
| A．The culture of the four cities. | B．The mission of the four cities. |
| C．The history of the four cities. | D．The comparison of the four cities. |
| A．To preserve local traditional arts, culture and lifestyles. |
| B．To support the preparation and hosting of the Olympics. |
| C．To strengthen the city relationship through culture and arts. |
| D．To host various cultural and artistic events to attract visitors. |
3 . Twelve-year-old Lydia Denton was recently named the winner of CITGO's Fueling Education Student Challenge, where she earned $20,000 after creating the Beat the Heat Car Seat, which is a portable device placed in the car seat that not only senses weight over five pounds but monitors temperature when the baby is in the seat.
The soon-to-be seventh grader says she became inspired to make the invention after watching the news that babies were being left in hot cars, often by accident.“At first, I thought about raising money for the families, but that wouldn't fix the problem: I wanted to invent something that could prevent the deaths from happening.”
Lydia's device is started when it senses the weight of the child and the temperature setting reaches over 100 F (38℃). At that point, an alarm goes off and a warning is sent via SMS to the parents. If the parents don't reset the device within 60 seconds, a built-in GPS chip sends a message to local authorities with the vehicle's location. After many rounds of testing with her local 911, Lydia is proud to say that Beat the Heat Car Seat is a success.
Though many newer vehicles come with warning systems and smart seat systems, Lydia's goal was to create a device that would reach more people and that could also transfer from car seat to car seat as the child grew. She decided to use her prize money to continue making improvements on the device, which would sell for only about $40.
Lydia is now working with an instructor who is helping her with production and teaching her about business. Lydia hopes that her work will inspire more kids of her age to make their ideas come true. “Don't think that you have to accept things in the world. If there is something that bothers you, think of ways to make it better!”
1. Why did Lydia make the invention?| A．To win 20,000-dollar prize. |
| B．To raise money for unlucky families. |
| C．To help stop babies dying in hot cars. |
| D．To guarantee babies' safety in a car crash. |
| A．How it works. | B．What it consists of. |
| C．Why it raises the alarm. | D．How parents respond to it. |
| A．It will be much stronger. | B．It will be more affordable. |
| C．It will be less problematic. | D．It will be more effective on older kids. |
| A．No competition, no progress. |
| B．It's never too late to go into business. |
| C．One should be open to any suggestion. |
| D．Creative thinking is the key to success. |
