1 . MEXICO CITY, April 1（Xinhua）——Discoveries at the legendary Sanxingdui ruins in southwest China show that the region’s ancient Shu state civilization shared similarities with the Maya, according to the director of the Chichen Itza archaeological site, Marco Antonio Santos.
The Sanxingdui ruins, located in the city of Guanghan, about 60 kilometers from Chengdu, belonged to the Shu Kingdom that existed at least 4,800 years ago and lasted more than 2,000 years. China announced on March 20 that archaeologists uncovered gold, ivory and jade objects dating back about 3,000 years in six sacrificial pits.
Santos told Xinhua that the bronze-made remains of trees buried at the ruins of the Shu Kingdom recall the Maya’s sacred ceiba tree, which symbolized the union of heaven, earth and the underworld for the civilization that flourished in Mesoamerica. “They are very important similarities.” said Santos, stressing that “the representations of trees in both cultures provide us with a symbolism that is very similar”.
“One notable feature of the recent discoveries at Sanxingdui was the interdisciplinary（跨学科的）work and technology applied by teams of Chinese archaeologists.” said Santos. “The technology allowed the unearthing of artifacts as fragile as silk remains, which other types of less careful excavation methods would not have been able to manage.” he said. “Cooperation between Chinese and Mexican archaeologists could benefit projects in the Maya world, where the rainy climate and humidity are problematic for the conservation of objects.” said Santos.
“Every time our cultural knowledge increases, regardless of whether we speak one language or another, what it shows us is that we continue to be sister cultures, and, therefore, the exchange of such knowledge is fundamental.” said Santos.
1. What does the underlined word “excavation” in Paragraph 4 mean?| A．research | B．examination | C．digging | D．discovery |
| A．The sacred ceiba tree is also found at the ruins of the Shu Kingdom. |
| B．The recent discoveries at Sanxingdui featured interdisciplinary work and technology. |
| C．Only the unearthing of silk remains needs to be managed with more careful methods. |
| D．The language barrier is an issue that affects the cooperation between China and Mexico. |
| A．China and Mexico continue to exchange cultural knowledge. |
| B．The discovery of the Sanxingdui ruins in south west China shocks the world. |
| C．Cooperation between Chinese and Mexican archaeologists benefits projects in both countries. |
| D．The discovery of the Sanxingdui ruins shows similarities between ancient Shu state and the Maya. |
| A．A newspaper. | B．A historical novel. | C．A research review. | D．A guidebook. |
2 . A number of companies have used the wind, the sun and the ground heat to produce energy. Now, the Ocean Renewable Power Company, or ORPC, is using the force of flowing rivers and ocean currents. The company recently presented the new technology at an energy conference. Christopher Sauer, the CEO and co－creator of ORPC says the technology was designed for small, rural communities that do not have easy access to power sources.
The ORPC technology is an energy generator which can be put under water, called RivGen. It works in a series of steps. First, the generator is put in the middle of a steel cage. The cage goes on top of a wide boat with a flat bottom. Wheels— or, turbines (涡轮机) — are attached to each side of the generator. Once the boat is fixed to one place, it is flooded with water. The boat, cage, and generator all sink to the bottom of the river. There, the river current turns the wheels and creates as much as 50 kilowatts of power.
CEO Christopher Sauer says RivGen is not very tall, so it can work in water areas that are not very deep. Other companies are not able to work in shallow water, he adds. Sauer says the turbines are safe for the animals that live in the river. Meanwhile, the turbines’ shape permits the generator to harvest power from tidal currents in the ocean. The company’s ocean turbine, called TidGen, can create up to 600 kilowatts of electricity, enough to power a small settlement.
Right now, the amount of power TidGen can harvest changes as the strength of the tide goes up and down. But ORPC workers are trying to make the power output steady. In time, they want TidGen power to be part of the main energy grid (电网). Sauer estimates ORPC’ s current price is about 50 cents per kilowatt－hour. That price does not make the ORPC system competitive with natural gas. However, for small rural communities, diesel (柴油) energy can cost more than $ 1 per hour. In these situations, energy from flowing water could be more economical.
1. What does ORPC use to produce electricity?| A．Wind. | B．Sun. | C．Water. | D．Ground heat. |
| A．The working principle of RivGen. | B．The design feature of RivGen. |
| C．The system composition of RivGen. | D．The main function of RivGen. |
| A．It can work in shallow water. | B．It can accelerate ocean currents. |
| C．It can power a large settlement. | D．It can increase the number of fish. |
| A．Pollution－free. | B．Money－saving. |
| C．Mass－production. | D．Resource－consuming. |
3 . It’s hard to overstate just how much Writer’s Digest has survived to make it to its centennial. The Great Depression. World War II. The many wars and societal revolutions of the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. The technological revolution and the creation of the internet. The shift from being family-owned business to a corporation with investors. And most recently, global pandemic(流行病).
It is because WD survived all that, that I view this anniversary issue as a love letter to every single person who has contributed to keeping WD alive over these amazing, and tough, and change-filled 100 years. Thank you to the Rosenthal family for starting a magazine—a community—like this. To the publishers, editors, and all the other behind--the-scenes folks who made sure each issue over the many decades was the best it could be, thank you for your hard work and long hours. To the absolutely incomparable list of writers who shared their wisdom, insights, and encouragement: This magazine was made better by your contributions.
But most of all, this is a love letter to our readers. You give the magazine purpose and the motivation to keep going. Without you, WD wouldn’t exist, so on behalf of all the current and former WD staffers, we offer our sincerest thanks.
You’ll see a collection of new columns coming in 2021. We are thrilled to have Bryan Washington, award-winning author of the short story collection Lot and the new novel Memorial, as our first guest columnist. The WD team started planning this issue more than a year ago and putting it together has been a joy. We hope you find as much pleasure and inspiration in reading it as we found in creating it. See you in year 101.
1. What does the underlined word “centennial” mean?| A．The first publication. | B．The collection version. |
| C．The 100th anniversary. | D．The opening ceremony. |
| A．It has a long list of guest columnists. |
| B．It was once a family-owned business. |
| C．It is financially supported by the community. |
| D．It contributed to the technological revolution. |
| A．She used to be a novelist. | B．She is with Writer’s Digest |
| C．She was a business owner. | D．She is one hundred years old. |
| A．To express gratitude. | B．To promote sales. |
| C．To introduce a magazine. | D．To employ new staff. |
4 . 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 |
5 . In the magnificent range of mountains of northern California, 42 radio telescopes point towards the stars, scanning for signs of life. The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence （SETI） Institute has been listening for a signal here since it was founded in 1984. Jill Tarter, its co — founder, says the programmed aim is not just to communicate with remote civilisations. It is also to remind human beings of its own modest, fragile （脆弱的）place in the universe. Thus, for the first time, SETI is cocking its ear towards Earth to look for a signal that can be sent into space to represent the species.
Felipe Perez Santiago, a Mexican musician and composer, has an idea of what might work.Since songs, like the human voices, are common to all languages and nations, he and Ms. Tarter have designed the “Earthling Project”-a call to people everywhere to upload extracts （精华）of song that he plans to melt into a collective human chorus. An initial composition will be launched into space this summer, recorded on a virtually indestructible disk. Future plans and dreams include an eventual landing on Mars.
Human music has been sent to the heavens in 1977. Distant beings can in theory already enjoy Peruvian panpipes, a Navajo chant, Bach, Beethoven and more. But no previous offering, and perhaps no composition undertaken anywhere, has tried to encompass the entire diversity of human song.
Mr. Santiago says he is thrilled about bringing together contributors from around the globe. Unlike other recordings sent into space, says Mr. Santiago, “Everyone's invited. You don't have to be one of the main composers of our history like Beethoven, just someone singing in their shower.” Download the “Earthling Project" app, sing up to three songs of 30 seconds each, and your voice will be sent into the sky.
1. Why does SETI look for a signal to be sent into space?| A．To stand for species on the earth. |
| B．To scan for other liveable planets. |
| C．To respond to the call of the universe. |
| D．To stress the importance of the earth. |
| A．It is a world music organization. |
| B．It intends to create a human chorus. |
| C．It tries to develop a universal language. |
| D．It aims to search for signals from space. |
| A．Include. | B．Appreciate. |
| C．Work out. | D．Relate to. |
| A．To inspire people to become composers. |
| B．To call on people to protect our planet. |
| C．To encourage people to explore space. |
| D．To invite people to join a programme. |
6 . When we experience earthquakes, medical emergencies — whatever the situation, the first thing you probably do is panic. Everybody does. While many of us think that we’re cool in a crisis, science tells us that we seldom are. At the moment we need to be keenly aware of our surroundings, but our attention goes to the scariest thing on the scene, leaving us unaware of the other sights, sounds, and even smells around us. At the moment, we’re anything but at our best.
These normal human reactions can be reversed. For example, firefighters are taught how to bring down their blood pressure and heart rates quickly, box breathing, belly breathing, hum breathing — you can learn these techniques in minutes. Once you calm down, you’ll identify accurately what the problem is really about. Lack of practice always causes us to judge problems in wrong ways. Doing the thinking ahead of time also helps you fire off the solution when it’s show time. This is why you are advised to find the closest exit before the flight. And sometimes we aren’t prepared with all the knowledge we need. Let’s say we’re on a hike and a bear shows up. What shall we do? Better to read suggestions on how to respond before heading into the wild.
Performing in a crisis is becoming more important for all of us for two reasons. Back in the good old days, the reliability of most anything we used or did was far less than it is today. Now think about what happens to our preparedness as the probability of something had happening reduces. Unless we practice what hardly ever happens, our ability to respond when it does happen tends to slip away. Reliability can kill you. Also, the systems we use today are more complex. There are seldom moving parts in plain view that allow us to see when things are about to go wrong. Consequently, terrible situations can “come out of nowhere”. Ironically, the systems that were designed to lessen our workload might require us to remain in a state of increased vigilance (警觉) in order to survive these increasingly infrequent events when they do happen.
As technology becomes part of most everything, and as once-large risks break into countless small ones, crisis situations may become standard affairs. We should all learn to breathe, recognize the situation, and carry out the plan that we are smart enough to prepare well in advance.
1. According to the passage, when an armed robbery (抢劫) happens, most witnesses will first___________.| A．observe the surroundings |
| B．pretend to be calm |
| C．decide what to do |
| D．focus on the gun |
| A．Tested. | B．Changed. | C．Predicted. | D．Understood |
| A．things are less dependable than they used to be |
| B．cautiousness helps prevent the occurrence of crisis |
| C．convenience reduces our problem-solving capability |
| D．the complexity of present systems ensures our safety |
| A．To introduce ways of avoiding crisis situations. |
| B．To point out the connection between stress and risks. |
| C．To raise awareness of the preparation for emergencies. |
| D．To analyse the influence of technology on crisis management. |
7 . Large oceangoing vessels like oil tankers and cruise ships produce noise that travels long distances underwater. That audio pollution can disturb the sounds that marine mammals, fish and other animals use to communicate.
Emily Carter, a sensory ecologist from University of Exeter wondered whether ship noise might also be harmful to animals that don’t rely on sound for communication. For example, young shore crabs that use camouflage (伪装) to hide from predators. “So they can actually change their color to match whatever it is that they’re sitting on, basically to make it harder for predators to find them.” Carter explained.
She suspected that stress from ship noise might affect the change process. To find out, she and her colleagues collected shore crabs with dark shells and brought them back to the lab. They placed the crabs in tanks full of white small stones. An underwater speaker in each tank played quiet natural sounds at all times. One group of crabs also heard loud natural sounds every hour. But another group was subjected to hourly recordings of large ships.
Carter says shorebirds, which eat the crabs, can see UV light, so she used ultraviolet (紫外线) photography to determine how well the crabs blended into their new habitat over time.
“Through the eyes of a shorebird — so through bird’s perspective — were they camouflaged? Weren’t they camouflaged? How obvious would they be?”
After eight weeks, the crabs that heard only natural sounds had become much lighter and were well camouflaged. But the ones that were exposed to the ship noise didn’t change color as much. And then, as a result, they weren’t as camouflaged at the end of the experiment. So they’d be much more manifest to predator.
Carter says the stress caused by ship noise may affect hormones that regulate color change in crabs or destroy the energy needed to make the change efficiently. The research not only puts a spotlight on the unintended consequences of noise pollution, but is a reminder that too much stress isn’t just bad for people — it can also be deadly to wildlife that needs some peace and quiet.
1. Why is ultraviolet photography used in the experiment?| A．To scare away shorebirds. |
| B．To kill the bacteria in crabs’ new habitat. |
| C．To test the effectiveness of crab’s camouflage. |
| D．To monitor the shorebird population in nighttime. |
| A．Avoidable. | B．Noticeable. |
| C．Changeable. | D．Adjustable. |
| A．Carter conducted the experiment on her own. |
| B．The crab that heard natural sound lost some weight. |
| C．Carter created three kinds of living environment for crabs. |
| D．The crab that heard ship noise slightly changed their color. |
| A．Noises do harm to us people. |
| B．Wildlife needs a quiet environment. |
| C．Crabs aren’t camouflaged in new habitats. |
| D．Stress can change the hormones in humans. |
8 . As we enter into adulthood and continue to navigate everything that comes with it—work, kids, mortgage, you know—our childhood starts to feel further and further away.
Research shows that major issues in adulthood—from addiction and anxiety to compulsive overeating and relationship issues—can be better understood, and resolved, by looking back toward our childhood.
For anyone who experienced trauma (创伤) in their early years, those feelings can resurface later in life, explains Diane Young, a senior mental doctor at South Pacific Private.
“Many of us who see ourselves as ‘successful’ adults don’t relate our current behaviors and values to childhood experiences, until something becomes problematic and a professional connects it back—this can often be a light-bulb moment. Childhood is where we learn how to relate, where we develop our sense of self-worth and our interpersonal skills, so even minor forms of trauma, abuse or neglect can have an outsize influence later on in life,” Young says.
Want to know about how childhood experiences can affect your adult relationships? Here, Young helps us connect the dots between our past and our present.
How is childhood trauma defined?
“It is any experience that has a negative impact and is overwhelming to the child. It includes abandonment, neglect, divorce, death, being raised in a family with addicted parents or parents suffering with mental health issues. Some families can look perfect on the outside, but may be common with painful and destructive relational patterns that have long-lasting consequences.”
How can you recognize that you have a problem and that it’s linked to past events?
“When the behavior, substance or emotions seem to have control of you, rather than you having control of them—that’s a key sign that you have a problem. When thinking about the past, you will do everything to not feel the pain, fear or shame of those experiences. Other signs include feeling on ‘high alert’ all the time, having flashbacks, experiencing high levels of anxiety, codependent relationships and low self-esteem.”
How can someone break the habit of repeating past negative behaviors?
“Reach out for help—usually this is from a partner, friend or family member. And make the call to a mental health professional—a therapist, or an adviser. There is help available if you reach out.”
1. The passage mainly focuses on the fact that ________.| A．childhood and adulthood is closely related |
| B．childhood has slight influence upon adulthood |
| C．childhood’s negative experiences are unavoidable |
| D．adulthood has a cure for childhood’s behaviors |
| A．repeat | B．rediscover | C．reappear | D．recover |
| A．adulthood is someway a reflection of childhood |
| B．a successful person is one without problems in childhood |
| C．childhood experiences are most important throughout lifetime |
| D．adulthood experiences have little to do with childhood |
| A．Problematic families always have painful and destructive consequences on children. |
| B．South Pacific Private is an organization that deals with childhood mental health issues like trauma. |
| C．A light-bulb moment is when a person experiences most troublesome moment. |
| D．When you experience high levels of anxiety, it’s a key sign that you suffer a trauma. |
9 . Don’t teenagers hate being treated like children? Shouldn’t we accept that they are growing up? Yes, of course, they are growing up and may want to change things about their habits or activities, but parents trying to be “supportive” and encourage these changes often do more harm than good.
For example, you and the rest of your family are heading up to the mall for hours. Your teenage daughter Laura has shown resistance to being seen with you in public recently, so you decide not to persuade her to come with you. This seems like a very respectful thing to do that takes into account her feelings and opinions, but when you return she is upset. What went wrong? Well, many things could have gone wrong while you were away. She could have been caught up in friend drama, boy drama, or any other kinds of drama. Or she could be feeling hurt. Maybe she really didn’t want to go to the mall with you, but maybe you should have at least talked with her about it. Even knowing that you wanted to spend time around her probably would have felt good.
Some people say that this is an unreasonable expectation for parents to be “enabling” their kids to demand constant attention and validation (确认). I say, spending 30 extra seconds to make sure your children know you care about them is only “enabling” them to have a part of the self-worth they are so lacking at this time in their lives.
Expecting them to be removed and emotionally distant from you only re-enforces the idea that they should be. Always give them the choice to be an independent teen or your baby girl. When they need a break from the high school soap opera, you will both be glad you didn’t close that door.
1. Which can replace the underlined word “resistance” in Para. 2?| A．agreement | B．hesitation | C．interest | D．unwillingness |
| A．Teenagers need to be respected. |
| B．Teenagers want to be independent. |
| C．Teenagers are not mature enough. |
| D．Teenagers are changeable in character. |
| A．Teenagers’ self-worth is ignored. |
| B．Teenagers’ privacy is not respected. |
| C．Parents ignore teenagers’ feelings and opinions. |
| D．Parents are too busy to notice teenagers’ presence. |
| A．Analyse the real cause of the case. |
| B．Add some background information. |
| C．Try to find a solution to the problem. |
| D．Introduce a new topic for discussion. |
10 . Girls are doing better than ever. Don’t let the pandemic block them.
For much of human history and in many places, girls were considered property. Or, at best, subordinate people, required to obey their fathers until the day they had to start obeying their husbands. Few people thought it worthwhile to educate them. Even fewer imagined that a girl could grow up to govern Germany, run the IMF or invent a vaccine.
In most of the world that vision of girlhood now seems not merely old-fashioned but unimaginably remote. In field after field girls have caught up with boys. Globally, young women now outnumber young men at university. The speed of change has been violent.
When societies handle girlhood well, the knock-on effects are astonishing. A girl who finishes secondary school is less likely to become a child bride or a teenager-age mother. Education boosts earning power and widens choices, so she is less likely to be poor or to suffer domestic abuse.
And she will pass on considerable advantages to later generation. A recent study by Citigroup and Plan International estimated that, if a group of emerging economies ensured that 100% of their girls completed secondary school, it could lead to a lasting boost to their GDP of 10% by 2030.
The COVID-19 pandemic could block progress for girls in poor countries, or even reverse it. During previous disasters, they have often suffered most. When Ebola forced west African schools to close in 2014,many girls dropped out, never went back and ended up pregnant or as child laborers. UNICEF warns that something similar could happen with COVID-19—but on a larger scale.
The risk of going backward is real. So it is crucial that, even if governments of poor countries have to tighten their belts, spending on education and girls should be a top priority.
1. The underlined word “subordinate” in the second paragraph could possibly mean ________.| A．lower | B．best | C．selfless | D．adorable |
| A．girls have suffered great unfairness |
| B．girls can perform better than boys in many fields |
| C．girls play a vital and profound role in the society |
| D．girls shouldn’t become child brides or teenager age mothers |
| A．show its relation with COVID 19 | B．stress its bad effect on girls |
| C．arouse public attention to girls | D．serve as a helpful reference. |
| A．Content and relaxed. | B．Disappointed but optimistic. |
| C．Satisfied but worried. | D．Admirable and positive. |
