1 . Some 30, 000 years ago, artists who lived in caves in Europe painted pictures of the animals around them.The paintings were highly realistic. Some even showed movement．The artwork is considered the oldest group of human cave drawings that have ever been discovered. The drawings were created tens of thousands of years ago before human history was written. They were preserved because the cave was closed off for more or less 23,000 years．
Fast forward to December 18, 1994, a group of French cave scientists were exploring caves in southern France. Jean-Marie Chauvet, who led the group then, described the process of discovering the cave paintings.“At that time I was in the front, Eliette just walked behind me, Christian behind．Eliette said she saw two marks made with red ochre and she said, ‘They came here.’ And at this very moment everything began. The drawings and everything were linked to the parietal art. That is where it started.” Cave art expert Jean Clottes reviewed the paintings．“I was amazed at the number of paintings there and their quality.”
The Chauvet Cave has been named after the explorer who first entered it. However, its environment and drawings are too fragile to be visited by human beings. So the cave is closed, and only people there for scientific purposes can go inside and see the artwork.
However, French authorities asked experts to create an exact copy of the cave, called the Pont d’Arc Cavern. The copy cost more than 59 million dollars to build．Pascal Terrasse is the president of the cave. He says everyone will be able to experience the thrill of looking at drawings made by the first humans in Europe. He says the place is magic because it is done so well.
1. Who is the first scientist to enter the cave?| A．Christian. | B．Eliette. |
| C．Jean Clottes. | D．Jean-Marie Chauvet. |
| A．Elegant and abstract. | B．Vivid and superior. |
| C．Complicated and creative. | D．Delicate and colourful. |
| A．It was closed off for some 30, 000 years. |
| B．It’s the origin of modern parietal art. |
| C．The artwork is very easy to damage. |
| D．No one is given access to it now. |
| A．To show admiration for early artists in Europe. |
| B．To arouse visitors’ awareness of protecting art. |
| C．To offer visitors chances to enjoy the artwork. |
| D．To collect money for preserving the cave. |
2 . Researchers in Norway say they have found what they believe is the world’s oldest runestone (符文石)—a stone with ancient writing on it.
Runes are the characters in several Germanic letters. These characters were used in northern Europe from ancient times until the change to the Latin letters. The origin of runic writing is unclear. The Norwegian researchers say the writing on the runestone could be up to 2,000 years old.
The runestone is square and flat. The runes carved into it may show the earliest example of recorded words in Scandinavia, the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo said. It said it was “among the oldest runic writings ever found” and “the oldest runestone ever found in the world”.
Kristel Zilmer is a professor at University of Oslo, of which the museum is part. Zilmer said, “This find will give us a lot of knowledge about the use of runes in the early Iron Age. This may be one of the first attempts to use runes in Norway and Scandinavia on stone.”
Runes have been found on stones and on home goods. Older runes have been found on other objects, also, but not on stones. The oldest known runic writing is on a hair tool made from bone. Zilmer said that the ancient writer might have used a knife or needle to make the runes.
Measuring 31 centimeters by 32 centimeters, the stone has several kinds of writings. Not all of them make sense. Eight runes on the front of the stone read “idiberug”—which could be the name of a person or family but not sure.
There is still a lot of research to be done on the rock, named Svingerud stone after where it was found.
The Museum of Cultural History is going to hold a public showing of the runestone for a month. The museum holds Norway’s largest collection of historical objects, from ancient times to the modern day.
1. Where have the oldest runes been found?| A．On a bone. | B．On a stone. | C．On the iron. | D．On home goods. |
| A．The content on it. | B．The person who found it. |
| C．The place where it was discovered. | D．The date when it was found. |
| A．The origin of the runes. | B．The shape and size of the runestone. |
| C．The meaning of all the runes. | D．The exact age of the runestone. |
| A．Origin of Latin Has Been Discovered |
| B．Runestones Show Life of Ancient People |
| C．Stone with Ancient Writing on It Is on Show |
| D．Researchers Discover World’s Oldest Runestone |
3 . Scientists have uncovered a series of 3,000-year-old items at Sanxingdui in China’s Sichuan province since 2019 and identified that the creators belonged to the Shu state, a highly developed civilization united by the neighboring state of Qin in 316 BC.
One of the major finds is a 0. 6-pound gold mask that may have been worn by a churchman during religious ceremonies. About 84% pure gold, the whole piece likely weighed close to one pound in its entirety, making it one of the heaviest gold masks from that time period discovered in China to date.
Other discoveries made at the site included two kinds of silk. Silk has played an important role in China’s history. As the researchers point out, the ancient people of Sanxingdui probably wore silk clothes during religious ceremonies. The silk was thought to serve as a means of communication between heaven, earth, man and god. Besides these religious ceremonies, silk was also used to make fine clothing, fans and wall hangings. Civilizations across the ancient world, from Rome, Persia, Egypt to Greece, similarly treasured Chinese silk. Traders were sent along the Silk Road to China to obtain the highly sought-after material. The presence of silk at Sanxingdui indicates that the ancient Shu state was one of the important origins of silk in ancient China.
Other important discoveries included bronze animals and carvings that bear distinct similarities to objects found along the Yangtze River and in Southeast Asia, suggesting that the Shu civilization engaged in broad exchanges with many areas.
Since 1929 when a local farmer accidentally found Sanxingdui, researchers have uncovered more than 50,000 ancient items at the site. For example, more than 1,000 items, including well-kept bronze masks, were unearthed in 1986 alone.
1. What can we say about the gold mask found at Sanxingdui?| A．It is not made of pure gold. | B．It is the heaviest ever uncovered. |
| C．It weighs close to one pound. | D．It might be used during festivals. |
| A．The Shu people used silk just for decoration. |
| B．The Shu people brought silk to the other countries. |
| C．The Shu state was far more developed than Europe. |
| D．The Shu state might be one of the earliest silk producers. |
| A．The discoverer of Sanxingdui. | B．The timeline of the discoveries at Sanxingdui. |
| C．The long history of Sanxingdui. | D．The achievements of Sanxingdui unearthing. |
| A．To promote an attraction in Sichuan province. | B．To report the important discoveries at Sanxingdui. |
| C．To explore the relationship between Shu and Qin. | D．To evaluate the ancient civilizations in the world. |
4 . In 1879, an 8-year-old girl made a discovery that would rock our understanding of human history. On the walls of Altamira cave in northern Spain, she spotted amazing drawings of wild cows, painted in vivid red and black. More striking even than the images was their age: they were made thousands of years ago by modern humans’ supposedly primitive ancestors. Today, nearly 400 caves across Europe have been found decorated with hand stencils (模板), strange symbols and beautiful images of animals created by these skillful artists.
The discoveries led to the view that artistic talent arose after modern humans arrived in the region some 40,000 years ago, as part of a “cultural explosion” reflecting a flowering of the human mind. But more recent evidence has blown this idea out of the water. For a start, modern humans might not have been the first artists in Europe. What’s more, a collection of cave paintings emerging in Indonesia has dismissed the idea that Europe was the centre of creativity.
Local people have long known that the caves of the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, contain many painted images. Modern humans are thought to have reached the region some 65,000 years ago, but nobody imagined the art could be very old because ancient paintings seem unlikely to survive in the environment of high temperatures. A team of researchers led by Maxime Aubert, now at Griffith University in Australia, upended this idea using a technique that is shifting our understanding of cave art. Using this technique in seven caves, they found a hand stencil was at least 39,900 years old, making it the oldest known hand stencil at that time.
This opened a floodgate to new discoveries in Indonesia. These included a hunting scene created at least 43,900 years ago, and by far the oldest descriptive artwork. “When we found that image, we were absolutely delighted, but when it turned out to be that old, we were almost jumping with joy,” says Adam Brumm, also at Griffith University.
1. What did the girl find in the cave?| A．Wild animals. | B．Ancient images. |
| C．Painting techniques. | D．Recording artists. |
| A．It can be traced back to Europe. |
| B．It reflected the flowering of human minds. |
| C．Modern humans led to its rise in Indonesia. |
| D．Modern humans might not have been real artists. |
| A．Proved. | B．Strengthened. | C．Overturned. | D．Overemphasized. |
| A．The amazing discoveries. | B．The researchers’ expectations. |
| C．The benefits of the technique. | D．The description of the cave art. |
5 . Japanese archaeologists (考古学家) have uncovered al 7.5-foot-long irons sword and a bronze mirror from an ancient tomb near the city of Nara. Researchers found both artifacts while unearthing a l,600-year-old site called Tomio Maruyama.
The weapon, known as a dako sword, is so large that it was likely never used for self-defense, serving instead as a means of protection against evil after death. Like other dako swords unearthed in the country, this one looks like a snake. Due to the artifact’s size, the researchers initially thought they had found multiple swords lined up next to each other.
Experts said the mirror, which is shaped like a shield (盾), was also likely used to shun evil spirits. It measures 25 inches by 12 inches and weighs more than 12 pounds, making it the largest of its kind discovered in Japan, too.
The finds offer new insights into the Kofun period, which lasted from around the year 250 AD to 538 AD and is named for the distinctive tomb mounds, constructed to bury members of the ruling class. Kosaku Okabayashi, the deputy director for Nara prefecture’s Archaeological Institute of Kashihara, said, “These discoveries indicate that the technology of the Kofun period is beyond what had been imagined, and they are masterpieces in metalwork from that period.”
Japan is home to an estimated 160,000 burial mounds from the Kofun period, though the Tomio Maruyama kofun is particularly large. Measuring 350 feet in diameter and up to 32 feet tall, it dates back to the late fourth century.
Archaeologists think it has some connection to an influential person who supported the rulers of the day, the imperial Yamato family. Based on the presence of the two artifacts, the dead person may have been involved in military and ritualistic matters. So far, the researchers have discovered a coffin but no human remains in the burial chamber.
1. How did researchers find an irons sword and a bronze mirror?| A．By exploring an old tomb. |
| B．By asking experienced local villagers. |
| C．By searching for much information online. |
| D．By carefully studying historical materials. |
| A．It is in a very small size. |
| B．It looks like a sharp shield. |
| C．It was mainly used for self-defense. |
| D．It might be used to drive the evil away. |
| A．Schedule. | B．Design. | C．Avoid. | D．Express. |
| A．Negative. | B．Appreciative. | C．Unclear. | D．Indifferent. |
6 . A seven-word sentence was discovered on a 3,700-year-old comb (梳子),which is likely the oldest known sentence written in letters,according to a new study. The sentence is in Canaanite (迦南语),which is the source (来源) of later letter systems in European languages.
The comb was first discovered in 2016 in Israeli. However,it wasn’t until 2021 that a researcher from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem first noticed the words when checking the photo of the comb. The researchers were not able to directly date the comb. They believed it dated from around 1700 BC based on comparison of the letters with those on pottery (陶器) with a known age.
Garfinkel,a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,said,“The Canaanites invented the letters. Nowadays every person in the world can read and write using the letter system. This is really one of the most important achievements of humankind. When you are writing in English,you’re really using Canaanite.”
Small groups of Canaanite letters discovered on broken pieces of pottery before did not leave much room for further research on the lives of the Canaanites. But this find of a sentence written in the first letter-based language opens up the debate about the history during the ancient time period.
Garfinkel said,“The sentence was found on an ivory comb in the ancient city’s palace and temple area,which could suggest that only wealthy men were able to read and write.” The earliest writing system started around 5,000 years ago,which relied on hundreds of pictographs (象形文字) to represent words,ideas and sounds. Canaanites were the first to use letters in their writing system. “It shows that even in the most ancient times there were full sentences,which further suggests that Canaanites stood out among the early civilizations in their use of the written word.”
1. What do we know about Canaanite?| A．It has a history of 3,700 years. | B．It is the oldest known language. |
| C．Its sentences are in many languages. | D．Its letters are still in use at present. |
| A．It was discovered on some pottery. | B．It was identified on a comb in 2016. |
| C．It was recognized when dating the comb. | D．It was recognized on a photo of the comb. |
| A．The influence of Canaanite letters. |
| B．The rules of using Canaanite letters. |
| C．The problem in identifying the Canaanite sentence. |
| D．The explanation of the discovered Canaanite sentence. |
| A．Useless. | B．Meaningful. | C．Confusing. | D．Unacceptable. |
7 . Like many of the arts, music flourished during the Zhou dynasty. From this period we have instruments, models of performers, descriptions of musicians and dancers, and the Shijing, or The Book of Poetry, which contains poems and songs of court and common people during the Zhou dynasty. It is likely that music played an extremely important role in the Zhou dynasty for all social classes.
One of the most important sources of information the researchers have regarding Zhou-dynasty music is from the tomb of the Marquis Yi of Zeng (433 B.C.E.). This tomb was uncovered in 1977 in Hubei Province and contained the most extensive and well-preserved set of musical instruments ever found in an ancient Chinese tomb. This four-chamber (室) tomb was designed in imitation of a palace with a central courtyard, reflecting the belief that the Marquis Yi would require the same comforts in the afterlife that he had enjoyed during his lifetime. The central chamber of the tomb, which mirrored a palace courtyard, contained most of the musical instruments found, including a complete set of sixty-five graduated bells fixed on wooden shelves. In addition, twenty-one young women were buried with the Marquis Yi, some of whom were likely his favorite musicians and dancers.
The Marquis Yi’s set of sixty-five bells is remarkable for a variety of reasons. First, they are clearly dated—an inscription (碑文) indicates that the bells were a gift given to him in 433 B.C.E.. Second, the bells were very expensive to produce and to purchase, particularly a set of this size, so they are further evidence of the Marquis Yi’s status. Finally, the bells, along with the other instruments in the room, illustrate what an instrumental band might have consisted of during this period. Scholars predict that it would have required twenty-four musicians to play all instruments at once.
There are still many gaps in our knowledge of ancient Chinese music, partly because there was no system for recording music in a written form.
1. The Book of Poetry is mentioned in paragraph 1 to _______.| A．show the significance of the book. |
| B．describe the meaning of the book. |
| C．represent the life of people in the Zhou dynasty. |
| D．show the popularity of music in the Zhou dynasty. |
| A．It contains a complete set of musical instruments. |
| B．It is designed by the Marquis Yi of Zeng. |
| C．It is of the same size as that of the palace. |
| D．It reflects the wish of the Marquis Yi for his life after death. |
| A．Because it once was an expensive gift. |
| B．Because it was difficult to buy at that time. |
| C．Because it might prove the Marquis Yi’s position. |
| D．Because it needs twenty-four performers to play at the same time. |
| A．A look into the Zhou-dynasty Music. | B．An Invaluable Tomb. |
| C．Ancient Musical Instruments. | D．The Importance of Ancient Music. |
8 . In 1914, Emest Shackleton and his team left England in a wooden sailing ship called the Endurance, hoping to become the first to cross Antarctica.
But in 1915, the Endurance became trapped over the Weddell Sea. The ice destroyed the Endurance and later sank it. Shackleton and all of his men lived, but the tale of their long and difficult return is one of the most famous survival stories of all time.
Much was known about the location of the Endurance. The ship’s captain kept accurate records of the ship’s position. The ship’s photographer even took pictures of it as it went down. But the ship, deep in the icy waters near Antarctica, had never been found.
Now, a search team called “Endurance22” located the ship, which was found 1.87 miles below the ocean’s surface, about four miles south of its last known position. The team reports that the ship is in excellent shape. Even though the ship is made of wood and is over 100 years old, it has survived with little damage. Scientists say that the small worms that normally break down wooden objects underwater don’t live in the cold waters around Antarctica.
The Endurance 22 is led by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust. The team ran the project from an ice-breaking ship. To locate the Endurance, the team used two underwater robots called Sabertooths which can travel by themselves deep under the sea. What makes them unique is that they can travel under the ice and go where the ship can not. Once the ship was located, the Sabertooths used high-quality cameras and scanners to record the Endurance in detail.
The Endurance22 plans to create a digital 3D model of the wreck site, using the careful scans they made. This will allow scientists to study the ship in detail without disturbing it.
1. What can we know about Shackleton?| A．He had a hard journey back home. | B．He was also a famous photographer. |
| C．He built the Endurance by himself. | D．He was the first to cross Antarctica. |
| A．Fine weather. | B．Its size. | C．Wood material. | D．Cold water. |
| A．They can operate by remote control. | B．They can search the sea floor. |
| C．They can travel under the ice. | D．They can break ice on the sea. |
| A．They will check it in person. | B．They will let it remain untouched. |
| C．They will use scanners to record its details. | D．They will raise it from the seabed immediately. |
9 . The researchers say they have discovered two huge magma chambers (岩浆库) under Wei Mountain in Heilongjiang. If it is true, it will be a surprising discovery since the volcano last erupted over 500,000 years ago.
Zhang Haijiang and his team visited nearly 100 sites across Wei Mountain. They were looking for magma, and they found an unusual signal from 15km underground, followed by another one at 8km. Their computer modelling suggested there could be two huge magma chambers with a depth of more than 9km. According to their research, 15 percent of the upper chamber is now filled with molten (熔化的) rock. Some studies have suggested that a volcanic eruption could take place when a chamber is filled to 40 percent magma.
They suggested that the volcanic activity in northeast China is likely to be in an active stage, and the active volcanic monitoring is needed to further understand the magma system in this area.
Xu Jiandong, director of the volcanic research, said seismic (地震的) stations had been monitoring this area for many years. "If there are really huge magma chambers in the area, we should have found some related seismic activities—When the lower chamber fills the upper one, there should be some movement," he said. "But so far, after decades of monitoring on the site, we've picked up almost nothing. The whole area has been very, very quiet," he added.
So did the researchers really find huge magma chambers? While the unusual signals found by Zhang's team looked like magma chambers, they could also have been caused by other things.
But what is for sure is that the area is active. It's like porridge boiling in a pot. But since the studies in recent years have suggested a low risk of immediate eruption in the area, the government has not set up seismic stations around. And it is certain that they aren't prepared for a big eruption over there.
1. What do Zhang Haijiang and his team say they've found under Wei Mountain?| A．Lots of frozen rocks. | B．Two magma chambers. |
| C．Nearly 100 volcanic sites. | D．A huge magma system. |
| A．They don't find any seismic activities. |
| B．The active volcanic monitoring is needed. |
| C．Their efforts to monitor volcanoes are useless. |
| D．Volcanic eruptions never happened in this area. |
| A．Volcanic eruptions. | B．Zhang's team members. |
| C．The seismic stations. | D．The unusual signals. |
| A．What Can Cause Volcanoes to Erupt in Northeast China? |
| B．Is Chinese Government Ready for Volcanic Eruptions? |
| C．Are There Magma Chambers Under Wei Mountain? |
| D．Is Active Volcanic Monitoring Needed in China? |
10 . In April 2018, a group of Canadian scientists flying in a helicopter (直升飞机) discovered something they didn't expect to see — a huge, unknown cave with an opening the size of a football field.
The cave was discovered in the northern part of Wells Gray Provincial Park, in a wild, faraway area of Canada's Cariboo Mountains. The area is hard to get to and even harder to travel through. It is covered with snow for much of the year.
The group told Catherine Hickson, a scientist who studies rocks, about the cave. Dr. Hickson got a team of researchers together to study it. In September, they went for a closer look after most of the snow melted (融化). The cave is one of the largest in Canada. Not only is the opening to the cave larger than a football field, the cave is also deep. The team couldn't measure (测量) all the way to the bottom, but they think it may be more than 180 meters deep. The cave is tens of thousands of years old. But the rock in the cave is made of used to be at the bottom of an ocean (海洋). It is hundreds of millions of years old.
A small, but fast river of melting snow leads into the cave on one side, creating a waterfall near the top and a river at the bottom. The water comes out again a long way away. The exit (出口) is about 2.1 kilometers away and about l/2 kilometer lower down.
The cave will have to wait to get an official name. For now, the cave is being called "Sarlacc's Pit "because it looks similar to the home of the Sarlacc, a person in the Star Wars movie Return of the Jedi.
For Dr. Hickson, there's a lesson to be learned from the cave. "It shows you that you don't know everything, "she says." There are things yet to be discovered."
1. Why did the cave remain unknown in the past?| A．It is in a wild mountain area. | B．It has been there for just a few years. |
| C．Its opening is too small to be noticed. | D．The weather there is cold all year round. |
| A．The history of the cave. | B．Some facts about the cave. |
| C．The value of studying the cave. | D．The methods of studying the cave. |
| A．The snow. | B．The river. | C．The ocean. | D．The rock. |
| A．local culture | B．its discoverers | C．the way it looks | D．the name of a film star |
