1 . Scientists have solved a puzzle about modern humans, after research showed that a famous skull of a human ancestor found in South Africa is a million years older than experts thought. This discovery has changed what we know of human history.
The skull, which scientists have named “Mrs Ples”, is from an ape-like human relative from a species called Australopithecus africanus (南方古猿). It was found near Johannesburg in 1947 and, based on evidence from its surroundings, was thought to be between 2. 1 and 2. 6 million years old. This puzzled scientists, because although Mrs Ples looks like a possible early ancestor of early humans, the first true humans had already evolved by the time she apparently lived. For this reason, scientists had decided that Australopithecus afarensis, a similar species from East Africa that lived about 3.5 million years ago, was our most likely ancestor instead.
To get a more accurate age for Mrs Ples, a team led by Professor Darryl Granger of Purdue University in Indiana, US, used a new method to date the sandy rocks where the skull lay. They measured the amount of certain chemicals in rocks, which form at a steady rate when they are exposed to cosmic rays (宇宙射线) on Earth’s surface. Once rocks are buried, these chemicals stop forming and slowly disappear;the surviving amount reveals how much time has passed since the rock (or bones) were on the surface.
The new study shows that Mrs Ples and other australopithecine bones nearby are between 3.4 and 3.7 million years old. This means they lived at the same time as their East African relatives, so that either group could have given rise to modern humans. However, team member Dr Laurent Bruxelles pointed out that over millions of years, at only 2,500 miles away, these groups had plenty of time to travel and to breed with each other. In other words, the groups could quite easily have met, had children together and both been part of the history of modern humans.
1. What can we learn about Mrs Ples from the first two paragraphs?| A．It is a skull found in East Africa. |
| B．It is the most possible ancestor of humans. |
| C．It is a million years older than scientists expected. |
| D．It is proved to live between 2.1 and 2.6 million years ago. |
| A．By studying the effect of cosmic rays. |
| B．By calculating the forming rate of chemicals. |
| C．By locating the sandy rocks where the skull lay. |
| D．By measuring the surviving amount of chemicals. |
| A．Modern humans came into being in East Africa. |
| B．Mrs Ples travelled and had children with East African relatives. |
| C．The history of modern humans might begin 3.5 million years ago. |
| D．Ape-like species from Africa could have interacted with each other. |
| A．Historical Puzzle Unsolved | B．Ancestor Mystery Solved |
| C．Mrs Ples: The Earliest Human Being | D．Mrs Ples: A Famous Skull |
2 . No one is sure how the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids near Cairo. But a new study suggests they used a little rock ‘n’ roll. Long-ago builders could have attached wooden poles to the stones and rolled them across the sand, the scientists say.
“Technically, I think what they're proposing is possible,” physicist Daniel Bonn said.
People have long puzzled over how the Egyptians moved such huge rocks. And there's no obvious answer. On average, each of the two million big stones weighed about as much as a large pickup truck. The Egyptians somehow moved the stone blocks to the pyramid site from about one kilometer away.
The most popular view is that Egyptian workers slid the blocks along smooth paths. Many scientists suspect workers first would have put the blocks on sleds(滑板). Then they would have dragged them along paths. To make the work easier, workers may have lubricated the paths either with wet clay or with the fat from cattle. Bonn has now tested this idea by building small sleds and dragging heavy objects over sand. .
Evidence from the sand supports this idea. Researchers found small amounts of fat, as well as a large amount of stone and the remains of paths.
However, physicist Joseph West, who led the new study, thinks there might have been a simpler way. West said, “I was inspired while watching a television program showing how sleds might have helped with pyramid construction. I thought, ‘Why don't they just try rolling the things?’” A square could be turned into a rough sort of wheel by attaching wooden poles to its sides, he realized. That, he noted, should make a block of stone “a lot easier to roll than a square”.
So he tried it. He and his students tied some poles to each of four sides of a 30-kilogram stone block. That action turned the block into somewhat a wheel. Then they placed the block on the ground.
They wrapped one end of a rope around the block and pulled. The researchers found they could easily roll the block along different kinds of paths. They calculated that rolling the block required about as much force as moving it along a slippery(滑的) path.
West hasn't tested his idea on larger blocks, but he thinks rolling has clear advantages over sliding. At least, workers wouldn't have needed to carry cattle fat or water to smooth the paths.
1. It's widely believed that the stone blocks were moved to the pyramid site by _________.| A．rolling them on roads | B．pushing them over the sand |
| C．sliding them on smooth paths | D．dragging them on some poles |
| A．Made the paths wet. | B．Made the paths hard. |
| C．Made the paths wide. | D．Made the paths slippery. |
| A．Because more force is needed for sliding. |
| B．Because rolling work can be done by fewer cattle. |
| C．Because sliding on smooth roads is more dangerous. |
| D．Because less preparation on paths is needed for rolling. |
| A．An experiment on ways of moving blocks to the pyramid site. |
| B．An application of the method of moving blocks to the pyramid site. |
| C．An argument about different methods of moving blocks to the pyramid site. |
| D．An introduction to a possible new way of moving blocks to the pyramid site. |
3 . Ninety years ago a man named Howard Carter made a great find. But he didn’t discover an unknown people group or a new plant. He found the resting place of a king.
People had seen signs of King Tutankhamun’s tomb (坟墓) but had never found it. Finally, Carter’s team discovered a set of steps that led down to some underground rooms. There Carter found the king’s body and many of his treasures.
Carter recorded his first impression in his popular book, The Tomb of Tut-Ankh-Amen:
At first I could see nothing, the hot air coming from the room causing the candle light to flicker (闪烁), but later, as my eyes grew used to the light, details of the room within appeared slowly and clearly, strange animals and gold — everywhere the light of gold... I was struck speechless with amazement, and when Lord Carnarvon, unable to stand the silence any longer, asked anxiously, “Can you see anything?” it was all I could do to get out the words, “Yes, wonderful things.”
The discovery has made King Tutankhamun, Tut for short, one of the best-remembered kings of Egypt. Tut became king when he was only 9 years old and ruled ancient Egypt from 1332 to 1323 B.C. No one is sure why, but he died suddenly before he turned 20. Because he died so young, there wasn’t time to prepare a great tomb for him. So he ended up with a smaller tomb. Its small size was actually the reason why it stayed hidden for so long. And, Tut’s tomb was not like other Egyptian kings’— it was not as damaged by time or robbers as other tombs. King Tut’s tomb remains the best-kept royal (皇室的) tomb ever discovered. The discovery of this little tomb has helped people learn a great deal about ancient Egypt.
1. We can learn from Paragraphs 1 and 2 that________.| A．Howard Carter found Tut’s tomb in the 1930s |
| B．there were a lot of treasures in Tut’s tomb |
| C．Howard Carter found Tut’s tomb by accident |
| D．a new plant was found in Tut’s tomb |
| A．Calm. | B．Proud. |
| C．Disappointed. | D．Shocked. |
| A．He died of a strange disease. | B．He ruled Egypt for about nine years. |
| C．He is known to few people today. | D．He built his own tomb over a long time. |
| A．King Tut’s story. | B．How to find a tomb. |
| C．Howard Carter’s achievement. | D．King Tut’s tomb. |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项 （A 、B 、C 和 D ）中，选出最佳选项。
The ancient city of Xi'an in China holds many treasures. And last month, archaeologists working there made an important discovery—a buried palace built in the third century B.C. to honor China's first emperor.
The entire palace measures roughly 2,260 feet long by 820 feet wide. It includes 10 courtyard houses and one main building. Archaeologists found bricks and pieces of pottery at the site of the palace, as well as the remains of walls and roads.
The palace is part of the massive burial complex of Emperor Qin Shihuangdi. He conquered seven warring kingdoms and united ancient China in 211 B.C.
Qin Shihuangdi wanted his legacy, or accomplishments, to be remembered forever. So he hired more than 700,000 workers to build his funeral complex in Xi'an. It represents a miniature version of his vast kingdom.
The complex also includes the world-famous terra-cotta army, a collection of more than 8,000 life-size clay statues. These sculptures represent soldiers, acrobats, and horses from the Qin Dynasty (221 B.C.-206 B.C.). Scientists have not yet found all these terra-cotta warriors, even though they discovered more of the statues last summer.
Farmers discovered the complex by accident in 1974. Since then, scientists studying the site have learned a great deal about life in ancient China. But much of the emperor's tomb has yet to be dug up, or unearthed. Many of the artifacts (objects from the past) are so old that scientists cannot preserve them.
"Archaeologists fully acknowledge that nobody in the world has the technology (to safely dig up Xi'an's treasures) yet," explains Kristin Romey, an expert on Chinese archaeology.
But as technology improves, archaeologists will keep digging to uncover the rest of the wonders that still lie buried in Xi'an.
"It's one of the most important archaeological discoveries that's waiting to be made," says Romey, "and we know where it is."
1. How long is the history of the newly found palace?
| A．About 820 years. |
| B．About 2,000 years. |
| C．About 2,200 years. |
| D．About 2,400 years. |
| A．To keep all of his treasures in store. |
| B．To expect people to remember him forever. |
| C．To prevent his body from disappearing soon. |
| D．To collect more than 8,000 life-size clay soldiers. |
| A．The local government doesn't support it. |
| B．Archaeologists are in great need. |
| C．There isn't plenty of money. |
| D．Technology isn't advanced yet. |
| A．An Ancient Palace is Uncovered |
| B．More Terra-cotta Warriors Are Found |
| C．Archeologists Are Waiting to Dig a Tomb |
| D．Technology Helps Discover the New Wonder |
