1 . Around the end of the first century AD, a Roman writer called Pliny wrote about a terrible volcanic eruption that he
2 . Metal detecting (探测) is a big hobby in the U.K. This year, more people have been doing this because of the corona-virus (新冠病毒). Social distancing is very easy when people work with their metal detectors. More than 47,000 objects were found with metal detectors in 2020. People have been recording their finds on an app on the British Museum’s website. The U.K. Culture Minister said, “It is amazing to see the app growing from strength to strength during lockdown thanks to garden discoveries and digital reporting.”
The British Museum said people have dug up many exciting and interesting things this year. Perhaps the best find among the new discoveries are two hoards (批) of coins. One of the hoards contained 50 South African gold coins found 50 miles northwest of London. The other coin hoard contained 63 gold coins and one silver coin featuring (刻有) the British kings Edward IV and Henry VIII. Experts believe they were buried in the 16th century. Another find was an ancient Roman furniture fitting made of copper. It featured the face of the god Oceanus and dates back to AD 43-200.
The UK’s Treasure Act of 1996 requires that finders report each discovery more than 300 years old to the local government in the area where they found it. If the local authority defines the object as treasure, the government then pays a fair market price to the discoverer.
The database of the British Museum contains records of more than 1.5 million objects discovered since 1998 by the general public rather than by professional archaeologists. The museum said that the app ensures that finds are not lost but instead recorded, which are important for understanding Britain’s past.
1. Why has metal detecting become more popular this year?| A．Because metal is more expensive. | B．Because the equipment is cheaper. |
| C．Because there are more gold coins. | D．Because people have fewer social activities. |
| A．114. | B．113. | C．63. | D．50. |
| A．A type of metal. | B．A shell. | C．A symbol. | D．A piece of wood. |
| A．When he sells the treasure he finds in the market. |
| B．When he hands in the over-300-year-old treasure he finds. |
| C．When he reports his discovery in time to the government. |
| D．When he records his finds on the British Museum’s website. |
The Mysteries of the Maya
Extending south from parts of what we now know as Mexico into Central America, Maya civilisation
The fact that Maya society was technologically primitive makes its achievements more incredible and mysterious. Meanwhile, the rise and fall of this civilisation must also leave us
Some research seems to indicate that the Maya people themselves may have played a part in their downfall. Research also suggests that those natural
Ancient Whale Skeleton Holds Clues to Climate Change
A whale skeleton thought to be up to 5000 years old has been discovered, almost perfectly preserved, by researchers in Thailand.
The skeleton, believed
The bones will be carbon dated to identify their age, but it is thought that they are
Bryde’s whales are still found in Thailand’s waters,
The remains, which were found about 12 kilometres inland, will help scientists understand the evolution of the species, and track
Marcus Chua, of the National University of Singapore, said the discovery adds to evidence of “relatively large sea level changes around 6000 years to 3000 years ago in the Gulf of Thailand, where the shoreline was up to tens of kilometres inland in comparison to the present coast.”
Previously, only marine deposits
Such evidence is highly relevant, given that the climate crisis is contributing to rising sea levels. “This
The discovery will also help deepen researchers’ understanding of the Bryde’s whale, and other marine life. Alongside the skeleton, researchers found preserved items including shark teeth and shells. “Scientists could also study the deposits
Chinese researchers
The relics were uncovered in six pits (坑),
“Thanks to the new
“Once the two pits had been cleaned, the urgency for further excavation did not exist,” he said. “Archaeology cannot be rushed. We have to wait
Following an academic project aimed at more deeply understanding the ancient civilization in Sichuan province known as Shu, whose
7 . Discoveries at the famous Sanxingdui ruins in Southwest China show that the region’s ancient Shu Kingdom Civilization shared similarities with the Maya.
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, while the Mayan civilization built its city states around 200 AD.
The bronze-made remains of trees unearthed at the ruins of the Shu Kingdom resemble the sacred ceiba tree, which symbolied the union of heaven, earth and the underworld In the Mayan civilization. “They are very important similarities,” says Santos, a Mexican archaeologist, stressing that “the representations of tees in both cultures provide a symbolism that is very similar”.
One notable feature of the recent discoveries at Sanxingdui was the cross-subject work and technology applied by teams of Chinese archaeologists, which allowed the unearthing of artifacts as fragile as silk remains, which other types of less careful digging methods would not have been able to manage.
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 ruins.
“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,” says Santos.
1. What is a similarity between the Shu Kingdom and Maya civilization?| A．Their starting time. | B．Their historical origins. |
| C．Their cultural symbols. | D．Their ceremony traditions. |
| A．Damp weather. | B．Positioning of ruins. |
| C．High latitude. | D．Language barriers. |
| A．The future of the China-Mexico cooperation. |
| B．The benefits of speaking a different language. |
| C．The importance of the exchange of cultural knowledge. |
| D．The increasing sisterhood in culture between China and Mexico. |
| A．Ahistorical novel. | B．A newspaper. | C．A research review. | D．A guidebook. |
ZHENGZHOU—Pingdingshan University in Central China’s Henan province has found more than1,000 ceramic (陶瓷) balls used in a golf-like ball game in ancient China. The university make the
The relics are related to an ancient game called “Chuiwan” in Chinese,
Most of the balls arc about 5 centimeters in diameter. The relics date back to as early as the Tang Dynasty,
“This is the first time that China
9 . When another old cave is discovered in the south of France, it is not usually news. Rather, it is an ordinary: event. Such discoveries are so frequent these days that hardly anybody notices them. However, when the Lascaux Cave was discovered in 1940, the world was amazed. Painted directly on its walls were hundreds of scenes showing how people lived thousands of years ago. The scenes show people hunting animals, such as bison or wild cats. Other images depict birds and, most noticeably, horses, which appear in more than 300 wall images, by far outnumbering all other animals.
Early artists drawing these animals accomplished a monumental and difficult task. They did not limit themselves to the easily accessible walls but carried their painting materials to spaces that required climbing steep walls or crawling into narrow passages in the Lascaux Cave.
Unfortunately, the paintings have been exposed to the destructive action of water and temperature changes, which easily wear the images away. Because the Lascaux Cave have many entrances, air movement has also damaged the images inside.
Although they are not out in the open air, where natural light would have destroyed them long ago, many of the images have deteriorated and are barely recognizable. To prevent further damage, the site was closed to tourists in 1963, 23 years after it was discovered.
1. Which title best summarizes the main idea of the passage?| A．Wild animals in art | B．Hidden prehistoric paintings |
| C．Exploring caves respectfully | D．Determining the age of French caves |
| A．Show. | B．Hunt. | C．Count. | D．Draw. |
| A．It was completely dark inside. |
| B．The caves were full of wild animals. |
| C．Painting materials were hard to find. |
| D．Many painting spaces were difficult to reach. |
Come and see the Terracotta Army: more than 8,000 statues were made in the third century BCE
