1 . A large conch (海螺) shell brought little attention in a French museum for many years, but it is now quickly gaining attention. The shell is thought to be the oldest known seashell instrument. And it still works, producing a deep sound, like a horn from the distant past.
The shell was found during the exploration of a cave with prehistoric walk paintings in the Pyrenees Mountains in France. It was believed to be a drinking cup for ceremony. Scientists from the University of Toulouse recently took a fresh look at the conch shell. They now believe it was to serve as a wind instrument. They also invited a French horn player to play it.
“Hearing it for the first time, for me it was a big emotion and caused some worry.” Said archaeology researcher Carole Fritz She feared that playing the 31-centimeter-long shell might damage it, but it did not. The shell produced clear musical notes in C, C sharp and D. The researchers estimate it to be about 18,000 years old.
Conch shells have been used widely in musical and ceremonial traditions, including in ancient Peru, Japan and India. The shell instrument found in the Marsoulas cave is now the oldest known example. Earlier, Gilles Tosello, another archaeologist in Toulouse, said a conch shell instrument found in Syria was estimated to be about 6,000 years old.
The latest discovery was made after a recent inventory (盘货) at the Natural History Museum of Toulouse. The researchers noticed some unusual holes in the shell. Especially important is that the end of the shell was broken off. That created a hole large enough to blow through. Careful examinations with a microscope showed that the opening was made by humans.
Using a model of the shell, the archaeologists plan to continue studying the horn’s sounds. Tosello hoped to hear the ancient instrument played inside the cave where it was found. He said it was wonderful when an object was forgotten somewhere and suddenly it came again into the light.
1. In what case was the conch shell found?| A．On an exhibition in a French museum. | B．In a research on prehistoric wall paintings. |
| C．During the exploration of a cave in mountains. | D．In the observation of a ceremonial drinking cup. |
| A．To produce a deep sound. | B．To make it look more beautiful. |
| C．To create a hole to blow through. | D．To show it was unusual in design. |
| A．It gained attention as soon as it was discovered. |
| B．It could produce several unclear musical notes. |
| C．It was played by a French horn player and damage. |
| D．It was about 12,000 years older than the one found in Syria. |
| A．The oldest instrument can still be played | B．A research focuses on old shell instruments |
| C．A conch shell serves as a musical instrument | D．An ancient instrument comes into the light again |
2 . 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. |
