People worldwide have enjoyed noodles for thousands of years. But did you ever stop
Some people claim that Marco Polo brought pasta (意粉) to Italy. The tale of his discovery was likely enhanced to promote pasta consumption in America. Marco Polo’s writings suggest that noodles were already present in Italy during his time, as he compared Chinese noodles to
So who REALLYinvented noodles? We may never know-the history of noodles is as complicated as a bowl of pasta. But
The traditional Chinese painting is
What Chinese painters would like to produce in their paintings is not a visual effect of colors and patterns that Western painters tend
With a long history of China, generations of Chinese painters express thoughts on the material world through this unique art form and leave a valuable treasure to the Chinese. Nowadays, the Chinese painting, as
1. How many aspects of the United Kingdom does the man refer to?
A.Two. | B.Three. | C.Four. |
A.Windsor Castle. |
B.The Tower of London. |
C.The National Gallery. |
A.James Bond. | B.Star Wars. | C.Harry Potter. |
A.Badminton. | B.Basketball. | C.Golf. |
4 . Stonehenge is hiding a secret: the source of one of its stones.
Researchers know that the prehistoric circle’s outer stones come from nearby areas in England. But even after a century of study, the Altar Stone near the center of Stonehenge remains difficult to understand.
The Altar Stone belongs to a group of Stonehenge building blocks known as the bluestones, which came from areas far from Stonehenge. Researchers have found that some of the bluestones come from as far as 225 kilometers away.
“It’s a massive job of transport,” says Richard Bevins, an earth scientist at Aberystwyth University in Wales. His team is looking for the source of the Altar Stone. Uncovering the stone’s origins could suggest which ancient groups of people contributed to the building.
Scientists have been working to find the rock’s origins since 1923. A report about the Altar Stone’s minerals back then suggested it might have come from a set of rocks in Wales near where other bluestones cane from. Bevins’ team decided to revisit the rock’s riddle with modern techniques.
In 2021, the team analyzed (分析) the Altar Stone’s chemical makeup using X-rays. The X-ray method showed that the Altar Stone has high levels of the element barium (钡). But the stone’s makeup didn’t seem to match the rocks in Wales.
In the new study, the team collected 58 samples (样本) from a wider area in England and Wales. Of the 58 sample stones, four had high barium levels similar to the Altar Stone. The team then compared the overall mineral makeup of those four stones with the Altar Stone. But none were a match.
“Maybe we’ve been looking in the wrong area, and maybe we’ve possibly been looking at rocks of the wrong age,” Bevins says, “It’s not clear exactly how old the Altar Stone is.” So scientists may need to consider stone sources that are younger than the ones they have looked at so far.
1. Where do the outer stones of Stonehenge come from?A.Wales, | B.Scotland. | C.Ireland. | D.England. |
A.Its sample. | B.Its finding. | C.Its preparation. | D.Its application. |
A.Date the Altar Stone. | B.Make the 1923 report public. |
C.Sell the sample stones. | D.Move their office to the UK. |
A.It looks pretty young. | B.It was built by the locals,. |
C.Its origin remains unknown. | D.Its makeup is the same as others’. |
Once celebrated as “the sport of kings”, polo (马球), a unique sport with ancient roots,
Different cultures developed similar games and, over time, polo evolved
During the 1930s, the modern version of the sport enjoyed a period of
Polo’s noble and warrior-like characteristics have won it many
Published by the Cultural Relics Press, the book gives a detailed introduction to polo in China, with photos of artifacts and events, and an engaging storyline
As
6 . Straw Weaving(草编)
What’s the first thing that pops into your mind when you think of wheat straw?
The Origin of Straw Weaving
The Process of Straw Weaving
Straw weaving is a method of manufacturing daily items or artworks. Wu explains the process of straw weaving: selection of materials is the first step of a complicated, time-consuming and labor-intensive process that can take weeks, or even months, to complete. You need to sketch (素描)the piece on paper, which requires drawing skills.
In the past, woven straw items could be found almost in every household in the countryside. But due to the impact of industrialization. manufactured goods have replaced such products, which yield low profits, and there are only about 100 individuals engaging in the work across the country. “The world has changed, and craftsmen need to pursue the beauty and artistry of straw culture to help the craft survive and thrive,” Wu says.
The Future of Straw Weaving
From her perspective, straw weaving should respond to people’s needs and preferences, while still drawing inspiration from traditional culture. “
A.The Current Situation of Straw Weaving |
B.Next comes weaving, shaping and preserving of the work |
C.Craftspeople should try their best efforts to promote products |
D.It was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2008 |
E.Most people would probably just see it as a pile of waste in a farmer’s field |
F.The earliest straw-weaving products were discovered at Hemudu Cultural Ruins |
G.Craftspeople should be responsive and creative and constantly update their products |
As winter comes, hands and feet can easily get cold, especially among
There is no accurate
Many poems and books from this period recorded people
8 . Archaeologists in Egypt have unearthed a Sphinx statue (狮身人面像) with a smiley face near the Hathor Temple, one of the country’s best preserved ancient sites. The smiling Sphinx is much smaller than the famous Sphinx in Giza, which is 20 metres high. The stone work of art, believed to be a stylized representation of an ancient Roman emperor, was found inside a two-level tomb near the temple in southern Egypt.
Next to the beautifully and accurately carved Sphinx, researchers had found a Roman stone written in hieroglyph (象形文字). Once fully translated, the stone may unveil the identity of the sculpted ruler, who could be Emperor Claudius.
The smiling Sphinx is among a series of discoveries announced over the past few months. The country has uncovered major archaeological discoveries in recent months, primarily in the Saqqara cemetery (墓地) south of Cairo as well as in Giza, home to the only surviving structure of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Recently, Egypt announced the discovery of a hidden nine-metre passage inside the Great Pyramid of Giza, which may lead to the actual burial room of pharaoh (法老) Khufu, or Cheops. Further south, in Luxor, archaeologists had discovered a 1,800-year-old complete residential city from the Roman times.
Hathor Temple, about 500 kilometres south of the capital Cairo, was home to the Dendera Zodiac, a heavenly map which has been displayed at the Louvre in Paris for more than a century. Since Frenchman Sebastien Louis Saulnier took it out of the temple in 1922, Egypt has been attempting to get it back.
Some experts see such announcements as having more political and economic weight than scientific, as Egypt is counting on tourism to revive its vital tourism industry in a severe economic crisis. The government aims to draw in 30 million tourists a year by 2028.
1. What do we know about the smiling Sphinx?A.Its owner was confirmed as an ancient Roman ruler. |
B.It has been the best-preserved Sphinx till now. |
C.It is as high as 20 metres like the Sphinx of Giza. |
D.It was discovered close to the Hathor Temple. |
A.Reveal. |
B.Seek. |
C.Deny. |
D.Maintain. |
A.The diversity of cultural relics in Egypt. |
B.The discoveries made recently in Egypt. |
C.The status of the Great Pyramid of Giza. |
D.The new discovery about pharaoh Khufu. |
A.Scientific progress. |
B.Political position. |
C.Economic advance. |
D.Cultural exchange. |
In ancient times, all roads
Surrounded by mountains, Sichuan, called Shu in ancient times, was known for its inaccessibility. That became widely known partly due to a line from Chinese poet Li Bai,
When builders approached the Mingyue Gorge in Guangyuan, they found
The Sword Gate Pass, a towering V-shaped mountain pass—the one that gave rise
With just five weeks before King Charles Ⅲ’s coronation (加冕典礼), workers at Duchess China (瓷器) Factory in the central England city of Stoke-on-Trent
“Duchess China Factory,
The teacups and plates for King Charles Ⅲ’s coronation feature the Union Jack (国旗)
When Charles is crowned at London’s Westminster Abbey on May 6, the ceremony will be the UK’s first coronation since his mother, Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ,