With a history of more than 2,000 years, the Silk Route dates back to Han dynasty. Through this route, the Chinese highly
That route functioned
Throughout all these years, many great figures have made great
Chang’an Tower, also known as the Great Wild Goose Pagoda, is an architectural wonder
Rising to a
Whether it is for experiencing a piece of history
Delicate, shining, and soft to the touch. The fabric called silk
The style and texture (质地) of silk are
In the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC—AD 24), with Zhang Qian
As one of the wonders of ancient China, silk is not merely a type of fabric but a cultural symbol and a representative of elegance.
4 . Walled Cities Of The World
There are numerous historical walled cities across the world, whose walls date back several centuries. These walls were fortification (碉堡), a necessity throughout medieval eras for defense. They have been preserved as historical monuments and popular tourist attractions in the modern time.
York, England
The city of York is a medieval city situated in the north of England. Historically, the city was ruled by the Romans, Angles, and the Vikings before being incorporated as part of the Kingdom of England in 954. Located in the city are walls built in 71 AD which have been restored and extended with time.
Xi’an, China
The city of Xian is one of the oldest cities in China. It prospered economically as the eastern last station of the Silk Road. The existing walls were originally built in 770 BC and reconstructed in the 14th century under the Ming Dynasty. The walls are well preserved and are a major tourist attraction in the city.
Quebec City, Canada
Quebec City was a colonial (殖民地的) town which was fortified by the settling Europeans. The walls began to be built in 1608 under both British and French regimes (政权). A fort was constructed by the British as an additional defensive measure and remains undamaged to date. The city’s fortifications were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
Mexico City, Mexico
Historically, the City of Mexico gained importance as the Aztec Capital. The Spanish then drove out the Aztecs and rebuilt it as the Spanish Capital. The walls protecting the city were built in 1521. Mexico City is also home to numerous colonial-era buildings which together with the walls are major tourist attractions in the city.
1. Which city has walls of the longest history?| A．York, England. | B．Xi’an, China. |
| C．Quebec City, Canada. | D．Mexico City, Mexico. |
| A．They were once colonies of other countries. |
| B．They were once the capital of the Aztec empire. |
| C．Their walls were once built under British regime. |
| D．Their walls were once damaged after construction. |
| A．Culture. | B．Entertainment. | C．Science. | D．Society |
China is the hometown of kites. Most people believe they
Up to now, flying kites
If you have the chance to go back to ancient China and ask
In ancient China, it was not that
However, people still like to call
In China, the use and cultivation (种植) of green tea goes back thousands of years. While there is no precise way to know
Legend assigns the discovery of tea to mythological emperor Shennong, who is said
Getting rid of dirt, in the opinion of most people, is a good thing. However, the attitudes to dirt are always changing.
In the early 16th century, people thought that dirt on the skin was a means to block out disease, and washing off dirt with hot water could open up the skin and let ills in. A particular danger was thought to lie in public baths. By 1538, the French king had closed the bath houses in his kingdom. The king of England did something similar in 1546. Thus began a long time when the rich and the poor in Europe lived with dirt in a friendly way. France’s Henry IV was famously dirty. Upon learning that a nobleman had taken a bath, the king ordered that, to avoid the attack of disease, the nobleman should not go out.
Though the belief above was long-lived, dirt has no longer been regarded as a nice neighbour ever since the 18th century. Scientifically speaking, cleaning away dirt is good to health. Clean water supply and hand washing are practical means of preventing disease. Yet, it seems that standards of cleanliness have moved beyond science since World War II. Advertisements repeatedly sell the idea; clothes need to be whiter than white, cloths ever softer, surfaces to shine. Has the hate for dirt, however, gone too far?
Attitudes to dirt still differ hugely nowadays. Many first-time parents nervously try to warn their children off touching dirt, which might be responsible for the spread of disease. On the contrary, Mary Ruebush, an American immunologist(免疫学家) , encourages children to play in the dirt to build up a strong immune system. And the latter position is gaining some ground.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________9 . 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 belonging to the Shu Kingdom 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. Despite the differences in ages, the bronze-made remains of trees unearthed at the ruins of the Shu Kingdom resemble the sacred ceiba tree, which symbolized the union of heaven, earth, and the underworld in the Mayan civilization. “They are very important similarities,” says Santos, a Mexican archaeologist (考古学家) stressing that the representations of trees in both cultures provide a symbolism that is very similar.
While the time span between the Shu Kingdom and the Mayan culture is great, the findings show the closeness between the two civilizations. They developed in areas with comparable climates and reflected their world view through related symbols. “In the end, man is still man, independent of time and space. What we have is that at this latitude (纬度) both the Shu people and the Mayans looked at the same sky and had the same stars on the horizon,” the expert says.
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. Cooperation between Chinese and Mexican archaeologists could benefit projects in the Mayan 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 of vital importance,” says Santos.
1. What is the similarity between the Shu Kingdom and the Maya civilization?| A．Their starting time. | B．Their historical origins. |
| C．Their cultural symbols. | D．Their ceremony traditions. |
| A．Silk was a common clothing material then. |
| B．Human cultures shared similarities free from time and space. |
| C．There were bronze-made trees in ancient Maya. |
| D．The Shu Kingdom and the Mayan world had close contact. |
| A．Wet weather. | B．Positioning of ruins. | C．High latitude. | D．Language barriers. |
| A．The future of 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. |
Several large wooden constructions
First discovered in 1978, the site used
Three excavations (挖掘)
Researchers believe strongly the new findings will enrich the architectural history of prehistoric China. “The
