In human history, many ancient and splendid civilizations were born and died. China is the only country with uninterrupted human civilization. Chinese civilization was born on both
In the long history of Chinese civilization, we may feel that the unique Chinese characteristics are all around us and all within us,
Kungfu or martial arts can only
All styles or schools of martial art originate from Shaolin Temple. So far, Shaolin Kungfu
Chinese civilization
1. Who designed Big Ben?
A.Queen Elizabeth. | B.Benjamin Hall. | C.Augustus Pugin. |
A.150. | B.334. | C.433. |
A.To make repairs. |
B.To mark Queen Elizabeth’s ruling. |
C.To welcome the Olympic Games. |
3 . Imagine this: You’re digging a well, and instead of hitting water, you unearth a headless human body made of pottery. This actually happened to farmers in Shanxi province in central China in 1974. Local archaeologists heard of the find and biked over to investigate. They realized that the figure had come from a tomb built over 2,000 years ago for China’s first emperor, Qin Shihuang. Archaeologists finally discovered three separate pits (穴) filled with 8,000 life-sized statues, all made from terracotta — a type of fired clay.
About a mile away from these pits, there’s a large mound (山丘). Archaeologists know that this is the main part of Qin Shihuang’s tomb, but they have never looked inside. They have left it alone out of respect for the first emperor and to protect the tomb as it is.
“Many people wish to see the treasures and mysteries inside, but we cannot,” says Xiuzhen Li, an archaeologist. Opening the tomb could damage its contents. Someday, Li hopes, we’ll have technology that will let us see inside the main part of the tomb without opening and disturbing it.
“Probably in the near future we’ll have some new technology that can see inside like an x-ray,” she says. Scientists are working on techniques that make it possible to see underground. Another idea is that a tiny robot could enter through a small hole and capture videos of what it sees. Even if this robotic exploration is done very carefully, however, it would still damage the tomb. For now, the Chinese government prefers to wait to do anything until they have even better technology.
1. What’s the suitable description of the figure from the tomb?A.A copy of real soldiers. | B.A model of emperors. |
C.In ruins. | D.In colors. |
A.It might be ruined. |
B.It is very dangerous. |
C.The robot is not clever enough. |
D.The government doesn’t allow it. |
A.Unconcerned. | B.Doubtful. |
C.Hopeful. | D.Objective. |
A.An encyclopedia. | B.A history textbook. |
C.A newspaper. | D.A travel guide. |
A strong earthquake hit Tangshan, China on 28 July, 1976. The deadly quake broke out at 3:42 a.m.,
Soon after the quake, 150,000 soldiers
Tangshan started to revive itself and get back up on its
5 . In 1823, a young woman noticed a strange fossil (化石) on a beach near Lyme Regis, England. She dug out the bones and had them carried to her home.She carefully arranged the skeleton(骨架) on a table. Then she saw something extraordinary. The creature’s neck was a meter long-more than half the length of its body. It was unlike any animal living on Earth.
Even at a young age, Mary Anning had a talent for spotting unusual fossils. Her father died in 1810, leaving her family in.debt, so Mary began selling her fossils to collectors. At 12, she made her first major discovery—a crocodile-like skull(头骨) with a long skeleton. It turned out to be a sea creature that lived long ago. Named ichthyosaur, or “fish-lizard”, it was the first extinct animal known to science.
Fossil hunting brought in money, but it was a dangerous job. One day, a rock fall killed her dog and almost buried Mary. Despite the dangers, she continued to look for mew finds The long-necked fossil she unearthed in 1823 was another long-dead sea reptile(爬行动物). Known as a plesiosaur, it would inspire legends—including that of the Loch Ness Monster.
Mary was not only a skilled fossil hunter; she also carefully examined and recorded her finds. However, she wasn’t widely recognized in the scientific community. Only one of her scientific writings got published in her lifetime, in 1839. She was also not allowed to join London’s Geological Society, as membership was only available to men.
Mary Anning died in 1847, but her contributions have not been forgotten. Her finds are now displayed in museums in London and Paris. The beach near her home is a UNFSCO World Heritage Site, known as the Jurassic Coast. Her life continues to inspire visitors hoping to find their own fossil wonders. According to Britain’s Natural History Museum, Mary Anning was “the greatest fossil hunter the world has ever known”.
1. The first paragraph is written to_________.A.stress the hard work Mary Anning carried out |
B.prove the uniqueness of Mary Anning;s finds |
C.introduce the readers to Mary Anning;s story |
D.show the importance of Mary Anning;s discovery |
A.Her main purpose was to make scientific contributions. |
B.She found it hard to make ends meet as a fossil hunter. |
C.She made her first major discovery in 1823. |
D.She had a narrow escape from a rock fall. |
A.Mary Anning deserved more credit. |
B.More people should join in fossil hunting. |
C.The Jurassic Coast is in need of protection. |
D.Mary Anning is the greatest scientist in the world. |
A.By providing examples. |
B.By making comparisons. |
C.By following the order of time. |
D.By following the order of importance. |
Carved in Binyangzhong Cave, an imperial cave excavated in the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534), the relief sculpture(浮雕)Emperor and Empress Pay Respect for Buddha is a national treasure of great historic and
In
In order to restore the
“Actors started studying materials a month in advance, imitating the looks of the characters from the sculpture, and then rehearsed many times
“The painting shows the development of ancient Chinese painting and sculpture,
The International Day of Human Space Flight celebrates the start of the space time for humankind, stressing the
Activities to honor the day have included meetings, photo exhibitions
Memorable stamps showing human space flight
1. Where was the Mary Celeste going?
A.The USA. | B.Italy. | C.England. |
A.Badly damaged. | B.In great danger. | C.In good condition. |
A.They were dead. | B.They were missing. | C.They were injured. |
A.Boring. | B.Understandable. | C.Mysterious. |
9 . Entering a university is an important part of a person’s life. Today, many people go to a university to study and train for a future job in subjects like law, medicine or education.
The world’s oldest surviving university, AL-Azhar, is in Cario, Egypt. It was first built as a mosque for religion (宗教寺院) in A.D. 972. A few years later, learners and teachers began meeting in the mosque. They read and talked about the subject of religion and law.
Over a thousand years later, AL-Azhar is still an important university in the world.
A.A university was a new idea at that time |
B.They came here to teach and do research |
C.There are many reasons to study in Egypt |
D.Around the year 988, a new decision was made |
E.However, the university is not a modern invention |
F.The cost of university education is increasing year by year |
G.Its library contains many of the world's oldest and most valuable books |
10 . How did we get the alphabet? It was a long process, covering thousands of years.
The first people to write things down carved symbols onto rocks or shells. These symbols represented people or things.
These people who lived a long time ago had simple lives with simple needs. One of the most basic needs was food. Before the introduction of agriculture, people were called HunterGatherers because they hunted animals and gathered nuts and berries for food. To tell each other about how to hunt animals or where to find them, these people drew on cave walls or on animal hides. Soon, people were growing their own crops. They were also using a system of symbols to stand for people, places and things. The best ancient example of this was found in Egypt, where hieroglyphs (象形字) were used. These people believed in many different gods. Each god had its own symbol. Symbols were also used to stand for water, buildings, food, and other parts of life.
But these picture drawings and hieroglyphs represented whole words, not just sounds. How did we get an alphabet? Recent research suggests that the idea of an alphabet was first used in Egypt about 1900 BC. Civilizations that traded with or fought against Egypt were exposed to this alphabet, and the idea spread.
The ancient Greeks adapted this alphabet and created their own. The ancient Romans polished it up to a state almost like our modern alphabet. The idea of stringing letters together to make words was born. You can see by looking at letters from the Roman alphabet that these letters survive almost unchanged in our modern English alphabet.
This was the case in the Western world. Actually, a similar thing also happened in the East. You can see many examples in such areas’ language development.
1. Why did HunterGatherers use drawings?A.To assist them in searching for food. |
B.To put a series of symbols into a system. |
C.To warn their companions to hide safely. |
D.To record some methods of growing crops. |
A.The difficulties ancient people have learning languages. |
B.The different kinds of religious beliefs in the same god. |
C.The poor living conditions and agricultural development. |
D.The needs of ancient people to survive and communicate. |
A.They made improvements to it. |
B.They created it all by themselves. |
C.They managed to keep it unchanged. |
D.They turned it into the modern one. |
A.The effects of the alphabet on global languages. |
B.Why the alphabet grew better in Western world. |
C.How the alphabet appeared in the Eastern world. |
D.A number of examples of language evolution. |