The Great Wall
As a symbol of ancient Chinese civilization, the Great Wall is one of the world’s oldest and most magnificent (壮丽的) man-made scenes,
The Great Wall was
Because its
The Great Wall is a place steeped in history and has much
2 . In 1879, an 8-year-old girl made a discovery that would rock our understanding of human history. On the walls of Altamira cave in northern Spain, she spotted amazing drawings of wild cows, painted in vivid red and black. More striking even than the images was their age: they were made thousands of years ago by modern humans’ supposedly primitive ancestors. Today, nearly 400 caves across Europe have been found decorated with hand stencils (模板), strange symbols and beautiful images of animals created by these skillful artists.
The discoveries led to the view that artistic talent arose after modern humans arrived in the region some 40,000 years ago, as part of a “cultural explosion” reflecting a flowering of the human mind. But more recent evidence has blown this idea out of the water. For a start, modern humans might not have been the first artists in Europe. What’s more, a collection of cave paintings emerging in Indonesia has dismissed the idea that Europe was the centre of creativity.
Local people have long known that the caves of the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, contain many painted images. Modern humans are thought to have reached the region some 65,000 years ago, but nobody imagined the art could be very old because ancient paintings seem unlikely to survive in the environment of high temperatures. A team of researchers led by Maxime Aubert, now at Griffith University in Australia, upended this idea using a technique that is shifting our understanding of cave art. Using this technique in seven caves, they found a hand stencil was at least 39,900 years old, making it the oldest known hand stencil at that time.
This opened a floodgate to new discoveries in Indonesia. These included a hunting scene created at least 43,900 years ago, and by far the oldest descriptive artwork. “When we found that image, we were absolutely delighted, but when it turned out to be that old, we were almost jumping with joy,” says Adam Brumm, also at Griffith University.
1. What did the girl find in the cave?| A．Wild animals. | B．Ancient images. |
| C．Painting techniques. | D．Recording artists. |
| A．It can be traced back to Europe. |
| B．It reflected the flowering of human minds. |
| C．Modern humans led to its rise in Indonesia. |
| D．Modern humans might not have been real artists. |
| A．Proved. | B．Strengthened. | C．Overturned. | D．Overemphasized. |
| A．The amazing discoveries. | B．The researchers’ expectations. |
| C．The benefits of the technique. | D．The description of the cave art. |
Some time after 10,000 BC, people made the first real attempt to control the world they lived
Farming produced more food per person
By about 6000 BC, people
This style of farming lasted for quite a long time. Then with
4 . Born into poverty on 21 May 1799, Mary Anning had to work hard from a young age. Her parents had 10 children, of whom only two survived childhood --- Mary and her elder brother Joseph. Mary’s own survival was said by her parents to be a wonder. At the age of 15 months, a sudden rainstorm hit the shelter, where Mary, her babysitter, and two children stayed. A lightning strike killed them all except Mary.
She didn’t have formal education and was only taught to read at a Sunday school. Raised in the seaside holiday village of Lyme Regis in Dorset, Mary and Joseph made a living by selling fossils to holidaymakers at their father’s waterfront booth.
Her life changed in 1811 when Joseph noticed bones mixed together with rock. Unknown to them, this was the first ever discovery of an ichthyosaurus ( 鱼 龙 ), a marine lizard from the Triassic period. Anning noted down every find she made, and after failing to find any new fossils for over a year, in 1821 she made her next discovery, digging up three more ichthyosaur skeletons. This was followed two years later by an even more impressive find --- a complete plesiosaur(蛇颈龙). This was so extraordinary that many leading scientists declared it a counterfeit, unwilling to believe that an uneducated 24-year-old could find such remarkable remains. Additionally, society at the time was highly religious and many rejected these discoveries as they conflicted with the teachings of the Bible.
Despite the setback, Anning continued to make more shocking revelations. Anning also dug up fossilized shit, which made experts know the diets of prehistoric creatures. But her biggest find of all was the first complete skeleton of a pterosaur in 1828.
All of Mary Anning’s discoveries helped influence the study of paleontology(古生物学) as scientists began to take an increased interest in fossilized animals and plants. Her work also encouraged people to question the history of the Earth in more detail and encouraged girls and those from poor backgrounds by proving that they could succeed in scientific study, a profession mainly controlled by wealthy upper-class men.
1. What can we learn about Mary Anning from the first two paragraphs?| A．It was not easy for her to survive. |
| B．She didn’t experience the lightning strike. |
| C．She didn’t get basic knowledge about science. |
| D．It was impossible for her to find a job outside. |
| A．Something not needed. |
| B．Something not valuable. |
| C．Something not authentic. |
| D．Something not beneficial. |
| A．her get international fame |
| B．make her become more professional |
| C．experts better understand prehistoric creatures |
| D．convince the leading scientists of her discovery |
| A．the process of her findings |
| B．the significance of her discoveries |
| C．the discoveries of fossilized animals |
| D．the background of her scientific study |
Poetry in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) is an unequalled (无与伦比的) system and reaches the
When considering authors, we find that poets
Depending upon the period of its development, poetry
In the early Tang Dynasty, most of the poets followed the style of their ancestors and created a blend (融合) of the
Most of us are familiar with the “Silk Road”, a network of land trading routes which connected northwestern China to Europe since the Han dynasty. With its recent
The “Ancient Tea Horse Road” got its name as Chinese tea and horses were the main products
The “Ancient Tea Horse Road” serves
7 . On 30 January, thousands gathered in Derry, in Northern Ireland, to mark the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when 13 people were killed and at least 14 were hurt by the British Army.
Bloody Sunday took place on Sunday 30 January, 1972. Over 10, 000 people had gathered in Derry for a civil rights march to give everyone equal treatment. People were marching because the UK Government wanted to introduce a law that would mean people could be held in prison for a long time without the reason being tested by a court to see if it was true. The change was meant to stop violence at the time.
The whole of Ireland used to be part of the UK. However, in 1921, an agreement between the Irish and UK governments led to Ireland splitting into two regions. The south became the Republic of Ireland, while Northern Ireland stayed in the UK. In Northern Ireland there was unrest because some people wanted to be part of the UK, while some wanted to join Ireland. This led to a period of violence from 1968 to 1998 known as the Troubles, when around 3, 700 people died. For much of the Troubles, the British Army had lots of soldiers based in Northern Ireland.
The march started peacefully that day but later skirmishes broke out between demonstrators and the army. Some people started throwing stones at soldiers. The army moved in to arrest them and soldiers fired their guns, killing 13 people and injuring 14 people.
Thousands of people marched through Derry. The Irish prime minister Micheal Martin laid a wreath (花圈) at a memorial in Derry and spoke to relatives of the victims. At a special event at the city’s Millennium Forum Theatre, the victims’ names were read out and a silence was held at the moment the first person was shot 50 years ago. The President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, said, “Derry stands as a guiding light of hope and justice.”
1. Why did the UK government want to introduce a new law?| A．To stop ongoing conflicts. | B．To offer equal rights. |
| C．To put people in prison. | D．To test people in court. |
| A．How Bloody Sunday was marked. | B．What happened on Bloody Sunday. |
| C．Why people marked Bloody Sunday. | D．Why there was a period of violence. |
| A．Fierce wars. | B．Great celebrations. |
| C．Small fights. | D．Huge demonstrations. |
| A．To stress the power of the march. |
| B．To show the importance of Bloody Sunday. |
| C．To emphasize the cruelty of the Bloody Sunday. |
| D．To show people’s determination for independence. |
8 . Many countries have national education programs. Some offer students a very basic education. Often, educational opportunities end with primary school. Parents who want their children to keep going to school have to pay a lot of money. Many students are trained to be skilled workers like carpenters and mechanics.
Thomas Jefferson had an idea about public education when the United States was a young country.
Some people thought that school should be for everyone. Horace Mann and Henry Barnard wrote articles for families about education.
Benjamin Franklin started secondary schools in 1751. Students were not required to attend. By the mid 1900s, school was a requirement for students until they turned 16.
Public education in the U.S. is mainly controlled by each individual state. Every state has a department of education which makes rules that apply to schools in that state. Local school districts oversee the schools in their area.
| A．They do this instead of continuing with academics. |
| B．The public schools developed quickly after the 1800s. |
| C．However, the first public schools did not open until the 1840s. |
| D．About 75% of students now graduate from high school in the U.S. |
| E．The U.S/ government sent teachers to every school and made teaching plans. |
| F．The district hires staff and manages the daily business of the schools. |
| G．They worked to raise support for common schools, the old term for a public school. |
