1 . A seven-word sentence was discovered on a 3,700-year-old comb (梳子),which is likely the oldest known sentence written in letters,according to a new study. The sentence is in Canaanite (迦南语),which is the source (来源) of later letter systems in European languages.
The comb was first discovered in 2016 in Israeli. However,it wasn’t until 2021 that a researcher from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem first noticed the words when checking the photo of the comb. The researchers were not able to directly date the comb. They believed it dated from around 1700 BC based on comparison of the letters with those on pottery (陶器) with a known age.
Garfinkel,a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,said,“The Canaanites invented the letters. Nowadays every person in the world can read and write using the letter system. This is really one of the most important achievements of humankind. When you are writing in English,you’re really using Canaanite.”
Small groups of Canaanite letters discovered on broken pieces of pottery before did not leave much room for further research on the lives of the Canaanites. But this find of a sentence written in the first letter-based language opens up the debate about the history during the ancient time period.
Garfinkel said,“The sentence was found on an ivory comb in the ancient city’s palace and temple area,which could suggest that only wealthy men were able to read and write.” The earliest writing system started around 5,000 years ago,which relied on hundreds of pictographs (象形文字) to represent words,ideas and sounds. Canaanites were the first to use letters in their writing system. “It shows that even in the most ancient times there were full sentences,which further suggests that Canaanites stood out among the early civilizations in their use of the written word.”
1. What do we know about Canaanite?| A．It has a history of 3,700 years. | B．It is the oldest known language. |
| C．Its sentences are in many languages. | D．Its letters are still in use at present. |
| A．It was discovered on some pottery. | B．It was identified on a comb in 2016. |
| C．It was recognized when dating the comb. | D．It was recognized on a photo of the comb. |
| A．The influence of Canaanite letters. |
| B．The rules of using Canaanite letters. |
| C．The problem in identifying the Canaanite sentence. |
| D．The explanation of the discovered Canaanite sentence. |
| A．Useless. | B．Meaningful. | C．Confusing. | D．Unacceptable. |
The Amber Room, one of the greatest
3 . The following properties which the World Heritage Committee （世界遗产委员会）has decided to include on the List of World Heritage are under threat.
Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley （Afghanistan）
The cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley stand for the artistic and religious developments which from the 1st to the 13th centuries characterized ancient Bakhtria. The area contains a number of Buddhist monastic ensembles, as well as strong buildings from the Islamic period.
Historic Centre of Vienna （Austria）
Vienna developed from early Celtic and Roman settlements into a Medieval and Baroque city, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It played an important role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural buildings, including Baroque castles and gardens, as well as the late-19th-century Ringstrasse lined with grand buildings, monuments and parks.
Okapi Wildlife Reserve （Democratic Republic of the Congo）
The Okapi Wildlife Reserve occupies about one-fifth of the Ituri forest in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Congo river basin, of which the reserve and forest are a part, is one of the largest drainage systems in Africa. The reserve contains threatened species of primates and birds surviving in the wild. It also has some amazing scenery, including waterfalls on the Ituri and Epulu rivers. The reserve is inhabited by traditional nomadic pygmy Mbuti and Efe hunters.
1. Which of the following heritage sites is located in Asia?| A．Okapi Wildlife Reserve. |
| B．Historic Centre of Vienna. |
| C．The Austro-Hungarian Empire. |
| D．Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley. |
| A．Music composers. |
| B．Birds researchers. |
| C．Modem building lovers. |
| D．Natural Scenery Photographer. |
| A．They are all in danger. |
| B．They are closed to the public. |
| C．They feature lots of ancient buildings. |
| D．They are to be removed from the World Heritage List. |
1. When was the first real newspaper started?
| A．In 1609. | B．In 1665. | C．In 1704. |
| A．England. | B．Germany. | C．America. |
| A．Strassburg Relation. | B．The New York Sun. | C．The Boston News-Letter. |
| A．It only cost a dollar. |
| B．It was called The London Gazette. |
| C．It was the first one to have advertisements. |
5 . The Palace Museum, known as the Forbidden City, was the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the early 15th century, large－size construction caused 100, 000 common people to lead a hard life. The construction took 14 years and was finished in 1420. In the following year, the capital of the Ming Dynasty was moved from Nanjing to Beijing. Twenty－four emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties ruled from the Forbidden City. The Last dynasty fell in 1911, but Emperor Puyi still lived in the inner court. It was not until 1925 that the complex buildings were changed into a museum. Since then, the Palace has been opened to the public.
The Palace Museum is rectangular in shape, about 960 meters long from north to south and 750 meters wide from west to east. There is a 10－meter－high wall, encircled by a 52－meter－wide moat. In the Ming Dynasty, the wood needed for the building was brought mostly from Sichuan and Hunan Provinces, while in the Qing Dynasty, it was cut from the northeast of China. Most of the stones were mined from the suburban district of Fangshan and other districts. Construction of the Forbidden City brought huge hardship to the laboring people.
The palace is the largest piece of ancient Chinese architecture still standing. Some of the buildings were damaged by lightning and rebuilt in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The palace has been expanded several times, but the original design was preserved. After liberation, some costly renovations were done and the Palace Museum is listed as one of the most important historical sites under special preservation by the Chinese government.
1. What is the main idea of Paragraph 1?| A．The origin of the name “the Forbidden City”. |
| B．The Forbidden City and emperors. |
| C．The open to the public of the Forbidden City. |
| D．The period of the construction of the Forbidden City. |
| A．1911 | B．1421 | C．1406 | D．1420 |
| A．The emperors’ cruelty brought the Forbidden City into the world. |
| B．The processing of constructing the Forbidden City needed wood and stones from all over the country. |
| C．The Forbidden City is the largest piece of ancient Chinese architecture still standing. |
| D．The Forbidden City is about 720, 000 square meters. |
| A．customs and habits |
| B．dynasties and emperors |
| C．history and emperors |
| D．architecture and history |
6 . The Giza Pyramids (金字塔), built to last forever, have done just that. The tombs could date back to Egypt’s Old Kingdom and were constructed some 4,500 years ago. Egypt’s pharaohs (法老)expected to become gods in the afterlife. To prepare for the next world they built temples to the gods and massive pyramid tombs for themselves, which were filled with all the things each ruler would need to guide and support himself in the next world.
The ancient wonders at Giza were so impressive that even today scientists can’t be sure how the pyramids were built. Yet they have learned much about the people who built them. The builders were skilled, well-fed Egyptian workers who lived in a nearby city. Archaeological (考古的)digs on the attractive site have shown a highly organized community, rich with resources.
If the Pyramids helped to build ancient Egypt, they also preserved it. Giza allows us to explore an ancient world. “Many people think of the site as just a tomb in the modern sense, but it’s a lot more than that,” says Peter Der Manuelian with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. “In these decorated tombs you have wonderful scenes of every aspect of life in ancient Egypt—so it’s not just about how Egyptians died but how they lived.”
Tomb art displays ancient farmers working on their fields and fishing. Words and texts also allow research into Egyptian grammar and language. “Almost any subject you want to study about the culture is available on the tomb walls at Giza,” Der Manuelian says.
To help make these precious resources accessible to all, Der Manuelian heads the Giza Project, an enormous collection of Giza photographs, plans, drawings, object records, and diaries that enables online visits to the site.
1. Why did Egypt’s pharaohs build the pyramids?| A．To satisfy personal needs. |
| B．To pay respects to gods. |
| C．To protect the culture. |
| D．To benefit local poor people. |
| A．Who built them. |
| B．How they were built. |
| C．Where they were. |
| D．When they were built. |
| A．Raising money for the farmers. |
| B．Collecting drawings and photos worldwide. |
| C．Helping people develop fishing. |
| D．Providing online access to the pyramids. |
| A．Pyramids at Giza. |
| B．Modern painting art. |
| C．An ancient king. |
| D．A museum in Egypt. |
7 . More and more students are going abroad for their furtherstudy Do you want to know some famous colleges and universities?
Started in 1636, Harvar University is the oldest of all the colleges and universities in the United States.Yale University, Princeton University, Columbia University and DartmouthCollege were opened soon after Harvard University. In the early years, these schools weare much alike. Only young men went tocollege. All the students studied the same subjects,and everyonelearned Latin, Greek and Hebrew. Little was known about science then, and one kind of school could teach everything that was known about the world. When the students graduated, most of them became ministers or teachers. In 1782, Harvard University started a medical school for young men who wanted to become doctors. Later, lawyers could receive their training in Harvard University’s law school. In 1825, besides Latin and Greek, Harvard University began teaching modern languages, such as French and German. Soon it began teaching American history. As knowledge increased, Harvard University and other colleges began to teach many new subjects. Students were allowed to choose the subjects that interested them.
Today, there are many different kinds of colleges and universities. Most of thethem are made up of smaller schools that deal with special fields of learning. There’s so much to learn that one kind of school can’t offer it all.
1. From the second paragraph, we can see that in the early years, ____.| A．those colleges and universities had close similarity |
| B．people, young or old, might study in the colleges |
| C．students studied only some languages and science |
| D．when the students finished their school, they became lawyers or teachers |
| A．Latin and Greek |
| B．Latin, Greek, French and German |
| C．Greek and German |
| D．French and German |
| A．everything that was known |
| B．law and something about medicine |
| C．many new subjects |
| D．the subjects that interested students |
| A．how to start a university |
| B．the world-famous colleges and universities in America |
| C．how American colleges and universities have changed |
| D．the lessons each college teaches |
8 . The first newspaper was written by hand and put up on walls in public places. The earliest daily newspaper was started in Rome in 59 BC. In the 700s the world’s first printed newspaper was published. Europe didn’t have a regularly printed newspaper until 1609, when one was started in Germany.
The first regularly published newspaper in English was printed in Amsterdam in 1620. In 1621, an English newspaper was started in London and was published once a week. The first daily English newspaper was the daily curtent, which came out in March 1702.
In 1690, Benjamin Harris printed the first American newspaper in Boston. But not long after it was first published, the government stopped the paper. In 1704, John Campbell started the Boston Newspaper, the first newspaper published daily in the American colonies (殖民地). By 1760, the colonies had more than thirty daily newspapers. There are now about 1,800 daily papers in the United States.
Today, as a group, newspapers in English have the largest circulation (发行量) in the world. But the largest circulation for a newspaper is that of the Japanese newspaper asahi shimbun. It sells more than eleven million copies every year.
1. The first regularly printed European newspaper started in ________.| A．Rome in 59 BC | B．Germany in 1609 |
| C．Amsterdam in 1620 | D．England in 1621 |
| A．1620 | B．1621 | C．1590 | D．1702 |
| A．there are 18,000 newspapers in the United States |
| B．one English newspaper has the largest circulation in the world |
| C．the first daily newspaper was printed in Rome in 59 BC |
| D．daily newspapers have the longest history in Europe |
| A．History of newspapers. |
| B．History of daily newspapers. |
| C．The beginning of newspapers. |
| D．On reading newspapers. |
