1 . Researchers in Germany have found leftovers of 5,000-year-old burnt porridge inside a ceramic (陶瓷的) pot. The pot was unearthed at a Neolithic settlement known as Oldenburg LA 77. Historians say the site was once home to one of the oldest villages in the German region of Schleswig-Holstein. “As soon as we looked inside the person’s cooking pot, it was obvious that something went wrong.” says Lucy Kubiak-Martens, an archaeobotanist with the Dutch research firm BIAX Consult.

The problem? Whoever attempted to make their meal that day must have cooked it for a bit too long, burning the grains inside.

The research was a teamwork between Kiel University and Kenaz Consult and Laboratory, both in Germany, and BIAX Consult. The team used electron microscopy (显微术) to learn about the chemical composition of the food leftovers. Although burning the food may have ruined someone’s meal thousands of years ago, it also helped preserve the leftovers, allowing today’s researchers to get a better look.

“While the animal fats are absorbed into the ceramic and leave a signal there, the plant food components can only be detected in the burnt food crust,” says Kubiak-Martens in a statement from Kiel University. The researchers found that the leftovers contain barley (大麦) and emmer grains, as well as seeds from a white goosefoot plant. They also learned that the barley was harvested and prepared in a style similar to that of contemporary German farmers. The wheat appears to have been processed in a sprouted (发芽) state., which has “several advantages over unsupported grain”, according to the study. Sprouted gains also have nutritional benefits, such as higher levels of important vitamins like iron and vitamin C, and they are easier to digest.

“Food in the Neolithic Age was therefore by no means tasteless, but rather varied,” according to the statement. “People had a highly differentiated sense of taste and attached great importance to good flavour.”

Previously, researchers thought the pot held dairy products. The new analysis revealed that the leftovers were actually a “sophisticated preparation of plant-based foodstuffs”. The team hopes their findings will help provide a more comprehensive understanding of dietary habits in the region.

URUMQI-After packing some naan bread and    1     dented water bottle, Shan Zhizheng and his wife start up their motorcycle and head off to a cultural relic site,     2     (break) the silence that envelops the valley.

It’s a round trip of around 150 kilometers and    3     (they) starting point is the pastoral and farming landscape of Wenquan county in Bortala,Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region(维吾尔自治区).

    4     (know) as “a museum without walls”, Wenquan county is home to nearly 260 cultural relic sites under    5     (variety) levels of protection, including tombs, cliff paintings and    6     (ruin),    7     provide materials for researching the history of ancient northern nomads and tribes, according to the county cultural relic protection bureau.

Shan and his wife, Yuan Qin, are responsible for protecting one particular relic site that    8     (cover) about eight square kilometers. Once a week, the couple patrols more than 200 ancient tombs dating back     9     between the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) and the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220).

Their relic protection routine usually includes walking around the site to look for footprints and motorcycle tracks, keeping records of the tombs,     10     updating the local cultural relic authorities in a timely manner.

5 . The handshake has existed in some form or another for thousands of years, but there are different ideas about its source. One popular theory is that the gesture began as a way of expressing peaceful purposes. By holding out their empty right hands, strangers could show that they were not holding knives and bore no ill-will toward one another. Yet another explanation iso that the handshake was a symbol of good faith when making a promise. When they held others’ hands, people showed that their word was a close relationship.

“An agreement could be expressed quickly and clearly in words,” the historian Walter Burkert once explained, “but was only made effective by a ritual gesture: open, empty hands reached out toward one another, catching each other in a handshake.”

One of the earliest descriptions of a handshake is found in the ninth century B.C. The Assyrian King Shalmaneser III pressed the flesh with a Babylonian ruler to form a union. Poet Homer described handshakes several times in his “Iliad” and “Odyssey,” most often in relation to expressions of trust. The gesture was also common in the fourth and fifth century B.C. Greek, funeral. Gravestones would often show the dead person shaking hands with a member of their family, meaning either a final goodbye or the lasting connection between the living and the dead. In ancient Rome, meanwhile, the handshake was often used as a symbol of friendship. Pairs of shaking hands even appeared on Roman coins.

The earliest written evidence of a soccer-like game comes from China. During the second and third centuries B.C., Chinese soldiers took part in an activity that involved kicking a ball into a small net. Historians think the game was a skill-building exercise for the soldiers.

In ancient Greece and Rome, teams of up to 27 players played a soccer-type game. In Britain hundreds of years later, during the thirteenth century A.D., whole villages played against each other. With hundreds of people playing, these games were both long and rough. Kicking, punching, and biting were common and allowed.

In 1331, English King Edward II passed a law in an attempt to put a stop to the popular but violent game. The king of Scotland spoke against the game a hundred years later. Queen Elizabeth I, during the late 1500s, passed a law that called for a week of jail for anyone caught playing “football”, or soccer, as we call it. But the game could not be stopped.

Two hundred and fifty years later, people in Britain were still playing a game we would recognize as soccer. A well-known English college Eton developed a set of rules in 1815. A number of other colleges soon agreed to use the same rules, and those schools played against each other. Finally, 50 years later, a formal association was formed to oversee the playing of the game and its rules. In 1869, a rule against handling the ball with the hands transformed the game into the sport of soccer that is wildly popular all around the world.

7 . Here are some properties that the British royal family owns.

Buckingham Palace	The most famous palace for the British monarchy(君主), Buckingham Palace, is easily recognized. It was originally built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 and acquired by King George Ⅲ in 1761 and has remained in the royal family ever since. This is where the family tends to greet visitors and crowds, and serves as the administrative offices of the monarch of the United Kingdom. It is valued at $4.9 billion.
The Diamond Diadem(王冠)	This Diamond Diadem was made in 1820 for George Ⅳ, which was regularly worn by Queen Victoria after it was reset with jewels from the royal collection. Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ wore it in 1953. The jewelry experts estimated it to be worth around $ 6.9 million.
Painting by Claude Monet	The royal family is known for its extensive art collection as well. This is “Study of Rocks; Creuse: ‘Le Bloc’” by Claude Monet (1840-1926). In 1949, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother purchased it for $2,300, and by the time of her death in 2002, it was worth about $17,000. The Monet painting hung in her main residence at Clarence House for several years, but is now on display at Buckingham Palace.
Tower of London	It’s built in 1066. It’s not a working palace any more, but it used to be. The Tower of London, officially called His Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, now functions as a museum and is a protected World Heritage Site due to its extensive history. It’s also the single most valuable piece of property in the United Kingdom, estimated to be worth about $81 billion.

9 . Badminton was known in ancient times; an early form of the sport was played in ancient Greece. In India, the game was called “Poona” during the 18th century, and British Army officers stationed there took a competitive Indian version back to England in the 1860s, where it was played at country houses as an upper class game. Isaac Spratt, a London toy dealer, published a booklet, “Badminton Battledore — a new game” in 1860, but unfortunately no copy has survived.

The new sport was launched in 1873 at the Badminton House, Gloucestershire, owned by the Duke of Beaufort. During that time, the game’s official name became “Badminton”.

Until 1887 the sport was played in England under the rules popular in India. The Bath Badminton Club standardized the rules and made the game applicable to English ideas. The basic regulations (规则) were draw up in 1887. In 1893, the Badminton Association of England published the first set of rules according to these regulations, similar to today’s rules. They also started the All England Open Badminton Championships, the first badminton competition in the world, in 1899.

Badminton World Federation (BWF) was founded in 1934 with Canada, Denmark, England, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales as its founding members. India joined as a member in 1936. The BWF now governs international badminton and works in cooperation with regional governing bodies to improve the sport of badminton around the world.

While originated in England, international badminton has traditionally been controlled by a few Asian countries, plus Denmark from Europe. China, Indonesia, South Korea and Malaysia are among the nations that have consistently produced world-class players in the past few decades and influenced competitions on the international level.

The kite is believed to have originated (起源) in China. Since its     1     (invent), there have been many changes to the kite by various cultures around the world. The kite you probably flew as a kid looks     2     bit different from the ancient Chinese kites and even the kites of modern China.

Kites     3     (create) in the early Warring States Period by Mozi and Lu Ban. Kites were often made     4     (look) like the shapes of birds.     5     (main), they were used for military purposes. The first Chinese kites were used for measuring distances,     6     was useful information for moving large armies across     7     (difficulty) areas. They were also used to calculate (计算) and record wind readings and provided a unique form of communication similar     8     ship flags at sea.

Chinese kites usually represent symbolic creatures as well as legendary figures. Some have whistles designed to make unique sounds while     9     (fly). We can divide them into two types: large and small kites. In size they can range between 4 centimeters     10     75 meters across. Today, you will see people flying small kites with children in many Chinese parks. You can also see adults flying the larger kites and using more advanced methods with larger ropes to support the great size.