A collection of tombs dating from the Han Dynasty to the Six Dynasties period were discovered in Wulong District of Southwest China’s Chongqing. The tomb dating back
What is exciting about this
The tomb
2 . The Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre has recently “rediscovered” an ancient shark skeleton that has been sitting in the museum’s collection for nearly 50 years. Could this shark be a part of a newly discovered ancient shark species?
This fossil’s original discovery was in 1975 on a farm just west of Morden, Manitoba. The skeleton was brought into the museum and was forgotten within the ever-growing fossil collection. The skeleton was hidden in the collections room for over 40 years and the center just recently found the fossil in its storage around eight years ago.
Adolfo Cuertara, the director of the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre, explained that “It’s a very special shark for many reasons. It’s highly possible that we are talking about a new species.” Although the shark has not been given a scientific name yet, the museum has unofficially named the skeleton, “Dave”, in honor of the farmer on whose land the skeleton was found.
After the fossil rediscovery, Dave was exhibited at the fossil center museum. Dave is around 15 feet long and is one of the largest well-preserved shark skeletons in the entire world. Within the paleontology (古生物学) world, complete shark fossils are extremely rare due to their soft cartilage (软骨结构) which disintegrates as they age. Dave’s shark species are filter feeders with no teeth, who receive their nutrition by absorbing it out of the water. Cuertara emphasizes Dave’s uniqueness by explaining, “The shape of the jaws and the skull and the kind of structures that it has, because the preservation is really amazing, is telling us that it is probably going to be a new species. The problem is now we need scientific papers and scientific research and this paper is underway.”
The Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre is hopeful that more scientific research will provide more information on Dave’s ancient shark species. For now, Dave is currently on display at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre and the museum has the exhibit up to date with their current information.
1. Where probably could you find this article?A.Science textbook of college. |
B.Advertising brochure of museum. |
C.Discovery column of magazine. |
D.Bulletin board of animal world. |
A.Die away. | B.Break down. | C.Build up. | D.Lie down. |
A.The structure of skull and jaw. |
B.The preservation of jaw and the skull. |
C.The uniqueness of no teeth structure. |
D.The rare soft cartilage. |
A.Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre displays Dave ancient shark species. |
B.Dave’s shark species is a new species of ancient shark. |
C.Canadian Museum rediscovers a new ancient shark species. |
D.Dave’s shark skeleton is in honor of the farmer who rediscovered it. |
Like almost all types of art on the vast land of China, the style and texture (质地) of silk are also of great
Yunjin brocade is best made
In the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC—AD 24), with the routes
In the hands of Chinese artists, the
China’s ancient civilisation has continued all the way through into modern times. It is
5 . When ancient Egyptians put pen to paper—or, more accurately, ink to papyrus (纸莎草纸) —they took steps to ensure that their words would last forever, a new study suggests. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have found that ancient scribes (抄写员) likely added lead to their inks to help their writing dry. More than 1,000 years later, reports Cosmos Magazine, 15th-century European artists employed lead as well. According to the London National Gallery, lead-based pigments found in many Old Master paintings are “known to aid the drying of paint films.”
According to a statement from the University of Copenhagen, the study’s authors analyzed 12 papyrus pieces dating back to between 100 and 200 C.E., when Egypt was under Roman control. The team used X-ray microscope to determine the raw materials used in different inks, as well as the chemical structure of the dried ink attached to the ancient paper. Ancient Egyptians began writing with ink—made by burning wood or oil and mixing the resulting material with water—around 3200 B.C. Typically, scribes used black, carbon-based ink for the body of text and reserved red ink for headings and other key words in the text. Though black and red inks were most common, shades of blue, green, white and yellow also appeared in ancient texts.
The researchers write that the Egyptians created red inks with iron-based combinations—most likely natural earth pigments. The team also identified the presence of lead. They were bowled over that there was no lead white or other combinations that would typically be present in a lead-based pigment. Instead, the ancient ink’s lead pigments appeared to wrap around the papyrus cell walls and iron particles (微粒). The resulting effect looked “as if the letters were outlined” in lead. This finding indicates that the ancient Egyptians invented a system of adding lead to red and black inks specifically for the purpose of sticking the words to paper.
The 12 analyzed papyrus pieces are part of the University of Copenhagen’s Papyrus Carlsberg Collection. The documents originated in Tebtunis, the only large-scale institutional library known to have survived from ancient Egyptian times.
1. What is the main function of lead in the masterpieces of the ancients?A.To make the colors brighter. | B.To stick the ink to the pen. |
C.To help the writing dry. | D.To increase their thickness. |
A.It was easy for X-ray microscope to detect the raw materials. |
B.Only wet inks can be used to determine their chemical components. |
C.Ancient Egyptians already knew black could catch eyes easily. |
D.The inks used by the ancient Egyptians came in a variety of colors. |
A.Amazed. | B.Concerned. | C.Angry. | D.Worried. |
A.By combining several kinds of colors. |
B.By adding lead to red and black inks. |
C.By breaking the structure of the colors. |
D.By analyzing the elements of the paper. |
Table tennis started as an after-dinner game, but is now a fast, high-tech sport. It also has
In 1926, at a meeting
The sport
Over the years, table tennis has developed into a worldwide sport. There are perhaps 40 million competitive table tennis players and countless millions
As is known to all, the Olympic Games are the most important events in the world. They were first held in ancient Greece in 776 BC. And the events were named after Olympia,
In 1896, the first modern Olympics opened in Athens, the capital city of Greece. From then on, the event
Athletes from the whole world can take part in the
China didn’t become a member of the modern Olympics
Counted among the “Ten Great Chinese Paintings”, the famous historical scroll painting “Emperor Taizong Receiving the Tibetan Envoy (使团)”, created by renowned painter Yan Liben (601—673),
In the
Princess Wencheng brought not only Tang Dynasty customs and practices, but also a large group of
In addition to well-known artworks such as this painting, the exhibition also featured a large number of cultural relics
The exhibition showcased
Huishan clay figurines (泥人) are produced in the western suburb of Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, and are one of China’s most famous folk arts, having a history
Huishan figurines differ from those of other localities in that they are always small and always feature a big head. They are divided into two types -- mold-pressed (模板印制) and hand-crafted. The
The legend goes
Long ago, the world had no wheels. To go to places, people walked. Sometimes, they had to take
Later, people thought about animals, which could
Gradually people begin to put wheels into many