China is well-known for its long and amazing civilization. Many factors make it possible, one of
Starting as a picture-based language, written Chinese dates back several thousand years to the use of longgu—animal bones and shells with
Written Chinese also serves as a great way
As China is becoming stronger and more powerful, recently, the number of international students learning Chinese
When the Library Cave, known as Cave 17 from the Mogao Cave Complex at Dunhuang, China, was opened in 1900, several tons of manuscripts (手稿) scrolls, booklets and paintings on silk and paper were found literally stuffed into it. These
Cave 17 is only one of the 735 human-made
The Dunhuang Academy was set up in China in the 1980s,
3 . Frozen in time, a 125-million-year-old mammal attacking a dinosaur. A 39-million-year-old whale, the heaviest animal that ever lived. The oldest known jellyfish, from 505 million years ago. Paleontology (古生物学) produces newsworthy discoveries.
Fossils (化石), moreover, provide direct evidence for the long history of life, allowing paleontologists to test hypotheses (假设) about evolution with data only they provide. They allow investigation of present and past life on Earth. Flows of biological diversity, appearances of new life forms and the extinctions of long existing ones, would go undiscovered without these efforts. But the headlines over exciting new fossils greatly underestimate the true importance of paleontology. Its real significance lies in how such discoveries brighten the grand history of life on Earth. From its beginnings, more than three billion years ago, to the present day, fossils record how life adapted or disappeared in the face of major environmental challenges.
Paleontologists provide us with a unique vantage on modern climate change. They play an essential role in interpreting ancient environments, in reconstructing ancient oceans, continents and climates. Fossils provide key limitation on the climate models that are essential for predicting future climate change. And the fossil record gives important insights into how life will respond to predicted future climate conditions, because these have occurred before in Earth’s history.
In addition, paleontology has provided a fundamental contribution to human thought: the reality of species extinction and thus of a world that has dramatically changed over time. In documenting the history of life, paleontologists recognized that many extinction episodes could occur suddenly, such as the event 66 million years ago that ended the dinosaurs. The search for the causes of past mass extinctions started pioneering studies from across the scientific spectrum (科学界), focusing on potential future threats to humanity.
Not only do paleontologists know what happens to life when things go bad, they also know how long it takes for ecosystems and biodiversity to recover from these disasters, which can take far longer than modern humans have existed.
Paleontologists thus provide a unique perspective on the nature and future long-term ecological impact of the current human-produced biodiversity crisis, the so-called Sixth Extinction, and therefore the importance of protecting modern biodiversity. The very concept of a Sixth Extinction would not exist without paleontologists documenting the first five.
Paleontologists know that understanding life’s past is critical to anticipating and adapting to life’s and humanity’s future. Paleontology is important because it brings its unique and critical perspective to current challenges in climate change, biodiversity loss and the environment. Paleontologists can predict the future because they know the past.
1. The first two paragraphs are written to _______.| A．describe an event | B．raise a question |
| C．present an opinion | D．make a comparison |
| A．A positive effect. | B．A valuable suggestion. |
| C．A quick decision. | D．A comprehensive view. |
| A．Ecological recovery takes shorter than imagined. |
| B．Past lessons can help to predict the future threats. |
| C．Paleontologists can handle the biodiversity crisis. |
| D．Fossil studies focus on the causes of mass extinctions. |
| A．Paleontology: A Pioneering Study |
| B．Paleontology: A History Recorder |
| C．Paleontology Tells More About Nature Than Humans |
| D．Paleontology Is Far More Than New Fossil Discoveries |
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 TV dramas concerning the unique Empress of China are always hot among audiences. Actresses who play the role of Empress Wu Zetian, are indeed all beauties. What did Wu Zetian, China’s only female emperor, look like in real life? Let’s explore the possibilities.
The famous Chinese scholar Guo Moruo researched this, and he thought that an empress in a painting by Tang Dynasty painter Zhang Xuan is Wu Zetian. Zhang left many famous paintings, such as Paintings of Lady of Guoguo on a Spring Outing of the Tang Dynasty, Court Ladies Preparing Newly-Woven Silk and Lady of Wei. It is guessed that Zhang Xuan was a court painter and had met Wu Zetian before, so the portrait by him is quite reliable.
Another frequently seen image of Wu Zetian is the block-painted edition of Images of Ancient People in History, created in 1498, during the government of Emperor Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty. However, as the painting was recreated by Ming people, it is not very reliable and possibly a portrait born out of imagination.
There are also many stone statues of Empress Wu Zetian, and the most ancient one is now at her birthplace, Guangyuan in Sichuan province. The statue is said to be very close to the real appearance of Wu Zetian. When Empress Wu Zetian came into power, she built many temples and Buddha statues. Many Buddha statues in the Longmen Grottoes in today’s Luoyang in Henan province were constructed during her reign. Among them, a large Vairocana Buddha in Fengxian Temple is considered to be a “portrait” of Wu Zetian at 44 years old. The Buddha has characteristics of an oriental beauty’s face and is honored as the most beautiful Buddha in the world. At 17.14 meters high, the face of the Buddha looks pretty and has a mysterious smile. Wu Zetian funded the statue’s construction and took part in the consecration(神圣)ceremony when it was completed. Ancient people assumed that the statue was a vivid portrait of Empress Wu Zetian.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．A discussion about what Empress Wu Zetian looked like. |
| B．A brief introduction to Empress Wu Zetian. |
| C．why many stone statues were built. |
| D．The development of people’s ideas about Wu Zetian’s apprearance. |
| A．Because there are too many puzzling possibilities. |
| B．Because even the famous Chinese scholar Guo Moruo researched this. |
| C．Because Wu Zetian is the only female empress in Chinese history. |
| D．Because it is human to be curious. |
| A．How and why ancient people made stone statues resembling Wu Zetian. |
| B．Different stone statues assumed close to the appearance of Wu Zetian. |
| C．The development of Buddha statues resembling Wu Zetian. |
| D．The reason why Buddha statues were built during Wu’s government. |
| A．Wu Zetian admired Buddhism. |
| B．The empress portrayed by Zhang Xuan is Wu Zetian. |
| C．Images of Ancient People in History was created during Wu’s government. |
| D．People now assume Vairocana is an vivid portrait of Wu Zetian. |
6 . Americans grew up with stories of Fionn Mc Cool, Cuchulainn and other legendary heroes who, emerging from the Celtic twilight, would relax after their great deeds in battle and hunting by playing hurling (ariel hockey) and handball. Great was the shock in later years to hear that other countries such as Spain, France and Italy were also claiming credit as the original home of the game.
Strict historical research, rather than myth and legend, turns up few clues as to the origins of the game. The elements involved in the play ball, wall, players and rules must have evolved in many different countries at different times.
The first record of ball games with the hand is from 2000 BC in Egypt. Their priests (祭司) of the temple of Osiris in Thebes were depicted on the tombs, striking the ball with the hand. Such iconographic evidence is also found in America where ball games formed an integral part of Pre-Hispanic culture. Over 700 ball court sites have been identified from Arizona to Nicaragua, with many having sculptures, bas-reliefs and painted vessels that show people engaged in hand-played balls. The oldest are dated as far back as 1500 BC, and interestingly in only one area is there play involving a wall that depicts the land of the Chichimeca people of the Mexican plateau.
Meanwhile, back in Europe, the Greek writer Homer referred to a handball game invented by Anagalla, a princess of Sparta, in his works. Alexander the Great (450 BC) was credited with spreading the game to the Greek colonies in Italy, and from there it went to Spain, France and to other parts of the Roman Empire. Around the year 1000 AD, as Europe stepped deep into the Dark Ages, the mention of handball became more numerous in manuscripts. In France Jeux de Paume(palm play)became popular with both the nobility in their enclosed courts and the ordinary people who played longe-paume on common land. The medieval annual of St. Foix written around 1300AD describes the game, “The exercise consists in receiving the ball and driving it back again with the palm. The game was first played with the bare hand, then with the glove, lined or unlined; afterwards, they bound cord around the hand to make the ball rebound more forcibly.”
So far there is no mention in any of the sources of a rebound game against a wall, the game played was one of hand-tennis and this is still played in parts of Spain, France, Holland and Sweden. The original ball used was made of tightly rolled cloth pieces stitched together and this would have given little bounce against a wall. Meanwhile, the game of Jeux de Paume with the addition of larger and longer gloves — eventually becoming bats — evolved into the game of tennis in the end. The hand versus racquet controversy was commented on by Erasmus, the Dutch Philosopher in 1524, “You may sweat more but the game is prettier when played with the hand.”
1. According to the passage, the origin of handball was ________.| A．America and European countries | B．unknown for lack of historical findings |
| C．of diverse sources in the world | D．ancient Egypt around 2000 BC |
| A．Only by referring to wall paintings can historians identify handball playing before Christ. |
| B．During the Renaissance, people from upper and lower classes in Europe started to play handball. |
| C．The introduction of the glove into the handball play was intended for a better rebound of the ball. |
| D．The development of handball in France finally contributed to the appearance of tennis. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．The Origin of Modern Racquet |
| B．The Attraction of Palm Games |
| C．The History of Tennis |
| D．The Development of Handball |
| A. sensitive B. expectations C. commercially D. attempting E. stuck F. shelved G. relatively H. developing I. personal J. difficulties K. positive |
Sticky notes
This invention, commonly used in offices and households throughout the world, came about as a result of a series of accidents. In 1968, Spencer Silver, who was working for a company then called 3M, was
A few years later, Art Fry, a product development engineer working for 3M, decided to use this adhesive for
As we know, calligraphy is the essence of Chinese traditional culture.
When it comes to calligraphy, Chinese people must associate it with Wang Xizhi,
Of all the powerful works of Wang Xizhi,
9 . A rich burial was unearthed by archaeologists at La Almoloya, southeastern Spain that is the cradle of the El Argar civilization, which lived in the region during the Bronze Age.
La Almoloya was a primary center of politics and wealth in the El Argar territory, and although the discovery was made in 2014, experts are now taking a closer look at the sociological and political context of the unearthed treasure.
The remains of a woman, along with a man who may have been her husband, were discovered in the forested hills of the area. Radiocarbon dating suggests the burial happened around 1700 BC. The pair were found with 30 objects containing precious metals and semi-precious stones, including the silver diadem (王冠), which encircled the skull (颅骨) of the woman.
Experts believe that the man in the grave was probably a warrior; wear and tear on his bones indicate he spent a lot of time on horseback, and his skull had deep scars from a facial injury, while gold plugs through his earlobes indicated he was someone of distinction.
The woman, named the “Princess of La Almoloya”, was buried a short time after the man, with vast quantities of jewellery: bracelets, earlobe plugs and rings, to name a few. The grave goods of the woman were worth tens of thousands of dollars in today’s money.
“We have two ways of interpreting this,” says archaeologist Roberto Risch of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. “Either you say, it’s just the wife of the king; or you say, no, she’s a political personality by herself.”
Risch is a co-author of a study that was recently published about the important findings, that noted the building under which the grave was found was of equal importance—a building specifically dedicated to governing purposes in Western Europe. A wide hall was excavated (挖掘), with high ceilings, a raised platform, and a capacity for more than 50 people to sit on benches that lined the walls. “It’s a building where people could be sitting listening to each other, or to someone explaining something,” says Risch, “There is no evidence of food and no clear-cut religious artefacts, so it doesn’t look like a home or a temple.”
The discovery at La Almoloya shed new light on the politics and gender relations in one of the first urban societies of the West. Previous findings have revealed that women were considered adults at a much younger age than boys were. Excavated grave goods have highlighted that girls as young as six were buried with knives and tools, but boys would be in their teens by the time they would be buried alongside such objects.
Additionally, the graves of some women from EI Argar were reopened generations later to bury other men and women, an unusual practice that experts believe would have been a very high honor. “What exactly their political power was, we don’t know,” Risch adds. “But this burial at La Almoloya questions the role of women in [Bronze Age] politics... it questions a lot of conventional wisdom.”
1. The woman discovered at La Almoloya ________.| A．proved to be a princess during the Bronze Age |
| B．was buried long after her husband’s death |
| C．lived in an ancient society called El Argar |
| D．was holding a silver diadem when unearthed |
| A．he had gold plugs through his earlobes | B．he was buried next to the woman |
| C．he was buried with knives and tools | D．he had injuries and scars on his bones |
| A．have been used for political meetings | B．have served some religious purposes |
| C．be the first temple built in Western Europe | D．be specially dedicated to food trading |
| A．Women were buried with more riches than men in the Bronze Age. |
| B．The role of women in Bronze Age politics had been overestimated. |
| C．Women may have been powerful rulers in the El Argar civilization. |
| D．Women were considered adults at a much younger age than boys. |
When it comes to ancient civilizations, most people think of the Greeks and Romans. It’s understandable as both
The Jiahu settlement is located in the central plain of ancient China,
The settlement’s end came around 5700 BCE when the nearby rivers overflowed and flooded the area. It is assumed that the Jiahu people left their home
