1 . Although literacy appeared independently in several parts of the prehistoric world, the earliest evidence of writing is the cuneiform Sumerian script on the clay tablets of ancient Mesopotamia, which, archaeological detective work has revealed, had its origins in the accounting practices of commercial activity. Researchers demonstrated that preliterate people, to keep track of the goods they produced and exchanged, created a system of accounting using clay tokens as symbolic representations of their products. Over many thousands of years, the symbols evolved through several stages of abstraction until they became wedge-shaped (cuneiform) signs on clay tablets, recognizable as writing.

The original tokens were three-dimensional solid shapes — tiny spheres, cones, disks, and cylinders. A debt of six units of grain and eight head of livestock, for example, might have been represented by six conical and eight cylindrical tokens. To keep batches of tokens together, an innovation was introduced whereby they were sealed inside clay envelopes that could be broken open and counted when it came time for a debt to be repaid. But because the contents of the envelopes could easily be forgotten, two-dimensional representations of the three-dimensional tokens were impressed into the surface of the envelopes before they were sealed. Eventually, having two sets of equivalent symbols — the internal tokens and external markings — came to seem redundant, so the tokens were eliminated, and only solid clay tablets with two-dimensional symbols were retained. Over time, the symbols became more numerous, varied, and abstract and came to represent more than trade commodities, evolving eventually into cuneiform writing.

The evolution of the symbolism is reflected in the archaeological record first of all by the increasing complexity of the tokens themselves. The earliest tokens, dating from about 10,000 to 6,000 years ago, were of only the simplest geometric shapes. But about 3500 B.C.E., more complex tokens came into common usage, including many naturalistic forms shaped like miniature tools, furniture, fruit, and humans.

1. Which of the following is NOT mentioned about clay envelopes?

A．They contained batches of tokens.	B．They could be reused frequently.
C．They had markings on the outside.	D．They could be used to record debts.

2. Which of the following can be inferred about the difference between earlier tokens and later tokens?

A．Later tokens were made of many different materials, but earlier ones were made only of clay.

B．Later tokens often looked like the commodities that they represented, but earlier ones did not.

C．Later tokens represented agricultural products, but earlier ones represented finished products.

D．Later tokens were based on pictographs, but earlier ones were based on naturalistic forms.

3. Which of the sentences best expresses the essential information in the underlined sentence?

A．Sumerian script, the earliest known form of writing among prehistoric writing systems, was first used on clay tablets for accounting purposes.

B．Although the earliest Sumerians engaged in commercial activity and practiced accounting, they were not as literate as people in other parts of the prehistoric world.

C．Archaeologists have discovered that literacy was developed in several parts of the world, including ancient Mesopotamia.

D．Archaeological detective work has revealed the commercial accounting practices of the Sumerians of ancient Mesopotamia and provided a written record of their intense commercial activity.

4. What might be the best title for the text?

A．Evidence of the Earliest Writing	B．A long history of tokens
C．Evolution of the symbolism	D．Origins of the symbols

2 . Unexpected Things About Archaeology (考古学)

Archaeology is an amazing career. We get to explore and debate how life has been and can be lived, and we get to share this knowledge with people in a way which benefits society. If you don’t know an archaeologist or haven’t worked with one before, you might not know what they actually do or you might think we do things that we don’t.     1    

Not all archaeology is underground.

A lot of people think of archaeology as being buried in the ground, but any physical material can tell us about the past.     2     In fact, there’s a whole specialism of archaeology that involves recording historic buildings and creating drawings and reports about them.

    3    

You might think archaeologists are only interested in the most precious items, like coins, valuable jewellery or well-preserved objects. But often the most common items, like pottery, clay tobacco pipes, glass bottles or bricks, can tell them the most information. They help build a picture of people’s lives. Sometimes, not finding an object we thought would be there tells us something about the people.

Archaeologists don’t use brushes very often.

Many people think archaeologists spend all day brushing dirt off the items they find. They do sometimes use brushes to clean surfaces for clear photographs. But they mainly use tools like trowels, shovels or mattocks. A normal day involves a lot of heavy digging.    4     But sometimes archaeologists work with very fragile items. For this they would normally use tools like a thin “leave” trowel, but usually a brush.

Archaeologists can use technology to learn what is underground instead of digging.

    5     Geophysical Survey uses electric and magnets to find tiny differences in the earth and creates a map of potential archaeology under the earth. Drones can also be used to take aerial photographs, where things like crop-marks can be clues to past human activity.

Archaeology is a science, an art and a form of physical work. It’s varied and can appeal to people with different interests and skills. It may take you on a journey you don’t expect!

A．Archaeology is for everybody.

B．Archaeologists aren’t only interested in gold.

C．Archaeologists don’t have to dig to learn about what is underground.

D．So we pulled together a list of things you might not know about archaeology.

E．This means above-ground remains, like buildings, are important forms of evidence.

F．They also must work quickly as they’re usually part of a wider construction project.

G．Archaeologists get more information about the history of an area with every site they dig.

5 . A new exhibition in Paris aims to show how England in the middle ages was very much part of Europe’s dynamic art, architectural, trade and culture scene between AD1000 and AD1500.

Organizers said the event would discredit the “popular perception” – mainly across the Channel – that medieval England was “primitive and barbaric”, while France and parts of Europe enjoyed a gothic zenith.

James Robinson, the exhibition curator, said there had been a “reassessment” of England’s contribution to European art in the middle ages over the past half a century. “I’d like to blow apart the popular perception that the middle ages were all about pestilence(plague), the Black Death and religious repression, and demonstrate the artistic and technical excellence that was evident ,” he said. “When you look at the art works in this exhibition you will see some of the true masterpieces of the age.”

Unfortunately, while France and other European countries largely preserved their medieval treasures, England’s artistic heritage was “systematically and ruthlessly decimated” by the 16th -century Reformation and the revolution led by Oliver Cromwell in the 1640s. The English Reformation , after Henry VIII wrested the Church of England away from the authority of the Catholic church in Rome, saw the king’s chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, close down the monasteries, confiscating their riches and in many cases dismantling the buildings.“All things of value were spoiled, plucked away or utterly defaced…and it seemed every person was intent upon filching and spoiling what he could, ” wrote Michael Sherbrook, the 16th-century rector of Wickersley near Roche Abbey in South Yorkshire .

Among the exhibits at the Paris exhibition that opens on Friday are rare treasures that escaped the 16th- and 17th -century pillage and destruction, including the Gloucester Candlestick, the Becket Casket, the Clare Chasuble, the Luck of Edenhall and the Syon Cope. Marie Lavandier, the president of France’s National Monuments Centre, said:“The exhibition highlights the extraordinary richness of the artistic exchanges that united England with continental Europe. At this moment when we are interrogating ourselves about our relationship with Europe, what the exhibition is also demonstrating is that we have always been closely tied to it in terms of commerce and diplomatic relationships.”

1. What’s the popular perception of England in the middle ages?

A．England was the centre of the medieval culture

B．England enjoyed the top level in gothic art

C．England lagged far behind France and other parts of Europe in art

D．England had the advanced and first-rate architecture then

2. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “decimated” in paragraph 4?

A．refreshed

B．replicated

C．promoted

D．undermined

3. From Michael Sherbrook’s comment we can learn that__________

A．Destructions were plotted by France and other European countries

B．Artistic treasures suffered huge loss under the Church of England

C．He was totally astonished about what happened

D．The Catholic church should be responsible for the whole event

4. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．The chaos medieval age of England

B．The Paris exhibition dispels myth of “primitive” England in middle ages

C．How to enjoy a new exhibition in Paris

D．An introduction to artistic exchanges in England

6 . In 1968 a grave dating from about 1100 was uncovered near Hattula, in Finland, Little remained of the occupant’s skeleton, but the inhumation included two swords and a knife. Such grave goods would normally suggest said occupant was a man. The skeleton was, ______ also decorated with brooches (胸针) and woollen clothing of types more usually worn at the time by women. This ______ guess that the burial was actually of a powerful woman, possibly a local ruler in her own right rather than just the wife of a male king.

This would be noteworthy enough. But a re-examination of the remains, just published in the European Journal of Archaeology by Ulla Moilanen of the University of Turku and Elina Salmela of the University of Helsinki, suggests the truth may be yet more ______. Ms. Moilanen and Dr Salmela suspect that the individual ______ may have had outward characteristics of both a man and a woman.

In 1968 working out the ______ of a skeleton in an ancient grave was tricky. After years of deterioration, the bones of men and women look pretty much ______. But that was before the use of DNA became possible. So Ms. Moilanen and Dr Salmela thought it worth trying again.

Most people have two sex chromosomes (染色体): XX in women and XY in men. Find DNA from a Y-chromosome in a skeleton and the chances are the body was ______. And, looking at a fragment of femur brought to her by Ms. Moilanen, who is the archaeologist in the ______, Dr. Salmela, who is the geneticist, did indeed find such DNA. But not much of it. That led her to wonder about contamination (污染), but also to consider whether the individual in the grave had had a(n) ______ X-chromosome that was swamping the signal from the Y.

Having an abnormal number of sex chromosomes is rare, but not vanishingly so. The particular ______ XXY leads to what is known as Klinefelter’s syndrome. To determine the occupant’s karyotype (染色体组型) from the tiny amount of DNA available, Dr. Salmela drew ______ with living people. The grave delivered 8,329 pieces, so she used a computer to draw samples of similar size from the genomes of living people with various karyotypes, including XXY, and also from mixtures of both sexes, to ______ contamination. She then compared these with the DNA from the grave and ______ it was 99.75% probable the individual concerned had indeed had Klinefelter’s syndrome.

While Dr Salmela was working all this out, Ms. Moilanen and her team had another look at the grave. They confirmed that it was a ______ burial. For instance, they found evidence of fine furs, probably from foxes. Clearly, this was a well-respected human being, but what led to that ______ in a world then dominated by male values is a matter of puzzle. Perhaps the person came from a family powerful enough for such things not to matter.

1.

A．therefore

B．what’s more

C．nevertheless

D．for instance

2.

A．intensified

B．confirmed

C．dismissed

D．encouraged

3.

A．complicated

B．engaging

C．unpleasant

D．frightening

4.

A．in question

B．at large

C．by comparison

D．with doubt

5.

A．composition

B．age

C．sex

D．origin

6.

A．distinct

B．unidentified

C．alike

D．broken

7.

A．female

B．old

C．young

D．male

8.

A．cooperation

B．authority

C．institute

D．adventure

9.

A．restored

B．extra

C．missing

D．dominant

10.

A．requirement

B．interest

C．combination

D．emphasis

11.

A．inspirations

B．lessons

C．inferences

D．comparisons

12.

A．eliminate

B．monitor

C．imitate

D．generate

13.

A．rejected

B．concluded

C．recalled

D．confessed

14.

A．high-status

B．secret

C．religious

D．peaceful

15.

A．conclusion

B．evidence

C．respect

D．solution

7 . Scientists at the Sanxingdui Ruins in southwest China’s Sichuan Province continue to unearth over 500 relics from an ancient Chinese civilization that dates back over 3,000 years.

The findings unearthed in June include a fully preserved gold mask, which stands at 37. 2cm wide and16. 5cm tall. The new gold mask reminded people of the one found in March, which was far more damaged. Scientists said the gold mask is the largest, and most well preserved, of similar golden relics discovered at the Sanxingdui Ruins, and it is consistent with the idea that gold was important to people of the area called the Shu state.

The gold mask has similar facial features to bronze statues discovered in the area. It has large eyes covering much of the face, a big nose, huge ears and a flat, wide mouth. The strange facial features led some people to suggest they were aliens. However, Wang Wei, the director of the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, explained, “There is no chance that Sanxingdui belongs to an alien civilization. These wide-eyed masks look strange because the makers wanted to copy the look of deities (神灵). They shouldn’t be considered as the look of everyday people.”

Besides the mask, other discoveries included bronze statues, a knife made out of jade and a series of relics made of ivory, among many others. Many of the bronze relics are brand new discoveries and unique to anything found before in China. Chinese scientists said they are highly detailed, with statues showing facial features that fit well with the gold mask, which make them as valuable resources for the research of ancient Shu and give better perceptiveness about the ancient Shu state, home to a mysterious civilization until the recent discoveries proved its existence. Chinese scientists believe they are entering a “key stage” and expect to find a series of relics that will change how people think about ancient China.

1. What do we know about the gold mask from paragraph 2?

A．It was discovered in March.

B．It was the first to be dug at the site.

C．It is the most complete relic ever discovered.

D．It is the largest size of its kind unearthed at the site.

2. What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．The significance of the gold mask.

B．The characteristics of the gold mask.

C．The findings in the Sanxingdui Ruins.

D．The digging process of the Sanxingdui Ruins.

3. What does the underline word “perceptiveness” in the last Paragraph mean?

A．Insight.	B．Civilization.
C．Development.	D．Introduction.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．An Ancient Shu State Was Newly Discovered

B．Mysterious Sanxingdui Ruins Reveal More Relics

C．Sichuan Province Is the Birthplace of a New Civilization

D．New Sanxingdui Ruins Catch the Attention of Chinese scientists

8 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. How did the Doggerland people make a living?

A．By hunting.

B．By farming.

C．By trading.

2. Who often find the evidence of Doggerland?

A．Scientists.

B．Fishermen.

C．Historians.

3. Which modern issue do researchers warn us about?

A．Climate change.

B．Immigration (移民).

C．Pollution.

4. What is the main subject of the talk?

A．The UK’s ancient flood stories.

B．The danger of flooding in the UK.

C．Ancient flooded land off the UK coast.

9 . Exhibition of the week

Charles II : Art & Power

Queen’s Gallery, London SW1 (0303-123 7300, www.royalcollection.org.uk), Until 13 May.

Charles II had the misfortune to be in a time “loaded with a rare tonnage of national botheration”, said Waldemar Januszczak in The Sunday Times. His father Charles, of course, “paid the price for his royalty” when he died in 1649. Arguably Charles II, who regained the throne (王位) in 1660, occupied “an even hotter seat”. He was well aware that he might suffer the same fate as his father. Yet, as this “uplifting” new exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery reveals, Charles was a “brilliant operator who played his moves like a chess grand-master” — and who used art to glorify the monarchy (君主制) and to justify his rule. The exhibition bring together a wealth of paintings, drawings and furniture he inherited or collected over the course of his “remarkably successful reign (统治)”. The result is a “grand” celebration of “a king who brought gaiety back to his nation”.

Art certainly played a “vital” role in establishing the Restoration, said Laura Cumming in the Observer. Prints in the exhibition show Charles “effortlessly” calming a horse or offering his “healing touch to the sick”. The Shropshire oak in which he famously hid from the Round-heads after the Battle of Worcester can be seen again and again. Most “striking” of all is John Michael Wright’s painting, which is so big that the viewer is “just about on kissing level with the royal feet”. But the show has an inherent flaw, said Nancy Durrant in the Times. On climbing up to the throne, Charles found that most of his father’s vast art collection had been sold off by Oliver Cromwell, and he set about securing its return. While this ambitious initiative was “effective” in England, it worked less well in recovering the masterpieces that were sold overseas — and their absence is disappointing once you learn what was lost.

Nevertheless Charles added some marvelous art to the Royal collection, said Jonathan Jones in the Guardian. There are many fine British works in this show — notably Peter Lely’s painting of a royal mistress, Louise de Kerouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth. However, the “drop-dead highlights” of Charles’s collection come from abroad: they include Lorenzo Lotto’s “intensely atmospheric” 1527 portrait of Andrea Odoni, and the hundreds of “amazing” drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, four of which are on show here. What an “absorbing” exhibition this is.

1. According to the passage, Charles II ________.

A．suffered the same fate as his father, Charles I

B．ruled the nation in an incomparably fierce way

C．was one of the greatest chess players in history

D．started his reign while the nation was in trouble

2. According paragraph 3, the “inherent flaw” refers to the fact that ________.

A．Charles II brought most of his father’s vast art collections abroad

B．visitors will feel disappointed to see what is on show in the exhibition

C．Oliver Cromwell wasn’t able to recover the masterpieces he once sold

D．the exhibition fails to include some masterpieces sold overseas in history

3. Which of the following statements is true of the exhibition?

A．It is most famous for its local collections.

B．It shows how art was used to restore the nation.

C．It excludes what Charles II collected in his reign.

D．It includes hundreds of drawings by Leonardo da Vinci.