1 . What killed King Tut? Historians and scientists have long believed that ancient Egypt’s most famous king was probably murdered. But a recent scientific study claims to have found a different answer to this more than 3,300-year-old mystery. A team of researchers now say that King Tut, the boy ruler, died of complications (并发症) from a broken leg.
Tut’s full name was Tutankhamun. He was just 9 years old when he became the ruler of Egypt. His treasure-filled tomb was discovered almost a century ago. It was filled with royal riches, including a solid-gold coffin, a gold mask, and piles of jewelry.
Unfortunately Tut died at the age of 19. Many experts have thought that Tut was killed by one of his advisers, named Ay, who wanted to be king. But thanks to a major modern science project, it seems Ay is innocent.
Researchers set out to solve the mystery of King Tut’s death by using the tools of science, including DNA tests and electronic scans of his mummy (木乃伊). Scientist Carsten Pusch conducted the tests on Tut for the new study. He thinks a broken leg contributed to the young king’s death.
More than 100 walking sticks were found in King Tut’s tomb. This supports the team’s findings. But how could a person die from a simple broken leg?
Pusch also found DNA evidence in Tut’s body that indicates he had malaria (疟疾), a disease carried by mosquitoes. Malaria severely weakens the immune system.
Pusch and his fellow researchers believe the malaria and the bone disease together caused the king’s fracture (骨折) to become deadly. Finally, the young king was just too weak to recover. So effects of the disease combined with the bad luck of a broken bone — not a jealous adviser — are likely the real causes of King Tut’s death.
1. It has long been believed by historians and scientists that _____.A.King Tut was the youngest ruler in the world history |
B.King Tut was the richest ruler in the history of Egypt |
C.King Tut was murdered by one of his advisers |
D.King Tut was poisoned by one of his servants |
A.the king had been dead for 3,300 years |
B.the king was buried grandly |
C.the king was born with a bad immune system |
D.the king’s body was well kept in the tomb |
A.testing the king’s immune system |
B.studying the walking sticks found in the tomb |
C.performing experiments on mosquitoes |
D.applying DNA tests and electronic scan technology |
A.a different answer to King Tut’s death |
B.a famous boy king in ancient Egypt |
C.a treasure-filled tomb discovered in Egypt |
D.a team of researchers studying ancient tombs |
2 . As archaeologists (考古学家) examined ancient tombs in Turfan in western China, they discovered some surprisingly well-preserved and familiar relics. Though hardened from over 1,000 years, there sat little dumplings.
Exactly who invented dumplings remains a mystery. But some scholars suspect they were first spread by nomadic (游牧的) Turkic peoples living in western China and Central Asia. This is thought to be the case because “manti,” meaning “dumpling” or “steamed bun” in many Turkic languages, appears to be the root word for dumpling in several other languages. Ancient Turkic people probably filled their dumplings with meat. But it’s unclear when this practice began, or whether they learned the art of dumpling-making from others. However this happened, dumplings certainly gathered steam in ancient China.
Dumplings continued to take off and diversify in China over the next thousand years. Instead of the traditional meat filling, some communities chose vegetarian (素食) dumplings. People developed new cooking methods. The relationship between Chinese dumplings and those in other areas is tricky to trace, but food historians have made their best guesses based on available clues.
Besides Turkic tribes, some scholars believe that the Mongol Empire also contributed to the spread of dumplings, perhaps introducing them to parts of Eastern Europe. These dumplings could have come by way of China or directly from some of the Turkic peoples the Mongols hired to run their empire. One theory is that this gave rise to dumplings like pelmeni in Russia, pierogi in Poland and vareniki in Ukraine. The Mongol Empire also controlled Korea and might have likewise introduced dumplings there. Later, after Chinese dumpling varieties were introduced to more countries, English speakers began calling them dumplings, which means “little lumps”. During the Second World War, Chinese “jiaozi” were brought to Japan. So what about the Italian dumpling-like pasta? Some historians think it might be brought by Arab conquerors.
It’s unlikely that all dumpling dishes came from the same root tradition. However, we can appreciate the mysterious historical web that made dumplings so various.
1. What made Turkic peoples suspected to first spread dumplings?A.The languages they used. | B.Their eating habits. |
C.Their dumpling-making skills. | D.The newly found tombs. |
A.Originated. | B.Stabilized. |
C.Got well-cooked. | D.Became popular. |
A.The spreading process of dumplings. |
B.The possible origins of dumplings. |
C.Differences between various dumplings. |
D.Reasons for the popularity of dumplings. |
A.Delicious. | B.Diverse. | C.Unusual. | D.Regional. |
3 . A national park is an area set aside by a government for the preservation of the natural environment. The national parks in the United States and Canada center on the protection of both land and wildlife.
It is widely thought that the idea of a park or nature reserve under state ownership started in the United States in 1870.
Partly following the American example, movements supporting national parks sprang up in many other countries.
But interest in parks came later in Asia and Latin America than it did in the Anglo-American countries and Europe.
A.These movements began in Canada. |
B.George Catlin offered the idea during the 1830s. |
C.Visitors are allowed to enter for different purposes. |
D.Those in the United Kingdom center mainly on the land. |
E.Japan and Mexico established their first national parks in the 1930s. |
F.By the early 21st century the NPS managed more than 400 separate areas. |
G.It is also thought that the world’s first such park was Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. |
4 . Canada is a very large country. It is the second largest country in the world. By contrast (相比较) it has a very small population. There are only about 29 million people there. Most Canadians are of British or French origin, and French is an official language of Canada as well as English. About 45% of the people are of British origin, that is, they or their parents or grandparents, etc, come from British. Nearly 30% are of French origin. Most of the French-Canadians live in the province of Quebec.
Over the years, people have come to live in Canada from many countries in the world. They are from most European countries and also from China, besides other Asian countries. However, Canada was not an empty country when the Europeans began to arrive. Canadian-Indians lived along the coast, by the rivers and lakes and in forests. Today, there are only about 350,000 Indians in the whole country, with their own languages. In the far north live the Inuits (因努伊特人). There are only 27,000 Canadian-Inuits. Their life is hard in such a difficult climate.
1. About ______ live in Quebec.A.30% of the French-Canadians | B.45% of the Canadians |
C.29,000,000 people | D.8,700,000 French-Canadians |
A.Chinese and Inuits | B.French and English |
C.Indian and French | D.English and Chinese |
A.血统 | B.后裔 | C.先驱 | D.起源 |
A.England | B.China and some other Asian countries |
C.France | D.some other countries except France and Britain |
A.45% | B.30% | C.1.2% | D.0.09% |
5 . Mary Lyon was a leader in women’s education in the nineteenth century. It was a time when women’s education was not considered important in the United States. The States did require each town to provide a school for children, but there were not enough teachers. Most young women were not able to continue their education. If they did, they often were not taught much except French, how to sew (缝) clothing, and music.
Mary Lyon felt that women’s education was extremely important. She believed women were teachers both in the home and in the classroom. Mary opened a school for young women in Buckland. She suggested new ways of teaching, including holding discussion groups for students.
Then, Mary began to raise money for her dream school for the higher education of women. This school would own its own property. Its finances would be the responsibility of the directors. It would not depend on any person to continue. And, the students would share in cleaning and cooking to keep costs down.
In 1837, Mary Lyo n founded Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. In 1893, 44 years after her death, under a state law, Mount Holyoke Female Seminary became the first college to offer women the same kind of education as men. Mary’s efforts led to the spread of higher education for women in the United States. Her influence lasted as many students from her schools went out to teach others.
1. What’s the problem with women’s education in the 19th century?A.They weren’t supported by their family. |
B.They had no right to have education. |
C.They had little chance to be teachers. |
D.They had few choices of subjects. |
A.She suggested the traditional ways of teaching. |
B.She preferred women to be educated at home. |
C.She attached importance to women’s education. |
D.She advised women to learn by themselves. |
A.It would have very strict rules. | B.It would be independent in finances. |
C.It would be owned by the government. | D.It would depend on some important people. |
A.Mary Lyon: A Supporter of Higher Education | B.Mary Lyon: A Leader in Women’s Education |
C.Mary Lyon’s Great Influence on Her Students | D.Mary Lyon’s Efforts to Pass a New Education Law |
6 . For archaeologists (考古学家) in Israel, eight prehistoric ostrich (鸵鸟) eggs-thought to be between 4,000 and 7,500 years old-proved as valuable as treasure when they were dis-covered near an ancient fire pit in the Negev, a desert region in the south of the country.
They were discovered during an archaeological excavation (挖掘) in the agricultural fields of Be’er Milka, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced on Thursday. The eggs’ location suggests that they were collected by the prehistoric (史前的) desert nomads (游牧民) who used the campsite, according to a press release from IAA, and further lab analysis will provide more information about their uses and ages. Although the nomads did not build permanent structures at this site, the finding allows us to feel their presence in the desert. The campsites were covered by sand, keeping the eggs exceptionally well-preserved.
Ostriches were common in the region until they became extinct in the wild during the 19th century. Their eggs were beautifully decorated and were prized items during the Bronze and Iron Ages (青铜和铁器时代). As well as being used as decorative items, ostrich eggs were also used as a source of food. One ostrich egg has the nutritional value of about 25 normal chicken eggs.
While ostrich eggs are not uncommon in excavations, the bones of the large bird are not found. This may indicate that in the ancient world, people avoided dealing with the ostrich and were content with collecting their eggs.
1. What did archaeologists find in Israel?A.Ostriches. | B.Burnt tools. | C.Ostrich eggs. | D.The bones of ostriches. |
A.The trees. | B.The fire pit. | C.The campsites. | D.The sand. |
A.To provide shelter for them. |
B.To protect agricultural fields. |
C.To get food or decorations. |
D.To do some research on them. |
A.Ostrich eggs have high nutritional value. |
B.Ostriches were found near an ancient fire pit. |
C.People tended to hunt ostriches as food sources. |
D.Ostriches were common in Israel in the 20th century. |
7 . Although English is not as old as Chinese, it is spoken by many people around the world every day. English speakers are always creating new words, and we are often able to know where most words come from.
Sometimes, however, no one may really know where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers (汉堡包) are called hamburgers, especially when they are not made with ham (火腿)? About a hundred years ago, some men went to America from Europe. They came from a big city in Germany called Hamburg. They did not speak good English, but they ate good food. When some Americans saw them eating round pieces of beef, they asked the Germans what it was. The Germans did not understand the question and answered, “We come from Hamburg.” One of these Americans owned a restaurant, and had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of beef like those which the men from Hamburg ate. Then he put each between two pieces of bread and started selling them. Such bread came to be called “hamburgers”. Today “hamburgers” are sold in many countries around the world.
Whether this story is true or not, it certainly is interesting. Knowing why any word has a certain meaning is interesting, too. This reason, for most English words, can be found in any large English dictionary.
1. About a hundred years ago, Hamburg was .A.An American city | B.a Chinese city |
C.the name of a village | D.a city in Germany |
A.beef, bread | B.only made with beef |
C.bread, potato | D.only made with bread |
A.Where all the new words come from |
B.Where those Germans came from |
C.The reason why an English word has a certain meaning |
D.The reason why English is spoken around the world |
A.China because it has a long history |
B.England because Germans don’t speak good English |
C.the round pieces of beef which those people from Hamburg were eating |
D.English speakers because they always create new words |
8 . About 5,300 years ago, people from the grasslands of modern-day Russia and Ukraine expanded rapidly across Eurasia. Within a few centuries these “Yamnaya” left a lasting genetic mark on populations from central Europe to the Caspian Sea. Today, archaeologists call them “eastern cowboys” for their livestock herding (畜牧) and highly mobile lifestyle.
But one part of the classic cowboy picture was missing: horseback riding. Although cattle bones and solid carriages have been found in Yamnaya sites, horse bones are hard to find, and most archaeologists assumed people did not start to ride horses until at least 1,000 years later.
In a new study published in Science Advances, researchers say they’ve found the earliest evidence of horseback riding not in the bones of ancient horses, but in their Yamnaya riders. “Everyone has focused on horse remains to get an idea of early horse riding,” says co-author and University of Helsinki archaeologist Volker Heyd. “Our approach was to look at humans.”
The researchers looked at more than 150 bones unearthed in Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria — the western frontier of Yamnaya expansion. The Yamnaya were well-fed, healthy, and tall; the chemical composition of their bones showed protein rich diets consistent with herding cattle and sheep. But the bones showed signs of distinctive wear and tear. They also showed thick spots on the leg bone consistent with lots of time spent on the horse back. Healed injuries matched the kinds of damage a kicking horse might cause, or what sports medicine doctors today see in riders thrown from their horses.
“In terms of trying to identify people riding horses, I think they’ve done the best job possible bioarchaeologically,” says bioarchaeologist Jane Buikstra. “That doesn’t mean it’s perfect, or convincing, ultimately.”
More samples — including horse bones with signs of riding, such as bit marks or back bone damage from the weight of a rider — would help make the case, says CU bioarchaeologist Lauren Hosek. What the group has found “is really interesting”, she says. “But there’s a lot more work to be done when the risks of drawing the final conclusion are as high as the earliest horse riding.”
1. Why are the archaeologists looking for the horse bones?A.To prove the Yamnaya’s rapid expansion. |
B.To confirm the Yamnaya’s herding variety. |
C.To further understand the lifestyle of Yamnaya. |
D.To trace the origin of the classic cowboy picture. |
A.It includes field trips. | B.It focuses on human bones. |
C.It is based on horse remains. | D.It compares the compositions of bones. |
A.Their bones bore the evidence of horse riding. |
B.Many Yamnaya people died from horse kicks. |
C.Their lifestyle of herding led to severe injuries. |
D.They mainly lived in Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria. |
A.Objective. | B.Favorable. |
C.Disapproving. | D.Unclear. |
9 . These days, Fred’s huge skeleton (骨架) was exhibited in the Indiana State Museum. His tusks (长牙) were recently the subject of a research study tracing the life 13,000 years ago of mastodons, distant relatives of modern elephants.
By analyzing the chemicals in Fred’s tusks, a team of researchers was able to construct a detailed account of his seasonal migration patterns. Josh Miller, a paleoecologist (古生态学家) at the University of Cincinnati, is one of the researchers studying Fred. “He has beautifully preserved bones and tusks, which provides a great opportunity for our research,” Miller said.
Mastodons’ tusks generally grow in distinct layers, similar to the tree rings. As a result, the nutrients that build the layers of their tusks can tell us a lot about what they experienced. The team particularly focused their analysis on the variations in two elements in the layers: strontium (锶) and oxygen. The former is the key to understanding where Fred spent his life, while the latter tells us the season he was in any particular region. Then, with some statistical modeling, Miller and his team gained insight into the daily record of Fred’s behavior over ten thousand years ago.
The result indicated that when Fred was young, he would have grown a lot. But there’s a year when his growth is reduced — that’s when Miller’s analysis starts. “Probably like the modern male elephant, a male mastodon is just really obnoxious when growing up to be a bother and often arouses family members’ anger. At that point, the mom and aunts will essentially kick him out of the family”, Miller predicted.
After Fred set off to attend to himself, his tusks reflected where he traveled around. Based on analysis, every summer, Fred would return to mate in Northeastern Indiana, because around this time, his tusks started to show signs of injuries. When competing for mates, mastodons got into huge battles with their own natural weapons, sharp tusks. And that was exactly what brought the story of Fred to an untimely end.
1. What does Miller’s study mainly focus on?A.Inner structure of Fred’s skeleton. | B.Possible tracks of Fred’s migration. |
C.Research value of mastodon fossils. | D.Effective ways of tusk preservation. |
A.By modeling data of special chemical elements. | B.By comparing his layers of tusks with rings of trees. |
C.By conducting field researches in various regions. | D.By reviewing statistical records of previous studies. |
A.Mature. | B.Greedy. | C.Ambitious. | D.Annoying. |
A.He failed to live independently. | B.He reunited with his family later. |
C.He got killed by opponents’ tusks. | D.He survived some natural disasters. |
10 . The days when art was an Olympic sport
Did you know that creating works of art used to be an Olympic competition?
The idea to include art in the Olympics came from Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who was the founder of the International Olympic Committee, which created the modern Olympics. Coubertin believed that the arts and sports were linked and was impressed by anyone who had a firm command of both a sport and an artistic discipline(项目).
Why aren’t the arts included in the Olympics today?
For starters, only amateurs were allowed to compete in the arts part of the Olympics.
Secondly, works of art created had to have sports as the subject matter.
Finally, one of the biggest reasons was that the arts are subjective. Sports can be judged by time and distance, making it easy to determine who is the winner.
A.Why was art made an Olympic discipline? |
B.What is a discipline in the Olympic Games? |
C.This rule made the objects produced seem really boring. |
D.The arts, on the other hand, are not quite so easy to judge |
E.However, the arts part of the Olympics Games was soon abandoned |
F.This means that many famous artists were banned from participating. |
G.For 36 years, from 1912 to 1948, artists participated in the Olympic Games. |