1 . While most people don’t think much about garbage, trash (垃圾) is beloved by archaeologist (考古学家). A favorite site for study is a midden (贝丘), an old trash or garbage heap (堆). A midden might contain damaged stone or metal items, which tell us about the weapons and tools people used. Softer materials such as wood, cloth, leather, and baskets are sometimes preserved. They may tell us what people wore, how they carried things, or the kind of toys used by children. Historic household trash heaps often contain broken pottery pieces and even traces of the food they once held.
Most people no longer keep a trash heap by the kitchen door. Instead, garbage is hauled off to landfills (垃圾填埋池). These landfills can still attract archaeologists. The Garbage Project collected information from landfills from 1987 to 1995. Student archaeologists measured tons of garbage from 15 landfills across the United States and Canada. This garbology, the study of garbage, research led to a better understanding of how people have changed what they consume during this period of time. The findings also led to a better awareness of how quickly various items rot. This helped with city planning for garbage disposal and recycling efforts.
Some found objects that may clearly be of archaeological interest, such as arrowheads and spear points. It is typically against the law to collect these on public lands, so they should be left in place. If you take a photo and note the location, you can notify the state archaeologist or the government branch that is in charge of the land, such as the National Park Service or the Bureau of Land Management.
Everyone is responsible for protecting archaeological resources, which is a concept known as “archaeological stewardship.” Sometimes this even means protecting old garbage.
1. Why is old trash important according to archaeologists?| A．It can teach us about the past. |
| B．It might help us locate metal mines. |
| C．It can contribute to modern material industry. |
| D．It might encourage us to protect our environment. |
| A．They conducted a study on modern trash. |
| B．They recycled waste from some landfills. |
| C．They offered some creative city planning ideas. |
| D．They compared ancient trash heaps with modern landfills. |
| A．Donate it to public collections. |
| B．Take it to proper authorities. |
| C．Leave it in a safe place. |
| D．Mark the place of it. |
| A．Past or Future? | B．Trash or Treasure? |
| C．Protection of Damage? | D．Problem or Resource? |
2 . “How do they walk in these things?” complains Jack Lemmon, walking with difficulty in his heels, newly dressed as his another identity Josephine, in the film “Some Like It Hot”.
High heels were, in fact, originally designed for men — and had an extremely practical purpose. Soldiers on horseback wore them in 10th-century Persia, according to Elizabeth Semmel hack of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. The heel helped keep them stable as they stood up in their stirrups ( 马镫) and took aim at enemies with bows and arrows (cowboy boots still use heels in this way). Over time, heels appeared on the shoes of male nobles across Europe. Yet from the mid-17th century, heels became associated with supposedly “feminine” qualities, and so became women’s wear. Until the mid-20th century heels were heavy, heavy things. After the Second World War, techniques and materials used in aircraft engineering were applied to shoes, creating the stiletto ( 细高跟). The high, narrow heel requires a thin metal pole, strong enough to bear the wearer’s weight yet flexible enough to allow the shoe to move.
Shoemakers have searched actively for a right heel. They aim to reduce the angle created by a high heel, which forces the few square centimeteres of the ball of your foot to bear the entire weight of your body. Joan Oloff, a podiatrist-turned-shoe-designer, makes footwear lined with memory foam ( 泡沫) to absorb the shock of each painful step. The bottom part of the shoe is crafted to support the arch of the foot and distribute the wearer’s weight more equally. Antonia Saint Dunbar, an entrepreneur, makes shoes with a heel cup and strips inside to stop the foot slipping around and getting blisters ( 水泡). And growing numbers of companies make shoes with adjustable heels: two inches for the boardroom, four for the nightclub, none for home.
However, the wisest are stepping down altogether: in 2016, for the first time, more British women bought trainers than heels.
1. Why is a scene in “Some Like It Hot” mentioned in Paragraph 1?| A．To recommend this film. |
| B．To explain Jack’s double identity. |
| C．To introduce the topic of high heels. |
| D．To stress the difficulty of walking in heels. |
| A．By presenting research findings. |
| B．By analyzing cause and effect. |
| C．By following the order of time. |
| D．By following the order of importance. |
| A．To keep soldiers fighting on horseback steady. |
| B．To keep cowboys standing up in stirrups safe. |
| C．To show off the beauty of women. |
| D．To show the nobility of Europeans. |
| A．Popularize shoes with adjustable heels. |
| B．Help women find the right high heels. |
| C．Encourage women to wear trainers. |
| D．Make high heels comfortable. |
3 . Abraham Lincoln, a self-taught lawyer, was elected 16th president of the United States in November 1860, shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War. Lincoln proved to be a smart military strategist and a competent leader: His Emancipation Proclamation (解放宣言) paved the way for slavery’s abolition, while his Gettysburg Address stands as one of the most famous speeches in American history. In April 1865, with the Union on the brink of victory, Abraham Lincoln was killed; his untimely death made him a hero to the cause of liberty, and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest presidents in U.S. history.
On January 20, 1981, Reagan took office. Only 69 days later he was shot by a would-be killer, but quickly recovered and returned to duty. His grace and wit during the dangerous incident caused his popularity to soar.
At the end of his two terms in office, Ronald Reagan viewed with satisfaction the achievements of his innovative program known as the Reagan Revolution, which aimed to motivate the American people and reduce their reliance upon Government. He felt he had fulfilled his campaign pledge of 1980 to restore “the great, confident roar of American progress and growth and optimism.”
When George W. Bush, at the age of 54, became the 43rd president of the United States, it was only the second time in American history that a president’s son went on to the White House. John Quincy Adams, elected the sixth president in 1824, was the son of John Adams, the second president. While John Adams had brought up his son to be president. George Bush, the 41st president, insisted he was surprised when the eldest of his six children became interested in politics, became governor of Texas, and then went on to the white House.
Barack Obama served as the 44th President of the United States. His story is the American story—values from the heartland, a middle-class upbringing in a strong family, hard work and education as the means of getting ahead, and the belief that a life so blessed should be lived in service to others.
With a father from Kenva and a mother from Kansas, President Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961. He was raised with help from his grandfather, who served in Patton’s army, and his grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle management at a bank.
| A．Abraham Lincoln. | B．Ronald Reagan. |
| C．George W. Bush. | D．Barack Obama. |
| A．he regretted having been elected President |
| B．he still had much to do for the country |
| C．he had kept his promise to the people |
| D．he was becoming more popular with the people |
| A．George W Bush. | B．John Adams. |
| C．John Quincy Adams. | D．George Bush. |
| A．Abraham Lincoln. | B．Ronald Reagan. |
| C．George W. Bush. | D．Barack Obama. |
| A．Abraham Lincoln. | B．Ronald Reagan. |
| C．George W. Bush. | D．Barack Obama. |
Freedom and Responsibility
Freedom’s challenge in the Digital Age is a serious topic. We are facing today a strange new world and we are all wondering what we are going to do with it.
Some 2,500 years ago Greece discovered freedom. Before that there was no freedom. There were great civilizations, splendid empires, but no freedom anywhere. Egypt and Babylon were both tyrannies , one very powerful man ruling over helpless masses.
In Greece, in Athens (雅典), a little city in a little country, there were no helpless masses. And Athenians willingly obeyed the written laws which they themselves passed, and the unwritten, which must be obeyed if free men live together. They must show each other kindness and pity and the many qualities without which life would be very painful unless one chose to live alone in the desert.The Athenians never thought that a man was free if he could do what he wanted. A man was free if he was self-controlled. To make yourself obey what you approved was freedom. They were saved from looking at their lives as their own private affair. Each one felt responsible for the welfare of Athens, not because it was forced on him from the outside, but because the city was his pride and his safety. The essential belief of the first free government in the world was liberty for all men who could control themselves and would take responsibility for the state.
But discovering freedom is not like discovering computers. It cannot be discovered once for all. If people do not prize it, and work for it, it will go. Constant watch is its price. Athens changed. It was a change that took place without being noticed though it was of the extreme importance, a spiritual change which affected the whole state. It had been the Athenian’ s pride and joy to give to their city. That they could get material benefits from her never entered their minds. There had to be a complete change of attitude before they could look at the city as an employer who paid her citizens for doing her work. Now instead of men giving to the state, the state was to give to them. What the people wanted was a government which would provide a comfortable life for them; and with this as the primary object, ideas of freedom and self-reliance and responsibility were neglected to the point of disappearing. Athens was more and more looked on as a cooperative business possessed of great wealth in which all citizens had a right to share.
Athens reached the point when the freedom she really wanted was freedom from responsibility. There could be only one result. If men insisted on being free from the burden of self-dependence and responsibility for the common good, they would cease to be free. Responsibility is the price every man must pay for freedom. It is to be had on no other terms. Athens, the Athens of Ancient Greece, refused responsibility; she reached the end of freedom and was never to have it again. But, “the excellent becomes the permanent”, Aristotle said. Athens lost freedom forever, but freedom was not lost forever for the world. A great American, James Madison, referred to: “The capacity (能力) of mankind for self-government.” No doubt he had not an idea that he was speaking Greek. Athens was not in the farthest background of his mind, but once man has a great and good idea, it is never completely lost. The Digital Age cannot destroy it. Somehow in this or that man’s thought such an idea lives though unconsidered by the world of action. One can never be sure that it is not on the point of breaking out into action only sure that it will do so sometime.
1. What does the underlined word “tyrannies” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
| A．Countries where their people need help. |
| B．Powerful states with higher civilization. |
| C．Splendid empires where people enjoy freedom. |
| D．Governments ruled with absolute power. |
| A．regard their life as their own business |
| B．seek gains as their primary object |
| C．behave within the laws and value systems |
| D．treat others with kindness and pity |
| A．The Athenians refused to take their responsibility. |
| B．The Athenians no longer took pride in the city. |
| C．The Athenians benefited spiritually from the government. |
| D．The Athenians looked on the government as a business. |
| A．Athens would continue to be free. |
| B．Athens would cease to have freedom. |
| C．Freedom would come from responsibility. |
| D．Freedom would stop Athens from self-dependence. |
| A．The author is hopeful about freedom. |
| B．The author is cautious about self-government. |
| C．The author is skeptical of Greek civilization. |
| D．The author is proud of man’s capacity. |
| A．Freedom can be more popular in the digital age. |
| B．Freedom may come to an end in the digital age. |
| C．Freedom should have priority over responsibility. |
| D．Freedom needs to be guaranteed by responsibility. |
