1 . Women were less likely than men to support the Vietnam war, the Gulf war, or the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. They commit far fewer murders. They are less likely to favor strikes. For some scholars, these are grounds for thinking that a world run by women would be more peaceful.
But European history suggests otherwise, according to political scientists Oeindrila Dube and S. P. Harish. They studied how often European rulers went to war between 1480 and 1913, and found that states ruled by queens were 27% more likely to get involved in wars than those ruled by kings.
This was not all the queens’ fault: men, seeing them as soft targets, tended to attack them. Frederick the Great of Prussia once declared: ”No woman should ever be allowed to govern anything.“ Shortly after becoming king, he attacked the newly crowned Archduchess of Austria, Maria Theresa, and seized Silesia province. Despite years of war, she never recovered it.
But perceived weakness is not the whole story. Queens, the researchers found, were more likely to gain new territory. Catherine the Great expanded her empire by some 200,000 square miles. And married queens were more aggressive than single queens or kings, whether single or married.
The authors suggest several reasons for this. First, married queens may have been able to form more military alliances(联盟),making them confident enough to pick fights. Their husbands had often served in the army before they married, and were well placed to strengthen military ties between their homelands and their wives’ states.
Second, unlike most kings, queens often gave their husbands a lot of power,putting them in charge of foreign policy or the economy. During the 1740s, Maria Theresa’s husband, Francis I, reformed the Austrian economy and raised money for the armed forces while his wife ruled much of central Europe. Prince Albert was Queen Victoria’s most trusted adviser, shaping her foreign policy until his death in1861. This division of labor, the authors suggest, freed up time for queens to pursue more aggressive policies.
The modern era, too, has witnessed female leaders in wars: Golda Meir and the Yom Kippur war, or Margaret Thatcher and the Falklands. The number of countries led by women has more than doubled since 2000, but there is plenty of room for improvement: the current level of 15 represents less than 10 % of the total. A world in which more women took power might be more equal. Whether it would be more peaceful is a different question.
1. The underlined “perceived weakness” in paragraph 4 means that________.| A．women were less likely to support wars |
| B．women could not recover lost territory |
| C．women commit far fewer crimes |
| D．women were soft targets |
| A．Because their military alliances picked fights for them. |
| B．Because they were ambitious and aggressive by nature. |
| C．Because their husbands were supportive in state governing. |
| D．Because they centralized all power into their own hands. |
| A．To imply there is room for improvement in gender equality. |
| B．To indicate more females become leaders in modern times. |
| C．To illustrate female leaders cannot prevent wars in modern times. |
| D．To suggest female leaders have their share of wars in modern times. |
| A．married women are not fit to govern their states on their own |
| B．female leaders should be responsible for all wars throughout history |
| C．the world wouldn’t be more peaceful even if more women took power |
| D．the division of labor allows queens to survive economic crisis |
2 . Sometimes it’s hard to let go. For many British people, that can apply to institutions and objects that represent their country’s past-age-old castles, splendid homes… and red phone boxes.
Beaten first by the march of technology and lately by the terrible weather in junkyards (废品场), the phone boxes representative of an age are now making something of a comeback. Adapted in imaginative ways, many have reappeared on city streets and village greens housing tiny cafes, cellphone repair shops or even defibrillator machines (除颤器).
The original iron boxes with the round roofs first appeared in 1926. They were designed by Giles Gilbert Scott, the architect of the Battersea Power Station in London. After becoming an important part of many British streets, the phone boxes began disappearing in the 1980s, with the rise of the mobile phone sending most of them away to the junkyards.
About that time, Tony Inglis’ engineering and transport company got the job to remove phone boxes from the streets and sell them out. But Inglis ended up buying hundreds of them himself, with the idea of repairing and selling them. He said that he had heard the calls to preserve the boxes and had seen how some of them were listed as historic buildings.
As Inglis and, later other businessmen, got to work, repurposed phone boxes began reappearing in cities and villages as people found new uses for them. Today, they are once again a familiar sight, playing roles that are often just as important for the community as their original purpose.
In rural areas, where ambulances can take a relatively long time to arrive, the phone boxes have taken on a lifesaving role. Local organizations can adopt them for l pound, and install defibrillators to help in emergencies.
Others also looked at the phone boxes and saw business opportunities. LoveFone, a company that advocates repairing cellphones rather than abandoning them, opened a mini workshop in a London phone box in 2016.
The tiny shops made economic sense, according to Robert Kerr, a founder of LoveFone. He said that one of the boxes generated around $13,500 in revenue a month and cost only about $400 to rent.
Inglis said phone boxes called to mind an age when things were built to last. “I like what they are to people, and I enjoy bringing things back,” he said.
1. The phone boxes are making a comeback ______.| A．to form a beautiful sight of the city |
| B．to improve telecommunications services |
| C．to remind people of a historical period |
| D．to meet the requirement of green economy |
| A．They were not well-designed. | B．They provided bad services. |
| C．They had too short a history. | D．They lost to new technologies. |
| A．their new appearance and lower prices | B．the push of the local organizations |
| C．their changed roles and functions | D．the big funding of the businessmen |
3 . A previously hidden corridor buried deep in the 4500-year-old Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt has been mapped in detail for the first time-and researchers have also taken a glimpse inside using tiny camera called endoscopic camera (内窥镜照相机).
The corridor was first discovered in 2016,but researchers didn’t want to damage the monument to gain access. The pyramid is the only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world still standing, and was, for millennia, the world’s tallest human-made structure at 146 metres. It was built around 2560 BC during the reign of the pharaoh (法老) Khufu.
Using a technique called cosmic-ray muon radiography (宇宙射线μ子成像), an international team of researchers was able to certify that the corridor was 9metres long, with across section of about 2 metres by 2 metres.
Cosmic-ray muon radiography tracks the level of muons (μ介子) passing through the pyramid. In the technique, researchers use muon detectors which are placed at various points around the monument. Muons are partially absorbed by the stone used to build the pyramids, which means the method allows researchers to identify cavities (洞) inside the structure.
This approach has been used to map the internal structures of pyramids since 1971,when it was first used at Giza. Using their precise map of the corridor, the researchers identified an opportunity.
“We knew the cavity was there, but of course it’s totally different when you see it,“ says Procureur. “We felt strange when we saw this.” Still, Procureur was glad of one thing. “It’s a controversial opinion, but I’m relieved the cavity was empty. I wouldn’t have liked to participate in opening a tomb.”
1. Why didn’t the researchers want to damage the monument to gain access to the corridor?| A．Because it is the world’s tallest structure. |
| B．Because it is the largest pyramid in the world. |
| C．Because it was built around 2560 AD during the reign of the pharaoh Khufu. |
| D．Because it is the only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world still standing. |
| A．Confirm. | B．Imagine. | C．Approach. | D．Reach. |
| A．It was first used at Giza in 1917. |
| B．It tracks the size of muons passing through the pyramid. |
| C．It has been used to map the external structures of pyramids. |
| D．It allows researchers to identify cavities inside the structure. |
| A．There was nothing in the cavity. |
| B．The corridor was the same as previously thought. |
| C．Procureur was interested in participating in opening a tomb. |
| D．The cavity used to be the tomb of the pharaoh Khufu. |
4 . 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 |
| A．refreshed | B．replicated | C．promoted | D．undermined |
| 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 |
| 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 |
5 . Scholars have long debated how and when the Renaissance began. One thing, however, that most scholars agree upon is the significance of this historical period as an evolutionary movement toward individualism in art and thought. Although there is no historical agreement on the exact time order of events leading to the Renaissance, many historians agree that visionaries of the fifteenth century had a sense of belonging to a movement far greater than themselves and so far-reaching as to supersede the artistic and literary forms of the classical era. This phenomenon produced the Renaissance, a period when art, literature, language, and philosophy found new and extraordinary interpretations in the hands of the Humanists. Humanists believed in the importance of the humanities or “human letters”. Eventually, intellectuals of this period became aware of man’s inner potential.
The fourteenth century Italian poet Petrarch characterized the early stage of this movement as the New Age. In fact, it was his term, “Rinascita”, which comes from the Latin “renasci”, to be reborn, that eventually led to the term Renaissance that we use today.
Petrarch believed that the end of classical antiquity and the beginning of a thousand years of darkness, which he characterized as “the Dark Ages”, came with the destruction of the Roman Empire by invasions in 476 A.D. The awakening from this period was a time of rebirth, which he distinguished as the New Age. Petrarch’s view limited the Rinascita to the comeback of Latin and Greek classics from antiquity based on translations of ancient text. Most significant was his belief that the pagans (异教徒) of antiquity were much inspired by the pursuit of arts and literature in an effort to reach the highest potential of perfection on earth. This belief led to a new sense of individualism and enlightenment that characterized the age of the Renaissance as one that was against the old beliefs that man’s earthly life was merely a function of the social order. From the fourteenth century through the early seventeenth century, this new individualism grew steadily in Western European culture with a motivation fed by man’s desire to define and evaluate the essential values between men of antiquity and the emerging modern man.
Not only did artists and writers turn to classical culture for inspiration, they set new goals. They explored the relationship between ancient cultures and their own cultures, and by doing so, they discovered a new vision of human life, of man as a glorious creature capable of developing his mind and body to reach his fullest potential toward perfection.
1. The word “supersede” (in paragraph 1) most probably means ________.| A．keep pace with | B．make full use of |
| C．give rise to | D．take the place of |
| A．the Dark Ages, the Renaissance, the Roman Empire |
| B．the Renaissance, the Roman Empire, the Dark Ages |
| C．the Roman Empire, the Dark Ages, the Renaissance |
| D．the Dark Ages, the Roman Empire, the Renaissance |
| A．He coined the term “Renaissance”, which has been in use for over 700 years. |
| B．His belief in personal perfection was the fundamental idea of the Renaissance. |
| C．His prediction of the comeback of Latin and Greek classics inspired many artists. |
| D．He translated ancient texts to Latin and Greek, leading to the start of the Renaissance. |
| A．They failed to realize their own fullest potential. |
| B．They developed their own cultures from ancient ones. |
| C．They went beyond the classics with a new individualism. |
| D．They did nothing more than recapture the glory of the ancients. |
6 . 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 |
7 . New research confirms that human footprints found in New Mexico are probably the oldest direct evidence of human presence in the Americas, a finding that upends what many scientists knew about human habitation and migration (迁徙).
The footprints were discovered at the edge of an ancient lakebed in White Sands national park. According to the new paper published in the journal Science, they date back to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago. Actually, the estimated age of the footprints was first reported in Science in 2021, but some researchers raised concerns about the dates. Questions focused on whether seeds of water plants used for the original dating may have absorbed ancient carbon from the lake — which could, in theory, throw off radiocarbon dating by thousands of years. But the new study presents two additional lines of evidence for the older date range. It uses two entirely different materials found at the site, ancient pollen (花粉) and stone grains.
The reported age of the footprints challenges the once conventional wisdom that humans did not reach the Americas until a few thousand years before rising sea levels covered the Bering land bridge between Russia and Alaska, perhaps about 15, 000 years ago. “This is a subject that's always been controversial because it's so significant. It's about how we understand the last chapter of the peopling of the world,” said Thomas Urban, an archaeologist (考古学家) at Comell University, who was involved in the 2021 study but not the new one.
Thomas Stafford, an independent archaeological geologist in New Mexico, who was not involved in the study, said he “was a bit suspicious before” but now is convinced. The new study isolated about 75, 000 grams of pure pollen from the same stone layer that contained the footprints. ‘Dating pollen is laborious but worthwhile,” said Kathleen Springer, a research geologist at the US Geological Survey and a co-author of the new paper.
Ancient footprints of any kind can provide archaeologists with a quick look of a moment in time. While some archeological sites in the Americas point to similar date ranges — including necklaces carved from giant animal remains in Brazil — scientists still question whether such objects really indicate human presence. “White Sands is unique because there's no question these footprints were left by people,” said Jennifer Raff, a scientist at the University of Kansas, who was not involved in the study.
1. The underlined word “upends” (paragraph 1) is closest in meaning to “_______”.
| A．comprises | B．connects | C．challenges | D．compares |
| A．It shows the footprints were made by the Russians. |
| B．It offers more convincing lines of evidence for dating. |
| C．It confirms that the ancient humans enjoyed living by the lake. |
| D．It reveals the footprints are much younger than previously thought. |
| A．necklaces are valuable objects for archaeologists to date animals |
| B．human footprints are often sure signs of human presence |
| C．ancient objects in Brazil are excluded from the study |
| D．White Sands is one important archaeological site |
| A．Scientists Discovers New Species of Humans in Americas |
| B．Humans Reached Americas 15, 000 Years Earlier Than Believed |
| C．American Archaeologists Unearthed Valuable Manmade Objects |
| D．New Research Confirms Early Human Presence in Americas |
8 . 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.
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.
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.
Archaeologists can use technology to learn what is underground instead of digging.
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. |
9 . When the discovery of fossilized (化石的) footprints made in what’s now New Mexico was made public in 2021, it was an astonishing moment for archaeology (考古学), seemingly rewriting a chapter of the human story. Now new research is offering further evidence of their significance.
While they look like they could have been made yesterday, the footprints were pressed into mud 21,000 to 23,000 years ago, according to radiocarbon dating of the seeds of a water plant that were preserved above and below the fossils. This date dramatically pushed back the timeline of humans’ history in the Americas, the last land to be settled by prehistoric people. The 61 dated prints, which were discovered in the Tularosa Basin, near the edge of an ancient lake in White Sands National Park, were made at a time when many scientists think that massive ice sheets had stopped human passage into North America, indicating that humans arrived in the region even earlier.
However, some archaeologists questioned the age of the footprints established by those initial findings. They noted that water plants such as Ruppia cirrhosa — the one used in the 2021 study — can acquire carbon atoms from the water rather than the air, which can result in a misleadingly early date.
In a follow-up study published Thursday in the journal Science, researchers said they have produced two new lines of evidence to support their initial dates. “Even as the original work was being published, we were speeding up to test our results with multiple lines of evidence,” said Kathleen Springer, co-lead author on the new Science paper, in a news release. “We were confident in our original ages, as well as the strong evidence.”
When and how early humans first moved to the Americas has long been debated and remains poorly understood. Current estimates range from 13,000 years ago to more than 20,000 years ago. However, the earliest archaeological evidence for the region’s settlement is insufficient and often controversial, making the footprints especially important.
1. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．The purpose of the new research | B．The method of the dating |
| C．The significance of the footprints. | D．The efforts of the scientists |
| A．It goes against the prior knowledge. |
| B．The prints seem to be made recently. |
| C．The previous research method is improper. |
| D．The then massive ice sheets are misleading. |
| A．The doubt about the age of the footprints. |
| B．The new evidence of the fossilized footprints. |
| C．An agreement between the two sides of the debate. |
| D．Early humans hardship of moving to the Americas. |
| A．To explain the process of archaeological study. |
| B．To report the discovery of fossilized footprints. |
| C．To introduce a debate on the age of the footprints. |
| D．To present the progress of the footprint research. |
10 . 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. |
| 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. |
| A．Insight. | B．Civilization. |
| C．Development. | D．Introduction. |
| 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 |
