1 . Before the 1830s, most newspapers were sold through annual subscriptions in America, usually $8 to $10 a year. Today $8 or $10 seems a small amount of money, but at that time these amounts were forbidding to most citizens. Accordingly, newspapers were read almost only by rich people in politics or the trades. In addition, most newspapers had little in them that would appeal to a mass audience. They were dull and visually forbidding. But the revolution that was taking place in the 1830s would change all that.
The trend, then, was toward the “penny paper”—a term referring to papers made widely available to the public. It meant any inexpensive newspaper; perhaps more importantly it meant newspapers that could be bought in single copies on the street.
This development did not take place overnight. It had been possible(but not easy) to buy single copies of newspapers before 1830, but this usually meant the reader had to go down to the printer’s office to purchase a copy. Street sales were almost unknown. However, within a few years, street sales of newspapers would be commonplace in eastern cities. At first the price of single copies was seldom a penny—usually two or three cents was charged—and some of the older well-known papers charged five or six cents. But the phrase “penny paper” caught the public’s fancy, and soon there would be papers that did indeed sell for only a penny.
This new trend of newspapers for “the man on the street” did not begin well. Some of the early ventures(企业) were immediate failures. Publishers already in business, people who were owners of successful papers, had little desire to change the tradition. It took a few youthful and daring businessmen to get the ball rolling.
1. Which of the following best describes newspapers in America before the 1830s?| A．Academic. | B．Unattractive. | C．Inexpensive. | D．Confidential. |
| A．They would be priced higher. | B．They would disappear from cities. |
| C．They could have more readers. | D．They could regain public trust. |
| A．Local politicians. | B．Common people. |
| C．Young publishers. | D．Rich businessmen. |
| A．It was a difficult process. | B．It was a temporary success. |
| C．It was a robbery of the poor. | D．It was a disaster for printers. |
2 . Discoveries at the famous Sanxingdui ruins in Southwest China show that the region’s ancient Shu Kingdom Civilization shared similarities with the Maya.
The Sanxingdui ruins belonged to the Shu Kingdom that existed at least 4,800 years ago and lasted more than 2,000 years, while the Mayan civilization built its city-states around 200 AD.
The bronze-made remains of tress unearthed at the ruins of the Shu Kingdom resemble the sacred ceiba tree, which symbolized the union of heaven, earth and the underworld in the Mayan civilization. “They are very important similarities,” says Santos, a Mexican archaeologist (考古学家) stressing that “the representations of tress in both cultures provide a symbolism that is very similar”.
The findings at the Sanxingdui ruins, considered one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century, also show a new aspect of Bronze Age culture, indicating the ancient civilization already had technologies that were thought to have been developed much later.
While the lime span between the Shu kingdom and the Mayan culture is great, the findings highlight the closeness between the two civilizations. They developed in areas with comparable climates and reflected their worldview through related symbols. “In the end, man is still man, independent of time and space. What we have is that, at this latitude (纬度), both the Shu people and the Mayans looked at the same sky and had the same stars on the horizon,” the expert says.
One notable feature of the recent discoveries at Sanxingdui was the cross-subject work and technology applied by teams of Chinese archaeologists, which allowed the unearthing of artifacts as fragile as silk remains, which other types of less careful digging methods would not have been able to register.
Cooperation between Chinese and Mexican archaeologists could benefit projects in the Mayan world, where the rainy climate and humidity are problematic for the conservation of ruins.
“Every time our cultural knowledge increases, regardless of whether we speak one language or another, what it shows us is that we continue to be sister cultures and, therefore, the exchange of such knowledge is fundamental,” says Santos.
1. What is a similarity between the Shu Kingdom and Maya civilization?| A．Their starting time. |
| B．Their historical origins. |
| C．Their cultural symbols. |
| D．Their ceremony traditions. |
| A．silk was a common clothing material then |
| B．some technologies were developed much earlier |
| C．the Bronze Age started earlier than previously assumed |
| D．the Shu Kingdom and the Mayan world had close contact |
| A．Damp weather. | B．Positioning of ruins. |
| C．High latitude. | D．Language barriers. |
| A．The future of the China-Mexico cooperation. |
| B．The benefits of speaking a different language. |
| C．The importance of the exchange of cultural knowledge. |
| D．The increasing sisterhood in culture between China and Mexico. |
3 . Black Friday refers to the day after Thanksgiving. On this day, crowds of shoppers flood into stores all over the country to take advantage of the season’s biggest holiday bargains. But the real story behind Black Friday is a bit complicated.
The most commonly repeated story behind the post-Thanksgiving shopping-related Black Friday tradition links it to retailers (零售商). As the story goes, after an entire year of operating at a loss, recorded in red ink, stores would supposedly earn a profit, marked in black ink, on the day after Thanksgiving, because holiday shoppers blew so much money on discounted products. Though it’s true that retail companies used to record losses in red and profits in black when doing their accounting, this version of Black Friday’s origin is not an accurate story behind the tradition.
The true story behind Black Friday, however, is not as sunny as retailers might have you believe. Back in the 1950s, police in the city of Philadelphia used the term to describe the chaos that happened on the day after Thanksgiving, when tens of thousands of suburban shoppers and tourists flooded into the city in advance of the big Army-Navy football game held on that Saturday every year. Not only would the police not be able to take the day off, but also they would have to work extra-long shifts dealing with the additional crowds and traffic.
The term didn’t spread to the rest of the country until much later, however, and as recently as 1985 it wasn’t in common use nationwide. Sometime in the late 1980s, however, retailers found a way to reinvent Black Friday and turn it into something that reflected positively on them and their customers. The result was the “red to black” concept mentioned earlier. The Black Friday story stuck, and pretty soon the term’s darker roots in Philadelphia were largely forgotten.
1. What is usually believed to be the origin of Black Friday?| A．The great profit retailers may gain. | B．The way retailers do their accounting. |
| C．The much money shoppers spend. | D．The biggest bargains on this day. |
| A．They had to compete with more shoppers for bargains. |
| B．They had to give up the big Army-Navy football game. |
| C．They had to work more hours to deal with the chaos. |
| D．They had to advance to suburb to fight against floods. |
| A．to attract more customers to shop | B．to create the “red to black” concept |
| C．to make profits by this special event | D．to change people’s impression of it |
| A．To introduce the real history of Black Friday. |
| B．To explain a term with various meanings. |
| C．To show the biggest shopping holiday in US. |
| D．To remind readers of a forgotten truth of red and black. |
4 . Every day people joined archaeologists and artists in finding some of the year’s most dramatic discoveries. Below are some examples of 2023.
“Naughty pupils”-ancient punishment method resurfaces
Archaeologists discovered 18,000 ink-carved pieces of pottery-known as “ostraca”—at the site of Athribis early this year, and among them were hundreds of fragments(碎片)with a single symbol repeated front and back.
Those scribbles(潦草的文字)are evidence of ‘naughty “pupils” being made to write lines, according to researchers a Germany’s University of Tuebingen. The fragments also included receipts, school texts, trade information and lists of names.
Van Gogh peers out in hidden portrait
There is one more known van Gogh’s self-portrait in the world, and it was hidden behind a painting of a peasant woman. People made the discovery when they took an X-ray of one of his portraits from 1885 and discovered the artist’s own image behind layers of cardboard and glue. While X-rays often reveal how artists-changed their compositions, the full self-portrait of van Gogh came as a huge surprise, who was known to reuse canvase(画布)to save money.
Another treasure collection from Sanxingdui
The Sanxingdui archaeological site has produced thousands of relics. The latest discovery, reported by Chinese state media in June includes 3,155 objects, a turtle shell-shaped box and a sacrificial altar among them. A team has been digging six places of the site, turning up more than 13,000 objects so far. Last year, the relics they uncovered included a golden mask, ivory artifacts(手工艺品)and a jade knife. The Sanxingdui culture still remains mysterious, as it left behind no written records or human remains, though many believe it to be part of the ancient kingdom of Shu, which ruled along the upper stream of the Yangtze River until it was conquered in 316 BC.
1. What led to the researchers’ conclusion about the fragments?| A．The repeated symbol. | B．Trade information. |
| C．Lists of pupils’ names. | D．The mark of ink. |
| A．To keep away from X-rays. |
| B．To save money. |
| C．To make his works more mysterious. |
| D．To help people find his composition. |
| A．A jade knife. | B．A golden mask. |
| C．A written record. | D．A turtle shell-shaped box. |
The earliest written evidence of a soccer-like game comes from China. During the second and third centuries B.C., Chinese soldiers took part in an activity that involved kicking a ball into a small net. Historians think the game was a skill-building exercise for the soldiers.
Years of Development
In ancient Greece and Rome, teams of up to 27 players played a soccer-type game. In Britain hundreds of years later, during the thirteenth century A.D., whole villages played against each other. With hundreds of people playing, these games were both long and rough. Kicking, punching, and biting were common and allowed.
In 1331, English King Edward II passed a law in an attempt to put a stop to the popular but violent game. The king of Scotland spoke against the game a hundred years later. Queen Elizabeth I, during the late 1500s, passed a law that called for a week of jail for anyone caught playing “football”, or soccer, as we call it. But the game could not be stopped.
The Modern Game Emerges
Two hundred and fifty years later, people in Britain were still playing a game we would recognize as soccer. A well-known English college Eton developed a set of rules in 1815. A number of other colleges soon agreed to use the same rules, and those schools played against each other. Finally, 50 years later, a formal association was formed to oversee the playing of the game and its rules. In 1869, a rule against handling the ball with the hands transformed the game into the sport of soccer that is wildly popular all around the world.
1. What do historians think that soccer might have started out as?| A．A leisure activity. | B．A political issue. |
| C．A skill-building activity. | D．A military strategy. |
| A．English King Edward III. | B．The king of Scotland. |
| C．Queen Elizabeth I. | D．The Roman Emperor. |
| A．To share and reflect on playing soccer. | B．To advocate the exercise of soccer. |
| C．To introduce the history of soccer. | D．To suggest new ways of playing soccer. |
6 . Personally, there is nothing I love more than asking “stupid” questions, especially the ones that have no right answers. I remember once asking some kids what time it was, at home, in Singapore, and finally on the Moon. After a long giggling silence, finally a shy girl ventured (试探地说) to say that it was “every time” followed by an energetic Einstein who shouted it was “no time”. Both kids shared that week’s Noble Prize, because no humans live in that distant world and time is a human construct.
As a matter of fact, we are all good at asking questions by nature, but sadly as we age, we get accustomed to the world around us and take things for granted. We became more results-oriented (注重结果的) and concentrate our efforts on success. If something is working, don’t fix it or worry about the cause; just relax and go with the flow. Conventional wisdom may work well, but that does not mean it is always right. Throughout history, it has been those who have questioned conventional wisdom and those who have challenged our common-sense notions of the world that have been the ones to have ushered in (开) the major advancements of human civilization.
In 500 BC, the ancient Greeks wondered whether the Earth was round because sailors on the sea had noticed that the farther south they went, the more different stars they saw in the sky. Why was the sky changing? Nearly 2,000 years later, the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei became interested in this question and ended up demonstrating the “crazy” concept of heliocentrism (日心说), in which the Sun lies at the center of the universe while the Earth revolves (旋转) around it at 30 kilometers per second. But if the Earth is spinning around so quickly, why aren’t we being thrown off of the surface of the planet? The answer to this question would not end up being revealed to us for another century.
People like routine, but past performance is no guarantee of future results. While those who challenge conventional wisdom tend to be subjected to abuse, the progress of humankind would have otherwise been impossible without these persistent people and their “stupid”questions.
1. What is the best title of this article?| A．Asking “stupid” questions. |
| B．Is conventional wisdom useless? |
| C．Some major advancements of human civilization |
| D．What caused them to ask conventional questions? |
| A．We lay too much emphasis on process. |
| B．We still refuse to relax and go with the flow. |
| C．We start to challenge common-sense notions of the world |
| D．We gradually lose the ability to question conventional wisdom. |
| A．An ancient Greek scientist living in 500 BC |
| B．Galileo Galilei living between 1564 and 1642. |
| C．Isaac Newton living between 1643 and 1727. |
| D．Albert Einstein living between 1879 and 1955. |
| A．By comparison and contrast. |
| B．By using supporting examples. |
| C．By using time and space order. |
| D．By generalization and definition |
7 . In 2017, Yazd, a city in the desert of central Iran, was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Yazd has long been a focal point for creative inventiveness. It is home to an underground refrigeration structure called yakchat and an underground irrigation system called qanats. In addition, the city has the wind catcher, a cooling architectural element that has been used for thousands of years. And it has the most wind catchers in the world.
These remarkable towers are a common sight standing above the buildings of Yazd. There are two main forces that drive the air through and down into the structures: the incoming wind and the change in buoyancy (浮力) of air. First，as air is caught by the opening of a wind catcher, it is led down to the house below. Then the air flows throughout the inside of the building, sometimes over underground pools of water for further cooling. Eventually, warmed air will rise and leave the building through another tower or opening.
Some of the earliest wind-catching technology came from Egypt 3,300 years ago. Here, buildings had thick walls, few windows facing the sun, an opening to take in air and an exit opening on the other side known as malqaf architecture. Iran’s wind-catching technology is widely considered to have added structural improvements to allow for better cooling-such as typically combining it with its existing irrigation system to help to cool the air down before releasing it throughout the home.
The structures, which require no electricity to power them, are now drawing scientists back to the desert city to see what role they could play in keeping us cool in a rapidly heating world. Parham Kheirkhah Sangdeh has extensively studied the scientific application and surrounding culture of wind catchers in contemporary architecture at Ilam University in Iran. He hopes to see Iran’s wind catchers updated to add energy-efficient cooling to existing buildings. “People need to keep an eye on the past and understand why energy conservation is important,” he says.
1. Which of the following makes the city of Yazd unusual?| A．Its long history. |
| B．Its extreme climates. |
| C．Its ancient innovative wonders. |
| D．Its central geographical position. |
| A．Near a house’s door. |
| B．Above the rooftop. |
| C．Beside the underground pools. |
| D．Beneath a house’s windows. |
| A．It is surrounded by thicker walls. |
| B．It has no windows facing the sun. |
| C．It requires no electricity to power it. |
| D．It takes advantage of water’s properties. |
| A．Introducing wind catchers into today’s buildings. |
| B．Studying the earliest wind catchers in Egypt. |
| C．Repairing traditional wind catchers in Yazd. |
| D．Creating energy conservation labs at Ilam University. |
8 . In 1879, an 8-year-old girl made a discovery that would rock our understanding of human history. On the walls of Altamira cave in northern Spain, she spotted amazing drawings of wild cows, painted in vivid red and black. More striking even than the images was their age: they were made thousands of years ago by modern humans’ supposedly primitive ancestors. Today, nearly 400 caves across Europe have been found decorated with hand stencils (模板), strange symbols and beautiful images of animals created by these skillful artists.
The discoveries led to the view that artistic talent arose after modern humans arrived in the region some 40,000 years ago, as part of a “cultural explosion” reflecting a flowering of the human mind. But more recent evidence has blown this idea out of the water. For a start, modern humans might not have been the first artists in Europe. What’s more, a collection of cave paintings emerging in Indonesia has dismissed the idea that Europe was the centre of creativity.
Local people have long known that the caves of the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, contain many painted images. Modern humans are thought to have reached the region some 65,000 years ago, but nobody imagined the art could be very old because ancient paintings seem unlikely to survive in the environment of high temperatures. A team of researchers led by Maxime Aubert, now at Griffith University in Australia, upended this idea using a technique that is shifting our understanding of cave art. Using this technique in seven caves, they found a hand stencil was at least 39,900 years old, making it the oldest known hand stencil at that time.
This opened a floodgate to new discoveries in Indonesia. These included a hunting scene created at least 43,900 years ago, and by far the oldest descriptive artwork. “When we found that image, we were absolutely delighted, but when it turned out to be that old, we were almost jumping with joy,” says Adam Brumm, also at Griffith University.
1. What did the girl find in the cave?| A．Wild animals. | B．Ancient images. |
| C．Painting techniques. | D．Recording artists. |
| A．It can be traced back to Europe. |
| B．It reflected the flowering of human minds. |
| C．Modern humans led to its rise in Indonesia. |
| D．Modern humans might not have been real artists. |
| A．Proved. | B．Strengthened. | C．Overturned. | D．Overemphasized. |
| A．The amazing discoveries. | B．The researchers’ expectations. |
| C．The benefits of the technique. | D．The description of the cave art. |
9 . The Masai(马赛人) are continually trying to keep their own ways in an increasingly modern world. They live along the border of Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa, moving their homes from time to time to follow their cattle, the source of their livelihood. They rely on their cattle in many parts of their life. They like drinking the cows’ milk.
They don’t kill their cattle for food. But if a cow is killed, the parts of its body are used to make containers, shoes, clothin, ropes, bed coverings and so on. Not all of the men have cows. The more cattle a man owns, the richer he is considered to be. A man who owns 50 or fewer cattle is considered poor. Rich men have a thousand or more. The cattle, though owned by the man, are considered to belong to the man’s entire family. The family names the cattle and can recognize each animal’s special voice.
The Masai men have become known as warriors(勇士), protecting their cattle against other wild animals. They wear their red long hair. Most women often take care of their children, cook food, clean clothes and make clothing at home. They also make necklaces dresses and headdresses. A few women can also become authorities once they are powerful enough. They speak a language called Maa.
The houses of Masai made from sticks and grass, which are held together with a mixture of mud, are not very firm or safe. These plain houses with some basic supplies are built in a circle and make up a Masai village. They are not meant to last long since the migration(迁徙) of the cow population means that the Masai move as well. In the meantime, in order to prevent animals from entering, they also form a wall of branches. The whole setup is to protect the cattle, which sleep at night in the middle of the village. They seem to live a natural and self-sufficient life but lack modern civilisation.
1. What do we know about the Masai?| A．They don’t move in their lives. |
| B．They each have their own cows. |
| C．They don’t kill their cattle at all. |
| D．They are heavily dependent on cattle. |
| A．Designers. | B．Authorities. |
| C．Housewives. | D．Warriors. |
| A．Modern. | B．Lasting | C．Simple. | D．Safe. |
| A．Africans: Living a Moving life |
| B．Africans: Brave People in the World |
| C．The Masai: Rich People in East Africa |
| D．The Masai: Maintaining a Traditional Lifestyle |
10 . About a quarter of the world drives on the left, and the countries that do so are mostly old British colonies (殖民地) like Australia, and Ireland. But Thailand, Indonesia and Japan have also developed this habit.
This strange phenomenon puzzles the rest of the world; however, there is a perfectly good reason. Up to the late 1700s, everybody travelled on the left side of the road because it was the sensible option for violent, feudal societies of mostly right-handed people. Soldiers with their swords under their right arms naturally passed on each other’s right, and if you passed a stranger on the road, you walked on the left to ensure that your protective sword arm was between you and him.
Revolutionary France, however, got rid of this practice as part of its sweeping social rethink, and thanks to Napoleon, this change was carried out all over continental Europe. Since he was left-handed, his armies had to march on the right so he could keep his sword arm between him and any opponent. From then on, any country colonized by the French took to driving on the right.
After the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), the US became independent and decided to make traffic drive on the right in order to cut all remaining links to its British colonial past. Once America became the center of the car industry, if you wanted a good reliable vehicle, you bought an American car with right-hand drive. From then on, many countries changed out of necessity.
Today, the EU would like Britain to fall into line with the rest of Europe, but this would cost billions of pounds to change everything round. The last European country to convert to driving on the right was Sweden in 1967. This ironically caused a reduction in car accidents because everyone drove carefully while getting used to the new system.
1. Why did people travel on the left before the late 18th century?| A．They were required to do so. |
| B．They were mostly left-landed. |
| C．It was easier to cross the street. |
| D．They could feel safer from attacks. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Indifferent. | C．Doubtful. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．the connection with France was broken |
| B．the US was no longer ruled by the UK |
| C．the American Revolution War had ended |
| D．America was the center of the car industry |
| A．It would cost too much to change. |
| B．Its increasing traffic accidents. |
| C．Its influence on the colonies |
| D．Its fast-developing car industry. |
