Fossil by fossil, the story of the birds becomes clearer. It is now well established that modern birds are actually a group of dinosaurs, which survived a crash between the earth and a small planet 66m years ago. This impact wiped out the rest of the dinosaur world, along with a lot of other creatures.
Recently a paper, published in Nature, has released the details of a fossil, which those studying it believe provides our earliest view of what modern birds were like during the initial stages of their evolutional history. The fossil in question is called Asteriornis maastrichtensis. As its name suggests, the rock containing it was dug from deposits(沉积层)found near Maastricht. These deposits are between 66.8m and 66.7m years old.
This particular rock interested palaeontologists(古生物学家)because it included visible leg bones that looked as though they belonged to a bird. Such ancient fossils are rare, so instead of chancing their arms by using physical or chemical methods to explore the rock for more remains,Daniel Field of Cambridge University and his colleagues employed a CT scan, a process more familiar to most people as a medical-scanning technique. The result, an image of the animal’s skull with false colours added to clarify which bits are which, can be seen in the picture.
Asteriornis maastrichtensis does indeed turn out to be a member of the modern birds. Specifically, it is part of the Galloanserae, which includes both land fowl(家禽),such as chickens and its relatives, and modern waterfowl, like ducks and the like. The skull of Asteriornis maastrichtensis exhibits features of both groups, so it most probably predates the division between them. And its discovery in Europe opens up the debate about whether modern birds originated in the southern part of the earth, as has been proposed.
As to what it looked like when alive, the animal’s left upper leg, its best-preserved bone besides those of its skull, suggests Asteriornis maastrichtensis was a long-legged creature that marched around. This, and evidence that the rock it was preserved in was originally part of a fossil shoreline,has led to reconstructions of modern waterfowl.
Asteriornis maastrichtensis shows that a single fossil can help to nail down previously uncertain dates. The age of the fossil, in fact, suggests that those previous estimates, based on so-called molecular clocks(分子钟),might have overestimated how early the modern birds arose.Based on the discovery of Asteriornis maastrichtensis, the smart money is now on the modern birds as a group being only a little older than the dinosaur-killing impact itself.
1. What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?| A．The details of the fossil are still in doubt. |
| B．The deposits were named after the fossil. |
| C．The crash caused the extinction of dinosaurs. |
| D．The fossil is seen as the oldest modern bird skull. |
| A．It attracts palaeontologists as a rare ancient species. |
| B．It can present the whole picture of modern waterfowl. |
| C．It allows researchers to confirm where modern birds emerged. |
| D．It may be the common ancestor of modern chickens and ducks. |
| A．fossils promote the accuracy of historical dates |
| B．it’s not wise to dig the deposits for more remains |
| C．we can’t trust fossils more than molecular clocks |
| D．more investment should be made to study fossils |
2 . The history of inventions leading up to the modern computer is a story of people trying hard to create machines that complete many tasks automatically, such as adding up large numbers, controlling airplanes in flight, etc. Many of the earliest methods of recording and counting data still remain mysteries (something that is not understood).
In England you can visit Stonehenge, where a mysterious collection of large stones has stood since 1,500 BC. Scientists have never discovered the stones’ purpose. However, by observing the way the sun shines between the stones, many people believe Stonehenge was used to predict the seasons and eclipses (蚀) of the sun and the moon.
Another early method of computing was a brass calculator, which existed in Spain nearly 1,000 years ago. The machine was shaped like a human head, with numbers instead of teeth. The shape became its undoing; some people were afraid the machine was supernatural, and destroyed it. In early recorded history, calculators that used the sun, or objects in the night sky, were developed to be used on ships to explore the world beyond the Tigris-Euphrates Valley of southwestern Asia. One such device, dating from the first century, worked with a system of gears designed to track the orbits of stars and planets. These orbits became the marked routes for ships.
In ancient Rome and Greece, one of the earliest machines ever used for processing numbers was the abacus. This simple collection of beads has been used for centuries in China and other Asian countries. The abacus is built with columns of beads attached to a rectangular wooden frame. Inside the wooden frame is a crossbar that separates each column of beads into two sections. In the Chinese version there are two beads above the bar and five below. Each column of beads means a different range of numbers. The first column from the right represents ones, the second tens, the third hundreds, etc. By moving beads, calculations are quickly completed. Because values are shown by positions, the abacus is very valuable in teaching arithmetic to blind students.
Experienced users operate the abacus very quickly. After World War II, a speed competition was arranged in Japan between the fastest calculator operator in the US Army and an employee of the Japanese Post Office using an abacus. The American was defeated easily by the moving beads of his opponent.
1. What does the author mainly talk about in this passage?| A．Old methods to manage data. | B．The great inventions in science. |
| C．The mysterious historical events. | D．Theory and practice in computing. |
| A．By making comparisons. | B．By analyzing the cause. |
| C．By telling a true story. | D．By giving examples. |
| A．cause of bad luck | B．reason for change |
| C．way to escape | D．loss of power |
3 . Walking Under Liverpool
In most ways, the English city of Liverpool is no different from other large cities. It is full of people, restaurants, museums, and shops. However, Liverpool stands out in one interesting way.
We now know that the tunnels were built sometime in the early 1800s. A man named Joseph Williamson designed them.
Still others think that Williamson built the tunnels for safety reasons. Perhaps he was afraid that some type of dangerous event would happen.
| A．But there is a lot we still don’t know. |
| B．The ideas are interesting, but no one knows the truth. |
| C．Under the busy streets, there are miles of old tunnels. |
| D．Some people who study the tunnels have got new findings. |
| E．One idea is that Williamson, who was rich, was trying to help others. |
| F．Nor does anyone know for sure even how many of the tunnels there are. |
| G．The tunnels would have offered protection for himself and his loved ones. |
4 . Chocolate––there’s nothing quite like it, is there? Chocolate is simply delicious. What is chocolate? Where does it come from?
The history of chocolate goes back to the discovery of cacao beans (可可豆). About 4000 years ago, the Americans made cacao beans into a drink and they took it as a gift from nature.
In 1519, the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortex visited Mexico in America. He saw people drank cacao mixed with spices (香料). Cortex took some cacao home as a gift to the Spanish King Charles. Since then, people in Spain began to drink cacao. However, the natural taste of cacao was too bitter for most people. To sweeten it, Spanish added sugar and honey to it. As a sweet drink, it became popular in Europe. By the 17th century, rich people in Europe began drinking cacao drink as a fashion.
In 1828, a Dutch chemist, Conrad J. van Houten started using a new process to remove the fat from cacao beans. He made a machine that pressed the fat from the beans. The resulting powder (粉末) mixed better with water than cacao did. People called van Houten’s cacao powder “Dutch chocolate”—it is the beginning of modern chocolate.
After that, chocolate makers started trying new recipes (配方) with Dutch chocolate. First it was mixed with sugar. Then butter was added to the sweetened chocolate to make chocolate bars. In 1849, an English chocolate maker successfully made the first chocolate bar. In the 19th century, the Swiss started making milk chocolate by mixing powdered milk. Milk chocolate has not changed much since this process was invented.
Today, the United States buys most of the chocolate in the world, but the Swiss eat the most chocolate per person. The most chocolate eaten today is sweet milk chocolate, but people also eat white chocolate and dark chocolate. Chocolate has become a worldwide snack and also a popular holiday gift.
1. What did the Americans think of cacao drink about 4000 years ago?| A．It was easy to make. | B．It was too bitter to drink. |
| C．It was treasure from nature. | D．It was a gift for the rich. |
| A．He mixed milk with chocolate. |
| B．He made the first chocolate bar. |
| C．He added sugar to chocolate powder. |
| D．He removed the fat from cacao beans. |
| A．White chocolate. | B．Dark chocolate. |
| C．Sweet milk chocolate. | D．Dutch chocolate. |
| A．The history of chocolate. | B．The tastes of chocolate. |
| C．The makers of chocolate. | D．The benefits of chocolate. |
5 . Oracle Bone Scripts
China’s oracle bone scripts, an ancient type of Chinese characters inscribed on animal bones or turtle shells, have successfully entered the UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, according to the Chinese Ministry of Education. So far, China has 11 pieces of documentary files on the list, including the documents of the Nanjing Massacre.
The characters inscribed on the bones and shells have contributed greatly to Chinese civilization, enabling Chinese culture to be passed on from generation to generation and become the only civilization to last up to the present. However, in the past 100 years since being discovered, only about 2,000 characters from the oracle bone scripts have been decoded. There are at least 3,000 more remaining to be deciphered.
According to published materials, there are about 150,000 pieces of unearthed oracle bone scripts, and about 100,000 were preserved in the Chinese mainland, 30,000 in Taiwan and the other 20,000 were scattered across the world. It is expected that by entering the Memory of the World Register, the archaeological study of the ancient characters could be encouraged.
“It is only a new beginning,” said Song Zhenhao, director of the Oracle Bone Scripts Study Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, hoping that the new achievement could inject a vigor into the ancient study.
1. What is oracle bone scripts according to the passage?| A．A form of Chinese characters inscribed on animal bones or turtle plastrons used in divination. |
| B．A form of Chinese literature inscribed on animal bones or turtle plastrons used in divination. |
| C．A kind of inscriptions on ancient bronze objects. |
| D．A kind of traditional painting on ancient bronze objects. |
| A．12 pieces. | B．11 pieces. | C．10 pieces. | D．9 pieces. |
| A．Oracle bone script enables Chinese culture to be passed on from generation to generation. |
| B．In the past 100 years since being discovered, only about 2,000 characters from the oracle bone scripts have been decoded. |
| C．There are at least 3,000 more oracle bone scripts remaining to be deciphered. |
| D．Study on oracle bone script is sound enough and needs no more progress. |
| A．Taiwan | B．America | C．India | D．Chinese mainland |
| A．Regular script. | B．Chinese bronze inscriptions. |
| C．Blue and white porcelain. | D．Cursive script. |
6 . Valencia is in the east part of Spain. It has a port on the sea, two miles away on the coast. It is the capital of a province that is also named Valencia.
The city is a market centre for what is produced by the land around the city. Most of the city’s money is made from farming. It is also a busy business city, with ships, railways, clothes and machine factories.
Valencia has an old part with white buildings, coloured roofs, and narrow streets. The modern part has long, wide streets and new buildings. Valencia is well known for its parks and gardens. It has many old churches and museums. The university in the centre of the city was built in the 13th century.
The city of Valencia has been known since the 2nd century. In the 8th century it was the capital of Spain. There is also an important city in Venezuela (委内瑞拉) named Valencia.
1. From the text, how many places have the name Valencia?| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
| A．2nd century. | B．8th century. | C．13th century. | D．20th century. |
| A．Its seaport. | B．Its university. | C．Its churches and museums. | D．Its parks and gardens. |
| A．markets | B．business | C．factories | D．farming |
7 . A handshake seems to be a normal gesture. In fact, in the 9th century BC, an ancient site during the ruling of Shalmaneser III clearly shows two figures holding hands. The Iliad, usually dated to the 8th century BC, mentions that two characters “taking each other's hands and expressing their loyalty.” Centuries later, Shakespeare once wrote of two characters-who shook hands and swore to be brothers in the book As You Like It. Shaking hands seems to be an ancient custom whose roots have disappeared in the sands of time.
Historians who have studied ancient etiquette books note that the modern handshake did not appear until the middle of the 19th century, when it was considered a slightly inappropriate gesture that could only be used between friends. But what if Shakespeare had written about handshaking hundreds of years earlier?
According to author Torbjorn Lundmark in his Tales of Hi and Bye: Greeting and Parting Rituals Around the World, the problem comes in differing definitions of the handshake. The early handshakes mentioned above were part of making deals or peace; King Shalmaneser III referred to a rebellion in which he signed a treaty with the King of Babylon. In the Iliad, Diomedes and Glaucus shook hands when they realized they were guest-friends, and Diomedes declared: “Let's not try to kill each other." Shakespeare was similarly referencing settlement of a conflict.
The modern handshake as a form of greeting is harder to trace. As a Dutch sociologist Herman Roodenburg—the chief authority for the history of handshaking—wrote in a chapter of an anthology called A Cultural History of Gesture, “More than in any other field, that of the study of gesture is one in which the historian has to make the most of only a few clues”.
One of the earliest clues he cites is a 16th-century German translation of the French writer Rabelais's Gargantua and Pantagruel. When one character meets Gargantua, Rabelais writes, “He was greeted by countless hugs and countless good days. "But according to Roodenburg, the 16th-century German translation added references to shaking hands.
A popular saying suggests that Cleland's statements against bowing were actually a wish to go back to a potentially traditional method of greeting in Europe. As the centuries progressed ,handshaking was replaced by more hierarchical ways of greeting—like bowing. According to Roodenburg, handshaking survived in a few remote places, like in Dutch towns where some would use the gesture to make peace after disagreements. Around the same time, those who valued equality also made us of handshaking. Then, as the Continent's hierarchy was weakened, handshaking became a common practice among people of the same rank, as it is today.
1. Why does the author mention Shakespeare in the first two paragraphs?| A．To prove that the history of handshaking is hard to find. |
| B．To illustrate that handshaking is a very old custom. |
| C．To show readers that handshaking is common in fiction. |
| D．To explain the value of handshaking in communication. |
| A．The origin of handshaking as a form of greeting is easy to trace. |
| B．Citizens usually shake hands to show friendliness in Holland. |
| C．It was used only between friends and to reach an agreement. |
| D．It is a common practice between people of different social positions. |
| A．To explain why handshaking is not as normal as it seems. |
| B．To compare the differences between handshaking and other gestures. |
| C．To trace the history of the practice of handshaking. |
| D．To illustrate various uses of handshaking in difference areas. |
8 . Writing across Time
When students today need to take notes, they simply reach for their ballpoint pens. For students in the past, writing instruments were not so convenient.
Quill pens
Quill pens were made from large bird feathers. Students sharpened the quills with knives and then dipped them into pots of ink to write. The points needed constant re-sharpening and each dip of the quill provided only enough ink to write one word. Besides these problems, drops of ink often stained the page. Yet, people used quill pens for more than a thousand years. Can you imagine writing with a quill pen?
Brush pens
Chinese students traditionally used brush pens to practice writing characters. Unlike quill pens, brush pens had soft bristles that made smooth lines. Students dipped their brush pens in a pool of ink on an inkstone and then wrote.
Chalk
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, when paper was not easily available, chalk was widely used in classrooms. Teachers wrote with chalk on blackboards while students practiced writing and maths on their own slates (石板).
Fountain pens
Fountain pens were the first pens that stored ink inside, from where it flowed through the metal tip or nib (笔尖) for writing. In the 19th century, they finally replaced quills on school desks. However, even with fountain pens, ink still often spilt out, leaving stains everywhere.
Ballpoint pens
Early ballpoint pens leaked and wrote poorly. Three inventors took almost sixty years to finally solve these problems in the early 1950s. Today two of them, Hungarian journalist Josef Laszlo Biro and French Baron Bich, are known for making the ballpoint pen cheap and reliable. Biro and Bic pens are still hugely popular and useful today.
1. The passage mainly talks about ______.| A．the origins of writing instruments | B．the quality of writing instruments |
| C．the development of writing instruments | D．the materials of writing instruments |
| A．Quill pens. | B．Brush pens. |
| C．Ballpoint pens. | D．Fountain pens. |
| A．save ink and paper | B．cost less and work well |
| C．leak when used | D．write poorly |
| A．provide information | B．give advice |
| C．offer an opinion | D．tell a story |
9 . Arbeia Roman Fort and Museum
Location and History
Arbeia Roman Fort is situated on Hadrian's Wall. It was the most important structure built by the Romans in Britain, and now it has been a World Heritage Site. Built around AD 160, Arbeia Roman Fort was the military supply base for the soldiers who were stationed along Hadrian's Wall. The fort has been gradually uncovered and some original parts have been revealed. There are reconstructions that show how Arbeia Roman Fort would have looked.
The Reconstructions
The reconstructions of the Commanding Officer's house and soldiers' quarters are strikingly different. The accommodation for soldiers is dark and uncomfortable, while the Commanding Officer's house is spacious and luxurious, with courtyards with fountains for him and his family to enjoy.
The Museum
Visit the museum and see many objects that were found at Arbeia. They are historically important and show what daily life was really like at that time. You will see weapons, tools, jewellery, and so on. You can also discover how the Romans buried their dead and see tombstones which survive to this day. There is a "hands-on" area allowing visitors to dig on a certain site and study their findings with the help of museum staff. You can piece together pottery (陶器), or try writing just as the Romans would have done. For children, they can build this Roman fort with building blocks by themselves.
| Opening Times and Getting There April 1—October 31: Monday to Saturday 10:00am—5:00pm, Sunday 2:00pm—5:00pm. November 1—March 31: Monday to Saturday 11:00am—4:00pm, closed Sunday. (Closed December 25—26 and January 1) Entry is free. Arbeia is only a ten—minute walk from the bus station at South Shields. Free car park nearby. Website: www.twmuseums.org.uk/arbeia |
| A．was related to the military | B．got reconstructions around AD 160 |
| C．was built in a small area in Rome | D．provided a comfortable life for soldiers |
| A．See historical objects. | B．Build tombstones for the dead. |
| C．Write to Romans, | D．Try using old tools and weapons. |
| A．On April 1. | B．On October 31. |
| C．On November 1. | D．On December 26. |
10 . The Beginning of Canada
Canada is in the North American continent. For people who live outside this country the history of this nation may not be known.
Canada has gone through a long history. North America's first humans migrated from Asia, probably over a land bridge from Siberia to Alaska sometime about 12,000 years ago.Unknown numbers of people moved southward along the western edge of the North American ice cap.The Inuit who live in Canada's Arctic regions today were the last people to reach Canada.
Before Europeans came, about 12 languages were developed by the natives of the land. These languages were found in various cultures and tribes. In these tribes, there was mixture of agriculture and hunting. Also, some groups had a high-level of political, religious, cultural, and trading organization.
The first European explorers-of the Canadian region were Vikings from Iceland, where they came to Labrador and Newfoundland. The natives and Vikings did not get along well, so Vikings eventually ran away from the region. John Cabot, an Italian navigator came upon this land Cabot and his crew were the second group of Europeans to reach what would become Canada around 1000 CE.
The first claiming of the land in Canada was by the French. Between 1534 and 1542, Jacques Cartier made three voyages across the Atlantic，claiming the land for King Francis I of France. By the 1550s, the name of Canada began appearing on maps.
More French settlement activity continued in the name of competing with the Spanish. In1604 the French navigator Samuel de Champlain led a group of settlers to Acadia which proved unsuitable. In 1605, they moved across the Bay of Fundy to Port Royal but found its water systems were too difficult to get through for efficient goods delivery. Finally in 1608, Champlain built a fortress (堡垒) at what is now Quebec City
In the following years, England, the Netherlands, and also Scotland tried to claim parts of Canada as their own through trade and war. Competition for the region was in trade, land, and religion. With many countries competing for Canada at its new home, the British eventually made it a new part of its empire, with the French taking a smaller part in its governing and influence.
1. The underlined word "migrated" in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to________.| A．hunt | B．travelled | C．cycled | D．settled |
| A．The Vikings | B．John Cabot | C．Jacques Cartier | D．Samuel de Champlain |
| A．people in Canada share the same culture |
| B．Canada has a history of over 12,000 years |
| C．the French people had a great influence on Canada |
| D．the British had power over Canada through competitions |
