1 . 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. |
2 . 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% |
3 . 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 |
4 . 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. |
5 . 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 |
6 . 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. |
7 . 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. |
8 . 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. |
9 . Why You Should Visit the Four Imperial Cities of Morocco
Fez
Fez is arguably the most storied of the four imperial (皇家的) cities. It was founded in the late 9th century and it served as a capital seven times, most recently in 1912. Thanks to its long run as a capital in different eras, the city is home to numerous historical museums and important monuments. Visit Fez to learn more about Morocco’s history, check out its unique architecture, and experience its energetic culture.
Marrakesh
Marrakesh was founded in the late 11th century and it served as the capital for four different dynasties. It is now considered the No.1 tourist destination in Morocco, with visitors from all over the world coming to see its luxury imperial palaces, splendid gardens, and ancient markets and try some of the best food in this part of the world.
Meknes
Meknes was Morocco’s capital between 1672 and 1727. Even this short period was enough to leave a lasting mark on the city in the form of old imperial palaces, castles, and gates. The city also has plenty of other fascinating things to check out, like the Museum of Moroccan Art, several old mosques (清真寺), old markets, and nearby Roman Ruins.
Rabat
Rabat is the current capital of the country. It was founded by the Almohad dynasty in the 12th century with this purpose, although it took until 1955 for the city to claim this status officially. There are numerous historical tourist attractions to check out in Rabat, including the Mausoleum of Mohamed V, the unfinished Hassan Tower, and the Chellah Roman Ruins. Being situated at the seaside also means that you will be able to have other activities besides sightseeing.
1. What is Fez famous for?A.Its luxury palaces. | B.Its numerous art museums. |
C.Its Roman Ruins. | D.Its long term as a capital. |
A.Old markets. | B.Imperial castles. |
C.Ancient mosques. | D.A Splendid gardens |
A.In the 12th century. | B.In the 17th century. |
C.In the 19th century. | D.In the 20th century. |
10 . While DNA from animal bones or teeth can cast light on an individual species, environmental DNA enabled scientists to build a picture of a whole ecosystem.
A core of ice age sediment (沉积物) from northern Greenland has yielded the world’s oldest sequences of DNA. The 2 million-year-old DNA samples revealed the now largely lifeless polar region was once home to rich plant and animal life — including elephant-like mammals known as mastodons (乳齿象), reindeer, hares, lemmings, geese, birch trees and poplars, according to new research published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.
The finding is the work of scientists in Denmark who were able to detect and restore environmental DNA — genetic material drop into the environment by all living organisms — in tiny amounts of sediment taken from the Copenhagen Formation, in the mouth of a strait in the Arctic Ocean in Greenland’s northernmost point, during a 2006 expedition.
They then compared the DNA pieces with libraries of DNA collected from both extinct and living animals, plants and microorganisms. The genetic material revealed dozens of other plants and creatures that had not been previously detected at the site based on what’s known from fossils and pollen records.
“The first thing that blew our mind when we’re looking at this data is obviously this mastodon and the presence of it that far north, which is quite far north of what we knew as its natural range,” said study co-author Mikkel Pedersen.
The mix of temperate (温带) and Arctic trees and animals suggested a previously unknown type of ecosystem that has no modern equivalent — one that could act as a genetic road map for how different species might adapt to a warmer climate, the researchers found.
Love Dalen, a professor at the Centre for Palaeogenetics at Stockholm University, said the finding “pushed the envelope” for the field of ancient DNA. “Also, the findings that several temperate species (such as relatives of spruce and mastodon) lived at such high latitudes are exceptionally interesting,” he added.
Further study of environmental DNA from this time period could help scientists understand how various organisms might adapt to climate change. “It’s a climate that we expect to face on Earth due to global warming and it gives us some idea of how nature will respond to increasing temperatures,” he explained.
1. What can we know about environmental DNA from the passage?A.It makes it easier to understand individual species. |
B.It is a collection of DNA from all kinds of living things. |
C.It includes DNA of mammals living 2 million years ago. |
D.It was first discovered in sediment from northern Greenland. |
A.By looking at the data of mastodon. |
B.By detecting DNA samples at the site. |
C.By analyzing fossils and pollen records. |
D.By comparing the newly-found DNA with existing ones. |
A.broke the limit | B.laid a foundation |
C.raised a new question | D.attracted wide attention |
A.Northern Greenland faces species extinction |
B.Oldest DNA reveals a solution to global warming |
C.Northern Greenland faces increasing temperatures |
D.Oldest DNA reveals a 2 million-year-old ecosystem |