The Vikings, whose ancestors came from Scandinavia, were the first Europeans
Later a man, Biarni set sail from Iceland in search
In the year 1002, Leif, Eric the Red’s son, followed Biarni’s directions and sailed to
2 . Canada is one of the few nations in the world to have two official languages: English and French. There are 10 provinces in the country, but only one of these—Quebec is known as “French Canada”. This is because it was founded by French explorers while British adventurers discovered the rest.
Canada left the British Empire(帝国) in 1867 to become an independent country, and English and French have been recognized as the official languages ever since.
Most people speak English as their first language and the two national television networks broadcast in English throughout the country. Apart from in Quebec and a few places on the east coast, French television is rare.
The same goes for traffic signs and menus, for example, outside of Quebec, there are only a few places where you’ll see traffic signs in French. In restaurants, it’s almost impossible to find French on the menu unless you are in the heartland(中心地带) of French Canada. However, all products sold in Canada must, by law, have labels(标签) and instructions in both languages.
In Canada’s English-speaking provinces, official bilingualism means that students can choose to complete a special French language course. Under this program, they are taught most of their subjects in French. If a student begins the course in kindergarten(幼儿园) or Grade One, it is likely that all his lessons will be in French. But if he starts at junior high school, 25 percent of the teaching will continue to be in English.
1. Which country controlled Canada before its independence?| A．France. | B．America. | C．The British Empire. | D．Germany. |
| A．In Quebec and a few other places. | B．Only in Quebec. |
| C．From the two national television networks. | D．All over Canada. |
| A．外语教育 | B．双语教育 | C．母语教育 | D．语言教育 |
| A．Only English courses are offered. |
| B．Most of the courses in junior high schools are taught in English. |
| C．The courses in primary schools are all taught in English. |
| D．If you choose a special French language course in kindergarten, all of the lessons will be taught in French. |
3 . I was reading these interesting stories behind a group of great logos in the world. Personally Nike is my favorite one — it’s so simple. And I liked the stories behind them, which made me forget all other things. McDonald’s, Apple, Mercedes Benz and Adidas own great logos as well, and they are among my favorites.
Nike
In the Greek myth, Nike is the goddess of victory and the source of inspiration for soldiers. This logo represents the wing in the famous statue of the Greek goddess. Nike’s logo was designed by Carolyn Davidson in 1971 for $35, and was registered as a trademark in 1995.
McDonald’s
The logo was designed in 1962 by Jim Schindler to resemble the arch-shaped (拱形的) signs on the side of the company’s then walk-up hamburger stand. Later on, the two golden arches were combined together to form the “M”. The McDonald’s name was added to the logo in 1968.
Apple
There are different stories behind Apple’s logo. The first logo was a reference to the religious story of Adam and Eve, in which the apple represented the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. One year later, the second logo was designed in 1977 by Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne, and it described Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. This logo didn’t stay long. One year later it was replaced almost immediately by graphic designer Rob Janoff’s “rainbow apple”, a rainbow-colored silhouette (轮廓) of an apple with a bite taken out of it. And then the rainbow-colored apple was replaced by the one-colored logo in 1998. It has not been changed so far.
Mercedes Benz
The Mercedes Benz logo, which was originally created by Gottlieb Daimler in 1909, consists of a simple description of a three-pointed star that represents its rule of the land, the sea and the air. The company was founded by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. Mercedes is the name of Maybach’s elder daughter, while Benz came as a result of a combination with Benz, Cie and DMG in 1926.
Adidas
The Adidas logo, which was created by the founder of the company Adi Dassler, represents mountains, pointing towards the challenges that are seen ahead and goals that can be achieved. The logo was used for the first time in 1967.
1. We can learn that Apple’s present logo is ________.| A．the religious story of Adam and Eve |
| B．a bitten apple with only one color |
| C．Newton’s sitting under an apple tree |
| D．the rainbow-colored bitten apple |
| A．Nike’s logo | B．Apple’s logo |
| C．The Mercedes logo | D．The Adidas logo |
| A．Mercedes Benz ——McDonald’s——Nike – Apple. |
| B．Nike —— McDonald’s ——Apple —— Mercedes Benz. |
| C．McDonald’s —— Apple—— Nike —— Mercedes Benz. |
| D．Nike —— Mercedes Benz —— McDonald’s —— Apple. |
4 . Scientists have discovered a bit of hand-made string (线绳) that’s around 50,000 years old in Neanderthal remains. The first Neanderthal remains were found in the Neander Valley in Germany, which is where the name comes from. Neanderthals may have lived mainly in caves and made stone tools, but recent discoveries have given hints that Neanderthals developed some advanced skills that people used to think impossible. For example, Neanderthals knew how to make glue from the bark (树皮) of a tree.
Now, scientists report they’ve found a piece of string on a stone tool made by Neanderthals. Before this, the oldest known piece of string was one made by humans about 19,000 years ago. The string is about a quarter of an inch long. Almost all things made from plants during that time have broken down and disappeared, so it’s very special to find this bit of string.
The scientists don’t know whether the string was attached to the tool. But that doesn’t interest them as much as the fact that Neanderthals knew how to make string. Bruce Hardy, the lead scientist on the project, says that knowing how to make string was meaningful for humans. “We wouldn’t really be here today without that technology,” he says.
Making string is a very arduous process. This string was made from the inside bark of an evergreen tree. To make string that is strong enough, the string must be made of several smaller fibers twisted (缠绕) together in a special way. For the Neanderthal string, several fibers needed to be twisted together into something like yarn. Then three pieces of yam needed to be twisted together in the opposite direction to make the final string.
The scientists Aren’t sure what the string was used for, but they say that string like. the bit that was found could be used to make bags, baskets, traps, or other things. The researchers also suggest that because Neanderthals needed to make pairs and count fibers to make the string, the bit of string may also tell us something about the kinds of math that Neanderthals could do.
1. What can we know about Neanderthals?| A．They were named after a nation. |
| B．They didn’t know how to make tools. |
| C．They were not as smart as scientists thought. |
| D．They may master more skills than people realized. |
| A．It is surprisingly long. |
| B．It was made from wood. |
| C．It survives a long history. |
| D．It was attached to a stone tool. |
| A．Neanderthals strengthened stone tools with the string. |
| B．The scientists think the string is part of the stone tool. |
| C．The string-making skill is of great importance to humans. |
| D．Neanderthals had great difficulty in inventing the string. |
| A．Difficult. | B．Normal. |
| C．Creative. | D．Boring. |
With the development of economy, how to balance progress and the protection of cultural heritage
In the 1950s, in order to control the flooding and to get electricity from the flow of the Nile River, the Egyptian government made
Soon, an international committee
The project was considered a greatly successful example by UNESCO to prevent world heritage from
The Duanwu Festival, also
Qu Yuan,
You don’t have to live in China long to know that
Getting rid of dirt, in the opinion of most people, is a good thing. However, the attitudes to dirt are always changing.
In the early 16th century, people thought that dirt on the skin was a means to block out disease, and washing off dirt with hot water could open up the skin and let ills in. A particular danger was thought to lie in public baths. By 1538, the French king had closed the bath houses in his kingdom. The king of England did something similar in 1546. Thus began a long time when the rich and the poor in Europe lived with dirt in a friendly way. France’s Henry IV was famously dirty. Upon learning that a nobleman had taken a bath, the king ordered that, to avoid the attack of disease, the nobleman should not go out.
Though the belief above was long-lived, dirt has no longer been regarded as a nice neighbour ever since the 18th century. Scientifically speaking, cleaning away dirt is good to health. Clean water supply and hand washing are practical means of preventing disease. Yet, it seems that standards of cleanliness have moved beyond science since World War II. Advertisements repeatedly sell the idea; clothes need to be whiter than white, cloths ever softer, surfaces to shine. Has the hate for dirt, however, gone too far?
Attitudes to dirt still differ hugely nowadays. Many first-time parents nervously try to warn their children off touching dirt, which might be responsible for the spread of disease. On the contrary, Mary Ruebush, an American immunologist(免疫学家) , encourages children to play in the dirt to build up a strong immune system. And the latter position is gaining some ground.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________8 . Wearing ties (领带) was originally the mark of Britain’s most powerful classes. That made the tie itself a symbol of power and respect. And this led the tie to be adopted by a much larger tribe (群体) — the business tribe.
You cannot wear a tie if you work with machinery. So wearing a tie became a sign that you were a man who used his brain to make a living, rather than his hands. It showed you were serious. It showed you were a professional. It meant that everyone who wanted a job in business had to wear one. It was just impossible to take seriously a man who didn’t wear a piece of coloured silk around his neck. This is how millions of people came to be wearing ties across the world. They are part of the uniform of business.
“Ties offer a point of difference,” says John Milne, head of the British Guide of Tie Makers. “They give a chance to say something about their owner’s personality.”
So if you happen to meet a man with a very brightly coloured tie, there’s a good chance that he is the office joker. There’s also a good chance that he will be wearing brightly coloured socks.
Is there a future for ties? The signs are not promising. Tie wearing seems to be rare among the new breed of entrepreneurs(企业家) in the Internet and new technology industries. Many political leaders now go without ties. This shows they are men of the people — but not the people wearing ties.
Up until around 1960, it was common for men across the Western world to wear hats as part of their business uniform. That changed with the election of John F. Kennedy to the presidency of the United States. Kennedy never wore a hat — in fact his nickname was “hatless Jack”. Seeing that the most powerful man in the world did not have to wear a hat, millions of other men decided that they did not have to either. Hats simply vanished across the Western world. Perhaps “tieless Tony” will have the same effect on ties as “hatless Jack”.
1. In Britain, ties were first used as a sign to show a person’s ________.| A．personality | B．social position | C．wearing style | D．favourite hobby |
| A．it showed you used your brain | B．it showed you got a good salary |
| C．it showed you were an employer | D．it showed you were well-trained |
| A．Blair is the best leader in the world | B．Kennedy is the best leader in the world |
| C．more people will go to work without ties | D．people will wear hats instead of ties |
| A．disappeared | B．washed | C．expanded | D．sold |
Working on one of the most famous sites in the world, I’m delighted though tired and covered in dust. I have been digging all day as an archaeology student from England since I
As winter comes, hands and feet can easily get cold. Thick gloves might be a good
There is no accurate
Emperor Yangdi from the Sui Dynasty visited Jiangsu one winter. Due to the bitter cold, the local official asked manufacturers to make a small warmer for
By the time of the Song Dynasty, the warmer had become
Made of bronze or clay, ancient hand warmers came in various design,
