As early as a thousand years ago in Kaifeng, China, there were a group of people presenting art and beauty in a delicate manner. Such craft is known
A great number of artifacts from eight tombs
Six Eastern Han Dynasty tombs are brick tombs, three of
It is also the first time that archaeologists
“This excavation(挖掘)is
Oracle bones (甲骨) were believed to be first unearthed in Anyang, once called Yin, the capital of the Shang Dynasty. Villagers then had little idea of what they had found and sold the bones to drugstores as
Over the past 120 years, major systematic excavations have been carried
The content of the inscriptions emphasizes the respect for ancestors and other core Chinese values
“They represent the
4 . 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 |
5 . Scientists have solved a puzzle about modern humans, after research showed that a famous skull of a human ancestor found in South Africa is a million years older than experts thought. This discovery has changed what we know of human history.
The skull, which scientists have named “Mrs Ples”, is from an ape-like human relative from a species called Australopithecus africanus (南方古猿). It was found near Johannesburg in 1947 and, based on evidence from its surroundings, was thought to be between 2. 1 and 2. 6 million years old. This puzzled scientists, because although Mrs Ples looks like a possible early ancestor of early humans, the first true humans had already evolved by the time she apparently lived. For this reason, scientists had decided that Australopithecus afarensis, a similar species from East Africa that lived about 3.5 million years ago, was our most likely ancestor instead.
To get a more accurate age for Mrs Ples, a team led by Professor Darryl Granger of Purdue University in Indiana, US, used a new method to date the sandy rocks where the skull lay. They measured the amount of certain chemicals in rocks, which form at a steady rate when they are exposed to cosmic rays (宇宙射线) on Earth’s surface. Once rocks are buried, these chemicals stop forming and slowly disappear;the surviving amount reveals how much time has passed since the rock (or bones) were on the surface.
The new study shows that Mrs Ples and other australopithecine bones nearby are between 3.4 and 3.7 million years old. This means they lived at the same time as their East African relatives, so that either group could have given rise to modern humans. However, team member Dr Laurent Bruxelles pointed out that over millions of years, at only 2,500 miles away, these groups had plenty of time to travel and to breed with each other. In other words, the groups could quite easily have met, had children together and both been part of the history of modern humans.
1. What can we learn about Mrs Ples from the first two paragraphs?| A．It is a skull found in East Africa. |
| B．It is the most possible ancestor of humans. |
| C．It is a million years older than scientists expected. |
| D．It is proved to live between 2.1 and 2.6 million years ago. |
| A．By studying the effect of cosmic rays. |
| B．By calculating the forming rate of chemicals. |
| C．By locating the sandy rocks where the skull lay. |
| D．By measuring the surviving amount of chemicals. |
| A．Modern humans came into being in East Africa. |
| B．Mrs Ples travelled and had children with East African relatives. |
| C．The history of modern humans might begin 3.5 million years ago. |
| D．Ape-like species from Africa could have interacted with each other. |
| A．Historical Puzzle Unsolved | B．Ancestor Mystery Solved |
| C．Mrs Ples: The Earliest Human Being | D．Mrs Ples: A Famous Skull |
6 . Four Historic American Theatres
Today, theatres remain a key part of a city’s lifeblood. The following are four historic theatres in America.
Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
The Pantages Theatre, which now seats 1,014, opened in 1916 as part of Alexander Pantages’s well-known group of theatres. It was designed by the local firm Kees and Colburn. In 1922, the theatres was rebuilt by Scottish theatres architect Benjamin Marcus Priteca. After going through several owners, in 1984, it was closed and remained unopened until 1996. Some theatre supporters had it repaired and improved, resulting in its reopening in 2002.
Saenger Theatre, New Orleans, LA
New Orleans’s Saenger Theatre was built two years before the Great Depression, in 1927, and cost a then unheard-of $ 2.5 million. It was designed by Emile Weil, featuring a 15th-century Florentine courtyard and gardens, and Greek and Roman statues. Although the theatre was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, after a $ 53 million renovation (修葺), it reopened in 2013.
Thalian Hall, Wilmington, NC
Thalian Hall has been in almost continuous use since its opening in 1858. It is the only surviving theatre designed by John Montague Trimble, one of America’s foremost 19th-century theatre architects, and originally housed the town government, a library, as well as an “Opera House”, seating 1, 000 people. Some repairs in 1909 led to the removal of the side balconies and the installation of electric stage lights.
Providence Performing Arts Center, Providence, RI
It was originally opened as a movie palace in 1928, and the silent movies it showed were accompanied by a $ 90, 000 Robert Morton organ. After several decades, the theatre suffered from the increased popularity of television, as well as damage by two hurricanes. Over the past decade and a half, it has undergone extensive renovations and modernization.
1. What can we know about the Pantages Theatre?| A．It has a seating capacity of 1, 916. | B．It will be turned into a movie house. |
| C．It was designed by Alexander Pantages. | D．It was once shut down for over a decade. |
| A．Pantages Theatre. | B．Saenger Theatre. | C．Thalian Hall. | D．Providence Performing Arts Center |
| A．They went through major renovations. |
| B．They were hit by terrible natural disasters. |
| C．They were built by American theatre architects. |
| D．They belong o Alexander Pantages’s group of theatres. |
7 . Sometimes shipwrecks（沉船）contain sunken treasure, loads of gold or jewelry. Other shipwrecks are themselves the treasure—the stories of their ill-fated voyages creating a legend that makes them sparkle far more than any gold or precious stones.
The wreck of HMS Endurance, which has finally been located deep beneath the icy seas of Antarctica after being lost 107 years ago, was arguably the most valuable shipwreck ever sought. That’s because its discovery adds another thrilling new chapter to an already fascinating tale of perseverance and survival that has echoed down the decades and still inspires today.
Incredibly well preserved at a depth of almost two miles, the ship is little changed from the day in November 1914 when it finally sank beneath the ice. Endurance became embedded in ice while crossing Antarctica’s Weddell Sea. The video shot by underwater search vehicles shows painted timbers, an undamaged guardrail（护栏）and the name “Endurance” written above the five-pointed symbol of a polar star.
“I tell you, you would have to be made of stone not to feel a bit soft at the sight of that star and the name above,” Mensun Bound, the mission’s marine archaeologist, told the BBC. “You can see a porthole（舷窗）that is in Shackleton’s cabin. At that moment, you really do feel the breath of the great man upon the back of your neck.” Shackleton’s leadership was crucial to getting his men out alive. The reason why Shackleton is still applauded as a great man becomes obvious when you consider what he achieved in the face of disasters and hardships during his 1914-16 expedition. The practicality and humanity he showed in the face of severe situations was arguably praised.
1. What makes Endurance the most valuable shipwreck?| A．The treasure aboard. | B．Its inspiring stories. |
| C．Its undamaged guardrail. | D．The symbol of a polar star. |
| A．The floating ice is as hard as stones. |
| B．The well-preserved shipwreck is amazing. |
| C．The heroic deeds of Shackleton are touching. |
| D．The discovery of Endurance is challenging. |
| A．A book review. | B．A news report. |
| C．A biography. | D．A travel journal. |
In much of Asia, especially the so-called “rice bowl” cultures of China, Japan, Korea,
Chopsticks are usually two long, thin pieces of wood or bamboo. They can also be made of plastic, animal bone or metal. Sometimes chopsticks are quite artistic. Truly elegant chopsticks might
The Chinese have used chopsticks for five thousand years. People probably cooked their food in large pots,
Food in small pieces could be eaten easily with twigs which
Some people think that the great Chinese scholar Confucius,
Chopsticks are not used everywhere in Asia. In India, for example, most people traditionally eat
