Today, pork is the No. 1 meat product in China, which even
However, before the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), it was
The turning point for pork came in the Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279) when
1. What do we know about Beowulf?
| A．Its writer is unknown. | B．It is a famous novel. | C．It is easy to understand. |
| A．Between about AD 800 and AD 1066. |
| B．Between about AD 1066 and AD 1150. |
| C．Between about AD 1150 and AD 1500.. |
| A．An English historian. | B．A Middle English poet | C．A modern English writer. |
| A．Modern English. | B．Middle English. | C．Old English. |
In China, 2024 is the Year of the Dragon, or “loong,” as is known in Chinese. This creature appears on many cultural artifacts
Unlike Western dragons,
For thousands of years, the Chinese have respected the loong,
At a historical site in Liaoning Province, a stone sculpture of a loong was discovered in 1994.
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. |
5 . To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains, but actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against the rain. Its first use was as a shade against the sun! Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times. Probably the first to use it were the Chinese.
We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade. And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honour. In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by those in high office.
In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. And the umbrella was commonly used in ancient Greece. But it is believed that the first persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the rain were the ancient Romans.
During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared. Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century. And again it was considered as a symbol of power. By 1680, the umbrella appeared in France and later in England.
By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe. Umbrellas did not change much in style during all this time, though they became much lighter in weight. It wasn’t until the twentieth century that women’s umbrellas began to be made in a whole variety of colours.
1. According to this passage, the umbrella was probably first used in ancient________.| A．China | B．Egypt | C．Greece | D．Rome |
| A．during the Middle Ages |
| B．by the eighteenth century |
| C．in ancient Rome |
| D．in ancient Greece |
| A．when and how the umbrella was invented |
| B．why the umbrella was so popular in Europe |
| C．the development of the umbrella |
| D．the history and use of the umbrella |
As winter comes, hands and feet can easily get cold. Thick gloves might be a good
There is no
Emperor Yangdi from the Sui Dynasty visited Jiangsu in winter. Due to the bitter cold, the local official asked craftsmen to make a small warmer for
Made of bronze or ceramics (陶器), ancient hand warmers had
Inside a hand warmer, simple coals were mixed with some flowers,
Silk is a thin, yet extremely strong, fiber. It is made from protein that silkworms produce when they make their cocoons. Thousands of years ago, ancient Chinese craftsmen began weaving silk fiber into a soft, smooth fabric. A precious textile, silk was at first reserved for exclusive use by the Chinese imperial court. Chinese officials decided that silk-making methods must remain China’s secret.
The Silky Secret Gets Out
However, the existence of silk did not remain a secret. On diplomatic visits to neighboring rulers, Chinese envoys carried gifts of silk. By the first century BC, the Romans had become familiar with this exotic(异国情调的)luxury item.
From Europe to the Far East
Over the centuries, different main routes developed.
The Silk Road played an important role in bringing diverse cultures and peoples into contact. To make successful deals, merchants had to learn the languages and customs of the countries they crossed. As they journeyed along the Silk Road, people shared knowledge about arts, crafts, literature, science, and technologies. Over hundreds of years, cultures, languages, and religions influenced one another. Perhaps Chinese silk influenced history more extensively than any single famous person you can name.
| A．How Silk Changed History |
| B．How Silk Brought People Together |
| C．It soon grew wildly popular in the West. |
| D．In addition, sailors discovered sea routes. |
| E．Rulers ordered that anyone who revealed these methods to foreigners would be put to death. |
| F．Later they came to be known as “The Silk Road”, but the word “Road” should have been plural. |
| G．But, there were many roads, not just one. A German geologist named the trade routes “The Silk Road”. |
Papermaking is one of the four great inventions of ancient China, along with printing, gunpowder and the compass. It is also the crystallization of
The term Xuan paper first appeared in On Famous Paintings through the Ages, a book written by Zhang Yanyuan in Tang Dynasty (618-907),
The traditional craft of making Xuan paper is extremely
The flow of ink, both guided and resisted by water, determines the output of Chinese art, and Xuan paper outshines others with its excellent ability
Xuan paper
The five interlocked Olympic rings have become fairly familiar at this point. But do you know what they mean and the story behind their
The 1912 Olympic Games, held in Sweden, were the first to include athletes from
Given what we know about colors and their many symbolic
The drum
The earliest reference to the drum in China is in the Pottery Age. The Zhou dynasty
In ancient China, agriculture was the main form of production and drums
Dozens of types of Chinese drums exist today. For instance, “Taiping Drum” is used to express hope for peace and prosperity(繁荣)
The prosperity of drum culture reflects the
