Archaeologists believe they are on the turning point of throwing light on the life of William Shakespeare — by excavating (发掘) what may have been the playwright’s dust hole.

Experts have begun excavating the ruins of New Place, Shakespeare’s former home in Stratford-upon-Avon, which was destroyed 250 years ago. Although little remains of the property, the team, led by Birmingham Archaeology, believes it has identified a dust hole used by the 16th century poet.

Small pieces of pottery (陶瓷) and broken clay pipe have already been found from a muddy hole on the site, which they claim could yield some of the most significant discoveries about Shakespeare in decades. The dig focuses on three areas of the property, which Shakespeare bought in 1597 when he returned to his home town from London having achieved fame — including the so-called knot garden at the back of the building.

Dr Diana Owen, Director of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, which owns the site, said, “We do not know if the knot garden was an area used by Shakespeare — it may have been a yard simply used by his servants. But this could actually yield some fantastic results, especially if it was an area where rubbish was thrown or the dust hole was located.”

Kevin Colls, from Birmingham Archaeology, added, “Through documentary evidence we know Shakespeare lived at New Place but we have very little information regarding the layout (布局) of the house and gardens at this time. Through archaeological fieldwork, in particular the dig of structural remains and the recovery of artifacts, we hope to fill in the blanks.”

Until October, visitors will be able to watch archaeologists and volunteers at work as they excavate the remains of the house, which was knocked down in 1759. Experts hope to unearth evidence to support theories that Shakespeare wrote many of his most famous works at the property.

This excavation intends to ______.

A. know something about the playwright’s dust hole

B. search for some treasure in the dust hole

C. explore the life of William Shakespeare

D. find something that Shakespeare lost

New Place was destroyed in the ______ century.

A. 15th            B. 16th            C. 17th            D. 18th

Small pieces of pottery and broken clay pipe on the site ______.

A. could show Shakespeare’s luxurious life

B. could lead to important discoveries about Shakespeare

C. could show us that Shakespeare lived at New Place

D. could prove when New Place was knocked down

What can we learn from the text?

A. Shakespeare used to live at New Place.

B. Shakespeare became famous after 1597.

C. Only his servants used the knot garden.

D. Dr Diana Owen owns Shakespeare’s property.

阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,然后从36-55各题所给的四个选项中,选出最佳选项。
Preparing for tomorrow
Sixth-grade schoolteacher Ms.Shelton believed in readiness.Students remembered how she walked in on the first day of class and began writing words of eighth-grade on the   36   .They quickly protested that the words were not on their    37    and they couldn’t learn them.
Their teacher insisted that the students could and would learn these    38   .She said that she would teach them something that should be given.Ms.Shelton    39    by saying that one of the students in the classroom could go on to   40   , maybe even be president someday, and she wanted to prepare them for that day.
Ms.Shelton spoke those words many years ago.  41    did she know that someday one of her students—Jesse Jackson—would take them    42   .She believed that if they were well prepared, they could   43   high goals.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “People only see what they are    44    to see.” If that’s true, then it is also   45    that they only become what they are prepared to become.And many things in life are just about getting ready.
“I want to be doing something more    46    with my life than what I am doing now,” a young man once said to me.He    47    what he was doing was just not that important.Other people have said things to me such as, “I only   48    I had a meaningful relationship.” And, “I’d really like to get a better job, but I just don’t see   49   .”
You fill in the blanks.What is it you would like to    50    that isn’t happening? Perhaps the answer is that you are not yet   51   .Maybe you need more time to prepare before you are truly ready for that which you   52   .
Think of today as another chance to  53   yourself for the exciting future you are looking for.Today is not wasted.If you desire more from    54   , then you can use today as training.For you will experience only what you are prepared to   55   .Something wonderful can happen.And you can use today to get ready for tomorrow.

【小题1】
A.deskB.wallC.chalkboardD.door
【小题2】
A.dutyB.deskC.mindD.level
【小题3】
A.wordsB.grammarsC.pronunciationsD.sentences
【小题4】
A.startedB.endedC.warnedD.reminded
【小题5】
A.greatnessB.wealthC.honorD.failure
【小题6】
A.SeldomB.LittleC.HardlyD.Totally
【小题7】
A.nervouslyB.eagerlyC.seriouslyD.simply
【小题8】
A.keepB.haveC.setD.achieve
【小题9】
A.preparedB.forcedC.attractedD.tempted
【小题10】
A.properB.exactC.legalD.true
【小题11】
A.difficultB.significantC.pleasantD.interesting
【小题12】A.boasted  B.behaved    C.felt    D looked
【小题13】
A.wishB.expectC.hopeD.imagine
【小题14】
A.whatB.whenC.whyD.how
【小题15】
A.surviveB.happenC.gainD.win
【小题16】
A.adventurousB.activeC.readyD.intelligent
【小题17】
A.concernB.arrangeC.adoreD.desire
【小题18】
A.prepareB.enjoyC.imagineD.conduct
【小题19】
A.historyB.natureC.lifeD.marriage
【小题20】
A.sufferB.experienceC.struggleD.work

My school makes students take one religion (宗教) class every year. But religion is really hard, especially with Mr Frank Smith for a teacher.

Mr Smith is 55 years old, with grey hair and a moustache (胡子). He always wears a blue school T-shirt, shorts and tennis shoes with long white socks. My friends say he looks like a cat.

In his class, we did yoga (瑜珈) and meditation (冥想) (actually most of the children in my class lay on the ground sleeping), tasted some strange tea, had classes outside in the garden, and watched videos and movies about Tibetan Buddhism (藏传佛教), God, and so on.

It was fun sometimes. However, the course (课程) was quite hard when it came to tests. The girls often worked until one or two o'clock in the morning on nights before the tests, but they still got bad scores.

When our test scores were bad, he would give us some makeup assignments (补考作业). Once I got a B, which I thought was bad, so I asked Mr Smith for an assignment to bring up my grades.

As a matter of fact, his assignments were often worse than the tests. The tests were just a lot of multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blanks, or short essays (文章). But his assignments usually included a speech in class.

I was not afraid of public speaking, yet it took me three days to collect the information, two days to write the speech, one day to make a PowerPoint and several hours to prepare. I knew my presentation (课堂展示) was good, because I saw Mr Smith's big smile when he listened to me. He gave me an A at last.

After finishing the course, I may not remember how hard it was or the meaning of some vocabulary. But through Mr Smith, I learned a lesson that will be with me my whole life. That is: no matter what we do, we need to put our hearts into it, and then our work will pay off.

1.The religion class is hard because Mr Smith _______.

A. uses strange ways to teach in his class.

B. never gives good scores, however hard you try.

C. gives difficult tests and make-up assignments.

D. likes students to make good presentations.

2. How could students get good scores in Mr. Smith’s class?

A. Work hard by studying late into the night.                  

B. Remember all of the vocabulary.

C. Pay attention and take notes in class.                              

D. Do well on the make-up assignment.

3.From the course, the writer learned that ____.

A. people should always be given a second chance

B. people should always put their hearts into their work

C. it is good to do yoga and meditation             

D. it is good to choose strict teacher

 

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