题目内容

Two sculptures of life-size lions, each weighing about 5 tons in ancient times, have been discovered in what is now Turkey. The discovery of the massive lions, along with other pieces such as a large stone basin about 7 feet in diameter, left the archaeologists with a mystery ——what were they intended for?

A search of the surrounding area revealed no evidence of a Hittite settlement dating back to the time of the statues. Also, the steep size of the sculptures meant that the sculptors likely did not intend to move them very far.

Summers assumes that, rather than being meant for a palace or a great city, the lions were being created for a monument to mark something else- water

“I think it's highly likely that that monument was going to be associated with one of the very abundant springs that are quite close,” he said in the interview, ”There are good parallels (平行线) for association of Hittite sculptural traditions with water sources”

Indeed one well-known monument site, known as Eflatun Pnar, holds a sacred pool that "is fed by a spring beneath the pool itself,” write Yiit Erbil and Alice Mouton in an article that was published in the most recent edition of the Journal of Near Eastern Studies. The two researchers were writing about water religions in ancient Anatolia (Turkey).

"According to the Hittite cuneiform(楔形文字)texts, water was seen as an effective purifying element,” Erbil and Mouton write, "used in the form of cleaning or even full baths during ritual performances, its cleaning power is self-evident."

To the Hittites the natural world, springs included, was a place of great religious importance, one worthy of monuments with giant lions. "These things (water sources) were sacred, just as their mountains were sacred,” Summers said.

1.According to the text ,how did the two life-size lions impress the archaeologists?

A. Very massive B. Well-constructed

C. Unbelievable D. Mysterious

2.According to Summers' assumption, why were the lions carved ?

A. They were intended to be moved far away,

B. They were used as a monument in honor of their ancestor.

C. They were created as a monument to mark water.

D. They were built to mark their territory.

3.What can be inferred from the text ?

A. Water was highly valued by the Hittites.

B. There was a serious shortage of water in ancient Anatolia

C. Lions were of great religious importance

D. The Hittites used to fight over water resources.

4.What would be the best title of the text ?

A. The Hittite cuneiform

B. What were the lions intended for?

C.A confusing archaeological find

D. Digging up lions

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阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出以可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

Fireworks are beautiful and we all enjoy appreciating them. But let’s stop and think about the price that we for just a few minutes of .

To begin with, the amount of money we spend on fireworks is . The excitement is gone . Let’s face it, what we really are doing is burning . Yet, year after year, thousands of cities and towns spend our tax dollars on fireworks displays. Those tax dollars would be put to much better feeding our hungry and housing our homeless.

Second, there is the matter of . Fireworks contain chemicals that are harmful to people and animals. Over the years, these chemicals will the air we breathe and the water we drink.

Third, let’s the trash left behind after a fireworks display. What a ! One would probably expect that those who the fireworks would have the politeness to the trash afterwards. , they don’t. The mess they leave behind34the kind of attitude many Americans have toward our .

Fourth, fireworks are . Some fireworks can damage your hearing, especially the fireworks used in public displays that give off a big BANG. Losing your is too high a price to pay.

all the safety warnings, we still see injuries and deaths as a result of fireworks. Approximately 10,000 Americans are injured every year by fireworks.

In my view, all consumer fireworks should be . Public fireworks displays should be kept to a minimum and should be paid for through volunteer funding, not tax dollars. Finally, those people in of fireworks displays should be responsible for cleaning up the mess they make.

1. A. give away B. decide on C. pay D. raise

2. A. invitation B. hesitation C. excitement D. development

3. A. limited B. worthless C. necessaryD. unreasonable

4. A. in an instant B. in a whisperC. by accident D. up to now

5. A. failureB. money C. time D. leather

6. A. end B. useC. food D. place

7.A.comment B. coincidence C. safetyD. health

8. A. give outB. cut down C. polluteD. purify

9. A. think aboutB. pick out C. cut offD. slide into

10. A. shame B. messC. pity D. wonder

11. A. set off B. built up C. focused on D. starred in

12. A. save B. leaveC. pick upD. figure out

13. A. ThereforeB. Anyhow C. OtherwiseD. However

14.A. changesB. reflects C. adoptsD. shares

15. A. behaviorB. neighbourhoodC. societyD. environment

16.A. beautifulB. complex C. brightD. noisy

17.A. memoryB. hearing C. life D. sight

18.A. DespiteB. Besides C. BeyondD. Without

19.A. encouragedB. discussed C. forbiddenD. produced

20.A charge B. needC. honorD. case

After many years on the endangered list of animals, Japan’s Amami Black rabbit can finally breathe a sigh of relief — That’s because this year, the rare animal is no longer in danger of dying out!

The effort to save the dark-furred rabbit, often called “a living fossil”, began in 1921, when the Japanese government promoted it to the status of “natural monument”. This meant that it could not be hunted down for food. However, when that did not work, it got yet another promotion to “special natural monument”, which meant that the rabbit could not be trapped or hunted.

While that helped, it was not enough — By 2004 with only 2,000-5,000 specimen (样本) left in the wild, the Amami rabbit was officially declared endangered! The reason for the serious population decrease was due to loss of habitat caused by forest clearing for home and agriculture use and the introduction of a new species not native to the island — the Mongoose. Brought in to get rid of the snake population, the Mongoose instead seemed to prefer the black rabbit. In 2005, the government carried out a strict mongoose capture (捕获) order and slowly but surely, the rabbit started to come back.

This rabbit live in a rather unusual lifestyle. Its ideal habitat is a forest that features both trees and large grasses — the former to find acorns (橡树子) to feed on and the latter, to hide its babies. That's because to protect them from being eaten by their enemies, the Amami rabbit buries them deep into the ground among the grasses and covers them up with dirt during the day. Then, in the middle of the night, still keeping a vigilant eye out for their enemies, it digs them out from their hiding place and feeds them. No wonder the animal is sometimes called “midnight rabbit”.

Though many measures have been taken to stop this furry animal from being wiped out from the world, there are many more that are still in danger. We surely hope that officials in other parts of the world try their best to save the endangered species.

1.The status of “natural monument” means ________.

A. you can’t kill them

B. you can’t capture them

C. you can’t catch them for food

D. you can’t trap or hunt them

2.Why was the rabbit still in danger after it was promoted to “special natural monument”?

A. Because it was always eaten by snakes.

B. Because people still wanted to capture it for food.

C. Because the rabbit lives in a rather unusual lifestyle.

D. Because of loss of habitat and a new species.

3.In Amami rabbit’s ideal habitat, large grasses are used ________.

A. to feed on

B. to protect its babies

C. to hide themselves

D. to give birth to babies

4.The underlined word “vigilant” in the fourth paragraph can be replaced by ________.

A. watchfulB. uninterestedC. fearfulD. shiny

5.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A. Many officials don’t pay attention to the black Amami rabbit.

B. The black Amami rabbit was no longer endangered.

C. Saving the black Amami rabbit still has a long way to go.

D. The measures taken to protect the black Amami rabbit were useless.

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