题型:阅读理解 题类:常考题 难易度:普通
黑龙江省龙西北地区八校2020-2021学年高一下学期3月联考英语试题
A 2,300-year-old shield (盾) made of tree bark has been discovered in Leicestershire, Europe. Such type of shield has never been dug out in Europe although shields like gold ones have been found before. No wonder that scientists regard the 2,300-year-old shield to be valuable. "This is a great object used as a weapon(武器) in the Iron Age," said Julia Farley, expert in British and European Iron Age collections.
The shield was discovered in 2015 by scientists from the University of Leicester Archaeological Service in an "animal watering hole" close to the River Soar. Organic (有机物) objects from the period rarely survive, but the shield was deposited in waterlogged (水涝的) soil that the "animal watering hole" contains. The waterlogged soil tends to cause low temperature underground and poorly-circulated air, which makes it hard for organic things to break up.
Bark shields of the period were entirely unknown in Europe and researchers had assumed that the material might have been too weak and fragile for use in war. However, experiments to remake the weapon in the same material showed the 3mm-thick shield, though very light, would have been tough enough for battle. It was likely that similar weapons were widespread.
The shield is made from green bark that has been constructed with many types of wood. One of them is the green wood, which would tighten as it has dried giving the shield its strength and a shape of a figure of eight. The outside of the shield has been painted and given a special decoration. Farley said, "This is a lost technology. Maybe it s a technique that was used for making bark products in many ways."
"Because so little organic material survives from the period," Farley said, "We are left with the earthworks(土木工程) and some of the ironwork. But we don't really see the everyday world of these people: the wooden houses they lived in and their clothing. So the visual world of the Iron Age is lost to us. But something like the bark shield is just a tiny window into that."
The shield has been donated to the British Museum. Farley said she hoped it would be seen by the public next year.
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项 (A 、B 、C 和 D )中,选出最佳选项。
Here are some of the world's most impressive subways.
The Tokyo Metro and Toei Lines | Features: The Tokyo Metro and Toei lines that compose Tokyo's massive subway system carry almost 8 million people each day, making it the busiest system in the world. The system is famous for its oshiya— literally, “pusher”— who shove passengers into crowded subway cars so the doors can close. And you think your commute is hell. |
The Moscow Metro | Features: The Moscow Metro has some of the most beautiful stations in the world. The best of them were built during the Stalinist era and feature chandeliers, marble moldings and elaborate murals. With more than 7 million riders a day, keeping all that marble clean has got to be a burden. |
The Hong Kong Metro | Features: The Hong Kong MTR has the distinction of being one of the few subway systems in the world that actually turns a profit. It's privately owned and uses real estate development along its tracks to increase income and ridership. It also introduced “Octopus cards” that allow people to not only pay their fares electronically, but buy stuff at convenience stores, supermarkets, restaurants and even parking meters. It's estimated that 95 % of all adults in Hong Kong own an Octopus card. |
Shanghai Metro | Features: Shanghai is the third city in China to build a metro system, and it has become the country's largest in the 12 years since it opened. Shanghai Metro has 142 miles of track and plans to add another 180 miles within five years. By that point, it would be three times larger than Chicago “L”. The system carries about 2.18 million people a day. |
The London Metro | Features: Londoners call their subway the Underground, even though 55 percent of it lies above ground.No matter when you've got the oldest mass-transit system in the world, you can call it anything you like. Trains started in1863 and they've been running ever since. Some 3 million people ride each day, every one of them remembering to “Mind the gap”. |
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