2011公共英语二级阅读理解训练：Cultural Relics 2

    下面是公共英语二级阅读理解训练，育路教育网特别为您搜集整理，内容如下：

Cultural Relics

　　A

　　Philippe Charlier, a scientist in Paris, France, began to study the supposed Joan of Arc1 Relics from the church in Normandy, France last year. Charlier’s team studied the relics —including a part of cloth and a human rib2 —and gave them chemical tests.

　　Close study of the human rib showed that it had not been burned but may have been heated to make its surface black, Charlier said. Meanwhile, the piece of cloth contained large amounts of pine pollen3. "Pine resin4 was widely used in Egypt," Charlier explained, adding that pine trees did not grow in Normandy during Joan of Arc’s time.

　　Final proof came from carbon-14 chemical test, which dated the human remains between the third and sixth centuries B.C. Charlier believes that people in France found a mummy5 and not the remains of Joan of Arc.

　　Joan of Arc Relics always attract great attention because Joan’s life was short but great. Late in the Hundred Years’ War, which was fought between France and England from 1337 to 1453, she said that she heard the voice from God telling her to recover her country from the English. After many battles against the English she was caught, and in 1431, she was burned to death in the French city of Rouen.

　　The supposed remains of Joan of Arc were discovered in 1867 and were officially recognized by the government. However, Charlier doubted it —Are they the real remains of Joan of Arc? After years of study, he thinks that he has found the answer.

　　Notes:

　　1. Joan of Arc贞德(法国女英雄)

　　2. rib n.肋骨

　　3. pine pollen 松树花粉

　　4. pine resin 松树脂

　　5. mummy n.木乃伊

　　1. This passage mainly talks about _____.

　　A. the research that shows that the remains of Joan of Arc are actually an Egyptian mummy

　　B. scientist Philippe Charlier’s new finding of Joan of Arc Relics

　　C. the importance of Egyptian mummies in scientific research

　　D. the history of Joan of Arc and the Joan of Arc Relics

　　2. According to the passage, ___________ was NOT studied.

　　A. a piece of cloth

　　B. a human rib

　　C. carbon 14

　　D. the site where the relics were discovered

　　3. Why did the scientist Charlier start this research?

　　A. He was asked to study Joan of Arc’s remains by the French government.

　　B. Joan of Arc Relics always attract great attention.

　　C. He thought that Egypt was the place of origin before the announcement.

　　D. He doubted if Joan of Arc Relics were real.

　　B

　　Nearly 100 feet under the Yucatán Peninsula1 in southern Mexico, cave divers are mapping the world’s longest underground river. More importantly, they are using this map to explain the mysteries of the ecosystem that may be destroyed before it is fully understood.

　　The Peninsula is rich in human history. It is proven by all the temples and pyramids built by the Maya in ancient times. A system of rivers whose formation began more than 100 million years ago runs underground. This system was developed when the Peninsula lay under a low sea.

　　Over the ice ages, sea levels dropped about 300 feet, exposing the stone platform that makes up the Peninsula. Over time, small streams of carbonic acid2 created the caves. When sea levels began to rise with the last ice age 18,000 years ago, the once dry caves began to fill with water, a process that continued until about 1,000 years ago. In fact, these river systems provide all of the Peninsula’s fresh water.

　　By far the largest underground river system is called Ox Bel Ha. Its complex3 passageways, about 200 miles, surrounds the Cancún city, the late classic Maya coastal trading center of Tulúm .

　　Since 1998, an international team of divers has been charting Ox Bel Ha. Some dives last more than 12 hours in the water, the time necessary to reach Ox Bel Ha’s deepest places, map them and safely return to the surface.

　　Till now, the team has charted more than 60 miles of caves underwater, and three freshwater passageways that are connected to the Ox Bel Ha system. More excitingly, the cave divers found human bones from the Maya period. Scientists believed that the caves played an important role in Maya religion: they were regarded as entrances to the underworld, a mysterious place of gods and ancestors.

　　Notes:

　　1. 尤卡坦半岛(古玛雅文化的摇篮之一)

　　2. carbonic acid碳酸

　　3. complex adj.复杂的

　　1. What is the passage mainly about?

　　A. The temples and pyramids built by the Maya.

　　B. Divers discover Maya relics in caves that became rivers.

　　C. The world’s longest underground river in Peninsula.

　　D. The largest underground river system, Ox Bel Ha.

　　2. According to the passage, which of the following statements about time and event is FALSE?

　　A. About 1,000 years ago, the dry caves began to fill with water.

　　B. More than 100 million years ago, the Peninsula lay under a low sea.

　　C. For the past 1,000 years, a river system ran underground under the Peninsula.

　　D. Since 1998, the largest underground river system has been charted.

　　3. What we can know from the passage about the mapping are the following EXCEPT that .

　　A. it is very useful for protecting the ecosystem

　　B. it is a long and hard course

　　C. it is dangerous for the divers

　　D. it has achieved many fruits

　　阅读新题型

　　In general, relics refer to physical objects from the past, which carry with them historical, artistic or scientific significance, and are thus representative1 of the areas where they were found.

　　Cultural relics are a part of history, and represent people’s cultural treasures. The loss of cultural relics leaves a hole in the study of history. It is therefore very important that cultural relics, regardless of where they are located, be protected, and hopefully be returned from overseas by collectors and museums.

　　Common examples of relics are ruins of ancient houses, human bones, musical instruments, tools, tombs, and carvings from different stones and materials. These relics show the course of human development. They show how the people lived and worked at different times in history, and help us understand how they interacted2 with their living environment.

　　Notes:

　　1. representative n.代表

　　2. interact v.相互影响

　　参考答案：

　　阅读理解A 1-3 A D D

　　阅读理解B 1-3 B A C

　　阅读新题型

　　1. Physical

　　2. they were found

　　3. human development

　　4. cultural

　　5. living environment