2011公共英语二级阅读理解训练：Back to the Past

    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：

Back to the Past

　　A

　　When you think of Greece, you probably think of the Parthenon1. It sat on the Athenian Acropolis. It was built over 2,000 years ago, and stood as a reminder of the political power of its leader, Pericles.

　　Earlier in the 5th century B.C., the Athenians began to construct the temple on the Acropolis, but it was not completed. When the Persians2 came to Athens in 480 B.C., what had been completed was destroyed, and only the base blocks were left.

　　Several years later, Pericles developed a new plan to build the Parthenon on the same site. The temple stands for Athens’ and Pericles’ power over the rest of the world. Construction of the huge Parthenon began in 447 B.C.

　　The Parthenon was completed in 432 B.C. and many ancient historians described its greatness. It stood there for more than 1,000 years. During this time it was used as a temple, and then as a Christian church. Then the Ottomans3 took Athens.

　　However, Parthenon received a great blow in 1687, when Greece was under attack from the Venetians4. The Ottomans used the Parthenon as a place to keep gun powder, so when the Venetians fired from a nearby hill and hit the temple, they made the gun powder explode, causing a great deal of damage. And thus was the end of the Parthenon’s long and great history.

　　Notes:

　　1. Parthenon n. 帕台农神庙

　　2. Persian n. 波斯人

　　3. Ottoman n. 土耳其人

　　4. Venetian n. 威尼斯人

　　Read the passage and choose the best answer for each question.

　　1. According to the passage, which of these events happened last?

　　A. Persians destroyed the Parthenon’s base blocks.

　　B. Venetians destroyed the Parthenon.

　　C. Pericles planned to build a great temple.

　　2. Which of the following did the Ottomans do last?

　　A. They used the Parthenon to stock gun powder.

　　B. They took Athens.

　　C. They attacked the Venetians.

　　B

　　On the basis of archaeological1 finds, it is agreed that ancient activities in Japan may date back to as early as 200,000 B.C., when the islands were connected to the Asian mainland.

　　Based on archaeological evidence, they also agree that between 35,000 and 30,000 B.C. human beings moved to the islands from eastern and southeastern Asia and had well-established patterns of hunting, gathering, and stone tool making. Stone tools and habitation sites from this period have been found on all of the islands of Japan.

　　In around 10,000 B.C. there were signs of Japanese culture. It was probably the ancestors of the Ainu, native people of modern Japan, that left the clearest archaeological record. By 3,000 B.C., the Jomon people were making clay2 images decorated with patterns made by putting decorated sticks into the wet clay. These people were hunters, gatherers, and deep-water fishermen. They first practiced a basic form of agriculture and lived in caves. They later lived in groups.

　　By the late Jomon period, a great change had taken place according to archaeological studies. Simple cultivation3 had developed into complex farming, and there was government control. Many other things that have something to do with Japanese culture may also date back to this period. Among these things are marriage customs, building styles, and technological developments, such as metalworking and glass making.

　　Notes:

　　1. archaeological adj.考古学的

　　2. clay n.黏土

　　3. cultivation n.耕种

　　Read the passage and choose the best answer for each question.

　　1. In this passage which of these events happened first?

　　A. Signs of Japanese culture first appeared.

　　B. The Jomon people were making clay images decorated with sticks.

　　C. Human beings moved to Japan from the other parts of Asia.

　　2. For the Jomon people which of the following happened last?

　　A. They began to live in groups.

　　B. They used decorated sticks in their art.

　　C. They found better ways to grow food.

　　3. Which of these things happened last?

　　A. The Ainu left the clearest archaeological record.

　　B. Marriage customs were created.

　　C. People had established patterns of hunting, gathering and stone tool making.

　　4. Which of the following things were made first?

　　A. Clay images.

　　B. Metalworking and glass making.

　　C. Stone tools.

　　阅读新题型

　　African art is a mixture of imagery, spiritual beliefs and social purpose. Ancient African art mainly showed the religious beliefs and cultural ideas through the various manmade objects, such as masks and pictures. Besides masks and pictures that were used in religious ceremonies1, these beliefs and ideas also found artistic expression in a number of useful objects and tools of everyday life. The ancient art forms were very traditional in nature and they formed a major part of African society. One of the earliest art forms of African culture was the terracotta sculptures2 that were found in the Nok culture of Nigeria in around 500 B.C.

　　Ancient African art is a mixture of contributions from a variety of tribes3 from all over Africa. These tribes created different art forms, special to the tribe. There is immense variety in African art culture and man-made objects, including native southern arts and a variety of existing cultural art forms from the Western tribes. They have all contributed to African art in a big way. Most of the art forms showed animals, plants and the surrounding nature. Most of the ancient sculptures were made of wood and other materials, such as terracotta, clay, metal and stone. These sculptures mostly had humans as the main subjects. It can also be observed that the sculptures made of wood are especially complex, and after such a long time they still look very beautiful.

　　A huge collection of ancient African art can be found in a number of museums all over the world. The art mainly consists of art forms with human and animal subjects and shows the good and bad sides of humans’ behaviors. The history of African art also shows the importance of religion and religious practices for African culture and the people.

　　Notes:

　　1. ceremony n.典礼

　　2. 陶瓦雕塑

　　3. tribe n.部落

　　Read the passage and answerthe following questions.

　　1. Find in the passage a word closest in meaning to the underlined word "immense".

　　2. According to the passage, what did the masks and images express in ancient African art? (回答词数不超过10个)

　　3. What is so special about the wooden sculptures? (回答词数不超过15个)

　　参考答案：

　　阅读理解

　　阅读理解A 1-2 B A

　　阅读理解B 1-4 C C B C

　　阅读新题型

　　1. Huge.

　　2. They expressed religious beliefs and cultural ideas.

　　3. They are complex and beautiful, and can be kept for a long time.