北京大学2010年考博英语真题

　　Passage Three

　　Today’s recyclers can now conceivably lay claim to a rich, bloody, brawny heritage, if a new Viking discovery is any indication. The famed Norse warriors, many of whom settled parts of eastern and northern England in the Middle Ages, recycled as they fought, new excavations in the United

　　Kingdom suggest. An 11th-century metalworking site recently discovered in the city of York is likely evidence of a makeshift recycling center, where Vikings took weapons for reprocessing after battle, according to historian Charles Jones, organizer of the Fulford Battlefield Society, which advocates preserving the battle site against potential development.

　　Jones and his team have found hundreds of pieces of ironwork — including axes, sword parts, and arrowheads 一 along with lumps of melted-down iron and the remains of smelting pits. “ We found several smithing hearth bottoms，一 the remains of the molten metal which dribbles down during the reprocessing of the weaponry ironwork,n he told the York Press. “The iron finds support the idea that metal was gathered and recycled in the area just behind where the fighting took place, ” Jones said. The artifacts are currently undergoing X-ray analysis at the University of York. The university’s Soren Sindbaek said the tests should reveal whether the corroded items were forged using Norse ironwork,

　　which involved using distinctive alloys of soft iron and hard steel. “ The Vikings were very skillful metalworkers,” said archaeologist Sindbaek. “Their weaponry is famous for the way iron is treated. Any metal was a precious material that would be recycled，” he said. “ Whoever won a fight in this period would collect what was left on the battlefield. ”

　　Though he knows of no other battlefield examples of Viking recycling，evidence of reuse of metal and other materials has been found at other Viking sites, Sindbaek said. Recent excavations in York, which was captured and settled by the Scandinavian seafarers in 866，for instance, show that Vikings recycled boats for building material for houses and even sidewalks. Jones believes Vikings forces worked on the metal in 1066 after defeating English warriors at the Battle of Fulford, a village long since subsumed by the expanded city of York. The historian’s team believes the Vikings were forced to abandon their recycling work five days later by a second English attack, the Battle of Stamford Bridge, led by England’s King Harold II. The Viking leader in the battle, King Harold III of Norway, was killed and his forces routed. The English king lost his own life the

　　following month, when his war-weary troops were defeated at the Battle of Hastings by William, Duke of Normandy, who became the new English king.

　　Project leader Jones, author of The Forgotten Battle of 1066: Fulford, is an amateur historian, and many of the artifacts were uncovered not during professional archaeological excavations but by metal-detector enthusiasts. But that “doesn’t at all devalue” the discovery, said archaeologist Allan Hall of the University of York. The Fulford Battlefield Society is “ working in close co-operation with the archaeological establishment，” Hall said. “Archaeology has a long tradition of amateurs taking part. ”

　　51. What is said about today’s recyclers at the beginning of this passage?

　　A. They recycle things that are discovered at the Viking settlements.

　　B. They are as rich, bloody and brawny as their Viking ancestors.

　　C. They may have inherited the recycling tradition from the Vikings.

　　D. They recycle the same things that the Vikings recycled.

　　52. Which of the following is true about the 11th-century metalworking site recently discovered in the city of York?

　　A. It was an ironwork recycling center far away from the battlefield.

　　B. Weapons and other utensils were reprocessed here by the Vikings.

　　C. Evidence shows that the weapons recycled here were left by the enemy in the battle.

　　D. The pieces of ironwork found in this site are being analyzed in order to know what exactly they were made' of.

　　53. What had archaeologists known about Viking recycling before the weapon recycling center was discovered?

　　A. The Vikings recycled metal and other materials for daily use.

　　B. The Vikings only recycled metals because they were precious.

　　C. The Vikings were the only people at that time who used alloys in reprocessing weapons.

　　D. Recycling centers were usually found behind the battlefields.

　　54. What is special about the village of Fulford?

　　A. It is near the city of York but was not included in the city in history.

　　B. A battle took place here in 1066 after which the Viking recycling center was built to reprocess weapons.

　　C. The Vikings defeated the English army twice here in the year 1066.

　　D. It was the location of the battle between King Harold II and Duke of Normandy.

　　55. What do we know about the Fulford Battlefield Society?

　　A. It is an organization of professional and amateur historians.

　　B. It strives for preserving the Viking recycling site against potential development.

　　C. It assisted professional archaeologists in the excavation of the Viking recycling center.

　　D. It is an amateur organization cooperating closely with professional archaeologists.

　　II. Directions: Read the following passage carefully and then explain in your own English the exact meaning of the numbered and underlined parts. Put your answers on the ANSWER SHEET (2).(70%)

　　(56) A study presented last week at the American Heart Association meeting suggests that mental relaxation produced by meditation may have physiological benefits, at least in the case of people with established coronary artery disease. Researchers followed about 200 high-risk patients for an average of five years. Among the 100 who meditated, there were 20 heart attacks, strokes and deaths ; in the comparison group, there were 32. (57) The meditators tended to remain disease-free longer and also reduced their blood pressure. “ We found reduced blood pressure that was significant 一 that was probably one important mediator，” said Dr. Robert Schneider, director of the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention in Fairfield, Iowa, who presented the findings. The study was conducted at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, in collaboration with the institute. Dr. Schneider suggested that (58) the stress reduction produced by the meditation could cause changes in the brain that cut stress hormones and decelerate the processes associated with atherosclerosis (动脉硬化).

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