Relic guardians做保护文物的卫士

江海连

“我是真的喜欢文物，在山里转转，看看那些岩画、墓葬群，心情就会舒畅很多。我觉得这份工作充实且有意义。”单志政说。

主题语境：文物保护 篇幅：357词 建议用时：7分钟

1 After packing some bread and a waterbottle， Shan Zhizheng and his wife start up theirmotorcycle and head off to a cultural relic site.Their starting point is the pastoral and farminglandscape of Wenquan County in northwestChina.

2 Known as a museum without walls， Wenquan County is home to nearly 260 culturalrelic sites under various levels of protection， including tombs， cliff paintings and ruins，which provide materials for researching the history of ancient northern nomads （游牧民）and tribes.

3 Shan and his wife Yuan Qin are responsible for protecting one particular relic sitethat spans about 8 square kilometers. Once a week， the couple patrols over 200 ancienttombs built from the Warring States Period to the Han Dynasty. Their relic protection routineusually includes walking around the site to look for footprints and motorcycle tracks，keeping records of the tombs， and updating the local cultural relic authorities in a timelymanner.

4 Shan has been working as a field conservator for some five years. However， his bondwith cultural relics goes back much further. In 1999， his family was assigned a piece ofwasteland covering 20 hectares， with the aim of working it as farmland. Quite by chance，Shan found two saddleshapedmillstones in a field that he was farming. Although he noticedabrasion （磨損） marks on the objects， he didn’t know they were cultural relics. Thereafter，Shan found several stone tools， bits of pottery and other cultural relics on the wastelandand placed them in his home.

5 In 2008， Shan invited experts from the Wenquan Cultural Relic Protection Bureau tohis home to identify the“relics”he had found. Experts estimated that the millstones mightbelong to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period， and they may providesome insight into the production and living conditions of locals during the period.

6 Although Shan takes delight in his daily work， there are still many challenges in therole. Sometimes， the husbandandwifeteam has to trek through valleys and rivers as theirmotorcycle can’t cope with the steeper slopes. However， none of these difficulties can undermineShan’s love for cultural relic preservation.

Reading Check

Gist

1. What does paragraph 2 focus on？

A. Life of Shan and his wife.

B. Location of Wenquan County.

C. Significance of Wenquan County.

D. History of ancient nomads.

Inference

2. Which of the following can best describe Shan and his wife？

A. Lazy.

B. Gifted.

C. Ambitious.

D. Dutiful.

Detail

3. Why did Shan invite experts to his home？

A. To discuss a study.

B. To know more about relic protection.

C. To identify the millstones he had found.

D. To learn to make marks on the ancient tombs.

Vocabulary

4. What does the underlined word“undermine”in paragraph 6 mean？

A. Influence.

B. Weaken.

C. Show.

D. Determine.

Language Study

Ⅰ. 日积月累

various adj. 各种各样的

protection n. 保护

include v. 包含

update v. 更新

thereafter adv. 在那之后

insight n. 了解；洞悉

estimate v. 估算

trek v. 长途跋涉

cultural relics 文化遗产

be home to 是……的产地/家园

once a week 一周一次

keep records of 記录

in a timely manner 及时地

belong to 属于

living conditions 生活状况

take delight in 乐于……

cope with 对付；处理

Ⅱ. 单句填空

1. You take delight________my pains.

2. Tents come in________（vary） shapes and sizes.

3. You should keep records________your expenses.

4. He asked to be put under police________（protect）.

5. I’ve got three days’ holiday，________（include） New Year’s Day.