A
More than 2,000 years ago, when the last shovelful (一铲) of dirt fell on the Terracotta Warriors, it was thought that they would never see the sunlight again and would spend the rest of their “lives” guarding and protecting the first Chinese emperor, Qin Shi Huang, who died in 210 BC.
But things got better for these clay soldiers. Ever since they were discovered in Xi'an in 1974, by a group of farmers; they've been able to see the bigger world—traveling from one museum to the next.
They are now on display in New York at Discovery Times Square, reported The New York Times.
However, the story doesn't end here.The 2,000 soldiers found so far are estimated (估计) to be only one quarter of the total number. Moreover, scientists haven't yet dared to touch the central tomb, which is believed to contain the body of the emperor himself.
“Partly it's out of respect for the elders，” explained Kristin Romey, consultant for the exhibition. “But they also realize that nobody in the world right now has the technology to properly go in and excavate it.”
This is true. According to ancient writings, the emperor's tomb is circled by rivers of liquid mercury which is deadly harmful to people but can keep the body in good condition. Studies of the soil around the tomb also found a large amount of mercury. This makes exploring the tomb very dangerous.
The other reason is that they are afraid of the damage they might cause by opening the tomb.
“When we began excavating ‘the soldiers’， the minute they faced the air and sunlight, the paint just went off，” Romey told the Fox News.
But he believes that the solution will come when science highly develops. Perhaps a robot can be sent into the tomb first to investigate and help find out the best way to protect it.
In the end, scientists and historians must think twice about how to find the way against the damage their digging might cause. Romey said, “You have to destroy stuff in order to learn about it.”
篇章导读：本文是一篇说明文，作者阐述了秦始皇陵地宫“以水银为江河湖海”，因而现行科学技术尚无法对其进行发掘、研究的问题，对兵马俑的数量也做了大致的推算。
21．What is the point of the passage?
A．To tell about the mysteries of Qin Shi Huang's tomb.
B．To analyze why archaeology is a destructive science.
C．To introduce the Terracotta Warriors exhibition in New York.
D．To explain the risks of further excavating Qin Shi Huang's tomb.
答案：D 主旨大意题。本文主要讲的是为什么科学家目前还不敢动手开挖秦始皇陵，以及这其中的风险所在，所以答案为D项。
22．What can we learn from the passage?
A．It is estimated that about 10,000 clay soldiers were buried with Qin Shi Huang in his tomb.
B．The decision whether to open the tomb is likely to depend on technological progress.
C．The deadly harmful mercury was used by Qin Shi Huang to keep grave robbers away.
D．Scientists won't excavate Qin Shi Huang's tomb until they find good ways to keep the body in good condition.
答案：B 推理判断题。由第四段中的“The 2,000 soldiers found so far are estimated (估计) to be only one quarter of the total number.”可知A项错误；由第六段中的“the emperor's tomb is circled by rivers of liquid mercury which is deadly harmful to people but can keep the body in good condition”可知秦始皇使用水银主要是为了更好地保存自己的遗体，所以C项错误；科学家们等待技术发展到一定程度，直到可以避免对陵墓造成损害的时候再动手开墓，而不是找到办法保存秦始皇的遗体，故D项错误，所以B项正确。
23．The underlined word “investigate” in the last but one paragraph probably means ________.
A．explore B．arrange
C．take over D．settle down
答案：A 词义猜测题。上文提到由于有水银，挖掘人员不能进入陵墓，所以这里提到的机器人的作用就是代替科学家进入陵墓研究，所以investigate在这里的意思就是“侦查，调查，研究”，故选A项。
