NewarchaeologicaldiscoverssuggestthattradebetweenEuropeandAsiaalongtheSilk
Roadprobablybeganinsomeformmanycountriesearlierthanoncethought.Thefindingscoupledwithawideningrangeofscientificandhistoricalresearchcouldaddafascinatingnew
pagetotheepicoftheSilkRoad.
ThelatestandmostsurprisingdiscoveryispiecesofsilkfoundinthehairofanEgyptianmummyfromabout1000BClongbeforeregulartrafficontheSilkRoadandatleastonethousandyearsbeforesilkwaspreviouslythoughttobeusedinEgypt.OtherresearchmayextendhumanactivityalongthisroutebackevenfurtherperhapsamillionyearstothemigrationofhumanancestorsintoeasternAsia.
TheofficialoriginofEast-Westcommercealongtheroadisusuallyplacedinthelate2ndcenturyBCwhenanagentoftheChineseEmperorWu-direturnedfromadangeroussecretmission(使命)acrossthedesertintotheremotehighcountryofCentralAsia.TheagentZhangQiantravelledasfarasAfghanistanandbroughtbackknowledgeofevenmoredistantlandssuchasPersiaSyriaandaplaceknownasLijienperhapsRome.Historianshavecalledthisoneofthemostimportantjourneysinancienttimes.Hisjourneyopenedthewayforwhathavebeenthoughttobethefirstindirectcontactsbetweentheancientworld’stwosuperpowersChinaandRome.ChinesesilkfirsttradedtocentralAsiantribesforwarhorsesandtotheParthiansofoldPersiainexchangeforacrobatsandostricheggswassoonfindingitswaythroughanetworkofmerchantstotheluxurymarketsofRome.
ButthenewdiscoveriesshowthatChinesesilkwasapparentlypresentintheWestlongbeforetheHanemperorstartedorganizedtradeovertheSilkRoad.TheresearchcouldchangethinkingabouttheearlyhistoryofworldtradeandprovideinsightsintothemysteryofjusthowandwhenEuropeandtheMediterraneanlandsfirstbecameawareofthegloriouscultureattheotherendofEurasia.
【小题1】Theword“coupled”inthefirstparagraphcouldbestbereplacedby______.
A.producedB.contributedC.doubledD.combined【小题2】ThesilkthreadfoundinthehairofanEgyptianmummysuggeststhat______.A.Egyptianshadpro