1、After learning,you are supposed to:Know how to prepare a tour guide speech to foreign tourists on the subject of history museum.Master the basic skills in presenting yourself better in front of the foreign visitors.Grasp the words,phrases and expressions that are useful in the communication with for
2、eigners.Questions:Why is Shaanxi very important in Chinese history?Who can name some ancient objects kept in Shaanxi History Museum?TomTom:May,is this the Hall of Ancient China?MayMay:Yes.Look at these historical relics here,arent they amazing?TomTom:Yes,but why are they all in glass boxes?For prote
3、ction?MayMay:Yeah.Some relics will turn to dust once they are exposed to air.TomTom:So there isnt air in the glass boxes,I think.MayMay:You are right.They are all vacuumed.TomTom:May,I wonder how old these things are,thousands of years?MayMay:Yes,they are very old,at least more than 2,000 years.TomT
4、om:Hey,look at the bronze three-leg cup.Its very interesting.Ive seen it on TV.MayMay:The cup was made 4,000 years ago.Its priceless!TomTom:Priceless?Does it mean that it has no value at all?No wonder nobody uses this cup today.MayMay:No,Tom,“priceless”means valuable and you cant put a price on it.T
5、omTom:Oh,it does?A:I wonder how people lived in ancient times.B:I suggest that you read some history books.A:Yeah,you are right.But I still couldnt imagine the life style in the past.B:Then you may find answers in history museums.You can go to Xian.There are a lot of historical relics there.Visit Sh
6、aanxi History Museum,and you will learn a lot about that.A:Thats a good idea.Can you tell something more about Shaanxi History Museum?B:The museum is characteristic of the architectural style of the Tang Dynasty.In the museum,there are exhibitions of the ancient objects made in the prehistoric perio
7、ds,the Zhou Dynasty,the Qin Dynasty,the Han Dynasty,the Wei,the Jin,the Southern and Northern Dynasties,the Dynasties of Sui and Tang,and the Dynasties of Song,Yuan,Ming and Qing.They present a full view of the historical development of Shaanxi from 1.15 million years ago to the year of 1840.A:That
8、is really interesting.How can I get there after I arrive at Xian?B:Its only one kilometer northwest of Big Wild Goose Pagoda.You can take a bus and get there straight from the railway station.A:Which bus shall I take?B:Em,No.5,No.6 or No.30.Any will do.Get off at Cuihua Road,and you will find it.A:T
9、hank you very much.Ladies and gentlemen,Good morning.Today we are going to visit Shaanxi History Museum,which is the best place to learn about the history of this ancient city.Shaanxi History Museum is one kilometer northwest of Big Wild Goose Pagoda.Its design is characteristic of that of the Tang
10、Dynasty.As an example of the traditional Chinese architectural style,the Tang building is symmetric in design,with a main hall in the middle and pavilions at four corners.This museum covers an area of 70,000 square meters,housing 370,000 historical and cultural relics unearthed in Shaanxi Province.I
11、t consists of three exhibition parts:the permanent exhibition,temporary exhibition and special exhibition.Today,we will mainly visit the permanent exhibition which has seven sections.Now lets go to the hall.SpeechSpeechShaanxi Shaanxi HistoryMuseumHistoryMuseumThis hall is a“preface”to the museum.He
12、re we can see a giant stone lion and three massive pictures.The lion was originally erected in front of Shunling Mausoleum(mausoleum of the mother of Wu Zetian,female emperor of the Tang Dynasty).Displaying exquisite craftsmanship and a stately air,this lion is regarded as the“No.1 Lion in Orient”.S
13、tone lions and the carving techniques were introduced to China from Afghanistan,so this lion signifies the cultural exchange between China and other countries.Behind this lion,we can see three pictures.The one in the middle depicts the famous Hukou waterfall of the Yellow River.On the side of the pi
14、cture is the loess plateau,the habitat of Shanxi residents and the cradle of their ancient civilization.SpeechSpeechShaanxi History MuseumShaanxi History MuseumOK,now lets go to the first gallery.Here we entered the prehistoric age which dates back from 1.15 million years ago to the 21st century BC.
15、Look at these fossil skulls,please.This one was discovered in Lantian County in 1964,so men in this period were called“Lantian Ape-man”.They had relatively small brain which is about half the volume of peoples now.It is the earliest homo-erectus found in Northern Asia.It is of great significance to
16、the study of the evolution of humans.Scholars believe that it is a 30-year-old female who lived 1.15 million years ago.And this is Yangshao culture from about 7,000 BC to 5,000 BC.The Banpo Ruins are a part of this culture here.In this period,women had dominant roles and the stone tools were more ex
17、quisite than before.SpeechSpeechShaanxi History MuseumShaanxi History MuseumNow lets have a look at the Zhou Dynasty which was a slave society.The Zhou Dynasty is the first one that set its capital in Shaanxi.So we say the history of Shaanxi begins right here.In the Western Zhou Dynasty,the bronze c
18、asting technology reached its apex,so it is usually called“Bronze age”.Here we can see a group of bronze wares.This one is a wine vessel.Its bottom is in shape of an ox,the mouth in shape of the tongue,the handle an oxs tail and the lid a small tiger.This wine vessel vividly shows the high level of
19、bronze casting technology in the Western Zhou Dynasty.SpeechSpeechShaanxi History MuseumShaanxi History MuseumNext,well visit the Qin Dynasty.Agriculture was integral to the economy of the Qin state.The unearthed iron tools indicate that iron wares were widely used instead of bronze wares.This is a
20、tiger tally.Its body can be divided into two halves.The left was kept by the general while the right was kept by the Emperor.When both pieces were matched,the general was allowed to move the army.Here is a bronze sword,which is still sharp and glitters without any rust after being buried for 2,000 y
21、ears.SpeechSpeechShaanxi History MuseumShaanxi History MuseumOK,now lets have a look at the second gallery,the gallery of the Han Dynasty.The Han Dynasty is a very important period in Chinas history.The Western Han Dynasty influenced a lot on Chinese culture.Among the 56 nationalities now in China,a
22、bout 95%of the population is the traditional Han nationality.This is a jade seal,a national treasure.It was found nearby Changling Mausoleum,a shared tomb of Emperor Liu Bang and Empress Lv.Based on the four characters,it is thought that Empress Lv was the owner of this jade seal.SpeechSpeechShaanxi
23、 History MuseumShaanxi History MuseumThen lets see the Wei,the Jin,the South and North Dynasties.This was the most troubled period in ancient times,full of wars of national unification and division.This multi-faceted seal is made of jet and there are 26 faces all together.Its owner was Da Guxin,whos
24、e three daughters were married to three emperors respectively.For this reason,people call him the first father in law in ancient China.Now,we are at the third gallery of the Sui and Tang Dynasties.The Sui and Tang Dynasties were the most prosperous period in ancient China.Short as it was,the Sui Dyn
25、asty laid a strong base for the development of the Tang Dynasty.This map shows what the capital Changan city was like during the Tang Dynasty.Covering an area of 83.1 square kilometers,the city was made up of three parts:the palace city,the royal city and the outer city.The population reached more t
26、han 1 million in this period.SpeechSpeechShaanxi History MuseumShaanxi History MuseumHere are the beautiful handicrafts of this dynasty.This is Tang Tri-colored Glazed Pottery,which is made up of three colors:yellow,brown and green.Different from each other,they are precious and beautiful.Gold and s
27、ilver wares made up a major part of the Tang Culture relics.A masterpiece is the Lotus-flower Design Golden-bowl,which was discovered in 1970 in Hejia Village.There are many designs cut on the back of the lotus,such as dragon,phoenix,deer and so on.The base of the bowl was welded on.It shows the hig
28、h level of handicraft technology at that time.Here is a group of mural paintings showing the social and royal life in the Tang Dynasty.For example,the painting“polo game”shows that this game was very popular in that period;the painting“Courtiers and Foreign Envoys”shows the friendly exchanges and diplomatic visits between China and other countries.OK,we have got a full view of Shaanxi History museum and a good understanding of the history of Shaanxi as well.Now you can walk around and enjoy much more of it.Have a good time!SpeechSpeechShaanxi History MuseumShaanxi History Museum
