E
Newarchaeologicaldiscoverssuggestthattr adebetweenEuropeandAsiaalongtheSilkRoadprobablybeganinsomeform.manycountr iesearlierthanoncethought.Thefindings,coupledwithawideningrangeofscientificandhistoricalresearchcouldaddafascinatingnewpagetotheepicoftheSilkRoad.
ThefarestandmostsurprisingdiscoveryispiecesofsilkfoundinthehairofandEgyptianmummyfromabout1000BC,longbeforeregulartr afficontheSilkRoadandatleastonethousandyearsbeforesilkwaspreviouslythoughttobeusedinEgypt.Otherresearchmayextendhumanactivityalongthisroutebackevenfurther,perhapsamillionyearstothemigrationofhumanancestorsintoeasternAsia.
TheofficialoriginofEast-Westcommercealongtheroadisusuallyplacedinthelate2ndcenturyBCwhichwastheagentoftheChineseEmperorWu-direturnedfromadangeroussecretmission（使命）acrossthedesertintotheremotehighcountr yofCentr alAsia.Theagent,ZhangQian,tr avelledasfarasAfghanistanbackknowledgeofevenmoredistantlandssuchasPersia,SyriaandaplaceknownasLijion,.Histerentshavecalledthisoneofthemostimportantjourneysinancienttimes.Hisjourneyopenedthewayforwhathavebeenthoughttobethefirstindirectcontactsbetweentheancientworld’stwosuperpowers,ChinaandRome.Chinesesilk,firsttr adedtocentr alAsiantr ibesforwarhorsesandtotheParthiansofoldPetlaluexchangeforacrobatsandostr icheggs,wassoonfindingitswaythroughanetworkofmerchantstotheluxurymarketsinRome.
ButthenewdiscoveriesshowthatChinesesilkwasapparentlypresentintheWestlongbeforetheHanemperorstartedorganizedtr adeovertheSilkRoad.Theresearchcouldchangethinkingabouttheearlyhistoryofworldtr adeandprovideinsightsintothemysteryofjusthowandwhenEuropeandtheMediterraneanlandsfirstbecameawareofthegloriouscultureattheotherendofEurasia.
72.Theword“coupled”inthefirstparagraphcouldbestbereplacedby.
A.produced
B.contr ibuted
C.doubled
D.combined
正确答案：D
