Back in 2011,archaeologists first discovered a lost highway littered with Viking artifacts(古器物)—sleds, horse bones, walking sticks, a 1,700—year—old sweater and heap after heap of horse dung.

But now archaeologists have discovered so much more. They've published new research describing hundreds of items that have been found along Lendbreen pass: shoes, parts of sleds, and bones from packhorses. It would have remained hidden forever had the ice not rapidly begun melting, revealing all that roadside Viking litter.

The highway winds its way over the Lendbreen ice patch(流冰区) in Norway's Jotunheim Mountains, about 200 miles north of Oslo. "The pass was at its busiest during the Viking Age around 1,000 A.D., a time of high mobility and growing trade across Scandinavia and Europe," study co—author James Barrett said.

According to researchers, the highway was possibly built around the year 300. At the time, heavy snow covered rocks underfoot. Trading posts were built along the nearby Otta River. The road may have thrived for many more centuries.

“The decline of the Lendbreen pass was probably caused by a combination of economic changes, climate change and late medieval pandemics(中世纪流行病), including the Black Death,” study co—author Lars Pilo explained. “When the local area recovered, things had changed, and the Lendbreen pass was lost to memory.”

“The objects are amazingly well preserved,” study co—author Espen Finstad added. “It is like they were lost a short time ago, not centuries or millennia ago.”

For archaeologists, the Lendbreen ice patch seems like a gift from the ancient past. But it's alarming that it's unwrapping itself so rapidly. "Global warming is leading to the melting of mountain ice worldwide," said Pilo. “Trying to save the remains of a melting world is a very exciting job—the finds are just an archaeologist's dream—but at the same time, it is also a job you cannot do without deep worry.”

【小题1】How many archaeologists joined efforts to publish the new research?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Three.

D．Four.

【小题2】What does the underlined word “thrive” in paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Grow weakly.	B．Develop badly.
C．Grow happily.	D．Develop successfully.

【小题3】From the last paragraph, what feeling do the archaeologists have about saving the remains of melting world?

A．Excited and concerned.	B．Satisfied and disappointed.
C．Delighted and depressed.	D．Astonished and discouraged.

【小题4】Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．An ancient highway lost to memory.	B．A history of the lost highway.
C．The mystery of the lost highway.	D．How to find the ancient highway.