2015大學(xué)英語四級閱讀理解模擬題

　　Stone tools, animal bones and an incised mammoth tusk found in Russia’s frigid far north have provided what archaeologists say is the first evidence that modern humans or Neanderthals lived in the Arctic more than 30,000 years ago, at least 15,000 years earlier than previously thought.

　　A team of Russian and Norwegian archaeologists, describing the discovery in today’s issue of the journal Nature, said the campsite, at Mamontovaya Kurya, on theUra River at the Arctic Circle, was the “oldest documented evidence for human presence at this high latitude. ”Digging in the bed of an old river channel close to the Ural Mountains, the team uncovered 123 mammal bones, including horse, reindeer and wolf. “The most important find,” they said, was a four-foot mammoth tusk with grooves made by chopping with a sharp stone edge, “unequivocally the work of humans.” The tusk was carbon-dated at about 36,600 years old. Plant remains found among the artifacts were dated at 30,000 to 31,000 years.Other archaeologists said the analysis appeared to be sound. But they cautioned that it was difficult, when dealing with riverbed deposits, to be sure that artifacts had not become jumbled out of their true place, and thus time, in the geologic layers. They questioned whether the discoverers could reliably conclude that the stone tools were in fact contemporary with the bones. But in a commentary accompanying the article, Dr. John A. J. Gowlett of the University of Liverpool in England wrote, “Although there are questions to be answered, the artifacts illustrate both the capacity of early humans to do the unexpected, and the value of archaeologists’ researching in unlikely areas.”?

　　The discoverers said they could not determine from the few stone artifacts whether the site was occupied by Neanderthals, hominids who by then had a long history as hunters in Europe and western Asia, or some of the first anatomically modern humans to reach Europe.?

　　In any case, other archaeologists said, the findings could be significant.If these toolmakers were Neanderthals, the findings suggested that these human relatives, who became extinct after 30,000 years ago, were more capable and adaptable than they are generally given credit for. Living in the Arctic climate presumably required higher levels of technology and social organization.?

　　If they were modern humans, then the surprise is that they had penetrated so farnorth in such a short time. There has been no firm evidence for modern humans in Europe before about 35,000 years ago. It had generally been thought that the northernmost part of Eurasia was not occupied by humans until the final stage of the last ice age, some 13,000 to 14,000 years ago, when the world’s climate began to moderate. Dr. Gowlett said the new findings indicated that the Arctic region of European Russia was extremely cold but relatively dry and ice-free more than 30,000 years ago.

　　1.What is the significance of the discovery?

　　A) It shows that modern humans lived in the Arctic more than 3,000 years ago.

　　B) It shows that Neanderthals lived in the Arctic more than 3,000 years ago.

　　C) It shows the oldest documented evidence for human presence at such high la

　　titude.

　　D) It shows human could use tools 30,000 years ago.

　　2.Why the team believed that the four-foot mammoth tusk was the most imp

　　ortant find?

　　A) Because it was the longest tusk ever found.

　　B) Because there were signs left by human’s tools on it.

　　C) Because there were grooves on it.

　　D) Because there are not any mammoth tusk all over the world.

　　3.When did the Neanderthals extinct?

　　A) More than 30,000 years ago.B) After

　　3,000 years ago.

　　C) Before about 35,000 years ago.D) Some 13,000 to 14,000 years ago

　　.

　　4.Who were those toolmakers?

　　A) Neanderthals. B) Modern humans.C) Archaeologists. D) Not determined.

　　5.What’s the weather like in the Arctic region of European Russia more

　　than 30,000 years ago?

　　A) Moderate temperature, relatively dry and ice-free.

　　B) Extremely cold, relatively dry and ice-free.

　　C) Extremely cold, plenty of raining and ice-free.

　　D) Extremely cold, relatively dry and ice frosted.

　　答案與解析:

　　1. C。發(fā)明的意義是?判斷題。正如考古學(xué)家們說的：the campsite,… was the oldest documented evidence for human presence at this high latitude.這個發(fā)現(xiàn)證明人類很早就在極北地出現(xiàn)了，這是它的重大意義所在，C項符合。A、B兩項未有定論，D項則可由別的考古發(fā)現(xiàn)證明，并不是這一次發(fā)現(xiàn)的意義所在。

　　2. B。為什么小組認(rèn)為四只腳的猛犸象牙的發(fā)現(xiàn)是最重要的發(fā)現(xiàn)?判斷題。文中對這只four-foot mammoth tusk 的描述是…with grooves made by chopping with a sharp stone edge, “unequivocally the work of humans.”即在這只猛犸象牙上有石器砍削的'痕跡，可以證明是當(dāng)時人類用工具對象牙進行了加工，也就證明當(dāng)時人類會使用工具了。所以這只象牙的重要性是它的證據(jù)作用，即B項。A、D項文不對題，C項未指出真正的原因。

　　3.B。穴居人是何時滅絕的?細(xì)節(jié)題。文中倒數(shù)第二段指出，Neanderthals, …who became extinct after 30,000 years ago,說明尼安德特人是在距今3萬年前以后漸漸消亡的，B項數(shù)字正確。

　　4. D。誰是工具的制造者?綜合判斷題�？v觀全文，考古學(xué)家對居住在此地的人種仍在爭論，不能確定到底是尼安德特人還是現(xiàn)代人曾在此居住，所以D項正確。

　　5. B。3萬年前，俄羅斯歐洲地帶的北極區(qū)的天氣怎樣?細(xì)節(jié)題。文中最后有Dr. Gowlett said the new findings indicated that the Arcticregion of European Russia was extremely cold but relatively dry and ice-free more than 30,000 years ago.說明30，000年前的俄羅斯歐洲部分是“奇冷無比，相對較干旱，不會冰凍”，因此B項符合。

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