Question

【題目】 The remains of an ancient ape (猿) found in Bavaria suggest that humans' ancestors began standing upright millions of years earlier than previously thought.

An international team of researchers said the fossilized skeleton (化石骨骼) of a male ape that lived in the warm and damp forests of what is now southern Germany was quite similar to modem human bones. In a paper published by the journal Nature, they concluded that the previously unknown species — named Danuvius guggenmosi — could walk on two legs but also climb like an ape.

'The findings raise fundamental questions about our previous understanding of the evolution of the great apes and humans, ' said Madelaine Boehme, who led the research.

The question of when apes could walk on two legs has fascinated scientists since Charles Darwin first argued that they were the ancestors of humans. Previous fossil records of apes with an upright move — found in Crete and Kenya — dated only as far back as 6 million years. These apes are called Toumai.

Boehme, along with researchers from Bulgaria, Canada and the United States, examined more than 15,000 bones recovered from the archaeological remains found. Among the remains they were able to piece together were primate (靈長目動物) fossils belonging to 4 individuals that lived 11.62 million years ago. The most complete, an adult male, likely stood about 1 meter tall, weighed 31 kilograms and looked similar to modern-day bonobos, a species of chimp.

Like humans, Danuvius had an S-shaped backbone to hold its body upright while standing. Unlike humans, though, it had a powerful big toe that would have allowed it to grab branches with its foot easily.

Fred Spoor, a biologist at the Natural History Museum in London, called the fossil finds 'fantastic', but said they would likely be denied or suspected by others, especially because they could challenge many existing ideas about evolution.

【1】Where did the scientists find the fossilized ape skeleton?

A.Germany.B.Canada.

C.Bulgaria.D.Kenya.

【2】What can we infer about Danuvius guggenmosi?

A.It was a species of chimp.

B.It lived in Crete and Kenya.

C.It could walk with a backbone.

D.It existed much earlier than Toumai.

【3】How does Spoor feel about the finding?

A.It is the most fantastic one.

B.It is a support to evolution.

C.It may cause lots of debate.

D.It denies the previous ideas.

【4】What might be the best title for this text?

A.Legend of Humans' Ancestors

B.The Secrets Uncovered from Fossils

C.The Oldest Example of Upright Ape Found

D.Recent Findings against the Theory of Evolution

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】D

【3】C

【4】C

【解析】

這是一篇說明文。最近在巴伐利亞一個(gè)粘土遺址發(fā)現(xiàn)的一只古猿的遺骸吸引了人們的目光。根據(jù)科學(xué)家的說法，他們可能會更新人們對人類祖先何時(shí)開始直立的看法。這些在他們拼湊起來的遺骸中，有四個(gè)個(gè)體的靈長類化石，他們生活在1162萬年前，早于之前發(fā)現(xiàn)的猿類最直立行走記錄。文章還說明了一些人對這一發(fā)現(xiàn)的看法。

【1】

細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第二段的An international team of researchers said the fossilized skeleton of a male ape that lived in the humid forests of what is now southern Germany bore a striking resemblance to modem human bones.可知，一個(gè)國際研究小組稱，在如今德國南部的潮濕森林中生活的雄性類人猿的骨骼化石與現(xiàn)代人類骨骼驚人地相似。由此可知，科學(xué)家們在德國發(fā)現(xiàn)了這些骨頭。A. Germany.(德國)符合以上說法，故選A項(xiàng)。

【2】

推理判斷題。根據(jù)第四段的Previous fossil records of apes with an upright move-found in Crete and Keny-dated only as far back as 6 million years ago. These apes are called Toumai.可知，此前在克里特島和肯尼亞發(fā)現(xiàn)的猿類直立行走的化石記錄只能追溯到600萬年前。這些類人猿被稱為Toumai。以及第五段的Among the remains they were able to piece together were primate fossils belonging to four individuals that lived 11.62 million years ago.可知，在他們拼湊起來的遺骸中，有四個(gè)個(gè)體的靈長類化石，他們生活在1162萬年前。由此可推知，Danuvius的存在遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)早于Toumai。D. It existed much earlier than Toumai.(它們的存在遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)早于Toumai)符合以上說法，故選D項(xiàng)。

【3】

推理判斷題。根據(jù)最后一段Fred Spoor, a paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in London, called the fossil finds “fantastic” but said they would likely be denied or suspected by others, not least because they could challenge many existing ideas about evolution.可知，倫敦自然歷史博物館的古生物學(xué)家Fred Spoor稱這些化石的發(fā)現(xiàn)“令人興奮”，但他表示，其他人可能會否認(rèn)或懷疑這些發(fā)現(xiàn)，尤其是因?yàn)樗鼈兛赡軙�挑�?zhàn)許多現(xiàn)有的進(jìn)化論觀點(diǎn)。由此可推知，Spoor認(rèn)為這一發(fā)現(xiàn)可能會引起很多爭論。C. It may cause lots of debate.(它可能會引起很多爭論)符合以上說法，故選C項(xiàng)。

【4】

主旨大意題。閱讀全文，一段The remains of an ancient ape found in a Bavarian clay site recently caught people's eyes. cording to scientists, they may renew people's opinion on when humans' ancestors began standing upright．(近在巴伐利亞的一個(gè)粘土遺址發(fā)現(xiàn)的一只古猿（猿）的遺骸吸引了人們的目光，據(jù)科學(xué)家說，它們可能會重新引起人們對人類祖先何時(shí)開始直立的看法。)以及第二段In a paper published by the journal Nature, they concluded that the previously unknown species — named Danuvius guggenmosi — could walk on two legs but also climb like an ape.(在《自然》雜志發(fā)表的一篇文章中，他們得出結(jié)論，以前未知的物種——Danuvius guggenmosi可以兩條腿走路，但也可以像猿猴一樣爬)可知本文主要講述了一個(gè)新的發(fā)現(xiàn)：研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)了最古老的直立猿猴．C. The Oldest Example of Upright Ape Found(最古老的直立猿類被發(fā)現(xiàn)了)可作為本文標(biāo)題，故選C項(xiàng)。