2015大学英语四级阅读理解模拟题
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.
答案与解析:
1. C。发明的意义是?判断题。正如考古学家们说的：the campsite,… was the oldest documented evidence for human presence at this high latitude.这个发现证明人类很早就在极北地出现了，这是它的重大意义所在，C项符合。A、B两项未有定论，D项则可由别的考古发现证明，并不是这一次发现的意义所在。
2. B。为什么小组认为四只脚的猛犸象牙的发现是最重要的发现?判断题。文中对这只four-foot mammoth tusk 的描述是…with grooves made by chopping with a sharp stone edge, “unequivocally the work of humans.”即在这只猛犸象牙上有石器砍削的'痕迹，可以证明是当时人类用工具对象牙进行了加工，也就证明当时人类会使用工具了。所以这只象牙的重要性是它的证据作用，即B项。A、D项文不对题，C项未指出真正的原因。
3.B。穴居人是何时灭绝的?细节题。文中倒数第二段指出，Neanderthals, …who became extinct after 30,000 years ago,说明尼安德特人是在距今3万年前以后渐渐消亡的，B项数字正确。
4. D。谁是工具的制造者?综合判断题。纵观全文，考古学家对居住在此地的人种仍在争论，不能确定到底是尼安德特人还是现代人曾在此居住，所以D项正确。
5. B。3万年前，俄罗斯欧洲地带的北极区的天气怎样?细节题。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.说明30，000年前的俄罗斯欧洲部分是“奇冷无比，相对较干旱，不会冰冻”，因此B项符合。
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