【题目】 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 (灵长目动物) 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
【答案】
【1】A
【2】D
【3】C
【4】C
【解析】
这是一篇说明文。最近在巴伐利亚一个粘土遗址发现的一只古猿的遗骸吸引了人们的目光。根据科学家的说法，他们可能会更新人们对人类祖先何时开始直立的看法。这些在他们拼凑起来的遗骸中，有四个个体的灵长类化石，他们生活在1162万年前，早于之前发现的猿类最直立行走记录。文章还说明了一些人对这一发现的看法。
【1】
细节理解题。根据第二段的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，一个国际研究小组称，在如今德国南部的潮湿森林中生活的雄性类人猿的骨骼化石与现代人类骨骼惊人地相似。由此可知，科学家们在德国发现了这些骨头。A. Germany.(德国)符合以上说法，故选A项。
【2】
推理判断题。根据第四段的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，此前在克里特岛和肯尼亚发现的猿类直立行走的化石记录只能追溯到600万年前。这些类人猿被称为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，在他们拼凑起来的遗骸中，有四个个体的灵长类化石，他们生活在1162万年前。由此可推知，Danuvius的存在远远早于Toumai。D. It existed much earlier than Toumai.(它们的存在远远早于Toumai)符合以上说法，故选D项。
【3】
推理判断题。根据最后一段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，伦敦自然历史博物馆的古生物学家Fred Spoor称这些化石的发现“令人兴奋”，但他表示，其他人可能会否认或怀疑这些发现，尤其是因为它们可能会挑战许多现有的进化论观点。由此可推知，Spoor认为这一发现可能会引起很多争论。C. It may cause lots of debate.(它可能会引起很多争论)符合以上说法，故选C项。
【4】
主旨大意题。阅读全文，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．(近在巴伐利亚的一个粘土遗址发现的一只古猿（猿）的遗骸吸引了人们的目光，据科学家说，它们可能会重新引起人们对人类祖先何时开始直立的看法。)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》杂志发表的一篇文章中，他们得出结论，以前未知的物种——Danuvius guggenmosi可以两条腿走路，但也可以像猿猴一样爬)可知本文主要讲述了一个新的发现：研究人员发现了最古老的直立猿猴．C. The Oldest Example of Upright Ape Found(最古老的直立猿类被发现了)可作为本文标题，故选C项。
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