GRE阅读题目解析:美洲早期定居人类

　　Some archaeologists speculate that the Americas might have been initially colonized between 40,000 and 25,000 years ago. However, to support this theory it is necessary to explain the absence of generally accepted habitation sites for that time interval in what is now the United States. Australia, which has a smaller land area than the United States, has many such sites, supporting the generally accepted claim that the continent was colonized by humans at least 40,000 years ago. Australia is less densely populated (resulting in lower chances of discovering sites) and with its overall greater aridity would have presented conditions less favorable for hunter gatherer occupation. Proportionally, at least as much land area has been lost from the coastal regions of Australia because of postglacial sea-level rise as in the United States, so any coastal archaeological record in Australia should have been depleted about as much as a coastal record in the United States. Since there are so many resource-rich rivers leading inland from the United States coastlines, it seems implausible that a growing population of humans would have confined itself to coasts for thousands of years. If inhabitants were present 25,000 years ago, the chances of their appearing in the archaeological record would seem to be greater than for Australia.

　　1. The passage is primarily concerned with doing which of the following?

　　A. Presenting an objection to a claim

　　B. Accounting for an apparent anomaly

　　C. Outlining an alternative interpretation

　　D. Correcting a particular misconception

　　E. Questioning the validity of a comparison

　　2. The author of the passage implies which of the following about 25,000 years ago?

　　A. The coastline of the region that is now the United States is longer than it was 40,000 years ago.

　　B. Rivers in what is now the United States were numerous than they are now.

　　C. Australia was less densely populated at that time than was the region that is now the United States.

　　D. Australia’s climate was significantly drier than it is now.

　　E. Global sea level was lower than it is now.

　　3. The author of the passage implies that, in what is now the United States, archaeological evidence of inhabitation in the period from 40,000 to 25,000 years ago is lacking because that region is

　　A. had its oldest habitation sites inundated following a postglacial rise in sea level

　　B. has many resource-rich rivers that facilitated the dispersal of early inhabitants from an initial concentration in coastal areas

　　C. was sparsely populated until about 25,000 years ago

　　D. was colonized less than 25,000 years ago

　　E. was inhabited only by hunter-gatherers until 25,000 years ago

　　1

　　Some archaeologists speculate that the Americas might have been initially colonized between 40,000 and 25,000 years ago.

　　一些考古学家推测，美洲可能早在 40000 至 25000 年以前，就出现了定居的人类。

　　2

　　However, to support this theory it is necessary to explain the absence of generally accepted habitation sites for that time interval in what is now the United States.

　　然而，要支持这种理论，就必须解释现在美国所覆盖的地区内，在 40000 - 25000 年间为什么没有出现被学界广泛承认的定居点。

　　3

　　Australia, which has a smaller land area than the United States, has many such sites, supporting the generally accepted claim that the continent was colonized by humans at least 40,000 years ago.

　　面积比美国小的澳大利亚，有很多这样的定居点，来支撑被广泛接受的主张，即至少 40000 年前，澳洲大陆就有人类定居。

　　4

　　Australia is less densely populated (resulting in lower chances of discovering sites) and with its overall greater aridity would have presented conditions less favorable for hunter gatherer occupation.

　　澳洲人口密度小(导致发现定居点的概率小)，加之总体更为干燥，结果是环境较为不适应捕猎者和采集者定居。

　　5

　　Proportionally, at least as much land area has been lost from the coastal regions of Australia because of postglacial sea-level rise as in the United States, so any coastal archaeological record in Australia should have been depleted about as much as a coastal record in the United States.

　　成比例地，因为冰期过后海平面上升，美国损失了多少沿海土地，澳大利亚就至少损失了多少，所以澳大利亚任何沿海考古记录都该像美国的沿海考古记录一样所剩无几。

　　6

　　Since there are so many resource-rich rivers leading inland from the United States coastlines, it seems implausible that a growing population of humans would have confined itself to coasts for thousands of years.

　　因为美国海岸有众多资源丰富的河流流向内陆，不断增加的人口不大可能在数千年中，始终局限在沿海地区。

　　7

　　If inhabitants were present 25,000 years ago, the chances of their appearing in the archaeological record would seem to be greater than for Australia.

　　如果 25000 年前就出现了定居者，他们出现在考古学记录中的机会，将比澳大利亚的情形更好。

　　1. The passage is primarily concerned with doing which of the following?

　　A. Presenting an objection to a claim

　　B. Accounting for an apparent anomaly

　　C. Outlining an alternative interpretation

　　D. Correcting a particular misconception

　　E. Questioning the validity of a comparison

　　选 A

　　反对某种观点，即反对句 1：

　　Some archaeologists speculate that the Americas might have been initially colonized between 40,000 and 25,000 years ago.

　　可能早在 40000 至 25000 年以前，美洲就出现了定居的人类。

　　2. The author of the passage implies which of the following about 25,000 years ago?

　　A. The coastline of the region that is now the United States is longer than it was 40,000 years ago.

　　B. Rivers in what is now the United States were numerous than they are now.

　　C. Australia was less densely populated at that time than was the region that is now the United States.

　　D. Australia’s climate was significantly drier than it is now.

　　E. Global sea level was lower than it is now.

　　选 E

　　句 5 明确指出：… because of postglacial sea-level rise …

　　A

　　根据常识可以否定，面积变小，形状大致不变的情况下，周长应该变短而不是变长。

　　B

　　未知信息。文段没有讨论美国境内河流的变化。

　　C

　　用澳大利亚 25000 年前的人口密度比美国现在的人口密度，毫无意义，虽然前者确实肯定小于后者，但这不是作者想在文中 imply 的内容。

　　D

　　未知信息。而且对作者的论证也没任何帮助。

　　3. The author of the passage implies that, in what is now the United States, archaeological evidence of inhabitation in the period from 40,000 to 25,000 years ago is lacking because that region is

　　A. had its oldest habitation sites inundated following a postglacial rise in sea level

　　B. has many resource-rich rivers that facilitated the dispersal of early inhabitants from an initial concentration in coastal areas

　　C. was sparsely populated until about 25,000 years ago

　　D. was colonized less than 25,000 years ago

　　E. was inhabited only by hunter-gatherers until 25,000 years ago

　　选 D

　　赠品，小礼物。

　　作者觉得 40000 - 25000 年前没有，是因为作者认为少于 25000 年。无比正确的一句废话，典型的 ETS 风格。

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