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
高二英语阅读选择困难题
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
高二英语阅读选择困难题查看答案及解析
Howard Carter Finds King Tut's Tomb
Howard Carter was only 17 years old when he first went to Egypt in 1891. His father was quite successful as a portrait painter in England. Howard had a great deal of artistic talent, but he did not want to become a portrait painter like his father. He wanted adventure. With his father's help, he got a job with an archaeologist who was on his way to Egypt. This was an exciting opportunity for young Howard Carter.
In Egypt, Howard Carter worked as an artist for some of the best Egyptologists（埃及古 物学者）of his time. An Egyptologist is an archaeologist whose focus is learning about ancient Egypt. It was not long before Howard Carter was quite well known among Egyptologists, not only as an artist but also for his knowledge about ancient Egypt and archaeology.
Howard Carter wanted to hunt for King Tut's tomb, but that took men and money. Howard Carter finally got lucky. Lord Carnarvon was a very rich man. Lord Carnarvon allowed Howard Carter to hire 50 men to help him search for Tut's tomb.
In November 1922, by the light of a candle, Howard Carter cut a hole in a secret door. Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter carefully looked through the hole. What they saw through the peephole（窥视孔）） was amazing! They could not believe their eyes! The room was filled with treasures—couches shaped like animals, jeweled chests, vases, statues, and even chariots（二轮战车），all glittering with gold. It took months to move the treasures they found in the first room alone before they could open the doors in that room that led to other rooms! In other rooms, they found the chair King Tut had used as a small child.
The tomb was an incredible discovery, not only for its monetary value but also for its history. Historians learned so much about the people who lived over 3,000 years ago, about their culture and beliefs and daily life, from the objects found in King Tut's tomb. Howard Carter became world famous.
1.What was Howard Carter interested in when he was young?
A.Becoming a portrait painter. B.Taking adventures.
C.Finding valuable jewelry. D.Becoming a famous man.
2.What made Howard Carter famous in Egypt?
A.His father being a successful portrait painter.
B.His gift for art and his rich knowledge about archaeology.
C.Lord Carnarvon's speaking highly of his adventure.
D.A large amount of gold found by him in Tut's tomb.
3.How old was Howard Carter when he found the King Tut's tomb?
A.17. B.31. C.48. D.50.
4.What's the main idea of the last paragraph?
A.The meaning of finding King Tut's tomb.
B.The process of discovering King Tut's tomb.
C.The history about King Tut.
D.The treasures dug out from King Tut's tomb.
高二英语阅读选择简单题查看答案及解析
Most of the time, the ground feels solid beneath our feet. That's comforting. But it's also misleading because there's actually a lot going on underground. Masses of land (called plates) slip, slide, and bump against each other, slowly changing the shape of continents and oceans over millions and billions of years.
Scientists know that Earth formed about 4. 5 billion years ago. They also know that our planet was hot at first. As it cooled, its outermost layer, called the crust (地壳), eventually formed moving plates. Exactly when this shift happened, however, is an open question.
Now, an international group of researchers has an answer. They've found new evidence suggesting that Earth's crust started shifting at least 3. 8 billion years ago. The new estimate is 1. 3 billion years earlier than previous ones.
Not long before 3. 8 billion years ago, lots of small planets were hitting Earth, keeping its crust in a hot, melting state. After the hard crust formed, much of it sank at various times into the planet's hot insides. There, it melted before returning to the surface.
In some places, however, the crust never sank. One of the oldest such places is in Greenland, in an area called the Isua supracrustal (上地壳) belt. The rocky crust there is between 3. 7 and 3. 8 billion years old. The belt was once part of the seafloor, but now it is exposed to air.
The researchers recently took a close look at the Isua supracrustal belt. They noticed long, parallel cracks (裂缝) in the rock that have been filled in with a type of volcanic rock.
To explain this structure, the scientists propose that tension in the crust caused the seafloor to crack open long ago. Hot, liquid rock oozed from deep inside Earth to fill the cracks. Finally, the whole area cooled, forming what we see today.
That explanation, plus chemical clues inside the rock, suggests that the Isua supracrustal belt was once part of a plate under the ocean, beginning around 3. 8 billion years ago.
“It's a fantastic case of solving a jigsaw puzzle (拼图),” says one of the researchers. He notes that the puzzle was “ a very difficult one because these rocks are all very old and have been badly ruined".
1.What can we infer from the text?
A.The shapes of continents and oceans changed slowly.
B.The Earth's crust started shifting 1. 3 billion years ago.
C.The crust began to shift when the Earth was hot.
D.The hit from small planets made the Earth cool.
2.What do scientists know about the past of the Isua supracrustal belt?
A.It was once covered by the hot, liquid rock.
B.It remained under the deep sea.
C.It stayed hot and sinking.
D.It kept moving slowly.
3.The underlined phrase “oozed from” in Paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to
A.filled up gradually B.washed away quickly
C.flew out of slowly D.broke through suddenly
4.The text is mainly about .
A.why the Earth cooled
B.how the Isua supracrustal belt formed
C.whether the ground beneath our feet is still
D.when Earth's crust began shifting
高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析
US researchers have found traces of an ancient lake on Mars recently, increasing hopes of discovering evidence that billions of years ago the Red planet hosted life.
The lake, which dates back some 3.4 billion years, appears to have covered as much as 80 square miles and was up to 1,500 feet deep, said the team from the University of Colorado.
"This is the first clear evidence of shorelines on the surface of Mars," said Boulder's research associate, Gaetano Di Achille, in a study published in the latest edition of Geophysical Research Letters.
"The identification of the shorelines and accompanying geological evidence allows us to calculate the size and volume of the lake, which appears to have formed about 3.4 billion years ago."
Analysis of the images has shown the water carved out the canyon (溪谷) in which it was found, which then opened out into a valley depositing (使淤积) sediment (沉积) which formed a delta (三角洲).
"Finding shorelines is a great discovery to us," said assistant professor Brian Hynek, adding it showed the lake existed at a time when Mars was thought to have been cold and dry.
Scientists believe the oldest surfaces on Mars formed during the wet and warm era known as the Noachan epoch, about 4.1 billion to 3.7 billion years ago.
The newly discovered lake is believed to date from the Hesperian era and postdates the end of the warm and wet period on Mars by 300 million years, according to the study.
Scientists believe deltas next to the lake may well hold secrets about past life on Mars as such places on Earth have become the natural deposits of organic carbon and other markers of life.
1.The size of the lake found on Mars is ______.
A. 80 square miles
B. 1,500 square miles
C. 3.4 billion square miles
D. 300 million square miles
2.When the lake existed, the weather on Mars was ____.
A. hot and wet B. wet and warm
C. cold and dry D. cold and wet
3.Why do scientists think deltas near the lake may hold secrets about past life on Mars?
A. Because similar places on Earth have become natural deposits of markers of life.
B. Because someone has put secrets about past life on Mars there.
C. Because past life has been found in other deltas on Mars.
D. Because some people are said to have already seen life marks there.
4.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. The Noachan epoch was a wet and warm era.
B. The lake might have existed 3.4 billion years.
C. The discovery can’t fully prove that the Mars once hosted life.
D. The lake traces prove that there exists life on Mars now.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
US researchers have found traces of an ancient lake on Mars recently, increasing hopes of discovering evidence that billions of years ago the Red planet hosted life.
The lake, which dates back some 3.4 billion years, appears to have covered as much as 80 square miles and was up to 1,500 feet deep, said the team from the University of Colorado.
“This is the first clear evidence of shorelines on the surface of Mars,”said Boulder’ s research associate, Gaetano Di Achille, in a study published in the latest edition of Geophysical Research Letters.
“The identification of the shorelines and accompanying geological evidence allows us to calculate the size and volume of the lake, which appears to have formed about 3.4 billion years ago.”
Analysis of the images has shown the water carved out the canyon (溪谷) in which it was found, which then opened out into a valley depositing (使淤积) sediment (沉积) which formed a delta (三角洲).
“Finding shorelines is a great discovery to us,” said assistant professor Brian Hynek, adding it showed the lake existed at a time when Mars was thought to have been cold and dry.
Scientists believe the oldest surfaces on Mars formed during the wet and warm era known as the Noachan epoch, about 4.1 billion to 3.7 billion years ago.
The newly discovered lake is believed to date from the Hesperian era and postdates the end of the warm and wet period on Mars by 300 million years, according to the study.
Scientists believe deltas next to the lake may well hold secrets about past life on Mars as such places on Earth have become the natural deposits of organic carbon and other markers of life.
1.The size of the lake found on Mars is ______.
A. 80 square miles B. 1,500 square miles
C. 3.4 billion square miles D. 300 million square miles
2.When the lake existed, the weather on Mars was ____.
A. hot and wet B. wet and warm C. cold and dry D. cold and wet
3.Why do scientists think deltas near the lake may hold secrets about past life on Mars?
A. Because similar places on Earth have become natural deposits of markers of life.
B. Because someone has put secrets about past life on Mars there.
C. Because past life has been found in other deltas on Mars.
D. Because some people are said to have already seen life marks there.
4.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. The Noachan epoch was a wet and warm era.
B. The lake might have existed 3.4 billion years.
C. The discovery can’ t fully prove that the Mars once hosted life.
D. The lake traces prove that there exists life on Mars now.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Wind power is an ancient source of energy ____we may return in the near future.
A．on which B．by which
C．to which D．from which
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Throughout history, humanity has existed side-by-side with viruses and bacteria. From the bubonic plague to smallpox, humanity has evolved to resist these bacteria and viruses. However, there are now new ways for them to infect us.
Climate change is melting permafrost(冻土) areas that have been frozen for thousands of years. As the permafrost melts, so too the ancient bacteria and viruses that have been frozen. These ancient bacteria and viruses, which previously lay inactive in the ice, may spring back to life as the earth’s climate warms.
In August 2016, a 12-year-old boy in the Arctic Circle died and at least twenty people there were hospitalized after having been infected by anthrax(炭疽).
Experts studied and concluded that over 75 years ago, a reindeer infected with anthrax died and its body was frozen and trapped under a layer of permafrost. It stayed there, with the disease inactive, until a heatwave in the summer of 2016. The heatwave melted the permafrost and exposed the reindeer body, which then released the infectious pathogen(病原体) into the nearby water and soil, and then into the food supply. More than 2,000 reindeer feeding near the body became infected, which then led to a small number of human cases.
While you may think the incident is isolated to that area, the fact that long-inactive viruses and bacteria might wake up soon due to climate change will affect us all. Pathogenic viruses might be preserved in old permafrost layers, including some that have caused global epidemics in the past.
With climate change, who knows what deadly viruses and bacteria hidden beneath permafrost areas are threatening us. Perhaps it is time for everyone to do their part to stop global warming.
1.What does the underlined “new ways” refer to?
A.Ancient bacteria and viruses came back to life.
B.Bacteria and viruses have evolved into new types.
C.Bacteria and viruses become more resistant to medicine.
D.Ancient bacteria and viruses remain active in frozen permafrost.
2.Which is the right order of the case of anthrax in 2016?
① A 12-year-old boy died and many others were infected.
② Over 2,000 reindeer feeding near the body became infected.
③ The bacteria went into the nearby water, soil, and then food supply.
④ The permafrost melted and the bacteria in the dead reindeer woke up.
A.④ ③ ② ① B.④ ② ③ ① C.① ② ④ ③ D.① ③ ④ ②
3.Why does the writer write this text?
A.To introduce an ancient virus, anthrax.
B.To call on people to stop global warming.
C.To encourage people to study ancient viruses.
D.To warn of the danger of melting permafrost.
4.In which section can we most possibly read this text on a website?
A.Geography. B.Environment. C.Education. D.Medicine.
高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析
Wind power is an ancient source of energy ________we may return in the near future.
A. on which B. to which C. by which D. from which
高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Every year, thousands of teenagers participate in programs at their local art museums. But do any of them remember their time at museum events later in life? A new report suggests that the answer is yes – and finds that alumni (毕业生) of arts-based museum programs credit them with changing the course of their lives, even years after the fact.
The Whitney Museum of American Art, the Walker Art Center and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles recently asked researchers to conduct a study to find out how effective their long-standing teen art programs really are. They involved over 300 former participants of four programs for teens that have been in existence since the 1990s. Alumni, whose current ages range from 18 to 36, were invited to find out how they viewed their participation years after the fact.
Among the alumni surveyed, 75 percent of alumni rated the teen program experience as the most favorable impact on their own lives, beating family, school and their neighborhoods. Nearly 55 percent thought that it was one of the most important experiences they’d ever had, regardless of age. And two-thirds said that they were often in situations where their experience in museums affected their actions or thoughts.
It turns out that participating in art programs also helps keep teens enthusiastic about arts even after they reach adulthood: 96 percent of participants had visited an art museum within the last two years, and 68 percent had visited an art museum five or more times within the last two years. Thirty-two percent of program alumni work in the arts as adults.
Though the study is the first of its kind to explore the impact of teen-specific art programs in museums, it reflects other research on the important benefits of engaging with the arts. A decade of surveys by the National Endowment for the Arts found that childhood experience with the arts is significantly associated with their income and educational attainment as adults. Other studies have linked arts education to everything from lower drop-out rates to improvement in critical thinking skills.
1.What does the second paragraph mainly tell?
A.The result of the study.
B.The process of the study.
C.The approach to the study.
D.The aim and content of the study.
2.What can be inferred of the study mentioned in the text?
A.Passion for arts may remain long in kids’ whole life.
B.No other studies exist concerning the benefits of arts.
C.Age matters in how people view their art experiences.
D.Most children taking part in art programs will work in arts.
3.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A.How is Art Connected to Our Life?
B.Should Children Walk into Art Museums?
C.What Should Art Museums do for Kids?
D.Can Art Education Affect Our Income?
高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析
Facebook has released new research findings suggesting social media can harm mental health when used in certain ways.
Facebook’s director of research, David Ginsberg, wrote the report along with social psychologist Moira Burke. The research suggested that social media users who spent a lot of time only reading information - but not interacting with others — reported feeling worse afterward. Users who had interaction during the experience reported having better feelings. It said it is not just social media use that can affect a person’s well-being. Rather, it believes both good and bad effects can result from how the service is used.
A study by Carnegie Mellon University suggested positive results for increased interaction. It found people who sent or received more messages and comments reported better improvements in social support, depression and loneliness. Facebook said these improvements were even greater when the interactions took place with close friends and family.
Facebook’s founding president Sean Parker - who no longer has ties to the company - accused the social media service of using methods that “exploit human psychology”. This development model, Parker claims, created an addictive system to keep people on Facebook for long periods to seek “likes” and comments from others to make them feel good.
Former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya said the problems are being fueled by the basic need of people to seek ongoing feedback from others, leading to the pleasure chemical dopamine （多巴胺）being released in the brain, he added.
Cal Newport is a professor of computer science at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. He urges everyone to consider quitting social media - like he has - and he provides steps for helping people do this.
1.What does the Facebook research tell us?
A.Social media always make people feel bad.
B.People spend too much time on social media.
C.More interaction in social media makes people feel better.
D.Social media users spend more time reading than interacting.
2.Why is the study by Carnegie Mellon University mentioned in Paragraph 3?
A.To introduce a different study result.
B.To compare different research findings.
C.To expose links between the two studies.
D.To support the Facebook research finding.
3.What’s Sean Parker’s present attitude toward social media?
A.Objective. B.Critical. C.Enthusiastic. D.Uninterested.
4.With his words, Chamath Palihapitiya explained ________.
A.why people become addicted to social media
B.how Facebook was first founded
C.why Parker gave up his company
D.what’s the future of social media
5.What do you think will follow the end of this text?
A.The process of his research on social media’s effects.
B.Newport’s suggested tips to help people quit social media.
C.Why Newport urges everyone to consider quitting social media.
D.Newport’s unpleasant experiences with social media like Facebook.
高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析