Until now, the oldest evidence of human ances...

Until now, the oldest evidence of human ancestors outside of Africa was in Dmanisi, Georgia. Here fossils of short people thought to be early Homo erectus date back to about 1.85 million years—just after the species appears in Africa. The oldest evidence of early human activity in China can date back to 1.5 million to 1.7 million years ago, which has suggested that they didn’t leave Africa until 2 million years ago or so—and made it to eastern Asia even later.

Now evidence from the site of Shangchen in the Loess Plateau approximately 1,200 kilometers southwest of Beijing is shaking up that view. More than 2 million years ago, our ancestors were already world travelers, which shows that the ancestors of modern humans left Africa at least 250,000 years earlier than thought. It also supports a minority view that a key human ancestors, Homo erectus, may have originated in Asia, not in Africa.

The same team, led by geologist Zhao Yuzhu of the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry at the Chinese Academy of Science found that the stone tools range in age from 1.6 million to 2.1 millions years ago. This indicates humans—the family that includes humans and our ancestors—got out of Africa at least a quarter of a million years earlier than thought, and occupied Shangchen on and off for more than 850,000 years, the team reports today in Nature.

“The dates are convincing,” Zhao Yuezhu says, which suggest humans were already remarkably adaptable to the changeable climate by 2.1 millions ago—even though they had not yet developed the even bigger brains, long legs, or more advanced tools seen in later humans. Although the identity of these early travelers all over the world is unknown, the new dates raise the possibility that H. Erects weren’t the first humans to leave Africa.

1.What’s the main idea of the first paragraph?

A.The early human activity in China.

B.The earliest time of the human ancestor.

C.The oldest evidence of the human ancestor.

D.The time of human ancestor’s arriving at the Eastern Asia.

2.What does the evidence from the site of Shangchen suggest?

A.Human ancestors were found of travelling.

B.Human ancestors lived in Asia not in Africa.

C.Human ancestors left Africa earlier than thought.

D.Human ancestors occupied Shangchen for many years.

3.Why could human ancestors travel through the world?

A.Their identities had been unfamiliar to others.

B.The structures in their body were different from us.

C.They had the same advanced tools as the later human’s.

D.They had abilities to adapt to the changeable environment.

4.What is the best title for the text?

A.The Origin of the Human. B.The New Dates about Africa.

C.The ways of Studying the Human. D.The Latest Discovery about Human Ancestors.

高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析

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

Advice to “sleep on it” could be well founded, scientists say. After a good night’s sleep a problem that couldn’t be solved the night before can often appear more manageable, although the evidence until now has been anecdotal. But researchers at the University of Luebek in Germany have designed an experiment that shows a good night’s sleep can improve insight and problem-solving.

“If you have some newly-got memories in your brain, sleep acts on these memories and restructures them, so that after sleep the insight into problem which you could not solve before increases,” said Dr. Jan Born, a neuroscientist, at the university. To test the theory, they taught volunteers two simple rules to help them turn a string of numbers into a new order. There was also a third, hidden rule, which could help them increase their speed in solving the problem. The researchers divided the volunteers into two groups: half were allowed to sleep after the training while the rest were forced to stay awake.

Dr. Jan Born and his team noticed that the group that had slept after the training were twice as likely to figure out the third rule as the other group. “Sleep helped,” Born said in a telephone interview. “The important thing is that you have to have a memory representation in your brain of the problem you want to solve and then you sleep, so it can act on the problem.

“But Born admitted that he and his team don’t know how restructuring of memories occurs or what governs it. Pierre Maquet and Perrine Ruby of the University of Liege in Belgium said the experimental evidence supports the anecdotal suggestions that sleep can help develop creative thinking. Although the role of sleep in human creativity will still be a mystery, the research gives people good reason to fully respect their periods of sleep, they added.

1.The underlined phrase “sleep on it” in Paragraph 1 probably means _____.

A.to get as much sleep as possible

B.to go on sleeping without being disturbed

C.to delay deciding something until the next day

D.to sleep till after the time you usually get up in the morning

2.What is the purpose of the experiment?

A.To test problem-solving ability in sleep. B.To discover people’s insight during sleep.

C.To prove a good sleep helps solve problems. D.To discuss how to improve sleeping quality.

3.How did Jan Born and his team carry out the experiment?

A.Through comparison. B.Through interviews.

C.Through talks. D.Through imagination.

4.What can we learn about the experimental evidence?

A.It helps scientists control memories. B.It explains the role of sleep in human.

C.It tells us the role of sleep is a mystery. D.It shows sleep does good to creative thinking.

高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析

Humans are naturally drawn to other life forms and the worlds outside of our own. We take delight in the existence of creatures and even whole societies beyond our everyday lives.

This sense of wonder is universal. Look at the efforts that scientists have made to find out whether life of some kind exists on Mars, and the popularity of fantasy literature or movies like The Lord of the Rings. This sense of wonder draws us to each other, to the world around us, and to the world of make-believe. But have we gone so far in creating worlds of fantasy that we are missing the pleasure of other worlds that already exist all around us?

Human beings, as biologists have suggested, possess an inborn desire to connect with and understand other life forms. However, people, especially in big cities, often lead rather isolated lives. In a study of British schoolchildren, it was found that children by age eight were much more familiar with characters from television shows and video games than with common wildlife. Without modem technology, a small pond could be an amazing world filled with strange and beautiful plants, insects, birds, and animals. When we lack meaningful interaction(交互) with the world around us, and sometimes even with our families and friends, we seek to understand and communicate with things that exist only in our imaginations or on a computer screen。

The world of make-believe is not necessarily bad. But when the world of fantasy becomes the only outlet(出路) for our sense of wonder, then we are really missing something. We are missing a connection with the living world. Other wonderful worlds exist all around us. But even more interesting is that if we look closely enough, we can see that these worlds, in a broad sense, are really part of our own.

1.The popularity of The Lord of the Rings proves

A. the close connection between man and the fantasy world

B. the wonderful achievements of fantasy literature

C. the fine taste of moviegoers around the world

D. the general existence of the sense of curiosity

2.What can we infer from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3?

A. People are far less familiar with the world of fantasy.

B. The world around us could serve as a source of wonder.

C. The world of fantasy can be mirrored by a small and lively pond.

D. Modern technology prevents us from developing our sense of wonder.

3. If our sense of wonder relies totally on the world of make-believe, we will

A. fail to appreciate the joy in our lives

B. be confused by the world of make-believe

C. miss the chance to recognize the fantasy world

D. be trapped by other worlds existing all around us

4. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A. To show us the hidden beauty in our world.

B. To warn us not to get lost in the fantasy world.

C. To argue against the misuse of the sense of wonder.

D. To discuss the influence of the world of make-believe.

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

Humans are naturally drawn to other life forms and the worlds outside of our own. We take delight in the existence of creatures and even whole societies beyond our everyday lives.

This sense of wonder is universal. Look at the efforts that scientists have made to find out whether life of some kind exists on Mars, and the popularity of fantasy(幻想) literature or movies like The Lord of the Rings. This sense of wonder draws us to each other, to the world around us, and to the world of make-believe(虚假). But have we gone so far in creating worlds of fantasy that we are missing the pleasure of other worlds that already exist all around us?

Human beings, as biologists have suggested, possess an inborn desire to connect with and understand other life forms. However, people, especially in big cities, often lead rather isolated(隔离的) lives. In a study of British schoolchildren, it was found that children by age eight were much more familiar with characters from television shows and video games than with common wildlife. Without modern technology, a small pond could be an amazing world filled with strange and beautiful plants, insects, birds, and animals. When we lack meaningful interaction(交互) with the world around us, and sometimes even with our families and friends, we seek to understand and communicate with things that exist only in our imaginations or on a computer screen。

The world of make-believe is not necessarily bad. But when the world of fantasy becomes the only outlet(出路) for our sense of wonder, then we are really missing something. We are missing a connection with the living world. Other wonderful worlds exist all around us. But even more interesting is that if we look closely enough, we can see that these worlds, in a broad sense, are really part of our own.

1.The popularity of The Lord of the Rings proves________.

A. the close connection between man and the fantasy world

B. the wonderful achievements of fantasy literature

C. the general existence of the sense of curiosity

D. the fine taste of moviegoers around the world

2.What can we infer from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3?

A. The world around us could serve as a source of wonder.

B. People are far less familiar with the world of fantasy.

C. The world of fantasy can be mirrored by a small and lively pond.

D. Modern technology prevents us from developing our sense of wonder.

3.If our sense of wonder relies totally on the world of make-believe, we will________

A. be confused by the world of make-believe

B. fail to appreciate the joy in our lives

C. miss the chance to recognize the fantasy world

D. be trapped by other worlds existing all around us

4.What is the main purpose of the passage?

A. To show us the hidden beauty in our world.

B. To discuss the influence of the world of make-believe.

C. To argue against the misuse of the sense of wonder.

D. To warn us not to get lost in the fantasy world.

高二英语困难题查看答案及解析

It was too noisy outside. Not until ____at the top of my voice _____his head.

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

Following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP), also named COVID-19 by WHO, there is a general fear of the unknown virus as its full effects remain to be seen. Fever, coughing, sore throat, difficulty breathing —the NCP’s symptoms are similar to the common cold or the flu, but it’s potentially more dangerous.

Viruses could be deadly, like HIV and Ebola. But what are viruses? How can they cause so much trouble?

Viruses are non-living organisms (有机体) approximately one-millionth of an inch long. Unlike human cells or bacteria, they can’t reproduce on their own. Instead, they invade the cells of living organisms to reproduce, spread and take over.

Viruses can infect every living thing – from plants and animals down to the smallest bacteria. For this reason, they always have the potential to be dangerous to human life. Sometimes a virus can cause a disease so serious that it is fatal. Other viral infections trigger no noticeable reaction.

Viruses lie around our environment all of the time, waiting for a host cell to come along. They can enter our bodies by the nose, mouth, eyes or breaks in the skin. Once inside, they try to find a host cell to infect. For example, HIV, which causes AIDS, attacks the T-cells of the immune system.

But the basic question is, where did viruses first come from? Until now, no clear explanation for their origin exists. “Tracing the origins of viruses is difficult”, Ed Rybicki, a virologist (病毒学家) at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, told Scientific American, “because viruses don’t leave fossils and because of the tricks they use to make copies of themselves within the cells they’ve invaded”.

However, there are three main hypotheses (假说) to explain the origin of viruses. First, viruses started as independent organisms, then became parasites (寄生者). Second, viruses evolved from pieces of DNA or RNA that “escaped” from larger organisms. Third, viruses co-evolved with their host cells, which means they existed alongside these cells.

For the time being, these are only theories. The technology and evidence we have today cannot be used to test these theories and identify the most plausible explanation. Continuing studies may provide us with clearer answers. Or future studies may reveal that the answer is even murkier (含糊不清的) than it now appears.

1.What can we learn about viruses from the text?

A.Viruses have nothing to do with the common cold.

B.Viruses are really small living organisms.

C.Viruses can’t reproduce unless they find a host cell.

D.Viruses enter our bodies mainly through the mouth, nose and hair.

2.Which of the following might explain the origin of viruses?

A.They evolved from the fossils of large organisms.

B.They evolved from parasites into independent organisms.

C.They evolved from the T-cells in animals.

D.They evolved along with their host cells.

3.The underlined word “plausible” in the last paragraph probably means ________.

A.reasonable B.common

C.creative D.unbelievable

4.What can we conclude from the text?

A.Viruses live longer in human host cells than in animals’.

B.Viruses will become more like bacteria as they evolve.

C.It may take a long time to understand the origin of viruses.

D.The author is optimistic about future virus research.

高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析

（题文）The tiger, once a ____ animal to humans, is now ____ of disappearing on the earth.

A. dangerous, danger　　 B. dangerous, in danger

C. in danger, in danger　　 D. danger, in danger

高二英语单项填空困难题查看答案及解析

Many species are in ______ danger of extinction now due to the foolish actions of ______ human race.

A. the; the　　　　　 B. 不填; the

C. the; 不填　　 　　 D. 不填; 不填

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Welcome to the Civic Art Museum's Exhibit of West African Art, showing pieces from our collections.

Background

The peoples of West Africa, including the Yoruba, the Dogon, the Igbo, and the Akan, have a long art tradition. Tribes (部落) in the area have developed different styles of art and architecture that are suited to the climate and available materials and based on their traditions.

Gallery A: Photographs of Traditional West African Architecture

This section shows historical and contemporary photographs of traditional West African architecture. Of particular interest are the photographs of the Dogon village. The design of the Dogon village is based on the human figure. Certain types of buildings are placed in particular areas according to the Dogon's complex philosophical tradition. For example, the men's houses are placed in the “head” of the village, the leader's house is in the “chest,” and the women's houses are in the “hands.”

Gallery B: West African Masks

The art of mask making is well developed in West Africa. Masks are important to West African traditions and have clear social, political, and economic roles. However, most masks are worn only at particular times or on special occasions. For example, among the Dan and the Kota, certain people wear special masks to show their power when they act as judges and policemen within the community. Among the Bambara of Mali, headdresses are worn during planting and harvest celebrations.

Gallery C: West African Sculptures

West African sculptures are made from materials such as metal or wood. They are based on tribal traditions and are quite different. The Dogon are especially known for making figures of their ancestors (祖先). They believe their ancestors, called Nommo, came down from the sky at the beginning of time. Nommo figures are often shown with their hands reaching out to the sky. The collection contains several wonderful examples of Nommo sculptures.

1.What is special about Dogon houses?

A.They are shaped like human beings.

B.They are designed by the village leader.

C.They are grouped according to tradition.

D.They have many photographs inside them.

2.West African masks _____.

A.have recently developed

B.play many different roles

C.are mainly worn at harvest time

D.show the everyday life of the Dan

3.What do we know about the Dogon people?

A.They are afraid of Nommo figures.

B.They make statues of their ancestors.

C.They believe they will return to the sky.

D.They straighten their arms to show respect.

高二英语阅读选择简单题查看答案及解析