2012高考二轮英语复习专题（广东专用）28 史地常识型阅读理解（2）

　　专限时训练(二十八)　[史地常识型阅读理解(二)]

　　(限时：25分钟)

　　(一)

　　People have been acting like people—in other words, they’ve been making tools, creating ceremonies, and sharing food—for a long time.That’s the conclusion of a recent study from South Africa’s southern coast.

　　There, in a cave lying above the sea, researchers from Arizona State University have found evidence that humans were behaving in surprisingly complex ways as early as 164,000 years ago.Our species, Homo sapiens, appeared an estimated 200,000 years ago.

　　The cave held three important clues about the behavior of these Stone Age people.

　　First, the researchers found the remains of all kinds of shellfish.The people who lived in the cave probably collected these creatures from rocky shores and tide pools and brought them to the cave to eat.

　　The researchers propose the early Africans moved to the South African coast between 195,000 and 130,000 years ago.Around that time, the climate inland turned relatively cold and dry.Therefore, there were fewer plants and animals to eat away from the coast.

　　When these ancient people moved to the coast, they probably experienced a major cultural shift, the researchers suspect.That’s because observations of modern hunter­gatherer societies suggest that men are more likely to hunt for big animals when people live inland.On the coast, women play a more important role in providing food by gathering plants and shellfish.

　　As for the second clue, the researchers unearthed 57 pieces of reddish pigment(颜料)．The researchers think that the cave habitants used the paint for coloring their bodies or for other ceremonies.Symbolic behavior is a clearly human feature.

　　Finally, the search discovered over 1,800 stone tools, including well­crafted blades(刀片)．These blades came in various sizes.The smallest were just less than a half­inch wide.Ancient people may have attached these blades to the end of a stick to make spears or other tools.

　　()1.What is the passage mainly about?

　　A．Ancient cave behavior.

　　B．New evidence of ancient life.

　　C．The history of human being.

　　D．Human behavior’s development.

　　()2.The early Africans moved to the South African coast with the main purpose of ________.

　　A．avoiding badly cold and dry weather

　　B．seeking the cultural development

　　C．seeking enough food to live on

　　D．living a newer and better life

　　()3.According to the passage, the cave habitant ________.

　　A．made a living largely by hunting animals

　　B．knew how to use colors for decoration

　　C．only could made tools with rough blades

　　D．could hunt for fish in the sea with ships

　　()4.After the early Africans moved to the coast, what probably happened to their culture?

　　A．Women’s role was as important as men’s role in families.

　　B．They were no longer used to living inlands but living on the coast.

　　C．Men’s role was more important than women’s role in earning food.

　　D．Women’s role was more important than men’s role in earning food.

　　()5.The new discoveries in the cave should support the theory that ________.

　　A．modern human behavior developed smoothly fast from the ancient time

　　B．modern human behavior developed slowly from the ancient time

　　C．South Africa is the birthplace of the earliest human being in the world

　　D．modern human behavior is largely the same as ancient human behavior

　　(二)

　　Winter weather may have come late to parts of the United States this year, but the Midwest and Northeast are finally firmly in winter’s icy grasp.

　　Travel, Interrupted

　　The freezing cold has created dangerous driving conditions across the country.Icy roads have led to at least 13 deaths in seven states.Minnesota police reported 290 accidents during rush hour on Tuesday.

　　Air travel has been disrupted as well.More than 140 flights were canceled at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois.Some travelers had to camp out in terminals(终点站)overnight.Ted Bushelman, a spokesman for the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, said that a few hundred passengers spent the night there.“All the hotel rooms in the area were taken, not just because of canceled flights but because highway travel was almost impossible，” he said.

　　The Big Chill(寒流)

　　Some areas in upstate New York have received more than five feet of snow over a two­day period.Weather forecasters said the region could get more than eight feet of snow before the weekend.

　　On Tuesday, West Virginia experienced the coldest temperatures recorded in the state in February since 1996, the weather service said.

　　Sunny Outlook

　　There is some sign of relief to come.On Wednesday, temperatures in Chicago rose slightly to 0 degrees Fahrenheit, with a wind chill of minus 14 degrees Fahrenheit.That’s an improvement from Monday when the wind chill made it feel as if it were minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit.National Weather Service meteorologist(气象学家)Tim Seeley said that the area should expect temperatures in the low 20s by the week’s end.

　　For some the heavy snowfall was cause for celebration.Ski resorts that had been suffering from the mild winter welcomed more white on the slopes.“It was the perfect storm，” said Joe Stevens, spokesman for the West Virginia Ski Areas Association.“Over four feet of snow has fallen since the middle of January, which has really turned the situation around for the resorts that were experiencing... above normal temperatures earlier in the season.”

　　()1.The main idea discussed in the passage is ________.

　　A．the traffic accidents in America

　　B．the cold weather in America

　　C．the difficult road conditions

　　D．the heavy snow in America

　　()2.Deaths and accidents were caused by ________.

　　A．roads covered with ice and snow

　　B．strong cold winds blowing at high speed

　　C．heavy snow

　　D．too cold weather

　　()3.Why were the hotels full in this area?

　　A．Because there were so many people having their home destroyed.

　　B．It was too cold for people to go out.

　　C．Because air and highway travel was cut off.

　　D．There were not enough hotels in this area.

　　()4.Which of the following about West Virginia is TRUE?

　　A．It was hit by the heaviest snow in his story.

　　B．Its roads were cut off by the snowstorm.

　　C．It would face fine weather very soon.

　　D．It experienced very low temperature.

　　()5.Which of the following welcomed the cold weather and heavy snow?

　　A．Farmers.B．Ski resorts.

　　C．Drivers.

　　D．Officials.

　　(三)

　　Without proper planning, tourism can cause problems. For example, too many tourists can crowd public places that are also enjoyed by the inhabitants of a country. If tourists create too much traffic, the inhabitants become annoyed and unhappy. They begin to dislike tourists and to treat them impolitely. They forget how much tourism can help the country’s economy. It is important to think about the people of a destination country and how tourism affects them. Tourism should help a country, keep the customs and beauty that attract tourists. Tourism should also advance the wealth and happiness of local inhabitants.

　　Too much tourism can be a problem. If tourism grows too quickly, people must leave other jobs to work in the tourism industry. This means that other parts of the country’s economy can suffer.

　　()2.The underlined word “inhabitants” (in Paragraph 1) probably means________.

　　A．tourists　B．passengers

　　C．population

　　D．citizens

　　()3.Too much tourism can cause all these problems EXCEPT ________.

　　A．a bad effect on other industries

　　B．a change of tourists’ customs

　　C．over­crowdedness of places of interest

　　D. pressure on traffic

　　()4.It can be inferred from the text that ________.

　　A．the author doesn’t like tourism developing so fast

　　B．local people will benefit from tourist attraction

　　C．other parts of a country’s economy won’t benefit from tourism much

　　D．we can’t build too many support facilities

　　()5.The author thinks it is good for local people to know that tourism will ________.

　　A．waste a lot of money

　　B．weaken their economy

　　C．help establish their customs

　　D．help improve their life专限时训练(二十八)

　　(一)【文章大意】 在南非南部海岸的一个洞穴里所发现的古代非洲人的行为说明：人类自古以来一直就像人那样地生活，即一直是那样制造工具、创立仪式和分享食物，最后经过漫长的历史发展到今天。