托福阅读TPO7(试题+答案+译文)第1篇:TheGeologicHistoryoftheMediterranean（托福TPO阅读真题之Cave Art in Europe）

今天蜕变培训网小编整理了托福阅读TPO7(试题+答案+译文)第1篇:TheGeologicHistoryoftheMediterranean（托福TPO阅读真题之Cave Art in Europe）相关信息，希望在这方面能够更好帮助到大家。

本文目录一览：

• 1、托福阅读TPO7(试题+答案+译文)第1篇:TheGeologicHistoryoftheMediterranean
• 2、托福TPO阅读真题之Cave Art in Europe
• 3、托福TPO真题阅读:难句分析

托福阅读TPO7(试题+答案+译文)第1篇:TheGeologicHistoryoftheMediterranean

TPO是我们常用的托福模考工具，对我们的备考很有价值，下面我给大家带来托福阅读TPO7(试题+答案+译文)第1篇:The Geologic History of the Mediterranean。

托福阅读原文

In 1970 geologists Kenneth J.Hsu and William B.F. Ryan were collecting research data while aboard the oceanographicresearch vessel Glomar Challenger.Anobjective of this particular cruise wasto investigate the floor of theMediterranean and to resolve questions aboutits geologic history. One questionwas related to evidence that theinvertebrate fauna (animals without spines) ofthe Mediterranean had changedabruptly about 6 million years ago. Most of theolder organisms were nearlywiped out, although a few hardy species survived. Afew managed to migrate into the Atlantic.Somewhat later, the migrants returned,bringing new species with them. Why didthe near extinction and migrationsoccur?

Another task for the GlomarChallenger’sscientists was to try to determine the origin of the domelikemasses buried deepbeneath the Mediterranean seafloor. These structures had beendetected yearsearlier by echo-sounding instruments, but they had never beenpenetrated in thecourse of drilling. Were they salt domes such as are commonalong the UnitedStates Gulf Coast, and if so, why should there have been somuch solidcrystalline salt beneath the floor of the Mediterranean?

With question such as these clearly beforethem, thescientists aboard the Glomar Challenger processed to the Mediterraneantosearch for the answers. On August 23, 1970, they recovered a sample. Thesampleconsisted of pebbles of hardened sediment that had once been soft,deep-seamud, as well as granules of gypsum and fragments of volcanic rock. Nota singlepebble was found that might have indicated that the pebbles came fromthenearby continent. In the days following, samples of solid gypsumwererepeatedly brought on deck as drilling operations penetrated theseafloor.Furthermore, the gypsum was found to possess peculiarities ofcomposition andstructure that suggested it had formed on desert flats. Sedimentabove andbelow the gypsum layer contained tiny marine fossils, indicatingopen-oceanconditions. As they drilled into the central and deepest part oftheMediterranean basin, the scientists took solid, shiny, crystalline saltfromthe core barrel. Interbedded with the salt were thin layers of whatappeared tobe windblown silt.

The time had come to formulate ahypothesis. The investigators theorized that about 20 million years ago, theMediterranean wasa broad seaway linked to the Atlantic by two narrow straits.Crustal movements closedthe straits, and the landlocked Mediterranean began toevaporate. Increasingsalinity caused by the evaporation resulted in theextermination of scores ofinvertebrate species. Only a few organisms especiallytolerant of very saltyconditions remained. As evaporation continued, the remainingbrine (salt water)became so dense that the calcium sulfate of the hard layerwas precipitated. Inthe central deeper part of the basin, the last of the brineevaporated toprecipitate more soluble sodium chloride (salt). Later, under theweight ofoverlying sediments, this salt flowed plastically upward to form saltdomes.Before this happened, however, the Mediterranean was a vast desert 3,000metersdeep. Then, about 5.5 million years ago came the deluge. As a result ofcrustaladjustments and faulting, the Strait of Gibraltar, where theMediterranean nowconnects to the Atlantic, opened, and water cascadedspectacularly back intothe Mediterranean.Turbulent waters tore into thehardened salt flats, brokethem up, and ground them into the pebbles observed inthe first sample taken bythe Challenger. As the basin was refilled, normalmarine organisms returned.Soon layer of oceanic ooze began to accumulate abovethe old hard layer.

Thesalt and gypsum, the faunal changes, and the unusualgravel provided abundantevidence that the Mediterranean was once a desert.

托福阅读试题

1.The word “objective”in the passage(paragraph 1) is closest in meaning to

A.achievement

B.requirement

C.purpose

D.feature

2.Which of the following is NOT mentionedin paragraph 1 as a change thatoccurred in the fauna of the Mediterranean?

A.Most invertebrate species disappearedduring a wave of extinctions.

B.A few hardy species wiped out many of theMediterranean’s invertebrates.

C.Some invertebrates migrated to AtlanticOcean.

D.New species of fauna populated theMediterranean when the old migrants returned.

3.1.Whatdoes the author imply by saying“Not a single pebble was found that might have indicated that the

pebbles came from the nearby continent”?(paragraph 3)

A.The most obvious explanation for theorigin of the pebbles was not supported by the evidence.

B.The geologists did not find as manypebbles as they expected.

C.The geologists were looking for aparticular kind of pebble.

D.The different pebbles could not have comefrom only one source.

4.Which of the following can be inferredfrom paragraph 3 about the solidgypsum layer?

A.It did not contain any marine fossil.

B.It had formed in open-ocean conditions.

C.It had once been soft, deep-sea mud.

D.It contained sediment from nearbydeserts.

5.Select the TWO answer choice from paragraph3 that identify materialsdiscovered in the deepest part of the Mediterraneanbasin. To receive credityou must select TWO answers.

A.Volcanic rock fragments

B.Thin silt layers

C.Soft, deep-sea mud

D.Crystalline salt

6.What is the main purpose of paragraph 3?

A.To describe the physical evidencecollected by Hsu and Ryan

B.To explain why some of the questionsposed earlier in the passage could not be answered by the findings of theGlomar Challenger

C.To evaluate techniques used by Hsu andRyan to explore the sea floor

D.To describe the most difficult problemsfaced by the Glomar Challenger expedition

7.According to paragraph 4, which of thefollowing was responsible for theevaporation of the Mediterranean’s waters?

A.The movements of Earth’s crust

B.The accumulation of sediment layers

C.Changes in the water level of theAtlantic Ocean

D.Changes in Earth’s temperature

8.The word “scores”in the passage(paragraph 4) is closest in meaning to

A.members

B.large numbers

C.populations

D.different types

9.According to paragraph 4, what causedmost invertebrate species in theMediterranean to become extinct?

A.The evaporation of chemicals necessaryfor their survival

B.Crustal movements that connected theMediterranean to the saltier Atlantic

C.The migration of new species through thenarrow straits

D.Their inability to tolerate theincreasing salt content of the Mediterranean

10.Which of the sentences below bestexpresses the essential information inthe highlighted sentence in the passage(paragraph 4) ? Incorrect choices change the meaning inimportant ways or leaveout essential information.

A.The strait of Gibraltar reopened when theMediterranean and the Atlantic became connected and the cascades of water fromone sea to the other caused crustal adjustments and faulting.

B.The Mediterranean was dramaticallyrefilled by water from the Atlantic when crustal adjustments and faultingopened the Strait of Gibraltar, the place where the two seas are joined.

C.The cascades of water from the Atlanticto the Mediterranean were not as spectacular as the crustal adjustments andfaulting that occurred when the Strait of Gibraltar was connected to thoseseas.

D.As a result of crustal adjustments andfaulting and the creation of the Strait of Gibraltar, the Atlantic andMediterranean were connected and became a single sea with spectacular cascadesof water between them.

11.The word “Turbulent”in the passage(paragraph 4) is closest in meaning to

A.Fresh

B.Deep

C.Violent

D.Temperate

12. Look at the four squares [■] thatindicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Thus,scientists had information about the shape of the domes but not about theirchemical composition and origin.

■【A】Another task for theGlomar Challenger’s scientists was totry to determine the origin of thedomelike masses buried deep beneath theMediterranean seafloor. ■【B】These structures had been detected years earlierby echo-soundinginstruments, but they had never been penetrated in the courseof drilling. ■【C】Were theysalt domes such as are common alongthe United States Gulf Coast, and if so, whyshould there have been so muchsolid crystalline salt beneath the floor of theMediterranean? ■[D】

Where would the sentence best fit?

13. Direction: An introductory sentence fora brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary byselecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in thepassage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideasthat are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. Thisquestion is worth 2 points.

An expedition to the Mediterranean answeredsome long-standing questionsabout the ocean’s history.

A.The Glomar Challenger expeditioninvestigated changes in invertebrate fauna and some unusual geologic features.

B.Researchers collected fossils todetermine which new species migrated from the Atlantic with older species.

C.Scientists aboard the Glomar Challengerwere the first to discover the existence of domelike masses underneath theseafloor.

D.Samples recovered from the expeditionrevealed important differences in chemical composition and fossil distributionamong the sediment layers.

E.Evidence collected by the GlomarChallenger supports geologists' beliefs that the Mediterranean had evaporatedand become a desert, before it refilled with water.

F.Mediterraneansalt domes formed after crustal movements opened the straits between theMediterranean and the Atlantic, and the Mediterranean refilled with water.

托福 阅读答案

1.C

2.文第四句话说到“Most of theolder organisms were nearly wiped out(大部分更加古老的生物都几乎灭绝了)”对应选项A;第五句说到“A few managed to migrate into the Atlantic(一些物种成功地迁移到了大西洋)”，对应选项C;第六句说到“the migrants returned, bringing new species with them(这些物种又回到了地中海，并带回新的物种)”，对应选项D。第一段中没有提到B 选项，故答案是B选项。

3.推理题考察的是文中没有明确说到的内容，需要经过推理。选项B、C、D在文中均没有任何线索体现。对于选项A，如果我们在阅读 文章 时，能够比较好的关注上下文，我们会发现：在原文之中第二段，文中提及“它们是像美国海湾海岸一带的含盐圆顶状巨块" ---美国海湾的东西怎么会突然出现在了地中海区域?于是对于这些地中海的大巨块，最简单的解释是他们来自美洲湾。既然第二段提出了问题，第三段做出相应的回答，因此第三段的内容应该与第二段的问题是有联系的，支持或者反对。而现在的这句话(“在被发现的样品中，没有一个表明这些细砾来自于邻近的大陆”)，当然打破了这个最为明显的可能解释---关于巨大的块儿起源的解释。

4.A

5.BD

6.A

7.A

8.原文该单词所在 句子 为:"Increasingsalinity caused by the evaporation resulted in the extermination of scores ofinvertebrate species." 可以理解为: "由蒸发引起的越来越高的盐度造成无脊椎动物种类的灭绝。"

Score是得分的意思，在球类比赛中经常可以听到，可以根据the extermination of scores of invertebrate species这个结构判断出scores表示数量的意思，对应选项B(这个还是记住吧)

9.D

10.B

11.C

12.C

13.选项A是正确的，是第一二段的内容

选项B是错误的，是文章未提及的内容

选项C是错位的，与第二段第二句内容相反

选项D是正确的，是第四段的内容

选项E是正确的，是文章最后一段的内容

选项F是错误的，与第四段内容不符，是地壳运动和断层作用打开了地中海和大西洋之间的海峡，并非盐穹(应该说domes在此之前就形成了)

托福阅读原文

【1】1970年，地理学家Kenneth J. Hsu 和 William B.F. Ryan在海洋调查船Glomar Challenger号上收集调研资料。这次特别巡航的一个目的是调查地中海的地层以及解决关于其地质历史的问题。其中一个问题是有关地中海地区无脊椎动物(没有脊椎的动物)于600万年前发生剧变的证据。大部分更加古老的生物都几乎灭绝了，尽管一些顽强的种类得以生存。很少的一些动物成功地迁移到了大西洋。不久后，这些动物又回来了，并带回来新的物种。为什么这次较近的动物灭绝和迁移会发生呢?

【2】Glomar Challenger号上科学家们的另一个任务是尝试去确定深埋在地中海海底穹顶状巨块的起源。这些结构在早些年被回声探测器探测过，但是它们从未被钻探过。它们是像美国墨西哥海湾海岸一带的含盐穹顶状巨块吗?如果是的话，为什么在地中海海底之下会有这么多固体的结晶盐呢?

【3】带着这些清楚摆在他们面前的问题，科学家们登上Glomar Challenger号前往地中海寻找答案。1970年8月23日，他们找到了一个样本。这个样本由石膏块和火山岩碎块组成。周围没有发现一块能说明这些小石头来自附近的大陆。接下来的日子里，随着海底岩层钻探实验的进行，固体石膏样本被不断地放在甲板上。而且，这些膏状物的组成和结构特性表明它们形成于沙漠。在石膏层上下的沉积物中包含了微小的海洋生物化石，说明了这是开放性的海洋环境。当钻到地中海盆地中心的最深处时，科学家们从钻管中获得了坚实的、光亮的结晶盐。跟结晶盐嵌在一起的薄层像是被风吹起的泥沙层。

【4】时间阐明了一个假设。调查者们构思了这样的理论：大约2 000万年前，地中海是一条宽阔的航道，它通过两条狭窄的海峡与大西洋连接。地壳运动封闭了海峡，被陆地包围的地中海也开始蒸发。由蒸发引起的越来越高的盐度造成无脊椎动物种类的灭绝。只有一些能抵抗高盐度条件的物种保留下来。随着蒸发的继续进行，盐水浓度太高以致硬地层的硫酸钙发生沉淀。在盆地的中间深处，剩余盐水的持续蒸发形成更多的可溶的氯化钠(盐)。后来，在上层沉淀物的重压下，盐向上形成了含盐的圆顶。然而在这之前，地中海是一个3 000米深的大沙漠。然后，550万年前发生了洪水。作为地壳调整和断层作用的结果，现在连接地中海和大西洋的直布罗陀海峡打开了，水流像瀑布一样壮观地涌回地中海。湍急的水流冲击并摧毁了坚硬的含盐层，把它们磨成了Challenger号获得的第一份样本中人们所观察到的鹅卵石。随着盆地的填充，普通的海洋生物又回来了。不久后海洋软泥层开始在原先的硬地层上堆积。

【5】盐、石膏、动物区系的变更，还有不寻常的沙砾层都为地中海曾经是片沙漠的理论提供了充分的证据。

托福TPO阅读真题之Cave Art in Europe

下面是一篇托福TPO阅读真题，这篇托福阅读真题的主要内容是关于欧洲的岩洞艺术的相关信息。欧洲的岩洞艺术已经有几万年的历史了，这些岩洞艺术反映出了当初人们的什么文化，这些艺术有什么作用呢?下面是详细内容。

The earliest discovered traces of art are beads and carvings, and then paintings, from sites dating back to the Upper Paleolithic period. We might expect that early artistic efforts would be crude, but the cave paintings of Spain and southern France show a marked degree of skill. So do the naturalistic paintings on slabs of stone excavated in southern Africa. Some of those slabs appear to have been painted as much as 28,000 years ago, which suggests that painting in Africa is as old as painting in Europe. But painting may be even older than that. The early Australians may have painted on the walls of rock shelters and cliff faces at least 30,000 years ago, and maybe as much as 60,000 years ago.

The researchers Peter Ucko and Andree Rosenfeld identified three principal locations of paintings in the caves of western Europe: (1) in obviously inhabited rock shelters and cave entrances; (2) in galleries immediately off the inhabited areas of caves; and (3) in the inner reaches of caves, whose difficulty of access has been interpreted by some as a sign that magical-religious activities were performed there.

The subjects of the paintings are mostly animals. The paintings rest on bare walls, with no backdrops or environmental trappings. Perhaps, like many contemporary peoples, Upper Paleolithic men and women believed that the drawing of a human image could cause death or injury, and if that were indeed their belief, it might explain why human figures are rarely depicted in cave art. Another explanation for the focus on animals might be that these people sought to improve their luck at hunting. This theory is suggested by evidence of chips in the painted figures, perhaps made by spears thrown at the drawings. But if improving their hunting luck was the chief motivation for the paintings, it is difficult to explain why only a few show signs of having been speared. Perhaps the paintings were inspired by the need to increase the supply of animals. Cave art seems to have reached a peak toward the end of the Upper Paleolithic period, when the herds of game were decreasing.

The particular symbolic significance of the cave paintings in southwestern France is more explicitly revealed, perhaps, by the results of a study conducted by researchers Patricia Rice and Ann Paterson. The data they present suggest that the animals portrayed in the cave paintings were mostly the ones that the painters preferred for meat and for materials such as hides. For example, wild cattle (bovines) and horses are portrayed more often than we would expect by chance, probably because they were larger and heavier (meatier) than other animals in the environment. In addition, the paintings mostly portray animals that the painters may have feared the most because of their size, speed, natural weapons such as tusks and horns, and the unpredictability of their behavior. That is, mammoths, bovines, and horses are portrayed more often than deer and reindeer. Thus, the paintings are consistent with the idea that the art is related to the importance of hunting in the economy of Upper Paleolithic people. Consistent with this idea, according to the investigators, is the fact that the art of the cultural period that followed the Upper Paleolithic also seems to reflect how people got their food. But in that period, when getting food no longer depended on hunting large game animals (because they were becoming extinct), the art ceased to focus on portrayals of animals.

Upper Paleolithic art was not confined to cave paintings. Many shafts of spears and similar objects were decorated with figures of animals. The anthropologist Alexander Marshack has an interesting interpretation of some of the engravings made during the Upper Paleolithic. He believes that as far back as 30.000 B.C., hunters may have used a system of notation, engraved on bone and stone, to mark phases of the Moon. If this is true, it would mean that Upper Paleolithic people were capable of complex thought and were consciously aware of their environment. In addition to other artworks, figurines representing the human female in exaggerated form have also been found at Upper Paleolithic sites. It has been suggested that these figurines were an ideal type or an expression of a desire for fertility.

Paragraph 1: The earliest discovered traces of art are beads and carvings, and then paintings, from sites dating back to the Upper Paleolithic period. We might expect that early artistic efforts would be crude, but the cave paintings of Spain and southern France show a marked degree of skill. So do the naturalistic paintings on slabs of stone excavated in southern Africa. Some of those slabs appear to have been painted as much as 28,000 years ago, which suggests that painting in Africa is as old as painting in Europe. But painting may be even older than that. The early Australians may have painted on the walls of rock shelters and cliff faces at least 30,000 years ago, and maybe as much as 60,000 years ago.

1.The word “marked” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○Considerable　　○Surprising　　○Limited　　○Adequate

2.Paragraph 1 supports which of the following statements about painting in Europe?

○It is much older than painting in Australia.

○It is as much as 28,000 years old.

○It is not as old as painting in southern Africa.

○It is much more than 30,000 years old.

Paragraph 2：The researchers Peter Ucko and Andree Rosenfeld identified three principal locations of paintings in the caves of western Europe: (1) in obviously inhabited rock shelters and cave entrances; (2) in galleries immediately off the inhabited areas of caves; and (3) in the inner reaches of caves, whose difficulty of access has been interpreted by some as a sign that magical-religious activities were performed there.

3.The word “principal” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○Major　　○Likely　　○Well protected　　○Distinct

4.According to paragraph 2, what makes some researchers think that certain cave paintings were connected with magical-religious activities?

○The paintings were located where many people could easily see them, allowing groups of people to participate in the magical-religious activities.

○Upper Paleolithic people shared similar beliefs with contemporary peoples who use paintings of animals in their magical-religious rituals.

○Evidence of magical-religious activities has been found in galleries immediately off the inhabited areas of caves.

○The paintings were found in hard-to-reach places away from the inhabited parts of the cave.

Paragraph 3：The subjects of the paintings are mostly animals. The paintings rest on bare walls, with no backdrops or environmental trappings. Perhaps, like many contemporary peoples, Upper Paleolithic men and women believed that the drawing of a human image could cause death of injury, and if that were indeed their belief, it might explain why human figures are rarely depicted in cave art. Another explanation for the focus on animals might be that these people sought to improve their luck at hunting. This theory is suggested by evidence of chips in the painted figures, perhaps made by spears thrown at the drawings. But if improving their hunting luck was the chief motivation for the paintings, it is difficult to explain why only a few show signs of having been speared. Perhaps the paintings were inspired by the need to increase the supply of animals. Cave art seems to have reached a peak toward the end of the Upper Paleolithic period, when the herds of game were decreasing.

5.The word “trappings” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○Conditions　　○Problems　　○Influences　　○Decorations

6. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

○Upper Paleolithic people, like many contemporary peoples, believed that if they drew a human image in their cave art, it would cause death or injury.

○Many contemporary people believe that the drawing of a human image can cause death or injury, so they, like Upper Paleolithic people, rarely depicted human figures in their cave art.

○If Upper Paleolithic people, like many contemporary peoples, believed that the drawing of a human image could cause death or injury, this belief might explain why human figures are rarely depicted in cave art.

○Although many contemporary peoples believe that the drawing of a human image can cause death or injury, researchers cannot explain why Upper Paleolithic people rarely depicted human figures in their cave art. 蜕变培训网

7.According to paragraph 3, scholars explained chips in the painted figures of animals by proposing that

○Upper Paleolithic artists used marks to record the animals they had seen

○the paintings were inspired by the need to increase the supply of animals for hunting

○the artists had removed rough spots on the cave walls

○Upper Paleolithic people used the paintings to increase their luck at hunting

8.Why does the author mention that Upper Paleolithic cave art seemed to have “reached a peak toward the end of the Upper Paleolithic period, when the herds of game were decreasing”?

○To argue that Upper Paleolithic art creased to include animals when herds of game became scarce

○To provide support for the idea that the aim of the paintings was to increase the supply of animals for hunting

○To emphasize the continued improvement in the quality of cave art throughout the Upper Paleolithic period

○To show the direct connection between the decrease in herds of game and the end of the Upper Paleolithic period

Paragraph 4：The particular symbolic significance of the cave paintings in southwestern France is more explicitly revealed, perhaps, by the results of a study conducted by researchers Patricia Rice and Ann Paterson. The data they present suggest that the animals portrayed in the cave paintings were mostly the ones that the painters preferred for meat and for materials such as hides. For example, wild cattle (bovines) and horses are portrayed more often than we would expect by chance, probably because they were larger and heavier (meatier) than other animals in the environment. In addition, the paintings mostly portray animals that the painters may have feared the most because of their size, speed, natural weapons such as tusks and horns, and the unpredictability of their behavior. That is, mammoths, bovines, and horses are portrayed more often than deer and reindeer. Thus, the paintings are consistent with the idea that the art is related to the importance of hunting in the economy of Upper Paleolithic people. Consistent with this idea, according to the investigators, is the fact that the art of the cultural period that followed the Upper Paleolithic also seems to reflect how people got their food. But in that period, when getting food no longer depended on hunting large game animals (because they were becoming extinct), the art ceased to focus on portrayals of animals.

9.According to paragraph 4, scholars believe that wild cattle, horses, and mammoths are the animals most frequently portrayed in cave paintings for all of the following reasons EXPECT:

○These animals were difficult to hunt because their unpredictable behavior.

○People preferred these animals for their meat and for their skins.

○The painters admired the beauty of these large animals.

○People feared these animals because of their size and speed.

10.According to paragraph 4, which of the following may best represent the attitude of hunters toward deer and reindeer in the Upper Paleolithic period?

○Hunters did not fear deer and reindeers as much as they did large game animals such as horses and mammoths.

○Hunters were not interested in hunting deer and reindeer because of their size and speed.

○Hunters preferred the meat and hides of deer and reindeer to those of other animals.

○Hunters avoided deer and reindeer because of their natural weapons, such as horns.

11.According to paragraph 4, what change is evident in the art of the period following the Upper Paleolithic?

○This new art starts to depict small animals rather than large ones.

○This new art ceases to reflect the ways in which people obtained their food.

○This new art no longer consists mostly of representations of animals.

○This new art begins to show the importance of hunting to the economy.

Paragraph 5：Upper Paleolithic art was not confined to cave paintings. Many shafts of spears and similar objects were decorated with figures of animals. The anthropologist Alexander Marshack has an interesting interpretation of some of the engravings made during the Upper Paleolithic. He believes that as far back as 30.000 B.C., hunters may have used a system of notation, engraved on bone and stone, to mark phases of the Moon. If this is true, it would mean that Upper Paleolithic people were capable of complex thought and were consciously aware of their environment. In addition to other artworks, figurines representing the human female in exaggerated form have also been found at Upper Paleolithic sites. It has been suggested that these figurines were an ideal type or an expression of a desire for fertility.

12.According to paragraph 5, which of the following has been used as evidence to suggest that Upper Paleolithic people were capable of complex thought and conscious awareness of their environment?

○They engraved animal figures on the shafts of spears and other objects.

○They may have used engraved signs to record the phases of the Moon.

○Their figurines represented the human female in exaggerated form.

○They may have used figurines to portray an ideal type or to express a desire for fertility.

Paragraph 3：The subjects of the paintings are mostly animals. The paintings rest on bare walls, with no backdrops or environmental trappings. Perhaps, like many contemporary peoples, Upper Paleolithic men and women believed that the drawing of a human image could cause death of injury, and if that were indeed their belief, it might explain why human figures are rarely depicted in cave art. Another explanation for the focus on animals might be that these people sought to improve their luck at hunting.█ This theory is suggested by evidence of chips in the painted figures, perhaps made by spears thrown at the drawings. █ But if improving their hunting luck was the chief motivation for the paintings, it is difficult to explain why only a few show signs of having been speared. █ Perhaps the paintings were inspired by the need to increase the supply of animals. Cave art seems to have reached a peak toward the end of the Upper Paleolithic period, when the herds of game were decreasing. █

13.Look at the four squares [█] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

Therefore, if the paintings were connected with hunting, some other explanation is needed.

Where would the sentence best fit?

14.Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that explain the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

Upper Paleolithic cave paintings in Western Europe are among humanity’s earliest artistic efforts.

Answer choices

○Researchers have proposed several different explanations for the fact that animals were the most common subjects in the cave paintings.

○The art of the cultural period that followed the Upper Paleolithic ceased to portray large game animals and focused instead on the kinds of animals that people of that period preferred to hunt.

○Some researchers believe that the paintings found in France provide more explicit evidence of their symbolic significance than those found in Spain, southern Africa, and Australia.

○The cave paintings focus on portraying animals without also depicting the natural environments in which these animals are typically found.

○Some researchers have argued that the cave paintings mostly portrayed large animals that provided Upper Paleolithic people with meat and materials.

○Besides cave paintings, Upper Paleolithic people produced several other kinds of artwork, one of which has been thought to provide evidence of complex thought.

参考答案：

1. ○1

2. ○2

3. ○1

4. ○4

5. ○4

6. ○3

7. ○4

8.○2

9. ○3

10. ○1

11. ○3

12. ○2

13. ○3

14. ○1 5 6

参考译文

托福TPO真题阅读:难句分析

1. Their streamlined bodies, the absence of hind legs, and the presence of a fluke and blowhole cannot disguise their affinities with land dwelling mammals.
短语：cannot disguise their affinities with：不能掩盖它们与…的姻亲关系
land dwelling mammals：陆栖哺乳动物
释义：鲸类动物的流线型身体，后肢的缺少，三角状尾鳍的存在以及头顶的出气孔（以上都是典型的海洋动物特点）并不能掩盖它们与陆栖哺乳动物的姻亲关系。

2. However, unlike the cases of sea otters and pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walruses, whose limbs are functional both on land and at sea), it is not easy to envision
what the first whales looked like.
短语：unlike the case of:与…的情况不同
it is not easy to envision:很难想象…的样子
释义：与海獭和其他鳍足动物不同，人们很难想象最初鲸类的模样。逻辑转换：人们很难想象最初鲸类动物的模样，但与之相反，设想海獭等动物的原始样貌应较为容易。

3. How was the gap between a walking mammal and a swimming whale bridged?
释义：本段主旨句，提出文章所讨论的中心问题：从陆栖哺乳动物到水生鲸类之间到底是如何进化的？

4. Pakicetus was found embedded in rocks formed from river deposits that were 52 million years old. 分句：“formed from river deposits that were 52 million years old”：形成于距今52 million年前的河流沉积物中，修饰rocks释义：化石P被发现镶嵌在岩石中，该岩石从距今52 million年前的河流沉积物中演化而来。
5. The fossil consists of a complete skull of an archaeocyte, an extinct group of ancestors of modern cetaceans.
短语：a complete skull：完整的头骨
分句：“an extinct group of ancestors of modern cetaceans”修饰archaeocyte,即archaeocyte是鲸类动物的一种已灭绝的祖先
释义：此句为事实1，化石P具有一个完整的鲸类始祖archaeocyte的头骨。

6. The skull is cetacean-like but its jawbones lack the enlarged space that is filled with fat or oil and used for receiving underwater sound in modern whales. 分句：“that is filled with fat or oil and used for receiving underwater sound in modern whales”部分修饰enlarged space释义：化石P的颚骨（jawbones）缺少现代鲸类具有的扩大性空间，这部分空间通常由脂肪和油脂填充并用来收听水下声音。此句为事实2。

7. Pakicetus probably detected sound through the ear opening as in land mammals.
释义：注意probably,此句为猜测1，化石P可能和陆栖动物一样通过耳孔来接受声音。

8. The skull also lacks a blowhole, another cetacean adaptation for diving.
释义：此句为事实3，P头骨缺少气孔，该气孔是鲸类适应潜水活动的结构。

9. Other features, however, show experts that Pakicetus is a transitional form between a group of extinct flesh-eating mammals, the mesonychids, and cetaceans.
分句：“a group of extinct flesh-eating mammals”修饰“the mesonychid”，即M动物是一类已灭绝的食肉哺乳动物
主干：Pakicetus is a transitional form between the mesonychids and cetaceans
释义：此句指明化石P正是食肉哺乳动物M与鲸类的过渡阶段形态，为本段结论。

10.It has been suggested that Pakicetus fed on fish in shallow water and was not yet adapted for life in the open ocean.
短语：fed on fish：以鱼为食shallow water：浅水区
释义：注意suggested,此句为猜测2，即化石P可能生前靠浅水区鱼类为食并尚未适应海洋生活。

11. It probably bred and gave birth on land.
释义：“it”指代化石P，此句为猜测3，指出Pakicetus可能在陆地繁殖。

12. Several skeletons of another early whale, Basilosaurus, were found in sediments left by the Tethys Sea and now exposed in the Sahara desert.
词汇：exposed意为“暴露在”，此处指“处于，位于”。
分句：“left by the Tethys Sea”修饰sediments,即B骨架发现于T海遗留的沉积物中
释义：人们在Tethys海遗留的沉积物中发现了若干Basilosaurus的骨架，这些骨架现在位于撒哈拉沙漠中。

13. This whale lived around 40 million years ago, 12 million years after Pakicefus.
释义：此句为事实1，即Basilosaurus生活于40 million年前，比化石P晚12 million年。

14. Many incomplete skeletons were found but they included, for the first time in an archaeocyte, a complete hind leg that features a foot with three tiny toes.
分句：“a complete hind leg that features a foot with three tiny toes”即B具有完全的后肢，包括包括一只脚和三个脚趾
释义： 此句为事实2。注意archaeocyte是鲸类动物的一种已灭绝的祖先（已在上段中指出），由此可知原始鲸类Basilosaurus也是archaeocyte进化过程中的阶段性形态。

15.Such legs would have been far too small to have supported the 50-foot-long Basilosaurus on land. Basilosaurus was undoubtedly a fully marine whale with possibly nonfunctional, or vestigial, hind legs.
短语：“nonfunctional, or vestigial, hind legs”：无实用作用的，退化了的后肢。
分句：“would have been too small to have supported the 50-foot-long Basilosaurus on land”:（这后肢）太小以至于不可能支撑50英尺长的Basilosaurus在陆地活动
释义：此句为本段结论，即Basilosaurus绝对已是（undoubtedly）完全的海洋鲸类。

16. The now extinct whale Ambulocetus natans lived in the Tethys Sea 49 million years ago. It lived around 3 million years after Pakicetus but 9 million before Basilosaurus.
主干：Ambulocetus natans lived after Pakicetus but before Basilosaurus
释义：此句为事实1。指出Ambulocetus natans生活于49million年前的Tethys海中，它晚于Pakicetus 3million 年，但早于Basilosaurus 9 million年。

17.The fossil luckily includes a good portion of the hind legs. The legs were strong and ended in long feet very much like those of a modern pinniped. The legs were certainly functional both on land and at sea.
短语：a good portion of:很完好的一部分
be ended in：末端是…
分句：“ended in long feet very much like those of a modern pinniped”：实际为“ended in long feet (which is)very much like those of a modern pinniped”,修饰long feet
释义：此处为事实2。A化石具有完好的后肢，后肢很强壮且足部很长，如同现代鳍足动物（如海狮）一样，能够同时在陆地和海洋活动。

18. The structure of the backbone shows, however, that Ambulocetus swam like modern whales by moving the rear portion of its body up and down, even though a fluke was missing.
分句：“the major means of locomotion in modern cetaceans”修饰fluke,即现代鲸类在水中前进时所依靠的是其三角状尾鳍
主干：the structure of the backbone shows that Ambulocetus swam like modern whales
释义：此处为事实3。说明A化石缺少三角状尾鳍，但既便如此它仍能像现代鲸类一样游泳。

19. On land, where it probably bred and gave birth, Ambulocetus may have moved around very much like a modern sea lion.
释义：注意probably和may,此为猜测，即Ambulocetus可能在陆地繁殖后代，并且它在陆地运动时类似现代海狮。

20. It was undoubtedly a whale that linked life on land with life at sea.
释义：此句为本段结论，即通过上文描述A兼具海洋动物和陆地哺乳动物的特点得出它毫无疑问正是陆地哺乳动物到海洋鲸类过渡过程中的海陆两栖动物。

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