The Origins of Agriculture
Paragraph 1：How did it come about that farming developed independently in a number of world centers (the Southeast Asian mainland, Southwest Asia, Central America, lowland and highland South America, and equatorial Africa) at more or less the same time? Agriculture developed slowly among populations that had an extensive knowledge of plants and animals. Changing from hunting and gathering to agriculture had no immediate advantages. To start with, it forced the population to abandon the nomad's life and became sedentary, to develop methods of storage and, often, systems of irrigation. While hunter-gatherers always had the option of moving elsewhere when the resources were exhausted, this became more difficult with farming. Furthermore, as the archaeological record shows, the state of health of agriculturalists was worse than that of their contemporary hunter-gatherers.
1.The word “option” in the passage is closest in meaning to
O choice
O benefit
O idea
O experience
題型：詞匯題
解題思路： option是一個簡單詞匯，意思為“選擇”，所以A項正確。
重點句子翻譯：
While hunter-gatherers always had the option of moving elsewhere when the resources were exhausted, this became more difficult with farming.
然而，當自然資源枯竭的時候，狩獵者永遠可以選擇搬到別處去，這使得種地變得更加困難。
2. According to paragraph 1, all of the following are advantages of hunting and gathering over agriculture EXCEPT:
O It is a healthier lifestyle.
O It requires less knowledge of plants and animals.
O It does not need storage capabilities.
O It is not tied to any specific location.
題型：排除列舉題
定位詞： advantages of hunting and gathering over agriculture
解 題思路： 根據(jù)定位詞定位回原文，A項對應 “the state of health of agriculturalists was worse than that of their contemporary hunter-gatherers”; C項對應“to develop methods of storage”; D項對應” hunter-gatherers always had the option of moving elsewhere”, B項原文未提及，為正確選項。
Paragraph 2：Traditionally, it was believed that the transition to agriculture was the result of a worldwide population crisis. It was argued that once hunter-gatherers had occupied the whole world, the population started to grow everywhere and food became scarce; agriculture would have been a solution to this problem. We know, however, that contemporary hunter-gatherer societies control their population in a variety of ways. The idea of a world population crisis is therefore unlikely, although population pressure might have arisen in some areas.
3. The word “therefore” in the passage is closest in meaning to
O in theory
O obviously
O frequently
O as a result
題型：詞匯題
解題思路： therefore是一個簡單詞匯，表示一種結果。所以D項正確。
4. Which of the following best describes the way paragraph 2 is organized?
O A possible explanation for a phenomenon is presented and then criticized.
O Two similar ways of accounting for a puzzling fact are considered.
O Early societies' response to a problem is contrasted with contemporary societies' response.
O A prehistoric development is first explained in traditional terms and then in contemporary terms.
題型：修辭目的題
解 題思路： 在本段中，文章開頭引入了一個社會向農(nóng)業(yè)方向轉變的原因－ population crisis, 中間 however 一詞說明作者的態(tài)度發(fā)生了轉變，結尾說到這個理論是 unlikely的，所以本段結構是先為一種現(xiàn)象提供了一種解釋，隨后反駁。A項正確。
Paragraph 3：Climatic changes at the end of the glacial period 13,000 years ago have been proposed to account for the emergence of farming. The temperature increased dramatically in a short period of time (years rather than centuries), allowing for a growth of the hunting-gathering population due to the abundance of resources. There were, however, fluctuations in the climatic conditions, with the consequences that wet conditions were followed by dry ones, so that the availability of plants and animals oscillated brusquely.
5. 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.
O The resources needed by the growing hunting and gathering population increased rapidly once temperatures rose.
O Dramatic temperature increases and the simultaneous growth of the hunting and gathering population led to the need for more resources.
O Higher temperatures led to the existence of increased resources, thus enabling the hunting and gathering population to grow.
O The dramatic temperature increase occurred during the few years when abundant resources allowed the hunting and gathering population to grow.
題型：句子簡化題
解題思路： 原句中沒有明顯的邏輯關系，抓住句子的主干：升高的溫度使自然資源更加豐富，導致了捕獵人口數(shù)量的增加。選項C抓住了原句主干，所以C項正確。
重點句子翻譯：
The temperature increased dramatically in a short period of time (years rather than centuries), allowing for a growth of the hunting-gathering population due to the abundance of resources.
氣溫在一個很短的時間急劇增加（年，而不是世紀），由于自然資源充足使得狩獵人口大量增長。
6. According to paragraph 3, the abundance of resources fluctuated sharply after the end of the glacial period because
O locally abundant resources were quickly exhausted by hunter-gatherers
O the temperature became much higher in some areas over others
O different types of plants and animals became available as the climate changed
O the amount of rainfall varied radically from one period to the next
題型：細節(jié)題
定位詞： the abundance of resources fluctuated sharply after the end of the glacial period
解題思路：最后一句中“the availability of plants and animals oscillated brusquely” 是定位詞的同義改寫，所以答案就是這句話中說的雨季、旱季的更替使得動植物劇烈波動。所以選項D正確。
重點句子翻譯：
There were, however, fluctuations in the climatic conditions, with the consequences that wet conditions were followed by dry ones, so that the availability of plants and animals oscillated brusquely.
然而，氣候條件的波動帶來的潮濕、干旱的更替，使得動植物資源劇烈波動。