Manhattan是考生在备考GMAT考试时必备的备考资料之一，在Manhattan阅读中对GMAT阅读考试的介绍非常详细实用，下面小编就为大家带来Manhattan阅读中文笔记-Chapter7(四)希望对大家的阅读备考有帮助。
Passage D: Fossils
In archaeology, as in the physical sciences, new discoveries frequently undermine accepted findings and give rise to new theories. This trend can be seen in the reaction to the recent discovery of a set of 3.3-million-year-old fossils in Ethiopia, the remains of the earliest well-preserved child ever found. The fossilized child was estimated to be about 3 years old at death, female, and a member of the Australopithecus afarensis species. The afarensis species, a major human ancestor, lived in Africa from earlier than 3.7 million to 3 million years ago. "Her completeness, antiquity and age at death make this find of unprecedented importance in the history of paleo-anthropology," said Zeresenay Alemseged, a noted paleo-anthropologist. Other scientists said that the discovery could reconfigure conceptions about the lives and capacities of these early humans.
Prior to this discovery, it had been thought that the afarensis species had abandoned the arboreal habitat of their ape cousins. However, while the lower limbs of this fossil supported findings that afarensis walked upright, its gorilla-like arms and shoulders suggested that it retained the ability to swing through trees. This has initiated a reexamination of many accepted theories of early human development. Also, the presence of a hyoid bone, a rarely preserved bone in the larynx that supports muscles of the throat, has had a tremendous impact on theories about the origins of speech. The fossil bone is primitive and more similar to that of apes than to that of humans, but it is the first hyoid found in such an early human-related species.
生疏单词：
undermine：破坏，危害
Australopithecus：南猿
antiquity：高龄，古物
unprecedented：空前的
paleo：古，旧
reconfigure：重新配置
arboreal：树木的
limb：肢，臂
initiate：开始，创始，发起
reexamination：再调查，复试
hyoid：舌骨，舌骨的
larynx：喉骨，喉
长难句分析：
However, while the lower limbs of this fossil supported findings that afarensis walked upright, its gorilla-like arms and shoulders suggested that it retained the ability to swing through trees.
句子的主体结构the lower limbs supported findings，that引导宾语从句，对发现的内容进行解释，从句中又有suggested that引导的宾语从句，是典型的从句套从句。
话题分类：自然科学
文章展开套路：新老观点型
作者态度：客观评价
文章脉络：
第一段：在考古方面，如物理科学，新的发现经常会破坏已有的结果并产生新的理论。
第二段：人们一直认为人类物种已经放弃了猿把树作为栖息地，但一个新的发现发起了对早期人类发展理论的再调查。更多相关内容请点击》两大普世性GMAT阅读法介绍。
答案：1-5: C D C D C
习题解析：
1. The organization of the passage could best be described as
(A) discussing a controversial scientific discovery
(B) contrasting previous theories of development with current findings
(C) illustrating a contention with a specific example
(D) arguing for the importance of a particular field of study
(E) refuting a popular misconception
选项说明：
(A) 文中没有提到有争议的科学结论，并且忽略了研究发现是对推测的证实或推翻。
(B) 文中没有体现对新旧两种理论的鲜明对比，只是说新发现影响了对之前观点的看法。
(C) 正确，通过具体的实例来支撑新的观点。
(D) 文中没有把考古学作为研究领域来支持其发现的重要性。
(E) 文中没有说以前的观点是错误的而对其进行反驳。
2. The passage quotes Zeresenay Alemseged in order to
(A) provide evidence to qualify the main idea of the first paragraph
(B) question the claims of other scientists
(C) provide evidence to support the linguistic abilities of the afarensis species
(D) provide evidence that supports the significance of the find
(E) provide a subjective opinion that is refuted in the second paragraph
选项说明：
(A) 引用强调了此项发现的重要性，没有qualify第一段的主旨。
(B) 文章没有讨论the claims of other scientists。
(C) the linguistic abilities of the afarensis species是在第二段，和引用无关。
(D) 引用证明了此项发现对于考古学的重要意义。
(E) 引用证明了此项发现对于考古学的重要意义，而不是为了反驳第二段的观点。
3. Each of the following is cited as a factor in the importance of the discovery of the fossils
EXCEPT
(A) the fact that the remains were those of a child
(B) the age of the fossils
(C) the location of the discovery
(D) the species of the fossils
(E) the intact nature of the fossils
选项说明：
(A) 第一段第五句the find of the child fossils was of unprecedented importance due to the child’s age at death.
(B) 化石的年龄在第一段作为该项发现重要的原因被提到。
(C) 第一段提到化石被发现的位置，但与其重要性无太大关系。
(D)第二段有提到 accepted theories o f early human development。化石所在的种群对此次发现有重要意义。
(E)第一段第五句指出此次发现的重要性之一就是化石的完整性。
4. It can be inferred from the passage’s description of the discovered fossil hyoid bone that
(A) Australopithecus afarensis were capable of speech
(B) the discovered hyoid bone is less primitive than the hyoid bone of apes
(C) the hyoid bone is necessary for speech
(D) the discovery of the hyoid bone necessitated the reexamination of prior theories
(E) the hyoid bone was the most important fossil found at the site
选项说明：
(A) 文中没有给出Australopithecus afarensis它的说话能力的证明。
(B) 指出hyoid bone与apes非常相似，但是没有提到进化方面的事
(C) 文中只是说这一骨骼结构对于发音很重要，但没有说是必须。
(D) 文中有提到，这一发现促使要对以前的理论进行再调查。
(E)文中没有对新发现的个因素进行重要性的排序。
5. According to the passage, the impact of the discovery of the hyoid bone in the field of archaeology could best be compared to which one of the following examples in another field?
(A) The discovery and analysis of cosmic rays lend support to a widely accepted theory of the origin of the universe.
(B) The original manuscript of a deceased 19th century author confirms ideas of the development of an important work of literature.
(C) The continued prosperity of a state-run economy stirs debate in the discipline of macroeconomics.
(D) Newly revealed journal entries by a prominent Civil War-era politician lead to a questioning of certain accepted historical interpretations about the conflict.
(E) Research into the mapping of the human genome gives rise to nascent applications of
individually tailored medicines.
选项说明：
(A) 在这个例子中，此项发现支持了一个广泛地理论，而不是对早期理论的再调查。
(B) 这一答案描述了作者原稿证实了文学发展的重要性，但两者的发现是不同的没有可比性。
(C) 这一选项描述电流现象，一家国营企业经济的持续成功。这和发现舌骨的方式是不同的。
(D)正确，此选项描述了这一发现会导致一个领域早期观点的再调查。
(E)这个答案生物学领域的的新发现引起新的应用程序的开发，与文中的模式不同。
以上是关于Manhattan阅读中文笔记-Chapter7(四)的详细内容，希望大家也能从中受益，不断改进自己的备考方法提升备考效率，从而写出漂亮的文章获得满意的成绩。更多相关内容百利天下小编会持续为大家送上，祝大家都能早日梦圆名校。
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