12.About 5,500years ago,one group of humans invented something truly revolutionary:the wheel.Almost overnight news of the innovation spread far and wide,and wheels became popular so quickly that some archaeologists say we can't be sure exactly where the wheel was invented.
According to HYPERLINK"http://www.birmingham.a(chǎn)c.uk/schools/psychology/people/dr-students/reindl-eva.a(chǎn)spx"Eva Reindl at the University of Birmingham in the UK,stories like this tell us a lot about what makes us human.Surprisingly,it's not that humans worked out how to make wheels that's important-it's the fact that other populations quickly caught on and copied the idea.Reindl and her colleagues say that a chimpanzee,gorilla or orangutan won't copy another ape's(猿) inventions.Each ape,says Reindl,learns for itself how to solve a problem.These species lack our cumulative(累積的) culture-they are constantly reinventing the wheel.
They also find out that even though our species relies on learning from others,it seems-as youngsters,at least-we're still capable of thinking entirely for ourselves.In this particular field,humans and other apes are apparently born in the same state.
Slightly paradoxically,Reindl says that finding similarities in the way humans and other apes are born can actually help us better define what really does make us unique as a species.This is because it highlights behaviors that we develop but that other apes do not.
For instance,although we might start out life with the same sort of tool-using capability that a chimpanzee possesses,we soon begin to behave in a more sophisticated way-precisely because we watch others and tap into the collective human wisdom that has accumulated down the generations."My colleagues and I work from the standpoint that cumulative culture is probably uniquely human,"says Riendl."But it's a subject of hot debate in the field right now."
On the other side of the debate are researchers like HYPERLINK"http://www.eva.mpg.de/primat/staff/boesch/"Christophe Boesch at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig,Germany."Our study of different tool selection in Tai chimps shows clearly that some important social component is at work in how chimps learn to select tools.In this region,at least,the apes actually do learn some tool use by carefully copying those around them.We still have so much to learn about tool use in chimpanzees,"says Boesch-including the complete range of tool use behaviors these apes show,how common each behavior is,and how individual chimpanzees learn to use tools for themselves.
It's not yet clear whether cumulative culture separates us from apes.The scientific jury clearly hasn't yet arrived at a decision.When consensus does emerge,we'll know whether our sister species share our ability to imitate others-or whether they are doomed to reinvent the same things over and over again.
61.The stories like wheels'invention are mentioned to show thatB.
A.humans can figure out how to invent wheels
B.humans can copy ideas and accumulate knowledge
C.a(chǎn)pes aren't smarter than human beings
D.a(chǎn)pes are capable of inventing the wheel
62.What can we infer from Boesch's study?A
A.Cumulative culture might exist in apes.
B.Apes can use tools by copying others.
C.Tools selection is an important social component.
D.Cumulative culture separates humans from apes.
63.What does the author think of the imitating ability of apes?D
A.They can do nothing but reinvent the same things over and over again.
B.Thinking for themselves is what they possess on their developing stage now.
C.Learning to copy others to use tools proves the existence of their imitating ability.
D.It remains to be seen whether apes have their cumulative culture.
64.Which of the following can best summarize the main idea of the passage?D
A.The invention and development of the wheel.
B.The differences between humans and apes.
C.The debate about cumulative culture in humans.
D.The argument about cumulative culture in apes.
分析 本文是一篇新聞報道類閱讀.文章主要介紹了Eva Reindl和Christophe Boesch對于猿類是否可以像人類一樣積累文化提出了不同的觀點.
解答 61-64 BADD
61.B.細節(jié)理解題.根據(jù)"it's the fact that other populations quickly caught on and copied the idea."可知人們善于模仿并會積累文化.故選B.
62.A.推理判斷題.根據(jù)"In this region,at least,the apes actually do learn some tool use by carefully copying those around them."可知猿類也是像人類一樣可以積累文化.故選A.
63.D.細節(jié)理解題.根據(jù)"It's not yet clear whether cumulative culture separates us from apes.The scientific jury clearly hasn't yet arrived at a decision."可知猿類是否能積累文化這一問題還有待進一步研究.故選D.
64.D.主旨大意題.縱覽全文并根據(jù)"It's not yet clear whether cumulative culture separates us from apes.The scientific jury clearly hasn't yet arrived at a decision."可知文章主要討論了猿類是否能夠積累文化.故選D.
點評 本文是一篇新聞報道類閱讀.此類題型主要考查學(xué)生的細節(jié)理解和推理判斷能力.細節(jié)理解題是針對文中某個細節(jié)、某句話或某部分具體內(nèi)容設(shè)置問題,所以在做細節(jié)理解題時要結(jié)合原文和提干有針對性的找出相關(guān)語句進行仔細分析,再結(jié)合選項選出正確答案.在做推理判斷題時不要以個人的主觀想象代替文章的事實,要聯(lián)系上下文根據(jù)文章事實進行合乎邏輯的推理判斷.在做主旨大意題時考生首先要仔細閱讀短文,完整了解信息,準確把握作者觀點,確定主旨.