[2008年职称英语阅读理解练习题]Goal of American Education Education is an enormous and expensive part of American life. Its size is matched by its variety. Differences in American schools par...+阅读
Why Humans Walk On Two Legs
A team of scientists that studied chimpanzees trained to use treadmills has gathered new evidence suggesting that our earliest apelike ancestors started walking on two legs because it required less energy than getting around on all fours.
“When our earliest ancestors started walking on two legs, they took the first steps toward being human,” said lead researcher Michael Sockol of UC Dis1. “Our findings help answer why.” Sockol worked for two years to find an animal trainer willing to coax adult chimps to walk on two legs and to “knucklewalk” on all fours on the sort of treadmill found in most gyms.
The five chimps also wore face masks used to help the researchers measure oxygen consumption. While the chimps worked out, the scientists collected metabolic and other data that allowed them to calculate which method of lootion used less energy and why. The team gathered the same information for four adult humans walking on a treadmill.
The researchers found that human walking used about 75 percent less energy and burned 75 percent fewer calories than quadrupedal and bipedal2 walking in chimpanzees. They also found that for some but not all of the chimps, walking on two legs was no more costly than knucklewalking.
“We were prepared to find that all of the chimps used more energy walking on two legs – but that finding wouldn’t he been as interesting,” Sockol said. “What we found was much more telling. For three chimps, bipedalism3 was more expensive, but for the other two chimps, this wasn’t the case. One spent about the same energy walking on two legs as on four. The other used less energy walking upright.” These two chimps had different gaits and anatomy than their knucklewalking peers.
Taken together, the findings provide support for the hypothesis that anatomical differences affecting gait existed among our earliest apelike ancestors, and that these differences provided the geic variation which natural selection could act on when changes in the environment ge bipeds an advantage over quadrupeds.
Fossil and molecular evidence suggests the earliest ancestors of the human family lived in forested areas in equatorial Africa in the late Miocene era some 8 to 10 million years ago, when changes in climate may he increased in distance between food patches. That would he forced our earliest ancestors to trel longer distances on the ground and fored those who could cover more ground using less energy.
“This isn’t the plete answer,” Sockol said. “But it’s a good piece of a puzzle humans he always wondered about: How and why did we bee human? And why do we alone walk on two legs?” (435 words)
词汇：
chimpanzee n. 黑猩猩(又作
chimp )calorie n. 卡(路里)，小卡
biped n 二足动物
treadmill n. 踏轮;踏车;单调工作gait n. 步态，步法
coax v. 哄，哄劝anatomic adj. 解剖(学)的
knucklewalk v. 用膝关节走路Quadruped n. 四足动物
metabolic adj.(新陈)代谢的Miocene n.bi-:构词词素，是“二”的意思;ped-：构词词素，是“脚”的意思;-al是构成形容词的后缀，表示“...的”。因此，quadrupedal意为“四足动物的”，bipedal意为“二足动物的”。
3. bipedalism：系bipedal
(二足动物的)的对应名词，这里后缀-ism表示“特征”、“特性”。
练习：
1. What did Michael Sockol and his team find out in their study of chimpanzees?
A) The evidence why chimpanzees can be trained to use treadmills.
B) The evidence why our apelike ancestors came to walk on four legs.
C )The evidence why our apelike ancestors came to walk on two legs.
D) The evidence why chimpanzees can be trained to walk on two legs.
2. Which of the following best interprets the meaning of“While the chimps worked out, ….”(the first sentence of the third paragraph)?
A) While the chimps worked in the lab….
B) While the chimps exercised in the gym….
C) While the chimps tried to figure out what they should do….-
D) While the chimps tried to understand the instructions….
3. What was the result of the finding, according to Paragraph 5?
A) Three chimps used more energy walking on two legs.
B) One chimp used less energy walking on two legs.
C) One chimp used about the same energy walking on two legs as on four.
D) All of the above.
4. What was true of the hypothesis of the research?
A) Our apelike ancestors were anatomically different but had the same gaits.
B) Bipeds with natural selection had an advantage over quadruped.
C) Our apelike ancestors could adapt to different climate changes due to geic variation.
D) Bipeds had an advantage over quadrupeds due to changes in the environment.
5. What does fossil and molecular evidence tell us about our earliest ancestors.
A) They experienced more climate changes than we do today.
B) Due to changes in climate, they were forced to trel between food patches.
C) They could cover more ground than their quadrupedal peers because they used less energy.
D)They could trel longer distances on the ground than those who could use less energy.参考答案：
1.C.该题可以利用文章主题内容直接判断答案，也可以利用问题句及被选项中的特征结构及细节信息结构(加粗字体内容)共同作为答案线索， 在文章中查找答案相关句：
(可能的考点句)A team of
(一组)scientists (科学家)that studied chimpanzees trained to use treadmills (跑步机)has gathered(收集，集合) new evidence (证据)suggesting(表明)that our earliest (初期的)apelike(象猿人的) ancestors(象猿人的) started(开始) walking on two legs because(因为) it required(需要， 要求) less(较少的) energy(能量)than getting around (到处走动)on all fours
(四肢).
(一组研究被训练学习使用跑步机的黑猩猩的科学家们发现了一些新的证据：我们的人猿祖先开始直立行走是因为两条腿比四条腿行走省力)
“When our earliest ancestors started walking on two legs, they took the first steps toward being human,” said lead(领导) researcher(研究带头人) Michael Sockol of UC Dis1. “Our findings help answer why.” Sockol worked for two years to find an animal trainer willing to coax adult chimps to walk on two legs and to “knucklewalk” on all fours on the sort of treadmill found in most gyms.
根据第一段的内容
(一组研究被训练学习使用跑步机的黑猩猩的科学家们发现了一些新的证据：我们的人猿祖先开始直立行走是因为两条腿比四条腿行走省)可以直接判断C是答案。
2.B. 首先找到这个结构在文章中的位置，然后借助其所在句子的句意或上下文内容判断答案。
(第3段)The five chimps also wore face masks used to help the researchers measure oxygen consumption. While the chimps worked out, the scientists(科学家) collected(收集， 聚集) metabolic(新陈代谢的) and other data(数据) that allowed(允许) them to calculate(计算出) which method(方法) of lootion(运动， 移动) used less energy(能量) and why. The team gathered the same information for four adult humans walking on a treadmill.
2. B worked out句子中的含义是“运动，锻炼”的意思，所以选择 B。
3.D. 利用被选项中的特征结构(加粗文字内容)作为答案线索，在文章中查找答案相关句：
(可能的考点设置句)(第5段)“We were prepared to find that all of the chimps used more energy walking on two legs – but that finding wouldn’t he been as interesting,” Sockol said. “What we found was much more telling. For three chimps, bipedalism(两足动物/具有两足动物特征) was more expensive(昂贵的， 花费的) (与选项A内容一致), but for the other two chimps, this isn’t the case(情况). One (代词， 指代one chimp)spent about the same energy(能量) walking on two legs as on four(与选项C一致). The other(指剩下的一个黑猩猩) used less energy walking upright(竖直地，垂直的， 正直的).(与选项B一致)”These two chimps had different gaits and anatomy than their knuckle walking peers.
第五段的第
三、第四和第五句提供了答案。bipedalism was more expensive的意思是：两足行走消耗更多的体能。walking upright的意思是：直立行走，即两足行走。
4.D.利用问题句及被选项中的细节信息词语(加粗字体内容)共同作为答案线索， 在文章中查找答案相关句:
“We were prepared to find that all of the chimps used more energy walking on two legs – but that finding wouldn’t he been as interesting,” Sockol said. “What we found was much more telling.(第5段答案相关句) For three chimps, bipedalism3 was more expensive, but for the other two chimps, this wasn’t the case. One spent about the same energy walking on two legs as on four. The other used less energy walking upright.” These two chimps had different gaits and anatomy than their knucklewalking peers.
(可能的考点设置句)(第6段)Taken(拿， 拿走, 占领, 获得) together
(一起), the findings(研究发现) provide support for (为...提供了支持)the hypothesis (假设)that anatomical (解剖学上的)differences(差异)affecting gait existed among(在...之中) our earliest apelike ancestors(与A不一致), and that these differences(差异) provided(提供) the geic variation(遗传变异) which natural selection (自然选择)could act on(对...起作用)when changes in the environment(环境) ge bipeds(两足动物) an advantage over(优于...的优势) quadrupeds
(四足动物)(该部分内容与选项D结构和用词一致， 因此D是答案).
第六段告诉了我们研究的两个假设：一种假设：猿人祖先在解剖学意义上存在着差异，这一差异影响了它们的步态;另一种假设：这些差异为自然选择所决定的遗传变异提供了可能性，而环境变化使得两足行走的猿人比起四足行走的猿人更有优势。因此B是答案。
5.C. 利用问题句及被选项中的细节信息结构(字体加粗文字)共同作为答案线索，在文章中查找答案相关句
(第4题答案相关句)Taken together, the findings provide support for the hypothesis that anatomical differences affecting gait existed among our earliest apelike ancestors, and that these differences provided the geic variation which natural selection could act on when changes in the environment ge bipeds an advantage over quadrupeds.
Fossil(化石的) and molecular (分子的)evidence(证据) suggests(显示) the earliest ancestors(祖先) of the human family lived in forested(被森林所覆盖的) areas in equatorial(近赤道的) Africa(非洲) in the late(迟的，末期的) Miocene era (中世纪末期)some(大约) 8 to 10 million years ago(以前), when changes in climate may he increased the distance between food patches. That would he forced(强迫) our earliest ancestors(早期的祖先)(问题句中的核心结构) to trel longer distances(距离) on the ground and fored(赞成，帮助， 有利于) those who could cover(通过) more ground using less energy. (C中的cover more ground的近义结构trel longer distance , less energy都出现这个句子中，因此可能C是答案)。
“This isn’t the plete answer,” Sockol said. “But it’s a good piece of a puzzle humans he always wondered about: How and why did we bee human? And why do we alone walk on two legs?”
倒数第二段提供了问题的答案。trel longer distances用的是比较级，这里是将两足行走的猿人与上文中四足行走的猿人做比较。those who could cover more ground using less energy指的是上文提到的与四足行走的猿人相比，体能消耗较小的两足行走猿人。其他选择都不是正确说法。
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