单选题 Darwin's great work, the origin of Species, is now generally accepted as one of the most important books ever written. But when it first came out in 1859, it was both derided and bitterly condemned by scientists and laymen.
Much of opposition to the origin of Species arose from Darwin's claim that all living creatures, including man, are somehow related. Many people were outraged by the suggestion that man shared a common ancestor with animals such as apes and monkeys. They attacked Darwin for saying that man had descended from the apes.
But Darwin never actually said this. He believed that modem men and modem apes have both descended from the same ancestor. But at some time in pre-history, millions of years ago, men and apes began to develop separately, and ever since have continued to take on different characteristics. Today, more than 90 years after Darwin% death, this is the opinion which scientists continue to hold.
In his works, Darwin described the progression of life from its earliest forms. First came the invertebrate-creatures without a backbone. Then invertebrates evolved into fish; fish into amphibians; amphibians into reptiles; and reptiles into birds and mammals.
Fossil remains found after his death show that Darwin was right. Perhaps the most amazing fact about his theory is that he managed to work it out with the aid of only a few fossil discoveries.
Fossil remains were not the only information which we now possess but which Darwin lacked. He did not know that apes have the same diseases as men; nor that they and men have the same kind of blood. Nor did he know about the modern uses of radiation which enable scientists to tell the age of fossil remains and so estimate the speed at which evolution has taken place.

单选题 Which of the following best describes the passage as a whole?

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】主旨大意题。在文章的开头部分，作者说到“Darwin's great work，the origin of Species，is now generally accepted as one of the most important books ever written．But when it first came out in 1859，it was both derided and bitterly condemned by scientists and laymen(达尔文的巨著《物种起源》，如今已被广泛认为是最重要的著作之一。然而，当它于1859年首次出现时，却遭到了科学家和平民的嘲笑和强烈谴责) ”。很明显，这便是文章的主题。四个选项中，A) 的概括过于简单，C) 没有提到达尔文和他的著作，而 D) 的表述太片面。

单选题 Millions of years ago, men and apes had continued to ______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】事实细节题。第三段的中间说到了“millions of years ago，men and apes began to develop separately”，也就是说几百万年前，人类和猿类便开始各自进化。四个选项中，A) 选项中的features与文章中的characteristics同义。这种情况在阅读理解的题目中很常见。掌握同义词和近义词很重要。

单选题 How many stages are there before men were evolved?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】事实细节题。第四段明确介绍了生命进化的五个过程“First came the invertebrate-creatures without a backbone. Then invertebrates evolved into fish; fish into amphibians; amphibians into reptiles; and reptiles into birds and mammals”。它们是：无脊椎—鱼—两栖—爬行—鸟和哺乳。由此可以看出是五个阶段。

单选题 What’s the meaning of "amphibian" in line 3 of paragraph 4?

单选题 What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】主旨大意题。见最后一段第一句话"Fossil remains were not the only information which we now possess but which Darwin lacked"，这句话也明显是最后一段的主题句。而这一段是在列举现代研究比起达尔文的先进之处，重点是说明现代研究发现了许多达尔文没能发现的东西。四个选项中前三个选项只是干扰项。