Botany, the study of plants, occupies a peculiar position in the history of
human knowledge. We don't know what our Stone Age ancestors knew about plants,
but from what we can observe of preindustrial societies that still exist, a
detailed learning of plants and their properties must be extremely ancient. This
is logical. Plants are the basis of the food pyramid for all living things, even
for other plants. They have always been enormously important to the welfare of
people, not only for food, but also for clothing, weapons, tools, dyes,
medicines, shehers, and many other purposes. Tribes living today in the jungle
of the Amazon recognize hundreds of plants and know many properties of each. To
them botany has no name and is probably not even recognized as a special branch
of "knowledge" at all. Unfortunately, the more industrialized
we become the farther away we move from direct contact with plants, and the less
distinct our knowledge of botany grows. Yet everyone comes unconsciously on an
amazing amount of botanical knowledge, and few people will fall to recognize a
rose, an apple, or an orchid. When our Neolithic ancestors, living in the Middle
East about 10,000 years ago, discovered that certain grasses could be harvested
and their seeds planted for richer yields the next season, the first great step
in a new association of plants and humans was taken. Grains were discovered and
from them flowed the marvel of agriculture: cultivated crops. From then on,
humans would increasingly take their living from the controlled production of a
few plants, rather than getting a little here and a little there from many
varieties that grew wild and the accumulated knowledge of tens of thousands of
years of experience and intimacy with plants in the wild would begin to fade
away.
单选题
It is logical that a detailed learning of plants and their properties
must be extremely ancient.
A. Right
B. Wrong
C. Not mentioned
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 答案查找的线索词：a detailed learning(详细的研究)和properties(特征)，从第一段开始查找，不难在第一段的第二句找到含有该线索词的相关句。对照原文和问题句，不难发现原文的说法与问题句的主句相符，且在原句后有“this is logical”，而this作为代词回指前句(相关句)，所以此题说法为“正确”的。
单选题
Our direct contact with plants grows with the process of
industrialization.
A. Right
B. Wrong
C. Not mentioned
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 这句话依据常识判断应是不正确的。答案查找的线索词：the process of industrialization(工业革命的进程)(专有名词是典型的答案线索词)，不难在第二段的首句找到含有相关线索词(industrialized)的相关句。对照原文和问题句，不难发现原文的说法与问题句的主句不相符：原句说“工业化的程度越高，我们与植物的直接接触就越少”，所以此题说法为“错误”的。
单选题
Today people usually acquire a large amount of botanical knowledge from
textbooks.
单选题
People living in the Middle East first learned to grow plants for food
about 10,000 years ago.
A. Right
B. Wrong
C. Not mentioned
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 答案查找的线索词：10,000(数字是典型的答案线索词)。不难在第二段第三句找到相关句。对照原文和问题句，不难发现原文的说法与问题句的主句相符：原句中虽然并没有使用learn to grow(学会种植)而是用discover(发现)，但在随后的一句中说“从他们开始，谷物被发现了，而且出现了农业的奇迹——种植农业。”，所以此题说法为“正确”的。
单选题
Once mankind began farming, they no longer had to get food from many
varieties that grew wild.