单选题 Botany, the study of plants, occupies a peculiar position in the history of human knowledge. For many thousands of years it was the one field of awareness about which humans had anything more than the vaguest of insights. It is impossible to know today just what our Stone Age ancestors knew about plants, but from what we can observe of pre-industrial 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 peoples, not only for food, but also for clothing, weapons, tools, dyes, medicines, shelter, and a great many other purposes. Tribes living today in the jungles of the Amazon recognize literally hundreds of plants and know many properties of each. To them botany, as such, 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 fail 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 get 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 Which of the following assumptions about early humans is expressed in the passage?
  • A. They probably had extensive knowledge of plants.
  • B. They thought there was no need to cultivate crops.
  • C. They did not enjoy the study of botany.
  • D. They placed great importance on the ownership of property.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 本题提问的具体细节是哪一种假设符合早期人类对植物属性的认识。文章的第一段第三句话对这个细节做出了解释。由此可得出下列假设：早期人类可能有着广泛的植物知识。A项符合原文的意思。
单选题 What does the comment" this is logical "in line 5 mean?
  • A. There is no clear way to determine the extent of our ancestor's knowledge of plants.
  • B. It is not surprising that early humans had a detailed knowledge of plants.
  • C. It is reasonable to assume that our ancestors behaved very much like people in pre-industrial societies.
  • D. Human knowledge of plants is well organized and very detailed.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 联系上下文，寻找该代词先行词，this指前面的一句话：“人们对于植物及其属性情况的了解很早就开始了”是合乎逻辑的，故正确答案是B。
单选题 In line 17, what is the author's purpose in mentioning "a rose, an apple, or an orchid"?
  • A. To make the passage more poetic.
  • B. To cite examples of plants that are attractive.
  • C. To give botanical examples that all readers will recognize.
  • D. To illustrate the diversity of botanical life.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 作者列举三种植物的目的在下文已做出解释，旨在论证人们对植物及其属性的了解是无意识的一种认识，故正确答案是C。
单选题 According to the passage, what was the first great step toward the practice of agriculture?
  • A. The invention of agricultural implements and machinery.
  • B. The development of a system of names for plants.
  • C. The discovery of grasses that could be harvested and replanted.
  • D. The changing diets of early humans.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 该题为细节题，提问的具体细节是人类迈向农业的第一步是什么，文章的第二段第三句话对这个细节作了解释，据此判定，正确答案为C：发现植物能被收获并再次耕种，是人类迈向农业的第一步。A、B、D项所述的内容则与原文不符。
单选题 The relationship between botany and agriculture is similar to the relationship between zoology (the study of animals) and______.
  • A. deer hunting
  • B. bird watching
  • C. sheep raising
  • D. horseback riding
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 求解本题的关键在于搞清植物学与农业的关系，然后从四个答案中找出与之相似的一对关系。植物学是对植物进行的学术研究；农业则是对植物的实际人工利用，人经过自己的劳动，生产出植物作为食物，并使之造福于人类。根据这种关系，动物学是对动物的研究。比较四个选择答案，只有C项sheep raising(养羊)可与之相配。因为养羊是对动物的一种实际人工利用。
单选题 Why do tribes living in the jungles of the Amazon recognize so many plants?
  • A. Because plants have always been enormously important to the welfare of people, especially to those ancient tribes.
  • B. Because their memory are very excellent.
  • C. Because there are many plants growing in the Amazon.
  • D. Because they recognize it as a special branch of knowledge.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 从第一段最后几句可以看出，亚马逊河流域古老部落的成员能辨别大量的植物主要是因为植物对他们的生活很重要，能给他们提供食物、服装、武器、住所等。因此，四个选项中只有A符合题意。