单选题
Whether you think the human story begins in a garden in Mesopotamia known as Eden, or in present-day east Africa, it is clear that human beings did not start life as an urban creature. Man's habitat at the outset was dominated by the need to find food, and hunting and gathering were rural pursuits. Not until around 11,000 years ago, did he start building anything that might be called a village. It took another 6000 years for cities of more than 100,000 people to develop. In terms of human history this may seem a welcome development. It would be questionable to say that nothing of consequence has ever come out of the countryside. The wheel was presumably a rural invention. Even city-dwellers need bread as well as circuses. And if Dr. Johnson and Shelley were right to say that poets are the true legislators of mankind, then all those hills and lakes and other rural delights must be given credit for inspiring them. But the rural contribution to human progress seems slight compared with the urban one. Cities' development is synonymous with human development. The first villages came with the emergence of agriculture and the domestication of animals: people no longer had to wander but could instead draw together in settlements, allowing some to develop particular skills. After a while the farmers could produce surpluses, and the various products could be exchanged. Living together meant security. But people also drew together for the practical advantages of being in a particular place: by a river or spring, on a defensible hill or peninsula, next to an estuary (the mouth of a river) or other source of food. Also important, argue historians, was a settlement's capacity to draw people to it as a meeting-place, often for sacred or spiritual purposes. Graves, groves, even caves might become places for ceremonies and rituals. Man did not live by bread alone. But bread, in the broadest sense, was important. People came to cities not just to worship but to trade and the goods they bought and sold were not just farm products but the manufactures of urban craftsmen and skilled workers. The city became a centre of exchange, both of goods and of ideas, and so it also became a centre of learning, and innovation. Cities were much more than all of this, of course, and they were not all the same. As they developed, some were most notable for their religious role, as the hub of an empire, as centres of administration, political development, learning, or commerce. Some flourished, some died, their longevity depending on factors as varied as conquest, plague, misgovernment or economic collapse.
单选题
The first paragraph suggests that early human beings' living places______. [A] started either in Eden or east Africa [B] had much to do with food in the beginning [C] were dominated by their pursuits [D] developed into large cities 6,000 years ago
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[试题类型] 具体信息题。 [解题思路] 根据题干关键词the first paragraph和early human beings' living places定位到文章第一段第二句。该句指出，最初，人类的栖息地受制于寻找食物的需求(Man's habitat at the outset was dominated by the need to find food)，题干中的early human beings' living places对应文中的Man's habitat，选项[B]中的had much to do with food是was dominated by the need to find food的同义表达，in the beginning是at the outset的同义表达，故选项[B]为答案。 [干扰排除] 选项[A]是对原文第一句的曲解，第一句作者意在表明，不论人类起源于伊甸园还是东非，总之人类不是起源于城市。至于人类是否起源于这两个地方，作者并没有给出自己的观点。选项[C]对首段第二句设置干扰，原文rural pursuits指的是狩猎和采集等农业活动，选项[C]中their pursuits太过宽泛，故排除。选项[D]根据首段最后一句设置干扰，原文指出，村庄大约形成于11.000年前，村庄形成后又过了大约6.000年，人口超过100,000的城市才开始出现，而不是6.000年前人类的居住地就发展为大城市，故排除选项[D]。
单选题
In the second paragraph, the author mainly intends to tell us that______. [A] the emergence of cities seem to be a favorable development [B] nothing significant was developed in the countryside [C] urban people need both food and entertainments [D] countryside did make contributions to human history
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[试题类型] 推理引申题。 [解题思路] 阅读题干可知，本段就第二段说明的主要内容进行提问。该段一、二句指出，对人类历史来说，城市的发展是项可喜的进步，但如果认为乡村对人类历史没有什么重要贡献，这是令人质疑的(It would be questionable to say...)。然后该段举例证明农村的作用：发明wheel，为城市人提供bread等，即使是被誉为人类真正立法者的诗人，也受益于乡村风光给予他们的灵感，由此可知本段的中心话题是农村在人类历史上的作用，故选项[D]符合段落大意。 [干扰排除] 选项[A]只是对本段首句的概括，但本句只是承接上文的句子，并不是对本段大意的概括。选项[B]的含义与本段的大意正好相反，作者在第二句指出，如果要说乡村对人类历史没有什么重要贡献，这是令人质疑的，言外之意，乡村对人类历史的发展做出了贡献。选项[C]是根据本段第四句设置的干扰，原文指出，城市居民不仅仅需要马戏团，而且需要面包(Even city-dwellers need bread as well as circuses)，但这只是支持作者观点的一个论据，不足以概括本段的主旨大意。
单选题
One reason why people began to live together is that______. [A] they needed to find food together [B] they would assemble for particular purposes [C] they could be protected by rivers [D] they could share the nearby natural resources
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[试题类型] 具体信息题。 [解题思路] 根据题干关键词live together定位到文章第四段。第四段第三句和第四句指出，人们通常出于宗教或精神上的目的而集中到一处(often for sacred or spiritual purposes)，聚居地可以吸引人们聚集到一处举行庆典或仪式。这是人们群居的原因之一，选项[B]“人们为了特殊的目的而聚集到一处”是正确选项。 [干扰排除] 选项[A]“他们需要一起寻找食物”原文未提及，原文第四段第二句指出人类聚居会选在江口或其他的食物来源地，这是为了方便寻找食物，但并不是说要一起寻找食物。选项[C]与第四段意思不符，原文第一句指出，住在一起意味着安全，但居住在河边或泉水边(by a river or spring)是为了这些地点的便利，并非出于安全原因。选项[D]“他们可以共享附近的自然资源”，“共享”的意义在原文没有提及，故排除此项。
单选题
By saying "Man did not live by bread alone" (Line 6, Paragraph 4), the author means______. [A] people needed to eat a variety of food [B] men often lived beside food sources [C] men ought to live a more noble life [D] besides food, there were other pursuits for men
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[试题类型] 语意理解题。 [解题思路] 根据题干定位到文章第四段。本段第二句指出，人们还因为实际的好处而定居到一处，比如食物的来源地等。第三句接着指出，同样重要的是，人们还出于宗教或精神上的目的而集中到一处。所以，作者在此指出人类不仅仅靠面包生存，言下之意是除了物质需求，人类还有精神需求，选项[D]准确地传达了作者的意心。 [干扰排除] 原文中“面包”喻指食物、物质需求，而不是面包本身。选项[A]望文生义，人类不仅仅需要面包，并不由此意味着“人们需要各种各样的食物”，该项是对原文的曲解。选项[B]是根据第二句next to an estuary (the mouth of a river) or other source of food设置的干扰项，原文意为人们居住在食物的来源地，说明人类生存需要面包，但不能解释“人类不仅仅靠面包生存”的言外之意。选项[C]人们应当过更高尚的生活，此处将宗教或精神上的追求等同于更高尚的生活，是对原文含义的过度引申。
单选题
Which of the following could best summarize the passage? [A] The city rises; the country falls—the history of human's living places. [B] From hunting/gathering to exchanging—the history of city functions. [C] From villages to cities—the history of urbanity. [D] Isolated, country; united, urban—how countryside and cities differ.