On a September, day
in 1991, two Germans were climbing the mountain between Austria and Italy. High
up on a mountain pass, they found the body of a man lying on the ice. At that
height (10,499 feet, or 3,200 meters), the ice is usually permanent, but 1991
had been an especially warm year. The mountain ice had melted more than usual
and so the body had come to the surface. It was lying face
downward. The skeleton (骨架) was in perfect condition except a wound on the head.
There are still on the bones and remains of some clothes. The hands were still
holding the wooden handle of an ax and on the feet there were very simple
leather and cloth boots. Nearby was a pair of gloves made of tree bark (树皮) and
a holder for arrows. Who was the man? How and when had he died?
Everybody had a different answer to these questions. Some people thought that it
was from this century, perhaps the body of a soldier who died in World War I,
since several soldiers had already been found in this area. A Swiss woman who
believed it might be her father, who had died in those mountains twenty years
before and whose body had never been found. The scientists who rushed to look at
the body thought it was probably much older, maybe even a thousand years
old. With modern dating techniques, the scientists soon learned
that the iceman was about 5,300 years old. Born in about 3300 B.C., he lived
during the Bronze Age in Europe. At first scientists thought he was probably a
hunter who had died from an accident in the high mountains. More recent
evidence, however, tells a different story. A new kind of X-ray shows an
arrowhead still stuck in his shoulder. It left only a tiny hole in his skin, but
it caused internal damage and bleeding. He almost certainly died from this
wound, and not from the wound oil the back of his head. This means that he was
probably in some kind of battle. It may have been part of a large war, or he may
have been fightiing bandits. He may even have been a bandit himself.
By studying his clothes and tools, scientists have already learned a
great deal from the Iceman about the times he lived in. we may never know the
full story of how he died, but he has given us important clues to the history of
those distant times.
单选题
The body of the iceman was found in the mountains mainly because
______.
A. he was lying on the ice
B. two Germans were climbing mountains
C. the melted ice made him visible
D. he was just on a mountain pass
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 根据第一段最后一句话”The mountain ice had melted more than just usual and so the body had come to the surface.”可知,山上的冰比往常融化的多,这样尸体就露出到表面了,所以选C。
单选题
What Can be inferred from paragraph 2?
A. The iceman was killed while working.
B. The iceman could have died from the wound in the head.