文章解析
本篇文章中作者观点体现在以下几处:
Although many lines of evidence indicate that birds evolved from ground-dwelling theropod dinosaurs, some scientists remain unconvinced. They argue that theropods appeared too late to have given rise to birds, noting that Archaeopteryx lithographica – the oldest known bird – appears in the fossil record about 150 million years ago, whereas the fossil remains of various nonavian maniraptor theropods – the closest known relatives of birds – date only to about 115 million years ago. But investigators have now uncovered bones that evidently belong to nonavian maniraptors dating to the time of Archaeopteryx. In any case, failure to find fossils of a predicted kind does not rule out their existence in an undiscovered deposit.Skeptics also argue that the fused clavicles (the “wishbone”) of birds differ from the unfused clavicles of theropods. This objection was reasonable when only early theropod clavicles had been discovered, but fossilized theropod clavicles that look just like the wishbone of Archaeopteryx have now been unearthed. Finally, some scientists argue that the complex lungs of birds could not have evolved from theropod lungs, an assertion that cannot be supported or falsified at the moment, because no fossil lungs are preserved in the paleontological record.
文章结构
scientists author
theropods- too late ×(有可能是undiscovered)
clavicles 有差异 clavicles相同
lung 有差异 化石中无法保存lung
题目解析
1. The primary purpose of the passage is to
[主旨题]
A. compare the development of two hypotheses concerning the evolutionary origin of birds
错误。作者在评论科学家的论点,不是在比较(compare)。
B. suggest revisions to the standard theory of the evolutionary history of birds
错误。作者没有想修订标准理论(标准理论应该对应刚开始提到的很多证据表明的两者之间存在进化关系)
C. evaluate the usefulness of fossil evidence in determining the evolutionary history of birds
错误。作者想要评价的是科学家的论点,而不是化石证据的有效性。
D. challenge the theory that birds evolved from ground-dwelling theropod dinosaurs
错误。作者想要挑战的应该是“not evolved”。
E. respond to criticisms of the theory that birds evolved from ground-dwelling theropod dinosaurs
正确。Criticisms对应文中的scientists;而作者就是在回应scientists给出的各种看法。
2.In the context of the passage, the phrase “fossils of a predicted kind” most likely refers to which of the following?
A. Theropod fossils with fused clavicles
B. Theropod fossils that are similar in structure to Archaeopteryx fossils
C. Theropod fossils dating back more than 150 million years
D. Fossils indicating the structure of theropod lungs
E. Fossils indicating the structure of Archaeopteryx lungs