2019届湖南衡阳八中等校新高三实验班暑期第一次联
考英语试卷【含答案及解析】
姓名 班级 分数
、阅读理解
1.An article published recently in the scientific journal Nature is shedding new light on an importa nt, but so far little has bee n appreciated, aspect of huma n evoluti on. In this article, Professors Denn is Bramble, and Dan iel Lieberman suggest that the ability to run was a decisive factor in the developme nt of our species. Accordi ng to the two scie ntists, huma ns posss a nu mber of an atomical （人体结构的） features that make them surpris in gly good
runn ers. “ We are very con fide nt that strong lecti on for running ， which came
at the expen of the historical ability to live in trees-was helpful in the origin of the modern human body form, ” says Bramble, a biology professor at the Uni versity of Utah.
Traditi onal thi nking up to now has bee n that the upright body form of moder n huma ns has come about as a result of the ability to walk, and that running is simply a byproduct of walk ing. Furthermore, huma ns have usually bee n regarded as poor runners compared to such ani mals as dogs, hors or an telopes. However, this is only true if we con sider fast running over short dista nces. Even Olympic athlete can hardly run as fast as a hor can gallop, and can only keep up a top speed for fiftee n c onds or so. Hors and an telopes, on the other hand, can run at top speed for veral mi nu tes, clearly outperformi ng us in this respect. But whe n it comes to Ion g-dista nee running, huma ns do ast oni shi ngly well. They can maintain a steady pace for miles, and their overall speed compares favorably with that of hors or dogs.
Bramble and Lieberma n exam ined twen ty-six an atomical features
found in humans. One of the most interesting of the is the nuchal ligament （颈背的韧带） . When we run, it is this ligament that prevents our head from pitching back and forth or from side to side. Therefore, we are able to run with steady heads held high. The nuchal ligament is not found in any other surviving primates （灵长类动物） , although the fossil （化石） record shows that Homo erectus, an early human species that walked upright, much as we do, also had one.
Then there are our Achilles tendons （跟腱） at the backs of our legs, which have nothing to do with walking. When we run, the tendons behave like springs, helping to push us forward. Furthermore, we have low, wide shoulders, virtually disconnected from our skulls （the bony part of the head）, another anatomical adaptation which allows us to run more efficiently.
But what evolutionary advantage is gained from being good long-distance runners? One assumption is that this ability may have permitted early humans to obtain food more effectively. “ What the features and fossil facts appear
to be telling us is that running evolved in order for our direct ancestors to compete with other carnivores （animals that eat meat） for access to the protein needed to grow the big brains that we enjoy today. ” says Lieberman.
1.We can learn from the passage that the human ability to run .
A.was only recently described in a scientific journal
B.played an important part in human evolution
C.was considered more natural than the ability to live in trees
D.contributed to the form of human language
2.According to the cond paragraph, humans
A.are better runners than most other animals
B.are not good at running short distances
C.compare unfavorably with hors and dogs
D.are poor long-distance runners
3.It appears that the nuchal ligament .
A.enables us to run with steady heads
B.is found in modern primates only
C.prevents the head from being held high
D.is a unique feature of carnivores
4.The passage does NOT tell us that
A.early humans had an advantage in obtaining food thanks
to the running ability
B.fossils help us better understand human evolution.
C.our Achilles tendons are an adaptation for running efficiently
D.big brains may have been evolved for running longdistance
2.“ My work is done. ” Tho words were some of the last penned by George
Eastman. He included them in his suicide note. They mark an ignoble end to a noble life, the leave taking of a truly great man. The same words could now be said for the company he left behind. Actually, the Eastman Kodak Company is through. It has been mismanaged financially, technologically and competitively. For 20 years, its leaders have foolishly spent down the patrimony of a century ' s prosperity. One of America ' s bedrock brands is about to disappear,
the Kodak moment has pasd.
But George Eastman is not how he died, and the Eastman Kodak Company is not how it is being killed. Though the ends be needless and premature, they must not be allowed to overshadow the greatness that came before. Few companies have done so much good f
or so many people, or defined and lifted so profoundly the spirit of a nation and perhaps the world. It is impossible to understand the 20th Century without recognizing the role of the Eastman Kodak Company.
Kodak rved mankind through entertainment, science, national defen and the stockpiling of family memories. Kodak took us to the top of Mount Suribachi and to the Sea of Tranquility. It introduced us to the merry old Land of Oz and to stars from Charlie Chaplin to John Wayne, and Elizabeth Taylor to Tom Hanks. It showed us the shot that killed President Kennedy, and his brother bleeding out on a kitchen floor, and a fallen Martin Luther King Jr. on the hard balcony of a Memphis motel. When that sailor kisd the nur, and when the spy planes saw missiles in Cuba, Kodak was the eyes of a nation. From the deck of the Missouri to the grandeur of Monument Valley, Kodak took us there. Virtually every significant image of the 20th Century is a gift to posterity （繁荣） from the Eastman Kodak Company.
