Question

The people who built Stonehenge in southern England thousands of years ago had wild parties, eating barbecued pigs and breaking pottery. This is according to recent work by archaeologists—history experts who investigate (调查) how human beings lived in the past.

Archaeologists digging near Stonehenge last year discovered the remains of a large prehistoric village where they think the builders of the mysterious stone circle used to live.

The village is about 4600 years old, the same age as Stonehenge and as old as the pyramids in Egypt. It is less than two miles from the famous ancient landmark and lies inside a massive man­made circular dirt wall, or “henge”， known as the Durrington Walls.

Remains found at the site included jewellery, stone arrowheads, tools made of deer antlers, wooden spears and huge amounts of animal bones and broken pottery. “These finds suggest Stone Age people went to the village at special times of the year to feast and party”， says Mike Parker Pearson from Sheffield University in England.

He said many of the pig bones they found had been thrown away half­eaten. He also said the partygoers appeared to have shot some of the farm pigs with arrows, possibly as a kind of sport before barbecuing them.

An ancient road which led from the village to the River Avon was also found. Here, the experts think, people came after their parties to throw dead relatives in the water so the bodies would be washed downstream to Stonehenge.

Parker Pearson believes Stonehenge was like a cemetery where ancient Britons buried the dead and remembered their ancestors. “The theory is that Stonehenge is a kind of spirit home to the ancestors.”

The recent discovery of the village within the Durrington Walls shows that Stonehenge didn't stand alone but was part of a much bigger religious site, according to Parker Pearson.

People still come to worship and celebrate at Stonehenge today. They meet there when the sun sets on the shortest day of winter and when it rises on the longest day of summer. But the days of barbecuing whole pigs there and throwing family members into the river are a thing of the past.

1.What was Stonehenge according to the text?

A.A village where hundred of people once lived.

B.A place that regularly hosted large parties.

C.A church where local villagers would get married.

D.A site where dead people were placed or remembered.

2.From the text we can infer that the people who came to the village ________.

A.liked to drink wine  B.knew how to hunt

C.were from Egypt     D.lived by the River Avon

3.What do experts think people did after the village parties?

A.Returned to live at Stonehenge.

B.Prayed for good luck in the new year.

C.Hunted farm pigs as a sport.

D.Put their dead relatives in the river.

4.When do people most often go to Stonehenge today?

A.When a new discovery is made.

B.At the beginning of summer and winter.

C.On the longest and shortest days of the year.

D.When they want to have a barbecue.

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.D

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：本文介绍了Stonehenge遗址，讲解了它在古代的用途。

1. experts think, people came after their parties to throw dead relatives in the water so the bodies would be washed downstream to Stonehenge.Parker Pearson believes Stonehenge was like a cemetery where ancient Britons buried the dead and remembered their ancestors.可知科学家认为，人们聚会后就会把他们死去的亲戚投入河中，希望尸体可以顺流而下，到达Stonehenge，而Parker Pearson也认为Stonehenge类似一个用于埋葬死者的墓地。故选D。

2. found at the site included jewellery, stone arrowheads, tools made of deer antlers, wooden spears and huge amounts of animal bones and broken pottery.可知遗址中有珠宝，石制的箭头，用鹿角做的工具，木制的剑，还有大量动物的骨头和残破的陶器。由此可推断出来过墓地的人会打猎。故选B。

3. 细节理解题。根据the experts think, people came after their parties to throw dead relatives in the water so the bodies would be washed downstream to Stonehenge.可知科学家认为，人们聚会后就会把他们死去的亲戚投入河中，希望尸体可以顺流而下，到达Stonehenge。故选D。

4. 细节理解题。根据People still come to worship and celebrate at Stonehenge today. They meet there when the sun sets on the shortest day of winter and when it rises on the longest day of summer.可知今天的人们到这来祭祀，会选择在冬天白昼最短和最短的那两天。故选C。

考点：考查说明文阅读。