Question

    "Tiny tubes and filaments （丝状物） in some Canadian rock appear to be the oldest known fossils， giving new support for some ideas about how life began，" a new study says．

"The features are mineralized remains of what appear to be bacteria that lived some 3.77billion to 4.28billion years ago，" the scientist said． That would be older than some other rock features found in Greenland， which were considered to be the fossils last August．

The new results come from examining rock found along the eastern shore of Hudson Bay in Northern Quebec． The filaments and tubes， made up of iron oxide called hematite （赤铁矿），appeared within a rock type called jasper （碧玉）．

Matthew Dodd of University College London， an author of the study published Wednesday by Nature， said the living things lived in the seafloor where water was heated by a volcano． "Since the fossils are nearly as old as Earth， which formed some 4.5 billion years ago， the findings support previous indications that life may have begun in such an environment，" he said．

He and his colleagues presented several lines of evidence to support the idea that tiny tubes and filaments are signatures of past life． But two experts who've previously reported similar findings said they are not convinced．

"I would say they are not fossils，" Martin J． Van Kranendonk of the University of New South Wales in Australia， who reported the Greenland findings last year， wrote in an email． "The paper's evidence for a biological origin falls short，" he said．

Abigail Allwood， a NASA geologist， said the authors have produced one of the most detailed cases yet made for evidence of life in rocks older than 3.5 billion years． But "It's an extraordinary claim to make and you do need extraordinary evidence，" she said．

1.What do Matthew， Martin and Abigail have in common？ ______

A. They have been studying rock features．

B. They are working in the same university．

C. They all made a contribution to the Greenland findings．

D. They have discovered the oldest known fossils in the same place．

2.How does Martin feel about the new study？ ______

A. It confirms the biological origin．

B. It ignores the Greenland findings．

C. It needs more to convince people．

D. Its authors take ideas and words from his．

3.What's Abigail Allwood's attitude toward Matthew's findings？ ______

A. Supporting． B. Disapproving．

C. Indifferent． D. Neutral．

4.The new findings can make people know something about ______ ．

A. the process of fossil formation

B. how life started on the earth

C. how to examine rock and find fossils

D. how the earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.D

4.B

【解析】

本文是一篇科教类阅读，主要讲述了一项新研究表明：一些加拿大岩石中的微小管和细丝似乎是已知最古老的化石，为生命开始的一些想法提供了新的支持。

1.细节理解题。根据文章内容可知，马修，马丁和阿比盖尔的共同点是他们一直在研究岩石特征。故选A。

2.细节理解题。根据倒数第二段 "The paper's evidence for a biological origin falls short，" he said．可知，马丁认为这项新研究需要更多来说服人们。故选C。

3.推理判断题。根据最后一段Abigail Allwood， a NASA geologist， said the authors have produced one of the most detailed cases yet made for evidence of life in rocks older than 3.5 billion years． But "It's an extraordinary claim to make and you do need extraordinary evidence，" she said．（美国宇航局地质学家阿比盖尔•阿尔伍德（Abigail Allwood）表示，这些作者已经制作了一份最详细的案例，其中有关于超过35亿年的岩石生命证据．但是，"这是一个非凡的主张，你确实需要非凡的证据，"她说）可知，阿比盖尔•阿尔伍德对马修研究结果的态度是中立的。故选D。

4.细节理解题。根据第一段"Tiny tubes and filaments （丝状物） in some Canadian rock appear to be the oldest known fossils， giving new support for some ideas about how life began，" a new study says．"（一些加拿大岩石中的微小管和细丝似乎是已知最古老的化石，为生命开始的一些想法提供了新的支持，"一项新研究表明）以及下文可知，新发现可以让人们了解生命在地球上的起源。故选B。