Question

    Lucy， whose skeleton（骨骼） was discovered in Ethiopia in 1974， died shortly after she fell out of a tree， according to a new study published Monday in the British journal Nature．

For their research， Kappelman and Dr． Richard Ketcham used a CT scanner to create more than 35，000 "slices" of Lucy's skeleton． Scientists named her Lucy from the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"， which was played at the camp the night of her discovery．

The following analysis of the slices showed sharp， clean breaks seen at the end of Lucy's right humerus （肱骨） are similar to bone breaks seen in victims of falls．

The researchers concluded that these and other breaks in her skeleton show that Lucy， who is believed to have stood about 3 feet 6 inches and weighed about 60 pounds， fell feet first and used her arms to support herself ﹣ but that the injury was too severe to have been survivable．

The researchers estimate that Lucy was going about 35 miles an hour when she hit the ground after falling from a height of roughly 40 feet， according to the statement．

That sounds plausible． But other scientists are doubtful． "There are countless explanations for bone breaks，" Dr， Donald C， Johanson， director of the Institute of Human Origins and one of the scientists who discovered Lucy， said， "The suggestion that she fell out of a tree is largely a just﹣so story and therefore unprovable． " Johanson said it was more likely that Lucy's breaks occurred long after she died， saying that "elephant bones appear to have the same kind of breaks， It's unlikely they fell out of a tree．

But the new research focused on "a small number of breaks" that are consistent with "high﹣energy bone﹣to﹣bone influences" and which differ from the sorts of breaks commonly seen in other collected bones． Kappelman responded in an email， "These appear to have occurred at or near the time of death． "

1.What can we infer about Lucy from Kappelman and Dr． Richard Ketcham's research？

A.She got her name from a song．

B.She had more than 35，000 slices．

C.She couldn't use her arms properly．

D.She made an effort to save herself．

2.What does the underlined word "plausible" in Paragraph 6 probably mean？

A.Reasonable．

B.Creative．

C.Surprising．

D.Unbelievable．

3.Which of the following would Johanson probably agree？

A.Elephants are unlikely to die from falling．

B.Lucy got breaks at or near the time of death．

C.Other reasons for the breaks should be considered．

D.Lucy's bone breaks differ from other bone breaks．

4.What conclusion can we draw from the passage？

A.Lucy didn't die from falling out of a tree．

B.The newly published study was meaningless．

C.The argument on how Lucy died will continue．

D.Scientists will find another way to solve the problem．

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.C

【解析】

本文是说明文。露西，1974年她的骨骼在埃塞俄比亚被发现。根据一项周一发表在英国《自然》杂志的一项研究，她是从树上摔下后死的。本文以此展开，主要讲述了专家学者在发现了Lucy坠树后不久身亡的骨骼后，对其死因的争论。

1.细节理解题。根据第三段中who is believed to have stood about 3 feet 6 inches and weighed about 60 pounds, fell feet first and used her arms to support herself — but that the injury was too severe to have been survivable.可知，Lucy本想用胳膊来支撑自己，却无能为力，可知她想过自救。故选D。

2.词义猜测题。根据划线词所在句That sounds plausible. 后的But other scientists are doubtful.（但是一些科学家是持怀疑态度的）可知，划线词是doubtful的反义词。结合选项：A. Reasonable合理的；B. Creative有创造力的；C. Surprising令人吃惊的；D. Unbelievable难以置信的。故选A。

3.推理判断题。根据"There are countless explanations for bone breaks," Dr, Donald C, Johanson可知，Johanson博士认为对于Lucy的死因还有许多不同的解释，即他会同意的是其它的因素也应该被考虑进Lucy的死因。故选C。

4.推理判断题。根据文章及最后一段 But the new research focused on "a small number of breaks" that are consistent with "high-energy bone-to-bone influences" and which differ from the sorts of breaks commonlyseen in other collected bones.可知，一些新的研究又出现了，可以总结出对于这件事情的争议还会继续下去。故选C。