Question

    It is sometimes thought that the longing for material goods, the need to buy things, is a relatively modern invention. 1. Trade or shopping is certainly an ancient desire, and existed even before our ancestors used metal to make tools.

2. And we don't need shops or money to do it. Evidence from hunter-gatherers suggests that the exchange of food and other necessary things comes naturally, as well as the ability to keep a record of the credits involved. And once trade begins, the benefits are hard to resist.

Ancient local coastal people in northern Australia traded fish hooks, along a chain of trading partners, with people living 400 miles inland, who cut and polished local stone to make axes (斧子).

3. Finally, both groups of ''producers'', by concentrating on things they could produce and exchanging them for other things they needed, benefited as a result.

Trade in the necessities of life, such as food and simple tools, is not really surprising. What is surprising, though, is that our taste for unnecessary expensive objects also goes back a long way.

In South Africa, 100,000-year-old decorative dyes (染料) have been found in an area where none were produced. 4. Small round pieces of glass 76,000 years old were also found at the same place. The earliest jewellery known to us were not just random findings — they were grouped together in size and had holes like those used for threading onto a necklace.

Archaeologists argue that trade prepared the way for the complex societies in which we live today. 5. However, their modern equivalents — fast cars and expensive clothes — hold the same attraction for us as ''trade goods'' did for people 100,000 years ago.

A. Humans are born to trade.

B. These are powerful evidence for cash purchase.

C. In fact, its roots go back to the beginning of humanity.

D. However, first trade began from the exchange of objects.

E. Modern-day shoppers may not be impressed by ancient glass pieces.

F. It is thought that these goods were bought at least 30 kilometres away.

G. Every individual along the chain made a profit, even if he produced neither himself.

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.G

4.F

5.E

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。人们有时认为对物质商品的渴望、买东西的需要是一种相对现代的发明。事实上，它的根源可以追溯到人类的起源。文章就这一话题举例进行了说明。

1.后文Trade or shopping is certainly an ancient desire, and existed even before our ancestors used metal to make tools. (交易或者购物肯定是一种古老的欲望，甚至在我们祖先使用金属制造工具之前就存在了)与C. In fact, its roots go back to the beginning of humanity. (事实上它的根源可以追溯到人类文明的起源)承接自然，前后文都讲述对物质欲望的历史由来已久，且下文的ancient就是选项所提到的go back to the beginning of humanity，故选C项。

2.下文And we don't need shops or money to do it. (我们不需要店铺或者钱来做这件事)与A. Humans are born to trade. (人类生来就会交易)承接自然，前后句构成明显的递进关系，故选A项。

3.前文Ancient local coastal people in northern Australia traded fish hooks, along a chain of trading partners, with people living 400 miles inland, who cut and polished local stone to make axes (斧子). (远古的澳大利亚北部当地人，以及许多交易链上的其他伙伴，和住在400英里以外那些把石头切割、抛光成斧子的人进行鱼钩交易)与G. Every individual along the chain made a profit, even if he produced neither himself. (交易链上的每一个人都赚了一笔，即使他自己没有进行生产)承接自然，chain是关键词，故选G项。

4.前文In South Africa, 100,000-year-old decorative dyes (染料) have been found in an area where none were produced. (在南非，具有10万年历史的装饰染料被发现在一个不生产该物的地方)与F. It is thought that these goods were bought at least 30 kilometres away. (人们认为这些东西至少是在30公里以外的地方购买的)承接自然，因为在非产地被发现所以肯定是从外面购买的，选项里的these goods就是指前文的100,000-year-old decorative dyes，故选F项。

5.下文However, their modern equivalents - fast cars and expensive clothes - hold the same attraction for us as ''trade goods'' did for people 100,000 years ago. (然而，他们当代的等量物——跑车、昂贵的衣服——对我们的吸引力就像10万年的商品对于古人的吸引力一样)与E. Modern-day shoppers may not be impressed by ancient glass pieces. (现代的消费者可能不会对古代的玻璃片印象深刻)承接自然，前后文构成明显的转折关系，且谈论的话题都是商品对购物者的吸引力，故选E项。