Question

    For almost 500 years, people have wondered what deadly disease wiped out most of the Aztecs (阿芝特克人）. The locals called it cocolizthi, and now a team of scientists think they know exactly what that was. The outbreak is considered to be one of the deadliest epidemics (传染病）in human history. For centuries, its cause has been debated by historians. New evidence suggests that the Aztecs died from a type of bacteria called salmonella enterica.

An international team of scientists came to this conclusion after analysing the skeletons (骨骼) of 29 Aztecs buried in a cocoliztli cemetery in the Oaxaca region of Mexico. The scientists obtained samples from the teeth of ten of the skeletons. They compared these with their database of bacteria and found traces of salmonella enterica.

Salmonella enterica can cause enteric fever, of which typhoid (伤寒）is a type. Today, there are around 21 million cases of typhoid worldwide and it is considered a global threat.

The Aztecs were fierce hunter-gatherers who settled in what is now Mexico at the beginning of the 13th century. From their incredible capital city Tenochtitlan(now Mexico City),the Aztecs fought wars with other tribes until they ruled much of the region.

The Aztecs ended up controlling large parts of Mesoamerica--now much of Mexico and Central America--until Spanish explorers arrived in 1519 and brought with them advanced weapons and deadly diseases. The team believe that the domesticated animals, such as goats and horses, which the explorers brought with them carried the deadly bacteria.

By 1545,not even 30 years after the Spanish had arrived, Mexico's Aztec nation started coming down with a terrible illness. Symptoms included high fever, headaches and bleeding from the eyes, nose and mouth. Within five years, up to 15 million people---more than 80%of the population at the time--had died from the mystery illness they called cocoliztli. The Aztec people had no immunity (免疫) to fight the disease.

“We cannot say with certainty that salmonella enterica was the cause of the cocolizti epidemic,” said Kirsten Bos from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany.” We do believe that it should be considered a strong candidate."

1.Which helped the scientists come to the conclusion.

A.Certain traces of deadly diseases carried by goats and horses

B.Extensive comparison of Aztecs buried in a cocoliztli cemetery

C.Definite discoveries of infected tooth samples from the database

D.Small amounts of certain bacteria in the teeth of the skeletons

2.Which of the following is TRUE about the Aztecs?

A.They had a population of about 15 million around 1545.

B.Their livelihood depended on raising domesticated animals.

C.Their population dropped sharply in the middle 16th century.

D.They won the wars with the Spanish despite being poorly equipped.

3.The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to_    

A.cocolizti epidemic B.salmonella enterica C.the typhoid D.the Max Planck Institute

4.The passage is mainly about

A.how the Aztecs got infected with salmonella enterica

B.why the Aztecs had no immunity to fight typhoid

C.which reason caused the Aztecs to abandon their native land

D.what led to the military and economic decline of the Aztecs

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.B

4.A

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。关于阿兹特克人当年因为何种疾病而出现大面积死亡一直是众说纷纭，最近的研究表明这似乎与沙门氏菌有着极大的关联。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段最后两句“The scientists obtained samples from the teeth of ten of the skeletons. They compared these with their database of bacteria and found traces of salmonella enterica.”可知，科研人员从阿兹特克人的骨骼上采样，通过比对发现了沙门氏菌存活的痕迹，就是据此做出了推断。故选D项。

2.细节理解题。根据第六段“By 1545…Within five years, up to 15 million people---more than 80%of the population at the time--had died from the mystery illness they called cocoliztli.”可知，1545年开始到其后5年，也就是16世纪中叶，超过80%的阿兹特克人都被疾病夺走了性命，人口数量急剧下降。故选C项。

3.词义猜测题。根据最后一段引用的原话“We cannot say with certainty that salmonella enterica was the cause of the cocolizti epidemic”可知，研究人员虽然不能确定沙门氏菌就是当年流行病的罪魁祸首，但“它”应该是一个有力的候选者，显然这里的it就指代沙门氏菌。故选B项。

4.主旨大意题。根据第一段的最后一句“New evidence suggests that the Aztecs died from a type of bacteria called salmonella enterica.”可知，本文主要讲述新的研究表明沙门氏菌可能才是导致阿兹特克人大量死亡的原因，围绕发现的证据详述了阿兹特克族群出现疾病流行的经过，A选项“阿兹特克人是如何感染沙门氏菌的”能够反映文章主要内容，符合主题。故选A项。