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沙发

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发表于 2012-2-24 03:30:08
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OG12-2
LineA recent study has provided clues to
predator-prey dynamics in the late Pleistocene era. Researchers compared the number of tooth fractures in present-day carnivores with tooth
(5)fractures in carnivores that lived 36,000 to 10,000 years ago and that were preserved in the Rancho La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles. The breakage frequencies in the extinct species were strikingly higher than those in the present-day species.
(10)In considering possible explanations for this
finding, the researchers dismissed demographic bias because older individuals were not overrepresented in the fossil samples. They rejected preservational bias because a total absence of breakage in two
(15) extinct species demonstrated that the fractures were not the result of abrasion within the pits. They ruled out local bias because breakage data obtained from other Pleistocene sites were similar to the La Brea data. The explanation they consider
(20) most plausible is behavioral differences between extinct and present-day carnivores—in particular, more contact between the teeth of predators and the bones of prey due to more thorough consumption of carcasses by the extinct species.
(25) Such thorough carcass consumption implies to the researchers either that prey availability was low, at least seasonally, or that there was intense competition over kills and a high rate of carcass theft due to relatively high predator densities. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A)present several explanations for a well-known fact
(B)suggest alternative methods for resolving a debate
(0argue in favor of a controversial theory
(D)question the methodology used in a study
(E)discuss the implications of a research finding
Main idea
This question depends on understanding the passage as a whole. The first paragraph reports the findings of a recent study. The second paragraph examines possible explanations for the findings, ruling out all but one of them. It then suggests some inferences that researchers have drawn based on the findings and the explanation.
ASeveral explanations are entertained, but only to be dismissed; the number of tooth fractures is not presented as a well-known fact.
BThe passage does not mention alternative
methods or a debate. CThe likely explanation for the tooth fractures
is not shown to be controversial. DThe passage does not question the
methodology of the study. ECorrect. The passage explores possible
explanations for a recent research finding
and some tentative inferences that it might
support.
The correct answer is E.
5.According to the passage, compared with Pleistocene carnivores in other areas, Pleistocene carnivores in the La Brea area
(A)included the same species, in approximately the same proportions
(B)had a similar frequency of tooth fractures (0populated the La Brea area more densely
(D)consumed their prey more thoroughly found it harder to obtain sufficient prey
Supporting ideas
Skim the passage to find a comparison of La Brea area carnivores with those from other areas. In lines 17-19, the numbers of tooth fractures, or breakage data, of Pleistocene carnivores at the La Brea site are compared with those at other sites. The carnivores at the La Brea site had about the same frequency of tooth fractures as the carnivores at other sites.
AParticular species are not compared in the passage.
BCorrect. Tooth-fracture evidence at the La Brea site and other sites is similar.
CPopulation density at different sites is not compared.
DThorough consumption is the most likely explanation of tooth fractures, but there is no evidence of any difference between La Brea and other Pleistocene sites.
EDifficulty of finding prey is implicated in
the final sentence, but the La Brea site is not distinguished from other Pleistocene sites.
The correct answer is B.
6.According to the passage, the researchers believe that the high frequency of tooth breakage in carnivores found at La Brea was caused primarily by
(A)the aging process in individual carnivores
(B)contact between the fossils in the pits
(C)poor preservation of the fossils after they were removed from the pits
(D)the impact of carnivores' teeth against the bones of their prey
(E)the impact of carnivores' teeth against the bones of other carnivores during fights over kills
Supporting ideas
As indicated by the phrase according to the passage, this question asks about ideas mentioned or expressed in the passage. After dismissing three possible causes of the tooth fractures, the author turns to the explanation researchers find most plausible: more contact between the teeth of predators and the bones of prey due to more thorough consumption of carcasses (lines 20-24).
A Lines 11-12 dismiss aging as the cause. BLines 13-16 rule out poor preservation
within the pits. CPreservation after removal from the pits is
not discussed. DCorrect. Carnivores' tooth fractures were
most likely caused by contact with the bones
of their prey. ELine 28 mentions competition over kills, but
does not link it to tooth fractures.
The correct answer is D.
7.The researchers' conclusion concerning the absence of demographic bias would be most seriously undermined if it were found that
(A)the older an individual carnivore is, the more likely it is to have a large number of tooth fractures
(B)the average age at death of a present-day carnivore is greater than was the average age at death of a Pleistocene carnivore
(C)in Pleistocene carnivore species, older individuals consumed carcasses as thoroughly as did younger individuals
(D)the methods used to determine animals' ages in fossil samples tend to misidentify many older individuals as youngerindividuals
(E)data concerning the ages of fossil samples cannot provide reliable information about behavioral differences between extinct carnivores and present-day carnivores
Logical structure
Begin by looking at the section on demographic bias. Lines 11-13 state that demographic bias has been ruled out as an explanation because older individuals were not overrepresented in the fossil samples. This implies that older carnivores would be expected to have more tooth fractures than younger ones. To answer this question, read each answer choice to find the one statement that undermines the researchers' conclusion. If the method to determine age in the fossil samples is faulty and older carnivores are misidentified as younger ones, then demographic bias cannot be dismissed.
A This statement supports rather than undermines the researchers' conclusion.
B This comparison between present-day and Pleistocene carnivores has no bearing on whether older Pleistocene individuals were overrepresented or not.
C The comparison between older and younger individuals is irrelevant to the researchers' conclusion.
D Correct. If older individuals have been misidentified as younger ones, then a higher proportion of older individuals undermines the researchers' conclusion.
E Neither the differences nor the data are relevant to the researchers' conclusion about the proportion of older Pleistocene carnivores.
The correct answer is D.
8.According to the passage, if the researchers had NOT found that two extinct carnivore species were free of tooth breakage, the researchers would have concluded that
(A)the difference in breakage frequencies could have been the result of damage to the fossil remains in the La Brea pits
(B)the fossils in other Pleistocene sites could have higher breakage frequencies than do the fossils in the La Brea pits
(C)Pleistocene carnivore species probably behaved very similarly to one another with respect to consumption of carcasses
(D)all Pleistocene carnivore species differed behaviorally from present-day carnivore species predator densities during the Pleistocene era were extremely high Logical structure
This question refers to the preservational bias explanation that the researchers reject (lines 13-16). Two extinct species had no tooth fractures. Thus, the breakage was almost certainly NOT caused by abrasion in the pits because the teeth of those two species would have showed fractures as well. If the researchers had not discovered the exception of the two species, then they could not have ruled out the possibility that the tooth breakage was caused by damage within the pits.
ACorrect. If all species showed tooth
fractures, then the breakage might have been caused by abrasion in the pits.
BThe extinct species evidence was relevant to the issue of preservational bias, not local bias.
CWithout the extinct species evidence,
preservational bias is a strong explanation, and there is little need for the behavioral explanation.
DThe passage does not say that all Pleistocene carnivore species were found in the La Brea pits; consequently no universal conclusion about all species can be made.
EThe researchers cannot make a conclusion about the whole era based on one site.
The correct answer is A
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