Paragraph 4：It would appear that the instability of the climatic conditions led populations that had originally been nomadic to settle down and develop a sedentary style of life, which led in turn to population growth and to the need to increase the amount of food available. Farming originated in these conditions. Later on, it became very difficult to change because of the significant expansion of these populations. It could be argued, however, that these conditions are not sufficient to explain the origins of agriculture. Earth had experienced previous periods of climatic change, and yet agriculture had not been developed.
7. It can be inferred from paragraph 4 that it was difficult for people to change from farming back to hunting and gathering because
O people had become more used to different types of food
O climatic conditions were no longer favorable for hunting and gathering
O populations had become too large to be supported by hunting and gathering
O the farmer's sedentary life was easier than the hunter-gatherer's nomadic life
题型：推理题
定位词： that it was difficult for people to change from farming back to hunting and gathering
解题思路：根据定位词定位到“because of the significant expansion of these populations”，可以推测出人口的剧烈扩张使得捕猎不再适应于人们的生活方式。所以C项正确。
重点句子翻译：
Later on, it became very difficult to change because of the significant expansion of these populations.
后来，它变得很难改变，因为这些人口大幅增长。
Paragraph 4：It would appear that the instability of the climatic conditions led populations that had originally been nomadic to settle down and develop a sedentary style of life, which led in turn to population growth and to the need to increase the amount of food available. Farming originated in these conditions. Later on, it became very difficult to change because of the significant expansion of these populations. It could be argued, however, that these conditions are not sufficient to explain the origins of agriculture. Earth had experienced previous periods of climatic change, and yet agriculture had not been developed.
8. Why does the author state that "Earth had experienced previous periods of climatic change, and yet agriculture had not been developed"?
O To suggest that climate change had occurred long before the development of agriculture
O To argue that climate change does not properly explain why agriculture developed
O To challenge the assumption that agriculture developed only in some parts of the world
O To question the claim that climate change occurred at the time when agriculture developed
题型：修辞目的题
解题思路： 论据是为了证明论点而存在的，题干句的前一句是一个论点，说这些条件不足以解释农业的起源，这一论点是反驳本段开头的观点即气候条件的变化导致农业发展的，所以B项正确。
重点句子翻译：
It could be argued, however, that these conditions are not sufficient to explain the origins of agriculture.
但是，会有争论说这些条件不足以解释农业的起源。
Paragraph 5：It is archaeologist Steven Mithen's thesis, brilliantly developed in his book The Prehistory of the Mind(1996), that approximately 40,000 years ago the human mind developed cognitive fluidity, that is, the integration of the specializations of the mind: technical, natural history (geared to understanding the behavior and distribution of natural resources), social intelligence, and the linguistic capacity. Cognitive fluidity explains the appearance of art, religion, and sophisticated speech. Once humans possessed such a mind, they were able to find an imaginative solution to a situation of severe economic crisis such as the farming dilemma described earlier. Mithen proposes the existence of four mental elements to account for the emergence of farming: (1) the ability to develop tools that could be used intensively to harvest and process plant resources; (2) the tendency to use plants and animals as the medium to acquire social prestige and power; (3) the tendency to develop "social relationships" with animals structurally similar to those developed with people—specifically, the ability to think of animals as people (anthropomorphism) and of people as animals (totemism); and (4) the tendency to manipulate plants and animals.
9. The word "imaginative" in the passage is closest in meaning to
O complex
O creative
O immediate
O reliable
题型：词汇题
解题思路： imaginative 来自于名词 imagine（想像），所以其形容词意思为“有想像力的”，B项正确。
Paragraph 5：It is archaeologist Steven Mithen's thesis, brilliantly developed in his book The Prehistory of the Mind (1996), that approximately 40,000 years ago the human mind developed cognitive fluidity, that is, the integration of the specializations of the mind: technical, natural history (geared to understanding the behavior and distribution of natural resources), social intelligence, and the linguistic capacity. Cognitive fluidity explains the appearance of art, religion, and sophisticated speech. Once humans possessed such a mind, they were able to find an imaginative solution to a situation of severe economic crisis such as the farming dilemma described earlier. Mithen proposes the existence of four mental elements to account for the emergence of farming: (1) the ability to develop tools that could be used intensively to harvest and process plant resources; (2) the tendency to use plants and animals as the medium to acquire social prestige and power; (3) the tendency to develop "social relationships" with animals structurally similar to those developed with people—specifically, the ability to think of animals as people (anthropomorphism) and of people as animals (totemism); and (4) the tendency to manipulate plants and animals.
10. According to paragraph 5, Steven Mithen believes that all of the following contributed to the emergence of farming EXCEPT
O the development of a mind flexible enough to come up with solutions to complex problems
O the tendency to use plants and animals to acquire power
O the tendency to emphasize the differences between animals and people
O the ability to make tools that could be used for the large-scale harvesting of plants
题型：排除列举题
定位词： Steven Mithen believes … contributed to the emergence of farming
解 题思路： 原文用（1）、（2）、（3）等标出了 Steven Mithen的观点，选项D是（1）的同义改写，选项B是（2）的同义改写，选项C原文中未提及人们开始区别人和动物，前文还阐述了 Cognitive fluidity的作用，选项A是其同意改写。所以C项正确。
Paragraph 6：The fact that some societies domesticated animals and plants, discovered the use of metal tools, became literate, and developed a state should not make us forget that others developed pastoralism or horticulture (vegetable gardening) but remained illiterate and at low levels of productivity; a few entered the modem period as hunting and gathering societies. It is anthropologically important to inquire into the conditions that made some societies adopt agriculture while others remained hunter-gatherers or horticulturalists. However it should be kept in mind that many societies that knew of agriculture more or less consciously avoided it. Whether Mithen's explanation is satisfactory is open to contention, and some authors have recently emphasized the importance of other factors.
11. The word "contention" in the passage is closest in meaning to
O investigation
O improvement
O debate
O interpretation
题型：词汇题
解题思路：原文中的动宾搭配是“open to contention”，可以先排除选项B和D，而且主语是一个人的解释是否另人满意，根据句义可得出正确答案为C。
重点句子翻译：
Whether Mithen's explanation is satisfactory is open to contention, and some authors have recently emphasized the importance of other factors.
米森的解释是否令人满意被开放讨论，一些作家最近强调了其他因素的重要性。
