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托福official52阅读第2篇Natufian Culture题目解析

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Natufian Culture
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In the archaeological record of the Natufian period, from about 12,500 to 10,200 years ago, in the part of the Middle East known as the Levant - roughly east of the Mediterranean and north of the Arabian Peninsula - we see clear evidence of agricultural origins. The stone tools of the Natufians included many sickle-shaped cutting blades that show a pattern of wear characteristic of cereal harvesting. Also, querns (hand mills) and other stone tools used for processing grain occur in abundance at Natufian sites, and many such tools show signs of long, intensive use. Along with the sickle blades are many grinding stones, primarily mortars and pestles of limestone or basalt. There is also evidence that these heavy grinding stones were transported over long distances, more than 30 kilometers in some cases, and this is not something known to have been done by people of preceding periods. Fishhooks and weights for sinking fishing nets attest to the growing importance of fish in the diet in some areas. Stone vessels indicate an increased need for containers, but there is no evidence of Natufian clay working or pottery. Studies of the teeth of Natufians also strongly suggest that these people specialized in collecting cereals and may have been cultivating them and in the process of domesticating them, but they were also still hunter-foragers who intensively hunted gazelle and deer in more lush areas and wild goats and equids in more arid zones.

The Natufians had a different settlement pattern from that of their predecessors. Some of their base camps were far larger (over 1,000 square meters) than any of those belonging to earlier periods, and they may have lived in some of these camps for half the year or even more. In some of the camps, people made foundations and other architectural elements out of limestone blocks. Trade in shell, obsidian, and other commodities seems to have been on the rise, and anthropologists suspect that the exchange of perishables (such as skins, foodstuffs) and salt was also on the increase. With the growing importance of wild cereals in the diet, salt probably became for the first time a near necessity: people who eat a lot of meat get many essential salts from this diet, but diets based on cereals can be deficient in salts. Salt was probably also important as a food preservative in early villages.

As always, there is more to a major cultural change than simply a shift in economics. The Natufians made (and presumably wore) beads and pendants in many materials, including gemstones and marine shells that had to be imported, and it is possible that this ornamentation actually reflects a growing sense of ethnic identity and perhaps some differences in personal and group status. Cleverly carved figurines of animals, women, and other subjects occur in many sites, and Natufian period cave paintings have been found in Anatolia, Syria, and Iran. More than 400 Natufian burials have been found, most of them simple graves set in house floors. As archaeologist Belfer-Cohen notes, these burials may reflect an ancestor cult and a growing sense of community emotional ties and attachment to a particular place, and toward the end of the Natufian period, people in this area were making a strict separation between living quarters and burial grounds. In contrast with the Pleistocene cultures of the Levant, Natufian culture appears to have experienced considerable social change. 

The question of why the Natufians differed from their predecessors in these and other ways and why they made these first steps toward farming as a way of life remains unclear. There were climate changes, of course, and growing aridity and rising population densities may have forced them to intensify the exploitation of cereals, which in turn might have stimulated the development of sickles and other tools and the permanent communities that make agriculture efficient. But precisely how these factors interacted with others at play is poorly understood.

1.All of the following are mentioned in paragraph 1 as evidence that the Natufians may have engaged in the growing and processing of cereals and grains EXCEPT

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正确答案:C
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【题目翻译】第1段提到了以下所有内容,作为纳图菲亚人可能从事谷物和谷物的种植和加工的证据,但除了哪一个之外? A:具有特定磨损模式的工具 B:磨石的广泛存在 C:存在粘土容器 D:Natufian牙齿分析结果 【判定题型】:根据题干中出现的大写“EXCEPT”/"NOT" 等其他明显表示否定的词,可以判定本题为否定事实信息题,需要找出与原文信息不符的那个答案。 【关键词定位】定位于第1段,第1句话:In the archaeological record of the Natufian period, from about 12,500 to 10,200 years ago, in the part of the Middle East known as the Levant - roughly east of the Mediterranean and north of the Arabian Peninsula - we see clear evidence of agricultural origins. 【选项分析】 A选项:有特殊磨损痕迹的工具。根据关键词“pattern of wear”,定位至第一段第2句“The stone tools of the Natufians included many sickle-shaped cutting blades that show a pattern of wear characteristic of cereal harvesting.”很明显这是一个纳图夫人加工谷物的证据,故A选项排除。 B选项:研磨石的大量出现。根据关键词“grinding stones”定位至第一段第4句“Along with the sickle blades are many grinding stones, primarily mortars and pestles of limestone or basalt.”这句话提到了研磨石的出现,它们也能证明纳图夫人用加工谷物,故B选项排除。 C选项:黏土容器的出现。根据关键词“clay containers”定位到这句话“……but there is no evidence of Natufian clay working or pottery.”说明纳图夫人并没有用黏土或陶土制作器皿。故C选项与原文矛盾,为正确答案。 D选项:对纳图夫人牙齿的分析结果。根据关键词“teeth”定位到这句话“Studies of the teeth of Natufians also strongly suggest that these people specialized in collecting cereals and may have been cultivating them and in the process of domesticating them……”这句话能充分说明牙齿是纳图夫人种植和加工谷物的证据,故D选项排除。

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