Question

Lucy, whose skeleton(骨骼) was discovered in Ethiopia in 1974, died shortly after she fell out of a tree, according to a new study published Monday in the British journal Nature.

For their research, Kappelman and Dr. Richard Ketcham used a CT scanner to create more than 35,000 "slices" of Lucy's skeleton. Scientists named her Lucy from the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", which was played at the camp the night of her discovery.

The following analysis of the slices showed sharp, clean breaks seen at the end of Lucy's right humerus(肱骨) are similar to bone breaks seen in victims of falls.

The researchers concluded that these and other breaks in her skeleton show that Lucy, who is believed to have stood about 3 feet 6 inches and weighed about 60 pounds, fell feet first and used her arms to support herself — but that the injury was too severe to have been survivable.

The researchers estimate that Lucy was going about 35 miles an hour when she hit the ground after falling from a height of roughly 40 feet, according to the statement.

That sounds plausible. But other scientists are doubtful. "There are countless explanations for bone breaks," Dr, Donald C, Johanson, director of the Institute of Human Origins and one of the scientists who discovered Lucy, said, "The suggestion that she fell out of a tree is largely a just-so story and therefore unprovable." Johanson said it was more likely that Lucy's breaks occurred long after she died, saying that "elephant bones appear to have the same kind of breaks, It's unlikely they fell out of a tree. "

But the new research focused on "a small number of breaks" that are consistent with "high-energy bone-to-bone influences" and which differ from the sorts of breaks commonly seen in other collected bones. Kappelman responded in an email, "These appear to have occurred at or near the time of death."

1.What can we know about Lucy from Kappelman and Dr. Richard Ketcham's research?

A. She got her name from a song.

B. She had more than 35,000 slices.

C. She couldn't use her arms properly.

D. She made an effort to save herself.

2.What does the underlined word "plausible" in Paragraph 6 probably mean?

A. Reasonable.B. Creative.C. Surprising.D. Unbelievable.

3.Which of the following would Johanson probably agree?

A. Elephants are unlikely to die from falling.

B. Lucy got breaks at or near the time of death.

C. Other reasons for the breaks should be considered.

D. Lucy's bone breaks differ from other bone breaks.

4.What conclusion can we draw from the passage?

A. Lucy didn't die from falling out of a tree.

B. The newly published study was meaningless.

C. The argument on how Lucy died will continue.

D. Scientists will find another way to solve the problem.

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：文章讲述了专家学者在发现了Lucy坠树后不久身亡的骨骼后，对其死因的争论。

1.1】D 细节理解题。根据第三段中who is believed to have stood about 3 feet 6 inches and weighed about 60 pounds, fell feet first and used her arms to support herself — but that the injury was too severe to have been survivable.可知，Lucy本想用胳膊来支撑自己，但伤势太重，可知她想过自救，故选D。

2.2】A 词义猜测题。根据That sounds plausible. But other scientists are doubtful.那听起来是合理的，后面一个But表示转折，一些科学家是持怀疑态度的。故可知是doubtful的反义词，故选A。

3.3】C 推理判断题。根据"There are countless explanations for bone breaks," Dr, Donald C, Johanson可知，Johanson医生认为对于Lucy的死因还有许多不同的解释，即他会同意的是其它的因素也应该被考虑进Lucy的死因，故选C。

4.4】C 推理判断题。根据文章及最后一段 But the new research focused on "a small number of breaks" that are consistent with "high-energy bone-to-bone influences" and which differ from the sorts of breaks commonly seen in other collected bones.可知，一些新的研究又出现了，可以总结出对于这件事情的争议还会继续下去。故选C。

【名师点睛】

词义猜测题。阅读材料中的每个词与它前后的词语或句子甚至段落都有联系。我们可以利用语境（各种已知信息）推测、判断某些生词的词义。做这种类型的题，要根据词、词组、句子所在的语境来判断其意义。我们要特别注意熟词生义，切不可脱离语境想当然。在句子或段落中，我们可以利用熟悉的词语，根据语言环境所表示的关系推断生词词义。

考点：考查说明类短文阅读。