The earliest discovered traces of art are beads and carvings, and then paintings, from sites dating back to the UpperPaleolithicperiod. We mightexpectthat earlyartisticefforts would becrude, but the cave paintings of Spain and southern France show amarkeddegreeof skill. So do the naturalistic paintings on slabs of stone excavated in southern Africa. Some of those slabsappearto have been painted as much as 28,000 years ago, which suggests that painting in Africa is as old as painting in Europe. But painting may beevenolder than that. The early Australians may have painted on the walls of rock shelters andclifffaces atleast30,000 years ago, and maybe as much as 60,000 years ago.

The researchers Peter Ucko and Andree Rosenfeld identified threeprincipallocations of paintings in the caves of western Europe: (1) inobviouslyinhabited rock shelters and cave entrances; (2) in galleries immediately off the inhabited areas of caves; and (3) in theinnerreaches of caves, whose difficulty ofaccesshas been interpreted by some as a sign that magical-religious activities were performed there.

The subjects of the paintings are mostly animals.The paintings rest onbarewalls, with no backdrops orenvironmentaltrappings.Perhaps, like manycontemporarypeoples, UpperPaleolithicmen and women believed that the drawing of a humanimagecould cause death or injury, and if that were indeed their belief, it might explain why human figures arerarelydepicted in cave art.Another explanation for thefocuson animals might be that these people sought toimprovetheir luck at hunting.Thistheoryis suggested byevidenceof chips in the painted figures, perhaps made by spears thrown at the drawings.But if improving their hunting luck was thechiefmotivationfor the paintings, it is difficult to explain why only a few show signs of having been speared.Perhaps the paintings were inspired by the need to increase thesupplyof animals.Cave art seems to have reached apeaktoward the end of the UpperPaleolithicperiod, when the herds of game were decreasing. The paintings rest onbarewalls, with no backdrops orenvironmentaltrappings. Perhaps, like manycontemporarypeoples, UpperPaleolithicmen and women believed that the drawing of a humanimagecould cause death or injury, and if that were indeed their belief, it might explain why human figures arerarelydepicted in cave art. Another explanation for thefocuson animals might be that these people sought toimprovetheir luck at hunting. Thistheoryis suggested byevidenceof chips in the painted figures, perhaps made by spears thrown at the drawings. But if improving their hunting luck was thechiefmotivationfor the paintings, it is difficult to explain why only a few show signs of having been speared. Perhaps the paintings were inspired by the need to increase thesupplyof animals. Cave art seems to have reached apeaktoward the end of the UpperPaleolithicperiod, when the herds of game were decreasing.

Theparticularsymbolicsignificanceof the cave paintings in southwestern France is more explicitly revealed, perhaps, by the results of a study conducted by researchers Patricia Rice and Ann Paterson. Thedatathey present suggest that the animals portrayed in the cave paintings were mostly the ones that the painters preferred for meat and for materials such as hides. For example, wildcattle(bovines) and horses are portrayed more often than we wouldexpectbychance, probably because they were larger and heavier (meatier) than other animals in the environment. Inaddition, the paintings mostlyportrayanimals that the painters may have feared the most because of their size, speed, natural weapons such as tusks and horns, and the unpredictability of theirbehavior. That is, mammoths, bovines, and horses are portrayed more often than deer and reindeer. Thus, the paintings areconsistentwith the idea that the art is related to the importance of hunting in theeconomyof UpperPaleolithicpeople. Consistentwith this idea, according to the investigators, is the fact that the art of the cultural period that followed the UpperPaleolithicalso seems toreflecthow people got their food. But in that period, when getting food no longer depended on hunting large game animals (because they were becomingextinct), the art ceased tofocuson portrayals of animals.

UpperPaleolithicart was not confined to cave paintings. Many shafts of spears andsimilarobjects were decorated with figures of animals. TheanthropologistAlexander Marshack has an interestinginterpretationof some of the engravings made during the UpperPaleolithic. He believes that as far back as 30,000 B.C., hunters may have used a system ofnotation, engraved on bone and stone, to mark phases of the Moon. If this is true, it would mean that UpperPaleolithicpeople werecapableofcomplexthought and wereconsciouslyawareof their environment. Inadditionto other artworks, figurines representing the humanfemalein exaggerated form have also been found at UpperPaleolithicsites. It has been suggested that these figurines were anidealtype or an expression of adesireforfertility.

Questions:
question_stem: The word “marked” in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: considerable

tag: B
text: surprising

tag: C
text: limited

tag: D
text: adequate
answer_key: A
explanation: mark: 标记，marked: 明显的，显著的。对应原文：We might expect that early artistic efforts would be crude, but the cave paintings of Spain and southern France show a marked degree of skill.所在句的上半句讲我们认为 artistic efforts 是比较粗劣的，后面来了个转折，说他们应该有怎么样的技巧，considerable 相当的，正确。limited 感情色彩反了，surprise 意思太夸张，而且 surprise 也不一定是好，adequate 意思过了。

question_stem: Paragraph 1 supports which of the following statements about painting in Europe?
choices: tag: A
text: It is much older than painting in Australia.

tag: B
text: It is as much as 28,000 years old.

tag: C
text: It is not as old as painting in southern Africa.

tag: D
text: It is much more than 30,000 years old.
answer_key: B
explanation: B 此题答案中的关键词很容易找，故使用排除法，从答案中都可以推断出问的是画的年代。原文一共提到了三个地方岩画的年龄，南非28000年前，欧洲和南非一样，澳洲30000年前，所以澳洲老，A 错，同时 D 也错；B 说28000年前，原文既然说欧洲和非洲一样，当然也是28000年前，所以 B 对；C 刚好和原文说反，错。

question_stem: The word “principal” in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: major

tag: B
text: likely

tag: C
text: well protected

tag: D
text: distinct
answer_key: A
explanation: principal: 主要的。A 是主要的；B 是可能的；C 是很好地保护；D 是独特的，明显的。所以 A 的 major 是答案。对应原文：The researchers Peter Ucko and Andree Rosenfeld identified three principal locations of paintings in the caves of western Europe…说研究人员找到了三个什么样的地方存在岩画，这道题三个错误答案带进去都对，所以这个就是靠认识的了。

question_stem: According to paragraph 2, what makes some researchers think that certain cave paintings were connected with magical-religious activities?
choices: tag: A
text: The paintings were located where many people could easily see them, allowing groups of people to participate in the magical-religious activities.

tag: B
text: Upper Paleolithic people shared similar beliefs with contemporary peoples who use paintings of animals in their magical-religious rituals.

tag: C
text: Evidence of magical-religious activities has been found in galleries immediately off the inhabited areas of caves.

tag: D
text: The paintings were found in hard-to-reach places away from the inhabited parts of the cave.
answer_key: D
explanation: D 以 magical-religious activities 做关键词定位至第三个位置，inner reach 和 difficult to access 都说明 D 是正确的，因为四个答案中只有 D 提到了 hard-to-reach places。

question_stem: The word “trappings” in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: conditions

tag: B
text: problems

tag: C
text: influences

tag: D
text: decorations
answer_key: D
explanation: D trappings: 装饰。trap 最常见的意思是捕猎或者陷阱，但注意 trappings，而且只有复数的时候有一个意思是装饰物。

question_stem: Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
choices: tag: A
text: Upper Paleolithic people, like many contemporary peoples, believed that if they drew a human image in their cave art, it would cause death or injury.

tag: B
text: Many contemporary people believe that the drawing of a human image can cause death or injury, so they, like Upper Paleolithic people, rarely depicted human figures in their cave art.

tag: C
text: If Upper Paleolithic people, like many contemporary peoples, believed that the drawing of a human image could cause death or injury, this belief might explain why human figures are rarely depicted in cave art.

tag: D
text: Although many contemporary peoples believe that the drawing of a human image can cause death or injury, researchers cannot explain why Upper Paleolithic people rarely depicted human figures in their cave art.
answer_key: C
explanation: C 原文的结构是旧石器时代的人相信 blablabla，如果真是这样，blablabla。A 选项缺了如果真是这样那部分，缺失重要信息，错；B 也犯了同样错误，而且 B 还偷换了原文的陈述对象，原文说 upper Paleolithic 的人怎么怎么样，被 B 换成了现代人怎么怎么样；C 正确；D 刚好说反了，不是不能解释，而是这个是可能的解释，错。

question_stem: According to paragraph 3, scholars explained chips in the painted figures of animals by proposing that
choices: tag: A
text: Upper Paleolithic artists used marks to record the animals they had seen

tag: B
text: the paintings were inspired by the need to increase the supply of animals for hunting

tag: C
text: the artists had removed rough spots on the cave walls

tag: D
text: Upper Paleolithic people used the paintings to increase their luck at hunting
answer_key: D
explanation: 问作者解释了 chips in the painted animal figures 是为什么，往前找：Another explanation for the focus on animals might be that these people sought to improve their luck at hunting.找到之前的 another explanation 那句，说这些人把画的重点放在动物身上是为了提升自己在打猎时候的运气，所以 D 正确。B 在倒数第二句有提到，但是这冥想是另外一个观点，从前一句的 But 知道，这已经和前文形成了转折，所以不是例子想要支撑的观点；AC 在原文未提及。

question_stem: Why does the author mention that Upper Paleolithic cave art seemed to have “reached a peak toward the end of the Upper Paleolithic period, when the herds of game were decreasing”?
choices: tag: A
text: To argue that Upper Paleolithic art ceased to include animals when herds of game became scarce

tag: B
text: To provide support for the idea that the aim of the paintings was to increase the supply of animals for hunting

tag: C
text: To emphasize the continued improvement in the quality of cave art throughout the Upper Paleolithic period

tag: D
text: To show the direct connection between the decrease in herds of game and the end of the Upper Paleolithic period
answer_key: B
explanation: 功能目的题，例子所在的那句说当猎物变少的时候，这样的岩画达到了高峰，往前看，之前一句说人们之所以画这样的画是因为想得到更多的猎物，所以这句话就是证明画画是想要更多的猎物，答案 B 正确。

question_stem: According to paragraph 4, scholars believe that wild cattle, horses, and mammoths are the animals most frequently portrayed in cave paintings for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:
choices: tag: A
text: These animals were difficult to hunt because their unpredictable behavior.

tag: B
text: People preferred these animals for their meat and for their skins.

tag: C
text: The painters admired the beauty of these large animals.

tag: D
text: People feared these animals because of their size and speed.
answer_key: C
explanation: C 排除法，所有答案集中在这段的二四两句，第四句说到 A 和 D 两个答案，第二句说到 B 答案，原文只是说大的动物多画，没说是因为画画的人喜欢大动物的美，C 没说，选。

question_stem: According to paragraph 4, which of the following may best represent the attitude of hunters toward deer and reindeer in the Upper Paleolithic period?
choices: tag: A
text: Hunters did not fear deer and reindeers as much as they did large game animals such as horses and mammoths.

tag: B
text: Hunters were not interested in hunting deer and reindeer because of their size and speed.

tag: C
text: Hunters preferred the meat and hides of deer and reindeer to those of other animals.

tag: D
text: Hunters avoided deer and reindeer because of their natural weapons, such as horns.
answer_key: A
explanation: A 以 deer 和 reindeer 做关键词定位至原文第五句，接上题，说大的动物比诸如 deer 和 reindeer 这类小动物更多出现在岩画上，前文说因为怕那些大动物的很多方面才画，所以 A 对，B 将两个概念杂合到一起，而且原文没说猎人对 deer 不感兴趣，错；原文没说 deer and reindeer 的肉和兽皮更受青睐，不存在比较级，原文说的是马和牛，所以 C 项错；原文说有 horn 的是大型动物，不是 deer，D 错

question_stem: According to paragraph 4, what change is evident in the art of the period following the Upper Paleolithic?
choices: tag: A
text: This new art starts to depict small animals rather than large ones.

tag: B
text: This new art ceases to reflect the ways in which people obtained their food.

tag: C
text: This new art no longer consists mostly of representations of animals.

tag: D
text: This new art begins to show the importance of hunting to the economy.
answer_key: C
explanation: 以 following the upper Paleolithic 做关键词定位至最后两句：But in that period, when getting food no longer depended on hunting large game animals (because they were becoming extinct), the art ceased to focus on portrayals of animals. 这句话说：当获取食物不再依赖于捕猎大型动物，这个绘画艺术就不在专注于展现动物，C 正确；A 错，原文并没说不画大动物之后，就转向小型动物；还是反映生活的，B 错；D 从来没说。

question_stem: According to paragraph 5, which of the following has been used as evidence to suggest that Upper Paleolithic people were capable of complex thought and conscious awareness of their environment?
choices: tag: A
text: They engraved animal figures on the shafts of spears and other objects.

tag: B
text: They may have used engraved signs to record the phases of the Moon.

tag: C
text: Their figurines represented the human female in exaggerated form.

tag: D
text: They may have used figurines to portray an ideal type or to express a desire for fertility.
answer_key: B
explanation: B，以 complex thought and conscious awareness 做关键词定位至本段第四句，因为有个代词 it，说明这句跟前面的第三句有联系，前一句的具体例子是记录月相，B 正确。