Between 80 and 85 million years ago, Gondwanaland, agiantcontinentmade up of what today is Africa,Antarctica, Australia, and South America, broke up, thus causing what is now New Zealand to become separated from the largerlandmass. After the separation, any creature unable to cross aconsiderabledistance of ocean could notmigrateto New Zealand. Snakes and most mammals evolved after the separation. Thus there are no New Zealand snakes, and bats, which flew there, and seals, which swam there, were the only mammals on New Zealand whenPolynesiansettlers (the Maori) arrived there about a thousand years ago.

When the Maori arrived in New Zealand, they encountered birds that had been evolving for 80 million years without the presence ofmammalianpredators. The moststrikingof these animals must have beenmoa. Nowextinct,moaweregiganticwingless birds that stood as much as 10 feet (3 meters) tall and weighed as much as 550 pounds (250 kilograms). They are known from adiversearrayof remains including eggshells, eggs, a few mummified carcasses,vastnumbers of bones, and some older fossilized bone. Thespeciesofmoathat are currently recognized occupiedecologicalniches customarily filled elsewhere by largemammalianbrowsing herbivores. They may have hadrelativelylowreproductiverates; apparently, they usually laid only one egg at a time.

It seems possible that when Captain James Cook first visited New Zealand in 1769,moa(or atleastone of themoaspecies) may have still survived in theremoteareas in the western part of New Zealand's South Island. If so, these individuals would have been the last of their kind. Climaticconditions in New Zealandappearto have beenrelativelystableover the period during whichmoabecameextinct. Different factors could have worked inconcerttoaccountfor theirabruptdisappearance.

Vegetation wasconsiderablyaltered by the Maori occupation of New Zealand, a change not easily explained byclimatevariationor other possible factors. Forest and shrubland burning appears to have reduced theprimehabitatof manymoaspecies. However, the main forest burning started around 700 years ago, after whatcurrentarchaeologicalevidenceindicates was the mostintensivestageofmoahunting. While there appears to have beenextensiveburning on the east side of New Zealand's South Island, large forest tracts remained in the most southern part of the island. Becausemajorhabitatdestructionseems to have occurred aftermoapopulations already weredepleted, and because somehabitatthat could haveshelteredmoapopulations remained, it would seem that other factors were also at work in theextinctionof these birds.

For South Island, humanpredationappears to have been asignificantfactorin the depletion of thepopulationofmoa. At one excavated Maori site,moaremains filled six railway cars. Thedensityof Maori settlements and artifacts increasedsubstantiallyat the time of the mostintensivemoahunting (900 to 600 years ago). This period was followed by a time ofdeclinein the Maoripopulationand a societaltransitionto smaller, lessnumeroussettlements. Theapparentdeclinefits thepatternexpected as aconsequenceof the Maori's overexploitation ofmoa.

Finally, the Maori introduced thePolynesianrat and the dog to New Zealand. The actions of thesepotentialnestpredators could have reducedmoapopulations without leaving much directevidence. The Maori may have alsoinadvertentlybrought pests anddiseaseorganisms in fowls, which could have crossed over toeradicatemoapopulations. The possibility of analyzingancientDNA toidentifypast diseases ofextinctanimals is being explored. However,evidenceof such diseases is difficult todeterminedirectly from paleoecological orarchaeologicalremains. For these reasons, it is hard todeterminethe likelihood that introduceddiseaseorganisms were a cause of thedeclineofmoa, but they are potentiallysignificant.

While the last of these possible causes remains speculative,defineclues exist for the action of the first two causes. The story ofmoaspeciesand theirdemiseraisesecologicalissues on thevulnerabilityofspeciesto human-caused changes - including alteredvegetativecover of thelandscape, change in thephysicalenvironment, andmodificationof thefloraandfaunaof aregionby eliminating somespeciesand introducing others.

Questions:
question_stem: Paragraph 1 supports which of the following inferences about mammal evolution?
choices: tag: A
text: Bats and seals most probably originated in New Zealand and then migrated to other parts of the world.

tag: B
text: Most mammal species were already present in Gondwanaland before it broke up, between 80 to 85 million years ago.

tag: C
text: No mammals that evolved after New Zealand separated from Gondwanaland were able to migrate to New Zealand.

tag: D
text: No mammals evolved from the animals that originally inhabited New Zealand.
answer_key: D
explanation: 【题目翻译】第1段支持以下哪个关于哺乳动物进化的推论？
A：蝙蝠和海豹最有可能起源于新西兰，然后迁徙到世界其他地方。

B：大多数哺乳动物在它解体之前就已经存在于冈瓦纳大陆，大约在8000万到8500万年前。

C：没有一种在新西兰与冈瓦纳大陆分离后进化的哺乳动物能够迁移到新西兰。

D：没有哺乳动物是从最初居住在新西兰的动物进化而来的。

【判定题型】：题目问的是文章中的具体细节信息，故根据题目问法可以判断本题为事实信息题。

【关键词定位】本题根据题干给出的关键词 mammal revolution 定位到第一段 After the separation, any creature unable to cross a considerable distance of ocean could not migrate to New Zealand. Snakes and most mammals evolved after the separation.意思是“在此之后，任何不能游过中间这片海洋的动物都没法移居到新西兰。”

【逻辑分析】蛇类和哺乳动物都是自从新西兰分裂以后才开始进化的。所以在一千年前毛利人到来的时候，新西兰的哺乳动物只有后来迁移过去的蝙蝠和海豹。所以新西兰的哺乳动物没有本土的。

【选项分析】
A.新西兰的哺乳动物没有本土的。故蝙蝠和海豹不可能起源于新西兰。错误。
B.大约在8000万到8500万年前，冈瓦纳大陆解体了。故选项错误。
C.新西兰的哺乳动物只有后来迁移过去的蝙蝠和海豹。故选项错误。
D.符合文意，正确。

question_stem: The word "striking" in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: abundant

tag: B
text: attention getting

tag: C
text: familiar

tag: D
text: important
answer_key: B
explanation: 【题目翻译】文中“striking”一次与下列哪个意思最相近？
选项 A 是多余的，过多的；
选项 B 是吸引人注意的；
选项 C 是熟悉的；
选项 D 是重要的。

【判定题型】：题目要求选出与高亮单词意思最接近的选项，故判断本题为词汇题。

【关键词定位】：根据关键词“striking”,定位到原句“The most striking of these animals must have been moa.”。

【词汇解析】：词汇“striking”的意思是“让人震惊的”,带入到原句中，原句的意思是“些里面最让人震惊的物种一定是恐鸟”。

【选项分析】
选项 A 是多余的，过多的；不符，错误
选项 B 是吸引人注意的；符合，正确
选项 C 是熟悉的；不符，错误
选项 D 是重要的。不符，错误

question_stem: The word "currently" in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: at the present time

tag: B
text: officially

tag: C
text: normally

tag: D
text: easily
answer_key: A
explanation: 【题目翻译】文中“currently”一次与下列哪个意思最相近？
选项 A 的意思是现在，
选项 B 的意思是官方的，
选项 C 的意思是正常的，
选项 D 的意思是简单的。

【判定题型】：题目要求选出与高亮单词意思最接近的选项，故判断本题为词汇题。

3、【关键词定位】：根据关键词“currently”,定位到原句“The species of moa that are currently recognized occupied ecological niches customarily filled elsewhere by large mammalian browsing herbivores. ”。

【词汇解析】：词汇“currently”的意思是“现在”,带入到原句中，原句的意思是“恐鸟这个物种现在被认为是占据了通常是被吃草的哺乳动物占据的生态位”。

【选项分析】
选项 A 的意思是现在。符合，正确
选项 B 的意思是官方的，不符，错误
选项 C 的意思是正常的，不符，错误
选项 D 的意思是简单的。不符，错误

question_stem: According to paragraph 2, moa
choices: tag: A
text: had large wings

tag: B
text: hatched many eggs at one time

tag: C
text: had no mammals that preyed on them

tag: D
text: were ordinarily small in size and light in weight
answer_key: C
explanation: 【题目翻译】根据第2段，恐鸟
A：有大翅膀
B：一次孵出许多蛋
C：没有哺乳动物捕食它们
D：一般来说体积小，重量轻

【判定题型】：题目问的是文章中的具体细节信息，故根据题目问法可以判断本题为事实信息题。

【关键词定位】：根据关键词“moa”,定位到 Passage 2 ，原句为“When the Maori arrived in New Zealand, they encountered birds that had been evolving for 80 million years without the presence of mammalian predators.”，意思是“当毛利人抵达新西兰时，他们遇到了在没有哺乳动物捕食者的情况下进化了8000万年的鸟类”。

【逻辑分析】本句的后半句 without the presence of mammalian predators 的意思是在毛利人到达新西兰的时候，是没有恐鸟的哺乳动物捕食者出现的。

【选项分析】
A.恐鸟没有翅膀。故选项错误。
B.它们一次只生一个蛋。故选项错误。
C.符合原文，故正确。
D.站立起来可以达到10英尺（3米）高，体重可以达到550磅（250千克）。说明体积很大，体重很重，故选项错误。

question_stem: Why does the author include the information "Climatic conditions in New Zealand appear to have been relatively stable over the period during which moa became extinct"?
choices: tag: A
text: To eliminate what might seem to be a plausible explanation of the extinction of moa.

tag: B
text: To explain why some moa species may still have existed at the time of Captain Cook's first visit to New Zealand.

tag: C
text: To explain why, in the late 1700s, moa most likely lived in remote areas of New Zealand.

tag: D
text: To suggest that climate conditions in New Zealand varied widely when moa were plentiful.
answer_key: A
explanation: 【题目翻译】为什么作者提及“新西兰的气候条件似乎在 MOA 灭绝期间相对稳定”的信息？
A：消除对 MOA 灭绝的一个看似合理的解释。

B：为了解释为什么库克船长第一次访问新西兰时，一些 MOA 物种可能仍然存在。

C：为了解释为什么17世纪末，MOA 最有可能生活在新西兰的偏远地区。

D：这表明，当 MOA 充足时，新西兰的气候条件变化很大。

【判定题型】：根据题干问法“why …… include”，题目询问“xxxxxx”(文章引用内容)的修辞目的，可以判断本题为修辞目的题。

【关键词定位】：根据关键词“Climatic conditions”,定位到 Passage 3第3句，原句为“Climatic conditions in New Zealand appear to have been relatively stable over the period during which moa became extinct.”。

【引用内容分析】新西兰的气候状况一直在恐鸟走向灭绝的时期里保持相对稳定。结合本句后面 Different factors could have worked in concert to account for their abrupt disappearance.这句说明导致恐鸟突然灭绝的因素有很多，但是鉴于气候条件一直没怎么变化。

【选项分析】
A.气候的因素可以排除。符合选项 A 的说法。
B.选项 B 说更多物种也要灭绝，不符，错误
C.选项 C 说解释为什么恐鸟在18世纪后期还生存在新西兰偏僻地区。不符，错误
D.选项 D 说气候条件多变，不符，错误

question_stem: The word "abrupt" in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: gradual

tag: B
text: complete

tag: C
text: predicted

tag: D
text: sudden
answer_key: D
explanation: 【题目翻译】文中“abrupt”一次与下列哪个意思最相近？
选项 A 的意思是逐渐的，
选项 B 的意思是完全的，
选项 C 的意思是预测的，
选项 D 的意思是突然的。

【判定题型】：题目要求选出与高亮单词意思最接近的选项，故判断本题为词汇题。

【关键词定位】：根据关键词“abrupt”,定位到原句“Different factors could have worked in concert to account for their abrupt disappearance.”。

【词汇解析】：词汇“abrupt”的意思是“突然的”,带入到原句中，原句的意思是“不同的因素共同导致了恐鸟突如其来的灭绝”。

【选项分析】
选项 A 的意思是逐渐的，不符，错误
选项 B 的意思是完全的，不符，错误
选项 C 的意思是预测的，不符，错误
选项 D 的意思是突然的。符合，正确

question_stem: According to paragraph 4, why is forest burning considered only a partial explanation for the disappearance of moa?
choices: tag: A
text: Forest burning was far less intense on New Zealand's South Island, where the majority of moa habitats were located.

tag: B
text: Moa populations had already been significantly reduced before most of the forest burning started.

tag: C
text: Moa became extinct long after the Maori had stopped the practice of forest burning.

tag: D
text: Moa gradually adapted to changes that resulted from forest burning.
answer_key: B
explanation: 【题目翻译】根据第4段，为什么森林燃烧仅仅被认为是恐鸟消失的部分原因？
A：新西兰南岛的森林燃烧强度要小得多，那里是大多数恐鸟栖息地。

B：在大多数森林燃烧开始之前，恐鸟的数量已经显著减少。

C：在毛利人停止烧森林之后很久，恐鸟就灭绝了。

D：恐鸟逐渐适应森林燃烧引起的变化。

【判定题型】：题目问的是文章中的具体细节信息，故根据题目问法可以判断本题为事实信息题。

【关键词定位】：根据关键词“forest burning ”,定位到 Passage 4，原句为“Forest and shrubland burning appears to have reduced the prime habitat of many moa species. However, the main forest burning started around 700 years ago, after what current archaeological evidence indicates was the most intensive stage of moa hunting. ”，意思是“森林和灌木燃烧似乎减少了许多恐鸟物种的主要栖息地。然而，主要的森林燃烧开始于大约700年前，在目前的考古证据表明是恐鸟狩猎最密集的阶段之后。”

【逻辑分析】恐鸟灭绝并不是全部归因于森林大火。

【选项分析】
A.因为主要栖息地的破坏是在恐鸟数量已经大量减少之后才发生的，故错误。
B.符合文意，正确。
C.未提及毛利人烧森林，故错误。
D.未提及是否适应，故错误。

question_stem: Why does the author say that "At one excavated Maori site, moa remains filled six railway cars"?
choices: tag: A
text: To indicate how large the moa population was before it was hunted.

tag: B
text: To indicate that scientists were very interested in learning details about moa.

tag: C
text: To illustrate the intensity with which the Maori hunted moa.

tag: D
text: To suggest that moa hunting was largely limited to New Zealand's South Island.
answer_key: C
explanation: 【题目翻译】为什么作者说“在毛利人挖掘出来的一处遗址上，恐鸟残骸填满了六辆火车车厢”？
A：这是为了说明莫阿在被捕杀之前的人口有多大。

B：这表明科学家对了解恐鸟的细节非常感兴趣。

C：说明毛利人猎杀摩亚的强度。

D：这表明恐鸟狩猎主要局限于新西兰的南岛。

【判定题型】：根据题干问法“why …… say”，题目询问“xxxxxx”(文章引用内容)的修辞目的，可以判断本题为修辞目的题。

【关键词定位】：根据关键词“moa remains”,定位到 Passage5，原句为“At one excavated Maori site, moa remains filled six railway cars. ”

【引用内容分析】在每一个撤空的毛利人聚集地，恐鸟的尸体可以装满六趟火车。可见毛利人对于恐鸟捕杀的力度。

【选项分析】
A.选项 A 说为了证实恐鸟的数量有多大，太片面；
B.选项 B 说证明科学家喜欢研究恐鸟的细节，错误
C.符合文意，故正确。
D.；选项 D 说对恐鸟的捕杀仅仅局限在新西兰，也不对。

question_stem: Paragraph 5 presents which of the following as evidence that hunting was one of the factors responsible for the decline of moa?
choices: tag: A
text: The length of the period during which moa were intensively hunted.

tag: B
text: The decline in the size of the Maori population in the period after moa were intensively hunted.

tag: C
text: The large number of Maori living today in areas that were moa habitats.

tag: D
text: The large number of hunting weapons that archaeologists have excavated.
answer_key: B
explanation: 【题目翻译】第5段提出了以下哪一项作为证据，证明狩猎是导致恐鸟下降的因素之一？
A：集中猎杀恐鸟的时间长度。

B：在恐鸟被集中猎杀之后，毛利人的数量在下降。

C：今天生活在摩亚地区的毛利人很多。

D：考古学家挖掘出的大量狩猎武器。

【判定题型】：题目问的是文章中的具体细节信息，故根据题目问法可以判断本题为事实信息题。

【关键词定位】：根据关键词“ hunting ”,定位到 Passage 5，原句为“The density of Maori settlements and artifacts increased substantially at the time of the most intensive moa hunting (900 to 600 years ago). This period was followed by a time of decline in the Maori population and a societal transition to smaller, less numerous settlements.”，意思是“毛利人聚居地和手工艺品的密度在最密集的 MOA 狩猎时期（900至600年前）大幅增加。这一时期之后，毛利人的人口下降，社会向数量较少、规模较小的定居点过渡”。

【逻辑分析】这两句话主要讲了毛利人的栖息地在逐渐增加，伴随着的是对于恐鸟的强力捕杀。在此之后，毛利人人口密度降低，开始转到建造小的、人数少的聚集地。所以在恐鸟被大力扑杀之后毛利人的人口减少了。

【选项分析】
A.选项 A 的意思是证据是捕杀恐鸟的时间长度，错误
B.符合文意，正确。
C.选项 C 的意思是大量毛利人住在恐鸟栖息地里，错误
D.选项 D 的意思是大量的捕杀武器，与原文无关。错误

question_stem: According to paragraph 6, scientists may never know if diseases contributed to the extinction of moa because
choices: tag: A
text: previous research to establish the role of diseases in the extinction of animals did not yield any significant findings.

tag: B
text: scientists have difficulty identifying past diseases from paleoecological and archaeological data.

tag: C
text: moa's fossilized remains contain no DNA.

tag: D
text: conducting such research is time-consuming and expensive.
answer_key: B
explanation: 【题目翻译】根据第6段，科学家可能永远不知道疾病是否导致恐鸟的灭绝，因为
A：以前关于疾病在动物灭绝中的作用的研究没有产生任何重要的发现。

B：科学家们很难从古生态和考古资料中鉴别过去的疾病。

C：恐鸟的化石中没有 DNA。

D：做这样的研究既费时又费钱。

【判定题型】：题目问的是文章中的具体细节信息，故根据题目问法可以判断本题为事实信息题。

【关键词定位】本题根据 disease 定位到原文中出题点：However, evidence of such diseases is difficult to determine directly from paleoecological or archaeological remains.意思是“然而，很难找到古生态学中或者人类学中关于这些疾病的证据”。

【逻辑分析】很难找到古生态学中或者人类学中关于这些疾病的证据。

【选项分析】
A.选项 A 的意思是前面研究疾病在恐鸟灭绝中的作用没有重要成果，错误
B.符合文意，正确
C.选项 C 是说恐鸟化石里没有 DNA，错误，
D.选项 D 是说这些调查既耗费时间，也花费高，都不符合原文。

question_stem: The word "potentially" in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: historically

tag: B
text: remarkably

tag: C
text: possibly

tag: D
text: certainly
answer_key: C
explanation: 【题目翻译】文中“potentially”一次与下列哪个意思最相近？
选项 A 是历史的，
选项 B 是显著的，
选项 C 是可能的，
选项 D 是一定的。

【判定题型】：题目要求选出与高亮单词意思最接近的选项，故判断本题为词汇题。

【关键词定位】：根据关键词“potentially”,定位到原句“For these reasons, it is hard to determine the likelihood that introduced disease organisms were a cause of the decline of moa, but they are potentially significant. ”。

【词汇解析】：词汇“potentially”的意思是“有潜力的，很可能的”,带入到原句中，原句的意思是“正因为如此，我们很难决定致病有机体的引入是不是恐鸟数量下降的原因之一，但是它们很可能很重要”。

【选项分析】
选项 A 是历史的，不符，错误
选项 B 是显著的，不符，错误
选项 C 是可能的，同义替换，正确
选项 D 是一定的。不符，错误

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: The extinction of moa suggests the vulnerability of species to human-caused changes to the species' environment.

tag: B
text: Some species, such a moa, are vulnerable to changes in their environment.

tag: C
text: The environmental changes that moa experienced included modifications to plant and animal life and the introduction and elimination of certain animal species.

tag: D
text: The story of moa raises issues that are important for ecologists to consider.
answer_key: A
explanation: 1、【题目翻译】下面哪句话最能表达文章中突出显示的句子中的基本信息？错误的选择会以重要的方式改变意义，或者遗漏重要的信息。
A：恐鸟的灭绝表明物种对人类的脆弱性导致了物种环境的变化。

B：有些物种，例如恐鸟，很容易受到环境变化的影响。

C：恐鸟经历的环境变化包括植物和动物生活的改变以及某些动物物种的引进和淘汰。

D：恐鸟的故事提出了生态学家需要考虑的重要问题。

【判定题型】：根据题目问法，题目要求选择和高亮句意思逻辑都最为接近的句子，故判断本题为句子简化题。

【句子分析】本题先分析被高亮出来的句子：The story of moa species and their demise raises ecological issues on the vulnerability of species to human-caused changes - including altered vegetative cover of the landscape, change in the physical environment, and modification of the flora and fauna of a region by eliminating some species and introducing others. 本句的大意是：恐鸟的灭绝向我们提出了一个生态话题，即关于人类造成的环境变化对于物种的伤害，包括通过减少某些物种的数量和引入其他物种来改变植被、物理环境、植物群和动物群。

【选项分析】
选项 A 是本句的同义转述。正确
选项 B 的意思是一些物种容易受到环境变化的伤害，不全面；
选项 C 的意思忽略了人为这一信息，不全面；
选项 D 省去了具体需要生态学家注意的内容，也不全面。