Archaeologistsdistinguishthe “cultural”formationprocesses of thearchaeologicalrecord(those involving some kind of humanactivity) from the “natural”formationprocesses (those involving nonhumanactivity, such as riveractiondisturbingarchaeologicalmaterial). There are two kinds of culturalformationprocesses: those thatreflecttheoriginalhumanbehaviorandactivitybefore a find or site became buried, and those (such as looting) that came afterburial. Ofcourse, mostmajorarchaeologicalsites are formed as the result of acomplexsequenceof use,burial, and reuse so that a simple twofolddivisionof culturalformationprocesses may not be so simple toapplyin practice, but thedistinctionis still useful.

Originalhumanbehavioris often reflected archaeologically in atleastfourmajoractivities. In the case of a tool, for example, there may be (1)acquisitionof therawmaterial, (2)manufacture, (3) use, and (4)disposalordiscardwhen the tool is worn out or broken. (The tool may ofcoursebe reworked and recycled, thus repeating stages 2 and 3.) Similarly, a food crop such as wheat will be acquired (harvested), manufactured (processed), used (eaten), and discarded (digested and thewasteproducts excreted), although here one might add acommonintermediatestageofstoragebefore use. From the archaeologist's point of view, thecriticalfactoris that remains can enter thearchaeologicalrecordat any one of these stages. A tool may be lost or thrown out for being ofinferiorqualityduringmanufacture, or a crop may be accidentally burnt and thus preserved during processing. In order to reconstruct theoriginalactivityaccurately it isthereforecrucialto try to understand which of the stages one is looking at. It may be quite easy toidentifythe firststagefor stone tools, forinstance, because stone quarries can often be recognized by deep holes in the ground with piles of associatedwasteflakes thatsurvivewell. But it is much more difficult to know beyondreasonabledoubtwhere asampleofcharredplant remains comes from, whether from an area where harvested wheat was taken for threshing or from the area where thegrainwas eaten. This may also make it difficult to reconstruct the true plantdiet, since certain activities mayfavorthepreservationof certainspeciesof plant.

Deliberateburialof valuables or the dead is another humanbehaviorthat has left its mark on thearchaeologicalrecord. In times ofconflictor war, people oftendepositprized possessions in the ground, intending to reclaim them at a laterdate; but sometimes, for onereasonor another, they fail to do so. These hoards are aprimesourceofevidencefor certain periods, such as the EuropeanBronzeAge, for which hoards of metal goods arecommon, or later Roman Britain, which has yielded buried treasures of silver and otherpreciousmetals. The archaeologist, however, may not find it easy todistinguishbetween hoards originally intended to be reclaimed and valuables buried—perhaps as offerings to supernatural powers—with noreclamationintended.

Inadditiontoburialhoards, amajorsourceofarchaeologicalevidencecomes fromburialof the dead, whether in simple graves,elaborateburialmounds, orgiantpyramids, usually with grave goods such asceramicvessels or weapons, and sometimes with painted tomb-chamber walls, as inancientMexico or Egypt. The Egyptians indeed went so far as to mummify their dead—topreservethem, they hoped, for eternity—as did theIncasof Peru, whose kings were kept in theTempleof the Sun at Cuzco and brought outside forspecialceremonies.

Humandestructionof thearchaeologicalrecordmight be caused by burials of the kind just described being dug into earlier deposits. But people in the pastdeliberatelyor accidentally obliterated traces of their predecessors ininnumerableother ways. Rulers often destroyed monuments or erased inscriptions belonging topreviouschiefs or monarchs. On the other hand, some humandestructionmeant to obliterate hasinadvertentlypreservedmaterialfor the archaeologist to find. Burning, for example, may not always destroy. Claydaubing andadobeusuallydecay, but if a structure has been burned, the mud is baked to theconsistencyof a brick.

Questions:
question_stem: Paragraph 1 supports which of the following about the two types of cultural formation processes?
choices: tag: A
text: An understanding of the twofold division of cultural formation processes has no practical significance.

tag: B
text: Many finds at major archaeological sites reflect both types of cultural formation processes.

tag: C
text: The two types of cultural formation processes can be most clearly distinguished from each other at major archaeological sites.

tag: D
text: Cultural formation processes that took place before a find became buried are usually less complex than cultural formation processes that occurred after it was buried.
answer_key: B
explanation: 题干提问“ 关于 two types of cultural formation processes 可以得到得到什么信息”，定位到本段最后两句话，A：no practical 和原文矛盾，不选；B:定位最后一句，complex sequence，burial and reuse，符合 B 选项，故正确；C:clearly distinguished 与原文矛盾，原文表达：可能不简单，但也有用；故不选；D:原文没有比较 burial 前后的 cultural formation process，故不选。

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

tag: B
text: importance

tag: C
text: decision

tag: D
text: conflict
answer_key: A
explanation: distinction n. 区别；差别
A. differentiation 区别， 正确
B. importance 重要性，C. decision 决定，
D. conflict 冲突，都不符合原词意思，故不选。

question_stem: The author indicates that “A tool may be lost or thrown out for being of inferior quality during manufacture, or a crop may be accidentally burnt and thus preserved during processing” in order to
choices: tag: A
text: show that the stages typically found in tool making are also found in food production

tag: B
text: explain the differences between the four major stages typical of human behavior

tag: C
text: illustrate the point that remains can enter the archaeological record at any stage

tag: D
text: provide examples of human activity rarely found in archaeological sites
answer_key: C
explanation: 题干提问：作者问什么说 tool 这句话，前一句明显为观点句，From the archaeologist's point of view, the critical factor is that remains can enter the archaeological record at any one of these stages.与 C 符合，故 C 为正确答案；A 原文没有相关信息，B 选项和前文说到的四个阶段不相关，更没有区分的信息；D：rarely found 和原文不符，故不选。

question_stem: According to paragraph 2, archaeologists trying to reconstruct human activity in a given area find that
choices: tag: A
text: many areas used as sources of raw materials for tools seem to have been later used for food production

tag: B
text: areas used to obtain raw materials for tools can be easier to identify than areas used for food production or occupation

tag: C
text: there is usually more waste associated with food production than with tool manufacturing

tag: D
text: it is generally easier to reconstruct people’s plant diets than diets of animal sources
answer_key: B
explanation: 题干提问:"试图重建特定地区人类活动的专家的发现"，根据题目定位至倒数第二三句，从 It may be quite easy 和 But it is much more difficult 可以看到有区域的对比，需要进行细节理解，“鉴别第一阶段的石制工具很容易，因为采石场通常可以通过地面上的深洞来识别，对应选项 raw material 但是，烧焦的植物残骸样本，是来自收割的小麦被打谷的地方，还是来自谷物被食用的地方，则要困难得多，对应 food production，且只有 B 选项说到区域的比较，故选 B。

question_stem: According to paragraph 3, a common problem for archaeologists dealing with hoards is
choices: tag: A
text: estimating the age of buried metals

tag: B
text: understanding why certain metals like silver are commonly found in hoards

tag: C
text: understanding how the use of hoards as offerings to supernatural powers spread outside Europe

tag: D
text: identifying the reason that the valuables were buried
answer_key: D
explanation: 题干提问“专家处理 hoards 的常见问题是什么”根据题目定位最后一句话，考古学家觉得区分用于回收的物品和不回收的埋藏的贵重物品并不容易。可知答案为 D，鉴别被埋葬的原因；A：原文明确说明是青铜时代，不选；B：原文有提到发现银子，但没提到原因，故不选；C：有提到 supernatural power，但没有提到 outside 并且没有提到方式，故不选。

question_stem: According to paragraph 4, the archaeological record shows that people buried their dead in each of the following EXCEPT
choices: tag: A
text: burial mounds

tag: B
text: simple graves

tag: C
text: ceramic containers

tag: D
text: large pyramids
answer_key: C
explanation: 题干提问“考古证据表明埋葬地点是哪些？”，根据题目定位原文第一句，A,B,D,并列出现，且符合题目，不选，故选项 C, C 根据原文表述为陪葬品。

question_stem: According to paragraph 4, the ancient Egyptians and the Incas of Peru were alike in that they both
choices: tag: A
text: frequently changed the location of their kings' burial sites

tag: B
text: left little evidence of grave goods being used in burial sites

tag: C
text: preserved their dead

tag: D
text: held special ceremonies at the graves of their kings
answer_key: C
explanation: 题干为“Egyptians and the Incas of Peru 的相似之处为”定位第四段最后一句话， mummify their dead—to preserve them, they hoped, for eternity 故得知答案为 C， preserve their dead。

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

tag: B
text: accidentally

tag: C
text: fortunately

tag: D
text: permanently
answer_key: B
explanation: inadvertently adv. 无意地，不经意地
B. accidentally 意外地，符合原词意思，故正确；   A. instead 相反地，C. fortunately 幸运地
D. permanently 永恒地都不符合原词，故不选。