In 1769 in a little town in Oxfordshire, England, a child with the very ordinary name of William Smith was born into the poor family of a village blacksmith. He receivedrudimentaryvillage schooling, but mostly he roamed his uncle's farm collecting the fossils that were soabundantin the rocks of the Cotswold hills. When he grew older, William Smith taught himself surveying from books he bought with his small savings, and at the age of eighteen he was apprenticed to asurveyorof thelocalparish. He then proceeded to teach himselfgeology, and when he was twenty-four, he went to work for thecompanythat was excavating the SomersetCoalCanalin the south of England.

This was before the steamlocomotive, andcanalbuilding was at its height. The companies building the canals totransportcoalneeded surveyors to help them find thecoaldepositsworthminingas well as todeterminethe best courses for the canals. This job gave Smith anopportunityto study the fresh rock outcrops created by the newly dugcanal. He later worked onsimilarjobsacrossthe length and breadth of England, all the while studying the newly revealedstrataand collecting all the fossils he could find. Smith usedmailcoaches to travel as much as 10,000 miles per year. In 1815 he published the first modern geological map, “A Map of theStrataof England and Wales with a Part of Scotland,” a map so meticulously researched that it can still be used today.

In 1831 when Smith was finally recognized by the Geological Society of London as the “father of Englishgeology,” it was not only for his maps but also for somethingevenmore important. Ever since people had begun tocatalogthestratainparticularoutcrops, there had been the hope that these could somehow be used tocalculategeological time. But as more and more accumulations ofstratawere cataloged in more and more places, it becameclearthat the sequences of rocks sometimes differed fromregiontoregionand that no rock type was ever going to become areliabletime markerthroughoutthe world. Evenwithout the problem of regional differences, rocks present a difficulty asuniquetime markers. Quartzisquartz—asiliconionsurrounded by fouroxygenions—there’s nodifferenceat all between two-million-year-oldPleistocenequartzandCambrianquartzcreated over 500 million years ago.

As he collected fossils fromstratathroughoutEngland, Smith began to see that the fossils told a different story from the rocks. Particularly in the youngerstrata, the rocks were often sosimilarthat he had trouble distinguishing thestrata, but he never had trouble telling the fossils apart. While rock between twoconsistentstratamight in one place beshaleand in another sandstone, the fossils in thatshaleor sandstone were always the same. Some fossils enduredthroughso many millions of years that theyappearin manystrata, but othersoccuronly in a fewstrata, and a fewspecieshad their births and extinctionswithinoneparticularstratum. Fossils are thus identifying markers forparticularperiods in Earth'shistory.

Not only could Smithidentifyrockstrataby the fossils they contained, he could also see apatternemerging: certain fossils alwaysappearin moreancientsediments,

while others begin to be seen as thestratabecome more recent.

By following the fossils, Smith was able to put all thestrataof England's earth intorelativetemporalsequence. About the same time, Georges Cuvier made the same discovery while studying the rocks around Paris. Soon it was realized that thisprincipleof faunal (animal)successionwasvalidnot only in England or France butvirtuallyeverywhere. It was actually aprincipleoffloralsuccessionas well, because plants showed the sametransformationthroughtime as didfauna. Limestone may be found in theCambrianor—300 million years later—in theJurassicstrata, but a trilobite—the ubiquitousmarinearthropodthat had its birth in theCambrian—will never be found inJurassicstrata, nor adinosaurin theCambrian.

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

tag: B
text: strict

tag: C
text: basic

tag: D
text: occasional
answer_key: C
explanation: rudimentary: 基本的，初步的。A 是彻底的；B 是严格的；C 是基础的；D 是偶尔的。所以 C 的 basic 是正确答案。对应原文：He received rudimentary village schooling, but mostly he roamed his uncle's farm collecting the fossils that were so abundant in the rocks of the Cotswold hills.原句说 smith 接受了什么样的教育，而且在他叔叔的农场闲逛并且采集化石，所以肯定受教育不多，而且前面有说他出生在一个穷铁匠家，肯定没有很多教育。thorough 彻底和 strict 严格明显不对；偶尔的教育不搭配，也不对。

question_stem: According to paragraph 1, which of the following statements about William Smith is NOT true?
choices: tag: A
text: Smith learned surveying by reading and by apprenticing for a local surveyor.

tag: B
text: Smith’s family lived in a small English town and possessed little wealth.

tag: C
text: Smith learned about fossils from books he borrowed from his uncle.

tag: D
text: Smith eventually left his village to work on the excavation of an English canal.
answer_key: C
explanation: A 中的 surveying 定位至第三句，正确，不选：When he grew older, William Smith taught himself surveying from books he bought with his small savings, and at the age of eighteen he was apprenticed to a surveyor of the local parish. 说了是从书上和实习来学习 surveying，A 正确，不选；同时第三句还说他的书是自己攒钱买的，不是问他叔叔借的，所以 C 错，选；B 中的 family 定位至第一句，little wealth 就是没钱，所以正确，不选：In 1769 in a little town in Oxfordshire, England, a child with the very ordinary name of William Smith was born into the poor family of a village blacksmith.D 中的 English canal 定位至最后一句，正确，不选：He then proceeded to teach himself geology, and when he was twenty-four, he went to work for the company that was excavating the Somerset Coal Canal in the south of England.

question_stem: Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 2 about canal building?
choices: tag: A
text: Canals were built primarily in the south of England rather than in other regions.

tag: B
text: Canal building decreased after the steam locomotive was invented.

tag: C
text: Canal building made it difficult to study rock strata which often became damaged in the process.

tag: D
text: Canal builders hired surveyors like Smith to examine exposed rock strata.
answer_key: B
explanation: B  以 canal building 做关键词定位至第一句，说在 steam locomotive 出现之前，canal building 达到高潮，也就是说 steam locomotive 出现之后，canal building 的热度开始下降，所以 B 是答案。那些人雇 smith 是帮他们找煤，不是检查暴露的岩层，D 错；A 和 C 都没有相关信息，不选。

question_stem: According to paragraph2, which of the following is true of the map published by William Smith?
choices: tag: A
text: It indicates the locations of England's major canals.

tag: B
text: It became most valuable when the steam locomotive made rail travel possible.

tag: C
text: The data for the map were collected during Smith’s work on canals.

tag: D
text: It is no longer regarded as a geological masterpiece.
answer_key: C
explanation: 以 map 做关键词定位至最后一句，但 这句话只说了 map 很好很重要，没有答案，但可以知道 D 说反了；往上看，前句说他走了很远，跟地图无关；再往前看：He later worked on similar jobs across the length and breadth of England, all the while studying the newly revealed strata and collecting all the fossils he could find. 说他边工作边收集了他能找到的所有化石，所以 C 正确；ABD 都没说。

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

tag: B
text: quickly

tag: C
text: frequently

tag: D
text: obviously
answer_key: A
explanation: meticulously: 仔细地。A 是认真地；B 是快速地；Cs 是频繁地；D 是明显的。所以答案是 A 的 carefully。对应原文：In 1815 he published the first modern geological map, "A Map of the Strata of England and Wales with a Part of Scotland," a map so meticulously researched that it can still be used today.原文说他怎么研究的那张地图，使得它今天还能用。这里有一明显的因果关系，既然结果是这个地图至今还能使用，也就证明这地图做的非常不错，应该要选择一个正向词。BCD 都是中立的，而 A 是正向的，代入后因果关系成立。

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 discovery of regional differences in the sequences of rocks led geologists to believe that rock types could someday become reliable time markers.

tag: B
text: Careful analysis of strata revealed that rocks cannot establish geological time because the pattern of rock layers varies from place to place.

tag: C
text: Smith's catalogs of rock strata indicated that the sequences of rocks are different from place to place and from region to region.

tag: D
text: Because people did not catalog regional differences in sequences of rocks, it was believed that rocks could never be reliable time markers.
answer_key: B
explanation: B 原文的结构是随着 blablabla，各地岩石层序不同，没有 rock type 能变成 reliable time marker。A 选项与原文说反； B 正确；C 说 smith 的分类，原文说了分类，但没有说 smith，这个原文没说；D 的因果关系纯属瞎扯。

question_stem: Why does the author use the phrase “Quartz is quartz”?
choices: tag: A
text: To describe how the differences between Pleistocene and Cambrian quartz reveal information about dating rocks

tag: B
text: To point out that the chemical composition of quartz makes it more difficult to date than other rocks

tag: C
text: To provide an example of how regional differences in rock sequences can make a particular rock difficult to date

tag: D
text: To explain that rocks are difficult to use for dating because their chemical compositions always remain the same over time
answer_key: D
explanation: 先读所在句子，去调插入语后，插入语之后出答案：Quartz is quartz—a silicon ion surrounded by four oxygen ions—there’s no difference at all between two-million-year-old Pleistocene quartz and Cambrian quartz created over 500 million years ago.说两百万年前的 quartz 和五亿年前的 quartz 没有任何区别，往前看，前文说即使没有 regional difference，石头也不能用来做 time maker。明显 highlight 的句子强调了不能做 time maker 的原因，所以答案是 D。

question_stem: According to paragraph 4, it was difficult for Smith to distinguish rock strata because
choices: tag: A
text: the rocks from different strata closely resembled each other

tag: B
text: he was often unable to find fossils in the younger rock strata

tag: C
text: their similarity to each other made it difficult for him to distinguish one rock type from another

tag: D
text: the type of rock between two consistent strata was always the same
answer_key: A
explanation: A 以 distinguish rock strata 做关键词定位至第二句，说 rock 是非常相似的，所以难以区分，所以 A 对；注意 C 不对是因为原文没说区分岩石类型；关键词所在的那句话的后半句说明 B 反了；D 没说。

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

tag: B
text: developed

tag: C
text: varied

tag: D
text: survived
answer_key: D
explanation: endure: 忍受，耐久。A 是消亡，灭亡；B 是发展；C 是变化；D 是存活，从…中坚持过来。所以 D 的 survive 正确。对应原文：Some fossils endured through so many millions of years that they appear in many strata, but others occur only in a few strata, and a few species had their births and extinctions within one particular stratum.原文说这些石头怎么样数百万年，结果在诸多岩层中都有出现，肯定是持续之类的意思，所以应该这么多年都没有什么变化。不管是 vanish 消失 develop 发展还是 vary 都是发生了变化，所以都不对。

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

tag: B
text: absolutely

tag: C
text: surprisingly

tag: D
text: nearly
answer_key: D
explanation: Virtually: 事实上，几乎。A 是可能；B 是绝对地；C 是惊人地；D 是几乎。所以答案 D 的 nearly 正确。对应原文：Soon it was realized that this principle of faunal (animal) succession was valid not only in England or France but virtually everywhere. 原句说 faunal succession 不仅在英国和法国有效而且在所有地方都有效，possibly 程度太轻；absolutely 程度太重；suprisingly 表示一种惊奇的主观态度，原文没有体现。

question_stem: In mentioning "trilobite”, the author is making which of the following points?
choices: tag: A
text: Fossils cannot be found in more than one rock stratum.

tag: B
text: Faunal succession can help put rock layers in relative temporal sequence.

tag: C
text: Faunal succession cannot be applied to different strata composed of the same kind of rock.

tag: D
text: The presence of trilobite fossils makes it difficult to date a rock.
answer_key: B
explanation: B，先读 trilobite 所在句，说灰岩会在寒武纪或者侏罗纪出现，但特殊时代的生物只会在特定时间出现。也就是生物比岩石类型可靠，B 正确；其他的都没说。