How did it come about that farming developed independently in a number of world centers (the Southeast Asian mainland, Southwest Asia, Central America,lowlandand highland South America, andequatorialAfrica) at more or less the same time? Agriculturedeveloped slowly among populations that had anextensiveknowledge of plants and animals. Changing from hunting and gathering toagriculturehad noimmediateadvantages. To start with, it forced thepopulationtoabandonthe nomad's life and becamesedentary, to develop methods ofstorageand, often, systems ofirrigation. While hunter-gatherers always had theoptionof moving elsewhere when the resources were exhausted, this became more difficult with farming. Furthermore, as thearchaeologicalrecordshows, thestateof health of agriculturalists was worse than that of theircontemporaryhunter-gatherers.

Traditionally, it was believed that thetransitiontoagriculturewas the result of a worldwidepopulationcrisis. It was argued that once hunter-gatherers had occupied the whole world, thepopulationstarted to grow everywhere and food becamescarce;agriculturewould have been asolutionto this problem. We know, however, thatcontemporaryhunter-gatherer societies control theirpopulationin avarietyof ways. The idea of a worldpopulationcrisis isthereforeunlikely, althoughpopulationpressuremight have arisen in some areas.

Climaticchanges at the end of theglacialperiod 13,000 years ago have been proposed toaccountfor theemergenceof farming. Thetemperatureincreaseddramaticallyin a short period of time (years rather than centuries), allowing for a growth of the hunting-gatheringpopulationdueto theabundanceof resources. There were, however, fluctuations in theclimaticconditions, with the consequences that wet conditions were followed by dry ones, so that theavailabilityof plants and animals oscillated brusquely.

It wouldappearthat theinstabilityof theclimaticconditions led populations that had originally beennomadictosettledown and develop asedentarystyle of life, which led in turn topopulationgrowth and to the need to increase theamountof foodavailable. Farming originated in these conditions. Later on, it became very difficult to change because of thesignificantexpansionof these populations. It could be argued, however, that these conditions are notsufficientto explain the origins ofagriculture. Earth had experiencedpreviousperiods ofclimaticchange, and yetagriculturehad not been developed.

It is archaeologist Steven Mithen'sthesis, brilliantly developed in his book The Prehistory of theMind(1996), thatapproximately40,000 years ago the humanminddevelopedcognitivefluidity, that is, theintegrationof the specializations of the mind:technical, naturalhistory(geared to understanding thebehavioranddistributionof natural resources), socialintelligence, and thelinguisticcapacity. Cognitivefluidity explains theappearanceof art,religion, andsophisticatedspeech. Once humans possessed such amind, they were able to find an imaginativesolutionto a situation ofsevereeconomiccrisis such as the farmingdilemmadescribed earlier. Mithen proposes theexistenceof fourmentalelements toaccountfor theemergenceof farming: (1) theabilityto develop tools that could be used intensively toharvestandprocessplant resources; (2) thetendencyto use plants and animals as themediumtoacquiresocialprestigeand power; (3) thetendencyto develop "social relationships" with animals structurallysimilarto those developed with people—specifically, theabilityto think of animals as people (anthropomorphism) and of people as animals (totemism); and (4) thetendencytomanipulateplants and animals.

The fact that some societiesdomesticatedanimals and plants, discovered the use of metal tools, becameliterate, and developed astateshould not make us forget that others developed pastoralism or horticulture (vegetable gardening) but remainedilliterateand at low levels ofproductivity; a few entered the modern period as hunting and gathering societies. It is anthropologically important toinquireinto the conditions that made some societiesadoptagriculturewhile others remained hunter-gatherers or horticulturalists. However, it should be kept inmindthat many societies that knew ofagriculturemore or lessconsciouslyavoided it. Whether Mithen's explanation is satisfactory is open to contention, and some authors have recently emphasized the importance of other factors.

Questions:
question_stem: The word "option" in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: choice

tag: B
text: benefit

tag: C
text: idea

tag: D
text: experience
answer_key: A
explanation: A option: 选择，选项。A 是选择；B 是利益，益处；C 是主意，想法；D 是经历，经验。所以 A 的 choice 正确。

question_stem: According to paragraph 1, all of the following are advantages of hunting and gathering over agriculture EXCEPT:
choices: tag: A
text: It is a healthier lifestyle.

tag: B
text: It requires less knowledge of plants and animals.

tag: C
text: It does not need storage capabilities.

tag: D
text: It is not tied to any specific location.
answer_key: B
explanation: B EXCEPT 题，排除法。A 的 healthier lifestyle 做关键词定位至最后一句，说游牧生活更健康，所以 A 对，不选；B 的 knowledge of plants and animals 做关键词定位至第二句，原文说在 knowledge 比较丰富的人们当中农业发展起来，但 MS 不能凭这个推出游牧生活的人知识就少，所以 B 错，选；C 的 storage 做关键词定位至第四句，说农业需要 develop storage method，所以游牧民族 storage 能力不那么好，C 对，不选；D 的 specific location 定位至倒数第二句，而且根据上题的答案，这个明显对，不选

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

tag: B
text: obviously

tag: C
text: frequently

tag: D
text: as a result
answer_key: D
explanation: D  therefore 因此，所以正确答案是 D 的 as a result。此题简单，A 理论上说 B 明显 C 频繁都不对。

question_stem: Which of the following best describes the way paragraph 2 is organized?
choices: tag: A
text: A possible explanation for a phenomenon is presented and then criticized

tag: B
text: Two similar ways of accounting for a puzzling fact are considered.

tag: C
text: Early societies' response to a problem is contrasted with contemporary societies' response.

tag: D
text: A prehistoric development is first explained in traditional terms and then in contemporary terms.
answer_key: A
explanation: 题目问全段如何组织。一开头 traditionally 提出传统观点并进行解释，第三句 however 提出反对观点，并在第四句进行反对小结。所以答案是 A。

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 resources needed by the growing hunting and gathering population increased rapidly once temperatures rose.

tag: B
text: Dramatic temperature increases and the simultaneous growth of the hunting and gathering population led to the need for more resources.

tag: C
text: Higher temperatures led to the existence of increased resources, thus enabling the hunting and gathering population to grow.

tag: D
text: The dramatic temperature increase occurred during the few years when abundant resources allowed the hunting and gathering population to grow.
answer_key: C
explanation: C 注意 allowing 和 due to 的双重因果关系，温度上升使得 resource 丰富，再使得人口增长，所以答案是 C，很好地重复了这个双重因果。A 少了最终的结果，也就是人口；B 的 simultaneously 错；D 搞错了前面两个原因之间的关系。

question_stem: According to paragraph 3, the abundance of resources fluctuated sharply after the end of the glacial period because
choices: tag: A
text: locally abundant resources were quickly exhausted by hunter-gatherers

tag: B
text: the temperature became much higher in some areas over others

tag: C
text: different types of plants and animals became available as the climate changed

tag: D
text: the amount of rainfall varied radically from one period to the next
answer_key: D
explanation: D fluctuate 做关键词定位至最后一句，说气候变化，先 wet 接着就干旱，导致 availability 也跟着波动，所以导致 resource 波动的原因是气候的干湿，所以答案是 D 的 rainfall 变化。A 和 B 完全没说，C 的不同种类的 plant and animal 没说

question_stem: It can be inferred from paragraph 4 that it was difficult for people to change from farming back to hunting and gathering because
choices: tag: A
text: people had become more used to different types of food

tag: B
text: climatic conditions were no longer favorable for hunting and gathering

tag: C
text: populations had become too large to be supported by hunting and gathering

tag: D
text: the farmer's sedentary life was easier than the hunter-gatherer's nomadic life
answer_key: C
explanation: C 以 change from farming back to hunting and gathering 做关键词定位至倒数第三句，原文说难以变回去的原因是因为人口的扩张，也就是农业时期人口多，游牧时期人口少，所以答案是 C，另外三个答案都没说

question_stem: Why does the author state that "Earth had experienced previous periods of climatic change, and yet agriculture had not been developed"?
choices: tag: A
text: To suggest that climate change had occurred long before the development of agriculture

tag: B
text: To argue that climate change does not properly explain why agriculture developed

tag: C
text: To challenge the assumption that agriculture developed only in some parts of the world

tag: D
text: To question the claim that climate change occurred at the time when agriculture developed
answer_key: B
explanation: B 修辞目的题，先读例子所在的一句话，说地球以前也有气候变化，但农业却没发展。由于整个句子都是例子，因此往前看，前一句说单靠上文的解释都无法解释农业的起源，也就是说后文提到的气候变化是不足以解释农业的起源，所以答案是 B

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

tag: B
text: creative

tag: C
text: immediate

tag: D
text: reliable
answer_key: B
explanation: B imaginative: 有想象力的。A 是复杂的；B 是有创意的；C 是立即的；D 是可靠的。所以正确答案是 B，有创造性的。

question_stem: According to paragraph 5, Steven Mithen believes that all of the following contributed to the emergence of farming EXCEPT
choices: tag: A
text: the development of a mind flexible enough to come up with solutions to complex problems

tag: B
text: the tendency to use plants and animals to acquire power

tag: C
text: the tendency to emphasize the differences between animals and people

tag: D
text: the ability to make tools that could be used for the large-scale harvesting of plants
answer_key: C
explanation: C EXCEPT 题，排除法。A 的 solutions 做关键词定位至第三句，说有解决问题的 mind，所以 A 对，不选；B 的 plants and animals 和 power 做关键词定位至三点钟的第二点，B 正确，不选；C 的 difference 原文没说，所以 C 错，选；D 的 tools 做关键词定位至三点中的第一点，所以 D 对，不选

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

tag: B
text: improvement

tag: C
text: debate

tag: D
text: interpretation
answer_key: C
explanation: C contention: 争论。A 是调查；B 是改进，改良；C 是争议，争论；D 是解释，说明。所以正确答案是 C 的 debate。

question_stem: According to paragraph 6, which of the following is a weakness of Mithen
choices: tag: A
text: It does not clearly distinguish agriculture from pastoralism and horticulture.

tag: B
text: It fails to explain why some societies adopted agriculture while others did not.

tag: C
text: It explains the domestication of plants and animals but not the development of metal tools.

tag: D
text: It overlooks the fact that illiteracy and low productivity remain problems even today
answer_key: B
explanation: B 问他的解释有什么问题，以人名做关键词定位至最后一句，但最后一句我们已经看过了，没说缺点，所以往前看，前面说有的民族定居有的民族游牧，又说有些已经掌握农业技术的人在或多或少地避免农业，然后就说了 M 的解释值得争议，也就是 M 没能很好地解释这一情况发生的原因，所以答案是 B，A 说不能区分是错的，原文还是区分的；C 和 D 原文都没说