专题21 黑巨人因环境变化而灭绝-2024届高考英语时文阅读外刊精选精练

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专题21
黑巨人因环境变化而灭绝
【原文·外刊阅读】
Gigantpithecus blacki extinct after failure t adapt t envirnmental changes
（文章来源：Glbal Times）
Chinese, Australian and US researchers have revealed mre abut the extinctin f the Gigantpithecus blacki great ape in their latest jint study, which was published in Nature n Thursday. The study fund that Gigantpithecus blacki became extinct between 295,000 and 215,000 years ag due t being unable t adapt its fd preferences and behavir, as well as being vulnerable t the changing climate, the Glbal Times learned frm the Institute f Vertebrate Palentlgy and Paleanthrplgy (IVPP) and the Chinese Academy f Sciences (CAS).
With a height f abut three meters and weight f abut 250 kilgrams, Gigantpithecus blacki is the largest primate that has ever existed n the Earth. It is a very distant human ancestr. Gigantpithecus blacki nce ramed the karst plains f suthern China and became extinct befre humans arrived in the regin, leaving arund 2,000 fssilized teeth and fur jawbnes amng the nly signs f their existence. "The stry f Gigantpithecus blacki is an enigma in palentlgy - hw culd such a mighty creature g extinct at a time when ther primates were adapting and surviving? The unreslved cause f its disappearance has becme a mystery in the field," said Zhang Yingqi, a Chinese palentlgist frm the IVPP and c-lead authr f the study.
Accrding t Zhang, the IVPP has been excavating fr Gigantpithecus blacki remains in suthern China fr mre than 10 years, but culd figure ut the cause f its extinctin thrugh cnsistent envirnmental analysis. Definitive evidence revealing the stry f the giant ape's extinctin came frm a large-scale evidence cllecting prject n 22 cave sites spread acrss a wide regin f Suth China's Guangxi Zhuang Autnmus Regin. "It's a majr challenge t present a defined cause fr the extinctin f a species. At first, we shuld figure ut the exact time when a species disappears frm the fssil recrd s that we can cnduct an envirnmental recnstructin and behavir assessment," said Kira Westaway, a gechrnlgist assciate prfessr frm Macquarie University wh is anther c-lead authr f the study. "Withut rbust dating, yu are simply lking fr clues in the wrng places," Westaway said.
Six different dating techniques were applied t analyze the cave sediments and fssils. Luminescence dating, which measures a light-sensitive signal fund in the burial sediments that encased the Gigantpithecus blacki fssils, was the primary technique, supprted by uranium series (US) and electrn-spin resnance (US-ESR) dating f the Gigantpithecus blacki teeth themselves. By direct-dating the fssil remains, the scientists cnfirmed the fssils' age aligns with the luminescence sequence in the sediments where they were fund, prviding a cmprehensive and reliable chrnlgy fr the extinctin f Gigantpithecus blacki.
Using detailed pllen analysis, fauna recnstructins, stable istpe analysis f the teeth and a detailed analysis f the cave sediments at a micr level, the team established the envirnmental cnditins when Gigantpithecus blacki went extinct. Then, using trace element and dental micrwear mark textural analysis (DMTA) f the ape's teeth, the team built a cmparisn mdel between when it was flurishing and when it was clse t extinctin. Accrding t scientists, tth tissue cntains rich infrmatin related t species' feeding behavir that can be used t interpret in depth whether they are facing survival pressure, the diversity f their fd, the regularity f their feeding behavir and their activity range.
The findings shw Gigantpithecus blacki went extinct between 295,000 and 215,000 years ag, much earlier than previusly assumed. Befre that time, Gigantpithecus blacki flurished in a rich and diverse frest envirnment. Hwever, by 700,000 t 600,000 years ag, the increased seasnality in the frest led t diversificatin f the envirnment and change in the structure f the frest cmmunities. Orangutans (genus Png) - a clse relative f Gigantpithecus blacki - adapted in size, behavir and habitat preferences as cnditins changed. Hwever, Gigantpithecus blacki relied n a less nutritius fd surce when its preferences were unavailable. At the same time, they grew larger and bulkier, and their gegraphical range fr feeding was greatly reduced. Therefre, its ppulatin faced lng-term survival pressure and cntinued t shrink, eventually becming extinct.
It was Gigantpithecus blacki's stubbrnness and cnservatism that led t its demise, Zhang nted. As the specter f a sixth mass extinctin lms ver us, we urgently need t understand why species becme extinct. As with the stry f the extinctin f Gigantpithecus blacki, explring unreslved extinctin events in the past will help us t understand the resilience f primates and the fate f ther large animals in the past and int the future, Westaway nted.
【原创·阅读理解】
1.Accrding t the jint study published in Nature, what were the primary factrs that led t the extinctin f Gigantpithecus blacki?
A. Lack f suitable habitats.
B. Inability t adapt fd preferences and behavir.
C. Cmpetitin with ther primate species.
D. Overhunting by humans.
2.Hw did the researchers determine the age f Gigantpithecus blacki fssils?
A. By analyzing the size and weight f the fssils.
B. Thrugh detailed pllen analysis.
C. Using luminescence dating and ther dating techniques.
D. By studying the gegraphical range f Gigantpithecus blacki.
3.What envirnmental changes cntributed t Gigantpithecus blacki's extinctin?
A. Increase in seasnality in the frest.
B. Adaptatin f rangutans in size, behavir, and habitat preferences.
C. Availability f a less nutritius fd surce.
D. Grwth f Gigantpithecus blacki ppulatin.
【精选·名校好题】
Ⅰ
（2024·河南模拟预测）Mst f us have an unclear memry f learning abut the Pythagrean Therem (勾股定理) many years ag in math class.
If yu’re anything like us writer-types, that 2,000-year-ld therem went in ne ear, and immediately ut the ther! But fr tw students at St. Mary’s Academy in New Orleans, Luisiana, the therem presented a challenge they simply culdn’t resist taking n. As a reminder fr thse f us wh aren’t ptential mathematicians, the Pythagrean Therem is the basis f trignmetry (三角学). Fr ver 2,000 years, math schlars have stated it’s impssible t use trignmetry t prve the Pythagrean Therem because ding s wuld be circular lgic. In ther wrds, an idea cannt prve itself.
Calcea Jhnsn and Ne’Kiya Jacksn have challenged that cncept in their new abstract. The tw high schl senirs recently presented their abstract in frnt f the American Mathematical Sciety (AMS) at their annual sutheastern cnference. Unsurprisingly, they were the nly teenagers there in a sea f math schlars! Their abstract states, “We present a new prf f the Pythagrean Therem which is based n a fundamental result in trignmetry.” In plain English, that means Calcea and Ne’Kiya prved the therem using trignmetry after all, and withut using circular reasning.
Hw did a pair f teenagers slve a riddle that has stumped s many mathematicians befre them? Cuntless math schlars can d nthing facing this therem. Accrding t Calcea and Ne’Kiya, they have their teachers t thank!
The St. Mary’s schl slgan is “N Excellence Withut Hard Labr”, and they mean it! Bth girls say their teachers push them t think utside the bx and encurage them t discver new cncepts. “We have really great teachers,” Ne’Kiya said with a smile. Calcea is prud f herself and her friend fr ding smething n ther high schl students have ever dne.
1．What des the authr think f the Pythagrean Therem in paragraph 2?
A．It has t shrt a histry.
B．It’s unattractive t writers.
C．It’s t academic t understand.
D．It needs t be prved nce mre.
2．What did Calcea and Ne’Kiya d abut the therem in frnt f the AMS?
A．They prved it using trignmetry.
B．They shwed it was based n trignmetry.
C．They said circular reasning culdn’t prve it.
D．They intrduced a kind f thery similar t it.
3．What des the underlined wrd “stumped” in paragraph 4 mean?
A．Helped.B．Excited.C．Puzzled.D．Changed.
4．What d Calcea and Ne’Kiya’s teachers ask them t d?
A．Think creatively.
B．Act independently.
C．Study curiusly.
D．Live thankfully.
Ⅱ
（2023·黑龙江期末联考）Researchers at the University f Washingtn created a new web app, Self-Talk with Superher Zip, aimed t help children develp skills like self-awareness and emtinal management.
At first, sme parents were wary: In a wrld f Siri and Alexa, they are skeptical that the makers f such technlgies are putting children’s welfare first.
In Self-Talk with Superher Zip, a chatbt guided pairs f siblings thrugh lessns. The UW team fund that, after speaking with the app fr a week, mst children culd explain the cncept f supprtive self-talk and apply it in their daily lives. And kids wh’d engaged in negative self-talk befre the study were able t turn that habit psitive.
The UW team published its findings in June at the 2023 Interactin Design and Children cnference. The app is still a prttype (雏形) and is nt yet publicly available. Previus studies have shwn children can learn varius tasks and abilities frm chatbts. Yet little research explres hw chatbts can help kids effectively acquire sciemtinal skills.
“There is rm t design child-centric experiences with a chatbt that prvide fun and educatinal practice pprtunities,” said senir authr Alexis Hiniker, an assciate prfessr in the UW Infrmatin Schl. “Over the last few decades, televisin prgrams like ‘Sesame Street,’ ‘Mister Rgers,’ and ‘Daniel Tiger’s Neighbrhd’ have shwn that it is pssible fr TV t help kids cultivate sciemtinal skills. We asked: Can we make a space where kids can practice these skills in an interactive app? We wanted t create smething useful and fun— a ‘Sesame Street’ experience fr a smart speaker.”
The length f these effects isn’t clear, researchers nte. The study spanned just ne week and the tendency fr survey participants t respnd in ways that make them lk gd culd lead kids t speak psitively abut the app’s effects.
“Our gal is t make the app accessible t a wider audience in the future,” said lead authr Chris (Yue) Fu, a UW dctral student in the iSchl. “We’re explring the integratin f large language mdels — the systems that pwer tech like ChatGPT — int ur prttype and we plan t wrk with cntent creatrs t adapt existing sciemtinal learning materials int ur system. The hpe is that these will facilitate mre prlnged and effective interventins.”
5．What can we learn abut Self-Talk?
A．It encuraged kids t engage in psitive talking.
B．It culd help kids explain cmplicated cncepts.
C．It culd be already dwnladed frm UW’s website.
D．It was welcmed by parents like Siri and Alexa.
6．“Sesame Street” is mentined in this passage t shw _________ f Self-Talk.
A．The primary functin. B．The prmising prspect.
C．The new-fund ppularity.D．The histrical backgrund.
7．Which may the fllw-up research include?
A．Larger amunts f kinds f languages.
B．Mre characters with different backgrund.
C．New technlgy adpted like ChatGPT.
D．Lnger studies in mre natural settings.
8．It can be inferred frm the last paragraph that the Self-Talk will _________.
A．Adapt sciemtinal material and refrm the educatin system.
B．Explre pwerful technlgy and imprve its effectiveness.
C．Prmte sciemtinal learning and prvide nging supprt.
D．Cmbine large language mdels and lengthen its service time.