Some archaeologists speculate that the Americas might have been initially colonized between 40,000 and 25,000 years ago. However, to support this theory it is necessary to explain the absence of generally accepted habitation sites for that time interval in what is now the United States. Australia, which has a smaller land area than the United States, has many such sites, supporting the generally accepted claim that the continent was colonized by humans at least 40,000 years ago. Australia is less densely populated (resulting in lower chances of discovering sites) and with its overall greater aridity would have presented conditions less favorable for hunter-gatherer occupation. Proportionally, at least as much land area has been lost from the coastal regions of Australia because of postglacial sea-level rise as in the United States, so any coastal archaeological record in Australia should have been depleted about as much as a coastal record in the United States. Since there are so many resource-rich rivers leading inland from the United States coastlines, it seems implausible that a growing population of humans would have confined itself to coasts for thousands of years. If inhabitants were present 25,000 years ago, the chances of their appearing in the archaeological record would seem to be greater than for Australia.

1. The passage is primarily concerned with doing which of the following?

A. Presenting an objection to a claim

B. Accounting for an apparent anomaly

C. Outlining an alternative interpretation

D. Correcting a particular misconception

E. Questioning the validity of a comparison

2. The author of the passage implies which of the following about 25,000 years ago?

A. The coastline of the region that is now the United States is longer than it was 40,000 years ago.

B. Rivers in what is now the United States were numerous than they are now.

C. Australia was less densely populated at that time than was the region that is now the United States.

D. Australia’s climate was significantly drier than it is now.

E. Global sea level was lower than it is now.

3. The author of the passage implies that, in what is now the United States, archaeological evidence of inhabitation in the period from 40,000 to 25,000 years ago is lacking because that region is

A. had its oldest habitation sites inundated following a postglacial rise in sea level

B. has many resource-rich rivers that facilitated the dispersal of early inhabitants from an initial concentration in coastal areas

C. was sparsely populated until about 25,000 years ago

D. was colonized less than 25,000 years ago

E. was inhabited only by hunter-gatherers until 25,000 years ago

答案：A E D

Some historians question the widely held belief that continually improving education led to gradual African American empowerment in the southern United States from the late nineteenth century through the mid-twentieth century. They note that the development of Black educational institutions in the segregated South was never rapid or steady: disparities between Black and White schools sometimes grew in the early decades of the twentieth century. And African Americans’ educational gains did not bring commensurate economic gains. Starting in the 1940s, even as Black and White schools in the South moved steadily toward equality, Black southerners remained politically marginalized and experienced systematic job discrimination. Although Black schools had achieved near parity with White schools in per capita spending and teachers’ salaries by 1965, African Americans’ income still lagged behind that of Whites. Nonetheless, educational progress did contribute toward economic and political empowerment. African Americans’ campaigns to support Black schools fostered a sense of community, nurtured political determination, and often increased literacy. More significantly, politically outspoken Black newspapers achieved record circulation during the 1940s, just as the literacy rate among African Americans approached 90 percent. Finally, the leadership of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s was composed largely of graduates of Black colleges.

1. The author of the passage refers to the fact that “disparities between Black and White schools sometimes grew in the early decades of the twentieth century” most likely in order to

A. support the argument that the economic struggles of southern Blacks were largely due to educational inequalities

B. give an example of the differences between Black schools in the early part of the twentieth century and Black schools starting in the 1940s

C. illustrate the unevenness of the progress made by Black schools in the southern United States

D. help explain why Black remained politically marginalized and experienced systematic job discrimination in the segregated South

E. provide evidence that educational progress was a precondition for economic progress in the segregated South

2. Which of the following best describes the purpose of the highlighted sentence?

A. It clarifies a point introduced in the preceding sentence.

B. It reiterates a point introduced in the first sentence of the passage.

C. It questions the accuracy of some of the evidence used to support the argument of the historians.

D. It introduces a perspective that runs contrary to the view of those who endorse the “belief.”

E. It qualifies the interpretation made by the historians.

3. The passage suggests which of the following about the Civil Rights movement?

A. It gave rise to a rapid increase in the number of Black newspapers published in the South.

B. Its political effectiveness was greatly enhanced by the increased circulation of Black newspapers.

C. Its leadership benefited from improvements in education for African Americans.

D. It was the force primarily responsible for increasing per capita spending in Black schools.

E. It was responsible for changing many historians’ view of the relation between education and African American empowerment.

答案：C E C