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The unique human habit of taking in and employing animals—even competitors like wolves—spurred on human tool-making and language

admin2022-08-27  10
问题     The unique human habit of taking in and employing animals—even competitors like wolves—spurred on human tool-making and language, which have both driven humanity’s success, Pat Shipman says, paleoanthropologist of Perm State University. "Wherever you go in the world, whatever ecosystem (生态系统), whatever culture, people live with animals," Shipman said.
    For early humans, taking in and caring for animals would seem like a poor strategy for survival. "On the face of it, you are wasting your resources. So this is a very weird behavior," Shipman said. But it’s not so weird in the context something else humans were doing about 2.6 million years ago: switching from a mostly vegetarian diet to one rich in meat. This happened because humans invented stone hunting tools that enabled them to compete with other top predators. Quite a rapid and bizarre switch for any animal. So we invented the equipment, learned how to track and kill, and eventually took in animals who also knew how to hunt—like wolves and other canines. Others, like goats, cows and horses, provided milk, hair and, finally, hides and meat.
    Managing all of these animals—or just tracking them—requires technology, knowledge and ways to preserve and convey information. So languages had to develop and evolve to meet the challenges. Tracking game has even been argued to be the origin of scientific inquiry, said Peter Richerson, professor emeritus (名誉退休的) in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California, Davis. One of the signs that this happened is in petroglyphs (史前岩画) and other rock art left by ancient peoples. At first they were abstract, geometric patterns that are impossible to decipher (破译). Then they converge on one subject: animals.
    There have also been genetic changes in both humans and our animals. For the animals those changes developed because human bred them for specific traits, like a cow that gives more milk or a hen that lays more eggs. But this evolutionary influence works both ways. Dogs, for instance, might have been selectively taken in by humans who shared genes for more compassion. Those humans then prospered with the dogs’ help in hunting and securing their homes.
What do we learn from the statement of Pat Shipman and Peter Richerson?
选项 A、Caring for animals seemed common after people invented tools.
B、After language developed early humans learned how to track and kill.
C、Managing and tracking animals are the origin of modern science.
D、Language developed from abstract to specific because of animals.
答案C
解析 根据题干中的信息词Pat Shipman和Peter Richerson，可以把答题线索分别定位到文章第一、二、三段。在第二段的第三句，Pat Shipman表示早期人类驯养和照顾动物的行为“是一种很怪异的行为”，这与选项A的表述是相违背的。从第一段Pat Shipman的表述可知，是“人类驯养和利用动物的独特习惯”促进了人类语言能力的发展，选项B颠倒了因果关系，所以错误。第三段的第三句话说“追踪猎物甚至被认为是科学探索的发端”，这与选项C的内容完全吻合，所以本题应该选C。文章倒数第二段的最后两句讲的是“史前岩画和岩石艺术”的发展是从抽象到具体的动物形象的发展，所以选项D不正确。
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