2014考研英语一真题阅读题解析

　　Part B

　　今年考研Part B部分考察了排序题，这种题型曾在2010年和2011年考试中出现，所不同的是2010年给出中间一段，2011年给出首段和中间一段，而本次考试给出的则是中间两段，但无论哪种形式，考生无需整篇阅读，只要抓住每个选项首末句的关键词(如重复出现，连词，指代词等)，就可以轻松搞定。笔者就本次的真题做一个分析：

　　首先最具有代表性的是B选项：In another case, American archaeologists Rene Million and George Cowgill spent years systematically mapping the entire city of Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico near what is now Mexico City. At its peak around AD 600, this city was one of the largest human settlements in the world. The researchers mapped not only the city’s vast and ornate ceremonial areas, but also hundreds of simpler apartment complexes where common people lived.因为出现了another，很明显是一个表示并列关系的词，即该选项之前一定是个case，我们就能轻松找到D选项：Surveys can cover a single large settlement or entire landscapes. In one case, many researchers working around the ancient Maya city of Copan, Honduras, have located hundreds of small rural villages and individual dwellings by using aerial photographs and by making surveys on foot. The resulting settlement maps show how the distribution and density of the rural population around the city changed dramatically between AD 500 and 850, when Copan collapsed.因此我们首先能判定D和B是相连的两个选项。

　　其次是F选项：Most archaeological sites, however, are discovered by archaeologists who have set out to look for them. Such searches can take years. British archaeologist Howard Carter knew that the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun existed from information found in other sites. Carter sifted through rubble in the Valley of the Kings for seven years before he located the tomb in 1922. In the late 1800s British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evan combed antique dealers’ stores in Athens, Greece. He was searching for tiny engraved seals attributed to the ancient Mycenaean culture that dominated Greece from the 1400s to 1200s BC. Evans’s interpretations of these engravings eventually led him to find the Minoan palace at Knossos (Knossós) on the island of Crete, in 1900.出现了however，很明显是一个表示强转折的词，即前后一定是相反关系，后文阐述考古学家要花费很多年才能找到遗址，前文必定讲述很快就能找到，我们轻松就能找到A选项：Some archaeological sites have always been easily observable—for example, the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, the pyramids of Giza in Egypt; and the megaliths of Stonehenge in southern England. But these sites are exceptions to the norm. Most archaeological sites have been located by means of careful searching, while many others have been discovered by accident. Olduvai Gorge, an early hominid site in Tanzania, was found by a butterfly hunter who literally fell into its deep valley in 1911. Thousands of Aztec artifacts came to light during the digging of the Mexico City subway in the 1970s.因此我们能判定A和F是两个相连的选项。

　　再次E选项：To find their sites, archaeologists today rely heavily on systematic survey methods and a variety of high-technology tools and techniques. Airborne technologies, such as different types of radar and photographic equipment carried by airplanes or spacecraft, allow archaeologists to learn about what lies beneath the ground without digging. Aerial surveys locate general areas of interest or larger buried features, such as ancient buildings or fields.首句出现to do表征目的，their是指代词，即前文中一定讲述了某一个sites;末句出现了ground 、digging、surveys。选项G首句：Ground surveys allow archaeologists to pinpoint the places where digs will be successful. Most ground surveys involve a lot of walking, looking for surface clues such as small fragments of pottery. They often include a certain amount of digging to test for buried materials at selected points across a landscape. Archaeologists also may locate buried remains by using such technologies as ground radar, magnetic-field recording, and metal detectors. Archaeologists commonly use computers to map sites and the landscapes around sites. Two and three-dimensional maps are helpful tools in planning excavations, illustrating how sites look, and presenting the results of archaeological research.该选项重复出现了ground、survey和dig。因此我们能判定E和G是相连选项。

　　最后C选项： How do archaeologists know where to find what they are looking for when there is nothing visible on the surface of the ground? Typically, they survey and sample (make test excavations on) large areas of terrain to determine where excavation will yield useful information. Surveys and test samples have also become important for understanding the larger landscapes that contain archaeological sites.设问句开头典型的问题答案型文章，很有可能为文章开头段。

　　根据以上分析，再看给定段落为41. → A →42. → E →43. → 44. →45.毫无疑问的答案为C-A-F-E-G-D-B。

　　上海新东方国内考试部 乐柯健