2014年公共英语二级考试试题：阅读理解4

　　Nearly 5, 000 years ago, during the Late Stone Age, people began building Stonehenge. It became a long-term project. People added to the site for more than 1, 500 years. Most likely Stonehenge was first built as a place to hold religious ritual (仪式) and bury the dead. But experts (专家) are not sure because there are no written records telling us what took place at Stonehenge.

　　At first the site was just a circular ditch(沟渠). Within the circle were two burial hills, and a smaller circle of 56 holes. Scientists have found ashes in the holes. They believed these are from the burning of the dead bodies.

　　But Stonehenge may have been more than a ritual site. Some experts suggested it was also used as huge calendar(日历) for watching stars. Outside the entrance of the construction stands the Heel Stone. On the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, a person standing at the center of the circle can look out through the entrance and see the first rays of the rising sun hit the top of the Heel Stone. At the winter solstice, the year’s shortest day, a person standing at the entrance can look into the circle and see the setting sun between the stones of a trilithon, formed by two standing stone posts topped by a stone in flat position. In this way Stonehenge may have marked the passing seasons.

　　The position of the stones and holes shows that Stonehenge may also have been used for watching the moon and stars. The construction may even have been a huge prehistoric “computer” used to study other natural object in space. The Stone Age people in the area were farmers. Perhaps they used Stonehenge to figure out changes in the weather and to time the planning of their crops.

　　1. The purpose of the text is_______________.

　　A. to show research done by today’s scientists

　　B. to describe life of the Stone Age

　　C. to tell about the early farming

　　D. to introduce an ancient site

　　2. It is suggested in the text that Stonehenge was completed by________.

　　A. people in different historical periods

　　B. expels during the late Stone Age

　　C. people from different places

　　D. expels in various fields

　　3. A “trilithon” (1ine 6, para.3) described in the text would most probably look like _________.

　　4. What was NOT one of the uses suggested for Stonehenge?

　　A. A way to know when they should plant crops

　　B. An ancient device used like a computer

　　C. A way to show what time of year it was

　　D. A way to know the time of day

　　参考答案：

　　1 D 【解析】此题问的是这篇文章的写作目的。通过阅读，我们发现整篇文章说的都是关于Stonehenge的，可见作者是向我们介绍了这一古遗址的情况，故D正确。

　　2. A 【解析】此题问的是Stonehenge是怎么完成的。第一段的第二、三句提到那是一个长期的工程，经历了1,500多年，人们不断建立起来的。可见，Stonehenge的建立经历了好几个时期，故A正确。

　　3. A 【解析】此题问的是下面那个图形最能体现trilithon的意思。在文章的第三段，我们可以看到这个单词所在的句子。通过分析，我们可以看出句子的后半句是对trilithon这个词的解释，文中说这是由两根直立的石头上面平方了一块石头形成的。故A正确。

　　4. D 【解析】此题问的是选项中哪项不是对Stonehenge的用处的猜测。文章第三段的最后一句说Stonehenge记录了岁月的流逝，故C是提到的猜测;最后一段降到这个建筑可能作为是钱“计算机”，也可能被农民用来计算农作物的耕种时间，故A和B也是文中提到的猜测，只有D没有提到，故D正确。