When does history begin? It is tempting to reply “in the beginning”, but like many obvious answers, this soon turns out to be unhelpful. As a great Swiss historian once pointed out in another connection, history is the one subject where you cannot begin at the beginning. If we want to, we can trace the chain of human descent back to the appearance of vertebrates, or even to the photosynthetic cells which lie at the start of life itself. We can go back further still, to almost unimaginable upheavals which formed this planet and even to the origins of the universe. Yet this is not “history”.
Commonsense helps here: history is the story of mankind, of what it has done, suffered or enjoyed. We all know that dogs and cats do not have histories, while human beings do. Even when historians write about a natural process beyond human control, such as the ups and downs of climate, or the spread of disease, they do so only because it helps us to understand why men and women have lived (and died) in some ways rather than others.
This suggests that all we have to do is to identify the moment at which the first human beings step out from the shadows of the remote past. It is not quite as simple as that, though. We have to know what we are looking for first and most attempts to define humanity on the basis of observable characteristics prove in the end arbitrary and cramping, as long arguments about ‘ape men’ and ‘missing links’ have shown. Physiological tests help us to classify data but do not identify what is or is not human. That is a matter of a definition about which disagreement is possible. Some people have suggested that human uniqueness lies in language, yet other primates possess vocal equipment similar to our own; when noises are made with it which are signals, at what point do they become speech? Another famous definition is that man is a tool-maker, but observation has cast doubt on our uniqueness in this respect, too, long after Dr. Johnson scoffed at Boswell for quoting it to him.
What is surely and identifiably unique about the human species is not its possession of certain faculties or physical characteristics, but what it has done with them—its achievement, or history, in fact. Humanity’s unique achievement is its remarkably intense level of activity and creativity, its cumulative capacity to create change. All animals have ways of living, some complex enough to be called cultures. Human culture alone is progressive: it has been increasingly built by conscious choice and selection within it as well as by accident and natural pressure, by the accumulation of a capital of experience and knowledge which man has exploited. Human history began when the inheritance of genetics and behavior which had until them provided the only way of dominating the environment was first broken through by conscious choice. Of course, human beings have always only been able to make their history within limits. These limits are now very wide indeed, but they were once so narrow that it is impossible to identify the first step which took human evolution away from the determination of nature. We have for a long time only a blurred story, obscure both because the evidence is poor and because we cannot be sure exactly what we are looking for.
1. According to the first paragraph, which of the following statements is CORRECT?
2. It can be inferred from the passage that _____.
3. What tone does the author use when he wrote this passage?
4. In order to understand what history is the predeterminate thing is to make clear the uniqueness of the, human species which lies in _____.
5. According to the author history is _____.
问题1选项
A.People have already known when the history begins.
B.To some degree, we can say that history is the one subject where you cannot begin at the beginning.
C.The appearance of vertebrates is the beginning of history.
D.The unimaginable upheavals which formed this planet are the history of this world.
问题2选项
A.animals like dogs and cats do have histories
B.historians study about a natural process beyond human control to find the beginning of history
C.physiological tests do not identify what is or is not human
D.people are quite sure about what they are looking for
问题3选项
A.Objective.
B.Subjective.
C.Disapproval.
D.Difficult to tell.
问题4选项
A.its possession of certain faculties or physical characteristics
B.language
C.tool-making
D.what human beings have done with their certain faculties or physical characteristics
问题5选项
A.in the beginning
B.the story of mankind, of what it has done, suffered or enjoyed
C.the progressiveness of human conscious choice and selection which breaks through the, inheritance of genetics and behavior
D.a natural process beyond human control
第1题:B
第2题:C
第3题:A
第4题:D
第5题:C
第1题:
【选项释义】
According to the first paragraph, which of the following statements is CORRECT? 根据第一段，下列哪个陈述是正确的？
A. People have already known when the history begins. A. 人们已经知道历史是从什么时候开始的。
B. To some degree, we can say that history is the one subject where you cannot begin at the beginning. B. 在某种程度上，我们可以说历史是一门不能从头开始的学科。
C. The appearance of vertebrates is the beginning of history. C. 脊椎动物的出现是历史的开端。
D. The unimaginable upheavals which formed this planet are the history of this world. D. 形成这个星球的难以想象的剧变就是这个世界的历史。
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到原文第一段第三句“正如一位伟大的瑞士历史学家曾在另一方面指出的那样，历史是一门你无法从头开始研究的学科（one subject you cannot begin at the beginning）”，由此可知，选项B符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“人们已经知道历史是从什么时候开始的”，定位到原文第一段前面两句“历史从什么时候开始（When does history begin）？我们很容易回答‘一开始’，但就像许多显而易见的答案一样，很快就会发现答案毫无帮助（unhelpful）”，由此可知，我们回答的是没有帮助的，也就是说关于该问题的答案我们还是不知道。该选项表述错误，属于曲解原文。
C选项“脊椎动物的出现是历史的开端”，原文第一段第四句提到“如果我们愿意，我们可以把人类的血统链（the chain of human descent）追溯到脊椎动物的出现（appearance of vertebrates）……”，由此可知，该选项表述不对，属于曲解原文。
D选项“形成这个星球的难以想象的剧变就是这个世界的历史”，定位到原文第一段最后两句“我们可以再往前追溯，追溯到形成这颗行星（formed this planet）的几乎不可想象的剧变（unimaginable upheavals），甚至追溯到宇宙的起源。然而，这不是‘历史’（not ‘history’）”，由此可知，该选项表述不对，属于反向干扰。
第2题:
【选项释义】
It can be inferred from the passage that _____. 从文章中可以推断出_____。
A. animals like dogs and cats do have histories A. 像狗和猫这样的动物确实有历史
B. historians study about a natural process beyond human control to find the beginning of history B. 历史学家通过研究人类无法控制的自然过程来寻找历史的开端
C. physiological tests do not identify what is or is not human C. 生理测试不能确定什么是人，什么不是人
D. people are quite sure about what they are looking for D. 人们很确定他们在寻找什么
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到原文第三段第四句“生理测试（physiological tests）帮助我们对数据进行分类，但不能确定什么是人，什么不是人”，由此可知选项C符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“像狗和猫这样的动物确实有历史”，原文第二段第二句提到“我们都知道狗和猫没有历史”，由此可知该选项属于反向干扰；
B选项“历史学家通过研究人类无法控制的自然过程来寻找历史的开端”，原文第二段最后一句提到“历史学家写了人类无法控制的自然过程（a natural process beyond human control）……他们这么做只是因为这有助于我们理解为什么男人和女人会以某种方式而不是另一种方式生存（和死亡）”，由此可知，该选项表述不对，属于曲解原文；
D选项“人们很确定他们在寻找什么”，原文最后一句提到“我们不能确切地确定我们在寻找什么”，该选项与原文表述不符，属于曲解原文。
第3题:
【选项释义】
What tone does the author use when he wrote this passage? 作者写这篇文章时用的是什么语气？
A. Objective. A. 客观的。
B. Subjective. B. 主观的。
C. Disapproval. C. 不赞成的。
D. Difficult to tell. D. 很难说。
【考查点】观点态度题。
【解题思路】通读全文可知，作者一直是以一种客观的口吻在谈论什么是历史，所以选项A符合。
【干扰项排除】
B、C、D选项不符合作者的观点态度，属于曲解原文。
第4题:
【选项释义】
In order to understand what history is the predeterminate thing is to make clear the uniqueness of the human species which lies in _____. 为了理解什么是历史，预先确定的事情就是弄清楚人类物种的独特性，它存在于_____。
A. its possession of certain faculties or physical characteristics A. 其具有某种能力或身体特征
B. language B. 语言
C. tool-making C. 工具制作
D. what human beings have done with their certain faculties or physical characteristics D. 人类用他们的某些能力或身体特征做了什么
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到原文最后一段第一句“人类的独特之处并不是它所拥有的某些能力或身体特征，而是它利用这些能力所做的事（what it has done with them）——事实上，它的成就或历史”，由此可知，选项D符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“其具有某种能力或身体特征”，原文最后一段第一句“人类的独特之处并不是它所拥有的某些能力或身体特征（not its possession of certain faculties or physical characteristics）”，该选项属于反向干扰；
B选项“语言”，原文第三段倒数第二句“有些人认为人类的独特性在于语言（language），然而其他灵长类动物拥有与我们相似的发声设备”，所以语言也不是人类物种的独特性，属于曲解原文；
C选项“工具制作”，原文第三段最后一句“另一个著名的定义是，人是一个工具制造者（tool-maker）……观察结果也对我们在这方面的独特性产生了怀疑（cast doubt on our uniqueness in this respect）”，由此可知，工具制作者也不是人类物种的独特性，属于曲解原文。
第5题:
【选项释义】
According to the author history is _____. 根据作者，历史是_____。
A. in the beginning A. 开端
B. the story of mankind, of what it has done, suffered or enjoyed B. 关于人类的经历，苦难或欢乐的故事。
C. the progressiveness of human conscious choice and selection which breaks through the inheritance of genetics and behavior C. 人类有意识选择的进步性突破了遗传和行为的遗传
D. a natural process beyond human control D. 人类无法控制的自然过程
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到原文最后一段第五句“人类历史（Human history）开始于基因和行为的遗传（inheritance of genetics and behavior），直到它们提供了支配环境的唯一方式，才首次被有意识的选择打破（first broken through by conscious choice）”，由此可知，选项C符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“开端”，原文第一段第一、二句“历史从什么时候开始（When does history begin）？我们很容易回答‘一开始’（in the beginning），但就像许多显而易见的答案一样，很快就会发现答案毫无帮助（unhelpful）”，由此可知，历史不是“一开始”，该选项属于曲解原文；
B选项“关于人类的经历，苦难或欢乐的故事，”，原文第二段第一句提到“常识（Commonsense）在这里很有帮助：历史是人类的故事，是关于人类做了什么、遭受了什么或享受了什么”，由此可知，该选项是属于常识，而不是作者提出的观点，属于张冠李戴；
D选项“人类无法控制的自然过程”，原文第二段最后一句提到“历史学家写了人类无法控制的自然过程（a natural process beyond human control）……”，由此可知，该选项属于历史学家的说法，不属于作者提出的观点，属于张冠李戴。
