首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Until recently, many anthropologists assumed that the environment of what is now the southwestern United States shaped the socia
Until recently, many anthropologists assumed that the environment of what is now the southwestern United States shaped the socia
admin
2014-09-13
89
问题
Until recently, many anthropologists assumed that the environment of what is now the southwestern United States shaped the social history and culture of the region’s indigenous peoples. Building on this assumption, archaeologists asserted that adverse envi-
line ronmental conditions and droughts were responsible for the disappearances and
5 migrations of southwestern populations from many sites they once inhabited.
However, such deterministic arguments fail to acknowledge that local environmental variability in the Southwest makes generalizing about that environment difficult. To examine the relationship between environmental variation and sociocultural change in the Western Pueblo region of central Arizona, which indigenous tribes have occupied
10 continuously for at least 800 years, a research team recently reconstructed the climatic, vegetational, and erosional cycles of past centuries. The researchers found it impossible to provide a single, generally applicable characterization of environmental conditions for the region. Rather, they found that local areas experienced different patterns of rainfall, wind, and erosion, and that such conditions had prevailed in the Southwest
15 for the last 1,400 years. Rainfall, for example, varied within and between local valley systems, so that even adjacent agricultural fields can produce significantly different yields.
The researchers characterized episodes of variation in southwestern environments by frequency: low-frequency environmental processes occur in cycles longer than one
20 human generation, which generally is considered to last about 25 years, and high-frequency processes have shorter cycles. The researchers pointed out that low-frequency processes, such as fluctuations in stream flow and groundwater levels, would not usually be apparent to human populations. In contrast, high-frequency fluctuations such as seasonal temperature variations are observable and somewhat predictable, so that
25 groups could have adapted their behaviors accordingly. When the researchers compared sequences of sociocultural change in the Western Pueblo region with episodes of low- and high-frequency environmental variation, however, they found no simple correlation between environmental process and sociocultural change or persistence. Although early Pueblo peoples did protect themselves against environmental risk and
30 uncertainty, they responded variously on different occasions to similar patterns of high-frequency climatic and environmental change. The researchers identified seven major adaptive responses, including increased mobility, relocation of permanent settlements, changes in subsistence foods, and reliance on trade with other groups. These findings suggest that groups’ adaptive choices depended on cultural and social as well as envi-
35 ronmental factors and were flexible strategies rather than uncomplicated reactions to environmental change. Environmental conditions mattered, but they were rarely, if ever, sufficient to account for sociocultural persistence and change. Group size and composition, culture, contact with other groups, and individual choices and actions were— barring catastrophes such as floods or earthquakes—more significant for a population’s
40 survival than were climate and environment.
Description
The passage describes research that bears on a presumed historical relationship between environmental variation and sociocultural change among indigenous people of the southwestern United States. The author mentions in the first paragraph that many anthropologists believed until recently that environmental variations explain changes in the human populations of the region. The passage then goes on to point out studies that show problems with this explanation, including the lack of generally applicable characterizations of the environment in the region and lack of correlation between environmental changes and sociocultural changes. In the final paragraph the author mentions an alternative explanation in researchers’ findings suggesting that responses to environmental changes varied according to differing factors such as group size and composition, culture, contact with other groups, and individual choices.
The passage is primarily concerned with
选项
A、explaining why certain research findings have created controversy
B、pointing out the flaws in a research methodology and suggesting a different approach
C、presenting evidence to challenge an explanation and offering an alternative explanation
D、elucidating the means by which certain groups have adapted to their environment
E、defending a long-held interpretation by presenting new research findings
答案
C
解析
As the description above indicates, Choice C is the best answer: the passage introduces an explanation, presents evidence that challenges it, and offers an alternative explanation. The passage does not mention the creation of controversy or discuss flaws in research methodology; therefore, Choices A and B are incorrect. Although the passage reports findings that different groups used different adaptive responses to environmental conditions, there is no focus on the adaptations used by particular groups, so Choice D is incorrect. The passage presents recent research findings but not in defense of a long-held interpretation; therefore, Choice E is incorrect.
转载请注明原文地址:https://www.kaotiyun.com/show/R5jO777K
本试题收录于:
GRE VERBAL题库GRE分类
0
GRE VERBAL
GRE
相关试题推荐
Dina:Youlookrun-down,Brian.Brian:Yeah.I’vebeenfeelingundertheweatherrecently.【D8】______andIstillhaven’tgot
Ofcourseacertainamountofdependenceonothersisnotonlygood,butnecessary.Childrenmustbedependentontheirparent
Itiseasiertonegotiateinitialsalaryrequirementbecauseonceyouareinside,theorganizationalconstraints(约束)influencew
Ihavebeenlookingforthisbookforseveralweeks,and_________Ihavefoundit.
Acompletelynewsituationislikelyto____________whentheschoolleavingageisraisedto16.
Packagingisaveryimportantformofadvertising.Apackagecansometimesmotivatepeopletobuyproducts.Forexample,alittl
Ifxandyareoddintegers,whichofthefollowingmustalwaysbeanon-integer?
Accordingtothepassage,by1935theskepticismofBlackworkerstowardunionswas______Thepassagesuppliesinformationconc
TheauthormentionseachofthefollowingasacauseofexcessinventoryEXCEPT______Thepassageprovidesinformationthatsup
Excessinventory,amassiveproblemformanybusinesses,hasseveralcauses,someofwhichareunavoidable.Overstocksmayaccum
随机试题
影响个体发展的因素主要有()。
驱使全球化的动力有哪几方面?
丙辰中秋,欢饮达旦,大醉,作此篇兼怀子由。明月几时有?把酒问青天。不知天上宫阙,今夕是何年?我欲乘风归去,又恐琼楼玉宇,高处不胜寒。起舞弄清影,何似在人间!转朱阁,低绮户,照无眠。不应有恨,何事长向别时圆?人有悲欢离合,月有阴睛圆缺,此事古难全。但愿人
A.支持尖相对的中央窝B.支持尖上的干扰点C.非支持尖上的干扰点D.上尖牙的舌斜面E.以调磨下尖牙的唇斜面为主在调磨尖牙侧干扰时,通常选磨
下列各项中,表述不正确的有()。
中国公民李某为境内甲公司设计部经理,2015年12月有关收支情况如下:(1)基本工资8000元,全年一次性奖金30000元。(2)为其他单位提供一项设计服务,分两次取得全部劳务报酬,每次1500元。(3)在某杂志发表专业
鲁迅是中国现代文学史上最重要的长篇小说作家。()
“影子真讨厌!”小猫汤姆和托比都这样想,“我们一定要摆脱它。”然而,无论走到哪里,汤姆和托比发现,只要一出现阳光,它们就会看到令它们抓狂的自己的影子。不过,汤姆和托比最后终于都找到了各自的解决办法。汤姆的办法是,永远闭着眼睛。托比的办法则是,永远待在其他东
在村镇规划中,某村道路需扩宽,有几户群众担心许诺赔偿不能兑现,有抵触情绪,阻挡施工建设,其中有一户还是你的亲戚。作为村干部,你将如何处理这一问题?
Thedestructionofthesetreasureswasalossformankindthatnoamountofmoneycould_______.
最新回复
(
0
)