自考英语（一）模拟试卷10
阅读判断
A New Study on Elephants
A recent study of ancient and modern elephants has come up with the unexpected conclusion that the African elephant is divided into two distinct (不同的) species.
The discovery was made by researchers at York and Harvard universities when they were examining the genetic (基因的) relationship between the ancient woolly mammoth and mastodon to modern elephants—the Asian elephant, African forest elephant and African savanna (热带草原) elephant.
Once they obtained DNA sequences from two fossils (化石) , mammoths and mastodons. The team compared them with DNA from modern elephants. They found to their amazement that modern forest and savanna elephants are as distinct from each other as Asian elephants and mammoths.
The scientists used detailed genetic analysis to prove that the African savanna elephants and the African forest elephants have been distinct species for several million years. The divergence (分离)of the two species took place around the time of the divergence of Asian elephants and woolly mammoths. This result amazed all the scientists.
There has long been debate in the scientific community that the two might be separate species but this is the most convincing scientific evidence so far that they are indeed different species.
Previously, many naturalists believed that African savanna elephants and African forest elephants were two populations of the same species despite the elephants\’ significant size differences. The savanna elephant has an average shoulder height of 3. 5 metres while the forest elephant has an average shoulder height of 2. 5metres. The savanna elephant weighs between six and seven tons, roughly double the weight of the forest elephant. But the fact that they look so different does not necessarily mean they are different species. However, the proof lay in the analysis of the DNA.
Alfred Roca, assistant professor in the department of Animal Sciences at the University of Minois, said, \\
1.A recent study shows that the African elephants have two different and distinct species.(A)
A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. Not Given
解析：题干要求判断最近的研究是否表明非洲大象有两个不同的种群。第一段话就提到了这项研究，而且最近的研究表明“the African elephant is divided into two distinct species”，所以题干表述是正确的。
2.Researchers at York and Harvard universities examined only the genes of the ancient woolly mammoth and mastodon.(B)
A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. Not Given
解析：题干要求判断约克大学和哈佛大学的研究人员是否仅仅检测了古代长毛猛犸象和乳齿象的基因。第二段提到“they were examining the genetic relationship between the ancient woolly mammoth and mastodon to modern elephants”，意思是“他们检测了古代长毛猛犸象和乳齿象与现代大象之间的基因关系”，并非只检测了古代长毛猛犸象和乳齿象的基因，所以题干表述是错误的。
3.The modern elephants have three species, the Asian elephant, African forest elephant and African savanna elephant.(A)
A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. Not Given
解析：题干要求判断现代大象是否有三个分支，即亚洲大象、非洲森林大象和非洲热带草原大象。第二段最后一句话提到“the Asian elephant，African forest elephant and African savanna elephant”，这三类大象是“modern elephants”的三个分支，所以题干表述是正确的。
4.Those scientists are surprised to find that modern forest and savanna elephants don’ t have the same progenitor (祖先).(C)
A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. Not Given
解析：题干要求判断科学家是否对现代森林大象和热带草原大象没有共同祖先的发现感到惊讶。第三段仅仅提到了科学家吃惊地发现“modern forest and savanna elephants are as distinct from each other”，意思是“现代森林大象和
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