TPO12托福阅读Passage3 Which Hand Did They Use文本+题目原文+答案解析

Which Hand Did They Use 

We all know that many more people today are right-handed than left-handed. Can one trace this same pattern far back in prehistory? [▊] Much of the evidence about right-hand versus left-hand dominance comes from stencils and prints found in rock shelters in Australia and elsewhere, and in many Ice Age caves in France, Spain, and Tasmania. [▊] When a left hand has been stenciled, this implies that the artist was right-handed, and vice versa. [▊] Even though the paint was often sprayed on by mouth, one can assume that the dominant hand assisted in the operation. One also has to make the assumption that hands were stenciled palm downward—a left hand stenciled palm upward might of course look as if it were a right hand. [▊] Of 158 stencils in the French cave of Gargas, 136 have been identified as left, and only 22 as right; right-handedness was therefore heavily predominant.  

Cave art furnishes other types of evidence of this phenomenon. Most engravings, for example, are best lit from the left, as befits the work of right-handed artists, who generally prefer to have the light source on the left so that the shadow of their hand does not fall on the tip of the engraving tool or brush. In the few cases where an Ice Age figure is depicted holding something, it is mostly, though not always, in the right hand. 

Clues to right-handedness can also be found by other methods. Right-handers tend to have longer, stronger, and more muscular bones on the right side, and Marcellin Boule as long ago as 1911 noted the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neanderthal skeleton had a right upper arm bone that was noticeably stronger than the left. Similar observations have been made on other Neanderthal skeletons such as La Ferrassie I and Neanderthal itself.  

Fractures and other cut marks are another source of evidence. Right-handed soldiers tend to be wounded on the left. The skeleton of a 40- or 50-year-old Nabatean warrior, buried 2,000 years ago in the Negev Desert, Israel, had multiple healed fractures to the skull, the left arm, and the ribs.  

Tools themselves can be revealing. Long-handed Neolithic spoons of yew wood preserved in Alpine villages dating to 3000 B.C. have survived; the signs of rubbing on their left side indicate that their users were right-handed. The late Ice Age rope found in the French cave of Lascaux consists of fibers spiraling to the right, and was therefore tressed by a righthander. 

Occasionally one can determine whether stone tools were used in the right hand or the left, and it is even possible to assess how far back this feature can be traced. In stone toolmaking experiments, Nick Toth, a right-hander, held the core (the stone that would become the tool) in his left hand and the hammer stone in his right. As the tool was made, the core was rotated clockwise, and the flakes, removed in sequence, had a little crescent of cortex (the core's outer surface) on the side. Toth's knapping produced 56 percent flakes with the cortex on the right, and 44 percent left-oriented flakes. A left-handed toolmaker would produce the opposite pattern. Toth has applied these criteria to the similarly made pebble tools from a number of early sites (before 1.5 million years) at Koobi Fora, Kenya, probably made by Homo habilis. At seven sites he found that 57 percent of the flakes were right-oriented, and 43 percent left, a   pattern almost identical to that produced today.  

About 90 percent of modern humans are right-handed: we are the only mammal with a preferential use of one hand. The part of the brain responsible for fine control and movement is located in the left cerebral hemisphere, and the findings above suggest that the human brain was already asymmetrical in its structure and function not long after 2 million years ago. Among Neanderthalers of 70,000–35,000 years ago, Marcellin Boule noted that the La Chapelle-aux-Saints individual had a left hemisphere slightly bigger than the right, and the same was found for brains of specimens from Neanderthal, Gibraltar, and La Quina.

TPO12托福阅读Passage2 Which Hand Did They Use 题目

Question 1 of 14: The phrase “assisted in” in the passage is closest in meaning to  

A initiated

B dominated 

C helped with 

D setup

Question 2 of 14: It can be inferred from paragraph 1 that even when paint was sprayed by mouth to make a hand stencil  

A there was no way to tell which hand was stenciled 

B the stenciled hand was the weaker hand 

C the stenciled hand was the dominant hand 

D artists stenciled more images of the dominant hand than they did of the weak

Question 3 of 14: The phrase “depicted” in the passage is closest in meaning to  

A identified 

B revealed 

C pictured 

D imagined

Question 4 of 14: Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.  

A Right-handed artists could more easily have avoided casting shadows on their work, because engravings in prehistoric caves were lit from the left. 

B The tips of engraving tools and brushes indicate that these instruments were used by right-handed artists whose work was lit from the left. 

C The best lighting for most engravings suggests that they were made by right-handed people trying to avoid the shadow of their hands interfering with their work. 

D Right-handed artists try to avoid having the brush they are using interfere with the light source.

Question 5 of 14: All of the following are mentioned in paragraphs 1 and 2 as evidence of right-handedness in art and artists EXCEPT  

A the ideal source of lighting for most engravings 

B the fact that a left hand stenciled palm upward might look like a right hand 

C the prevalence of outlines of left hands 

D figures in prehistoric art holding objects with the right hand

Question 6 of 14: According to paragraph 3, the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neanderthal skeleton can be identified as right-handed because  

A other Neanderthal skeletons found nearby are also right-handed 

B the right arm bone is stronger than the left 

C it is similar to skeletons of La Ferrassie I and Neanderthal 

D the right side of the skeleton shows less evidence of fractures

Question 7 of 14: Which of the following statements about fractures and cut marks can be inferred from paragraph 4?  

A Fractures and cut marks caused by right-handed soldiers tend to occur on the right side of the injured party's body. 

B The right arm sustains more injuries because, as the dominant arm, it is used more actively. 

C In most people, the left side of the body is more vulnerable to injury since it is not defended effectively by the dominant arm. 

D Fractures and cut marks on fossil humans probably occurred after death.

Question 8 of 14:  According to paragraph 5, what characteristic of a Neolithic spoon would imply that the spoon's owner was right-handed? A The direction of the fibers 

B Its long handle 

C The yew wood it is carved from 

D Wear on its left side

Question 9 of 14: In paragraph 5, why does the author mention the Ice Age rope found in the French cave of Lascaux?  

A As an example of an item on which the marks of wear imply that it was used by a right-handed person 

B Because tressing is an activity that is easier for a right-handed person than for a left-handed person 

C Because the cave of Lascaux is the site where researchers have found several prehistoric tools made for right-handed people 

D As an example of an item whose construction shows that it was right handed made by a right-person

Question 10 of 14: The word “criteria” in the passage is closest in meaning to  

A standards 

B findings 

C ideas 

D techniques

Question 11 of 14: What was the purpose of Toth's toolmaking experiment described in paragraph 6?  

A To shape tools that could be used by either hand 

B To produce replicas of early tools for display in museums 

C To imitate the production of pebble tools from early sites 

D To determine which hand made the early tools

Question 12 of 14: What is the author's primary purpose in paragraph 7? 

A To illustrate the importance of studying the brain 

B To demonstrate that human beings are the only mammal to desire fine control of movement 

C To contrast the functions of the two hemispheres of the brain 

D To demonstrate that right-hand preference has existed for a long time

Question 13 of 14: Look at the four squares [▊] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit?  

The stencils of hands found in these shelters and caves allow us to draw conclusions about which hand was dominant.   

A. Can one trace this same pattern far back in prehistory? 

B. Much of the evidence about right-hand versus left-hand dominance comes from stencils and prints found in rock shelters in Australia and elsewhere, and in many Ice Age caves in France, Spain, and Tasmania. 

C. When a left hand has been stenciled, this implies that the artist was right-handed, and vice versa. 

D. Even though the paint was often sprayed on by mouth, one can assume that the dominant hand assisted in the operation. One also has to make the assumption that hands were stenciled palm downward—a left hand stenciled palm upward might of course look as if it were a right hand.

Question 13 of 14: Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points. Several categories of evidence indicate that people have always been predominantly right-handed.  

A.Stencils of right-handed figures are characteristic of cave art in France, Spain, and Tasmania. 

B. Signs on the skeletal remains of prehistoric figures, including arm-bone size and injury marks, imply that these are the remains of right-handed people. 

C. Instruments such as spoons, ropes, and pebble tools show signs that indicate they were used or constructed by right-handed people. 

D. The amount of prehistoric art created by right-handed artists indicates that left-handed people were in the minority. 

E. Neanderthal skeletons often have longer finger bones in the right hand, which is evidence that the right hand was stronger. 

F. Nick Toth, a modem right-handed toolmaker, has shown that prehistoric tools were knapped to fit the right hand.

TPO12托福阅读Passage3 Which Hand Did They Use 真题解析

Question 1 of 14

正确答案：C

解析：assist in帮助，所以C的help with是正确答案。原句说尽管piant通常是靠嘴来spray的，但dominanthand起到了什么作用，帮忙作用，所以C正确。A的initiate和D的set up都有开始，建立之意，两者相似，且跟文章无关，都错；B的dominate和文章相反，前面已经有一个dominant了

Question 2 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：.以mouth和hand stencil做关键词定位至倒数第二和第三句，说dominant hand是帮忙的；最后一句又说136是左手22是右手，通过具体数字说明左手比较主要，所以B是答案；注意B和C是一对相反答案，所以C错，A说不知道哪个主要也就错；D没说

Question 3 of 14

正确答案：C

解析：depict描述，所以C的pictured正确，picture作名词图片大家都知道，作动词与原来名词的意思相关，所以是描述。原句说在为数不多的情况当中，figure被怎么样拿着东西，imagine想象，而原文的意思是真的拿着东西，所以imagine不对；reveal揭露和identify都表示从无到有的意思，不对

Question 4 of 14

正确答案：C

解析：先将长句拆开，who后面的从句整个是对前面的人的修饰；主干部分就是engraving是从左边lit的。A选项的因果关系原文没有，所以错；B将原句的主干换成了从句，同时将原文的从句换成了主干，改变了原文的结构，错；C正确，只是将原句的被动换成了主动；D完全改变了原文的结构，错

Question 5 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：排除法，A的engraving做关键词定位至第二段第二句，正确，不选；B对应第一段第三句，但这个不是right-handedness的原因，所以这个选项不对，选；C的prevalence和left hand定位至第一段最后一句，正确，不选；D的定位至第二段最后一句，正确，不选

Question 6 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：以La做关键词定位至倒数第二句，noticeably stronger，答案B正确，A和C都有提到，但都不是La被认定为right-handedness的原因，所以不选，D没说

Question 7 of 14

正确答案：C

解析：以fractures and other cut marks做关键词定位至第一句，但第一句信息太少，往下看，说右撇子士兵伤在左侧，所以正确答案是C。B说反，左侧容易受伤；A和D都没说

Question 8 of 14

正确答案：D

解析：以Neolithic spoon做关键词定位至第二句，但这句没有回答问题，问题问的是什么特点表明right-handed，所以往后看找到答案，signs of rubbing，摩擦痕迹，所以答案是wear，注意wear有一个意思是摩擦

Question 9 of 14

正确答案：D

解析：以Ice Age rope做关键词定位至最后一句，说rope是右旋的，说明是一个右撇子弄的，所以答案是D，一个例子，右撇子弄出来的。B和C都没说；而A说rope是右撇子的人用的，原文说rope是右撇子的人编制的，不是一回事

Question 10 of 14

正确答案：A

解析：criteria标准，所以A的standard正确。原句说T应用了这些什么东西到blabla上，因为有these，所以往前看，前一句说左撇子工匠做东西的pattern与TOTH发现的相反，这句话不是一个finding也不是一项技术，所以B和D都不对，至于idea不对，就只能靠认识单词了

Question 11 of 14

正确答案：D

解析：解析：根据Toth定位到In stone toolmaking experiments之后，一直到44 percent left-oriented flakes 都在描述Toth的实验是怎样的，之后说左撇子会造出相反的图案，而之后又运用该理论来确定早期的pebble tools是由哪只手制作的，所以选D

Question 12 of 14

正确答案：D

解析：问整段的目的，找中心句，但不幸的是，第一句不是中心句，而且这段也没有中心句。但第一句说人类是唯一有左右撇子现象的动物，最后一句说早在很久以前就有了这种现象，能够对应选项D，其他都没说

Question 13 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：三个过渡点，名词shelters，名词caves和代词these，根据shelters和caves确定A或者B正确，但these说明待插入句应该插入到包含着两个词的句子之后，所以答案B正确，A错

Question 14 of 14

正确答案：BCD

解析：Stencils选项原文没说，原文说证据来自三个地方，答案说右撇子是三个地方的特点，不一样 Signs选项对应原文第三段第二句和第四段一二句，正确 Instruments选项对应原文第五段第一句，正确 The amount选项对应原文第六和第七段的第一句，正确 Neanderthal选项是原文第三段中的一个细节，不选 Nick Toth选项是原文第六段的一个细节，不选

全套TPO阅读原文+题目文本+答案解析手册（合计1300页文档），在雷哥托福微信公众号获取

雷哥托福上课详情请咨询老师

1、请联系官方QQ：2250281936；

2、请联系官方个人微信号：toefl12345；

3、请咨询官方电话：400-6021-727；

【使用提示】

1、雷哥托福在线直播课，不限地域，全球考生均可报名参与。

2、获取更多托福信息，请关注雷哥托福微信公众号：toeflgo