2. 外语
  3. Writing Based on Reading and Listening Directions: For this task, you will read a passage about an academic topic and yo

Writing Based on Reading and Listening Directions: For this task, you will read a passage about an academic topic and yo

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问题     Writing Based on Reading and Listening
    Directions:
    For this task, you will read a passage about an academic topic and you will listen to a lecture about the same topic. You may take notes while you read and listen.
    Then you will write a response to a question that asks you about the relationship between the lecture you heard and the reading passage. Try to answer the question as completely as possible using information from the reading passage and the lecture. The question does not ask you to express your personal opinion. You may refer to the reading passage again when you write. You may use your notes to help you answer the question.
    Typically, an effective response will be 150 to 225 words. Your response will be judged on the quality of your writing and on the completeness and accuracy of the content.
    You should allow 3 minutes to read the passage. Then listen to the lecture. Then allow 20 minutes to plan and write your response.
    Write your response in the space provided.
    Reading
    You will have 3 minutes to read the passage.
    The smilodons, a type of sabre-toothed tiger, despite having been extinct for thousands of years, nevertheless continue to attract much scientific research. Recently the question of whether they were social animals or not has aroused a heated debate. As far as we are concerned, they belong to the social animal classification, which is explained in the following paragraphs.
    First, smilodons lived in both South and North America from 1.8 million to 100,000 years ago, and through observing fossils from that period, scientists found evidence that some smilodons were wounded but still managed to survive. This raises an obvious question: Without the company of other members, how could the wounded smilodons survive? The wounded tigers needed other members of the pack to hunt for them and tend to their wounds. Fossils suggest that smilodons are social animals.
    Second, smilodon fossils discovered in the Rhea Kapoor tar pit in Los Angeles reflect a scene of their joint hunting at that time. An herbivore was caught in the sticky tar pit and on the verge of dying, and began attracting many hungry predators such as smilodons. However, during the process of capturing and eating the wounded beast stuck in the tar, many smilodons were also trapped in the gooey mess and died together as a group.
    Third, living and hunting together would have improved smilodons’ competitive advantages. Though nowadays most tigers live and hunt alone, smilodons were quite different. Living in a time period where the natural environment was harsh and game was limited, smilodons had to cooperate with each other to hunt successfully, and in turn survive as a species.
    Then you will hear:
    Now listen to part of a lecture on the topic you just read about.
    Lecture
   
    Question
    Summarize the points made in the lecture you just heard, explaining how they cast doubt on points made in the reading passage.
Despite many discoveries which might seem to suggest that smilodons are social animals, in my view, it is more likely that they were just like tigers living today: animals that prefer to live and hunt alone.
    The reading suggests the reason that wounded smilodons continued to live is that other members provided food for them. However, the truth is that wounded smilodons could also have scavenged other animals’ corpses to survive. Due to the extreme natural environment 1.8 million years ago, weaker animals tended to die from the severe cold or other harsh physical conditions. Smilodons, however, were hardy enough to resist the cold and survive, despite the unforgiving nature of the world in which they lived.
    As to the fossil evidence discovered in the tar pit, there may be other explanations for the death of so many smilodons in one place at the same time. Upon seeing a wounded animal caught in the sticky tar, several individual smilodons probably attempted to capture the animal and became stuck themselves. One smilodon entered the pit, became trapped, and in turn attracted other smilodons to the pit as well.
    Smilodons, due to their natural physical prowess, were gifted hunters. They had thick fur and were equipped with long, sharp teeth capable of ripping the flesh from prey. Therefore, they had little need to hunt in groups: a lone smilodon could easily fend for itself and survive.
选项
答案 The reading hypothesizes that smilodons, the extinct sabre-toothed tiger, were in fact social animals. The professor discounts the evidence given, claiming that none of it sufficiently proves the smilodon was a social animal. First, the reading claims that wounded smilodons were still able to survive, and this would have been virtually impossible without the aid and protection of other tigers within a pack. The professor is unconvinced, and says that smilodons were such powerful and tenacious animals that even the wounded could survive by scavenging for corpses left behind by other predators. Additionally, even wounded smilodons could have survived in harsh conditions due to their natural hardiness and physical resilience. Next, the reading suggests that fossils found in the Rhea Kapoor tar pit in California indicate a group of smilodons all drowned in the tar while trying to surround and feed on a wounded herbivore. Instead of agreeing that they died together as a pack, the professor posits that many individual smilodons became stuck in the muck at different times, while trying to get to the wounded prey. Last, the passage describes the natural advantages of smilodons cooperating as a pack. The professor disagrees, and says that smilodons were evolved perfectly for their harsh environment, with strong, furred bodies and long sharp teeth for hunting. They needed no help in surviving solo.
解析     针对剑齿虎是否是群居动物，阅读文章认为它是，并提出三点理由：首先，受伤的剑齿虎存活下来可能得益于其他同伴的帮助；其次，化石上发现了一群剑齿虎留下的信息；最后，恶劣的生存环境使它们必须群体生活。而听力认为这三点论述都是不成立的。
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