To Pacific people the coconut palm is tile Tree of Life, and life itself often depends on its presence. This versatile and ubiqu

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问题     To Pacific people the coconut palm is tile Tree of Life, and life itself often depends on its presence. This versatile and ubiquitous (到处出现的) tree still keeps to itself the mystery of its geographical origins. Scientists may have theories, but most Pacific islanders believe that the coconut palm is of supernatural origin. Stray palms on uninhabited isles or in remote island valleys may appear wild and neglected to stranger, but chances are that some local family is watching and using them.
    On the other hand, the material culture of the islands is based on forest products in general, not just the coconut. Melanesian craftsmen fashion their goods from bark, fiber, wood, and other plant parts. Stone, shell, and bone are found in great variety, feathers and shell are seen as ornaments. But it is the plants which form the structural materials or architecture and artifacts. Among Melanesia’s varied cultures, that of New Guinea’s Speak River area is one of the richest in artifacts. An important source is the annual festival marking the harvest of the yam crop, a hill-country staple. Yams of special size and character represent spirits of the dead, and the quality of a man’s yam crop is a measure of his prestige and his virility (男子气概).  A man and his family may not eat their own produce but must give it to a family of a non-related clan. Each phase of the growing cycle of the yam is marked with ceremonies and festivities culminating in the great harvest festival when the village square is filled with piles of yams. Many of the finest specimens are adorned with painted masks, feather headdresses, and jewelry. Each man or the tribe, similarly adorned, extols (赞美,颂扬) the virtues of his yams in extravagant oratory (辞藻华丽的言语), climaxing his presentation by pronouncing the name the family who is to receive his crop.
According to the passage, the coconut palm provides for the islands______.

选项 A、the exclusive basis of their material culture
B、the important object of religious worship
C、the principal source for craftsmen’s ornaments
D、an important factor in a culture based on forest products

答案D

解析 上下文理解题。文章第二段第—句话:On the other hand, the material culture of the islands is based on forest products in general, not just the coconut.(另—方面,这些岛屿上物质文化—般是建立在森林产物上的…)由此不难看出D为正确答案。
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