A
Once upon a time, on an isolated island in the Java Sea, lived short people who dominated (支配，占优势) the food chain. Standing no more than three and a half feet tall, these human ancestors hunted giant rats, lumbering lizards (笨拙的蜥蜴), and miniature elephants.
It sounds a bit like a fairy tale, but it's true. Unearthed relics on the island uncovered the remains of a race of tiny human ancestors. Homo floresiensis, as the newly discovered species has been named, apparently could date back to 13,000 years ago. This means they have a lot in common with modern humans.
So how and why did these people get so small? Scientists suspect that it's due to the fact that this race lived on an isolated island with limited resources. Take the miniature elephants for example. When elephants first came to the island either by swimming or by some kind of natural land raft, they were probably close to full size. But since there wasn't much to eat, over time smaller elephants lived longer and better. The smaller the elephant was, the less it had to eat to stay strong and healthy.
Scientists call this the “island role”， and it can apply to humans as well as animals. Given the island's sparse (稀少) food supply, it makes sense that the early humans living there would have evolved (进化) a body size requiring less food to survive. So bigger isn't always better.
In the floresiensis, at least, getting smaller was the way to go.
21．According to the passage, the fact Homo floresiensis are very small is based on ________.
A．the islanders in the Java Sea
B．the human ancestors
C．the unearthed relics
D．a newspaper report
22．The underlined word “miniature” in the first paragraph most probably means ________.
A．tiny B．active
C．rare D．wild
23．People on the island got so small because ________.
A．they did not have enough food to eat
B．they gradually developed for lack of food
C．they shared less food with elephants
D．they remained alive as the elephants
24．What might be the most suitable title of the passage?
A．The history of short people
B．Short people from a fairy tale
C．The proofs on short people
D．Short people on an isolated island
答案与解析
21．C 细节理解题。从第一段的句子：Unearthed relics on the island uncovered the remains of a race of tiny human ancestors.可知 Homo floresiensis 个头矮小的事实是以出土文物为基础的，选C。
22．A 词义猜测题。从第三段的句子：The smaller the elephant was, the less it had to eat to stay strong and healthy. 可知小象越小，吃的食物就越少，miniature 和 tiny 意思相近，选A。
23．B 细节理解题。从第三段的句子：Scientists suspect that it's due to the fact that this race lived on an isolated island with limited resources.可知这些人之所以矮小是因为缺少食物，选B。
24．D 标题归纳题。从第一段的句子：Once upon a time, on an isolated island in the Java Sea, lived short people who dominated (支配，占优势) the food chain.可知这篇文章讲的是孤岛上的矮人，选D。
