【正文】 of time. Some lichens can even grow where there is no rain at all, surviving on only occasional dewthe moisture that condenses on the surface15 of the plants at night, And unlike most other plants, lichens are little affected by the strong ultraviolet rays in the mountains. Lichens use little energy, for they grow slowly. Some grow so slowly and are so old that they are called time stains. You may find lichens that are centuries old。 certain of these lichen colonies have been established for an estimated 2,000 years.20 For decades, scientists wondered how the offspring of an alga and a fungus got together to form a new lichen, it seemed unlikely that they would just happen lo encounter one another. It was finally discovered that in many cases the two partners have never been separated. Stalklike buds that form on certain lichens are broken off by the wind or by animals。 these toll or are blown to a new location11. Which of the following questions 12. The word hardiest in line I is does the passage answer? closest in meaning to (A) Where can the oldest lichens (A) most unusual be found? (B) most basic (B) How long does it take for (C) most abundant lichens to establish (D) most vigorous themselves? (C) How large can lichens he? (D) Where do lichens usually occur?13. The word framework in line 5 is 18. All of the following are mentioned closest in meaning to in the discussion of lichens EXCEPT: (A) structure (A) They are capable of producing (a) fragment their own food. (C) condition (B)They require large amounts of (D)environment minerals lo prosper. (C)They are a union of two14, The author mentions the green film separate plants. of plant life that grows on stagnant (D) They can live thousands of pools (lines 67) in order to explain years. (A) how the sun affects lichens 19. What does the phrase lichen (B) why plants depend on water colonies (line 19)suggest? (C) where fungi bee algae (D) what algae arc (A) Nothing but lichens live in some locations.15. It can be inferred from the passage (B) Many lichens live together in that lichens use less energy and one area. grow more slowly when (C) Lichens displace the plants that surround them. (A) the environment is polluted (D)Certain groups of lichens have (B) they are exposed to ultraviolet never been separated. rays (C) they are very old 20. The word encounter in line 21 is (D) the supply of water is closest in meaning to inadequate (A) lose16: Which of file following terms is (B) support defined in the passage? (C) meet (A) anchors (line 6) (D) create (B) stagnant (line 7) 21. The word these in line 24 refers to (C) dew (line 14.) (D) ultraviolet (line 16) (A)partners (B) buds17. The word prolonged in line 13 is (C) lichens closest in meaning to (D) animals (A)precise (B) extended(C) approximate (D)regular Question 2231 The languages spoken by early Europeans are still shrouded in mystery. There is no linguistic continuity between the languages of Old Europe (a term sometimes used for Europe between 7000 and 3000 .) and the languages of the modem world, and weLine cannot yet translate the Old European script, Scholars have deciphered other ancient5 languages, such as Sumerian, Akkadian, and Babylonian, which used the cuneiform script, because of the fortuitous discovery of bilingual inscriptions, When cuneiform tablets were first discovered in the eighteenth century, scholars could not decipher them. Then inscriptions found in baa at the end of the eighteenth century provided a link: these inscriptions were written in cuneiform and in two other ancient languages, Old Persian10 and New Elamitelanguages that had already been deciphered. It took several decades, but scholars eventually translated the ancient cuneiform script via the more familiar Old Persian language: Similarly, the hieroglyphic writing of the Egyptians remained a mystery until French troops unearthed the famous Rosetta stone in the late eighteenth century. The stone carried15 the same message written in ancient Greek, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Egyptian hieratic, a simplified form of hieroglyphs. The Rosetta stone thwarted scholars39。 efforts for several decades until the early nineteenth century when several key hieroglyphic phrases were decoded using the Greek inscriptions. Unfortunately, we have no Old European Rosetta stone to chart correspondences between Old European script and the languages that20 replaced it. Tim incursions of IndoEuropean tribes into Old Europe from the late fifth to the early third millennia . caused a linguistic and cultural discontinuity. These incursions disrupted the Old European sedentary farming lifestyle that had existed for 3,000 years As the IndoEuropeans encroached on Old Europe from the east, the continent underwent25 upheavals. These severely affected the Balkans, where the Old European cultures abundantly employed script. The Old European way of life deteriorated rapidly, although pockets of O