文章大意:这是一篇说明文。文章主要讲述了轮子发明的意义并解释了被认为是相对先进文明的阿兹特克人、印加人、玛雅人和美洲原住民直到15世纪末和16世纪初欧洲殖民者到来之后才开始使用轮子的原因。
The wheel is believed to be around 5,500 years old. The invention came about long after the advent of other, arguably more complex technologies, like boats, woven cloth, and agriculture. The invention of the wheel greatly speeded up the development of civilization by making it easier to trade. Towns and cities grew crowded, their populations sustained by the increased productivity of wheel-assisted farming.
However, the Aztecs, Incas, Maya, and Native Americans which were regarded as relatively advanced civilizations did not use the wheel until after the arrival of European colonists (殖民者) during the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
It had long been assumed that ancient Americans didn’t know how to make them. That turned out to be false. In 1880, as archaeologist Désiré Charnay unearthed the tomb of an Aztec child in Mexico City, he came across a small figurine (雕像) mounted on an even smaller set of wheels. Since then, other wheeled toys have been found across the country.
Current explanations of why the Aztecs, Incas, Maya, and Native Americans lacked wheels focus not on the knowledge of how to create them — which they clearly possessed — but on practicality. One major reason is that the continent lacks creatures strong enough to pull them. After all, horses and cows crossed the Atlantic along with the wheel itself.
Another important factor was geography. Yes, the Incas built roads, but those roads were mapped out over the hilly terrain (地形) of the Andes Mountains. They featured a structure of giant staircases in which there were top, middle, and bottom levels. So wheeled vehicles would not have been able to climb.
Ancient American societies might not have been built on wheels, but this in no way prevented them from teaching levels of complexity comparable to their European counterparts. They also built impressive architecture with rocks. How their builders managed to move those rocks without help from the wheel, nobody knows. But they did manage to do this. Of course, the absence of the wheel still shaped these societies in meaningful ways. For example, attempts to unite the different warring tribes repeatedly fell apart because of the amount of time it took to travel from one stronghold (据点) to another.
“When the wheel did finally show up in indigenous American societies, a lot of things changed. But the change occurred more slowly. Even though indigenous Americans could now use the wheel for transport, weaving, and pottery, this new and more efficient technology didn’t replace the familiar way of doing things overnight. Traditional techniques continue to be passed down from generation to generation, even to this day,” archaeologist Patrick Kirch said.
9. Why does the author write the first paragraph?
A.To stress the difficulty in inventing the wheel. |
B.To describe the process of the invention of the wheel. |
C.To explain the significance of the invention of the wheel. |
D.To introduce the wide applications of the wheel in modern times. |
10. Why didn’t ancient Incas use wheels?
A.They lacked tools for creating wheels. |
B.They built roads with vertical structures. |
C.They relied on animals for transportation. |
D.They lacked the knowledge of producing wheels. |
11. The absence of the wheel might block _______.
A.the complexity of ancient American societies |
B.the frequency of wars in ancient American societies |
C.the impressive architecture in ancient American societies |
D.the unification of different tribes in ancient American societies |
12. What does Patrick Kirch think of introducing the wheel into indigenous American societies?
A.Easy but limited | B.Noticeable but harmful. |
C.Welcome but fruitless. | D.Influential but gradual. |