By modern standards, the hostile summit of Mount Llullaillaco, in the Argentine Andes, is no place fro kids. The ancient Inca saw things differently though, and so it was that one day, some 500 years ago, three children ascended the frigid and treacherous upper slopes of the 22,000-ft. peak. The three had spent time at the 17,000-ft. level, taking part in rituals that can only be guessed at. Now, accompanied by a retinue of adults, they moved steadily upward. They would not return. Once at the summit, the children-two girls and a boy, between eight and 15 years old-would be ritually sacrificed and entombed beneath 5 ft. of rocky rubble. They may even have been buried alive.
And there the story might have ended but for the tireless efforts of Johan Reinhard, an independent archaeologist funded by the National Geographic Society. Reinhard's specialty is scaling the Andes in search of sacrificial remains; he had already located 15 bodies, including the famed ice maiden he found in 1995. But these three, whose discovery he announced last week, are by far the most impressive. They were frozen solid within hours of their burial. Two of the bodies are almost perfectly preserved; the third was evidently damaged by lightening. The children's internal organs are not only intact but also still contain blood. Says Craig Morris, an expert on Andean archaeology at New York City's American Museum of Natural History: "It is truly a fantastic discovery."
What makes it so fantastic is not just the bodies themselves, but also the wealth of artifacts that were buried along with them: 36 gold and silver statues, small woven bags, a ceramic vessel, leather sandals, a small llama figure and seashell necklaces. One of the girls, says Reinhard, "Has a beautiful yellow, geometrically designed cover laid over her." Her head sports a plume of feathers and a golden mask.
Some of the bodies were provisioned with bundles of food wrapped in alpaca skin, which indicates that the children came from the Incan social elite-not surprising, since only people of high status would have been considered worthy of sacrifice. Little is known about the sacrificial ceremony itself; these objects, along with others found at the lower camp, should tell archaeologists plenty.
The preserved bodies, meanwhile, will give scientists an unprecedented look at Incan physiology. Reinhard and his team took care to pack the children in plastic, snow and insulating foam before hauling them down the mountain, and the Argentine military whisked them off to the nearby town of Salta. There, experts will analyze their stomachs to find out what they ate for their last meal, their organs for clues about their diet and their DNA to try and establish their relationship to other ethnic groups. Reinhard will head back into the mountains. There is no telling how many more bodies remain to be found.
注(1)：本文选自Time; 04/19/1999, p46；
注(2)：本文习题命题模仿对象为2002年真题（1、2、4题模仿Text4对应题；第3、5题模仿Text3的第3、4题）；
1. From the first paragraph we learn that
.
[A] the summit of Mount Llullaillaco was not hostile in the past
[B] ancient Incans used to hold sacrificial rituals on top of the mountain
[C] burying children alive was a common practice in ancient Incan society
[D] the three children made the mountain climbing by themselves
2. Which of the following statements is true according to the text?
[A] Johan Reinhard works with the National Geographic Society.
[B] Archaeological discoveries depend on the independent work of archaeologists.
[C] The Andes is a treasure for archaeologists in search of sacrificial remain.
[D] Andean archaeology focuses on unearthing human bodies.
3. Rehinhard's discovery shows that .
[A] ancient Incans were masters of body-preservation
[B] the children suffered a lot before they were buried
[C] Incan children from rich families were often made sacrifices
[D] ancient Incans had grasped a high level of craftsmanship
4. Which of the following best define the word "unprecedented"(line 1, paragraph 5)?
[A] unexampled
[B] unusual
[C] precious
[D] unpredictable
5. We can draw a conclusion from the text that .
[A] Johan Reinhard's discovery will shed light on the study of ancient Incans
[B] Reinhard will find a lot more bodies in the future
[C] Experts can now describe the sacrificial ceremony in detail
[D] Argentine military are also interested in archaeological activities
答案：B C D A A
篇章剖析
本篇文章讲述了安第斯山区的最新考古发现以及这一发现的重大意义。第一段想象了当年印加人参加活人祭祀前后的场景，引出话题；第二段简要介绍考古学家莱茵哈德及他这次发现的三具印加儿童遗体。第三段、第四段描述了同时发现的陪葬品，最后一段则说明这次发现对于考古学家的重要意义。文章层次分明，结构清晰。
词汇注释
Inca n. 印加人（古代秘鲁土著人）
retinue n. （要人的一批）随行人员
entomb n. 埋葬，成为...的坟墓
rubble n. 碎石
llama n. 骆驼
sport v. 夸耀地穿戴
plume n. 羽毛
provision v. 向...供应粮食[必需品]
alpaca n. [动]（南美的）羊驼，羊驼毛，羊驼呢（织物）
unprecedented adj. 空前的，没有前例的
insulate v. 使绝缘，隔离
whisk v. 快速移动，快速带走
题目分析
1. 答案为B，属推理判断题。这一段描述了古印加人把孩子送到山顶祭祀的事情，由此可见古印加人曾经在山顶举行祭祀仪式。hostile用于环境时通常表达的意思是"不利的，危险的，恶劣的"，山顶的自然环境在过去和现在并没有太大差别，因此A项是错误的。作者对于这些孩子的死亡方式用了might一词表示猜测，足见没有确凿的证据证明把孩子活埋是古印加社会常见的活动，所以C项不对。D项是错的，因为文中提到了accompanied by a retinue of adults，说明他们是在成人的护送下登山的。
2．答案为C，属事实细节题。文中提到Reinhard在安第斯山区搜寻祭祀遗物方面的多项考古发现，并引用其它考古学家的话说他最近的发现是"fantastic discovery"。文章最后文中第二段对Reinhard的身份说明中指出他是一个受国家地理协会资助的独立考古学家，因此A是错误的。独立考古学家的工作很重要，但不等于考古发现就依赖他们，所以B也是错误的。安第斯考古活动有很多方面的内容，遗体出土只是其中一项，文中也讲到陪葬物品的考古价值，所以D也不对。
3．答案为D，属推理判断题。由发现的陪葬品，尤其是那个"beautiful yellow, geometrically designed cover"可以看出古代印加人的工艺水平已经相当高了。遗体保存较好主要是由于冰雪的缘故，和印加人保存尸体的技术无关，A是错误的。文中并没有提到这些孩子们在死前的情况，所以B不能成立。文中讲到从陪葬品可以看出孩子们来自上层社会，但不等于"富有家庭的孩子经常成为祭物"，所以C项也不对。
4．答案为A，属猜测词义题。precedent是"先例"的意思，从构词法和上下文可以推知A为正确答案。
5．答案为A，属推理判断题。文中第二段最末引用其他科学家的话说这次发现"fantastic"，在第四段最末又说所发现的物品也将让考古学家对祭祀仪式有更多地了解。最后一段也介绍了科学家们将对这次发现展开研究工作，由此可见，这次发现可以促进对古印加人的研究工作。
难句突破
And there the story might have ended but for the tireless efforts of Johan Reinhard, an independent archaeologist funded by the National Geographic Society.
主体句式：the story might have ended there but for...
结构分析：本句中包含有虚拟语气，由but for引导一个虚拟条件，表示"要不是..."；"might have done"表示本来可能会发生某事，对于这一类由介词或者介词词组引起的虚拟条件，学习者应该特别留心，否则就容易产生理解错误。可以引导虚拟条件的词还有without，otherwise等。
句子译文：要不是约翰·莱茵哈德的不懈努力，故事本来也许到此就结束了。莱茵哈德是一位由国家地理协会资助的独立考古学家。
按照现代的标准，阿根廷安第斯山区的鲁莱拉克山寒冷的山顶决不是孩子涉足的地方。不过古代印加人对此的看法却大相径庭，所以，大约五百年前的某一天，三个孩子登上了这座海拔22000英尺的山峰上部那严寒而危险的山坡。他们在海拔17000米处停留了一段时间，参加了某些不为人知的仪式。接着，在一群成年人的护送下，他们继续不断向上攀登。对他们来说，这是一条不归之路。一到山顶，这些孩子---两个女孩和一个男孩，年龄在8到15岁之间---就会成为献祭仪式的极品并会被埋葬在5英尺深的石块下面。他们甚至可能是被活埋的。
要不是约翰·莱茵哈德的不懈努力，故事本来也许到此就结束了。莱茵哈德是一位由国家地理协会资助的独立考古学家，他的专业就是攀登安第斯山，寻找祭祀品的遗迹；他已经发现了15具古人遗体，包括1995年发现的著名的"冰冻女尸"。但他上周宣布发现的这三具遗体是到目前为止最让人难忘的印加人遗体。他们的尸体在被埋葬后数小时就被冻结了。其中两具保存得十分完好，第三具显然受到了闪电的破坏。这些孩子的内部器官不仅完好无损，而且还含有血液。纽约市自然历史博物馆专门从事安第斯考古研究的专家克雷格·莫里斯说："这的确是一个非同寻常的发现。"
不仅这三具遗体本身，随他们陪葬的众多人工制品也使这次发现的意义非同寻常：36件金银雕像，一些小编织袋，一个陶罐，一些皮凉鞋，一个小骆驼像和一些贝壳项链。莱茵哈德说其中一个女孩"身上盖着一块很漂亮的，绘有几何图案的黄布套。"她的头部带着羽毛做成的羽饰和一个黄金面具。
有些遗体周围有一包包用羊驼皮裹着的食物，说明这些孩子来自印加的社会精英阶层---这倒也不足为奇，因为只有上层社会的人才被认为有献祭的价值。至于祭祀仪式本身人们所知甚少；这些物品，以及在较低海拔处发现的其他物品可以告诉考古学家很多事情。
此外，这些保存下来的遗体还可以让科学家们头一次看到印加人的生理特点。莱茵哈德和他的考古队用塑料，雪和绝缘泡沫将这些孩子小子的包裹起来，然后才把他们拖下山，阿根廷军队迅速将他们运送到了附近的萨尔塔镇。专家们将在那里分析他们的胃部，以了解他们最后一顿饭吃了些什么，还要分析他们的器官以便找到关于他们的饮食结构和DNA的线索，从而尝试确定他们和其他种族之间的关系。莱茵哈德还会回到山里去。到底还有多少具遗体等待发现目前仍然是个未知数。
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