They occupy dense jungle north of the Amazon River between Venezuela and Brazil and are catalogued by anthropologists(人類學家) as neo-indians with cultural characteristics that date back more than 8,000 years. Each community lives in a circular communal house, some of which sleep up to 400, built around a central square.

　　Though many Yanomano men are monogamous, it is not unusual for them to have two or more wives. Anthropologists from the University of Wisconsin say polygamy is a way to increase one’s wealth because having a large family increases help with hunting and cultivating the land. These marriages result in a shortage of women for other men to marry, which has led to inter-tribal wars.

　　Each Yanomano man is responsible for clearing his land for gardening, using slash-and-hum farming methods. They grow plantains, a type of banana eaten cooked, and hunt game animals, fish and anaconda(南美熱帶蟒蛇) using bows and arrows. (396 words)

　　1. Miners flocked into the forest and shot those Yanomano who _______.

　　A. sheltered in thick rainforest

　　B. would not leave their jungle homeland

　　C. lived a self-contained existence

　　D. would stand in their way

　　2. The organization called Hands Around the World believes that culturally, the Yanomano is the world’s__________.

　　A. most primitive people B. most backward people

　　C. most advanced people D. oldest people

　　3. Which of the following is NOT true according to an American cultural association report?

　　A. In South America, the cultures are on the verge of extinction.

　　B. In South America, the traditions are on the verge of extinction.

　　C. In South America, the Yanomano can survive extinction.

　　D. In South America, some tribes are on the verge of extinction.

　　4. _________caused the Yanomano to have inter-tribal wars.

　　A. The shortage of women resulting from polygamy

　　B. The difference in wealth resulting from polygamy

　　C. The shortage of women resulting from monogamy

　　D. The difference in wealth resulting from monogamy

　　5. We can infer from the passage that it is imperative for us to protect the Yanomano because__________.

　　A. it is a clturally most intact people

　　B. it is a primitive people deep in jungle

　　C. it is a native people of the Amazon basin

　　D. it is primitive people in danger of disappearing

　　1. D 細節理解題。第一希第三句中的“who would not get out of the way”即“who would stand in the way”。

　　2. A 細節理解題。根據第二段第一句中的“…be the most culturally intact people in the world”得出。

　　3. C 細節理解題。根據第三段第二句陳述可得出此結論。

　　4. C細節理解題。根據第五段最后一句陳述可得出此結論。

　　5. D 推論題。縱觀全文可推出此結論。

　　Since its foundation in 1954, the United Nations has written into its major covenants(契約) the need to establish minimum ages for marriage. But the custom of marriage is a highly sensitive cultural issue, mainly because it is so unpleasantly involved with women’s rights and societal traditions and practices, and rules on marriage vary widely between countries. Some countries, particularly in West Africa, still do not have a legal minimum age for marriage.

　　In the West, a 13-year-old is still considered a child. Even getting married in one’s late teens is not usually encouraged because married life is likely to interfere with a young woman’s education and consequently restrict opportunities in later life. And there are also physical dangers in giving birth so young. The World Health Organization has over the past ten years identified early childbirth as a major cause of female mortality in many countries.

　　Under Islamic religious law, the age of consent for sex and marriage is puberty, which Muslims say is in harmony with the biological transition from childhood into adulthood. In Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan, the age of puberty at around 13 or 14 is the legal age for marriage, but in Turkey it is 15, and in Egypt and Tunisia, 18 the same minimum age as in many Western countries. It is argued that by allowing earlier marriages, Islamic law is promoting stable relationships, while Western laws are encouraging promiscuity among young people.

　　In many countries, the trends of urbanization and education for girls have seen a drop in the number of child brides. However, early marriages continue to occur in poor rural areas, where society works very much on personal arrangement between families, villages and communities. And it doesn’t only happen in countries which don’t have a legal minimum age. In India, for example, the legal age of marriage for a girl is 18 and to a boy, 21. Yet, according to government statistics, 18 percent of ten to fourteen-year old girls in the poor, rural state of Rajasthan in the northwest of the country are married. There are obvious social and economical advantages for doing this: by marrying off their daughters early, families no longer have to provide for them ; and the younger the bride the smaller the dowry(嫁妝), or wedding price, demanded by the groom’s family.

　　It is clear, then, that child marriages are connected with poverty, lack of education and rural customs such as dowries; there don’t tend to be any child marriages in urban or rich areas. So, unless these real causes are addressed, it will be extremely hard to enforce change, even when change is dictated by a country’s governing body. (451 words)

　　1. What is the topic of this passage?

　　A. Child brides.

　　B. Early marriages.

　　C. Minimum age for marriage.

　　D. Different attitudes towards early marriages.

　　2. The word “promiscuity”(Line 9, Para. 3) means__________.

　　A. unstable partnership B. firm partnership

　　C. diverse relationship D. single relationship

　　3. __________is likely to marry late.

　　A. Women from less educated background

　　B. Women from rural areas

　　C. Women from Islamic countries

　　D. Women from cities

　　4. Child marriages are NOT related to __________according to the passage.

　　A. social position B. rural customs

　　C. personal arrangements D. religion

　　5. According to the passage, getting married early does all of the following EXCEPT__________.

　　A. reducing a young woman’s education

　　B. limiting a young woman’s chances

　　C. causing infant death

　　D. doing harm to a young woman’s health

　　1.B 主旨題。本文列舉了許多國家法定的最小結婚年齡及造成早婚的原因，所以，這篇文章的主題應是關于早婚。

　　2.C 詞義猜測題。根據是第三段最后一句。

　　3.D 細節推斷題。文中第四段的第一句里有此線索，即“In many countries, the trends …of child brides.”，由這句話判定D項是正確的。

　　4.A 判斷題。A項在本文中沒有提到，故A項為答案。

　　5.C 細節題。C項意為“早育使嬰兒死亡”，而C項在本文沒有提到。故C項為正確選項。