下载掌阅APP，畅读海量书库
立即打开
It’s likely that everything you learned about America’s ancient history is wrong.
The new book, 1491 , completely changes our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.
DID YOU KNOW?
When Columbus landed there were probably more people in the Americas than there were in Europe.
The peoples of North America had such healthy life-styles that as late as the 19th century they continued to be the tallest people on earth.
Facts have shown that the Americas were populated as long as 33,000 years ago. 4,000 years ago Mesoamerican farmers developed corn in a feat （技艺） of genetic engineering that still isn’t completely understood.
COMMENTS ON 1491
“In the tradition of Jared Diamond & John McPhee, a totally new view of pie-Columbian America.”
—Richard Rhodes
“Attractively written and really absorbing... Charles C. Mann has produced a book that’s part detective story, part epic （史诗） and part tragedy （悲剧）. He has taken on a vast topic: thousands of years, two huge continents, and cultures.”
—Charles Matthews, San Jose Mercury News
“Powerful and challenging.”
—Alan Taylor, Washington Post
“A pleasure to read as well as a wonderful education.”
—Howard Zinn
1. On the whole, 1491 is a book mainly about America’s ______.
A. life-styles
B. population
C. history
D. agriculture
2. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about the comments on the book 1491 ?
A. It is interesting and instructive.
B. It is attractive and culture-related.
C. It is challenging and revolutionary.
D. It is humorous and persuasive.
3. From this passage, we can learn ______.
A. people settled in the Americas a little earlier than 1492
B. North Americans were the tallest in the 18th century in the world
C. Mesoamerican farmers knew genetic engineering 5,000 years ago
D. the population in the Americas was smaller than that in Europe in 1492
nationwide adj . 全国性的
bestseller n . 畅销书
Columbus n . 哥伦布
life-style n . 生活方式
populate v . 居住
Mesoamerican adj . 中美洲的
genetic engineering 遗传工程学
attractively adv . 动人地
absorbing adj . 吸引人的
challenging adj . 有挑战性的
take on 呈现（某种品质、面貌等），在这里的意思是“涉及”
The peoples of North America had such healthy life-styles that as late as the 19th century they continued to be the tallest people on earth.
句子的重点在于such... that... “非常……以至于……”。
（参考译文） 北美人的生活方式非常健康，以至于到19世纪时，他们仍然是地球上身高最高的人种。