GMAT考试阅读资料(二)e

Passage 11
　　Archaeology¹ as a profession faces two major prob-lems. First， it is the poorest of the poor. Only paltrysums are available for excavating² and even less is avail-able for publishing the results and preserving the sites（5）　once excavated⁴. Yet archaeologists deal with pricelessobjects every day. Second， there is the problem of illegalexcavation， resulting in museum-quality pieces beingsold to the highest bidder⁶.
　　I would like to make an outrageous⁷ suggestion that（10） would at one stroke provide funds for archaeology andreduce the amount of illegal digging. I would proposethat scientific archeological expeditions and govern-mental authorities sell excavated artifacts on the openmarket. Such sales would provide substantial funds for（15） the excavation⁵ and preservation⁸ of archaeological sitesand the publication of results. At the same time， theywould break the illegal excavator‘s grip on the market，thereby decreasing the inducement to engage in illegalactivities.
　　（20）You might object that professionals excavate³ toacquire knowledge， not money. Moreover， ancient arti-facts are part of our global cultural heritage， whichshould be available for all to appreciate， not sold to thehighest bidder. I agree. Sell nothing that has unique（25） artistic⁹ merit or scientific value. But， you might reply，everything that comes our of the ground has scientificvalue. Here we part company. Theoretically， you may becorrect in claiming that every artifact has potential scien-tific value. Practically， you are wrong.
　　（30）I refer to the thousands of pottery¹⁰ vessels¹¹ and ancientlamps that are essentially¹² duplicates of one another. Inone small excavation in Cyprus， archaeologists recentlyuncovered 2，000 virtually indistinguishable small jugs¹³ ina single courtyard， Even precious royal seal impressions（35） known as/melekh handles have been found in abun-dance——more than 4，000 examples so far.
　　The basements of museums are simply not largeenough to store the artifacts that are likely to be discov-ered in the future. There is not enough money even to（40） catalogue the finds； as a result， they cannot be foundagain and become as inaccessible¹⁴ as if they had neverbeen discovered. Indeed， with the help of a computer，sold artifacts could be more accessible than are thepieces stored in bulging¹⁵ museum basements. Prior to（45） sale， each could be photographed and the list of thepurchasers could be maintained on the computer Apurchaser could even be required to agree to return thepiece if it should become needed for scientific purposes.
　　It would be unrealistic to suggest that illegal digging（50） would stop if artifacts were sold on the open market.But the demand for the clandestine¹⁶ product would besubstantially reduced. Who would want an unmarkedpot when another was available whose provenance¹⁷ wasknown， and that was dated stratigraphically by theprofessional archaeologist who excavated it？

　　1. The primary purpose of the passage is to propose
　　　（A） an alternative to museum display of artifacts
　　　（B） a way to curb¹⁸ illegal digging while benefiting the archaeological profession
　　　（C） a way to distinguish artifacts with scientific value from those that have no such value
　　　（D） the governmental regulation of archaeological sites
　　　（E） a new system for cataloguing duplicate artifacts

　　2. The author implies that all of the following statements　about duplicate artifacts are true EXCEPT：
　　　（A） A market for such artifacts already exists.
　　　（B） Such artifacts seldom have scientific value.
　　　（C） There is likely to be a continuing supply of such artifacts.
　　　（D） Museums are well supplied with examples of such artifacts.
　　　（E） Such artifacts frequently exceed in quality those already catalogued in museum collections.

　　3. Which of the following is mentioned in the passage as a　disadvantage of storing artifacts in museum　basements？
　　　（A） Museum officials rarely allow scholars access to such artifacts.
　　　（B） Space that could be better used for display is taken up for storage.
　　　（C） Artifacts discovered in one excavation often become separated from each other.
　　　（D） Such artifacts are often damaged by variations in temperature and humidity.
　　　（E） Such artifacts‘ often remain uncatalogued and thus cannot be located once they are put in storage.

　　4. The author mentions the excavation in Cyprus （lines　31-34） to emphasize which of the following points？
　　　（A） Ancient lamps and pottery vessels are less valuable，although more rare， than royal seal impressions.
　　　（B） Artifacts that are very similar to each other present　cataloguing difficulties to archaeologists.
　　　（C） Artifacts that are not uniquely valuable， and　therefore could be sold， are available in large quantities.
　　　（D） Cyprus is the most important location for unearthing¹⁹ large quantities of salable²⁰ artifacts.
　　　（E） Illegal sales of duplicate artifacts are wide-spread，particularly on the island of Cyprus.

　　5. The author‘s argument concerning the effect of the　official sale of duplicate artifacts on illegal excavation　is based on which of the following assumptions？
　　　（A） Prospective²¹ purchasers would prefer to buy authenticated²² artifacts.
　　　（B） The price of illegally excavated artifacts would rise.
　　　（C） Computers could be used to trace sold artifacts.
　　　（D） Illegal excavators would be forced to sell only　duplicate artifacts.
　　　（E） Money gained from selling authenticated artifacts　could be used to investigate and prosecute²³ illegal excavators.

　　6. The author anticipates which of the following initial　objections to the adoption²⁴ of his proposal？
　　　（A） Museum officials will become unwilling²⁵ to store artifacts.
　　　（B） An oversupply²⁶ of salable artifacts will result and the demand for them will fall.
　　　（C） Artifacts that would have been displayed in public places will be sold to private collectors.
　　　（D） Illegal excavators will have an even larger supply of artifacts for resale.
　　　（E） Counterfeiting²⁷ of artifacts will become more commonplace.

　　7. The author implies that which of the following would　occur if duplicate artifacts were sold on the open　market？
　　Ⅰ.Illegal excavation would eventually cease completely.
　　Ⅱ.Cyprus would become the primary source of marketable duplicate artifacts
　　Ⅲ.Archaeologists would be able to publish theresults of their excavations²⁸ more frequentlythan they currently do.
　　　（A） Ⅰonly　　　
　　　（B） Ⅲ only
　　　（C） Ⅰand Ⅱonly　　
　　　（D） Ⅱ and Ⅲ only
　　　（E） Ⅰ，Ⅱ，and Ⅲ