Reconstructing the Spread of the Grain Weevil
Perhaps the most common, most widespread, and arguably most destructive pest of stored grain in history is the grain weevil Sitophilus granarius. A member of the beetle family, it is small (3-5 mm), dark, heavily built, and cylindrical in shape. It has a long snout on the front of its head, at the very end of which are its jaws. It chews a deep drill-hole down into the center of a mature grain seed, then it turns around and lays a single egg at the bottom of the hole. Each grain of wheat or barley is large enough to feed one larva through to adulthood. The empty grain shell with a large, chewed hole through which the adult weevil emerges is a distinctive feature of this insect’s damage. In archaeological digs the characteristic hollowed grain shells, as well as preserved weevil body parts, are clear evidence of the beetle’s widespread occurrence throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe nearly 8,000 years ago. Because of the beetle’s continuing importance as a major grain pest, there has been much interest and study in where it came from and how it came to be so closely associated with humans.
Various studies have tried to map the species’ spread across the globe, shadowing the spread of grain agriculture. Records are sparse, and although intriguing, they remain inconclusive. The earliest known infestations were in what is now Turkey, in 5750- 5500 B.C.E., and the eastern Mediterranean (5550 B.C.E.), and this fits neatly with the idea of a Middle Eastern origin for both grain and pest, but they were also in faraway Germany in 5140 B.C.E., long before they seemingly arrived in neighboring Egypt(2950 B.C.E.) or Greece(1650 B.C.E.). Our ideas of early agriculture are still hazy, but this disparate spread of grain weevil infestations actually gives us some interesting clues.
One suggestion is that the grain weevil was already a widespread wild species some 6,000-10,000 years ago and that it quickly moved in to take advantage of human stores of grain wherever agriculture was established. This is patently not the case, because the species cannot survive in temperate regions outside heated or at least sheltered buildings, and development from egg, through larva, to adult can only take place at the elevated temperatures found indoors.
An alternative scenario is that it became established as a pest somewhere in the warmer climate of the eastern Mediterranean or Southwest Asia, and had already, by the sixth century B.c.E., been spread far and wide by trade. Trying to track any prehistoric grain trade from archaeological evidence is now impossible, but European trade in other items like obsidian was well established at this time. This is beginning to look like the only possibility. Later evidence emphasizes the trade- route idea. The grain weevil seems to have arrived in Britain with the Roman invasion, around 47 c.E. in Londinium (present-day London), and shortly afterwards in various military outposts. The military machine offered good conditions for sustaining and transporting the beetle about the country. Notably, however, with the later withdrawal of the Romans, the beetle declined and was apparently absent from 400 c.E. until the arrival of another mainland European military force: the Norman invasion of 1066.
The likelihood is that it was climatic factors that kept the species under control, or at least subdued enough without the Roman trade network to constantly reinforce it (beetle fragments have been found in drowned grain cargoes from Imperial Roman shipwrecks dated to the second and third centuries C.E.). The grain weevil requires a temperature range of 15-35″Celsius (optimum 26- 30°C) to complete its life cycle, but Britain was just at the difficult edge of this natural limitation. Large grain stores, as existed under the Romans, might have helped insulate pockets to this comfortable temperature, but if the popular history books are to be believed, the presence of little to eat during the early Middle Ages (500-1000 C.E.) saw them disappear. The species was really a Mediterranean beetle, as was the wheat it invaded.
Even so, the original source of the grain weevil is still steeped in mystery. Unlike the biscuit beetles living in the natural habitat of spilled grass seed in birds’ nests, grain weevils were never found outside storing areas, even where the original natural precursors of wheat and barley grow wild today.
1
Perhaps the most common, most widespread, and arguably most destructive pest of stored grain in history is the grain weevil Sitophilus granarius. A member of the beetle family, it is small (3-5 mm), dark, heavily built, and cylindrical in shape. It has a long snout on the front of its head, at the very end of which are its jaws. It chews a deep drill-hole down into the center of a mature grain seed, then it turns around and lays a single egg at the bottom of the hole. Each grain of wheat or barley is large enough to feed one larva through to adulthood. The empty grain shell with a large, chewed hole through which the adult weevil emerges is a distinctive feature of this insect’s damage. In archaeological digs the characteristic hollowed grain shells, as well as preserved weevil body parts, are clear evidence of the beetle’s widespread occurrence throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe nearly 8,000 years ago. Because of the beetle’s continuing importance as a major grain pest, there has been much interest and study in where it came from and how it came to be so closely associated with humans.
According to paragraph 1, what do grain shells and grain weevil body parts found at archaeological sites reveal about grain weevils?
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
AGrain weevils’ bodies have evolved over time in ways that make them more destructive to grain supplies.
BGrain weevils had already become a major grain pest in many areas nearly 8,000 years ago.
CGrain weevils have changed the way they hollow out grain shells over time.
DGrain weevils were not always as closely associated with humans as they are today.
2
Various studies have tried to map the species’ spread across the globe, shadowing the spread of grain agriculture. Records are sparse, and although intriguing, they remain inconclusive. The earliest known infestations were in what is now Turkey, in 5750- 5500 B.C.E., and the eastern Mediterranean (5550 B.C.E.), and this fits neatly with the idea of a Middle Eastern origin for both grain and pest, but they were also in faraway Germany in 5140 B.C.E., long before they seemingly arrived in neighboring Egypt(2950 B.C.E.) or Greece(1650 B.C.E.). Our ideas of early agriculture are still hazy, but this disparate spread of grain weevil infestations actually gives us some interesting clues.
The word “sparse” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Vocabulary Questions词汇题
Afew
Bavailable
Crecent
Dunclear
3
Various studies have tried to map the species’ spread across the globe, shadowing the spread of grain agriculture. Records are sparse, and although intriguing, they remain inconclusive. The earliest known infestations were in what is now Turkey, in 5750- 5500 B.C.E., and the eastern Mediterranean (5550 B.C.E.), and this fits neatly with the idea of a Middle Eastern origin for both grain and pest, but they were also in faraway Germany in 5140 B.C.E., long before they seemingly arrived in neighboring Egypt(2950 B.C.E.) or Greece(1650 B.C.E.). Our ideas of early agriculture are still hazy, but this disparate spread of grain weevil infestations actually gives us some interesting clues.
In saying that the records are “inconclusive,” the author means there cords are
Rhetorical Purpose Questions修辞目的题
Anot recognized as official
Bby themselves not decisive
Cnot complete
Dlargely undiscovered
4
Various studies have tried to map the species’ spread across the globe, shadowing the spread of grain agriculture. Records are sparse, and although intriguing, they remain inconclusive. The earliest known infestations were in what is now Turkey, in 5750- 5500 B.C.E., and the eastern Mediterranean (5550 B.C.E.), and this fits neatly with the idea of a Middle Eastern origin for both grain and pest, but they were also in faraway Germany in 5140 B.C.E., long before they seemingly arrived in neighboring Egypt(2950 B.C.E.) or Greece(1650 B.C.E.). Our ideas of early agriculture are still hazy, but this disparate spread of grain weevil infestations actually gives us some interesting clues.
What does paragraph 2 suggest is surprising about the spread of grain weevils?
Inference Questions推理题
AThat they appeared in some places before grain agriculture had spread there
BThat they appeared first in Turkey
CThat they appeared in a country far from their origin before appearing in countries closer to their origin
DThat they appeared in Turkey and the eastern Mediterranean at around the same time
5
One suggestion is that the grain weevil was already a widespread wild species some 6,000-10,000 years ago and that it quickly moved in to take advantage of human stores of grain wherever agriculture was established. This is patently not the case, because the species cannot survive in temperate regions outside heated or at least sheltered buildings, and development from egg, through larva, to adult can only take place at the elevated temperatures found indoors.
Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
Sentence Simplification Questions句子简化题
AThis is definitely not the case because the developing egg and larva will not survive if indoor temperatures become too elevated
BIt cannot be true that developing and adult species must remain indoors in heated or sheltered buildings to survive.
CThis is definitely not the case because developing weevils require higher temperatures to survive compared to adult weevils.
DThis cannot be true because in temperate regions, the species requires the warmth of indoor temperatures to develop and survive.
6
An alternative scenario is that it became established as a pest somewhere in the warmer climate of the eastern Mediterranean or Southwest Asia, and had already, by the sixth century B.c.E., been spread far and wide by trade. Trying to track any prehistoric grain trade from archaeological evidence is now impossible, but European trade in other items like obsidian was well established at this time. This is beginning to look like the only possibility. Later evidence emphasizes the trade- route idea. The grain weevil seems to have arrived in Britain with the Roman invasion, around 47 c.E. in Londinium (present-day London), and shortly afterwards in various military outposts. The military machine offered good conditions for sustaining and transporting the beetle about the country. Notably, however, with the later withdrawal of the Romans, the beetle declined and was apparently absent from 400 c.E. until the arrival of another mainland European military force: the Norman invasion of 1066.
What is the author’s purpose in providing the information that”European trade in other items like obsidian was well established at this time”?
Rhetorical Purpose Questions修辞目的题
ATo suggest that it may not be as difficult to track the prehistoric grain trade as some people think
BTo argue that trade better explains the spread of the grain weevil through Europe than its spread through the Mediterranean
CTo support the claim that the grain trade probably began later than trade in obsidian and other items
DTo provide evidence that trade networks were sufficiently developed by that time to be a source of the spread of grain weevils
7
An alternative scenario is that it became established as a pest somewhere in the warmer climate of the eastern Mediterranean or Southwest Asia, and had already, by the sixth century B.c.E., been spread far and wide by trade. Trying to track any prehistoric grain trade from archaeological evidence is now impossible, but European trade in other items like obsidian was well established at this time. This is beginning to look like the only possibility. Later evidence emphasizes the trade- route idea. The grain weevil seems to have arrived in Britain with the Roman invasion, around 47 c.E. in Londinium (present-day London), and shortly afterwards in various military outposts. The military machine offered good conditions for sustaining and transporting the beetle about the country. Notably, however, with the later withdrawal of the Romans, the beetle declined and was apparently absent from 400 c.E. until the arrival of another mainland European military force: the Norman invasion of 1066.
According to paragraph 4, which of the following statements is true about the history of the grain weevil in Britain?
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
AThe grain weevil had probably already spread to Britain through prehistoric trade routes before the Romans arrived in 47 C.E.
BThe grain weevil spread quickly to different military stations throughout Britain after arriving in Londinium.
CThe effect of the Roman military on the spread of the grain weevil was strongest between 400 and 1066 C.E.
DThe grain weevil disappeared from Britain following the Norman invasion of 1066 C.E.
8
An alternative scenario is that it became established as a pest somewhere in the warmer climate of the eastern Mediterranean or Southwest Asia, and had already, by the sixth century B.c.E., been spread far and wide by trade. Trying to track any prehistoric grain trade from archaeological evidence is now impossible, but European trade in other items like obsidian was well established at this time. This is beginning to look like the only possibility. Later evidence emphasizes the trade- route idea. The grain weevil seems to have arrived in Britain with the Roman invasion, around 47 c.E. in Londinium (present-day London), and shortly afterwards in various military outposts. The military machine offered good conditions for sustaining and transporting the beetle about the country. Notably, however, with the later withdrawal of the Romans, the beetle declined and was apparently absent from 400 c.E. until the arrival of another mainland European military force: the Norman invasion of 1066.
The likelihood is that it was climatic factors that kept the species under control, or at least subdued enough without the Roman trade network to constantly reinforce it (beetle fragments have been found in drowned grain cargoes from Imperial Roman shipwrecks dated to the second and third centuries C.E.). The grain weevil requires a temperature range of 15-35″Celsius (optimum 26- 30°C) to complete its life cycle, but Britain was just at the difficult edge of this natural limitation. Large grain stores, as existed under the Romans, might have helped insulate pockets to this comfortable temperature, but if the popular history books are to be believed, the presence of little to eat during the early Middle Ages (500-1000 C.E.) saw them disappear. The species was really a Mediterranean beetle, as was the wheat it invaded.
According to paragraphs 4 and 5, all of the following factors probably contributed to the disappearance of the grain weevil from Britain EXCEPT
Negative Factual Information Questions否定事实信息题
Athe withdrawal of Roman military forces
Bgrain supplies lost in shipwrecks
CBritain’s relatively cold temperatures
Dfood shortages during the early Middle Ages
9
Perhaps the most common, most widespread, and arguably most destructive pest of stored grain in history is the grain weevil Sitophilus granarius. A member of the beetle family, it is small (3-5 mm), dark, heavily built, and cylindrical in shape. [■]It has a long snout on the front of its head, at the very end of which are its jaws. [■]It chews a deep drill-hole down into the center of a mature grain seed, then it turns around and lays a single egg at the bottom of the hole. [■]Each grain of wheat or barley is large enough to feed one larva through to adulthood. [■]The empty grain shell with a large, chewed hole through which the adult weevil emerges is a distinctive feature of this insect’s damage. In archaeological digs the characteristic hollowed grain shells, as well as preserved weevil body parts, are clear evidence of the beetle’s widespread occurrence throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe nearly 8,000 years ago. Because of the beetle’s continuing importance as a major grain pest, there has been much interest and study in where it came from and how it came to be so closely associated with humans.
Look at the four squaresthat indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage
It is this unusual physical feature of the beetle thatproduces all the damage to the grain.Insert Text Questions句子插入题
Where would the sentence best fit？Click on a square sentence to the passage.
10
The grain weevil is a widespread pest that feeds on grain and whose origins are somewhat mysterious.
Prose Summary Questions概要小结题
Select 3 answers
AIn some parts of the Mediterranean and the Middle East, grain weevil infestations that began about 8,000 years ago may have slowed the spread of agriculture to nearby areas.
BIt is unlikely that the grain weevil was originally a widespread wild species because it can survive only in a limited temperature range.
CGrain weevils invaded and destroyed large quantities of Mediterranean wheat during the early Middle Ages, leading to food shortages throughout Europe.
DThe earliest evidence of grain weevils is found in warm climates where agriculture is thought to have originated, but how they spread from there has been the basis for various hypotheses.
EArchaeological evidence shows that different species of grain weevil were found in Asia, Africa, and Europe, suggesting separate origins for each species.
FIt is thought that weevils spread to temperate climates by trade routes and military networks, through which weevil populations were transported and then often sustained in large grain stores.
