It was once assumed that all living things could bedivided into two fundamental

游客2024-01-13  23

问题 It was once assumed that all living things could be
divided into two fundamental and exhaustive categories.
Multicellular plants and animals, as well as many unicellu-
lar organisms, are eukaryotic—their large, complex cells
(5) have a well-formed nucles and many organelles. On the
other hand, the true bacteria are prokaryotic cell, which
are simple and lack a nucleus. The distinction between
eukaryotes and bacteria, initially defined in terms of
subcellular structures visible with a microscope, was ulti-
(10) mately carried to the molecular level. Here prokaryotic and
eukaryotic cells have many features in common. For
instance, they translate genetic information into proteins
according to the same type of genetic coding. But even
where the molecular processes are the same, the details in
(15) the two forms are different and characteristic of the respec-
tive forms. For example, the amino acid sequences of vari-
ous enzymes tend to be typically prokaryotic or eukaryotic.
The differences between the groups and the similarities
within each group made it seem certain to most biologists
(20) that the tree of life had only two stems. Moreover, argu-
ments pointing out the extent of both structural and func-
tional differences between eukaryotes and true bacteria
convinced many biologists that the precursors of the
eukaryotes must have diverged from the common
(25)ancestor before the bacteria arose.
Although much of this picture has been sustained by
more recent research, it seems fundamentally wrong in one
respect. Among the bacteria, there are organisms that are
significantly different both from the cells of eukaryotes and
(30)from the true bacteria, and it now appears that there are
three stems in the tree of life. New techniques for deter-
mining the molecular sequence of the RNA of organisms
have produced evolutionary information about the degree
to which organisms are related, the time since they diverged
(35) from a common ancestor, and the reconstruction of ances-
tral versions of genes. These techniques have strongly
suggested that although the true bacteria indeed form a
large coherent group, certain other bacteria, the archaebac-
teria, which are also prokaryotes and which resemble true
(40) bacteria, represent a distinct evolutionary branch that
far antedates the common ancestor of all true bacteria.

选项 A、detailing the evidence that has led most biologists to replace the trichotomous picture of living organisms with a dichotomous one
B、outlining the factors that have contributed to the current hypothesis concerning the number of basic categories of living organisms
C、evaluating experiments that have resulted in proof that the prokaryotes are more ancient than had been expected.
D、summarizing the differences in structure and function found among true bacteria, archaebacteria, and eukaryotes
E、formulating a hypothesis about the mechanisms of evolution that resulted in the ancestors of the prokaryotes

答案 B

解析 The best answer is B. The first paragraph reviews inquires leading to the hypothesis that two categories of organism exist; the second explains how “more recent research” (line 27) supports a three-category hypothesis. Thus, the passage is primarily concerned with outlying factors contributing to the current hypothesis about the number of such categories. Choice A is wrong because the passage describes the replacement of a dichotomous with a dichotomous model, not the reverse. C is wrong because the passage mentions no experimental proof that the prokaryotes were older than expected; D is wrong because the passage only briefly discusses the structure and function of eukaryotes and prokaryotes, never mentioning those of archaebateria. E is wrong because the passage mentions no particular “mechanisms of evolution” that created the ancestors of the prokaryotes.
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