雅思阅读真题（Part 1）
世界最古老皮鞋：亚美尼亚洞穴5500年前牛皮鞋
本篇也叫：最古老皮鞋、最古老的鞋、史前皮鞋、亚美尼亚皮鞋、铜石并用时代皮鞋、Areni-1洞穴鞋
Part 1 · 考频：中频 · 最近考试：2024.6.8
本篇为雅思阅读真题（Part 1）《The oldest leather shoe》，共 13 题，2024.6.8雅思考试真题回忆，页面提供完整原文、题目、答案与解析，并支持在线机考模式免费练习。本页同时提供 Markdown 版本 供 AI 助手与搜索引擎直接读取。
考古学家在亚美尼亚Areni-1洞穴发现一只距今约5500年的牛皮皮鞋，比埃及金字塔还早约1000年，保存完好，由整块皮革制成，内塞草料。同洞穴还出土野山羊角、鹿骨、陶片及最古老的杏干、葡萄干等干果，为研究铜石并用时代提供珍贵资料。
A
Archeologists discovered in 2010 what is said to be the world's oldest known leather shoe. The 5,500-year-old shoe, some 1,000 years older than the Egyptian pyramids, was found by scientists excavating a huge cave, designated Areni-1, in Armenia near the border of Turkey and Iran. The shoe was part of a treasure trove of artifacts that experts say provide unprecedented information about an important and sparsely documented era: the Chalcolithic period or Copper Age, when humans are believed to have invented the wheel, as well as domesticating horses and producing other important innovations.
B
Along with the shoe, the cave yielded horns and bones of wild goats and red deer, as well as broken pottery and evidence of what may be the oldest known intentionally dried fruits: apricots, grapes, and plums. The cave, first discovered in 1997, appears to have been used primarily by powerful people of high status for keeping the Chalcolithic community's ritual objects, as well as their harvest during the winter months each year. But other people, probably acting as guards, seem to have lived in the front portion of the cave.
C
One of the lead scientists excavating Areni-1, Dr. Gregory Areshian of the University of California, Los Angeles, in the USA, said that the cave was also used by later civilizations, most recently by 14th-century Mongols, so he had assumed the shoe would be 600 to 700 years old. When separate laboratories at the University of Oxford in the UK and the University of California at Irvine in the USA carbon-dated the leather to 3653 to 3627 BC, he said, "We couldn't believe that a shoe could be so ancient."
D
The cow-hide shoe itself dates back to -3,500 BC (the Chalcolithic period) and is in perfect condition. Made from a single piece of leather and shaped to fit the wearer's foot, it contained grass—its purpose uncertain, whether to keep the foot warmer or to maintain the shape of the shoe, perhaps a precursor to the modern shoe-tree. "It is not known whether the shoe belonged to a man or woman," said lead author of the research, Dr. Ron Pinhas, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland. "As while small (European size 37; US size 7 women), the shoe could well have fitted a man from that era."
E
The cave is situated in the Vayotz Dzor province of Armenia, on the Armenian, Iranian, Nakhichevan, and Turkish borders, and was known to regional archaeologists due to its visibility from the highway below. The stable, cool, and dry conditions in the cave resulted in exceptional preservation of the various objects that were found, which included large containers holding well-preserved wheat and barley, apricots, and other edible plants. The floor of the cave was covered by thick layers of sheep dung, acting as a solid seal over the objects and preserving them beautifully over the millennia.
F
"We initially thought that the shoe and other objects were about 600-700 years old due to their remarkable condition," explained Dr. Pinhasi. "It was only through carbon dating by laboratories in Oxford, UK, and California, US, that we discovered the shoe's true age—several hundred years older than Ötzi, the famous Alpine iceman."
G
Three samples were taken to determine the absolute age of the shoe, and all tests yielded the same results. Two small strips of leather were cut from the shoe and sent for analysis to the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit and the University of California - Irvine Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Facility. Additionally, a piece of grass from within the shoe was dated at Oxford, confirming that both the shoe and the grass were of the same ancient age.
H
The shoe's discovery was credited to Armenian PhD student Diana Zardaryan of the Institute of Archaeology, Armenia, who found it in a pit alongside a broken pot and wild goat horns. Reflecting on the find, Ms. Zardaryan remarked, "I was amazed to find that even the shoe-laces were preserved." Dr. Gregory Areshian, co-director of the excavation at UCLA's Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, USA, expressed his astonishment at the state of preservation, noting, "The crusts sealed the artifacts and archaeological deposits as if they were freshly dried, just like they were put in a can."
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答案：TRUE
原文定位：The 5,500-year-old shoe, some 1,000 years older than the Egyptian pyramids, was found by scientists excavating a huge cave, designated Areni-1, in Armenia near the border of Turkey and Iran
答案：Mongols
原文定位：Dr. Gregory Areshian of the University of California, Los Angeles, in the USA, said that the cave was also used by later civilizations, most recently by 14th-century Mongols
答案：ritual objects
原文定位：The cave, first discovered in 1997, appears to have been used primarily by powerful people of high status for keeping the Chalcolithic community's ritual objects, as well as their harvest during the winter months each year
答案：600 to 700
原文定位：We initially thought that the shoe and other objects were about 600-700 years old
答案：sheep dung
原文定位：The floor of the cave was covered by thick layers of sheep dung, acting as a solid seal over the objects and preserving them beautifully over the millennia
答案：NOT GIVEN
原文定位：The cave, first discovered in 1997, appears to have been used primarily by powerful people of high status for keeping the Chalcolithic community's ritual objects, as well as their harvest during the winter months each year
答案：FALSE
原文定位：The cave, first discovered in 1997, appears to have been used primarily by powerful people of high status for keeping the Chalcolithic community's ritual objects, as well as their harvest during the winter months each year
答案：TRUE
原文定位：Dr. Gregory Areshian of the University of California, Los Angeles, in the USA, said that the cave was also used by later civilizations, most recently by 14th-century Mongols, so he had assumed the shoe would be 600 to 700 years old;When separate laboratories at the University of Oxford in the UK and the University of California at Irvine in the USA carbon-dated the leather to 3653 to 3627 BC, he said, "We couldn't believe that a shoe could be so ancient
答案：FALSE
原文定位：Made from a single piece of leather and shaped to fit the wearer's foot, it contained grass-its purpose uncertain, whether to keep the foot warmer or to maintain the shape of the shoe, perhaps a precursor to the modern shoe-tree
答案：TRUE
原文定位：The stable, cool, and dry conditions in the cave resulted in exceptional preservation of the various objects that were found, which included large containers holding well-preserved wheat and barley, apricots, and other edible plants
答案：FALSE
原文定位：The shoe's discovery was credited to Armenian PhD student Diana Zardaryan of the Institute of Archaeology, Armenia, who found it in a pit alongside a broken pot and wild goat horns
答案：TRUE
原文定位：Reflecting on the find, Ms. Zardaryan remarked, "I was amazed to find that even the shoe-laces were preserved
答案：5,500;5500
原文定位：The 5,500-year-old shoe, some 1,000 years older than the Egyptian pyramids, was found by scientists excavating a huge cave, designated Areni-1, in Armenia near the border of Turkey and Iran