Neandertals and ancient humans probab11ydid not compete against each other in track and field events, though we may never know for certain. But it's tempting to consider, and a recent study gives us a way to bet on the winners of such a match-up.

Ancient members of our species, Homo sapiens would probably have( 42 )long-distance races, while Neandertals might have( 42 )hilly courses and jumping events.

That's because of the shapes of their heel bones, say a team of scientists from the University of Arizona in Tucson and Harvard University. AncientHomo sapiens lived during the Stone Age. Like modern humans, these early people had short bones in the backs of their heels. The researchers say that these short heels stretched the Achilles tendons tight.

Tendons connect muscles to bones, and the Achilles tendon links the heel to the muscles in the calf. It's the thickest and strongest tendon in the body, and it helps us walk, run and jump. It's also the tendon most likely to rupture, or break! When you run, the tendon acts like a spring that stores energy as it stretches, and releases energy as it relaxes.

A tight tendon, say the scientists behind the new study, boosted that spring action and helped early human runners save energy, ( 43 )them to run far(We modern humans have the same size heels as those early Homo sapiens, so next time you run a marathon, thank your heels.)

Not so with Neandertals. A separate species fromHomo sapiens Neandertals were also around during the Stone Age but are now extinct.

The scientists say members of that ancient species had taller heels than ancient Homo sapiensor modern people. So Neandertals probably (44)pooped out faster, since their tendons required more energy. But a tall heel might have helped in other ways. The researchers hypothesize that tall heels supported Neandertals' ankles, helping them walk uphill or jump.

(45)Scientists already had a hunch that Neandertals weren't good at long-distance runningTheir bodies were shorter and stouter than those of modern people. Their inner-ear canals were smaller, too, which could have affected their balance.

The new study“provides a newline of evidence that Neandertals were not as adept at long-distance running as modern humans were, ”Herman Pontzer toldScience News. Pontzer is an anthropologist at Hunter College in New York City and did not work on the study. Anthropologists like Pontzer and David Raichlen, one of the scientists who did work on the study, want to understand humankind and its history.

(46)Raichlen and his team first brought eight trained runners into the lab to run on treadmills As the runners ran, the scientists measured how much oxygen they were using. 0xygen use can reveal how much energy the runners needed to keep up the pace, so the scientists ended up with a measurement of the energy use of the runners.

Next, the scientists measured the size of the volunteers' heel bones using MRI (47)ormagnetic resonance imaging(An MRI uses magnetic fields to peek inside the human body) The researchers used those images to connect energy use to heel size.

Then Raichlen and his team turned to the ancients. They reasoned that the Neandertals'bodies probably worked the same way as the ancient humans', so there should be a similar relationship between heel size and energy use. The researchers studied measurements from the fossilized heel bones of 13 ancient Homo sapienceand six Neandertals that lived between 30,000 and 100,000 years ago. Using those measure-ments―and using the work that matched energy use to heel size-the scientists calculate that Neandertals used more energy than the ancient people, when they ran at a constant speed.

Pontzer toldScience Newsthat why ancient people developed to run farther than Neandertals remains a mystery. Many scientists suspect that ancient people in hot climates who could run for long stretches could chase prey to exhaustion―in which case (48)long-distance running could have made it less likely that these people would starve.

• 問1 第一段落の内容と合致するものを、(A)~(D)の中から一つ選び、その記号をマークしなさい。この設問は(41)にマークすること。
  • (A)Neandertals and human's ancestors were always good competitors.
  • (B)Neandertals and ancient humans might have taken part in big track and field events.
  • (C)We may want to imagine how the two species might compete against each other.
  • (D)Research reveals the best way to be a winner in a race.
• 問2 二つの空所(42)に、この順で入る語の組み合わせとして適切なものを、(A)~(D)の中から一つ選び、その記号をマークしなさい。
  • (A)won, lost
  • (B)lost, surrendered
  • (C)lost, won
  • (D)won, dominated
• 問3 空所(43)に入れるのに最も適切なものを、(A)~(D)の中から一つ選び、その記号をマークしなさい。
  • (A)to allow
  • (B)allowing
  • (C)allows
  • (D)allowed
• 問4 下線部(44)の意味に最も近いものを、(A)~(D)の中から一つ選び、その記号をマークしなさい。
  • (A)crouched
  • (B)recovered
  • (C)tired
  • (D)ran
• 問5 下線部(45)の意味に最も近いものを、(A)~(D)の中から一つ選び、その記号をマークしなさい。
  • (A)Scientists thought that Neandertals were not fit for marathon running.
  • (B)The researchers' finding is that Neandertals cannot run as fast as humans.
  • (C)It may fairly be presumed that Neandertals are good at catching their prey in a swift manner.
  • (D)The extinction of the Neandertals was caused by the lack of an ability to continue to chase for a long time.
• 問6 下線部(46)の理由として最も適切なものを、(A)~(D)の中から一つ選び、その記号をマークしなさい。
  • (A)It is because the length of heel bones between trained runners and amateur runners is different due to the training experiences.
  • (B)It is because they wanted to clarify the correlation between oxygen use and energy consumption.
  • (C)It is because they tried to compare the skeletal development between two species.
  • (D)It is because they wanted to argue against the physiological relationship between heel bones and energy consumption.
• 問7 下線部(47)のorの用法に最も近いものを、(A)~(D)の中から一つ選び、その記号をマークしなさい。
  • (A)You should learn the culinary art, or the art of cookery.
  • (B)Takeshi is not careful or bold.
  • (C)Stand back, or I'11 punch you in the face!
  • (D)The English equivalent of that Japanese word is“inn”or“hotel”
• 問8 下線部(48)の内容と合致するものを、(A)~(D)の中から一つ選び、その記号をマークしなさい。
  • (A)It can be assumed that ancient humans are apt to chase their prey over a long distance so that the prey exhausts energy.
  • (B)It is probable that ancient humans and Neandertals might have been able to survive the Stone Age.
  • (C)Ancient people are presumed to be adept at running for along distance, and therefore there would be no fear of lack of food.
  • (D)Thanks to their long-distance running ability, those different species won't suffer from starvation.
• 問9 本文の内容に合致しないものを、(A)~(D)の中から一つ選び、その記号をマークしなさい。この設問(49)にマークすること。
  • (A)A new technique for producing /images of bodily organs reveals that modern people have shorter heel bones than those of Neandertals.
  • (B)Ancient humans are classified as a different species from Neandertals.
  • (C)The Achilles tendon is a tough but breakable tendon connecting muscles at the back of the lower part of the leg to the heel.
  • (D)A team led by Raichlen successfully measured how much oxygen competent runners use in order to calculate the length of their heels.
• 問10 本文の内容に合致するものを、(A)~(D)の中から一つ選び、その記号をマークしなさい。この設問は(50)にマークすること。
  • (A)Research shows that ancient humans consumed less energy than Neandertals when running at a constant pace.
  • (B)Neandertals and modern people have a totally different function of their heels.
  • (C)There isn't any relationship between heel size and energy consumption.
  • (D)Whether a species survives or becomes extinct is solely dependent on bodily functions.