According to a theory advanced by researcher Paul Martin, the wave of species extinctions that occurred in North America about 11,000 years ago, at the end of the Pleistocene era, can be directly attributed to the arrival of humans, i.e., the Paleoindians, who were ancestors of modern Native Americans. However, anthropologist Shepard Krech points out that large animal species vanished even in areas where there is no evidence to demonstrate that Paleoindians hunted them. Nor were extinctions confined to large animals: small animals, plants, and insects disappeared, presumably not all through human consumption. Krech also contradicts Martin's exclusion of climatic change as an explanation by asserting that widespread climatic change did indeed occur at the end of the Pleistocene. Still, Krech attributes secondary if not primary responsibility for the extinctions to the Paleoindians, arguing that humans have produced local extinctions elsewhere. But, according to historian Richard White, even the attribution of secondary responsibility may not be supported by the evidence. White observes that Martin's thesis depends on coinciding dates for the arrival of humans and the decline of large animal species, and Krech, though aware that the dates are controversial, does not challenge them; yet recent archaeological discoveries are providing evidence that the date of human arrival was much earlier than 11,000 years ago.

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Which of the following is true about Martin's theory, as that theory is described in the passage?


It assumes that the Paleoindians were primarily dependent on hunting for survival.

It denies that the Pleistocene species extinctions were caused by climate change.

It uses as evidence the fact that humans have produced local extinctions in other situations.

It attempts to address the controversy over the date of human arrival in North America.

It admits the possibility that factors other than the arrival of humans played a role in the Pleistocene extinctions.

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正确答案：E. 它承认除了人类入侵之外，其他因素也可能在更新世物种灭绝中发挥了作用。

Martin 理论承认Paleoindians 主要依赖狩猎来生存是不对的，因为这段文字未提及，所以 A 选项错误。它也否认 Palseontienne 物种灭绝的原因是气候变化是错误的，因为它引用了Krech 的理论，即存在大规模的气候变化，所以 B 选项错误。它也没有利用人类在其他情况下造成的局部灭绝作为证据，所以 C 选项错误。它也没有尝试解决有关人类入侵北美日期的争议，所以 D 选项错误。Martin 理论承认除了人类入侵之外，其他因素也可能在更新世物种灭绝中发挥了作用，因为结合 White 的观点，可以得出这一结论，所以 E 选项正确。

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