The world's earliest known fish hooks (钩) show that humans fished in the open sea for much longer than previously thought.Past studies have shown that early humans were able to cross the open ocean as far back as 50,000 years ago，but evidence that they could fish while in the open sea dated back only to 12,000 years ago.

　　"In most areas of the world，evidence for our early ancestors' coastal exploitation was drowned by rising sea level，" said researcher Sue O'Connor.

　　Now O'Connor and her colleagues have found evidence of prehistoric fishing tools and the remains of large fish such as tuna at a cave shelter known as Jerimalai，located in the Southeast Asian island nation of East Timor.Their discovery uncovered fishing hooks made from bone that date back to about 42,000 years ago.

　　"It's possible that people caught the tuna in the deep channel that lies off the coast of the Jerimalai shelter，" O'Connor said.

　　The site，first uncovered in 2005，also included bone points，shell beads，the remains of fish，turtles，bats and birds，and nearly 10,000 stone tools.The island of Timor has very few land animals overall and only small birds call the island home，perhaps explaining why the ancient people here went fishing.About half the fish remains at the site came from fish such as tuna.Catching such fast­moving fish requires much planning and complex technology，suggesting that early humans developed these skills earlier than previously thought.

　　Some other scientists might say that most of the fish bones seen are from young fish，and thus might have been caught more easily off the coast as opposed to in open waters.While this may be the case，it's still not easy to catch tuna-it requires nets set in deep water.

　　语篇解读　新的研究发现把人类开始深海捕鱼的年代提前了3万年。

　　1．According to Sue O'Connor，evidence for our early ancestors' coastal exploitation________.

　　A．indicated tuna was a common dish for our early ancestors

　　B．showed the trend of sea movement

　　C．was buried in cave shelters

　　D．was difficult to find

　　解析：　推理判断题。根据文章第二段的was drowned by rising sea level可知，远古人沿海探索的痕迹都被上升的海水所淹没，因此证据很难找到。

　　答案：　D

　　2．Sue O'Connor's study advanced the date of humans' fishing in the open sea by________.

　　A．50,000 years B．42,000 years

　　C．30,000 years D．12,000 years

解析：　推理判断题。结合文章第一段的evidence that they could fihs while in the open sea