大学英语六级综合-阅读(十二)
(总分60, 做题时间90分钟)
Unit 1
Passage One
One negative result of people's interference with the environment is that many kinds of animals are becoming rare. In fact, their numbers are decreasing so rapidly that they are in danger of being extinct. Because worried and concerned experts want to make sure that these animals do not disappear, an "endangered species" list has been made, and ways to save them have been started. Some types of birds, like eagles, are in danger of extinction. This is the reason why many concerned citizens have organized into groups to try to save the birds. The National Audubon Society (NAS) is one such organization.
The people of the NAS, ironically, once tried to encourage interest in birds. The present situ
The people of the NAS, ironically, once tried to encourage interest in birds. The present situ
ation indicates that they Were too successful. Nowadays the same people are looking for ways to protect the birds from the people who want to watch them. Just a few years ago, bird watchers were stereotyped as harmless but strange: people thought of all bird watchers as eccentric hunters who chased their prey with binoculars to see better with, instead of guns to shoot with. Stereotypes of bird watchers were the subjects of jokes because the general public did not find birds interesting. However, with a little education and advertising, bird watching and bird watchers really changed. Bird watching became a national pastime, an interesting hobby, a favorite way to spend leisure time.
Because of the efforts of the NAS, the numbers of amateur ornithologists(鸟类学 者) have multiplied. Now between five and ten million non-professional bird watchers search for a glimpse of a golden pheasant, a pygmy swift, or a whooping crane. In the past decade, the NAS membership has quadrupled; such an increase of four times the number in only ten years indicates a surge of enthusiasm for birds. Unfortunately, this great growth of interest has meant another kind of interest: the over-enthusiasm of some amateur ornithologists has resulted in harming the birds and their habitats, the special environments that the birds
Because of the efforts of the NAS, the numbers of amateur ornithologists(鸟类学 者) have multiplied. Now between five and ten million non-professional bird watchers search for a glimpse of a golden pheasant, a pygmy swift, or a whooping crane. In the past decade, the NAS membership has quadrupled; such an increase of four times the number in only ten years indicates a surge of enthusiasm for birds. Unfortunately, this great growth of interest has meant another kind of interest: the over-enthusiasm of some amateur ornithologists has resulted in harming the birds and their habitats, the special environments that the birds
choose. For example, both vegetation and the nesting places have been trampled; the natural places have been destroyed by the feet of the small percentage of overly enthusiastic watchers. One professional ornithologist reported that so many people have become interested in birds that one rare bird can bring a flock of bird watchers. A result is that where there were once flocks of birds, there are now only a few.
1.
We can infer from the first paragraph that ______.
A eagles are disappearing
B some people have realized the danger of extinction of some animals
C people are in danger of extinction
D endangered species include rare birds
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答案:B
推断题。文章第一段倒数第二句提到，很多关心动物的公民已经成立了组织去拯救那些濒临灭绝的鸟类，由此推断，这些人应该是意识到了动物濒临灭绝的危害性，才会成立组织去加以拯救，所以B正确。
2.
Why does the author say the people of NAS were too successful in Paragraph 2?
A Because they succeeded in encouraging interest in birds, but this interest began to endanger the birds.
B Because they were so successful in encouraging interest in birds that they were awarded by the authorities.
C Because their success was well justified by other experts.
D Because the birds benefited much from their success in encouraging people's interest in birds.
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答案:A
推断题。文章第二段开头指出，NAS的成员曾经帮助人们培养对鸟类的兴趣，但他们好像过于“成功”了；最后一段对过于成功的概念做出了解释：在NAS的努力下，业余鸟类学者的数量成倍增加，但不幸的是，这种兴趣 的增长意味着某些业余鸟类学者的过度热情会危害到鸟类及其栖息地， 由此推断，说NAS过于成功是因为他们激起的对鸟类的兴趣反过来威胁 到了鸟类，所以A正确。
3.
The word "swift" (Line 3, Par
A 3 ) most probably means ______.A. Fast.B. A bird.C. Neat.D. Tam
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答案:B
语义题。被考查词所在句指出，现在有500万到1,000万的业余鸟类观察者想要一睹红腹锦鸡、小swift或高鸣鹤的风采，而鸟类观察者想观察的肯定是鸟，由与swift并列的golden pheasant(~I腹锦鸡)和whooping crane(高鸣 鹤)也可确定swift是一种鸟(即雨燕)，所以B正确。
4.
Which word best describes the author's attitude toward people's enthusiasm in birds?
A Positive.六级阅读分值
B Neutral.
C Negative.
D Indifferent.
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答案:C
观点态度题。文章最后一段提到，那些对鸟类过度热情的观察者会威胁到鸟类的生存，由此判断，作者对人们对鸟类的狂热所持的是否定的态度，所以C正确。A(积极的)、B(中立的)、D(无关紧要的)均应排除。
5.
The best title for this article should be ______.
A Extinction of Rare Birds
B Environmental Protection
C The National Audubon Society
D Enthusiasm Endangers Rare Birds
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答案:D
主旨题。文章第一段指出，一些动物濒临灭绝，有人成立了相关组织来保护这些动物；第二、三段借助NAs的例子指出，人们对鸟类的极大兴趣威胁到了某些鸟类的生存。综合可知，本文的主旨在于，对鸟类的狂热会危及珍稀的鸟类，所以D正确。
Passage Two
An image taken of the Pacific Ocean last September is astonishing. Made using data collec
ted from satellites monitored by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, the picture shows the surface level of the Pacific as clearly as a yardstick lying across a lumpy bed. One sample of water--with a volume 30 times that of all the Great Lakes--is white, indicating that it is as much as 13 inches higher than its normal level.
El Nino experts are still striving to tackle the really big question: what is causing the abnormal El Nino behavior of the past two decades? Some said because global warming accelerates the pace of E1 Nino formation and reinforces each event. Supporters of global warming as El Nino instigator include Kevin Trenberth, a climate analyst with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. "There's evidence that global warming didn't have much impact until 1979, but now it's beginning to break through," he says.
Two additional arguments are on the table. One theory is that the recent E1 Nino epidemic is simply one of nature's climatic tiffs, but that we haven't been heating the tune long enough to recognize the change in key. One problem is that historical data on El Nino is sketchy prior to the early 1970s and almost nonexistent going back more than 50 years. I
El Nino experts are still striving to tackle the really big question: what is causing the abnormal El Nino behavior of the past two decades? Some said because global warming accelerates the pace of E1 Nino formation and reinforces each event. Supporters of global warming as El Nino instigator include Kevin Trenberth, a climate analyst with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. "There's evidence that global warming didn't have much impact until 1979, but now it's beginning to break through," he says.
Two additional arguments are on the table. One theory is that the recent E1 Nino epidemic is simply one of nature's climatic tiffs, but that we haven't been heating the tune long enough to recognize the change in key. One problem is that historical data on El Nino is sketchy prior to the early 1970s and almost nonexistent going back more than 50 years. I
f one looks back further, however, fossil evidence suggests that something about E1 Nino has indeed changed. Fossil records of coral in the Galapagos Islands show that some 4,000 years ago, an El Nino occurred only every 60 years or so. Studies of tree rings and ice cores indicate a more recent cycle of seven years, still much less frequent than the present cycle of every three or four years.
Records are accurate enough to show that we're in the second El Nino intensive era of the past 100 years. The first was during the 1920s and 30s, and probably was responsible for the Dust Bowl, when drought destroyed hundreds of farms in Oklahoma and north Texas. The second seems to have started around 1976. These shifts seem to be due to periods of natural warming in the Pacific. The warming does not necessarily cause El Nino but certainly amplifies it, creating the appearance of more and more severe El Ninos.
Records are accurate enough to show that we're in the second El Nino intensive era of the past 100 years. The first was during the 1920s and 30s, and probably was responsible for the Dust Bowl, when drought destroyed hundreds of farms in Oklahoma and north Texas. The second seems to have started around 1976. These shifts seem to be due to periods of natural warming in the Pacific. The warming does not necessarily cause El Nino but certainly amplifies it, creating the appearance of more and more severe El Ninos.
6.
The picture as depicted by the author in the first paragraph seems to be ______.
A fairly reassuring
B very bleak
C rather shocking
D quite exceptional
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答案:C
细节题。文章第一段第一句提到，去年九月在太平洋上拍摄的景象让人震惊，故选C。
7.
The idea of the "global warming as El Nino instigator" (Line 4, Par
A 2) roughly refers to ______.A. the contribution of global warming to the occurrence of El NinoB. the unusual behavior of El Nino in the past two decadesC. the caution shown by authorities against the destruction of El NinoD. the accurate forecast for the approach of El Nino
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答案:A
语义题。文章第二段提到，厄尔尼诺专家仍在分析是什么导致了过去20年问反常的厄尔尼诺现象的发生，有人认为全球气候变暖加速了厄尔尼诺的形成，并使情况越来越严重，global warming as El Nino instigator的一位支持者表示，全球气候变暖最近产生了很大的影响，综合推断可知，被支持的观点是：全球气候变暖导致了厄尔尼诺现象的发生，故选A。
8.
The reason why it is difficult to explain the odd E1 Nino behavior may be ______.
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