英语六级阅读模拟练习(2)
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大学英语六级(阅读)模拟试卷2(题后含答案及解析)题型有:1. You have a wide spectrum of nutrition and lifestyle choices. It’s not all or nothing. To the degree you move in a healthful direction on this spectrum. You’re likely to feel better, look better, lose weight and gain health. People have different needs, goals and preferences. The medicine of the future is personalized medicine. What matters most is your overall way of eating and living. If you indulge yourself one day, you can eat more healthfully the next. If you’re a couch potato one day, exercise a little more the next. If you don’t have time to meditate for 20 minutes, do it for one minute —the consistency is more important than the duration. Then, you’re less likely to feel restricted. Studies have shown that those who eat the healthiest overall are the ones who allow themselves some indulgences. If you’re trying to reverse heart disease or prevent the recurrence of cancer(the “pound of cure”), then you probably need to make much bigger changes in diet and lifestyle than someone who just wants to lose a few pounds and is otherwise healthy(the “ounce of prevention”). If you want to lower your cholesterol(胆固醇)or blood pressure, you can begin by making moderate changes in diet and lifestyle. If that’s enough to achieve your goals, great; if not, then consider making bigger changes. For example, most people in this country have elevated cholesterol levels. They are initially advised to follow a diet based on the American Heart Association and National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines. For some, that’s sufficient to lower their cholesterol levels enough, but not for most people. Many are then told, “Sorry, it looks like diet didn’t work for you. “And they are prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs, which they are told they will need to take for the rest of their lives. In reality, most people can make progressively bigger changes in nutrition and lifestyle to achieve their goals —often without medications.2. Even more than feeling healthy, most people want to feel free and in control. The food police are counterproductive. If I tell people, “Eat mis and don’t eat that,”or “Don’t smoke,”they immediately want to do the opposite. It’s just human nature, and it goes back to the first dietary intervention that failed —“Don’t eat the apple”—and that was God talking, so we’re not likely to do better than that... If you go on a diet and feel constrained, you’re likely to go off it sooner or later. Offering a spectrum of choices is much more effective; then, you feel free. If you see your food choices each day as part of a spectrum, a way of living, then you are more likely to feel empowered.3. Eating bad food does not make you a bad person. The language of behavioral modification often has a moralistic quality that turns off a lot of people(like “ cheating” on a diet). It’s a small step from thinking of foods as “good”or “bad” to seeing yourself as a “good person” or a “bad person” if you eat these. The term “patient compliance” has a fascist, creepy quality to it, sounding like one person bending his or her will to another. Food is just food.4. How you eat is as important as what you eat. If I eat mindlessly while watching television, reading or talking with someone else, I can go through an entire meal without tasting the food. The plate is empty, but I didn’t enjoy it; I had all of the calories and none of the pleasure.Instead, if I eat mindfully, paying attention to what I’m eating, smaller portions of food can be exquisitely satisfying. I can meditate on a single piece of dark chocolate. Also, when you pay attention to what you’re eating, you notice how different foods affect you, for better and for worse. More healthful foods make you feel good —light, clear, energetic. Less healthful foods make you feel bad —heavy, dull, sluggish. Then, it comes out of your own experience.5. Joy of living is a much better motivator than fear of dying. Trying to scare people into changing doesn’t work very well. Telling someone that they’re likely to have a heart attack if they eat cheeseburgers or may get lung cancer if they don’t quit smoking doesn’t work very well. Efforts to motivate people to change based on fear of getting sick or dying prematurely are generally unsuccessful. Why? It’s too scary. We all know we’re going to die one day —the mortality rate is still 100 percent —but who wants to think about it? Even someone who has had a heart attack usually changes for only a few weeks before they go back to their old patterns of living and eating. When you change your diet and lifestyle, you feel good and look good. Your brain receives more blood and oxygen, so you think more clearly, have more energy and need less sleep. Your face gets more blood flow, so your skin glows more and wrinkles less. Your heart gets more blood flow, so you have more stamina and can even begin to reverse heart disease.6. What we do eat is at least as important as what we don’t eat. There are at least a thousand substances that have anticancer, anti-heart-disease and anti-aging properties. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, soy products and fish are rich in good carbohydrates, good fats, good proteins and other protective substances , leading to feelings of abundance rather than deprivation.7. It’s important to address the deeper issues that underlie our behaviors. Information is not usually enough to motivate lasting changes. If it were, no one would smoke. We need to work at a deeper level. In our studies, I asked people, “Why do you smoke? Overeat? Drink too much? Work too hard? Abuse substances? Watch too much television? These behaviors seem so maladaptive to me. “They would reply, “ You just don’t get it. These behaviors are very adaptive because they help us get through the day. “As I wrote in an earlier column, loneliness and depression are epidemic in our culture. If we address these deeper issues, then it becomes easier for people to make lasting changes in their behaviors.11.The author has proved the power of changes in diet and lifestyle by______.A.the most advanced technologyB.some simple measuresC.data collected all over the U. S.D.theoretical analysis正确答案:A解析:第一段末讲他们的研究表明“饮食和生活方式的变化对人的影响巨大”,第二段介绍了他们证明(prove how powerful…)这种“干预”(interventions)的威力的手段——最新的科技手段(the latest high technical measures)。
英语六级阅读理解模拟练习附答案六级阅读理解模拟练习一:Which is safer-staying at home, traveling towork on public transport,or working in the office?Surprisingly, each of these carries the same risk,which is very low. However, what about flyingcompared to working in the chemical industry?Unfortunately, the former is 65 times riskier thanthe latter! In fact, the accident rate of workers inthe chemical industry is less than that of almost anyof human activity, and almost as safe as staying at home.The trouble with the chemical industry is that when things go wrong they often cause deathto those living nearby. It is this which makes chemical accidents so newsworthy. Fortunately,they are extremely rare. The most famous ones happened at Texas City (1947),Flixborough(1974),Seveso (1976), Pemex (1984) and Bhopal (1984)。
Some of these are always in the minds of the people even though the loss of life was small.No one died at Seveso, and only 28 workers at Flixborough. The worst accident of all wasBhopal, where up to 3,000 were killed. The Texas City explosion of fertilizer killed 552. ThePemex fire at a storage plant for natural gas in the suburbs of Mexico City took 542 lives, justa month before the unfortunate event at Bhopal.Some experts have discussed these accidents and used each accident to illustrate aparticular danger. Thus the Texas City explosion was caused by tons of ammonium nitrate(硝酸铵),which is safe unless stored in great quantity. The Flixborough fireball was the fault ofmanagement, which tookrisks to keep production going during essential repairs. The Sevesoaccident shows what happens if the local authorities lack knowledge of the danger on theirdoorstep. When the poisonous gas drifted over the town, local leaders were incapable oftaking effective action. The Pemex fire was made worse by an overloaded site in anovercrowded suburb. The fire set off a chain reaction os exploding storage tanks. Yet, by amiracle, the two largest tanks did not explode. Had these caught fire,then 3,000 strongrescue team and fire fighters would all have died.1.Which of the following statements is true?A.Working at the office is safer than staying at home.B.Traverlling to work on public transport is safer than working at the office.C.Staying at home is safer than working in the chemical industry.D.Working in the chemical industry is safer than traveling by air.2.Chemical accidents are usually important enough to be reported as news because ____.A.they are very rareB.they often cause loss of lifeC.they always occur in big citiesD.they arouse the interest of all the readers3.According to passage, the chemical accident that caused by the fault of managementhappened at ____.A.Texas cityB.FlixboroughC.SevesoD.Mexico City4.From the passage we know that ammonium nitrate is a kind of ____.A.natural gas, which can easily catch fireB.fertilizer, which cant be stored in a great quantityC.poisonous substance, which cant be used in overcrowded areasD.fuel, which is stored in large tanks5.From the discussion among some experts we may coclude that ____.A.to avoid any accidents we should not repair the facilities in chemical industryB.the local authorities should not be concerned with the production of the chemicalindustryC.all these accidents could have been avoided or controlled if effective measure hadbeen takenD.natural gas stored in very large tanks is always safe参考答案:DBABC六级阅读理解模拟练习二:40 years ago the idea of disabled people doingsport was never heard of. But when the annualgames for the disabled were started atStokeMandeville, England in 1948 by Sir LudwigGuttmann, the situation began to change.Sir Ludwig Guttmann, who had been driven toEngland in 1939 from Nazi Germany, had been askedby the British government to set up an injuriescenter at Stoke Mandeville Hospital near London. His ideas about treating injuries includedsport for the disabled.In the first games just two teams of injured soldiers took part. The next year, 1949, fiveteams took part. From those beginnings, things have developed fast. Teams now come fromabroad to Stoke Mandeville every year. In 1960 the first Olympics for the Disabled were held inRome, in the same place as the normal Olympic Games. Now, every four years the OlympicGames for the Disabled are held, if possible, in the same place as the normal Olympic Games,although they are organized separately. In other years Games for the Disabled are still held atStoke Mandeville. In the 1984 wheelchair Olympic Games, 1064 wheelchair athletes from about40 countries took part. Unfortunately, they were held at Stoke Mandeville and not in LosAngeles, along with the other Olympics.The Games have been a great success in promoting international friendship andunderstanding, and in proving that being disabled does not mean you cant enjoy sport. Onesmall source of disappointment for those who organize and take part in the games,however, has been the unwillingness of the International Olympic Committee to includedisabled events at Olympic Games for the able-bodied. Perhaps a few more years are stillneeded to convince those fortunate enough not to be disabled that their disabled fellowathletes should not be excluded.21. The first games for the disabled were held______after Sir Ludwig Guttmann arrived inEngland.A. 40 yearsB. 21 yearsC. 10 yearsD. 9 years22. Besides Stoke Mandeville, surely the games for the disabled were once held in______.A. New YorkB. LondonC. RomeD. Los Angeles23. In Paragraph 3, the word "athletes" means______.A. people who support the gamesB. people who watch the gamesC. people who organize the gamesD. people who compete in the games24. Which of the following statements is NOT true?A. Sir Ludwig Guttmann is an early organizer of the games for the disabled.B. Sir Ludwig Guttmann is an injured soldier.C. Sir Ludwig Guttmann is from Germany.D. Sir Ludwig Guttmann is welcomed by the British government.25. From the passage, we may conclude that the writer is ______.A. one of the organizers of the game for the disabledB. a disabled person who once took part in the gamesC. against holding the games for the disabledD. in favor of holding the games for the disabled 参考答案:21. D 22. C 23. D 24. B 25. D。
英语六级阅读理解全真模拟练习英语六级阅读理解全真模拟练习二:Most of us are taught to pay attention to what is said—the words. Words do provide us with some information, but meanings are derived from so many other sources that it would hinder our effectiveness as a partner to a relationship to rely too heavily on words alone. Words are used to describe only a small part of the many ideas we associate with any given message. Sometimes we can gain insight into some of those associations if we listen for more than words. We dont always say what we mean or mean what we say. Sometimes our words dont mean anything except “ Im letting off some steam. I dont really want you to pay close attention to what Im saying. Just pay attention to what Im feeling.” Mostly we mean several things at once. A person wanting to purchase a house says to the current owner, “This step has to be fixed before Ill buy.” The owner says, “ Its been like that for years.” Actually, the step hasnt been like that for years, but the unspoken message is: “ I dont want to fix it. We put up with it. Why cant you?” The search for a more expansive view of meaning can be developed of examining a message in terms of who said it, when it occurred, the related conditions or situation, and how it was said.When a message occurs can also reveal associated meaning. Let us assume two couples do exactly the same amount of kissing and arguing. But one couple always kisses after an argument and the other couple always argues after a kiss. The ordering of the behaviors may mean a great dealmore than the frequency of the behavior. A friends unusually docile behavior may only be understood by noting that it was preceded by situations that required an abnormal amount of assertiveness. Some responses may be directly linked to a developing pattern of responses and defy logic. For example, a person who says “No!” to a serials of charges like “Youre dumb,”“Youre lazy,” and “Youre dishonest,” may also say “No!” and try to justify his or her response if the next statement is “And youre good looking.”We would do well to listen for how messages are presented. The words, “If sure has been nice to have you over,” can be said with emphasis and excitement or ritualistically. The phrase can be said once or repeated several times. And the meanings we associate with the phrase will change accordingly. Sometimes if we say something infrequently it assumes more importance; sometimes the more we say something the less importance it assumes.1.Effective communication is rendered possible between two conversing partners, if ___.A.they use proper words to carry their ideas.B.they both speak truly of their own feelings.C.they try to understand each others ideas beyond words.D.they are capable of associating meaning with their words.2.“Im letting off some steam” in paragraph 1 means___.A.Im just calling your attention.B.Im just kidding.C.Im just saying the opposite.D.Im just giving off some sound.3.The house-owners example shows that he actually means___.A.the step has been like that for years.B.he doesnt think it necessary to fix the step.C.the condition of the step is only a minor fault.D.the cost involved in the fixing should be shared.4.Some responses and behaviors may appear very illogical, but are justifiable if___.A.linked to an abnormal amount of assertiveness.B.seen as ones habitual pattern of behavior.C.taken as part of an ordering sequence.D.expressed to a series of charges.5.The word “ritualistically” in the last paragraph equals something done___.A.without true intention.B.light-heartedly.C.in a way of ceremony.D.with less emphasis.答案:DBABC。
六级阅读考前模拟训练(2)六级阅读考前模拟训练(2)今天我们接着做阅读的练习,看看今天大家做得怎么样.Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.?Passage 1Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage:?In a sense, the new protectionism is not protectionism at all, at least not in the traditional sense of the term. The old protectionism referred only to trade restricting and trade expanding devices, such as the tariff or export subsidy. The new protectionism is much broader than this: it includes interventions into foreign trade but is not limited to them. The new protectionism, in fact, refers to how the whole of government intervention into the private economy affects international trade. The emphasis on trade is still there, thus came the term “protection.” But what is new is the realization that virtually all government activities can affect international economic relations.?The emergence of the new protectionism in the Western world reflects the victory of the interventionist, or welfare economy over the market economy. Jab Tumiler writes,“The old protectionism…coexisted, without any apparent intellectual difficulty with the acceptance of the market as a national as well as an international economic distribution mechanism — indeed,protectionists as well as (if not more than) free traders stood for laissez faire(放任政策). Now, as in the 1930s, protectionism is an expression of a profound skepticism as to the ability of the market to distribute resources and incomes to societies sat。
英语六级考试阅读理解模拟题及答案(2)文章精要文章指出,目前美国大学在录取新生时,仍然比较看重分数。
在一些学校里由于奖学金政策的执行,学生的分数迅速攀升。
考试的拥护者指出,考试有必要存在,因为它给学生提供了展示自我的平台,而这也无疑会给学生带来巨大的压力。
答案解析1. E 本题的出题点在E段的最后一句话,属于数字题。
从原文可以看出,申请者的人数为47,317,而获得4.0或者4.0以上分数者的人数接近23,000,由此可知比例接近50%。
2. F 本题是F段的总结。
原文提到,对学生的选拔最为严格的学校也越来越难以参与到降低标准考试的影响的活动中来,也就是说,这些学校很难降低标准考试的影响。
3. K 本题的出题点在K段的最后两句话,属于数字题。
More than 30 years ago可推测应该是上世纪七八十年代,对应原文的1975年;从原文可以看出,在大一新生中,2005年在高中取得A或者更好成绩的人数差不多是总人数的!%%,而在1975年时此比例减半,大约为11.5%。
4. H 本题的出题点在H段。
原文提到最近标准考试有一些负面影响,许多学校已经停止要求用考试分数来评判学生。
题干的negative effects转述了原文的bad publicity。
5. D 本题是对D段前两句话的同义转述。
原文提到:有些人把Zalasky的努力这种现象称为“分数膨胀”,暗示他的这种进步不值得接受,而其他人认为那些学生真正赢得了好的评价,题干中的win the praise for him同义转述了原文中的earning their better marks。
6. B 本题的出题点在B段的第一句和第五句。
原文提到even Zalasky is nervous about his prospects。
接着在第五句中提到了原因:It’s that so many of his classmates are so good.由此可知题目是这两句的总结。
大学英语六级改革适用(长篇阅读)模拟试卷2(题后含答案及解析) 题型有: 4. Reading ComprehensionPart III Reading ComprehensionSection BThe Happiness Effect[A]The next time you get the flu, there will almost certainly be someone you can blame for your pain. There’s the inconsiderate co-worker who decided to drag himself to the office and spent the day sniffling, sneezing and shivering in the cubicle next to yours. Or your child’s best friend, the one who showed up for a playdate with a runny nose and a short supply of tissues. Then there’s the guy at the gym who spent more time sneezing than sweating on the treadmill before you used it.[B]You’re right to pass the blame. Pathogens(致病菌)like the influenza virus pass like a holiday fruitcake from person to person, but you probably don’t think much past the one who gave it directly to you. An infectious-disease expert, on the other hand, would not be satisfied to stop there. What about the person who passed the virus on to your colleague, the one before him and others earlier still? Contagious(传染性的)diseases operate like a giant infectious network, spreading like the latest YouTube clip among friends of friends online. We’re social animals; we share.[C]So public-health experts are beginning to wonder whether certain health-related behaviors are just as contagious as microbes. If you’re struggling with your weight, did you in effect catch a case of fat by learning poor eating and exercise habits from a friend or family member who was similarly infected by someone else? If you smoke, do you light up because you were behaviorally contaminated by smokers who convinced you of the coolness of the habit? Even more important, if such unhealthy behaviors are contagious, are healthy ones —like quitting smoking or exercising —equally so? And what if not only behaviors but also moods and mental states work the same way? Can you catch a case of happy?[D]Increasingly, the answer seems to be yes. That’s the intriguing conclusion from a body of work by Harvard social scientist Dr. Nicholas Christakis and his political-science colleague James Fowler at the University of California at San Diego. The pair created a sensation with their announcement earlier this month of a 20-year study showing that emotions can pass among a network of people up to three degrees of separation away, so your joy may, to a larger extent than you realize, be determined by how cheerful your friends’ friends’ friends are, even if some of the people in this chain are total strangers to you.[E]If that’s so, it creates a whole new paradigm for the way people get sick and, more important, how to get them healthy. It may mean that an individual’s well-being is the product not just of his behaviors and emotions but more of the way they feed into a larger social network. Think of it as health Facebook-style. “We have a collective identity as a population that transcends individual identity,”says Christakis. “This superorganism has an anatomy(解剖学),physiology, structure and function that we are trying to understand.”[F]In their most recent paper, published in the British Medical Journal, Christakis and Fowler explored the emotional state of nearly 5,000 people and the more than 50,000 social ties they shared. At three points during the long study, all the participants answered a standard questionnaire to determine their happiness level, so that the scientists could track changes in emotional state.[G]That led to their intriguing finding of just how contagious happiness can be: if a subject’s friend was happy, that subject was 15% more likely to be happy too; if that friend’s friend was happy, the original subject was 10% more likely to be so. Even if the subject’s friend’s friend’s friend —entirely unknown to the subject —was happy, the subject still got a 5.6% boost. The happiness chain also worked in the other direction, radiating from the subject out to his friends.[H]The happiness dividend is more powerful if two people not only know each other but also are equally fond of each other. Happiness is more infectious in mutual relationships(in which both people name the other as a friend)than in unreciprocated ones(in which only one is named).[I]And it’s not just in sterile(枯燥乏味的)study settings that the contagion of happiness is spreading. Christakis and Fowler noticed that people who are smiling on their Facebook pages tend to cluster together, forming an online social circle like a delirious flock of cyberbirds. And while some of this joy can certainly be traced to the copycat effect —if your friends post smiling pictures, you might feel like a grouch(不高兴的人)if you don’t too —Christakis and Fowler are analyzing the clusters to see if something more infectious might be at work.[J]Skeptics raise other concerns, ones that go beyond the copycat effect. Couldn’t happy people simply be exposed to similar lifestyles or social factors that explain their shared joy, such as favorable weather, low unemployment rates or a winning baseball team? If that were the case, argue the authors, then happiness would spread more uniformly among all the relationships; instead, it varied depending on whether the friendship was mutual or merely one-sided. As the investigators teased out these factors, they found that environment didn’t have nearly the power that relationships did.[K]The infectiousness of happiness is only the latest in a series of similar phenomena Christakis and Fowler have stud-ied. In 2007 they published a paper showing that obesity travels across webs in a similar way, with individuals having a 57% greater risk of being overweight if they have an obese friend. The same holds true for quitting smoking, with success 30% more common among friends of quitters than among friends of smokers.[L]In all these cases, there’s a predictable topography(地形)to how people influence one another, one that can be reduced to a sort of social map. People who are central to their networks —who in effect are the hub through which most of the other relationships or information flows —may have the most influence on others and in turn are the most influenced by them. But just because you start off at the center of your web does not guarantee that you’ll stay there. In the 1970s, smokers were more likely to occupy that focal position in their network of friends and family. Look at a similar social map today, and you’ll see that the smokers have drifted to the periphery(外围).[M]The better this kind of mapping becomes, the more value it has.[N]Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC)are exploiting the connectedness of youngsters in online socialnetworks, for example, to improve flu-vaccination rates, not just among those under age 18 but among all the people to whom these children have ties. “Because of their social and peer networks, children have a higher likelihood of sharing information with the most people,”says Jay Bernhardt of the CDC. By targeting youngsters on these sites with information about the importance of annual flu shots, health officials hope to trigger a literal and figurative viral wave of vaccination among the kids’ peers, their peers’ peers, and even those peers’ parents and grandparents.[O]”We are always looking for exciting new areas of research that will help people live healthier,” says Richard Suzman, director of the division of behavioral and social research at the National Institute on Aging. “Without a doubt, I see this as a very promising area.”And with the health community a web like any other, expect that idea to spread further and further.1.Environmental factors couldn’t explain people’s shared joy, because the spreading of happiness varied among different relationships.正确答案:J解析:根据题干中的explain people’s shared joy,varied将本题出处定位于[J]段第2、3句。
大学英语六级阅读模拟试题2篇.doc2018 年 12 月大学英语六级阅读模拟试题 2 篇2018 年 12 月大学英语六级阅读模拟试题 2 篇Passage 1I have never attended a large company’ boards meeting in mylife, but I feel certain that the discussion often takes the followinglines. The__1__of producing a newfor exampletoothpaste wouldmake 8 Op the decent price for it,so we will market it at l.20. It isnot a bad toothpaste (not specially good either,but not bad), and aspeople like to try new things it will sell well to start with; butthe__2__of novelty soon fades,so sales will__3__. When that startsto happen we will reduce the price to l.15.And we will turn it into abargain by printing 5p OFF all over it, whereupon people will rushto buy it even though it still costs about forty-three percent morethan its__4__price.Sometimes it is not 5p OFF but lp OFF. What a shame to advertiselp OFF your soap or washing powder or dog food or whatever. Eventhe poorest old-age pensioner ought to regard this asan insult, but he doesn ’ t.A bargain must not be__5__To be offered a gift of one penny is like being invited to dinner and offered onesingle pea (tastily cooked), and nothing else. Even if it representeda__6__reduction it would be an insult. Still, people say, one has tohave washing powder (or whatever) and one might as well buy it a大学英语六级阅读模拟试题2篇.docpenny cheaper. When I was a boy in Hungary a man was__7__ofmurdering someone for the sake of one pengo, the equivalent of ashilling,and pleaded__8__. The judge shouted__9__: To kill a manfor a shilling! What can you say in your__10__? The murdererreplied: A shilling here... a shilling there... And that ’ s what shopper says, too: A penny here... a penny there...A.missedB.defenseC.realD.costE.anxiouslyF.attractionG.fairH.expenseI. fall J.angrily K.dismissed L.accused M.guiltyN.faulty O.security答案:DFIGACLMJPassage 2Scientists at Sussex University appear to be on the wayto___1___how the mosquito,carrier of diseases such as malaria andyellow fever,homes in on its target.The problem is that they havefound that the best way to avoid being bitten is:stop breathing,stopsweating,and keep down the temperature of your immediatesurroundings.__2__the first suggestion is impossible and the othersvery difficult.Scientists have found that there are three___3___stages in amosquito ’a s sault.Stage one is at fifty feet away,when the insectfirst smells a man or a animal to___4___.Stage two is thought tocome into operation about twenty-five feet from the target,when the insect becomes guided by the carbon dioxide breathed out by the intended victim.Stage three is when the mosquito is only a matter of inches from its___5___the warmth and moisture given off by the victim is the final clue.The researchers then*___6___how repellents interfere with its three-stage attack.They found repellents act more subtly than by just giving off a nasty smell.A Canadian researcher says that repellents appear to___7___mosquitoes first when it is following the carbon dioxide and second during the final approach,where the warmth and moisture are the insect’ s___8___.Air pervaded by one of the many chemical repellents stops the mosquito reacting to the victim ’carbons dioxide,and the repellent seems to affect the tiny hairs with which the insect senses moisture in the air.The sensors are blocked so that the___9___does not know whether it is flying through a moist current,or the sensors are made to send the___10___signals.A.examinedB.animalC.wrongD.insectE.biteF.UnfortunatelyG.inventingH.distinctI.prey J.guide K.checked L.definiteM.Unnecessarily N.confuse O.discovering答案:OFHEIANJDC。
2018年12月英语六级阅读模拟试题及详解答案(二)Questions 56 to 60 are based on the followingpassage.There is a certain inevitability that ebook saleshave now overtaken paperback sales on Amazon’sUS site. Amazon’s Kindle 2 is so light and so cheapthat it’s easy to se e why people have rushed to buyit. Though I’m still not keen on the design of the Kindle, it is a vast improvement on itspredecessor and certainly tolerable. Beyond the device itself, Amazon has done a great jobof rolling out Kindle apps, ensuring that people like me-who have an iPad but not a Kindle-canstill join in the fun. Once you’re into the Kindle ecosystem, Amazon locks you in tightly-just asApple does with its iTunes/ iPod ecosystem. It’s so easy to buy from Amazon’s store and thebooks are so cheap that it’s not worth the effort of going elsewhere.While I remain opposed to Amazon’s DRM (数字版权管理)-indeed, I’m opposed to DRM onany ebooks-I have to admit that the implementation is so smooth that most Kindle userswon’t care at all that their ebooks ca n’t be moved to other devices.The ebook trend is nowhere near peaking. Over the next five years we can expect to seemore and more readers move away from printed books and pick up ebooks instead. But I don’tthink that will mean the death of the printed book.There are some who prefer printed books. They like having shelves filled with books they’veread and books they plan to read; they like the feel of the book in their hands and the differentweights and typefaces and layouts of different titles. In other words, they like the physical formof the book almost as much as the words it contains.I can sympathise with those people. As I wrote earlier this week, my ideal situation would befor publishers to bundle ebooks with printed ones-in much the same way that film studiosbtmdie DVDs with digital copies of films. There’s no reason to think that lovers of printed bookswill change their minds. There will undoubtedly be fewer of them as time goes by because morepeople will grow up with ebooks and spend little time with printed ones. However, just as thereare people who love vinyl records(黑胶唱片), even if they were born well into the CD era, therewill still be a dedicated minority who love physical books.Since there are fewer of these people, that will mean fewer bookshops and higher prices forprinted books but I don’t think the picture is entirely bleak. There is scope for smaller printruns of lavishly designed printed books and bookshops aimed at book lovers, rather than theStieg Larsson-reading masses. With mainstream readers out of the printed book market, booklovers might even findthey get a better experience.56. What can be inferred from Paragraph One?A.Most people buy Kindle 2 mainly because of its low price.B.The author of the passage is a loyal customer of Apple products.C.Amazon’s Kindle 2 surpassed Kindle 1 in designing.D.The sales of ebook outnumbered those of paperback in the U. S.57. According to the passage, the reason why the author opposes to Amazon’s DRM is that______A.ebooks can only be purchased on Amazon. comB.Kindle books are not compatible with other electronic reading devicesC.once implemented, ebooks can’t be transferred to other equipmentsD.ebooks installed on Kindle 2 can’t be edi ted freely58. It can be learned that the trend of ebooks______A.will come to stop any time soonB.will reach the summit in the near futureC.will meet its heyday when printed books dieD.has already reached its peak59. Why does the author believe that the surging sales of ebookswon’t mean the death ofthe printed book?A.Because a minority will stick to their love of printed books.B.Because the majority of book lovers won’t change their minds.C.Because people always hold nostalgic feelings towards printed books.D.Because people will return to the printed books as time goes by.60. According to the author, which of the following is TRUE about the future of printedbooks?A.They will be bundled with ebooks.B.They will no longer be available in the market.C.They will be sold in small quantity and high quality.D.They will be redesigned to cater to the masses.参考答案56.C)。
六级阅读理解模拟练习附答案六级阅读理解模拟练习1:Recent research has claimed that an excess of positive ions in the air can have an ill effect on peoples physical or psychological health. What are positive ions? Well, the air is full of ions, electrically charged particles, and generally there is a rough balance between the positive and the negative charged. But sometimes this balance becomes disturbed and a larger proportion of positive ions are found. This happens naturally before thunderstorm, earthquakes when winds such as the Mistral, Hamsin or Sharav are blowing in certain countries. Or it can be caused by a build-up of static electricity indoors from carpets or clothing made of man-made fibres, or from TV sets, duplicators or computer display screens.When a large number of positive ions are present in the air many people experience unpleasant effects such as headaches, fatigue, irritability,and some particularly sensitive people suffer nausea or even mental disturbance. Animals are also affected, particularly before earthquakes,snakes have been observed to come out of hibernation, rats to flee from their burrows, dogs howl and cats jump about unaccountably. This has led the US Geographical Survey to fund a network of volunteers to watch animals in an effort to foresee such disasters before they hit vulnerable areas such as California.Conversely, when large numbers of negative ions are present, then people have a feeling of well-being. Natural conditions that produce these large amounts are near the sea, close to waterfalls or fountains, or in any place where water is sprayed, or forms a spray. This probably accounts for the beneficial effect of a holiday by the sea, or in the mountains with tumbling streams or waterfalls.To increase the supply of negative ions indoors, some scientists recommend the use of ionisers: small portable machines, which generate negative ions. They claim that ionisers not only clean and refresh the air but also improve the health of people sensitive to excess positive ions. Of course, there are the detractors, other scientists, who dismiss such claims and are skeptical about negative/positive ion research. Therefore people can only make up their own minds by observing the effects on themselves, or on others, of a negative rich or poor environment. After all it is debatable whether depending on seismic readings to anticipate earthquakes is more effective than watching the cat.1.What effect does exceeding positive ionization have on some people?A.They think they are insane.B.They feel rather bad-tempered and short-fussed.C.They become violently sick.D.They are too tired to do anything.2.In accordance with the passage, static electricity can be caused by___.ing home-made electrical goods.B.wearing clothes made of natural materials.C.walking on artificial floor coverings.D.copying TV programs on a computer.3.A high negative ion count is likely to be found___.A.near a pound with a water pump.B.close to a slow-flowing river.C.high in some barren mountains.D.by a rotating water sprinkler.4.What kind of machine can generate negative ions indoors?A.Ionisers.B.Air-conditioners.C.Exhaust-fansD.Vacuum pumps.5.Some scientists believe that___.A.watching animals to anticipate earthquakes is more effective than depending on seismography.B.the unusual behavior of animals cannot be trusted.C.neither watching nor using seismographs is reliable.D.earthquake答案:BCDAA六级阅读理解模拟练习2:Once it was possible to define male and female roles easily by the division of labor. Men worked outside the home and earned the income to support their families, while women cooked the meals and took care of the home and the children. These roles were firmly fixed for most people,and there was not much opportunity for women to exchange their roles. But by the middle of this century, mens and womens roles were becoming less firmly fixed.In the 1950s, economic and social success was the goal of the typical American. But in the 1960s a new force developed called the counterculture. The people involved in this movement did not value the middle-class American goals. The counterculture presented men and women with new role choices. Taking more interest in childcare, men began to sharechild-raising tasks with their wives. In fact, some young men and women moved to communal homes or farms where the economic and childcare responsibilities were shared equally by both sexes. In addition, many Americans did not value the traditional male role of soldier. Some young men refused to be drafted as soldiers to fight in the war in Vietnam.In terms of numbers, the counterculture was not a very large group of people. But its influence spread to many parts of American society. Working men of all classes began to change their economic and social patterns. Industrial workers and business executives alike cut down on “overtime” work so that they could spend more leisure time with theirfamilies. Some doctors, lawyers, and teachers turned away from high paying situations to practice their professions in poorer neighborhoods.In the 1970s, the feminist movement, or womens liberation, produced additional economic and social changes. Women of all ages and at all levels of society were entering the work force in greater numbers. Most of them still took traditional womens jobs as public school teaching, nursing,and secretarial work. But some women began to enter traditionally male occupations: police work, banking, dentistry, and construction work. Women were asking for equal work, and equal opportunities for promotion.Today the experts generally agree that important changes are taking place in the roles of men and women. Naturally, there are difficulties in adjusting to these transformations.1.Which of the following best express the main idea of Paragraph 1?A.Women usually worked outside the home for wages.B.Men and womens roles were easily exchanged in the past.C.Mens roles at home were more firmly fixed than womens.D.Men and womens roles were usually quite separated in the past.2.Which sentence best expresses the main idea of Paragraph 2?A.The first sentence.B.The second and the third sentences.C.The fourth sentence.D.The last sentence.3.In the passage the author proposes that the counterculture___.A.destroyed the United States.B.transformed some American values.C.was not important in the United States.D.brought people more leisure time with their families.4.It could be inferred from the passage that___.A.men and women will never share the same goals.B.some men will be willing to exchange their traditional male roles.C.most men will be happy to share some of the household responsibilities with their wives.D.more American households are headed by women than ever before.5.The best title for the passage may be ___.A.Results of Feminist MovementsB.New influence in American LifeC.Counterculture and Its consequenceD.Traditional Division of Male and Female Roles.答案:DCBCB。
英语六级阅读理解练习6篇(附答案)二第一篇Pronouncing a language is a skill. Every normal person is expert in the skill of pronouncing his own language; but few people are even moderately proficient at pronouncing foreign languages. Now there are many reasons for this, some obvious, some perhaps not so obvious. But I suggest that the fundamental reason why people in general do not speak foreign languages very much better than they do is that they fail to grasp the true nature of the problem of learning to pronounce, and consequently never set about tackling it in the right way. Far too many people fail to realize that pronouncing a foreign language is a skill—one that needs careful training of a special kind, and one that cannot be acquired by just leaving it to take care of itself. I think even teachers of language, while recognizing the importance of a good accent, tend to neglect, in their practical teaching, the branch of study concerned with speaking the language. So the first point I want to make is that English pronunciation must be taught; the teacher should be prepared to devote some of the lesson time to this, and should get the student to feel that here is a matter worthy of receiving his close attention. So, there should be occasions when other aspects of English, such as grammar or spelling, are allowed for the moment to take second place.Apart from this question of the time given to pronunciation, there are two other requirements for the teacher: the first, knowledge; the second, technique.It is important that the teacher should be in possession of the necessary information. This can generally be obtained from books. It is possible to get from books some idea of the mechanics of speech, and of what we call general phonetic theory. It is also possible in this way to get a clear mental picture of the relationship between the sounds of different languages, between the speech habits of English people and those, say, of your students. Unless the teacher has such a picture, any comments he may make on his students' pronunciation are unlikely to be of much use, and lesson time spent on pronunciation may well be time wasted.1. What does the writer actually say about pronouncing foreign languages?A. Only a few people are really proficient.B. No one is really an expert in the skill.C. There aren't many people who are even fairly good.D. There are even some people who are moderately proficient.2. The writer argues that going about the problem of pronunciation in the wrong way isA. an obvious cause of not grasping the problem correctlyB. a fundamental consequence of not speaking wellC. a consequence of not grasping the problem correctlyD. not an obvious cause of speaking poorly3. The best way of learning to speak a foreign language, he suggests, is by_______.A. picking it up naturally as a childB. learning from a native speakerC. not concentrating on pronunciation as suchD. undertaking systematic work4. The value the student puts on correct speech habits depends upon_______.A. how closely he attends to the matterB. whether it is English that is being taughtC. his teacher's approach to pronunciationD. the importance normally given to grammar and spelling5. How might the teacher find himself wasting lesson time?A. By spending lesson time on pronunciation.B. By making ill-informed comments upon pronunciation.C. By not using books on phonetics in the classroom.D. By not giving students a clear mental picture of the difference between sounds.第二篇An industrial society, especially one as centralized and concentrated as that of Britain, is heavily dependant on certain essential services: for instance, electricity supply, water, rail and road transport, the harbors. The area of dependency has widened to include removing rubbish, hospital and ambulance services, and, as the economy develops, central computer and information services as well. If any of these services ceases to operate, the whole economic system is in danger.It is this interdependency of the economic system that makes the power of trade unions such an important issue. Single trade unions have the ability to cut off many economic blood supplies. This can happen more easily in Britain than in some other countries, in part because the labor force is highly organized. About 55 per cent of British workers belong to unions, compared to under a quarter in the United States. For historical reasons, Britain's unions have tended to develop along trade and occupational lines, rather than on an industry-by-industry basis, which makes wage policy, democracy in industry and the improvement of procedures for fixing wage levels difficult to achieve.There are considerable strains and tensions in the trade union movement, some of them arising from their outdated and inefficient structure. Some unions have lost many members because of industrial changes. Others are involved in arguments about who should represent workers in new trades. Unions for skilled trades are separate from general unions, which means that different levels of wages for certain jobs areoften a source of bad feeling between unions. In traditional trades which are being pushed out of existence by advancing technologies, unions can fight for their members' disappearing jobs to the point where the jobs of other union's members are threatened or destroyed. The printing of newspapers both in the United States and in Britain has frequently been halted by the efforts of printers to hold on to their traditional highly-paid jobs.1. Why is the question of trade union power important in Britain?A. The economy is very much interdependent.B. Unions have been established a long time.C. There are more unions in Britain than elsewhere.D. There are many essential services.2. Because of their out-of-date organization some unions find it difficult to______.A. change as industries changeB. get new members to join themC. learn new technologiesD. bargain for high enough wages3. Disagreements arise between unions because some of themA. try to win over members of other unionsB. ignore agreementsC. protect their own members at the expense of othersD. take over other union's jobs4. It is difficult to improve the procedures for fixing wage levels because______.A. some industries have no unionsB. unions are not organized according to industriesC. only 55 per cent of workers belong to unionsD. some unions are too powerful5. Which of the following is NOT TRUE?A. There are strains and tensions in the trade union movement.B. Some unions have lost many members.C. Some unions exist in the outdated structure.D. A higher percentage of American workers belong to unions than that of British workers.第三篇Although credit cards are becoming a more acceptable part of the financial scene, they are still regarded with suspicion by many as being a major part of the "live now pay later" syndrome(^Jttt). Along with hire-purchase, rental and leasing schemes, they provide encouragement to spend more money. Of course, it is only the foolhardy who yield to the temptation to live, temporarily at least, beyond their means, and suchpeople would no doubt manage to do so even without credit cards.Advertising campaigns have, however, promoted a growing realization of the advantages of these small pieces of plastic. They obviate (避免) need to carry large amounts of cash and are always useful in emergencies.All the credit card organizations charge interest on a monthly basis which may work out as high as 25 per cent a year, yet judicious purchasing using a card can mean that you obtain up to seven weeks, interest-free credit. Using the card abroad, where items frequently take a long time to be included on your account, can extend this period even further.It is worthwhile shopping around before deciding on a particular credit card. It is necessary to consider the amount of credit granted; interest rates, which may vary slightly; the number and range of outlets, though most cards cover major garages, hotels, restaurants and department stores; and of course, what happens if your card is lost or stolen. A credit card thief may be sitting on a potential goldmine particularly if there is a delay in reporting the loss of the card.However, if used wisely, a credit card can cost nothing, or at least help to tide you over a period of financial difficulty.1. Which of the following can not make you spend more money?A. Credit cards.B. Hire-purchase.C. Rental and leasing schemes.D. None of the above is right.2. The foolhardy are people who_______.A. spend more money than they haveB. spend less money than other peopleC. save moneyD. make money3. The disadvantage of credit cards is_______.A. to enable you to buy things without carrying large amount of cashB. to encourage people to spend more moneyC. to be always useful in emergenciesD. to help people tide over a period of financial difficulty4. According to the passage, credit cards are made of_______.A. paperB. goldC. plasticD. tin5. Deciding on a particular credit, you do not have to consider______.A. the amount of credit grantedB. the number and range of outletsC. the possibility of loss of moneyD. the department stores where you are going to use your credit cards第四篇More attention was paid to the quality of production in France at the time of Rene Coty. Charles Deschanel was then the financial minister. He stressed that workmanship and quality were more important than quantity for industrial production. It would be necessary to produce quality goods for the international markets tocompete with those produced in other countries. The French economy needed a larger share of international market to balance its import and export trade.French industrial and agricultural production was still inadequate to meet the immediate needs of the people, let alone long-ranged developments. Essential imports had stretched the national credit to the breaking point. Rents were tightly controlled, but the extreme inflation affected general population most severely through the cost of food. Food costs took as much as 80 percent of the worker's income. Wages, it is true, had risen. Extensive family allowances and benefits were paid by the state, and there was fulltime and overtime employment. Taken together, these factors enabled the working class to exist but allowed them no sense of security. In this discouraging situation, workmen were willing to work overseas for higher wages.The government was unwilling to let workers leave the country. It was feared that migration of workers would reduce the labor force. The lack of qualified workers might hinder the improvement in the quality of industrial products produced. Qualified workers employed abroad would only increase the quantity of quality goods produced in foreign countries. Also the quantity of quality goods produced in France would not be able to increase as part of its ualified labor force moved to other countries.1. The purpose of the passage is to_______.A. explain the French government's emphasis on quality productsB. discuss Charles Deschanel's contribution to the French industrial developmentC. compare the quality of French goods with that of foreign goodsD. show French workmen's enthusiasm to seek well-paid jobs in foreign countries2. It can be inferred from the passage that at the time of Rene Coty .A. France was still at the first stage of industrial developmentB. French workers were better paid than the workers in any other European countriesC. the unemployment rate in France was comparatively higher than that in other European countriesD. French workers were able to live better with the increase in their wages3. It is implied in the passage that at that time_______.A. France had a very large share of international marketB. the import and export trade in France was making a successful advanceC. demand and supply in France was barely balancedD. France was experiencing economic depression4. Which of the following is the best indicator of the extreme inflation in France?A. Eighty percent increase in the prices of consumer goods.B. High cost of food.C. High rents for houses.D. Lack of agricultural products.5. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?A. Rents in France were tightly controlled.B. France was flooding the international market with inferior products.C. French workers were prohibited from going abroad to find jobs.D. The migration of French workers would hinder the improvement of quality in industrial production.第五篇As a company executive(总经理) who spent ten years in federal service, I am often asked what I regard as the biggest difference between working for the government and working for a private company. My invariable response is to say that I look back on my time in government as one of the most exciting and challenging experiences of my life. Furthermore, I never worked as hard as when I was a public servant.When I worked for the government, I worked with some of the finest, most competent and most committed people I have ever met. I was impressed by the overall quality of our career civil servants then, and I still am. But one of my greatest concerns now is that I will not be able to hold this same high opinion in the future.Career public servants are leaving government in alarming numbers, and qualified replacements are becoming harder and harder to find. Good people who leave career government service are striving for highly paid positions in private enterprises.We depend on government to keep this country safe in an uncertain world, to secure justice and domestic order and to solve a host of pressing problems. We need the best possible people performing and overseeing these vital tasks. A high-quality, professional federal service has been a source of national pride for more than a century. But what we have built up during a hundred years can be lost in less time than we imagine. We can't afford to let this happen. We must act now if this country is to be assured of the quality public service it deserves.1. Career public servants are leaving government in alarming numbers. One of thereasons may be that______.A. they received lower payB. they deserved no fame and gloryC. they performed poorlyD. they worked harder than anyone else2. According to the author, _______, so I will not be able to hold this same high opiniontoward the public servants in the future.A. I never worked as hard as when I was a public servantB. I have become a company executiveC. there will not be so many competent and qualified servants in the government as we had beforeD. my time in government was not the most exciting experience in my life3. We depend on government to keep this country safe in an uncertain world, therefore,A. we should make greater contributions to the countryB. the best possible people are urgently needed to do important tasksC. we should show deep concern about the nation's futureD. we should become public servants4. If we neglect the serious problem and make no efforts, we will lose_______.A. national prideB. high-quality professional federal serviceC. good peopleD. private enterprise5. Which of the following is NOT TRUE?A. Those who work for companies are highly paid.B. More and more public servants have left the government.C. Career public servants are qualified.D. Many people of high qualities want to work in the government.According to the latest research in the' United States of America, men and women talk such different languages that it is like people from two different cultures trying to communicate. Professor Deborah Tannen of Georgetown University, has noticed the difference in the style of boy's and girl's conversations from an early age. She says that little girls' conversation is less definite than boys' and expresses more doubts. Little boys use conversation to establish status with their listeners.These differences continue into adult life, she says. In public conversations, men talk most and interrupt other speakers more. In private conversations, men and women speak in equal amounts—although they say things in a different style. Professor Tannen believes that, for woman, private talking is a way to establish and test intimacy. For men, private talking is a way to explore the power structure of a relationship.第六篇Teaching is one job where the differences between men's and women's ways of talking show. When a man teaches a woman, says Professor Tannen, he wants to show that he has more knowledge, and hence more power in conversation. When a woman teaches another woman, however, she is more likely to take a sharing approach and to encourage her student to join in.But Professor Tannen does not believe that women are naturally more helpful. She says women feel they achieve power by being able to help others. Although the research suggests men talk and interrupt people more than women, Professor Tannen says, women actually encourage this to happen because they believe it will lead to more intimacy and help to establish a relationship.Some scientists who are studying speech think that the brain is pre¬programmedfor language. As we are usually taught to speak by women, it seems likely that the brain must have a sexual bias(倾向性) in its programming,otherwise male speech patterns would not arise at all.1. In the opinion of the writer, women encourage men to talk becauseA. it will lead to more intimacy and help to establish a relationshipB. it will help to establish status with their listenersC. it will help to express more clearlyD. it will help to communicate better2. There are_______in little girls' conversation than in boys'.A. fewer doubtsB. more demandsC. more doubtsD. fewer uncertainties3. Some scientists believe that brain is pre-programmed for language. The word "pre programmed" means_______.A. programmed alreadyB. programmed before one is bornC. programmed earlyD. programmed by women4. In private conversation, women speakA. the same things as menB. less than menC. more than menD. as much as men5. The theme of this article is _______.A. women are naturally more helpfulB. men and women talk different languagesC. men talk most and interrupt other speakers moreD. little girls' conversation is less definite第一篇答案、1. C 2. C 3. D 4. C 5.B第二篇答案、1. A 2. A 3. C 4. B 5. D第三篇答案、1. D 2. A 3. B 4. D 6. C第四篇答案、1. A 2. A 3. D 4. B 5. B第五篇答案、1. A 2. C 3. B 4. B 5. D第五篇答案、1. A 2. C 3. B 4. D 5. B。
最牛英语口语培训模式:躺在家里练口语,全程外教一对一,三个月畅谈无阻!洛基英语,免费体验全部在线一对一课程:/ielts/xd.html(报名网址)RainforestsTropical rainforests are the most diverse ecosystem(生态系统)on Earth,and also the oldest. Today, tropical rainforests cover only 6 percent of the Earth’s ground surface,but they are home to over half of the planet’s plant and animal species.What Is a Rainforest?Generally speaking,a rainforest is an receives high rainfall and is dominated by tall trees. A wide range of ecosystems fall into this category, of course. But most of the time when people talk about rainforests, they mean the tropical rainforests located near the equator.These forests receive between 160 and 400 inches of rain per year. The total annual rainfall is spread pretty evenly throughout the year, and the temperature rarely dips below 60 degrees Fahrenheit.This steady climate is due to the position of rainforests on the globe. Because of the orientation of the Earth’s axis, the Northern and Southern hemispheres each spend part of the year tilted away from the sun. Since rainforests are at the middle of the globe, located near the equator, they are not especially affected by this change. They receive nearly the same amount of sunlight,and therefore heat, all year. Consequently, the weather remains fairly constant.The consistently wet, warm weather and ample sunlight give plant life everything it needs to thrive. Trees have the resources to grow to tremendous heights. and they live for hundreds, even thousands, of years. These giants,which reach 60 to 150 ft in the air, form the basic structure of the rainforest. Their top branches spread wide in order to capture maximum sunlight. This creates a thick canopy(树冠)level at the top of the forest, with thinner greenery levels underneath. Some large trees grow so tall that they even tower over the canopy layer.As you go lower, down into the rainforest, you find less and less greenery. The forest floor is made up of moss,fungi,and decaying plant matter that has fallen from the upper layers. The reason for this decrease in greenery is very simple:The overabundance of plants gathering sunlight at the top of the forest blocks most sunlight from reaching the bottom of the forest,making it difficult for robust plants to thrive.The Forest for the TreesThe ample sunlight and extremely wet climate of many tropical areas encourage the growth of towering trees with wide canopies. This thick top layer of the rainforest dictates the lives of all other plants in the forest. New tree seedlings rarely survive to make it to the top unless some older trees die, creating a“hole”in the canopy. When this happens,all of the seedlings on the ground level compete intensely to reach the sunlight.Many plant species reach the top of the forest by climbing the tall trees. It is much easier to ascend this way, because the plant doesn’t have to form its own supportingstructure.Some plant species,called epiphytes, grow directly on the surface of the giant trees. These plants,which include a variety of orchids and ferns,make up much of the understory, the layer of the rainforest right below the canopy. Epiphytes are close enough to the top to receive adequate light,and the runoff from the canopy layer provides all the water and nutrients(养分)they need, which is important since they don’t have access to the nutrients in the ground.Stranglers and ButtressesSome epiphytes eventually develop into stranglers. They grow long, thick roots that extend down the tree trunk into the ground. As they continue to grow, the roots form a sort of web structure all around the tree. At the same time, the strangler plant’s branches extend upward,spreading out into the canopy. Eventually, the strangler may block so much light from above,and absorb such a high percentage of nutrients from the ground below, that the host tree dies.Competition over nutrients is almost as intense as competition for light. The excessive rainfall rapidly dissolves nutrients in the soil, making it relatively infertile except at the top layers. For this reason,rainforest tree roots grow outward to cover a wider area, rather than downward to lower levels. This makes rainforest trees somewhat unstable, since they don’t have very strong anchors in the ground. Some trees compensate for this by growing natural buttresses. These buttresses are basically tree trunks that extend out from the side of the tree and down to the ground, giving the tree additional support.Rainforest trees are dependent on bacteria that are continually producing nutrients in the ground. Rainforest bacteria and trees have a very close,symbiotic(共生的) relationship. The trees provide the bacteria with food, in the form of fallen leaves and other material, and the bacteria break this material down into the nutrients that the trees need to survive.One of the most remarkable things about rainforest plant life is its diversity. The temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest are mainly composed of a dozen or so tree species. A tropical rainforest, on the other hand, might have 300 distinct tree species.All Creatures, Great and SmallRainforests are home to the majority of animal species in the world. And a great number of species who now live in other environments, including humans, originally inhabited the rainforests. Researchers estimate that in a large rainforest area, there may be more than 10 million different animal species.Most of these species have adapted for life in the upper levels of the rainforest, where food is most plentiful. Insects, which can easily climb or fly from tree to tree, make up the largest group(ants are the most abundant animal in the rainforest).Insect species have a highly symbiotic relationship with the plant life in a rainforest. The insects move from plant to plant, enjoying the wealth of food provided there. As they travel, the insects may pick up the plants’ seeds, dropping them some distance away. This helps to disperse the population of the plant species over a larger area. The numerous birds of the rainforest also play a major part in seed dispersal. Whenthey eat fruit from a plant, the seeds pass through their digestive system. By the time they excrete(排泄)the seeds, the birds may have flown many miles away from the fruit-bearing tree.There are also a large number of reptiles and mammals in the rainforest. Since the weather is so hot and humid during the day, most rainforest mammals are active only at night,dusk or dawn. The many rainforest bat species are especially well adapted for this lifestyle. Using their sonar, bats navigate easily through the mass of trees in the rainforest, feeding on insects and fruit.While most rainforest species spend their lives in the trees,there is also a lot of life on the forest floor. Great apes, wild pigs, big cats and even elephants can all be found in rainforests. There are a number of people who live in the rainforests, as well. These tribes—which, up until recently, numbered in the thousands—are being forced out of the rainforests at an alarming rate because of deforestation.DeforestationIn the past hundred years,humans have begun destroying rainforests at an alarming rate. Today, roughly 1.5 acres of rainforest are destroyed every second. People are cutting down the rainforests in pursuit of three major resources:Land for crops?Lumber for paper and other wood products?Land for livestock pastures?In the current economy, people obviously have a need for all of these resources. But almost all experts agree that, over time, we will suffer much more from the destruction of the rainforests than we will benefit.The world’s rainforests are an extremely valuable natural resource,to be sure, but not for their lumber or their land. They are the main cradle of life on Earth,and they hold millions of unique life forms that we have yet to discover. Destroying the rainforests is comparable to destroying an unknown planet—we have no idea what we’re losing. If deforestation continues at its current rate,the world’s tropical rainforests will be wiped out within 40 years.1. Virtually all plant and animal species on Earth can be found in tropical rainforests.2. There is not much change in the weather in the tropical rainforests all the year round.3. The largest number of rainforests in the world are located on the African continent.4. Below the canopy level of a tropical rainforest grows an overabundance of plants.5. New tree seedlings will not survive to reach the canopy level unless .6. Epiphytes,which form much of the understory of the rainforest, get all their water and nutrients from .7. Stranglers are so called because they by blocking the sunlight and competing for the nutrients.8. Since rainforest bacteria and trees depend on each other for life, the relationship they form is termed______ .9. Plant species are dispersed over a large area with the help of______.10. As we are still ignorant of millions of unique life forms in the rainforest, deforestation can be compared to the destruction of______.答案:1. N 2. Y 3. NG 4. N5. some older trees die6. the canopy layer7. kill the host tree8. symbiotic9. insects and birds/insects/birds/animals10. an unknown planet“成千上万人疯狂下载。