2015年职称英语之阅读理解24篇重点文章(精心整理)

理工A级：第三十四篇Batteries Built by Viruses（理工A）What do chicken pox，the common cold, the flu，and AIDS have in common? They‟re all disease caused by viruses, tiny microorganisms that can pass from person to person．It's no wonder that when most people think about viruses, finding ways t0 steer clear of viruses is what's on people's minds．Not everyone runs from the tiny disease carders, though．In Cambridge, Massachusetts, scientists have discovered that some viruses can be helpful in an unusual way．They are putting viruses to work, teaching them to build some of the world's smallest rechargeable batteries．Viruses and batteries may seem like an unusual pair，but they're not so strange for engineer Angela Belcher，who first came up with the idea．At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, she and her collaborators bring together different areas of science in new ways．In the case of the virus-built batteries, the scientists combine what they know about biology, technology and production techniques．Belcher's team includes Paula Hammond，who helps put together the tiny batteries, and Yet-Ming Chiang，an expert on how to store energy in the form of a battery．“We‟re working on things we traditionally don‟t associate w ith nature．”says Hammond．Many batteries are already pretty small．You can hold A, C and D batteries in your hand．The coin—like batteries that power watches are often smaller than a penny．However。

2015全国职称英语等级考试必看_卫生类__阅读理解__译文第四部分阅读理解第一部分 (ABC级)第一篇第一篇：纳米保健技术走向贫困国家纳米技术的应用对象都是分子级和原子级的物质。

如今，长度为一纳米，即十亿分之一米的粒子已被开发出多种用途，如制造美容产品和抗污型服装等。

但其中一个领域科学家认为潜力尤为巨大，那就是医药领域。

•在上周于华盛顿Woodrow Wilson国际中心召开的一个项目会议上，科学家们探讨了如何将纳米技术应用于贫困国家人口保健的事宜。

来自多伦多大学的Peter Singer声称一项名为量子点的纳米技术可被应用于疟疾的诊断。

相对于传统的仅用显微镜观察血液样本的方法，此技术要先进得多。

由于贫困国家往往没有条件应用此项新技术，许多健康人被误诊为疟疾患者，而药物的滥用又导致了抗药性的产生。

所谓量子点是指一些被激活后会发光的粒子，如今科学家正在研究为它们编程的方法，以便当靶分子存在的时候就能够通过发光来诊断疾病。

纳米技术的优越性不光体现在疾病的诊断，还包括疾病的治疗。

国立卫生研究所的Piotr Grodzinski与大家共同探讨了如何运用纳米技术来增强药效。

以一些已经使用了纳米技术的抗癌药物为例，他指出，如果药物可以针对癌症病灶而不是整个人体，治疗所需药量就会大大减少，副作用也会降低。

Andrew Maynard是Woodrow Wilson中心新兴的纳米技术工程部骨干科学家，他注意到巴西、印度、中国及南非正在开发可被贫困国家所应用的纳米技术。

与此同时他指出，与较大分子不同，纳米材料的颗粒在人体内和体外环境中的作用可能有所不同，因此纳米技术的应用存在一定风险，若要深入研究这些风险则需要更大的资金投入。

第二篇：医学期刊医学杂志医学杂志是向医生和其他医务人员提供医学信息的出版物。

在过去，这些杂志只有印刷版。

随着电子出版的发展，许多医学杂志现在都有网站了，有些杂志只有网络版。

少数的医学杂志，如《美国医学会杂志》，被看做是普通医学杂志，因为它们涵盖了医学的许多领域。

1Ford Abandons Electric Vehicles汽车公司停止生产（given up）电池动力汽车不会是工具（not be）Toyota and Nissan仍在生产（Toyota and Nissan）混合动力汽车里程更长（more miles）汽车生产商希望允许生产更多（allow more）2World Crude Oil Production May Peak a Decade Earlier Than Some Predict 点燃很刺激（stimulated）石油产量峰值时开始下降（decline after global）现实准确（realistic）新研究成果2014年（in 2014）赫尔伯特模型科威特（Kuwaiti）4Motoring Technology事故与新燃料（new fuels）交通事故司机的失误（mistakes）安全设施不包括挡风玻璃（Windscreens）实现机器人司机还要时间（take some time）5Late-night Drinking咖啡是刺激物（stimulant）咖啡减半（halves）三段在睡觉（on sleep）四段少激素（less hormone）作者吃晚饭（supper）6Making Light of Sleep闹钟24小时周期（cycle of 24 hours）二段青春期（adolescents）三段很不利（bad effect）四五闹钟与自动（alarm clock automatically）最后两段眼睛有一个（had one）7Sugar Power for Cell Phones1段细胞大量生产（mass production）维持酶（keeping enzymes）5段葡萄糖进入袋子（glucose pocket）燃料细胞是开始（beginning）最后一段需要时间（time）8Eiffel Is an Eyeful艾菲尔铁塔来涂鸦（scribble）浪费时间很奇怪（wasting time ）Richard有数字（747，19，4）建塔目的是研究（research）创造想象（imagine）9An Essential scientific process2015新增Excess意思为extra食物不能通过气孔foodEssential scientific processr指的是光合作用photosynthesis 发展方式是过程解释explaining a process另外标题为How photosynthesis10Young Female Chimps Outlearn Their Brothers捕白蚁母亲教（mothers）工具是蔬菜（Vegetables）雌猩猩捕更多（Females，more）雄猩猩是猎手和斗士（fighters and hunters）捕食猴子不正确（hunt monkeys）11When Our Eyes Serve Our Stomach第一段饱食了（stomach-full）要延迟两组（two groups）作者说大脑（brains）实验结果闪太快（too fast）推断出需要（need）12Florida Hit by Cold Air Mass一二段没提温度（temperature）第二段南佛罗里达降温（South Florida）king被寒流袭击（sudden cold）Governor Jeb来鼓励（encourage）最后一段弗罗里达（Florida）13Invisibility Ring哈利波特搞发明（invent）微波波长长（longer）隐形装置反射光（bounce off）coaster去保护（protect）隐形斗篷与微波（microwaves）14Japanese Car Keeps Watch for Drunk Drivers概念车与引擎（ignition system）V olvo呼汽酒精监测器（breathalyzer）第4段是否需要（needs）Doi减少死亡率（fatality rate）第6段车将自动（automatically）15Winged Robot Learns to Fly第二段有数据（data）机器人获得高度（gained height）机器人不会飞（never really fly）运动探测仪测高度（movement detector）最后一段都是对的（All the above）16Japanese Drilling into Core of EarthUnzen山1991爆发（1991）预测不是目的（predicting）原因有活火山（living volcanoes）地点在半山腰（half way up the mountain）标题是中心的孔（a hole）17A Sunshade for the Planet前2段科学家们有办法（some options）不想人们认为已解决（solved）美沙酮很有效（effective）Stephen涂防晒霜（sunscreen）防晒霜不减少（decreases）18Thirst for Oil克服依赖因为石油减少（decreasing）第2段没说环境不好（environmentally unfriendly）美国消费汽油最大（The United States）专家们说能源危机（energy crisis）燃料不使海平面上升（sea level）19Musical Robot Companion Enhances Listener Experience 前三段Shimi不是发明者（creator）Shimi会选择（selects）Shimi有创新（creative）作者描述研究中心（research center）Weinberg想象Shimi进家庭（in homes）20Explorer of the Extreme DeepAlvin是潜艇（submersible）6,500不对（6,500）海洋很神秘（the ocean）HOV和Alvin形似（Shape）HOV和Alvin两种不同（Both）21Plant Gas沼气缺氧（oxygen-free）测沼气要氧浓度相同（halves）温度与释放量成正比（on sleep）沼气没有微生物（Microbes）沼气有益是更少（Less）22Real-World Robots2015新增今天为how人工智能是程序program发展方向更智能behavior action现代机器人是虚构fictionalHumanoid的特征form or characteristics23Powering a City? It’s a Breeze荷兰木木（Wooden）涡轮机高科技（high-tech）最小的不用吊车（without a crane）荷兰国小人多（small，large）风力发电安在后院（installed，backyard）25Eat to Live童年减肥不正确（childhood）二段证明影响（effect）老鼠得炎症（inflammation）老年老鼠最有兴趣（old age）后两段节食（dieting）26Male and Female Pilots Cause Accidents Differently 大学研究关系（relation）性别差异不正确（gender differences）研究者进行研究（studied）女飞行员起飞或降落失控（and stalling ）男女对比男易错（decision-making）27Driven to Distraction不开车不可能撞到人（impossible）三四段全正确（All）五段有处理（deal with）六段有方法（best ways）男爱笼统女爱线路（general，route）28Sleep Lets Brain File Memories睡眠帮助记忆吗？（useful order）新皮海马相作用（work together）第四段很穷（poorer）越萎缩记忆越差（more shrinks ,poorer ）健身水平（levels）29I'II Be Bach2014新增大卫编古典（classical）大卫创歌剧（opera）大卫编数据（database）作曲家创旋律（melodies ）艾米是软件（software）艾米更辛苦（more work）30Digital Realm语音识别在初级（initial stage）第二段有思想（our thoughts）发展数码（development ，digital world）四段什么都有（All of the above）个性市场满足需要（tailored）31Hurricane Katrina飓风眼有中心（central）二段温暖又平静（warm and calm）drive三段来提供（supply）热带低压（Low ）经济大萧条不正确（great depression）32Mind-reading Machine神经元发送信息（Neurons）大脑开发不是作者意思（brain develops）句意被标记（marking）两人实验（Two）标题有扫描（Scanned）33Experts Call for Local and Regional Control of Sites for Radioactive Waste 替换请撤消（Canceling）地方政府去安置（local people and states）决定被接受不正确（accepted）四段地点来适应（suit）意思来自地方（regional ）3,24 2014年已考，未整理。

第十七篇Eiffel Is an EyefullSome 300 meters up, near the Eiffel Tower's wind-whipped summit the world comes to scribble. Japanese , Brazilians , Americans - they graffiti their names , loves and politics on the cold iron - transforming the most French of monuments into symbol of a world on the move.With Paris laid out in miniature below,,it seems strange that visitors would father waste time marking their presence than admiring the view. But the grafriti also raises a question : Why , nearly 114 years after it was completed . and decades after it ceased to be the world's tallest structure ,is la Tour Eiffel still so popular ?The reasons are as complex as the iron work that graces a structure some 90 stories high. But part of the answer is, no doubt, its agelessness. Regularly maintained, it should never rust away. Graffiti is regularly painted over, but the tower lives on." Eiffel represents Paris and Paris is France. It is very symbolic " , says Hugues Richard , a 31-year-old Frenchman who holds the record for cycling up to the tower's second floor - 747 steps in 19 minutes and 4 seconds . without touching the floor with his feet. "It's iron lady . It inspires us " , he says.But to what? After all , the tower doesn't have a purpose. It ceased to be the world's tallest in 1930 when the Chrysler Building went up in New York. Yes, television and radio signals are beamed from the top , and Gustave Eiffel, a frenetic builder who died on December 27 , aged 91 , used its height for conducting research into weather , aerodynamics and radio communication.But in essence the tower inspires simply by being there - a blank canvas for visitors to make of it what they wi11. To the technically minded's , it's an engineering triumph. For lovers, it's romantic ."The tower will outlast.all of us, and by a longway'6 " .says Isabelle Esnous , whose companymanages Eiffel Tower.l. Why does the author think the Eiffel Tower istransformed into symbol of a world on the move ?A) Tourists from all over the world come to theEiffel Tower by car or by plane.B) Tourists of all naUionalities come toscribble on the cold iron of the tower.C) The Eiffel Tower is the tallest building in theworld.D) The Eiffel Tower represents all the towers inthe world.2. What seems strange to the author?A) Visitors prefer wasting time scribbling toenjoying the viewB) Visitors spends much time watching otherpeople scribbling.C) Only Japanese,Brazilians and Americans liketo mark their presence.D) Scribbling spread from country to country.3. Which statement is NOT true of Hugues Richard?A) He is a cyclist.B) He is a record holder.C) He climbed 747 steps up the tower in 19minutes and 4 seconds.D) He cycled up to the tower's second floor.4. What did the builder use the Eiffel Tower for?A) Sending radio and television signals all overthe world.B) Conducting research in various fields.C) Giving people inspiration. D)Demonstrating French culture.5. Which of the following is nearest in meaning to" ( The Eiffel Tower is like ) a blank canvas forvisitors to make of it what they will"?A) Visitors can do whatever they want on thetower.B) Visitors can paint on the tower whatever theywant.C) Visitors can imagine freely what thetower represents.D) Visitors can draw on a blank canvas providedby the Tower management company.第十八篇Goal of American EducationEducation is an enormous and expensive partof American life. Its size is matched by its variety.Differences in American schools compared withthose found in the majority of other countries lie inthe fact that education here has long been intendedfor everyone - not just for a privileged elite. Schoolsare expected to meet the needs of every child ,regardle ss of ability . and also the needs of societyitself. This means that public schools offer more thanacademic subjects. It surprises many people whenthey come here to find high schools offering suchcourses as typing, sewing, radio repair, computerprogramming or driver training, along withtraditional academic subjects such as mathematics,history, and languages. Students choose theircurricula depending on their interests, future goals,and level of ability. The underlying goal of Americaneducation is to develop every child to the utmost ofhis or her own possibilities, and to give each one asense of civic and community consciousness.Schools have traditionally played an importantrole in creating national unity and " Americanizing"the millions of immigrants who have poured into thiscountry from many different backgrounds andorigins. Schools still play a large role in thecommunity. especially in the small towns.The approach to teaching may seem unfamiliarto many, not only because it is informal, but alsobecause there is not much emphasis on leaming facts.Instead, Americans try to teach their children tothink for themselves and to develop their ownintellectual and creative abilities. Students spendmuch time, learning how to use resource materials,libraries. statistics and computers. Americans believethat if children are taught to reason well and toresearch well , they will be able to find whateverfacts they need throughout the rest of their lives.Knowing how to solve problems is considered moreimportant than the accumulation of facts.This is America's answer to the searchingquestion that thoughtful parents all over the worldare asking themselves in the fast-moving time : "How can one prepare today's child for a tomorrowthat one can neither predict nor understand? "l. Which of the following best states the goal ofAmerican education?A) To teach every leamer some practical skills.B) To provide every leamer with rich knowledge.C) To give every student the opportunity tofully develop his/her abilityD) To train every student to be a responsiblecitizen2. It is implied in the passage thatA) all high-school students take the samecoursesB) every high-school student must take somepractical ability training coursesC) every public school offers che sameacademic subjectsD) the subjects every student takes may vary3. American schools place great emphasis on theleamer'sA ) enrichment of knowledgeB) accumulation of factsC) acquisition of the ability to be creativeD) acquisition of the ability to work with his hands4. According to the passage. American education meets the needs of all the following EXCEPT.A) the brightest studentsB) the slow studentsC) the students from foreign counfriesD) the immigrants5. Which of the following best states the feature of American education that makes it different from education in other countries?A) Th e large number of its schools.B) The variety of the courses offered in its schools.C) Its special consideration given to immigrants.D) Its underlying goal to develop every child's abilities to the fullest extent.第十九篇The FamilyThe structure of a family takes different forms around the world and even in the same society. The family's form changes as it adapts to changing social and economic influences. Until recently, the most common form in North America was the nuclear family. consisting of a married couple with their minor children. The nuclear family is an independent unit. It must be prepared to fend for itself. Individual family members strongly depend on one another. There is little help from outside the family in emergencies. Elderly relatives of a nuclear family are cared for only if it is possible for the family to do so. In North America, the elderly often do not live with the family; they live in retirement communities and nursing homes.There are many parallels between the nuclear family in industrial societies. such as North America, and of families in societies such as that of the Inuits.who live in harsh environments. The nuclear familystructure is well adapted to a life of mobility. Inharsh conditions, mobility allows the family to huntfor food. For North Americans, the hunt for jobsand improved social stalus also requires mobility.The nuclear family was not always the NorthAmerican standard. In a more agrarian time. Thesmall nuclear family was usually part of a largerextended family. This might have includedgrandparents, mother and father, brothers and sisters.uncles, aunts, and cousins. In North America today ,there is a dramatic nse in the number of single-parenthouseholds. Twice as many households in theUnited States are headed by divorced, separated, ornever-married individuals as are comprised ofnuclear families. The structure of the family, not justin North America, but throughout the world.continues to change as it adapts to changingconditions.l. Another good title for this passage would beA) What Makes a Family? B) TheLife of the Inuits.C) Living with Hardship. D) TheFailure of the Nuclear Family.2. A nuclear family is defined asA) a married couple with their minor childrenB) a single father with minor children .C) parents, grandparents, and childrenD) parents, children, and aunts and uncles3. The information in this passage would most likelybe found inA) an anthropology textbook B) abiology textbookC) a mathematics textbook D) ageography textbook4. The information in the frrst paragraph is presentedmainly throughA) listing statistics B) .telling a storyC) pointing out similarities D) pointingout differences5. The word mobility meansA) money B) readiness to move C)organization D) skill第二十篇Tales of the Terrible PastIt is not the job of fiction writers to analyze andinterpret history. Yet by writing about the past in avivid and compelling manner, storytellers can bringearlier eras to life and force readers to consider themseriously. Among those taking on the task ofrecounting history are some black writers whoattempt to examine slavery from different points ofview.Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrisondeals specifically with the legacy of slavery in herbook Beloved. The main character in this novel, aformer slave called Sethe, lives in Ohio in the yearsfollowing the Civil War, but she cannot free herselffrom her horrific memories. Through a series offlashbacks and bitter reminiscences , the readerleams how and why Sethe escaped from theplantation she had lived on; the fate of her husband.who also tried to escape; and frnally , whathappened to the child called Beloved. Morrison'sscenes of torture and murder are vivid and stronglyconvey the desperation of the slaves and the crueltyof their owners.Charles Johnson's Middle Passage approachesslavery from a different. yet no less violent, vantagepoint. His main character. Rutherford Calhoun, is ane'er-do-well free black American who stows awayon a slave ship bound for Africa to collect its"cargo" . Put to work after he is discovered,Calhoun witnesses frrsthand the appalling conditionsin which the captured Africans are transported.When they finally rebel and take over the ship , hefinds himself in the middle - and is forced to come toterms with who he is and what his values are.Neither Beloved nor Middle Passage is an easyread, but both exemplify African Americanwriters' attempts to bring significant historicalsituations alive for a modem audience.l. This passage is mostly aboutA) the causes of slavery in America B)black writers in the late 20th centuryC) why Morrison and Johnson wrote the booksthey didD) two novels that deal with slavery2. Beloved is set .A) on a slave ship B) on aplantation before the Civil WarC) in Ohio after the Civil War D) in anAfrican town3. The writer seems to feel thatA) everyone should read Morrison's andJohnson's novelsB) the books are worthwhile but challengingC) black writers.should ignore racial issuesD) we will repeat the past if we don't leamabout it4. The writer emphasizes that the two books aresimilar in theirA) use of flashbacks B)treatment of womenC) cnticism of whites D)portrayal of violence5. The word appalling means .A) terrible B) surprising C) guilty D) unrealistic第二十一篇Spacing in AnimalsFlighr DistanceAny observant person has noticed that a wild animal will allow a man or other potential enemy to approach only up to a given distance before it flees. "Flight distance" is the terms used for this interspecies spacing. As a general rule , there is a positive relationship between the size of an animal and its flight distance-the larger the animal.the greater the distance it must keep between itself and the enemy. An antelope will flee when the enemy is as much as five hundred yards away. The wall lizard 's flight dislance , on the other hand is about six feet. Flight is the basic means of survival for mobile creatures.Critical DistanceCritical distance apparently is present wherever and whenever there is a flight reaction. "Critical distance" includes the narrow zone separating flight distance from attack distance. A lion in a zoo will flee from an approaching man until it meets a barrier that it cannot overcome. If the man continues the approach, he soon penetrates the lion's critical distance, at which point the cornered lion reverses direction and begins slowly to stalk the man.Social DistanceSocial animals need to stay in touch with each other. Loss of contact with the group can be fatal for a variety of reasons including exposure to enemies. Social distance is not simply the distance at which an animal will lose contact with his group - that is.the distance ac which it can no longer see,hear, or smellthe group - it is rather a psychological distance, oneat which the animal apparently begins to feelanxious when he exceeds its limits. We can think ofit as a hidden band that contains the group .Social distance varies from species to species.It is quite short - apparemly only a fewyards - among some animals , and quite long amongothers.Social distance is not always rigidly fixed butis determined in part by the situation. When theyoung of apes and humans are mobile but not yetunder control of the mother's voice , social distancemay be the length of her reach9. This is readilyobserved among the baboons in a zoo. When thebaby approaches a certain point, the mother reachesout to seize the end of its tail and pull it back to her.When added conuol is needed because of danger ,social distance shrinks. To show this in man , onehas only to watch a family with a number of smallchildren holding hands as they cross a busy street.l. Which of the following is the most appropriatedefinition of Flight Distance?A) Distance between animals of the same speciesbefore fleeing.B) Distance between large and small animalsbefore fleeing.C) Distance between an animal and itsenemy' before fleeing.D) Distance between certain animal speciesbefore fleeing.2. If an animal' s critical distance is penetrated . itwillA) begin to attack B) try to hide C)begin to jump D) run away3. According to Lhe passage . social distancerefers toA) physical distance B) psychologicaldistanceC) physiological distance D) philosophicaldistance4. Which of the following couid best replace theword "band- in " We can think of it as a hiddenband that contains the group" ( in paragraph3 ) ?A) strip of land.B) distance. C) society.D) community.5. The example of the children holding hands whencrossing the street in the last paragraph showsD) Social distance issometimes determinedby outside factors.第二十二篇Some Things We Know aboutLanguageMany things about language are a mystery,and many will always remain so. But some thingswe do know.First, we know that all human beings have aianguage of some sort. There is no race of menanywhere on earth so backward that it has nolanguage , no set of speech sounds by which thepeople communicate with one another. Furthermore,in historical times , there has never been a race ofmen without a language.Second, there is no such thing as a pnmitivelanguage. There are many people whose cultures areundeveloped , who are , as we say , uncivilized , butthe languages they speak are not primitive. Inall known languages we can see complexities thatmust have been tens of thousands of years indeveloping.This has not always been well understood;indeed , the direct contrary has often been stated.Popular ideas of the language of the AmericanIndians will illusuate. Many people have supposedthat the Indians communicated in a very primitivesystem of noises. Study has proved this to benonsense. There are , or were .hundreds of AmericanIndian languages , and all of them tum out to be verycomplicated and very old. They are certainlydifferent from the languages that most of us arefamiliar with , but they are no more primitive thanEnglish and Greek .A third thing we know about language is thatall languages are perfectly adequate. That is, eachone is a perfect means of expressing the culture ofthe people who speak the language. Finally, weknow that language changes. It is natural and normalfor language to change; the only languages which donot change are the dead ones. This is easy tounderstand if we look backward in time. Changegoes on in all aspects of language. Grammaticalfeatures change as do speech sounds, and changes invocabulary are sometimes very extensive and mayoccur very rapidly. V ocabulary is the least stable partof any language.l. In the second paragraph the author thinks thatA) some backward race doesn't have a language ofits ownB) some race in history didn't possess a language ofits ownC) any human race , whether backward or. not ,has a languageD) some races on earth can communicate wirhoutlanguage2. According to the au山or, people ofundeveloped cultures can haveA) complicated B) uncivilized C)primitive languages D) well-known3. The author has used American Indian languages as an example to show that they areA) just as old as some well-known languagesB) just as sophisticated as some well-known IanguagesC) more developed than some well-known languagesD) more complex than some well-known languages4. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?. A) A language is a means of expressing a pzmicular culture.B) All languages can well express their respective cultures.C) American Indian languages are as sophisticated as English.D) Some languages are better than other languages.5. According to the author,language changes are most likely to occur inA) grammar B) pronunciation C) vocabulary D) intonation第二十三篇The Only Way Is UpThink of a modem city and the first image that come to mind is the skyline. Il is full of great buildings,pointing like fingers to heaven. It is true that some cities don't permit buildings to go above a certain height. But these are cities concemed with the past. The first thing any city does when it wants to tell the world that it has arrived is to build skyscrapers.When people garher together in cities, they create a demand for land. Since cities are places where money is made , that demand can be met. Andthe best way to make money out of city land is to putas many people as possible in a space that covers thesmallest amount of ground. That means buildingupwards.The technology existed to do this as early asthe l9'h century. But the height of buildings waslimited by one imporlant factor. They had to besmall enough for people on the top floors to climbstairs. People could not be expected to climb amountain at the end of their journey to work , orhome.Elisha Otis,a US inventor,was the man whobrought us the lift - or elevator,as he preferred to callit. However, most of the technology is very old. Liftswork using the same pulley system the egyptiansused to create the Pyramids. What Otis did wasattach the system to a steam engine and develop theelevator brake, which stops the lift falling if thecords that hold it up are broken. It was this that didthe most to gain public confidence in the newinvention. In fact, he spent a number of yearsexhibiting lifts at fairgrounds , giving people thechance to try them out before selling the idea toarchitects and builders.A lift would not be a very good theme parkattraction now. Going in a lift is such an everydaything that it would just be boring. Yet psychologistsand others who study human behavior find liftsfascinating. The reason is simple. Scientists havealways studied animals in zoos. The nearest they canget to that with humans is in observing them in lifts."It breaks all the usual conventions about thebubble of personal space we carry around with us -and you just can't choose to move away" , saysworkplace psychologist, Gary Fitzgibbon. Beingtrapped in this setting can create different types oftensions, he says. Some people are scared of them.Others use them as an opportunity to get close to theboss. Some stand close to the door. Others hide inthe comers. Most people try and shrink into thebackground. But some behave in a way that makesothers notice them. There are a few people who juststand in a comer taking notes.Don't worry about them. They are probablyfrom a university.l. " ... these are cities concemed with the past in thefrrst paragraph refer to cities thatA) are worried about their pastB) have a glorious past to be proud ofC) wartt to maintain their traditional imageD) are very interested in their own history2. The difriculty in constructing tall buildings in the19u' century lies inA) the shojiage of moneyB) the lack of a device to carry people upwardC) backward technology D) mountains takingup land space3. When Otis came up with the idea of aIiftA) he sold it to the architects and buildersimmediatelyB) the Egyptians used it to build the PyramidsC) it was accepted favorably by the publicD) most people had doubt about its safety4.. Which of the following best describes theexperience of going in a lift now?A) Fascinating.B) Uninteresting.C)Frightening. D) Exciting.5. Psychologists find the lift a good place where theycan study human behaviour becauseA) here humans behave the way animals do.B) people in a lift are ali scaredC) here some people take notes D) in alift the bubble of personal space breaks第二十四篇The Romance of ArthurMost cultures have some sort of hero whorepresents the best values of what its people believe in.The unusual thing about King Arthur is that legendsof his heroism have persisted for several centuriesand spread far beyond England, the place where theybegan.The earliest stories of King Arthur representhim as a warrior who fought and subdued theinvading Norsemen in the years around A. D. 700.This much of the Arthurian tale is probably based onfact. Whether called Arthur or not, there is a body ofevidence supporting the existence of such a warrior.It is the later embellishments of the tale whoseauthenticity is questionable. According to these,Arthur was born in a castle in Tintagel on the stormywestern coast of England and because he was theillegitimate son of King Uther Pendragon, he wasspirited away by the magician Merlin and his trueidentity kept from him. He became king after freeingthe sword Excalibur from the stone into which it wasthrust. He married the beautiful Guinevere andassembled in his court all the noblest knights of theland, including Lancelot, with whom Guineverewould later be unfaithful to him. He was finallydefeated in battle by his illegitimate son Mordred,and his body was spirited away to the isle ofAvalon..This romantic tale greatly appealed to theEnglish and the French in the Middle Ages, when thecode of chivalry-ideal qualities ofknighthood-constituted an important part of manystories. Tales of the heroism of Galahad, Percival,Gawain, and many other of Arthur's knights werecirculated as well.In England today, there are many sites claiming apiece of the Arthurian an legend. There is a mined castle at Tintagel. Near Glastonbury are the remains of an ancient abbey where Arthur’s and Guinevere's bodies were supposedly exhumed in the 12th century. Neither of these proves that the legend is true, but they do keep its mystique alive.1. King Arthur’s famer was ______A. LancelotB. AvalonC. MordredD. Uther Pendragon2. The writer seems to feel that the truth aboutArthur is that he ______.A. existedB. was married to GuinevereC. had many knightsD. was born at Tintagael3. The information in the second paragraph ismostly presented in ______.A. spatial orderB. order from latest to earliestC. order from earliest to latestD. order from least persuasive4. In the last paragraph the word “exhumed” means_____A. dug up from the graveB. buriedC. quarreled overD. builta church around5. Another good title for this passage would be ______A. Kings in the Seventh CenturyB. The Knights of the Round TableC. Real or Legend?D. Arthur’s Marriage to Guinevere.第二十五篇IncomeIncome may be national income and personalincome. Whereas national income is defined as thetotal eamed income of all the factors of production -namely , profits , interest, rent , wages , and othercompensation for labor, personal income may bedefined as total money income received byindividuals before personal taxes are paid. Nationalincome does not equal GNP (Gross National Product)because the factors of production do not receivepayment for either capital consumption allowancesor indirect business taxes, both of which are includedin GNP. The money put aside for capitalconsumption is for replacement and thus is notcounted as income. Indirect taxes include sales taxes,property taxes, and excise taxes that are paid bybusinesses directly to the government and so reducethe income left to pay for the factors of production.Three-fourths of national income goes for wages,salaries, and other forms of compensation toemployees.Whereas national income shows Lhe incomethat the factors of production earn, personal incomemeasures the income that individuals or householdsreceive. Corporation profits are included in nationalincome because they are earned. Out of these profits,however, corporation profit taxes must be paid to thegovernment, and some money must be put into thebusiness for expansion. Only that part of profitsdistributed as dividends goes to the individual;therefore, out of corporation profits only dividendscount as personal income. The factors of productionearn money for social security and unemploymentinsurance contributions, but this money goes togovernment (which is not a factor of production) ,not to individuals. It is therefore part of nationalincome but not part of personal income.On the other hand, money received byindividuals when they collect social security orunemployment compensation is not money eamedbut money received. Interest received on governmentbonds is also in this category, because much of themoney received from the sale of bonds went to payfor war production and that production no longerfurnishes a service to the economy.The money people receive as personal incomemay be either spent or saved. However, not allspending is completely voluntary. A significantportion of our income goes to pay personal taxes.Most workers never receive the money they pay inpersonal taxes. because it is withheld from theirpaychecks. The money that individuals are left withafter they have met their tax obligations isdisposable personal income. Disposable income canbe divided between personal consumptionexpenditures and personal savings. It is important toremember that personal saving is what is left afterspending.l. This passage is mainly aboutA) the difference between national income andGNPB) the difference between national income andpersonal incomeC) the concept of incomeD) the difference between disposable income andnondisposable income2. Which of the following statements is trueaccording to the first paragraph?A) GNP equals national income plus indirectbusiness taxes.B) GNP excludes both capital consumptionallowances zuid indirect business taxes.C) Personal income is regarded as the totalmoney income received by an individual after hisor her taxes are paid.D) The money that goes for capitalconsumption is not regarded as income.3. It can be easily seen from this passage that thegovernment levies tax onA) corporation profits B) everyindividual even though his income is very lowC) those who work in joint ventures D)those .who work in government departments4. According to this passage, the money you get asinterest from government bonds isA) the money earned B) the money notearned but receivedC) the money received for the contribution youhave made to the economyD) the money earned for the service you havefurnished to the economy5. The passage implies thatA) people willingly pay taxes because they want todo something useful to the countryB) people willingly pay taxes because they do notwant to be looked down upon by othersC) people pay taxes unwillingly because they feelthey will be arrested if they do notD) people pay taxes somewhat unwillingly第二十六篇Seeing the World Centuries AgoIf you enjoy looking through travel books bysuch familiar authors as Arthur Frommer or EugeneFodor, it will not surprise you to leam that travelwriting has a long and venerable history.Almost from the earliest annals of recorded timeindividuals have found ready audiences for theiraccounts of journeys to strange and exotic locales.。

2015年职称英语综合类阅读理解C级16 篇（含答案）第一篇T elling T ales about People 传记类文学作品问题答案1、This passage is mostly about .这篇文章主要是关于2、Helen Keller wrote .海伦﹒凯勒写了3、Autobiography writers are not always objective because they .自传作者有时是不客观的，因为他们4、The writer introduces each category in the passage by .本文的作者通过介绍每种类型的非小说文学作品。

5、Diverse means .Diverse 的意思是1、the characteristics of autobiographies, memoirs, and biographies.自传、回忆录和传记的特点2、an autobiography.一部自传3、want to present themselves in a good light想展示自己好的一面4、defining it定义每个类型5、varied or different多种多样的或者不同的第二篇Outside -the-classroom Learning Makes a Big Difference 课外学习带来很大不同问题答案1、An extracurricular activity like raising a fund of $300,000 is risky because most student leaders一项课外活动像募集30 万美元资金很冒险，因为大多数的学生干部2、American students join campus organizations mostly for美国学生参加校园组织主要为了3、Who is Katie Rowley?谁是K.R?4、What do student leaders need to carry an activity through to a successful end?学生干部如果要成功的贯彻一个活动需要什么？5、The phrasal verb fatten up in paragraph 6 could be best replaced by第六段的动词性短语“fatten up”可以被下面哪个单词替换？1、W ill not take an interest in it.不感兴趣2、B uilding friendship.建立友谊3、S he's a senior student.她是一个大四的学生4、P assion.热情5、P olish.polish（润色；上光；抛光）(新增) 第三篇Shark Attack! 小心鲨鱼！问题答案1、After Craig Rogers fell into the water, the shark _.Craig Rogers 落水之后，鲨鱼?2、It is difficult for the author to understand why great whites作者很难理解为什么大白鲨?3、Which of the following is closest in meaning to make up in line 2 of paragraph 4?下面哪个单词最接近第四段第二行斜体标出的词组“make up”的意思？4、The word their in line 2 of paragraph 4 means第四段第二行的单词“their”指什么？1、swam away鲨鱼自己游走了2、often let humans escape常常让人类逃脱3、are.是4、great whites'大白鲨第四段的主要内容是什么？. 我们现在知道大白鲨不会把人类误以为是其他动第四篇Feast on T urkey and Good Wishes at Thanksgiving 火鸡盛宴和感恩节的祝福问题答案1、On Halloween, children in the United States often dress up as在万圣节上，孩子打扮成2、When are turkey and pumpkin pie eaten?什么时时候吃火鸡和南瓜饼？3、Thanksgiving is the time for the American people to thank God for感恩节上美国人感谢上帝4、Many children in the United States like Thanksgiving because美国孩子喜欢感恩节的原因是5、The first pilgrims settled in the United States in第一批定居到美国的人是在1、Ghosts.魔鬼2、On Thanksgiving.感恩节上3、Providing them with comfortable and happy lives.为其提供舒适快乐的生活4、They can stay with their parents at home and eat a lot of nice food.能够与父母呆在一起，吃许多好吃的食物5、1620.1620 年第五篇The T ravels of Ibn Battuta 伊本白图泰游记问题答案1、What is the passage mainly about?这篇文章主要是讲什么的？2、Which of the following is closest in meaning to set off for in line 5?哪个词组最接近第五行中“set off ”意思？3、The Sultan of Delhi gave Ibn Battuta a position of judge because德里的苏丹王给伊本白图泰安排了法官的工作是因为?4、Which of the following would the writer of this passage most likely agree with?下面哪个观点是这篇文章的作者最认同的？5、Why did Ibn Battuta finally return to his home?为什么伊本白图泰最后回到了他的家乡？1、The adventures of Ibn Battuta.伊本白图泰历险记2、left to go to.出发3、Ibn Battuta had studied in Mecca.伊本白图泰在麦加的学习经历4、Ibn Battuta should be better known in the W est today.在现今的西方世界，伊本白图泰应该会比以前更有名5、The Sultan of Morocco asked him to return.摩洛哥的苏丹王要求他回家(新增) 第六篇Native American Pottery美国本土陶瓷问题答案1、In the first paragraph the word “commercial” means.在第一段"commercial"一词的意思是2、The second paragraph in the passage is developed mainly through_______.这篇文章的第二段是说制作主要通过3、The Sail Ildefonso pueblo is known for_______。

第四部分阅读理解第一篇Ford Abandons Electric VehiclesThe Ford motor company‘s abandonment of electric cars effectively signals the end of the road for the technology，analysts say．General Motors。

and Honda‘ceased production of battery．powered cars in 1 999, to focus on fuel cell and hybrid electric gasoline engines, which are more attractive to the consumer．Ford has now announced it will do the same．Three years ago．the company introduced the Think City two—seater car and a golf cart called the THINK, or Think Neighbor．It hoped to sell 5，000 cars each year and 10，000 carts．But a lack of demand means only about l，000 of the cars have been produced，and less than 1。

700 carts have been sold so far in 2002．―The bottom line is we don‘t believe that this is the future of environment transport for the mass market．‖Tim Holmes of Ford Europe said on Friday．―We feel we have given electric our best shot‖The Think City has a range of only about 53 miles and up to a six-hour battery recharge time．General Motors‘EVI electric vehicle also had a limited range。

Is the Tie a Necessity?Ties,or neckties,have been a symbol of politeness and elegance in Britain for centuries.But the casual Prime Minister Tony Blair has problems with them.Reports suggest that even the civil servants may stop wearing ties.So,are the famously formal British really going to abandon the neckties？st week,the UK's Cabinet Secretary Andrew Turnbull openly welcomed a tieless era.He hinted that civil servants would soon be tree of the costliest12inches of fabric that most men ever buy in their lives.In fact,Blair showed this attitude when he had his first guests to a cocktail party.Many of them were celebrities without ties,which would have been unimaginable even in the recent past.For some more conservative British,the tie is a must for proper appearance.Earlier,Labor leader Jim Callaghan said he would have died rather than have his children seen in public without a tie.For people like Callaghan,the tile was a sign of being complete,of showing respect.Men were supposed to wear a tie when going to church,to work in the office,to a party-almost every social occasion.But today,people have begun to accept a casual style even forformal occasions.The origin of the tie is tricky.It started as something called simply a"band".The term could mean anything around a man's neck.It appeared in finer ways in the1630s.Frenchmen showed a love of this particular fashion statement.Their neckwear （颈饰）impressed Charles II,the king of England who was exiled （流放）to France at that time.When he returned to England in 1660,he brought this new fashion item along with him.It wasn't,however,until the late18th century that fancy young men introduced a more colorful,flowing piece of cloth that eventually became known as the tie.Then,clubs military institutions and schools began to use colored and patterned ties to indicate the wearer's membership in the late19th century.After that,the tie became a necessary item of clothing for British gentlemen.But now,even gentlemen are getting tired of ties.Anyway,the day feels a bit easier when you wake up without having to decide which tie suits you and your mood.31.The tie symbolizes all of the following exceptA.respectB.eleganceC.politenessD.democracy32.Why does Blair sometimes show up in a formal event withouta tie？A.Because he wants to make a show，B.Because he wants to attract attention.C.Because ties are costly.D.Because he wants to live in a casual way.33.Which of the following is NOT a social occasion？A.Going to church.B.Going to work in the office.C.Staying at home.D.Going to a party.34.Who brought the Frenchmen's neckwear to Britain？A.Tony Blair.B.Charles ll.C.Jim Callaghan.D.Andrew Turnbull.35.When did British gentlemen begin to wear ties regularly？A.After the late19th century.B.In the1630s.C.In1660.D.In the late18th century.参考答案：DDCBANatural MedicineSince earliest days,humans have used some kinds of medicines.We know this because humans have survived.Ancient treatments for injury and disease were successful enough to keep humans from dying out completely.They were successful long before the time of modern medicine.Before the time of doctors with white coats and shiny(发亮的)instruments.Before the time of big hospitals with strange and wonderful equipment.Many parts of the world still do not have university-educated doctors.Nor do they have expensive hospitals.Yet injuries are treated.And diseases are often cured,how?By ancient methods.By medicines that might seem mysterious,even magical(有魔力的).Traditional medicines are neither mysterious nor magical,however.Through the centuries,tribal(部落的)medicine men experimented with plants.They found many useful chemicals in the plants.And scientists believe many of these traditional medicines may provide the cure for some of today's most serious diseases. Experts say almost80%of the people in the world use plants for health care.These natural medicines are used not justbecause people have no other form of treatment.They are used because people trust them.In developed areas,few people think about the source of the medicines they buy in a store.Yet many widely-used medicines are from ancient sources,especially plants.Some experts say more than25%of modern medicines come,in one way or another,from nature.Scientists have long known that nature is really a chemical factory.All living things contain chemicals that help them survive.So scientists'interest in traditional medicine is not new.But it has become an urgent concern.This is because the earth's supply of natural medicines may be dropping rapidly.36.The passage indicates that ancient treatments for injury and disease wereA.much more successful than modern ones.B.successful in all cases.C.successful enough for humans to surviveD.of little help to humans37.Which of the following statements is NOT true?A.Many big and modern hospitals are expensive.B.Modern medicines are now available all over the world.C.Traditional medicines are neither mysterious nor magical.D.Humans have used some kinds of medicines since earliest days.38.It is believed by scientists that traditional medicineA.can cure all kinds of diseasesB.are no longer useful for modern menC.may cure some of today's most serious diseases.D.are too cheap to be useful39.What do the majority of the people in the world use for health care?A.plantsB.factory-produced chemicalsC.modern medicinesD.strange and wonderful equipment40.It can be seen from the passage that the earth's supply of natural medicinesA.may never be exhaustedB.is surprisingly bigC.may be dropping rapidlyD.is as rich as ever参考答案：CBCACA proverb allegedly(据说)from ancient China was widely spread in the West:"If you want to be happy for a few hours,go to get drunk；if you want the happiness to last three years,get married:if you want a lifetime happiness,take upgardening."The reason for the last option is this:Gardening is not only useful；it helps you to identify yourself with nature,and thus brings you new joy each day besides improving your health.A research of a US university that I've read gives a definition of happiness as what makes a person feel comfortably pleased.To put it specifically,happiness is an active state of mind where one thinks one's life is meaningful,satisfactory and comfortable.This should be something lasting rather than transitory.Lots of people regard it the happiest to be at leisure.But according to the study,it is not a person with plenty of leisure but one at work that feels happy,especially those busy with work having little time for leisure.Happiness does not spell gains one is after but a desire to harvest what one is seeking for.People often do not cherish what they already have but yearn for what they cannot get.That is somewhat like a man indulging in dreams of numerous lovers while reluctant to settle down with the woman beside him.Happiness is a game balancing between two ends——what one has and what one wishes for,i.e.one's dream and the possibility to realize it.The study comes to this conclusion:A happy man isone who aims high but never forgets his actual situation;one who meets challenges that tap his ability and potentiality;one who is proud of his achievements and the recognition given to him.He has self-respect and self-confidence;treasures his own identity and loves freedom.He is sociable and enjoys wide-range communication with others;he is helpful and ready to accept assistance.He knows he is able to endure sufferings and frustrations;he is sensible enough to get fun from daily chores.He is a man capable of love and passion.41.Gardening can bring lifelong happiness becauseA.it is a profitable business.B.it can improve a gardener's ability to remake nature.C.a gardener can enjoy a very happy relationship in marriage.D.nature is an unexhausted source of joy正确答案:D42.The research of the US university found that most people feel happy when theyA.are at leisure.B.take the job of gardening.C.are after their goals.D.own great properties.正确答案:C43.Why does the writer mention"a man indulging in dreams of numerous lovers"(Lines5——6,Para.3）？A.To demonstrate the problem in marriage in modern society.B.To illustrate a radical way to achieve happiness.C.To criticize those who do not value what they already have.D.To indicate that happiness covers something besides the desire to gain正确答案:D44.What kind of person is more likely to be unhappy according to the study？A.The one who has self-respect and confidence.B.The one who is ambitious without consideration of his actual situation.C.The one who can take pleasure in communicating with others.D.The one who are ready to render help and accept help from others.正确答案:B45.What is happiness？A.A transitory state of mind.B.Getting everything what one desires.C.An all-working and no-leisure life.D.A desire based on our actual situation.正确答案:DModern scientists divide the process of dying into two phases--clinical or temporary death and biological death.Clinical death occurs when the vital organs,such as the heart or lungs.have cease to function,but have not suffered permanent damage.The organism can still be revived(复活).Biological death Occurs when changes in the organism lead to the“breaking up”of vital cells and tissues.Death is then unchangeable and final.Scientists have been seeking a way to prolong the period of clinical death so that the organism can remain alive before biological death occurs.The best method developed so far involves cooling of the organism,combined with narcotic(麻醉的)sleep.By slowing down the body’s metabolism(新陈代谢),cooling delays the processes leading to biological death. To illustrate how this works,scientists performed an experiment on a six-year-old female monkey called Keta.The scientist put Keta to sleep with a narcotic.Then they surrounded her body with ice bags and began checking her body temperature.When it had dropped to28degrees the scientists began draining blood from an artery(动脉).The monkey’s blood pressure decreased and an hour later both the heart andrespiration stopped:clinical death set in.For twenty minutes Keta remained in this state.Her temperature dropped to22 degrees.At this point the scientists pumped blood into an artery in the direction of the heart and started artificial respiration.After two minutes Keta’s heart become active once more.After fifteen minutes,spontaneous(自然产生的) respiration began,and after four hours Keta opened her eyes and lifted her head.After six hours,when the scientists tried to give her a penicillin injection,Keta seized the syringe(注射器)and ran with it around the room.Her behavior differed little from that of a healthy animal.1.Which of the following statements about the person who suffers from the clinical death is true.A.He still has the possibility of getting back to life.B.He is dead forever.C.Most of his important organs have been damaged permanently.D.Most of the important organs can go on functioning with little damage正确答案:A2.Why do scientists try to make the time of clinical death longerA.They want to slow down the process of metabolism.B.They want to bring the damaged cells and tissues back to life.C.They want to delay the coming of biological death.D.They want to save more time to cool the organs正确答案:C3.How did the scientists put the monkey into clinical deathA.By pumping blood into an artery in the direction of the heart.B.By surrounding her body with ice bags for a long time.C.By stopping her respiration and draining her blood.D.By putting her to sleep,lowering her temperature and draining her blood正确答案:D4.How long was Keta in the state of clinical deathA.2minutes.B.20minutes.C.4hours.D.6hours.正确答案:B5.What happened to the monkey when she was restored to the original state againA.Her metabolism was slower than ever before.B.She was willing to have the penicillin injection.C.She acted as lively as a healthy monkey.D.Her heartbeat was not so strong as before正确答案:CKnittingMy mother knew how to knit(编织),but she never taught me.She assumed,as did many women of her generation,that knitting was no longer a skill worth passing down from mother to daughter.A combination of feminism and consumerism made many women feel that such homely accomplishments were now out of date.My Grandmother still knitted,though,and every Christmas she made a pair of socks for my brother and me,of red wool.They were the ones we wore under our ice skates(冰鞋),when it was really important to have warm feet.Knitting is a nervous habit that happens to be productive.It helped me quit smoking by giving my hands something else to do.It is wonderful for depression because no matter what else happens,you are creating something beautiful.Time spent in front of the television or just sitting is no longer time wasted.I love breathing life into the patterns.It's true magic,findinga neglected,dog-eared old book with the perfect snowflake design,buying the same Germantown wool my grandmother used,in the exact blue to match my daughter's eyes;taking it on thetrain with me every day for two months,working enthusiastically to get it done by Christmas,staying up late after the stockings are filled to sew in the sleeves and weave in the ends. Knitting has taught me patience.I know that if I just keep going,even if it takes months,there will be a reward.When I make a mistake,I know that anger will not fix it,that I just have to go back and take out the stitches between and start over again.People often ask if I would do it for money,and the answer is always a definite no.In the first place,you could not pay me enough for the hours I put into a sweater.But more important,this is an activity I keep separate from such considerations.I knit to cover my children and other people I love in warmth and color.I knit to give them something earthly that money could never buy.Knitting gives my life an alternative rhythm to the daily deadline.By day I can write about Northern Ireland or the New York City Police Department and get paid for it,but on the train home,surrounded by people with laptops,I stage my little rebellion:I take out my old knitting bag and join the centuries of women who have knitted for love.11.Why did many women feel that knitting was out of date?A.Because their mothers didn't teach them.B.Because they were influenced by feminism and consumerismC.Because they were feminists.D.Because they were consumerists.12.The author wore the red socks her grandmother had knitted for herA.when she went to school.B.when she went sightseeing.C.when she celebrated Christmas.D.when she went skating.13.The word"quit"in Paragraph2is closest in meaning toA."give up".B."speed up".C."slow down".D."build up".14.According to the passage，which of the following statements about knitting is NOT true?A.Knitting helps one get rid of bad habits.B.Knitting helps one get free from a bad mood.C.Knitting requires patience.D.Knitting is a profit-making business.15.Which of the following is NOT the writer's purpose ofknitting?A.To save money.B.To make full use of her leisure time.C.To enrich her life.D.To show her love for the family.参考答案：BDADA。

2015年职称英语考试阅读理解文章必备习题（综合类）Older Volcanic EruptionsVolcanoes were more destructive in ancient history, not because they were bigger, but because the carbon dioxide they released wiped out life with greater ease.Paul Wignall from the University of Leeds was investigating the link between volcanic eruptions and mass extinctions. Not all volcanic eruptions killed off large numbers of animals, but all the mass extinctions over the past 300 million years coincided with huge formations of volcanic rock. To his surprise, the older the massive 课程免费试听volcanic eruptions were, the more damage they seemed to do. He calculated the "killing efficiency" for these volcanoes by comparing the proportion of life they killed off with the volume of lava that they produced. He found that size for size, older eruptions were at least 10 times as effective at wiping out life as their more recent rivals.The Permian extinction, for example, which happened 250 million years ago, is marked by floods of volcanic rock in Siberia that cover an area roughly the size of western Europe. Those volcanoes are thought to have pumped out about 10 gigatonnes of carbon as carbon dioxide. The global warming thatfollowed wiped out 80 per cent of all marine genera at the time, and it took 5 million years for the planet to recover. Yet 60 million years ago, there was another huge amount of volcanic activity and global 课程免费试听warming but no mass extinction. Some animals did disappear but things returned to normal within ten thousands of years. "The most recent ones hardly have an effect at all," Wignall says. He ignored the extinction which wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, because many scientists believe it was primarily caused by the impact of an asteroid. He thinks that older volcanoes had more killing power because more recent life forms were better adapted to dealing with increased levels of CO2.Vincent Courtillot, director of the Paris Geophysical Institute in France, says that Wignall's idea is provocative. But he says it is incredibly hard to do these sorts of calculations. He points out that the killing power of volcanic eruptions depends on how long they lasted. And it is impossible to tell whether the huge blasts 课程免费试听lasted for thousands or millions of years. He also adds that it is difficult to estimate how much lava prehistoric volcanoes produced, and that lava volume may not necessarily correspond to carbon dioxide emissions.词汇：dioxide n. 二氧化物 lava n. 熔岩Permian adj. 二叠纪 gigaton n. 十亿吨梯恩梯genera n. 种类 dinosaurs n. 恐龙asteroid n. 课程免费试听小行星注释：The Permian extinction 上学吧视频超市二叠纪物种灭绝练习：1. Why did older volcanic eruptions do more damage than more recent ones?A) Because they killed off life more easily.B) Because they were brighter.C) Because they were larger.D) Because they were hotter.2. How did Wignall calculate the killing power of those older volcanic eruptions?A) By estimating how long they lasted.B) By counting the dinosaurs they killed.C) By studying the chemical composition of lava.D) By comparing the proportion of life wiped out with the volume of lava produced.。

The Romance of Arthur亚瑟的传奇Most cultures have some sort of hero who represents the best values of what its people believe in. 很多文化都有某类能代表他们民族深信的价值观的英雄。

The unusual thing about King Arthur is that legends of his heroism have persisted for several centuries and spread far beyond England, the place where they began. 有关亚瑟王的不同寻常的事情就是他的英雄主义传奇已经持续了几个世纪，并且影响力早已超越它所诞生的英国。

The earliest stories of King Arthur represent him as a warrior who fought and subdued the invading Norsemen in the years around A. D. 700. 在有关亚瑟王早期的故事中，他是一个战士，他在公元约700年抗击、震慑入侵的北欧人。

This much of the Arthurian tale is probably based on fact. 许多这类亚瑟王的故事大概是基于事实。

Whether called Arthur or not, there is a body of evidence supporting the existence of such a warrior. 无论是否叫作亚瑟，大量证据证明是有这样一个战士存在的。

It is the later embellishments of the tale whose authenticity is questionable. 后来这些故事被美化修饰，使得它们的真实性受到质疑。

Passage one（The only way to travel is on foot）The past ages of man have all been carefully labeled by anthropologists.Descriptions like‘Palaeolithic Man’,‘Neolithic Man’,etc.,neatly sum up whole periods.When the time comes for anthropologists to turn their attention to the twentieth century,they will surely choose the label‘Legless Man’.Histories of the time will go something like this:‘in the twentieth century,people forgot how to use their legs.Men and women moved about in cars,buses and trains from a very early age.There were lifts and escalators in all large buildings to prevent people from walking.This situation was forced upon earth dwellers of that time because of miles each day.But the surprising thing is that they didn’t use their legs even when they went on holiday.They built cable railways,ski-lifts and roads to the top of every huge mountain.All the beauty spots on earth were marred by the presence of large car parks.’The future history books might also record that we were deprived of the use of our eyes.In our hurry to get from one place to another,we failed to see anything on the way.Air travel gives you a bird’s-eye view of the world–or even less if the wing of the aircraft happens to get in your way.When you travel by car or train a blurred image of the countrysideconstantly smears the windows.Car drivers,in particular,are forever obsessed with the urge to go on and on:they never want to stop.Is it the lure of the great motorways,or what?And as for sea travel,it hardly deserves mention.It is perfectly summed up in the words of the old song:‘I joined the navy to see the world,and what did I see?I saw the sea.’The typical twentieth-century traveler is the man who always says‘I’ve been there.’You mention the remotest,most evocative place-names in the world like El Dorado,Kabul,Irkutsk and someone is bound to say‘I’ve been there’–meaning,‘I drove through it at100miles an hour on the way to somewhere else.’When you travel at high speeds,the present means nothing: you live mainly in the future because you spend most of your time looking forward to arriving at some other place.But actual arrival,when it is achieved,is meaningless.You want to move on again.By traveling like this,you suspend all experience; the present ceases to be a reality:you might just as well be dead.The traveler on foot,on the other hand,lives constantly in the present.For him traveling and arriving are one and the same thing:he arrives somewhere with every step he makes.He experiences the present moment with his eyes,his ears and thewhole of his body.At the end of his journey he feels a delicious physical weariness.He knows that sound.Satisfying sleep will be his:the just reward of all true travellers.1、Anthorpologists label nowaday’s men‘Legless’becauseA people forget how to use his legs.B people prefer cars,buses and trains.C lifts and escalators prevent people from walking.D there are a lot of transportation devices.2、Travelling at high speed meansA people’s focus on the future.B a pleasure.C satisfying drivers’great thrill.D a necessity of life.3、Why does the author say‘we are deprived of the use of our eyes’?A People won’t use their eyes.B In traveling at high speed,eyes become useless.C People can’t see anything on his way of travel.D People want to sleep during travelling.4、What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage?A Legs become weaker.B Modern means of transportation make the world a small place.C There is no need to use eyes.D The best way to travel is on foot.5.What does‘a bird’s-eye view’mean?A See view with bird’s eyes.B A bird looks at a beautiful view.C It is a general view from a high position looking down.D A scenic place.答案详解1.A人们忘了用脚。