1、专业英语八级（阅读）练习试卷 8及答案与解析 0 Britains east midlands were once the picture of English countryside, alive with flocks, shepherds, skylarks and buttercups the stuff of fairytales. In 1941 George Marsh left school at the age of 14 to work as a herdsman in Nottinghamshire, the East Midlands countryside his p
2、arents and grandparents farmed. He recalls skylarks nesting in cereal fields, which when accidentally disturbed would fly singing into the sky. But in his lifetime, Marsh has seen the color and diversity of his native land fade. Farmers used to grow about a ton of wheat per acre; now they grow four
3、tons. Pesticides have killed off the insects upon which skylarks fed, and year-round harvesting has driven the birds from their winter nests. Skylarks are now rare. “Farmers kill anything that affects production,“ says Marsh. “Agriculture is too efficient. “ Anecdotal evidence of a looming crisis in
4、 biodiversity is now being reinforced by science. In their comprehensive surveys of plants, butterflies and birds over the past 20 to 40 years in Britain, ecologists Jeremy Thomas and Carly Stevens found significant population declines in a third of all native species. Butterflies are the furthest a
5、long 71 percent of Britains 58 species are shrinking in number, and some, like the large blue and tortoiseshell, are already extinct. In Britains grasslands, a key habitat, 20 percent of all animal, plant and insect species are on the path to extinction. Theres hardly a corner of the countrys ecolog
6、y that isnt affected by this downward spiral. The problem would be bad enough if it were merely local, but its not : because Britains temperate ecology is similar to that in so many other parts of the world, its the best microcosm scientists have been able to study in detail. Scientists have sounded
7、 alarms about species extinction in the past, but always specific to a particular animal or place whales in the 1980s or the Amazonian rain forests in the 1990s. This time, though, the implications are much wider. The Amazon is a “biodiversity hot spot“ with a unique ecology. But in Britain, “the ma
8、in drivers of change are the same processes responsible for species declines worldwide, “says Thomas. The findings, published in the journal Science, provide the first clear evidence that the world is in the throes of a massive extinction. Thomas and Stevens argue that we are facing a loss of 65 to
9、95 percent of the worlds species, on the scale of an ice age or the meteorite that may have wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. If so, this would be only the sixth time such devastation had occurred in the past 600 million years. The other five were associated with one-off events like the
10、ice ages, a volcanic eruption or a meteor. This time, ecosystems are dying a thousand deaths from overfishing and the razing of the rain forests, but also from advances in agriculture. The British study, for instance, finds that one of the biggest problems is nitrogen pollution. Nitrogen is released
11、 when fossil fuels burn in cars and power plants but also when ecologically rich heath-lands are plowed and fertilizers are spread. Nitrogen-rich fertilizers fuel the growth of tall grasses, which in turn overshadow and kill off delicate flowers like harebells and eyebrights. Even seemingly innocuou
12、s practices are responsible for vast ecological damage. When British farmers stopped feeding horses and cattle with hay and switched to silage, a kind of preserved short grass, they eliminated a favorite nesting spot of corncrakes, birds known for their raspy nightly mating calls; corncrake populati
13、ons have fallen 76 percent in the past 20 years. The depressing list goes on and on. Many of these practices are being repeated throughout the world, in one form or another, which is why scientists believe that the British study has global implications. Wildlife is getting blander. “We dont know whi
14、ch species are essential to the web of life so were taking a massive risk by eliminating any of them,“ says David Wedin, professor of ecology at the University of Nebraska. Chances are well be seeing the results of this experiment before too long. 1 From the first paragraph, we get the impression th
15、at George Marsh （ A） cherishes his adolescence memories. （ B） thinks highly of the efficiency of agriculture. （ C） may not have happy memories of past time. （ D） cannot remember his adolescence days. 2 Which of the following statements is TRUE of Jeremy Thomas and Carly Stevenss surveys? （ A） They r
16、eported the results of the surveys to the government. （ B） There were no such comprehensive surveys done before. （ C） The surveys show there are more plant species extinct. （ D） Other ecologists will do more surveys based on theirs. 3 What is the difference between todays ecological change and the f
17、ive changes in ancient times? （ A） Species like the dinosaurs brought the ice ages to an end. （ B） A volcanic eruption might lead to a great catastrophe. （ C） Todays change is mainly caused by agricultural advances. （ D） Todays change attributes to a multitude of reasons. 4 According to David Wedin,
18、 the extinction of many species are caused by human beings, （ A） arrogance. （ B） ignorance. （ C） nonchalance. （ D） blunder. 5 The most suitable title for the passage would be （ A） Nitrogen Pollution. （ B） Ecological Issues. （ C） Goodbye, Skylarks. （ D） Agricultural Advances. 5 The human genetic sequ
19、ence will allow researchers to make rapid progress in understanding the relationship between genes and behavior. The finding that we have far fewer genes than expected suggests that environmental influences play a greater role in our development than was previously thought. Understanding how a relat
20、ively small number of genes translate into the incredible complexity of a human being will be one of the challenges of the future. “We now have the list of parts of the human body,“ said Sir John Sulston, who spearheaded UK efforts to crack the human code. “Now we have to find out what all the parts
21、 are, we have to find out how all the parts interact and we have to probably do some very sophisticated things to understand how the control of those interactions goes forward to actually build our bodies. “ Researchers are predicting that the data will unlock some of the secrets of how genes influe
22、nce behavior. But they warn against headline-making claims that a given gene can be the cause of crime, homosexuality or even sporting brilliance. Dr. Craig Venter, the leader of the private effort to decode the human genome, said genetic determinism, the idea that a person is controlled by their ge
23、nes, was a fallacy. “There are two fallacies to be avoided,“ Dr. Venters team write in the journal Science. “Determinism, the idea that all characteristics of a person are hard-wired by the genome; and reductionism, that now the human sequence is completely known, it is just a matter of time before
24、our understanding of gene functions and interactions will provide a complete causal description of human variability. “ One implication of the work, said Dr. Venter, was to calm fears about human cloning. “Trying to clone a person to gain immortality would be a pointless venture,“ he said. “This who
25、le debate about cloning is much ado about nothing because while you may be able to, as with twins, have someone who looks similar to you, the chances of them having the same personality and the same outcome in life is close to zero. Thats why you cant have Xerox copies of people; you cant have clone
26、s of people that will be the same. “ One area where the study of genes is expected to have an impact is in identifying mental disorders with genetic roots, perhaps reducing the stigma of conditions such as depression or schizophrenia. Researchers are also closing in on stretches of genetic code that
27、 may make an individual more vulnerable to developing drug or alcohol addiction. 6 Following the finding that we have fewer genes, further research may be conducted into （ A） how the genetic sequence influences the relationship between genes and behavior. （ B） why environmental influences play a gre
28、ater role in our growth. （ C） why inheritance plays a less role in shaping our destiny. （ D） how the genes are combined to create the incredible complexity of man. 7 The “list of parts of the human body“ in the second paragraph actually refers to （ A） the human limbs. （ B） the human organs. （ C） the
29、 human limbs and organs. （ D） the total number of genes. 8 A belief of reductionism might be that （ A） human diversity can be understood by the gene functions and interactions. （ B） it takes a long time for us to understand gene functions and interactions. （ C） it is a false belief that a person is
30、controlled completely by his genes. （ D） new beings can be created at will by rearranging human genetic sequence. 9 The reason why we dont have to worry about human cloning is that （ A） the technique is doomed from the very beginning. （ B） no person who will live forever can be created. （ C） no indi
31、vidual human experience can be duplicated. （ D） no person of identical appearance can be copied. 10 As a likely result of the gene research described in the passage, （ A） drug prohibition laws will be abolished some day. （ B） the cases of mental disorder will be reduced. （ C） human personality can b
32、e simulated or altered. （ D） ideal beings can be created by rearranging genes. 专业英语八级（阅读）练习试卷 8答案与解析 【知识模块】 阅读 1 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 推断题。由题干定位至首段。第三句指出： He recalls skylarks nesting in cereal fields， which when accidentally disturbed would fly singing into the sky. 末句提到 Marsh的评论： Agriculture is too effic
33、ient，可以推断他怀念以前有云雀的美好时光，认为农业生产的高效率使许多物种消 失了，故 A为答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 2 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 推断题。由题于中的 Jeremy Thomas and Carly Stevens定位至第二段。首句指出： Anecdotal evidence of a looming crisis in biodiversity is now being reinforced by science. 这里的 anecdotal (含轶事趣闻的 )表明这些证据都是听来的。此外，第三段第二、三两句指出：以前科学家们 仅仅把研究局限于某一种动物或某一具体地
34、点，这次，研究的领域更为广泛。据此可以推断 以前没有人做过如此全面的研究，故 B为答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 3 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 细节题。由题干中的 five定位至第四段。第二 句指出：其他五次灾难的发生与某一事件有 关，例如冰川时代、火山爆发或流星的出现。而第三句提到这次生态系统面临的问题非常 多：过度捕鱼，雨林被摧毁，农业的发展等。 D符合文意，故为答案。 B虽然符合逻辑，但 并非文章提到的区别，排除。 【知识模块】 阅读 4 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 推断题。由题干中的 David Wedin定位至末段。倒数第二句指出：We dont know which spec
35、ies are essential to the web of life so were taking a massive risk by eliminating any of them，这说 明人们无法分辨哪种物种对我们来说是至关重要的，由于无知造成了许多物种灭绝的局面， 故 B为答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 5 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 主旨题。本文首段通过对比，描述了几十年前云雀高歌的景象和现在不见踪影的凄凉，引出 生态改变导致物种灭绝的问题。接下来的段落介绍了科学家们的调查结果，分析原因，指出 人们的无知造成了物种灭绝。四个选项中，A氮污染 ”是第四段提 到的一个原因； B范 围过
36、大； D也是第四段提到的原因，排除。 C虽然有些抽象，但文章以云雀的灭绝人手， 引出物种灭绝问题，因此 C是各选项中最恰当的题目，故为答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 【知识模块】 阅读 6 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 细节题。第一段末句指出：基因数目比我们想象的要少，这一发现预示着环境对人类的影响 比人们之前预想的要大。接着第二段首句指出：了解数目相对较少的基因是如何转变成复 杂的让人难以置信的人类，这是下一步研究的一个挑战。可见，下一步的研究是关于基 因是 如何组合在一起从而构建成复杂人体的，答案为 D。 【知识模块】 阅读 7 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 语义题。本文开篇就是围绕基因讲
37、的，这句话的前一句也是说基因与人类的关系，再根据 Sir John Sulston是英国破解基因的领头人，可判断他所说的 “list of parts of human body”应该 是人类基因清单，故答案为 D。 limb和organ在文中都未提及。 【知识模块】 阅读 8 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 细节题。第三段最后 一句，根据 Dr. Venter的团队的解释，reductionism即在基因顺序已知的 情况下，人类对基因功能和相互作用的了解将为人类多样性提供完整的解释，这只是个时间 问题，排除 B； A符合文意，故为答案。 C和 D在文中未提及。 【知识模块】 阅读 9 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 细节题。第四段第二句 Dr. Venter认为人可以克隆，但人的品性和生活经历几乎没有可能被 复制，答案为 C。 【知识模块】 阅读 10 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 细节题。第五段首句提到基因研究的作用之一在于识别精神错乱的基因源，或是缓解精神 分裂症的症状， B符合文意，故为答案。 【知识模块】 阅读
