1、雅思（阅读）模拟试卷 53及答案与解析 一、 Reading Module (60 minutes) 0 A spark, a flint: How fire leapt to lifeThe control of fire was the first and perhaps greatest of humanitys steps towards a life-enhancing technology To early man, fire was a divine gift randomly delivered in the form of lightning, forest fire or
2、burning lava. Unable to make flame for themselves, the earliest peoples probably stored fire by keeping slowburning logs alight or by carrying charcoal in pots. How and where man learnt how to produce flame at will is unknown. It was probably a secondary invention, accidentally made during tool-maki
3、ng operations with wood or stone. Studies of primitive societies suggest that the earliest method of making fire was through friction. European peasants would insert a wooden drill in a round hole and rotate it briskly between their palms. This process could be speeded up by wrapping a cord around t
4、he drill and pulling on each end. The Ancient Greeks used lenses or concave mirrors to concentrate the suns rays and burning glasses were also used by Mexican Aztecs and the Chinese. Percussion methods of firelighting date back to Paleolithic times, when some Stone Age tool-makers discovered that ch
5、ipping flints produced sparks. The technique became more efficient after the discovery of iron, about 5000 years ago. In Arctic North America, the Eskimos produced a slow-burning spark by striking quartz against iron pyrites, a compound that contains sulphur. The Chinese lit their fires by striking
6、porcelain with bamboo. In Europe, the combination of steel, flint and tinder remained the main method of fire-lighting until the mid-19th century. Fire-lighting was revolutionised by the discovery of phosphorus, isolated in 1669 by a German alchemist trying to transmute silver into gold. Impressed b
7、y the elements combustibility, several 17th century chemists used it to manufacture firelighting devices, but the results were dangerously inflammable. With phosphorus costing the equivalent of several hundred pounds per ounce, the first matches were expensive. The quest for a practical match really
8、 began after 1781 when a group of French chemists came up with the Phosphoric Candle or Ethereal Match, a sealed glass tube containing a twist of paper tipped with phosphorus. When the tube was broken, air rushed in, causing the phosphorus to self-combust. An even more hazardous device, popular in A
9、merica, was the Instantaneous Light Box a bottle filled with sulphuric acid into which splints treated with chemicals were dipped. The first matches resembling those used today were made in 1827 by John Walker, an English pharmacist who borrowed the formula from a military rocket-maker called Congre
10、ve. Costing a shilling a box, Congreves were splints coated with sulphur and tipped with potassium chlorate. To light them, the user drew them quickly through folded glass paper. Walker never patented his invention, and three years later it was copied by a Samuel Jones, who marketed his product as L
11、ucifers. About the same time, a French chemistry student called Charles Sauria produced the first strike-anywhere match by substituting white phosphorus for the potassium chlorate in the Walker formula. However, since white phosphorus is a deadly poison, from 1845 matchmakers exposed to its fumes su
12、ccumbed to necrosis, a disease that eats away jaw-bones. It wasnt until 1906 that the substance was eventually banned. That was 62 years after a Swedish chemist called Pasch had discovered non-toxic red or amorphous phosphorus, a development exploited commercially by Paschs compatriot J E Lundstrom
13、in 1885. Lundstroms safety matches were safe because the red phosphorus was non-toxic; it was painted on to the striking surface instead of the match tip, which contained potassium chlorate with a relatively high ignition temperature of 182 degrees centigrade. America lagged behing Europe in match t
14、echnology and safety standards. It wasnt until 1900 that the Diamond Match Company bought a French patent for safety matches but the formula did not work properly in the different climatic conditions prevailing in America and it was another 11 years before scientists finally adapted the French paten
15、t for the US. The Americans, however, can claim several firsts in match technology and marketing. In 1892 the Diamond Match Company pioneered book matches. The innovation didnt catch on until after 1896, when a brewery had the novel idea of advertising its product in match books. Today book matches
16、are the most widely used type in the US, with 90 percent handed out free by hotels, restaurants and others. Other American innovations include an an-tiafterglow solution to prevent the match from smouldering after it has been blown out; and the waterproof match, which lights after eight hours in wat
17、er.Questions 1-8Complete the summary below. Choose your answers from the box at the bottom of the page and write them in boxes 1 - 8 on your answer sheet.NB There are more words than spaces so you will not use them all. You may use any of the words more than once. EARLY FIRE-LIGHTING METHODSPrimitiv
18、e societies saw fire as a _(Example)_ .gift. Answer heavenly They tried to【 R1】 _ burning logs or charcoal【 R2】 _ that they could create fire themselves. It is suspected that the first man-made flames were produced by【 R3】_The very first fire-lighting methods involved the creation of【 R4】 _by, for e
19、xample, rapidly【 R5】 _a wooden stick in a round hole. The use of【 R6】_or persistent chipping was also widespread in Europe and among other peoples such as the Chinese and【 R7】 _ European practice of this method continued until the 1850s【 R8】 _the discovery of phosphorus some years earlier.List of Wo
20、rdsMexicans random rotatingdespite preserve realisingsunlight lacking heavenlypercussion chance frictionunaware without makeheating Eskimos surpriseduntil smoke 1 【 R1】 2 【 R2】 3 【 R3】 4 【 R4】 5 【 R5】 6 【 R6】 7 【 R7】 8 【 R8】 8 Look at the following notes that have been made about the matches describ
21、ed in Reading Passage 1. Decide which type of match(A - H)corresponds with each description and write your answer in boxes 9 15 on your answer sheet. NB There are more matches than descriptions so you will not use them all. You may use any match more than once. Example Answer could be lit after soak
22、ing in water H NOTES Types of Matches (A)the Ethereal Match (B)the Instantaneous Lightbox (C)Congreves (D)Lucifers (E)the first strike-anywhere match (F)Lundstroms safety match (G)book matches (H)waterproof matches 9 made using a less poisonous type of phosphorus 10 identical to a previous type of m
23、atch 11 caused a deadly illness 12 first to look like modern matches 13 first matches used for advertising 14 relied on an airtight glass container 15 made with the help of an army design 15 You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 16 - 28 which are based on Reading Passage 2 below. Zoo conser
24、vation programmes One of London Zoos recent advertisements caused me some irritation, so patently did it distort reality. Headlined Without zoos you might as well tell these animals to get stuffed, it was bordered with illustrations of several endangered species and went on to extol the myth that wi
25、thout zoos like London Zoo these animals will almost certainly disappear forever. With the zoo worlds rather mediocre record on conservation, one might be forgiven for being slightly sceptical about such an advertisement. Zoos were originally created as places of entertainment, and their suggested i
26、nvolvement with conservation didnt seriously arise until about 30 years ago, when the Zoological Society of London held the first formal international meeting on the subject. Eight years later, a series of world conferences took place, entitled The Breeding of Endangered Species, and from this point
27、 onwards conservation became the zoo communitys buzzword. This commitment has now been clearly defined in The World Zoo Conservation Strategy(WZCS, September 1993), which although an important and welcome document does seem to be based on an unrealistic optimism about the nature of the zoo industry.
28、 The WZCS estimates that there are about 10,000 zoos in the world, of which around 1,000 represent a core of quality collections capable of participating in coordinated conservation programmes. This is probably the documents first failing, as I believe that 10,000 is a serious underestimate of the t
29、otal number of places masquerading as zoological establishments. Of course it is difficult to get accurate data but, to put the issue into perspective, I have found that, in a year of working in Eastern Europe, I discover fresh zoos on almost a weekly basis. The second flaw in the reasoning of the W
30、ZCS document is the naive faith it places in its 1,000 core zoos. One would assume that the calibre of these institutions would have been carefully examined, but it appears that the criterion for inclusion on this select list might merely be that the zoo is a member of a zoo federation or associatio
31、n. This might be a good starting point, working on the premise that members must meet certain standards, but again the facts dont support the theory. The greatly respected American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums(AAZPA)has had extremely dubious members, and in the UK the Federation of
32、Zoological Gardens of Great Britain and Ireland has occasionally had members that have been roundly censured in the national press. These include Robin Hill Adventure Park on the Isle of Wight, which many considered the most notorious collection of animals in the country. This establishment, which f
33、or years was protected by the Isles local council(which viewed it as a tourist amenity), was finally closed down following a damning report by a veterinary inspector appointed under the terms of the Zoo Licensing Act 1981. As it was always a collection of dubious repute, one is obliged to reflect up
34、on the standards that the Zoo Federation sets when granting membership. The situation is even worse in developing countries where little money is available for redevelopment and it is hard to see a way of incorporating collections into the overall scheme of the WZCS. Even assuming that the WZCSs 1,0
35、00 core zoos are all of a high standards complete with scientific staff and research facilities, trained and dedicated keepers, accommodation that permits normal or natural behaviour, and a policy of co-operating fully with one another what might be the potential for conservation? Colin Tudge, autho
36、r of Last Animals at the Zoo(Oxford University Press, 1992), argues that if the worlds zoos worked together in co-operative breeding programmes, then even without further expansion they could save around 2,000 species of endangered land vertebrates. This seems an extremely optimistic proposition fro
37、m a man who must be aware of the failings and weaknesses of the zoo industry the man who, when a member of the council of London Zoo, had to persuade the zoo to devote more of its activities to conservation. Moreover, where are the facts to support such optimism? Today approximately 16 species might
38、 be said to have been saved by captive breeding programmes, although a number of these can hardly be looked upon as resounding successes. Beyond that, about a further 20 species are being seriously considered for zoo conservation programmes. Given that the international conference at London Zoo was
39、held 30 years ago, this is pretty slow progress, and a long way off Tudges target of 2,000. Questions 16-22 Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 21 In boxes 16 -22 write YES if the statement agrees with the writer NO if the statement contradicts the write
40、r NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this Example Answer London Zoos advertisements are poorly presented. NOT GIVEN 16 London Zoos advertisements are dishonest. （ A） YES （ B） NO （ C） NOT GIVEN 17 Zoos made an insignificant contribution to conservation up until 30 years
41、 ago. （ A） YES （ B） NO （ C） NOT GIVEN 18 The WZCS document is not known in Eastern Europe. （ A） YES （ B） NO （ C） NOT GIVEN 19 Zoos in the WZCS select list were carefully inspected. （ A） YES （ B） NO （ C） NOT GIVEN 20 No-one knew how the animals were being treated at Robin Hill Adventure Park. （ A） YE
42、S （ B） NO （ C） NOT GIVEN 21 Colin Tudge was dissatisfied with the treatment of animals at London Zoo. （ A） YES （ B） NO （ C） NOT GIVEN 22 The number of successful zoo conservation programmes is unsatisfactory. （ A） YES （ B） NO （ C） NOT GIVEN 23 What were the objectives of the WZCS document? （ A） to i
43、mprove the calibre of zoos world-wide （ B） to identify zoos suitable for conservation practice （ C） to provide funds for zoos in underdeveloped countries （ D） to list the endangered species of the world 24 Why does the writer refer to Robin Hill Adventure Park? （ A） to support the Isle of Wight loca
44、l council （ B） to criticise the 1981 Zoo Licensing Act （ C） to illustrate a weakness in the WZCS document （ D） to exemplify the standards in AAZPA zoos 25 What word best describes the writers response to Colin Tudges prediction on captive breeding programmes? （ A） disbelieving （ B） impartial （ C） pr
45、ejudiced （ D） accepting 25 The writer mentions a number of factors which lead him to doubt the value of the WZCS document. Which THREE of the following factors are mentioned? Write your answers(A F)in boxes 26 - 28 on your answer sheet. List of Factors (A)the number of unregistered zoos in the world
46、 (B)the lack of money in developing countries (C)teh actions of the Isle of Wight local council (D)the failure of the WZCS to examine the standards of the core zoos (E)the unrealistic aim of the WZCS in view of the number of species saved to date (F)the policies of WZCS zoo managers 28 ARCHITECTURE-
47、Reaching for the SkyArchitecture is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. A building reflects the scientific and technological achievements of the age as well as the ideas and aspirations of the designer and client. The appearance of individual buildings, however, is often contr
48、oversial. The use of an architectural style cannot be said to start or finish on a specific date. Neither is it possible to say exactly what characterises a particular movement. But the origins of what is now generally known as modern architecture can be traced back to the social and technological c
49、hanges of the 18th and 19th centuries. Instead of using timber, stone and traditional building techniques, architects began to explore ways of creating buildings by using the latest technology and materials such as steel, glass and concrete strengthened steel bars, known as reinforced concrete. Technological advances also helped bring about the decline of rural industries and an increase in urban populations as people moved to the towns to work in the new f
