1、雅思（阅读）模拟试卷 66及答案与解析 一、 Reading Module (60 minutes) 0 Some of the most remarkable beetles are the dung beetles, which spend almost their whole lives eating and breeding in dung1.More than 4,000 species of these remarkable creatures have evolved and adapted to the worlds different climates and the dun
2、g of its many animals. Australias native dung beetles are scrub and woodland dwellers, specialising in coarse marsupial droppings and avoiding the soft cattle dung in which bush flies and buffalo flies breed.In the early 1960s George Bornemissza, then a scientist at the Australian Governments premie
3、r research organisation, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation(CSIRO), suggested that dung beetles should be introduced to Australia to control dung-breeding flies. Between 1968 and 1982, the CSIRO imported insects from about 50 different species of dung beetle, from Asia,
4、 Europe and Africa, aiming to match them to different climatic zones in Australia. Of the 26 species that are known to have become successfully integrated into the local environment, only one, an African species released in northern Australia, has reached its natural boundary.Introducing dung beetle
5、s into a pasture is a simple process: approximately 1,500 beetles are released, a handful at a time, into fresh cow pats2 in the cow pasture. The beetles immediately disappear beneath the pats digging and tunnelling and, if they successfully adapt to their new environment, soon become a permanent, s
6、elf-sustaining part of the local ecology. In time they multiply and within three or four years the benefits to the pasture are obvious.Dung beetles work from the inside of the pat so they are sheltered from predators such as birds and foxes. Most species burrow into the soil and bury dung in tunnels
7、 directly underneath the pats, which are hollowed out from within. Some large species originating from France excavate tunnels to a depth of approximately 30 cm below the dung pat. These beetles make sausage-shaped brood chambers along the tunnels. The shallowest tunnels belong to a much smaller Spa
8、nish species that buries dung in chambers that hang like fruit from the branches of a pear tree. South African beetles dig narrow tunnels of approximately 20 cm below the surface of the pat. Some surface-dwelling beetles, including a South African species, cut perfectly-shaped balls from the pat, wh
9、ich are rolled away and attached to the bases of plants.For maximum dung burial in spring, summer and autumn, farmers require a variety of species with overlapping periods of activity. In the cooler environments of the state of Victoria, the large French species(2.5 cms long)is matched with smaller(
10、half this size), temperate-climate Spanish species. The former are slow to recover from the winter cold and produce only one or two generations of offspring from late spring until autumn. The latter, which multiply rapidly in early spring, produce two to five generations annually. The South African
11、ball-rolling species, being a subtropical beetle, prefers the climate of northern and coastal New South Wales where it commonly works with the South African tunnelling species. In warmer climates, many species are active for longer periods of the year.Dung beetles were initially introduced in the la
12、te 1960s with a view to controlling buffalo flies by removing the dung within a day or two and so preventing flies from breeding. However, other benefits have become evident. Once the beetle larvae have finished pupation, the residue is a first-rate source of fertiliser. The tunnels abandoned by the
13、 beetles provide excellent aeration and water channels for root systems. In addition, when the new generation of beetles has left the nest the abandoned burrows are an attractive habitat for soil-enriching earthworms. The digested dung in these burrows is an excellent food supply for the earthworms,
14、 which decompose it further to provide essential soil nutrients. If it were not for the dung beetle, chemical fertiliser and dung would be washed by rain into streams and rivers before it could be absorbed into the hard earth, polluting water courses and causing blooms of blue-green algae. Without t
15、he beetles to dispose of the dung, cow pats would litter pastures making grass inedible to cattle and depriving the soil of sunlight. Australias 30 million cattle each produce 10-12 cow pats a day. This amounts to 1.7 billion tonnes a year, enough to smother about 110,000 sq km of pasture, half the
16、area of Victoria.Dung beetles have become an integral part of the successful management of dairy farms in Australia over the past few decades. A number of species are available from the CSIRO or through a small number of private breeders, most of whom were entomologists with the CSIROs dung beetle u
17、nit who have taken their specialised knowledge of the insect and opened small businesses in direct competition with their former employer.Glossary1. dung: the droppings or excreta of animals2. cow pats: droppings of cowsQuestions 1-5Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer in Rea
18、ding Passage 1?In boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet writeYES if the statement reflects the claims of the writerNO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writerNOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this 1 Bush flies are easier to control than buffalo flies. 2 Four tho
19、usand species of dung beetle were initially brought to Australia by the CSIRO. 3 Dung beetles were brought to Australia by the CSIRO over a fourteen-year period. 4 At least twenty-six of the introduced species have become established in Australia. 5 The dung beetles cause an immediate improvement to
20、 the quality of a cow pasture. 5 Label the tunnels on the diagram below. Choose your labels from the box below the diagram. Write your answers in boxes 6-8 on your answer sheet. Dung Beetle Types French SpanishMediterranean South African Australian native South African ball roller 8 Complete the tab
21、le below.Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR A NUMBER from Reading Passage 1 for each answer.Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.13 Reading Passage 2 has six sections A-F. Choose the most suitable headings for sections A-D and F from the list of headings below. Write the appropriate
22、 numbers i-ix in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet. List of Headings i The probable effects of the new international trade agreement ii The environmental impact of modern farming iii Farming and soil erosion iv The effects of government policy in rich countries v Governments and management of the env
23、ironment vi The effects of government policy in poor countries vii Farming and food output viii The effects of government policy on food output ix The new prospects for world trade Section A The role of governments in environmental management is difficult but inescapable. Sometimes, the state tries
24、to manage the resources it owns, and does so badly. Often, however, governments act in an even more harmful way. They actually subsidise the exploitation and consumption of natural resources. A whole range of policies, from farm-price support to protection for coal-mining, do environmental damage an
25、d(often)make no economic sense. Scrapping them offers a two-fold bonus: a cleaner environment and a more efficient economy. Growth and environmentalism can actually go hand in hand, if politicians have the courage to confront the vested interest that subsidies create. Section B No activity affects m
26、ore of the earths surface than farming. It shapes a third of the planets land area not counting Antarctica, and the proportion is rising. World food output per head has risen by 4 per cent between the 1970s and 1980s mainly as a result of increases in yields from land already in cultivation, but als
27、o because more land has been brought under the plough. Higher yields have been achieved by increased Irrigation, better crop breeding, and a doubling in the use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers In the 1970s and 1980s. Section C All these activities may have damaging environmental Impacts. For
28、example, land clearing for agriculture is the largest single cause of deforestation; chemical fertilisers and pesticides may contaminate water supplies; more intensive farming and the abandonment of fallow periods tend to exacerbate soil erosion; and the spread of monoculture and use of high-yieldin
29、g varieties of crops have been accompanied by the disappearance of old varieties of food plants which might have provided some Insurance against pests or diseases in future. Soil erosion threatens the productivity of land in both rich and poor countries. The United States, where the most careful mea
30、surements have been done, discovered in 1982 that about one-fifth of its farmland was losing topsoil at a rate likely to diminish the soils productivity. The country subsequently embarked upon a program to convert 11 per cent of Its cropped land to meadow or forest. Topsoil In India and China is van
31、ishing much faster than in America. Section D Government policies have frequently compounded the environmental damage that farming can cause. In the rich countries, subsidies for growing crops and price supports for farm output drive up the price of land. The annual value of these subsidies is immen
32、se: about $250 billion, or more than all World Bank lending in the 1980s.To Increase the output of crops per acre, a farmers easiest option is to use more of the most readily available Inputs: fertilisers and pesticides. Fertiliser use doubled in Denmark In the period 1960-1985 and Increased In The
33、Netherlands by 150 per cent. The quantity of pesticides applied has risen too: by 69 per cent in 1975-1984 in Denmark, for example, with a rise of 115 per cent In the frequency of application in the three years from 1981. In the late 1980s and early 1990s some efforts were made to reduce farm subsid
34、ies. The most dramatic example was that of New Zealand, which scrapped most farm support In 1984. A study of the environmental effects, conducted in 1993, found that the end of fertiliser subsidies had been followed by a fall in fertiliser use(a fall compounded by the decline in world commodity pric
35、es, which cut farm incomes). The removal of subsidies also stopped land-clearing and over-stocking, which in the past had been the principal causes of erosion. Farms began to diversify. The one kind of subsidy whose removal appeared to have been bad for the environment was the subsidy to manage soil
36、 erosion. In less enlightened countries, and in the European Union, the trend has been to reduce rather than eliminate subsidies, and to introduce new payments to encourage farmers to treat their land In environmentally friendlier ways, or to leave it fallow. It may sound strange but such payments n
37、eed to be higher than the existing incentives for farmers to grow food crops. Farmers, however, dislike being paid to do nothing. In several countries they have become interested in the possibility of using fuel produced from crop residues either as a replacement for petrol(as ethanol)or as fuel for
38、 power stations(as biomass). Such fuels produce far less carbon dioxide than coal or oil, and absorb carbon dioxide as they grow. They are therefore less likely to contribute to the greenhouse effect. But they are rarely competitive with fossil fuels unless subsidised - and growing them does no less
39、 environmental harm than other crops. Section E In poor countries, governments aggravate other sorts of damage. Subsidies for pesticides and artificial fertilisers encourage farmers to use greater quantities than are needed to get the highest economic crop yield. A study by the International Rice Re
40、search Institute of pesticide use by farmers in South East Asia found that, with pest-resistant varieties of rice, even moderate applications of pesticide frequently cost farmers more than they saved. Such waste puts farmers on a chemical treadmill: bugs and weeds become resistant to poisons, so nex
41、t years poisons must be more lethal. One cost Is to human health. Every year some 10,000 people die from pesticide poisoning, almost all of them In the developing countries, and another 400,000 become seriously ill. As for artificial fertilisers, their use world-wide Increased by 40 per cent per uni
42、t of farmed land between the mid 1 970s and late 1980s, mostly in the developing countries. Overuse of fertilisers may cause farmers to stop rotating crops or leaving their land fallow. That, In turn, may make soil erosion worse, Section F A result of the Uruguay Round of world trade negotiations is
43、 likely to be a reduction of 36 per cent in the average levels of farm subsidies paid by the rich countries In 1986-1990. Some of the worlds food production will move from Western Europe to regions where subsidies are lower or non-existent, such as the former communist countries and parts of the dev
44、eloping world. Some environmentalists worry about this outcome, It will undoubtedly mean more pressure to convert natural habitat into farmland. But It will also have many desirable environmental effects. The intensity of farming In the rich world should decline, and the use of chemical inputs will
45、diminish. Crops are more likely to be grown In the environments to which they are naturally suited. And more farmers In poor countries will have the money and the incentive to manage their land In ways that are sustainable in the long run. That is important. To feed an increasingly hungry world, far
46、mers need every Incentive to use their soil and water effectively and efficiently. 14 Section A 15 Section B 16 Section C 17 Section D 18 Section F 18 Complete the table below using the information in sections B and C of Reading Passage 2.Choose your answers A-Gfrom the box below the table and write
47、 them in boxes 19-22 on your answer sheet.A Abandonment of fallow periodB Disappearance of old plant varietiesC Increased use of chemical inputsD Increased irrigationE Insurance against pests and diseasesF Soil erosionG Clearing land for cultivation 23 Research completed in 198found that in the Unit
48、ed States soil erosion （ A） reduced the productivity of farmland by 20 per cent. （ B） was almost as severe as in India and China. （ C） was causing significant damage to 20 per cent of farmland. （ D） could be reduced by converting cultivated land to meadow or forest. 24 By the mid-1980s, farmers in D
49、enmark （ A） used 50 per cent less fertiliser than Dutch farmers. （ B） used twice as much fertiliser as they had in 1960. （ C） applied fertiliser much more frequently than in 1960. （ D） more than doubled the amount of pesticide they used in just 3 years. 25 Which one of the following increased in New Zealand after 1984? （ A） farm incomes （ B） use of fertiliser （ C） over-stocking （ D） farm diversification 26 The writer refers to some rich countries as being less enlightened than New Zealand because （ A） they disapprove of paying farmers for not cultivating the land. （ B） their new f
