1、雅思（阅读）模拟试卷 6及答案与解析 一、 Reading Module (60 minutes) 1 READING PASSAGE 1 You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-14 which are based on Reading Passage 1 on the following pages. THE ROCKET FROM EAST TO WEST A The concept of the rocket, or rather the mechanism behind the idea of propelling an ob
2、ject into the air, has been around for well over two thousand years. However, it wasnt until the discovery of the reaction principle, which was the key to space travel and so represents one of the great milestones in the history of scientific thought, that rocket technology was able to develop. Not
3、only did it solve a problem that had intrigued man for ages, but, more importantly, it literally opened the door to exploration of the universe. B An intellectual breakthrough, brilliant though it may be, does not automatically ensure that the transition is made from theory to practice. Despite the
4、fact that rockets had been used sporadically for several hundred years, they remained a relatively minor artefact of civilisation until the twentieth century. Prodigious efforts, accelerated during two world wars, were required before the technology of primitive rocketry could be translated into the
5、 reality of sophisticated astronauts. It is strange that the rocket was generally ignored by writers of fiction to transport their heroes to mysterious realms beyond the Earth, even though it had been commonly used in fireworks displays in China since the thirteenth century. The reason is that nobod
6、y associated the reaction principle with the idea of travelling through space to a neighbouring world. C A simple analogy can help us to understand how a rocket operates. It is much like a machine gun mounted on the rear of a boat. In reaction to the backward discharge of bullets, the gun, and hence
7、 the boat, move forwards. A rocket motors bullets are minute, high-speed particles produced by burning propellants in a suitable chamber. The reaction to the ejection of these small particles causes the rocket to move forwards. There is evidence that the reaction principle was applied practically we
8、ll before the rocket was invented. In his Noctes Atticae or Greek Nights, Aulus Gellius describes the pigeon of Archytas, an invention dating back to about 360 BC. Cylindrical in shape, made of wood, and hanging from string, it was moved to and fro by steam blowing out from small exhaust ports at ei
9、ther end. The reaction to the discharging steam provided the bird with motive power. D The invention of rockets is linked inextricably with the invention of black powder. Most historians of technology credit the Chinese with its discovery. They base their belief on studies of Chinese writings or on
10、the notebooks of early Europeans who settled in or made long visits to China to study its history and civilisation. It is probable that, some time in the tenth century, black powder was first compounded from its basic ingredients of saltpetre, charcoal and sulphur. But this does not mean that it was
11、 immediately used to propel rockets. By the thirteenth century, powder- propelled fire arrows had become rather common. The Chinese relied on this type of technological development to produce incendiary projectiles of many sorts, explosive grenades and possibly cannons to repel their enemies. One su
12、ch weapon was the basket of fire or, as directly translated from Chinese, the arrows like flying leopards. The 0.7 metre-long arrows, each with a long tube of gunpowder attached near the point of each arrow, could be fired from a long, octagonal-shaped basket at the same time and had a range of 400
13、paces. Another weapon was the arrow as a flying sabre, which could be fired from crossbows. The rocket, placed in a similar position to other rocket-propelled arrows, was designed to increase the range. A small iron weight was attached to the 1.5m bamboo shaft, just below the feathers, to increase t
14、he arrows stability by moving the centre of gravity to a position below the rocket. At a similar time, the Arabs had developed the egg which moves and burns. This egg was apparently full of gunpowder and stabilised by a 1.5m tail. It was fired using two rockets attached to either side of this tail.
15、E it was not until the eighteenth century that Europe became seriously interested in the possibilities of using the rocket itself as a weapon of war and not just to propel other weapons. Prior to this, rockets were used only in pyrotechnic displays. The incentive for the more aggressive use of rocke
16、ts came not from within the European continent but from far-away India, whose leaders had built up a corps of rocketeers and used rockets successfully against the British in the late eighteenth century. The Indian rockets used against the British were described by a British Captain serving in India
17、as an iron envelope about 200 millimetres long and 40 millimetres in diameter with sharp points at the top and a 3m-long bamboo guiding stick. In the early nineteenth century the British began to experiment with incendiary barrage rockets. The British rocket differed from the Indian version in that
18、it was completely encased in a stout, iron cylinder, terminating in a conical head, measuring one metre in diameter and having a stick almost five metres long and constructed in such a way that it could be firmly attached to the body of the rocket. The Americans developed a rocket, complete with its
19、 own launcher, to use against the Mexicans in the mid-nineteenth century. A long cylindrical tube was propped up by two sticks and fastened to the top of the launcher, thereby allowing the rockets to be inserted and lit from the other end. However, the results were sometimes not that impressive as t
20、he behaviour of the rockets in flight was less than predictable. F Since then, there have been huge developments in rocket technology, often with devastating results in the forum of war. Nevertheless, the modern day space programs owe their success to the humble beginnings of those in previous centu
21、ries who developed the foundations of the reaction principle. Who knows what it will be like in the future? 1 Questions 1-4 Reading Passage 1 has six paragraphs A-F. Choose the most suitable headings for paragraphs B-E from the list of headings below. Write the appropriate numbers - in boxes 1-4 on
22、your answer sheet. List of Headings How the reaction principle works The impact of the reaction principle Writers theories of the reaction principle Undeveloped for centuries The first rockets The first use of steam Rockets for military use Developments of fire Whats next? 1 Paragraph B 2 Paragraph
23、C 3 Paragraph D 4 Paragraph E 5 Questions 5 and 6 Choose the appropriate letters A-D and write them in boxes 5 and 6 on your answer sheet. 5 The greatest outcome of the discovery of the reaction principle was that （ A） rockets could be propelled into the air. （ B） space travel became a reality. （ C）
24、 a major problem had been solved. （ D） bigger rockets were able to be built. 6 According to the text, the greatest progress in rocket technology was made （ A） from the tenth to the thirteenth centuries. （ B） from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. （ C） from the early nineteenth to the late
25、 nineteenth century. （ D） from the late nineteenth century to the present day. 7 Questions 7-10 From the information in the text, indicate who FIRST invented or used the items in the list below. Write the appropriate letters A-E in boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet. NB: You may use any letter more tha
26、n once. FIRST invented or used by A the Chinese B the Indians C the British D the Arabs E the Americans 7 black powder （ A） the Chinese （ B） the Indians （ C） the British （ D） the Arabs （ E） the Americans 8 rocket-propelled arrows for fighting （ A） the Chinese （ B） the Indians （ C） the British （ D） t
27、he Arabs （ E） the Americans 9 rockets as war weapons （ A） the Chinese （ B） the Indians （ C） the British （ D） the Arabs （ E） the Americans 10 the rocket launcher （ A） the Chinese （ B） the Indians （ C） the British （ D） the Arabs （ E） the Americans 11 Questions 11-14Look at the drawings of different pr
28、ojectiles below, A-H, and the names of types of projectiles given in the passage, Questions 11-14. Match each name with one drawing.Write the appropriate letters A-H in boxes 11-14 on your answer sheet.11 The Chinesebasket of fire 12 The Arab egg which moves and burns 13 The Indian rocket 14 The Bri
29、tish barrage rocket 15 READING PASSAGE 2 You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 15-28 which are based on Reading Passageb2 below. The Risks of Cigarette Smoke Discovered in the early 1800s and named nicotianine, the oily essence now called nicotine is the main active ingredient of tobacco. N
30、icotine, however, is only a small component of cigarette smoke, which contains more than 4,700 chemical compounds, including 43 cancer-causing substances. In recent times, scientific research has been providing evidence that years of cigarette smoking vastly increases the risk of developing fatal me
31、dical conditions. In addition to being responsible for more than 85 per cent of lung cancers, smoking is associated with cancers of, amongst others, the mouth, stomach and kidneys, and is thought to cause about 14 per cent of leukemia and cervical cancers. In 1990, smoking caused more than 84,000 de
32、aths, mainly resulting from such problems as pneumonia, bronchitis and influenza. Smoking, it is believed, is responsible for 30 per cent of all deaths from cancer and clearly represents the most important preventable cause of cancer in countries like the United States today. Passive smoking, the br
33、eathing in of the side-stream smoke from the burning of tobacco between puffs or of the smoke exhaled by a smoker, also causes a serious health risk. A report published in 1992 by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emphasized the health dangers, especially from side- stream smoke. This typ
34、e of smoke contains more, smaller particles and is therefore more likely to be deposited deep in the lungs. On the basis of this report, the EPA has classified environmental tobacco smoke in the highest risk category for causing cancer. As an illustration of the health risks, in the case of a marrie
35、d couple where one partner is a smoker and one a non-smoker, the latter is believed to have a 30 per cent higher risk of death from heart disease because of passive smoking. The risk of lung cancer also increases over the years of exposure and the figure jumps to 80 per cent if the spouse has been s
36、moking four packs a day for 20 years. It has been calculated that 17 per cent of cases of lung cancer can be attributed to high levels of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke during childhood and adolescence. A more recent study by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF)
37、 has shown that second-hand cigarette smoke does more harm to non-smokers than to smokers. Leaving aside the philosophical question of whether anyone should have to breathe someone elses cigarette smoke, the report suggests that the smoke experienced by many people in their daily lives is enough to
38、produce substantial adverse effects on a persons heart and lungs. The report, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (AMA), was based on the researchers own earlier research but also includes a review of studies over the past few years. The American Medical Association represen
39、ts about half of all US doctors and is a strong opponent of smoking. The study suggests that people who smoke cigarettes are continually damaging their cardiovascular system, which adapts in order to compensate for the effects of smoking. It further states that people who do not smoke do not have th
40、e benefit of their system adapting to the smoke inhalation. Consequently, the effects of passive smoking are far greater on non-smokers than on smokers. This report emphasizes that cancer is not caused by a single element cigarette smoke; harmful effects to health are caused by many components. Carb
41、on monoxide, for example, competes with oxygen in red blood cells and interferes with the bloods ability to deliver life-giving oxygen to the heart. Nicotine and other toxins in cigarette smoke activate small blood cells called platelets, which increases the likelihood of blood clots, thereby affect
42、ing blood circulation throughout the body. The researchers criticize the practice of some scientific consultants who work with the tobacco industry for assuming that cigarette smoke has the same impact on smokers as it does on non-smokers. They argue that those scientists are underestimating the dam
43、age done by passive smoking and, in support of their recent findings, cite some previous research which points to passive smoking as the cause for between 30,000 and 60,000 deaths from heart attacks each year in the United States. This means that passive smoking is the third most preventable cause o
44、f death after active smoking and alcohol-related diseases. The study argues that the type of action needed against passive smoking should be similar to that being taken against illegal drugs and AIDS (SIDA). The UCSF researchers maintain that the simplest and most cost-effective action is to establi
45、sh smoke-free work places, schools and public places. 15 Questions 15-17 Choose the appropriate letters A-D and write them in boxes 15-17 on your answer sheet. 15 According to information in the text, leukaemia and pneumonia _. （ A） are responsible for 84,000 deaths each year. （ B） are strongly link
46、ed to cigarette smoking. （ C） are strongly linked to lung cancer. （ D） result in 30 per cent of deaths per year. 16 According to information in the text, intake of carbon monoxide _. （ A） inhibits the flow of oxygen to the heart. （ B） increases absorption of other smoke particles. （ C） inhibits red
47、blood cell formation. （ D） promotes nicotine absorption. 17 According to information in the text, intake of nicotine encourages _. （ A） blood circulation through the body. （ B） activity of other toxins in the blood. （ C） formation of blood clots. （ D） an increase of platelets in the blood. 18 Questi
48、ons 18-21 Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 2? In boxes 18-21 on your answer sheet write YES if the statement reflects the claims of the writer NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer
49、thinks about this 18 Thirty per cent of deaths in the United States are caused by smoking-related diseases. （ A） YES （ B） NO （ C） NOT GIVEN 19 If one partner in a marriage smokes, the other is likely to take up smoking. （ A） YES （ B） NO （ C） NOT GIVEN 20 Teenagers whose parents smoke are at risk of getting lung cancer at some time during their lives. （ A） YES （ B） NO （ C） NOT GIVEN 21 Opponents of smoking financed the UCSF study. （ A） YES （ B） NO （ C） NOT GIVEN 22 Questions 22-24 Choose ONE phrase from
