同等學力英語閱讀周周練

來源：時間：2008-12-02 11:28:58

無標題文檔

同等學力英語閱讀周周練

Passage 1

Cars account for half the oil consumed in the U.S. about half the urban pollution and one fourth the greenhouse ( 溫室 ) gases. They take a similar oil of ( 損耗 ) resources in other industrial nations and in the cities of the developing world . As vehicle use continues to increase in the coming decade, the U.S. and other countries will have to deal with these issues or else face unacceptable economic, health-related and political costs. It is unlikely that oil prices will remain at their current low level or that other nation will accept a large and growing U.S. contribution to global climatic change.

Policymakers and industry have four options: reduce vehicle use, increase the efficiency and reduce the emissions of conventional gasoline-powered vehicles, switch to less harmful fuels, or find less polluting driving systems. The last of these-in particular the introduction of vehicles powered by electricity — is ultimately the only sustainable option. The other alternatives are attractive in theory but in practice are either impractical or offer only marginal improvements. For example, reduced vehicle use could solve traffic problems and a host of social and environmental problems, but evidence from around the world suggests that it is very difficult to make people give up their cars to any significant extent. In the U.S., mass-transit ridership and carpooling ( 合伙用車） have decline d since World War II. Even in Western Europe , with fuel prices averaging more than $ 1 a liter (about $ 4 a gallon) and with easily accessible mass transit and dense populations, cars still account for 80 percent of all passenger travel.

Improved energy efficiency is also appealing, but automotive fuel economy has barely made any progress in 10 years. Alternative fuels such as natural gas, burned in internal-combustion engines, could be introduced at relatively low cost, but they would lead to only marginal reductions in pollution and greenhouse emissions (especially because oil companies are already spending billions of dollars every year to develop less polluting types of gasoline).

1. From the passage we know that the increased uses of cars will ______.

A ． consume half of the oil produced in the world

B ． have serious consequences for the well-being of all nations

C ． widen the gap between the developed and developing countries

D ． impose an intolerable economic burden on residents of large cities

2. The U.S. has to deal with the problems arising from vehicle use because ______.

A ． most Americans are reluctant to switch to public transportation systems

B ． the present level of oil prices is considered unacceptable

C ． other countries will protest its increasing greenhouse emissions

D ． it should take a lead in conserving natural resources

3. Which of the following is the best solution to the problems mentioned in the passage?

A ． The designing of highly efficient car engines.

B ． A reduction of vehicle use in cities.

C ． The development of electric cars.

D ． The use of less polluting fuels.

4. Which of the following is practical but only makes a marginal contribution to solving the problem of greenhouse emissions?

A ． The use of fuels other than gasoline.

B ． Improved energy efficiency.

C ． The introduction of less polluting driving systems.

D ． Reducing car use by carpooling

5. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A ． The decline of public transportation accounts for increased car use in Western Europe .

B ． Cars are popular in Western Europe even though fuel prices are fairly high.

C ． The reduction of vehicle use is the only sustainable option in densely populated Western Europe .

D ． Western European oil companies cannot sustain the cost of developing new-type fuels

Passage 8

With only about 1,000 pandas left in the world, China is desperately trying to clone the animal and save the endangered species. That's a move similar to what a Texas A&M University researcher has been undertaking for the past five years in a project called “Noah's Ark. ”

 Dr. Duane Kraemer, a professor in Texas A&M's College of Veterinary Medicine and a pioneer in embryo ( 胚胎 ) transfer work and related procedures, says he salutes the Chinese effort and “I wish them all the best success possible. It's a worthwhile project, certainly not an easy one, and it's very much like what we're attempting here at Texas A&M—to save animals from extinction.”

 Noah's Ark is aimed at collecting eggs, embryos, semen( 精子 ) and DNA of

endangered animals and storing them in liquid nitrogen. If certain species should become extinct, Kraemer says there would be enough of the basic building blocks to

reintroduce the species in the future.

It is estimated that as many as 2,000 species of mammals, birds and reptiles w ill become extinct over the next 100 years. The panda, native only to China , is in danger of becoming extinct in the next 25 years.

 This week, Chinese scientists said they grew an embryo by introducing cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit. They are now trying to implant the embryo into a host animal.

 The entire procedure could take from three to five years to complete.

 “The nuclear transfer of one species to another is not easy, and the lack of available panda eggs could be a major problem,” Kraemer believes. “They will

probably have to do several hundred transfers to result in one pregnancy. It takes a long time and it's difficult, but this could be groundbreaking science if it works. They are certainly not putting any live pandas at risk, so it is worth t he effort,” adds Kraemer, who is one of the leaders of the Missyplicity Project at Texas A&M, the first ever attempt at cloning a dog.

 “They are trying to do something that's never been done, and this is very similar to our work in Noah's Ark. We're both trying to save animals that face extinction. I certainly applaud their effort and there's a lot we can learn from what they are attempting to do. It's a research that is very much needed.”

6. The aim of “Noah's Ark ” project is to ______ .

A ． implant embryo into a host animal

B ． salute the Chinese efforts in saving pandas

C ． save endangered animals from extinction

D ． introduce cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit

7. How long will the Chinese panda cloning project take according to the passage?

A ． 1 Year.  B ． 3 to 5 years. C ． 2 years. D ． 25 years.

8. The word “groundbreaking” (Paragraph 7) can be interpreted as ______ .

A ． essentially newB ． pioneer C ． evolutionaryD ． epoch-making

9. What could be the major problem in cloning pandas according to Professor Kraemer?

A ． Lack of available panda eggs. B ． Lack of host animals.

C ． Lack of qualified researchers. D ． Lack of funds.

10. The best title for the passage may be______.

A ． China —the Native Place of Pandas Forever

B ． China 's Efforts to Clone Pandas

C ． China 's First Cloned Panda

D ． Exploring the Possibility to Clone Pandas

Passage 9

Lead deposits, which accumulated in soil and snow during the 1960's and 70's, were primarily the result of leaded gasoline emissions originating in the United States . In the twenty years that the Clean Air Act has mandated unleaded gas use in the United States , the lead accumulation world-wide has decreased significantly.

A study published recently in the journal Nature shows that air-borne leaded gas emissions from the United States were the leading contributor to the high concentration of lead in the snow in Greenland . The new study is a result of the continued research led by Dr. Charles Boutron, an expert on the impact of heavy metals on the environment at the National Center for Scientific Research in France . A study by Dr. Boutron published in 1991 showed that lead levels in arctic ( 北極的 ) snow were declining.

In his new study, Dr. Boutron found the ratios of the different forms of lead in the leaded gasoline used in the United States were different from the ratios of European, Asian and Canadian gasolines and thus enabled scientists to differentiate ( 分區 ) the lead sources. The dominant lead ratio found in Greenland snow matched that found in gasoline from the United States .

In a study published in the journal Ambio, scientists found that lead levels in soil in the North-eastern United States had decreased markedly since the introduction of unleaded gasoline.

Many scientists had believed that the lead would stay in soil and snow for a longer period.

The authors of the Ambio study examined samples of the upper layers of soil taken from the same sites of 30 forest floors in New England , New York and Pennsylvania in 1980 and in 1990.

The forest environment processed and redistributed the lead faster than the scientists had expected.

Scientists say both studies demonstrate that certain parts of the ecosystem ( 生態系統 ) respond rapidly to reductions in atmospheric pollution, but that these findings should not be used as a license to pollute.

11. The study published in the journal Nature indicates that ______

A ． the Clean Air Act has not produced the desired results

B ． lead deposits in arctic snow are on the increase

C ． lead will stay in soil and snow longer than expected

D ． the US is the major source of lead pollution in arctic snow

12. Lead accumulation worldwide decreased significantly after the use of unleaded gas in the US _____

A ． was discouraged B ． was enforced by law

C ． was prohibited by law D ． was introduced

13. How did scientists discover the source of lead pollution in Greenland ?

A ． By analyzing the data published in journals like Nature and Ambio.

B ． By observing the lead accumulations in different parts of the arctic area.

C ． By studying the chemical elements of soil and snow in Northeastern America .

D ． By comparing the chemical compositions of leaded gasoline used in various countries.

14. The authors of the Ambio study have found that ______

A ． forests get rid of lead pollution faster than expected

B ． lead accumulations in forests are more difficult to deal with

C ． lead deposits are widely distributed in the forests of the US

D ． the upper layers of soil in forests are easily polluted by lead emissions

15. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that scientists ______

A ． are puzzled by the mystery of forest pollution

B ． feel relieved by the use of unleaded gasoline

C ． still consider lead pollution a problem

D ． lack sufficient means to combat lead pollution

Passage 10

People talked about a promising idea: using the electrical wiring already in the house to move data from room to room. One early application, the X10system for controlling lights and appliances, didn't always work well .The technology was certainly not ready to be used to bring web pages to computers anywhere in the house.

Along came the wireless network .For $50, you could get the Internet sprayed across the house and never be confined by a cord to the wall. It was slow in those early days, very unreliable, and open to interruption if you couldn't bother with setting up the encoded passwords.

But it caught on. According to estimates made by Parks Associates, a market research firm based in Dallas , about 12.5 million homes now have wireless networks; another 10 million homes, mostly newer ones, have Ethernet.

Cheap and prevalent is a hard combination to beat. However, technology companies continued to work on the idea. A version for power lines called Home Plug came out in 2002, and while it hardly affected sales of wireless network equipment, it sold enough that major companies like Intel, Cisco Sony ,Sharp and Comcast created the HomePlug Alliance to push for next-generation products, with the first to come out later this year.

Some companies are not waiting. Panasonic, Netgear, Maranta are already offering products that will move data through home electrical lines faster than routers using the current Wi-Fi standard for wireless networking.

Panasonic started selling its HD-PLC Ethernet adapters for power lines last month. One adapter is attached to a router with a short Ethernet cable and plugged into a nearby wall socket. The second device is plugged into a socket elsewhere in the house. When a computer is linked to it with an Ethernet cable, data is transmitted through the home's electrical wiring at speeds of up to 190 megabits a second.

Netgear will be selling a similar system next month for about $300.It moves data at a slightly faster rate.

Marantz says its ZR6001SP receiver will send music to special speakers in another room over power lines. The system includes both devices. The music listener controls the receiver and the CD players connected to it form a control pad on the speakers.

These products seem hopeless candidates. Who would like to pay two or three times expensive than wireless network? The answer lies in simplicity. "It's why most people need us ," Robert said, noting the complexity of installing wireless network is evident by the fact that return rates on wireless networking devices drop to nearly zero. The three products' makers said that people who cannot get whole-house coverage with a wireless system or those plagued by dead zones might find it appealing.

16.The promising idea mentioned in the first paragrph

• Has mature technology to support it

• Has a stable early application---the X10 system

• Is to transmit data by power lines within the house

• Fostered products which affected wireless network

17.The phrase "catch on"(line 1,para.3)most probably means_____

• interfere B.Prevail C.Perceive D.Continue

18.It can be inferred from the passage that the new products of Panasonic, Netgear, Marantz_____

• can directly move data by home electrical wiring

• Are adapters or a similar system to transfer data

• Provide the present Wi-Fi criteria for wireless networking

• Were produced for home electrical lines last month