2014职称英语理工A阅读理解(便携版)
34 Batteries Built by Viruses――1
35 Putting Plants to Work（2013理工B真题）
36 Listening Device Provides Landslide Early Warning――2
37 "Don't Drink Alone" Gets New Meaning――3
38 "Life Form Found" on Saturn' s Titan（2012题）
39 Clone Farm――4
40 Teaching Math, Teaching Anxiety――5
41 Too Little for Global Warming――6
42 Renewable Energy Sources――7
43. Forecasting Methods（2013理工A真题）
44 Defending the Theory of Evolution Still Seems Needed――8
45 Small But Wise（2012年真题）
46 Ants Have Big Impact on Environment as "Ecosystem Engineers" ――9
47 Listening to Birdsong――11
48 Researchers Discover Why Humans BeganWalking Upright （2013教材新增）
49 U.S. Scientists Confirm Water on Mars――13
50 Cell Phones Increase Traffic, Pedestrian Fatalities――14
34 Batteries Built by Viruses
What do chicken pox，the common cold, the flu，and AIDS have in common? They’re all disease caused by viruses，tiny microorganisms that can pass from person to person．It's no wonder that when most people think about viruses, finding ways t0 steer clear of viruses is what's on people's minds．
Not everyone runs from the tiny disease carders, though．In Cambridge, Massachusetts, scientists have discovered that some viruses can be helpful in an unusual way．They are putting viruses to work, teaching them to build some of the world's smallest rechargeable batteries.
Viruses and batteries may seem like an unusual pair，but they're not so strange for engineer Angela Belcher，who first came up with the idea．At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, she and her collaborators bring together different areas of science in new ways．In the case of the virus-built batteries, the scientists combine what they know about biology, technology and production techniques．
Belcher's team includes Paula Hammond，who helps put together the tiny batteries, and Yet-Ming Chiang，an expert on how to store energy in the form of a battery．“We’re working on things we traditionally don’t associate with nature．”says Hammond.
Many batteries are already pretty small．You can hold A．C and D batteries in your hand．The coin—like batteries that power watches are often smaller than a penny．However。every year，new electronic devices like personal music players or cell phones get smaller than the year before．As these devices shrink, ordinary batteries won't be small enough to fit inside．
The ideal battery will store a lot of energy in a small package．Right now，Belcher's model battery，a metallic disk completely built by viruses，looks like a regular watch battery．But inside，its components are very small—so tiny you can only see them with a powerful microscope．How small are these battery parts? To get some idea of the size，pluck one hair from your head．Place your hair on a piece of white paper and try to see how wide your hair is—pretty thin，right? Although the width of each person's hair is a bit different，you could probably fit about l0 of these virus—built battery parts，side to side，across one hair．These microbatteries may change the way we look at viruses．
①According to the first paragraph，people try to
A kill microorganisms related to chicken pox，the flu，etc．
B keep themselves away from viruses because they are invisible．
C stay away from viruses because they are causes of various diseases．
D cure themselves of virus—related diseases by taking medicines．
②What is Belcher's team doing at present?
A. It is finding ways to get rid of viruses．
B. It is mass—producing microbatteries．
C. It is making batteries with viruses．
D. It is analyzing virus genes．
③What expression below is opposite in meaning to the word "shrink" appearing in paragraph 5？
A. Broaden．
B. Spread．
C. Extend．
D. Expand：
④Which of the following is true of Belcher's battery mentioned in paragraph 6？
A. It is made of metal ．
B. It is a kind of watch battery．
C. It can only be seen with a microscope．
D. It is a metallic disk with viruses inside it．
⑤How tiny is one battery part?
A. Its width is one tenth of a hair.
B. It equals the width of a hair．
C. It is as thin as a piece of paper．
D. Its width is too tiny to measure．
水痘、普通感冒、流感和艾滋病有哪些相似之处呢？这些都是由病毒引起的疾病。病毒是能够在人与人之间传染的微生物。难怪大部分人一提到病毒，首先想到的是如何躲避病毒。
然而，并不是每个人都躲避这些病毒携带者。在马萨诸塞州剑桥市，科学家发现有些病毒能起到非同寻常的作用。他们使病毒开始工作，使病毒构成世界上最小的充电电池。
病毒和电池的搭档似乎并不常见，但这对于工程师安吉拉·贝尔彻来说却并不陌生。安吉拉·贝尔彻最早产生了这一想法。在位于剑桥市的麻省理工学院，她和合作者一起用新方式融合了不同的科学领域。在由病毒构成的电池里，科学家融合了他们在生物、技术和生产工艺方面的知识。
贝尔彻的团队包括帮助组装微型电池的宝拉·哈蒙德和以电池形式存储能量的专家蒋业明。哈蒙德说，“我们现在从事的行业是传统中不会想到的。”
许多电池已经很小了。A型、C型和D型电池都可以握在手里。硬币形状的手表电池通常比分币还小。然而，个人音乐播放器和
手机等新型电子设备变得越来越小。这些设备变小了，普通电池就无法安装进去了。
理想的电池应当体积小、储能多。贝尔彻的电池模型是完全由病毒构成的金属圆盘，看起来就像普通手表电池。但里面的部件却非常小——小到用高倍望远镜才能看到。
这些电池部件到底有多小呢？从头上拔一根头发，把它放到白纸上，看看头发的宽度——是不是很细呢？尽管每个人的头发宽度不同，每个头发上可以并列排放大约10个病毒电池部件。这些微电池能会改变我们对病毒的看法。
35 Putting Plants to Work（2013理工B真题）
36 Listening Device Provides Landslide Early Warning
A device that provides early warning of a landslide by monitoring vibrations in soil is being tested by UK researchers．Tile device could save thousands of lives each year by warning when an area should be evacuated，the scientists say．Such natural disasters are common in countries that experience sudden，heavy rainfall，and can also be triggered by earthquakes and even water erosion．Landslides start when a few particles of soil or rock within a slope start to move，but the early stages can be hard to spot．Following this initial movement，“slopes can become．unstable in a matter of hours or minutes,” says Nell Dixon at Loughborough University1,UK．He says a warning system that monitors this movement “might be enough to evacuate a block of fiats or clear a road，and save lives．”
The most common way to monitor a slope for signs of an imminent landslide is to watch for changes in its shape．Surveyors can do this by measuring a site directly，or sensors sunk into boreholes or fixed above ground can be used to monitor the shape of a slope．Slopes can，however，change shape without triggering a landslide，so either method is prone to causing false alarms．Now Dixon’s team has developed a device that listens for the vibrations caused when particles begin moving within a slope．
The device takes the form of a steel pipe dropped into a boreh01e in a slope．The borehole is filled in with gravel around the pipe to help transmit high-frequency vibrations generated by particles within the slope．These vibrations pass up the tube and are picked up by a sensor on the surface．Software analyses the vibration signal to determine whether a landslide may be imminent．
The device is currently being tested in a 6-metre-tall artificial clay embankment in Newcastle2，UK．Early results suggest it should provide fewer false positives than existing systems．Once it has been carefully and thoroughly tested，the device could be used to create a complete early-warning system for dangerous slopes.
“Locations with a signi ficant risk of landslides could definitely benefit from a machine like this,” says Adam Poulter，an expert at the British Red Cross．“As long as it doesn’t cost too much．” But，Poulter adds that an
early-warning system may not be enough on its own．“You need to have the human communication,” he says．“Making systems that get warnings to those who need them can be difficult．”
听觉仪器提供早期山崩预警
英国研究者们正在测试一种仪器．它可以通过监测土壤振动提供早期出崩预告。科学家们说，这种仪器通过警报某处有险情需要撤离，每年可以拯救成千上万的生命。经历过骤降大时寸，地震甚至土壤侵蚀的国家，山崩这样的自然灾害是很常见的。
当同一个山坡上的一些土壤或石块开始移动时，山崩就开始了．但早期很难发现。接着这个初始运动，“山坡在数分钟或数小时内变得不稳定。”英国拉夫倨大学尼尔·迪克森说。他说，一个监控这种运动的警报系统“足以疏散一个街区的人或清l叶{一条马路，拯救生命”。
监视迫近的山崩。最常见的办法就是观察这座山形状的变化。研究者们可以直接测量，也可以在钻孑L中或者地表面上探测山坡形状的变化。可是．山坡改变形状也未必就导致山崩。所以任何一种方法都可能导致误警。现在，迪克森的川队已发明了一种仪器，它在一个山坡内的颗粒开始移动时可以接收到振动。
这个仪器是钢管形状，探入山坡上的一个钻孑L中。钻孔中仪器的四周填满沙砾，有助于传导山坡内颗粒产生的高频振动波。振动波顺着钢管上传，被地表传感器接收。通过软件分析振动信号，判断是否马上要发生山崩。
目前这种仪器正在英吲纽卡斯尔一座6米高人造石灰大坝中接受测试。先期结果显示它比现有的仪器提供较少的判断误差。一旦这种仪器通过了认真彻底的检测，它将成为一个完善的山崩早期预警系统。
“受山崩严重威胁的地区一定会从这样的仪器中得益，”英凶红十字会的专家艾臀·保特说，“只要它不是太贵。”但是，保特义说一个甲期预警系统本身并不足以防灾，“你需要缱立人际交流，”他说，“使系统发射的预警送达到需要的人群是不容易的事。”
①What does “Such natural disasters” in the first paragraph refer to?
A Sudden，heavy rainfall．
B Earthquakes．
C Water erosion．
D Landslides．
②Which of the following statements is true of landslides?
A The initial movement is hard to spot．
B They start with a movement of a few particles of soil or rock．
C They can be destructive in a matter of hours or minutes．
D All of the above．
③Why do researchers develop a new device to monitor signs of landsides?
A Because the new device can measure the site directly.
B Because the new device can be sunk into boreholes or fixed above ground．
C Because the common methods can cause false alarms．
D Because the common methods are useless．
④Which of the following statements is NOT true of the device，according 1o Paragraph4?
A It is filled in with gravel．
B It consists of a steel pipe．
C It is dropped into a horehole filled in with gravel．
D It is connected to a sensor on the surface．
⑤According to the context，what does the word “positives” in the fifth paragraph mean?
A Positive electric charges．
B Evidences．
C Warnings．
D Predictions．
37 "Don't Drink Alone" Gets New Meaning
In what may be bad news for bars and pubs，a European research group has found that people drinking alcohol outside of meals have a significantly higher risk of cancer in the mouth and neck than do those taking their libations with food. Luigino Dal Maso and his colleagues studied the drinking patterns of 1,500 patients from four cancer studies2 and another 3，500 adults who had never had cancer.
After the researchers accounted for the amount of alcohol consumed, they found that individuals who downed a significant share of their alcohol outside of meals3 faced at least a 50 to 80 percent risk of cancer in the oral cavity, pharynx, and esophagus, when compared with people who drank only at meals. Consuming alcohol without food also increased by at least 20 percent the likelihood of laryngeal4 cancer. “ Roughly 95 percent of cancers at these four sites5 traced to smoking or drinking6 by the study volunteers，” Dal Maso says. The discouraging news, his team reports, is that drinking with meals didn?t eliminate cancer risk at any of the sites.
For their new analysis，the European scientists divided people in the study into four groups，based on how many drinks they reported having in an average week7. The lowest-intake group included people who averaged up to8 20 drinks 狂week. The highest group reported downing at least 56 servings of alcohol weekly for an average of eight or more per day.9 Cancer risks for the mouth and neck sites rose steadily with consumption even for people who reported drinking only with meals. For instance, compared with people in the lowest-consumption group, participants who drank 21 to 34 alcohol servings a week at least doubled their cancer risk for all sites other than the larynx10. If people in these consumption groups took some of those drinks outside meals, those in the higher consumption group at least quadrupled their risk for oral cavity and esophageal cancers.
People in the highest-consumption group who drank only with meals had 10 times the risk of oral cancer, 7 times the risk of pharyngeal cancer, and 16 times the risk of esophageal cancer compared with those who averaged 20 or fewer drinks a week with meals. In contrast, laryngeal cancer risk in the high-intake, with-meals-only group11 was only triple that12 in the low-intake consumers who drank with meals.
“Alcohol can inflame tissues. Over time, that inflammation can trigger cancer. ” Dal Maso says. He suspects that food reduced cancer risk either by partially coating digestive-tract tissues or by scrubbing alcohol off those tissues. He speculates that the reason laryngeal risks were dramatically lower for all study participants traces to the tissue?s lower exposure to alcohol.
“不要在就餐时间以外饮酒”有了新含义
一定程度上，这对酒吧可能是一个坏消息，欧洲的一个研究小组发现人们在就餐时间以外饮酒会使患口腔和颈部癌症的机率比就餐时饮酒更高。Luigino Dal Maso和他的同事们研究了取自四项癌症研究的1500个病例的饮酒习惯模式和另外3 500个从没患癌症的成年人的饮酒习惯模式。
在研究者分析了饮酒的总量后，他们发现和只在就餐时饮酒的人相比，在就餐时间以外灌下大量烈酒的人面临至少50％～80％的患口腔癌、咽癌和食道癌的危险。在就餐时间外饮酒也会使患喉癌的可能性增加至少20％。“被研究者的情况说明大约95％患以上四种癌症的原因就是抽烟或饮酒。”Dal Maso说。他的研究小组提供的报告中令人沮丧的消息是就餐时饮酒不会消除患以上任何一种癌症的危险。
为了进行新的分析，欧洲科学家根据每星期平均饮酒量将被研究者分为4组。饮酒量最少的一组包括每周平均饮酒量达20杯的人，饮酒量最高的一组每周饮酒至少56杯，平均每天8杯以上。患口腔癌和喉癌的危险随着饮酒量而稳定上升，即使是那些只在就餐时饮酒的人。例如，和低饮酒量的人相比，每周饮酒21～34杯的人患除喉癌以外其他部位的癌症的危险增加了一倍。如果这几组中的人在就餐时间以外饮酒，那些属于高饮酒量组的人会使他们患口腔癌和食道癌的危险至少增加3倍。
和每周只在就餐时平均饮酒至多20杯的人相比，高饮酒量组的人在就餐时间饮酒患口腔癌的危险是低饮酒量组的10倍，咽癌是其7倍，食道癌16倍。相反，酒精高摄人且仅在就餐时饮酒的人患喉癌的危险是酒精低摄人且仅在就餐时饮酒的人的3倍。
“酒精能使组织发炎，一段时间后，炎症可引发癌症。”Dal Maso 说。他认为食物降低了患癌症的危险，或是通过覆盖在消化道组织上或是通过将酒精从那些组织上擦掉。他推测所有被研究者患喉癌的机率比其他癌症低很多的原因是喉部组织被酒精侵害到的部分少。
①Researchers have found that the risk of cancer in the mouth and neck is higher with people
A who drink alcohol outside of mealsur
B who drink alcohol at meals.
C who never drink alcohol.
D who drink alcohol at bars and pubs.
②Which of the following is NOT the conclusion made by the researchers about “drinking with meals”?
A It has a lower risk of cancer than drinking without food.
B It may also be a cause of cancer.
C It increases by 20 percent the possibility of cancer in all sites.
D It does not eliminate cancer risk at any of the sites.
③Approximately how many drinks do the lowest-intake group average per day?
A 3 drinks.
B 8 drinks.
C 20 drinks.
D 56 drinks.
④Which cancer risk is the lowest among all the four kinds
of cancer mentioned in the passage?
A Oral cancer.
B Laryngeal cancer.
C Pharyngeal cancer.
D Esophageal cancer.
⑤According to the last paragraph, tissue?s lower exposure to alcohol
A explains why inflammation triggers cancer.
B accounts for why food can coat digestive-tract tissues.
C is the reason why food can scrub alcohol off tissues.
D reduces the risk of laryngeal cancer.
38 "Life Form Found" on Saturn' s Titan（2012题）
39 Clone Farm
Factory farming could soon enter a new era of mass production. Companies in the US are developing the technology needed to "clone" chickens on a massive scale. Once a chicken with desirable traits has been bred or genetically engineered, tens of thousands of eggs, which will hatch into identical copies , could roll off the production lines every hour. Billions of clones could be produced each year to supply chicken farms with birds that all grow at the same rate, have the same amount of meat and taste the same.
This, at least, is the vision of the US's National Institute of Science and Technology, which has given Origen Therapeutics of Burlingame, California, and Embrex of North Carolina $4.7 million to help fund research. The prospect has alarmed animal welfare groups, who fear it could increase the suffering of farm birds.
That's unlikely to put off the poultry industry, however, which wants disease-resistant birds that grow faster on less food. "Producers would like the same meat quantity but to use reduced inputs to get there," says Mike Fitzgerald of Origen. To meet this demand, Origen aims to "create an animal that is effectively a clone", he says. Normal cloning doesn't work in birds because eggs can't be removed and implanted. Instead, the company is trying to bulk-grow, embryonic stem cells taken from fertilized eggs as soon as they're laid. "The trick is to culture the cells without them starting to distinguish, so they remain pluripotent," says Fitzgerald.
Using a long-established technique, these donor cells will then be injected into the embryo of a freshly laid, fertilized recipient egg, forming a chick that is a "chimera". Strictly speaking a chimera isn't a clone, because it contains cells from both donor and recipient. But Fitzgerald says it will be enough if, say, 95 percent of a chicken's body develops from donor cells. "In the poultry world, it doesn't matter if it's not 100 percent," he says.
Another challenge for Origen is to scale up production. To do this, it has teamed up with Embrex, which produces machines that can inject vaccines into up to 50,000 eggs an hour. Embrex is now trying to modify the machines to locate the embryo and inject the cells into precisely the right spot without killing it.
In future, Origen imagines freezing stem cells from different strains of chicken. If orders come in for a particular strain, millions of eggs could be produced in months or even weeks. At present, maintaining all the varieties the market might call for is too expensive for breeders, and k takes years to breed enough chickens to produce the billions of eggs that farmers need.
①Which statement is the best description of the new era of factory farming according to the first paragraph?工业化农场这个新时代是指_____
A.Eggs are all genetically engineered.
B.Thousands of eggs are produced every hour.
C.Cloned chickens are bulk-produced with the same growth rate, weight and taste.
D.Identical eggs can be hatched on the production lines.
②Which institution has offered $4.7 million to fund the research?_______提供了470万美元资助克隆研究。
A.The US’s National Institute of Science and Technology.
B.Origen therapeutics of Burlingame, California.
C.Embrex of North Carolina.
D. Animal welfare groups.
③In the third paragraph, by saying “Producers would like the same meat quantity but to use reduced inputs to get there.” Mike Fitzgerald means that he wishes在第三段，养殖者的希望是_____
A.chickens’ quality could be maintained but with less investment.
B.chickens' taste could be improved but at less costs.
C.chickens' growth rate could be quickened but with less inputs.
D.chickens could grow to the same weight but with less feed.
④Which of the following statements about Origen and Embrex is correct according to the fifth paragraph?第五段关于Origen and Embrex两大公司描述正确的是？A.Origen and Embrex will jointly invent machines to increase production.
B.Origen wants to purchase an efficient donor cells injecting machine.
C.Origen has joined hands with Embrex in producing cell-injecting machines.
D.Origen is the leading company in producing embryo-locating machines.
⑤The technology of freezing stem cells from different strains of chicken can do all the following EXCEPT that冷冻干细胞技术的作用不可能是____
A.farmers can order certain strains of chicken only.
B.Origen can supply all the strains of chicken the market might need.
C.chicken farmers order certain strains of chicken for economic reasons.
D.chicken farmers can be supplied with whatever strain they need.
克隆农场
工业化农场很快会进入一个大产量的新领域。美国的公司正在开发一项需要大规模克隆小鸡的技术。一旦一个具有所期望特性的小鸡被孵化出来或被基因改造，每小时成千上万的鸡蛋会孵出如出一辙的小鸡滚下生产线。每年上百万的克隆小鸡能被孵化出来，从而为鸡场提供以相同比例生长，重量相同并且味道相同的小鸡。
这至少是美国国家科技院的梦想，科技院给位于加利福尼亚伯林盖姆的奥利药物研究所，以及北卡罗来的艾姆伯利斯470万基金以资助研究。这个预想为担忧增加鸡场小鸡痛苦的动物福利组织拉响了警报。
那好像并没有让使家禽养殖业气馁，然而，他们想使抗痛小鸡吃得更少，长得更快，“养殖者希望减少投入但仍获得相同的产量，”奥利研究所的迈克费茨杰拉德说。为了达到这个要求，奥利致力于“制造一个有效克隆体的小鸡，”他说。正常的克隆技术对禽类无效，因为卵不能被移动或移植。然而，公司正试图大量繁殖刚产下的受精卵中提取的胚胎干细胞。技巧是在细胞开始显示其差别前对其进行培育，这样它们还保持多能性。”费茨杰拉德说。
运用早已形成的技术，这些干细胞会被注入刚孵出的，已受精的，要接受细胞植入的鸡蛋的胚胎中，形成一个嵌合体的小鸡。严格地说，嵌合体的小鸡不是克隆鸡，因为它既有植入的细胞又有本身的细胞。但费茨杰拉德说，如果小鸡身体的95%是由被植入的细胞发展而来的就足够了。“在家禽界，不是100%也没关系。”
奥利研究所面临的另一个挑战是提高生产量。为了做到这点，他和艾姆伯利斯合作研制了一个可将疫苗注入50000个鸡蛋中的仪器。艾姆伯利斯正试图改造那个仪器，从而使胚胎和注射的细胞落在准确的位置而不杀死它。
在将来，奥利设想将不同品种小鸡的干细胞冷冻，如果定单要某一种小鸡，成百万的卵能在几个月甚至几个星期被生产出来，目前，维持市场可能需要的各种小鸡对养殖者来说太昂贵了，那要花数年的时间培育足够多的小鸡以生产出农民需要的上百万鸡蛋。
40 Teaching Math, Teaching Anxiety
In a new study about the way kids learn math in elementary school, the psychologists at the University of Chicagol1 Sian Beilock and Susan Levine found a surprising relationship between what female teachers think and what female students learn:If a female teacher is uncomfortable with her own math skills, then her female students are more likely to believe that boys are better than girls at math.
"If these girls keep getting math-anxious female teachers2 in later grades, it may create a snowball effect on their math achievement3 said Levine. In other words,girls may end up learning math anxiety from their teachers4. The study suggests that if these girls grow up believing that boys are better at math than girls are,then these girls may not do as well as they would have if they were more confident.
Just as students find certain subjects to be difficult, teachers can find certain subjects to be difficult to learn -- and teach. The subject of math can be particularly difficult for everyone.
Researchers use the word "anxiety" to describe such feelings: anxiety is uneasiness or worry.
The new study found that when a teacher has anxiety about math, that feeling can influence how her female students feel about math. The study involved 65 girls,52 boys and 17 first- and second-grade teachers in elementary schools in the Midwest. The students took math achievement tests at the beginning and end of the school year, and the researchers compared the scores.
The researchers also gave the students tests to tell whether the students believed that a math superstar had to be a boy. Then the researchers turned to the teachers:To find out which teachers were anxious about math,the researchers asked the teachers how they felt at times when they came across math, such as when reading a sales receipt5. A teacher who got nervous looking at the numbers on a sales receipt, for example,was probably anxious about math.
Boys,on average,were unaffected by a teacher's anxiety. On average,girls with math-anxious teachers scored lower on the end-of-the-year math tests than other girls in the study did.Plus,on the test showing whether someone thought a math superstar had to be a boy,20 girls showed feeling that boys would be better at math -- and all of these girls had been taught by female teachers who had math anxiety.
"This is an interesting study,but the results need to be interpreted as preliminary and in need of replication with a larger sample6," said David Geary,a psychologist at the University of Missouri7 in Columbia.
①What is the result of the research at the University of Chicago,according to the first paragraph?
A Girls comfortable with their own math skills are better than boys at math.
B Girls uncomfortable with their own math skills are not as good as boys at math.
C Female teachers' math skills have influence over girl students' math skills.
D Female teachers' confidence in their math skills is related to girl's math skills.
②What is implied in the third paragraph?
A Math teachers,like math learners,do not like the subject due to its difficulty.
B A difficult subject like math may affect teachers' confidence in teaching the subject.
C Teachers are more anxious teaching math than their students learning math.
D Math is so difficult that no teachers like to teach it.
③According to the experiment,those teachers were probably anxious about math when they felt
A nervous memorizing the numbers of a sales receipt.
B helpless saving the numbers of a sales receipt.
C uneasy reading the numbers of a sales receipt.
D hopeless filling in the numbers of a sales report.
④The sixth paragraph tells us that the research findings
A prove a strong link between female teachers' math anxiety and their female students' math achievements.
B show that male students are less likely to be affected by their math anxiety than female students.
C provide strong evidence that math superstars are more likely to be males than females.
D discover a strong link between teachers' math anxiety and their students' math achievements.
⑤David Geary thinks that
A the study is interesting but it is based on unreliable research process.
B the research results need to be retested based on a larger sample.
C the research results need to be reinterpreted to be meaningful.
D the study is well based and produces significant results.
教数学，教焦虑
在最新一项关于小学生学数学的研究中，芝加哥大学的心理学家Sian Beilock和Susan Levine 发现，女教师的想法和女学生的学习之间有着惊人的联系：如果女教师对自己的数学能力感到焦虑，她的女学生很可能认为男孩子数学比女孩学得更好。
"如果一直由对数学有焦虑的女教师教授数学，就会对她们的数学成绩产生雪球效应"，Levine说。换言之，女孩子们最后从老师那里获得的是对数学的焦虑。该研究表明，如果女孩子们在一个认为男孩比女孩数学好的环境中成长，那么她们的数学可能会不如在更自信的状态下学得好。
如同学生，教师也会觉得某些学科难学和难教，这就是研究者所言的"焦虑"：不自在或担心。
此研究发现，教师对数学的焦虑能够传染给她的女学生们。该研究的研究对象包括65个女孩，52个男孩和17位在中西部教一二年级的教师。学生们在学年的开始和结束时都进行数学测试，研究者们比较得分。
研究者们测试学生是否认为数学明星一定会是男孩。然后研究者们测试教师，试图找出哪些教师对数学感到焦虑，研究者们问教师们当碰到数学问题诸如阅读销售清单时的感受，如果一位教师一看到销售清单的数字就感到紧张，那么她很可能对数学存在焦虑。
平均来说，教师的焦虑不会影响到男孩子。但是，一般说来，如果教女孩子的教师有数学焦虑症，那么女孩子们在学年结束时测试得分比其他的女孩要低。另外，在关于是否认为数学明星应该是男孩的测试中，有20个女孩认为男孩数学比女孩好，这20个女孩的老师都是女性，且都患有数学焦虑症。
来自密苏里大学的心理学家David Geary说"这是一个有趣的研究，但是这只是初步结果，需要用更大的调查样本进行重复验证"。
41 Too Little for Global Warming
Oil and gas will run out1 too fast for doomsday global warming scenarios2 to materialize, according to a controversial new analysis presented this week at the University of Uppsala in Sweden. The authors warn that all the fuel will be burnt before there is enough carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to realize predictions of melting ice caps and searing temperatures. Defending their predictions, scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change3 say they considered a range of estimates of oil and gas reserves, and point out that coal-burning could easily make up4 the shortfall. But all agree that burning coal would be even worse for the planet.
The IPCC’s predictions of global meltdown pushed forward5 the 1997 Kyoto Protocol6, an agreement obliging signatory nations to cut CO2 emissions. The IPCC considered a range of future scenarios, from unlimited burning of fossil-fuels to a fast transition towards greener energy sources. But geologists Anders Sivertsson, Kjell Aleklett and Colin Campbell of Uppsala University say there is not enough oil and gas left even the most conservative of the 40 IPCC scenarios to come to pass7.
Although estimates of oil and gas reserves vary widely, the researchers are part of a growing group of experts who believe that oil supplies will peak as soon as 2010, and gas soon after. Their analysis suggests that oil and gas reserves combined amount to the equivalent of about 3,500 billion barrels of oil considerably less than the 5,000 billion barrels estimated in the most optimistic model envisaged by the IPCC. Even the average forecast of about 8,000 billion barrels is more than twice the Swedish estimate of the world’s remaining reserves.
Nebojsa akicenovic, an energy economist at the University of Vienna, Austria who headed the 80-strong IPCCteam that produced the forecasts, says the panel’s work still stands8. He says they factored in9 a much broader and internationally accepted range of oil and gas estimates than the “conservative”Swedes.
Even if oil and gas run out. “there’s a huge amount of coal underground that could be exploited.”He says that burning coal could make the IPCC scenarios come true, but points out that such a switch would be disastrous. Coal is dirtier than oil and gas and produces more CO2 for each unit of energy, as well as releasing large amounts of particulates. He says the latest analysis is a “shot across the bows10”for policy makers.
全球变暖”缺油”
根据本周在瑞典乌普萨拉大学新发表的一个具争议性的分析，石油和天然气会在全球变暖这一世界末日的场景到来之前耗尽。作者警告说，在使大气中含有足够的二氧化碳来造成冰冠融化和温度升高等场景出现之前，石化燃料会先消耗殆尽。来自政府间气候变化专门委员会(IPCC)的专家为自己的预测辩护说，他们是根据一系列的石油及天然气存量预估来预测，并指出燃煤可轻易填补不足的差额。不过所有人都同意燃煤将会对地球造成更糟的影响。
IPCC的全球冰雪融化预测推动了1 997年京都议定书的签署，签署国同意将缩减二氧化碳的总排放量。IPCC预测了一系列包含从无节制的使用化石燃料至快速过渡到较环保能源所将产生的未
来场景。但是乌普萨拉大学的地质学家Anders Sivertsson，Kjell Alek-lett和Colin Campbell表示，即使是IPCC最保守的40个预测场景，也没有足够的石油和天然气存量使其成真。
尽管乌普萨拉大学对石油和天然气储存量的估算差别很大，但越来越多的研究者认为2010年将是石油供应的高峰期，紧接着就是天燃气。他们的分析表明石油和天燃气的储存总量在35，000
亿桶左右。而IPCC最乐观的估算是50，000亿桶左右。对世界石油和天然气存量的平均预测是80，000亿桶，这甚至是瑞典人估
算值的两倍。
Nebojsa Nakicenovic是奥地利维也纳大学的能源专家和经济学家。他领导了多达80人的IPCC研究小组并作出了上述预测。他说，IPCC对世界燃料的存量估算仍然站得住脚。他认为和保守的瑞典人相比，IPCC的估算考虑到一些范围更广的、国际认定的燃料储存。
即使石油和天然气消耗殆尽，”还有大量的地下煤可以开采，”他说道，煤的燃烧能使IPCC的预言成为现实。但他指出，从这一转换会产生灾难性的后果。煤比石油和天然气脏，每一能量单位的使用会产生更多的二氧化碳，并释放出大量的微粒。他说最近的研究给政策制定者们泼了盆冷水。
①What do the authors of the new analysis presented at the University of Uppsala intend to say?
A The burning of coal will accelerate the arrival of Earth’s doomsday.
B The oil reserves are big enough to materialize the doomsday scenarios.
C Melting ice caps and searing temperatures exist only in science fiction.
D Oil and gas will run out so fast that Earth’s doomsday will never materialize.
②Nations that signed the Kyoto Protocol agree to
A pay attention to global meltdown.
B cut CO2 emissions.
C use more green energy.
D stop using fossil fuels.
③What are the estimates of the world’s oil and gas reserves?
A 4,000 billion barrels by the average forecast.
B 8,000 billion barrels estimated by the Swedes.
C 3,500 barrels envisaged by IPCC.
D 3,500 billion by a growing numher of scientists.
④Which of the following about Nebojsa Nakicenovic is true?
A He thinks fossil fuels are as dirty as oil and gas.
B He thinks green fuels will replace oil and gas eventually.
C He thinks IPCC’s view on the world’s oil reserves is too optimistic.
D He thinks that IPCC ’s estimates are more optimistic than the Swedes.
⑤Which of the following is the near explanation of Nakicenovic's assertion that“…such a switch would be disastrous …”?
A The IPCC scenarios would come true because burning coal will emit larger amounts of CO2.
B Aswitch to burning coal would produce disastrous environmental problems.
C Oil and gas to replace coal as fuel would speed up the process of global warming.
D A switch from the IPCC scenarios to the policymakers’ones would be disastrous.
42 Renewable Energy Sources
Today petroleum provides around 40% of the world’s energy needs, mostly fuelling automobiles. Coal is still used, mostly in pover stations, to cover one-quarter of our energy needs, but it is the least efficient, unhealthiest and most environmentally damaging fossil fuel. Natural gas reserves could plug some of the gap from oil, but reserves of that will not last into the 22nd century either. Most experts predict we will exhaust easily accessible reserves within 50 years. We could fast reach an energy crisis. We need to rapidly develop sustainable solutions to fuel our future.
Less-polluting renewable energy sources offer a more practical long-term energy solution. They may benefit the world’s poor too. “Renewable” refers to the f act that these resources are not used faster than they can be replaced.
The Chinese and Romans used watermills over 2,000 years ago. But the first hydroelectric dam was built in England in 1870. Hydroelectric power is now the most common form of renewable energy, supplying around 20% of world electricity. China’s three gorges Dam, which has just been completed, is the largest ever. At five times the size of the US’s Hoover Dam, its 26 turbines will generate the equivalent energy of 18 coal-fired power stations. It will satisfy 3% of China’s entire electricity demand. Surprisingly, some argue that hydroelectric dams significantly contribute greenhouse gases.
In 2003, the first commercial power station to harness tidal currents in the open sea opened in Norway. It is designed like windmill, but others take the form of turbines.
As prices fall, wind power has become the fastest growing type of electricity generation – quadrupling worldwide between 1999 and 2005. Modern wind farms consist of turbines that generate electricity. Though it will be more expensive, there is more than enough wind to provide the world’s entire energy needs. Wind farms come in onshore and offshore forms. They can often end up at spots of natural beauty, and are often unpopular with residents. And turbines are not totally benign – they can interfere with radar and leave a significant ecological footprint, altering climate and lilling sea birds. Migrating birds may have more luck avoiding them. Scotland is building europe’s largest wind farm, which wil power 200,000 homes. The UK’s goal is to generate onefifth of power from renewable sources, mainly wind, by 2020. But this may cause problems, because wind is unreliable.
①What are energy resources that are not renewable according to the article?
A. Petroleum. and coal
B. Natural gas
C. Wind and water
D. A and B
②China's Three Gorges Dam
A. is the first hydroelectric dam in the world.
B. is of the same size of the US's Hoover Dam.
C. is the largest hydroelectric dam in the world.
D. supplies around 20% of the world electrcity
③Which is the country with the first commercial power station that makes use of ocean currents produced by tides?
A. China.
B. Norway.
C.England
D. America.
④Which of the following statements is true of wind power?
A.There is plenty of wind to provide the world’s entire energy needs.
B.It is the most rapidly growing type of electricity production.
C. It may not be reliable
D. All of the above.
⑤According to the article ,resources such as wind
A . are sustainable but not replaceable
B. are renewable so sustainable
C. are sustainable so renewable D .are irreplaceable
今天石油提供约40%的世界能源需求，主要是汽车。煤仍被使用，主要是在贫困站，以解决我们四分之一的能源需求，但它是最有效的，不健康的和最环保的化石燃料。天然气储量可以填补部分石油短缺，但储量，不能维持到第二十二世纪。大多数专家预测我们将竭方便储量在50年。我们可以快速达到能量危机。我们需要迅速发展可持续的解决方案，为我们的未来提供燃料。污染少的可再生能源提供了一个更现实的长期解决方案。他们可能有利于穷人的太。“可再生”是指这些资源不是用来速度比他们能被取代。
中国人和罗马人使用风车2000年前。但第一个水电大坝建于1870年的英国。水力发电是目前最常见的可再生能源，提供约20%的世界。三中国三峡大坝，它刚刚完成，是有史以来最大的。在五倍的规模，美国的大坝，其26台涡轮机可产生的能量相当于18个燃煤发电站。它将满足中国3%的电力需求。令人惊讶的是，有些人认为，水坝大大促进温室气体。
2003，第一个商用电站利用潮汐开放海域在挪威开幕。它设计得像风车，但是其他的形式，涡轮机。
随着价格的下降，风电已成为增长最快的类型的发电–翻两番世界之间的1999和2005。现代风力农场由产生电。虽然这将是更昂贵，有足够多的风提供全世界能源需求。风力发电场，在陆上和海上的形式。他们往往最终在景点的自然美景，而且往往是不受欢迎的居民。与发电机不完全良性–他们可以干扰雷达和留下一个重要的生态足迹，改变气候和杀伤海鸟。迁徙鸟类可能有更多的运气，避免他们。苏格兰是欧洲最大的风力农场，这将00000家电力2。英国的目标是产生onefifth电力来自可再生能源，主要是风，2020。但这可能导致问题，因为风是不可靠的.
43. Forecasting Methods（2013理工A真题）
44 Defending the Theory of Evolution Still Seems Needed
Judith S. Weis, a biology professor who serves as2 president of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) is leading a nationwide effort to “defend”the theory of evolution. Weis leads the effort in the face of what the institute views as opposition and indifference from school boards and government entities3.
The Institute believes that the teaching of evolution in America is being diminished by the teaching of creationism as well as by an overall lack of teaching Darwin’s4 theory in high school. “There’s nothing that requires schools to teach evolution. Sometimes teachers in high schools just leave it out5. However , from the point of view of biologists, evolution is the central theory of hiology upon which everything is based,”said Weis. “Unfortunately, teaching evolution has become a political issue in many parts of the country and AIBS, as a representative of biologists, wanted to be a major force speaking out in favor of its teaching6.”
Weis said the institute is working together with the American Geological Institute and the National Association of Biology Teachers and its 80-plus member organizations7 to address8 the political and legislative threats to teaching evolution. In states challenging its teaching, the institute responds by sending letters to school boards and state legislatures, by providing testimony at public meetings and by notifying members and affiliated organizations. AIBS, with more than 80 member societies and 250,000 members, has established an e-mail system enabling scientists and teachers in each state, and member societies, to keep each other informed about threats to the teaching of evolution.
Darwin’s theory of evolution holds that living things change and adapt to their environment and that present-day species (including human beings) are descended from earlier species through modification by natural selection. The theory has been accepted by scientists for nearly 100 years, Weis said, and has been refined, extended and strengthened over the years by findings in paleontology and developmental biology.
Discoveries in genetics, molecular biology9 and genomics —all of which provide significant benefits for human health —would not be possible without the underlying10 knowledge of evolution. And, Weis adds, “modern molecular biology and genomics have increased our understanding of how evolution works.”Nonetheless, evolution remains a politically. if not scientifically, controversial issue.
Weis said that this year alone, seven states have had either local or statewide efforts to water down11 the teaching of evolution, or “balance”it with the teaching of creationism —a religious belief that different species were created separately by a higher power, such as God. “Rarely does anyone now use the word ‘crcationism,’because that’s too obvious,”Weis said. “The current terminology is ‘intelligent design.’”
捍卫进化论仍有必要
美国生物科学研究所主席Judith S．Weis正发动全国的力量来“捍卫”进化论。研究所看到来自学校董事会和政府部门的反对和冷漠，尽管如此，Weis仍带领大家为捍卫进化论而努力。
研究所认为美国的进化论教育由于神创说教育和高中完全缺少达尔文理论的讲授而减少。“没有命令要求学校教授进化论。高中老师有时就忽略了它。然而，从生物学家的角度来看，进化论是生物学的中心理论，是万物存在的基础，”Weis说。“不幸的是，
在美国许多地方和美国生物科学院，讲授进化论成了一个政治事件，作为生物学家的代表，我想为进化论教育而疾呼。”
Weis说生物科学院正和美国地质研究所和国家生物教师联合会及其80多个成员组织合作来对抗来自政治上和法律上的关于教授进化论的威胁。在国内，面对进化论教育的挑战，生物科学院寄信给学校董事会和国家立法机关，在公众会议上展示证据，通报其成员及联合组织。生物科学院拥有80多个成员社团和250 000个成员，它建立了一个电子邮件系统使各州的科学家和成员社团能相互联合，告知进化论教育面临的威胁。
达尔文的进化论主张生物变化以适应他们的环境，并且现有物种(包括人类)是由早期物种经过自然选择的改造遗传下来的。这个理论已经被科学家接受了近100年，Weis说，并且由于古生物学的发现和生物学的发展而被完善、拓展、加强。
基因、分子生物学和整组遗传因子方面的发现——这些都对人类健康大有好处——如果离开进化论是不可能实现的。而且，Weis 补充说，“现代分子生物学和基因学加深了我们对进化论的认识。”然而，进化论仍是政治性而非科学性的争议问题。
Weis说仅今年，7个州地方性或全州性地减少了进化论教育或使其处于和神创论教育同等的地位。神创论是指从宗教上相信物种是由一种更高级的力量，例如上帝分别创造的。“极少有人使用‘神创论’这个词，因为它太明显了，”Weis说“目前使用的术语是‘天才的设计”’。①②③④⑤
①According to the first paragraph, which of the following statements about the theory of evolution is true?
A Government entities support AIBS’s effort to defend the theory of evolution.
B School boards oppose AIBS’s effort to defend the theory of evolution.
C AIBS and school boards advocate the teaching of the theory of evolution.
D The theory of evolution and that of creationism
co-exist peacefully in schools.
②Which one of the following is NOT the reason for an overall lack of teaching Darwin’s theory?
A Teaching of creationism diminishes teaching of evolution.
B Teachers are not required to teach Darwin’s theory.
C Teachers often leave out the teaching of evolution.
D Darwin’s theory is denied as the central theory of biology.
③AIBS is composed of
A more than 80 societies and 250,000 members.
B 250,000 biologists.
C 80 member organizations.
D more than 250,000 members and 80 member societies.
④According to Weis in the 5th paragraph, the theory of evolution
A is fundamental to the development of modern genetics, molecular biology and genomics.
B is a political issue.
C is based on genetics, molecular biology and genomics.
D has increased our understanding of human health.
⑤Why do people replace the term creationism with the term intelligent design nowadays？
A Because “intelligent design”represents the modified theory of evolution.
B Because they believe God created different species.
C Because the term creationism is unscientific.
D Because the term creationism is too direct.
45 Small But Wise（2012年真题）
46 Ants Have Big Impact on Environment as "Ecosystem Engineers"
Research by the University of Exeter1 has revealed that ants have a big impact on their local environment as a result of their activity as "ecosystem engineers" and predators. The study, published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, found that ants have two distinct effects on their local environment.
Firstly, through moving of soil by nest building2 activity and by collecting food they affect the level of nutrients in the soil. This can indirectly impact the local populations of many animal groups, from decomposers to species much higher up the food chain.
Secondly, they prey on a wide range of other animals, including larger prey which can be attacked by vast numbers of ant workers.
Dirk Sanders, an author of the study from the university's Centre for Ecology and Conservation, said:"Ants are very effective predators which thrive in huge numbers. They're also very territorial3 and very aggressive, defending their resources and territory against other predators. All of this means they have a strong influence on their surrounding area."
"In this research, we studied for the first time how big this impact is and the subtleties of it. What we found is that despite being predators, their presence can also lead to an increase in density and diversity of other animal groups4. They genuinely play a key role in the local environment, having a big influence on the grassland food web," Sanders said.
The study, carried out in Germany, studied the impact of the presence of different combinations and densities of black garden ants and common red ants, both species which can be found across Europe, including in the UK. It found that a low density of ants in an area increased the diversity and density of other animals in the local area, particularly the density of herbivores and decomposers. At higher densities ants had no or the opposite effect, showing that predation is counteracting the positive influence.
Dr Frank van Veen, another author on the study, said: "What we find is that the impact of ants on soil nutrient levels has a positive effect on animal groups at low levels, but as the number of ants increases, their predatory impacts have the bigger effect — thereby counteracting the positive influence via ecosystem engineering."
Ants are important components of ecosystems not only because they constitute a great part of the animal biomass5 but also because they act as ecosystem engineers. Ant biodiversity6 is incredibly high and these organisms are
highly responsive to human impact, which obviously reduces its richness. However, it is not clear how such disturbance damages the maintenance of ant services to the ecosystem．Ants are important in below ground processes8 through the alteration of the physical and chemical environment and through their effects on plants, microorganisms, and other soil organisms.
①Why are ants compared to ecosystem engineers?
A Because they build their own nests.
B Because they collect food.
C Because their activity affects the environment.
D Because they are predators.
②As predators, ants
A prey on small as well as large animals.
B collect nutritious food from the soil
C collect food as decomposers.
D prey on species much higher up the food chain.
③Dir Sanders' study centered on how ants
A can manage to thrive in huge numbers.
B defend their resources and territory against other predators.
C attack those invading animals for survival.
D produce such a big impact on the environment.
④What does paragraph 6 tell us?
A Ants bring about a negative influence to an area when their population is small.
B Ants bring about a positive influence to an area when their population is small.
C Ants' predation counteracts the positive influence they may have on an area.
D At higher density, ants produce a positive influence on an area.
⑤What still remains unclear about ants, according to the last paragraph?
A What roles do ants play in the ecosystem in which they live?
B How do ants affect the animal diversity in a given ecosystem?
C How do human activities affect ants' influence on a given ecosystem?
D How do ants alter the physical and chemical environment?
蚂蚁作为“生态系统工程师”对环境影响巨大
埃克斯特大学所做的研究表明，蚂蚁作为“生态系统工程师”和食肉动物的行为对当地的环境影响巨大。该研究发表在动物生态杂志上，它表明蚂蚁对当地的环境有两大显著的影响。
第一，通过筑巢而挪动土壤或采集食物，蚂蚁影响土壤的营养水平。这可间接影响当地从腐生物到食物链高层的许多动物种群的数量。
第二，它们捕食的动物种类很多，包括那些被大量工蚁攻击的大猎物。
Dirk Sanders是该大学生态和保护中心所做的此项研究的作者，他说：“蚂蚁是高效的食肉动物，而且能大量繁殖。它们具有很强的领地意识，并且会竭尽全力对抗其他的食肉动物来保卫自己的领地。所有这些都意味着蚂蚁对周围环境影响巨大。”
“在该研究中，我们第一次对蚂蚁带来的影响程度及微妙程度进行研究。所得到的发现是：尽管是食肉动物，蚂蚁的出现能促使其他动物族群在数量和品种上的增长。并对当地的环境起到切实重要的作用，对大草原的食物链影响巨大。”Sa nders说。
该研究在德国进行，它对花园黑蚂蚁和一般的红蚂蚁在不同混合程度和不同密度下的影响力进行研究。黑蚂蚁和红蚂蚁在整个欧洲包括英国都能找到。研究发现，一个地区的蚂蚁密度小，而其他动物尤其是食草动物和腐生物的数量和种类会增多。如果蚂蚁的密度大，就不可能产生同样的影响，或者产生相反的影响，这表明，蚂蚁的掠食活动会抵消蚂蚁给环境带来的积极影响。
Dr Frank van Veen是本研究的另一作者，他说：“我们的发现是：如果蚂蚁的数量少，其对土壤的营养水平的影响会对动物族群产生积极的效果。如果蚂蚁的数量增加，其捕食的影响会达到最大化，因此会抵消蚂蚁通过生态工程给环境带来的积极影响。”
蚂蚁是生态系统的重要组成部分，不仅因为它占有很大部分的生物量，而且因为其作为生态系统工程师的角色。蚂蚁具有难以想象的多样性，但极易受人类的影响，这就使它的多样性有显著的减少。然而，科学家还不消楚人类对蚂蚁这种干扰如何破坏蚂蚁对生态系统的维护作用。蚂蚁通过变动物理的和化学的环境，通过对植物、微生物和其他土壤生物的影响而对生态环境起至关重要的作用。
47 Listening to Birdsong
A male zebra finch1 chirps away2to himself. Suddenly he notices a female bird nearby. He realizes he has an audience and immediately changes his song. Can the female tell the difference in his performance? According to a new study, the female zebra finch knows. And she prefers the special trills he creates when he sings to her. A male zebra finch changes his song when singing to a female in ways that people can barely detect. But the female finch can tell the difference.
Scientists had noticed slight variations in the songs of male zebra finches based on whether they were singing alone or whether there was a female（and potential mate）nearby. With an audience, the males sped up the pace of their songs and controlled the notes they used.
For this study, researchers Sarah C. Woolley and Allison Doupe at the University of California, San Francisco decided to focus attention on the listening females, which have not been well studied in the past.
In the study, Woolley and Doupe set up a long cage with a sound speaker at each end. One broadcast the sound of a male zebra finch singing to himself, like someone singing in the shower. The other speaker broadcast a male performing for a female audience, as if he was giving a concert.
Female birds were placed between the two speakers. Some of the birds had mates, others didn’t. The females shifted around a bit, and then most of them hopped over to sit beside just one speaker. All the birds that made a clear choice liked songs meant for a female audience, even if they’d never met the male.
Mated females also had a chance to listen to two different performance songs, one from an unknown male, and one from their mate. They spent more time listening to the concert version of their mates’ songs. This suggests that after a while, females learn to recognize and prefer—the songs of their mates.
Scientists then studied the brains of the females. They found certain areas of the brain perked up3 when the birds listened to the concert songs. These brain areas may be involved in recognizing and evaluating the songs, and storing the memories of them.
This research deals with what’s called directed communication, when the communicator, or sender, focuses the message for a specific audience. One example is the way moms speak to their babies. Mothers around the world use the same sort of high-pitched4 sing-song chatter, and the babies respond best to those sounds. Songbirds are one of the only other species known to learn their communication, in this case their songs.
倾听鸟鸣
一只雄性斑胸草雀对着自己吱喳而鸣。突然间，他注意到不远处有一只雌性斑胸草雀。他意识到自己有了一位听众并立即改变了自己的声调。那只雌性斑胸草雀能发现他的不同吗?根据一项新的研究结果显示，答案是可以的。并且那只雌性斑胸草雀更喜欢当雄性斑胸草雀为她歌唱时所制造的特殊颤音。人类很难发觉雄性斑胸草雀对着雌性斑胸草雀呜叫时所做出的改变，但是雌性胸斑草雀可以发现其中的不同。
科学家们根据雄性斑胸草雀是否在独自歌唱或者根据其周围是否有一只雌性斑胸草雀(潜在配偶)在场，发现了他们歌声中的略微不同。当有听众在场的时候，雄性斑胸草雀就会加快他们呜叫的速度并且控制其所用的鸣音。
为了此项研究，加州大学旧金山分校的两位研究员：萨拉·c·伍利和艾莉森·杜普决定关注倾听者——雌性斑胸草雀，而雌性斑胸草雀在过去并没有被仔细研究过。
在研究中，伍利和杜普建了一个很长的笼子，笼子两边分别装有一个扬声器。其中一边播放的是雄性斑胸草雀对着自己演唱时所发出的呜叫声，好似一个人在洗澡时所唱的歌。另一边播放的则是雄性斑胸草雀向另一只雌性观众表演时的所发出的呜叫声，仿佛他是在举行一场音乐会。
雌鸟被放置在两个扬声器之间。这些雌鸟中有的已经有了配偶，有的还没有。她们徘徊了一会，便大多飞向并暂栖在了其中的一个扬声器旁边。所有的鸟都选择了为了雌鸟而发出的表演性鸣叫声，即使她们从未见过那只发音的雄性胸斑草雀。
有了配偶的雌性胸斑草雀还可以听到两个不同的表演性呜叫声，其中一个来自未知的雄鸟，另一个则来自她们的配偶。她们花了更多的时间倾听自己配偶的歌声。而这表明雌鸟在经过一段时间后可以识别出并且更加喜爱自己配偶的歌声。
科学家们继而研究了雌鸟的脑部。他们发现当雌鸟听到表演性呜叫声的时候，这些鸟的脑部的特定区域会变得活跃起来。而这些区域可能同识别、评价和储存歌声有关。
这项研究所关注的就是所谓的“指向性交流”，即当传播者或信息发送者所发送的信息就是为了特定的观众。其中一个例子就是母亲向婴儿说话的方式。全世界的母亲都采用同样一种方式：高声调的歌咏式的喋喋不休。婴儿对这种声音的反应最好。而鸣鸟是其他已知物种中唯一可以获知这种指向性交流的物种，而在这种情况下，则是他们的歌声。
①What does the first paragraph say about zebra finches?
A Male zebra finches like to sing to female zebra finches.
B Male zebra finches sing louder than female zebra finches.
C Male zebra finches change their songs in female zebra finches' presence.
D Male zebra finches like to listen to female zebra finches sing.
②What did the researchers find in their study of female zebra finches?
A Female finches liked songs male finches sang for them.
B Female finches only liked songs male finches sang for their mates.
C Female finches liked to listen to songs from both speakers.
D Female finches chose the best male singers as their mates.
③What is meant by "concert songs" in the seventh paragraph?
A Songs sung by zebra finches at a concert.
B Songs sung by male finches for female finches.
C Songs sung by female finches for male finches.
D Songs sung by male finches to many female finches.
④What is NOT true of directed communication?
A The sender of a message has a specific audience.
B Male zebra finches sing to female finches.
C Mothers talk to their babies,
D Male zebra finches sing to themselves.
⑤Which of the following can best reflect the theme of the passage?.
A Chirping away.
B Birdsongs as communication.
C Zebra finches and their life.
D Enjoying birdsongs.
48 Researchers Discover Why Humans Began Walking Upright（2013教材新增）
Most of us walk and carry items in our hands every day. These are seemingly simple activities that the majority of us don’t question. But an international team of researchers, including Dr. Richmond from GW's Columbian College of Arts and Sciences，have discovered that human walking upright, may have originated millions of years ago as an adaptation to carrying scarce, high- quality resources. The team of researchers from the U. S., England, Japan and Portugal investigated the behavior of modern-day chimpanzees as they competed for food resources，in an effort to understand what ecological settings would lead a large ape — one that resembles the 6 million-year old ancestor we shared in common with living chimpanzees —to walk on two legs.
“These chimpanzees provide a model of the ecological conditions under which our earliest ancestors might have begun walking on two legs, "，said Dr. Richmond. The research findings suggest that chimpanzees switch to moving on two limbs instead of four in situations where they need to monopolize a resource. Standing on two legs allows them to carry much more at one time because it frees up their hands. Over time，intense bursts of bipedal activity may have led to anatomical changes that in turn became the subject of natural selection where competition for food or other resources was strong.
Two studies were conducted by the team in Guinea. The first study was conducted by the team in Kyoto University’s “ outdoor laboratory ” i n a natural clearing in Bossou Forest. Researchers allowed the wild chimpanzees access to different combinations of two different types of nut — the oil palm nut，which is naturally widely available, and the coula nut, which is not. The chimpanzees’ behavio r was monitored in three situations:(a) when only oil palm nuts were available,(b)when a small number of coula nuts were available，and(c) when coula nuts were the majority available resource.
When the rare coula nuts were available only in small numbers, the chimpanzees transported more at one time. Similarly, when coula nuts were the majority resource, the chimpanzees ignored the oil palm nuts altogether. The chimpanzees regarded the coula nuts as a more
highly-prized resource and competed for them more intensely.
In such high-competition settings，the frequency of cases in which the chimpanzees started moving on two legs increased by a factor of four. Not only was it obvious that bipedal movement allowed them to carry more of this precious resource, but also that they were actively trying to move as much as they could in one go by using everything available一even their mouths.
The second study, by Kimberley Hockings of Oxford Brookes University, was a 14-month study of Bossou chimpanzees crop-raiding, a situation in which they have to compete for rare and unpredictable Resources. Here, 35 percent of the chimpanzees activity involved some sort of bipedal movement, and once again, this behavior appeared to be linked to a clear attempt to carry as much as possible at one time.
①Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the first two paragraphs? A
A Many people question the simple human activities of walking and carrying items.
B Chimpanzee’s behaviors may suggest why humans walk on two legs.
C Human walking upright is viewed as an adaptation to carrying precious resources.
D Our ancestors' ecological conditions resembled those of modern-day chimpanzees.
②Dr. Richmond conducted the experiment with the purpose of finding B
A when humans began walking on two legs.
B what made our ancestors walk upright.
C what benefits walking upright brought to our ancestors.
D how walking upright helped chimpanzees monopolize resources.
③Kyoto, University's study discovered that chimpanzees.
A regarded both types of nut as priced resources.
B preferred oil palm nuts to coula nuts.
C liked coula nuts better than oil palm nuts.
D ignored both types of nut altogether.
④Why did the chimpanzees walk on two limbs during Kyoto University's experiment?
A Because they imitated the human way of walking just for fun.
B Because they wanted to please the researchers to get more coula nuts from them.
C Because they wanted to get to die nut-rich forest faster by walking that way.
D Because they wanted to carry more nuts with two free limbs.
⑤What can we infer from the reading passage?
A Chimpanzees are in the same process of evolution as our ancestors were.
B Chimpanzees are similar to humans in many behaviors.
C Walking on two limbs and walking on four limbs each have their advantages.
D Human walking on two legs developed as a means of survival.
研究人员发现人类开始直立行走的原因
我们大多数人每天都走路而且手里搬着东西。这样的活动看似太简单，大多数人没有疑问。但是一个国际研究者（包括乔治?华盛顿大学哥伦比亚艺术与科学学院的Richmond博士）团队已经发现了人类直立行走可能源于数百万年以前适应搬运稀有的、高质量的资源。这些来自美国、英国、日本和葡萄牙的研究者研究了当代黑猩猩争抢食物时的行为特征，试图对什么样的生态环境竟然导致大猿（一种我们与现存的黑猩猩一样的600万年前的祖先）直立行走作出解释。
“这些黑猩猩居住的生态环境和我们最早的祖先开始直立行走时是相同的，”Richmond博士说。研究结果显示，当黑猩猩需要独占一种资源时，它们就从四肢行走转换为直立行走。由于直立行走可以解放它们的双手，这使得它们能搬更多的东西。久而久之，双足活动的强烈爆发可能导致了解剖学上的变化，因此这种变化也就成为自然选择的主题，在那种情况下，对食物或其他资源的争夺是十分激烈的。
有两项研究是在几内亚完成的。第一项研究是在京都大学博苏森林的一块天然空地——“室外实验室”进行的。研究者们允许森林里的黑猩猩能得到两种不同的坚果，一种叫油棕榈坚果，自然界随处可见，一种叫可乐果，自然环境中不常见。人们监控黑猩猩在下列三种情形下的行为：(a)只有油棕榈坚果；（b)只有少
量的可乐果，大多数是油棕榈坚果;(c)大多数是可乐果，少数是油棕榈坚果。
当稀有的可乐果数量很少时，黑猩猩一次就会拿得多。同样，当大部分是可乐果时，黑猩猩对油棕榈坚果根本视而不见。黑猩猩认为可乐果才是珍贵的资源，并为得到可乐果激烈竞争。
处于这种激烈竞争的环境中，黑猩猩直立行走的频率增加了四倍。很显然，双足行走可以使它们拿走更多的稀有资源，而且，为了尽可能地一口气多拿，它们积极利用可用到的任何方法，甚至嘴巴。
第二项研究是在牛津布鲁克斯大学的Kimberley Hockings进行的。该研究历时14个月，主题是博苏的黑猩猩抢劫粮食，场景是它们不得不为稀有和不可预知的资源竞争。在这项研究中，黑猩猩35%的活动是直立行走。而这一次研究再一次证实了黑猩猩的直立行走与它们试图一次搬走尽可能多的东西有关。
49 U.S. Scientists Confirm Water on Mars
NASA1scientists said that Mars was covered once by vast lakes, flowing rivers and a variety of other wet environments that had the potential to support life.
Laboratory tests aboard NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander2 have identified water in a soil sample.The lander’s robotic arm delivered the sample Wednesday to an instrument that identifies vapors produced by the heating of samples.
“We have water,”said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, lead scientist for the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer3, or TEGA. “This is the first time Martian water has been touched and tasted.”
The robotic arm is a critical part of the Phoenix Mars MISSION. It is needed to trench into the icy layers of northern polar Mars and deliver samples to instruments that will analyze what Mars is made of, what its water is like, and whether it is or has ever been a possible habitat for life.
The soil sample came from a trench approximately 2 inches deep. When the robotic arm first reached that depth, it hit a hard layer of frozen soil. Two attempts to deliver samples of icy soil on days when fresh material was exposed were foiled when the samples became stuck inside the scoop. Most of the material in Wednesday’s sample had been exposed to the air for two days, letting some of the water in the sample vaporize away and making the soil easier to handle.
“Mars is giving us some surprises,”said Phoenix principal investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona. “We’re excited because surprises are where discoveries come from. One surprise is how the soil is behaving. The ice-rich layers stick to the scoop when poised in the sun above the deck, different from what we expected, from all the Mars simulation testing we’ve done so far.”
Since landing on May 25, Phoenix has been studying soil with a chemistry lab, TEGA, a microscope, a conductivity probe and cameras. The science team is trying to determine whether the water ice ever thaws enough to be available for biology and if carbon-containing chemicals and other raw materials for life are present.
The mission is examining the sky as well as the ground.
A Canadian instrument is using a laser beam to study dust and clouds overhead.
“It’s a 30-watt light bulb giving us a laser show on Mars,”said Victoria Hipkin of the Canadian Space Agency.
A full-circle, color panorama of Phoenix’s surroundings also has been completed by the spacecraft.
“The details and patterns we see in the ground show an ice-dominated terrain as far as the eye can see,”said Mark Lemmon of Texas A & M University, lead scientist for Phoenix’s Surface Stereo Imager4 camera. “They help us plan measurements we’re making within reach of the robotic arm and interpret those measurements on a wider scale. ”
美国科学家确认火星上有水
美国国家航空航天局的科学家们称火星曾被巨大的湖泊、流动的河流以及其他潮湿的自然环境所覆盖，而这些都使其有了维持生命的可能。
在美国国家航空航天局的“凤凰”号火星登陆器的实验室所做的试验中，已经在一份土壤样本中鉴别出了水。登录器的机器臂在星期三的时候把样本传送给了一个仪器，此仪器可以鉴别出通过样本加热而产生的水蒸气。
“我们找到了水”，热力与先进气体分析仪(也称TEGA)的主要科学家、亚利桑那大学的威廉．博尔顿说道，“这是我们第一次接触和品尝到火星上的水。”
登录器的机器手臂是“凤凰”火星计划重要的组成部分。它需要破开火星北极的冰冻地表，深入到土壤伸出铲取样本，并将样本传送给仪器，使其可以分析火星的构成，火星上的水的形态和火星是否适合或曾经适合人类居住。
土壤标本来自于一个大概2寸深的沟渠。当机器臂第一次达到这个沟的时候，它触到了一层硬的冻土。当新鲜的冻土暴露在空气中的时候，机器臂曾经两次尝试对冻土样本进行传送，但样本同铲斗粘在了一起，使这两次尝试都以失败告终。星期三所采集的大部分样本已经暴露在空气两天，这使样本中的一些水分得以蒸发，从而使土壤更易处理。
“火星正在给我们一些惊喜，”“凤凰”计划的主要调查员、亚利桑那大学的彼得．史密斯说道，“我们很激动是因为发现源于惊喜。其中一个惊喜就是土壤的表现。当富冰层被悬挂于甲板上方的太阳底下的时候，它会和铲斗粘在一起，这是我们从未预期到的，也不同于我们迄今为止所做过的任何火星模拟实验。”
自5月25日登陆以来，凤凰号就利用一个化学实验室、热力与先进气体分析仪、一个显微镜，一根传导性探针和相机来研究火星土壤。这只科学团队尝试确定火星上的水冰是否曾经大量融化，从而能支持生物存在。同时，它还将寻找火星土中是否有以碳为基础的有机化合物，这些化合物是形成生命的“原材料”。
这次任务同时对天空和地表进行研究，加拿大所制造的仪器所发射的激光可以帮助研究头上方的尘埃和云层。
“这是一个30瓦的灯泡，它在火星上给了我们一场激光秀。”加拿大航天局的维多利亚．西普金说道。
航天器还成功采集了“凤凰”号着陆的周围地区的彩色全景图。
“我们获得的地表图案显示，火星基本上是一片以冰为主的地区。” “凤凰”号负责地表立体成像首席科学家、德州A跏大学的马
克·莱蒙说，“立体成像技术可以帮助我们在机器臂所及范围之内的进行测量，同时帮助我们在更广的规模上解释这些测量结果。”
①②③④⑤
①What was discovered by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander on Mars?
A Vast lakes.
B Flowing rivers.
C Water in a soil sample.
D Living things.
②Why did the first two attempts to deliver samples fail?
A The sample vaporized away.
B Fresh material was exposed to the air.
C The samples got stuck inside the scoop.
D The robotic arm hit a hard rock.
③Which one of the following statements is NOT meant by the writer?
A Scientists have been trying to break the ice-rich layers of soil on Mars.
B Scientists have been surprised by how the soil on Mars behaves.
C Scientists have been trying to fend out if there is life supporting material on Mars.
D Scientists have been trying to know if water ice will melt.
④Where are the scientists involved in the research from?
A They are from America.
B They are from Canada.
C They are from both America and Canada.
D They are from neither America nor Canada.
⑤Which of the following do you think is the best description of Phoenix’s Surface Stereo Imager Camera, according to your understanding of the passage?
A）It imitates human vision and is able to capture three-dimensional images.
B）It imitates human voice and is able to record slight sounds while taking photos.
C）It takes clear photos that show every detail of the object.
D）It is this particular type of camera that can take wide angle pictures.
50 Cell Phones Increase Traffic, Pedestrian Fatalities
Cell phones are a danger on the road in more ways than one. Two new studies show that talking on the phone while traveling, whether you're driving or on foot, is increasing both pedestrian deaths and those of drivers and passengers, and recommend crackdowns on cell1 use by both pedestrians and drivers.
The new studies, lead-authored by Rutgers University, Newark, Economics Professor Peter D. Loeb2, relate the impact of cell phones on accident fatalities to the number of cell phones in use, showing that the current increase in deaths resulting from cell phone use follows a period when cell phones actually helped to reduce pedestrian and traffic fatalities. However, this reduction in fatalities disappeared once the numbers of phones in use reached a "critical mass" 3 of 100 million, the study found.These studies looked at cell phone use and motor vehicle accidents from 1975 through 2002, and factored in4 a number of variables, including vehicle speed, alcohol consumption, seat belt use, and miles driven. The studies found the cell phone-fatality correlation to be true even when including factors such as speed, alcohol consumption, and seat belt use.
Loeb and his co-author determined that, at the current time, cell phone use has a "significant adverse effect on pedestrian safety" and that “cell phones and their usage above a critical thresholds adds to motor vehicle fatalities." In the late 1980s and part of the 1990s, before the numbers of phones exploded, cell phone use actually had a
"life-saving effect" in pedestrian and traffic accidents, Loeb notes. "Cell-phone users' were able to quickly call for medical assistance when involved in an accident. This quick medical response actually reduced the number of traffic deaths for a time," Loeb hypothesizes.
However, this was not the case when cells were first used in the mid-1980s, when they caused a "life-taking effect" among pedestrians, drivers and passengers in vehicles. In those early days, when there were fewer than a million phones, fatalities increased, says Loeb, because drivers and pedestrians probably were still adjusting to the novelty of using them, and there weren't enough cell phones in use to make a difference in summoning help following an accident, he explains.
The "life-saving effect" occurred as the volume of phones grew into the early 1990s, and increasing numbers of cells were used to call 911 following accidents, leading to a drop in fatalities, explains Loeb. But this life-saving effect was canceled out6 once the numbers of phones reached a "critical mass" of about 100 million and the "life-taking effect" - increased accidents and fatalities outweighed the benefits of quick access to 911 services, according to Loeb.
Loeb and his co-authors used econometric models to analyze data from a number of government and private studies. He and his co-authors recommend that governments consider more aggressive policies to reduce cell phone use by both drivers and pedestrians, to reduce the number of fatalities.
①The two new studies, lead-authored by Professor Peter D. Loeb
A show that talking on the phone while driving or walking in the street increases deaths of drivers and pedestrians.
B show that talking on the phone while driving increases pedestrian deaths.
C recommend that strict measures be taken to restrain cell phone use.
D both A and C.
②According to the second paragraph, when did cell phones actually help to reduce pedestrian and traffic fatalities?
A Right after cell phones were invented.
B Before the number of cell phone users reached a critical mass
C When cell phone users totaled to a certain number.
D When the number of cell phones decreased to a certain number.
③What is said about cell phone use in paragraph 4?
A The number of cell phones in use exploded in the late 1980s and part of the 1990s.
B The number of traffic deaths was reduced in the late 1980s and part of the 1990s due to cell phone use.
C Cell phone users are likely to be involved in traffic accidents.
D The use of cell phones has a life-saving effect for pedestrians and drivers.
④What is said about cell phone use in the mid-1980s in paragraph 5?
A It had a life-taking effect because there weren't enough cell phones in use then.
B The increased use of cell phones then caused a "life-taking effect."
C Traffic fatalities increased then because the number of cell phones in use decreased.
D Traffic fatalities decreased then because the number of cell phones in use increased.
⑤Which of the following statements DOES NOT answer the question "What caused the "life-saving effect" to occur in the early 1990s?"
A There were more cell phone users during that period.
B The number of cell phone users reached about 100 million.
C More cell phones were used to call 911 when accidents occurred.
D Cell phones enabled people to have quick access to 911 services.
手机在路上有多种多样的危险。两个新的研究表明，不管开车还是步行时打手机，都会增加行人、司机和乘客死亡的危险，所以该研究建议严厉限制行人和司机使用手机。
这是一项第一作者为罗格斯大学纽瓦克分校的经济学教授Peter D．Loeb的新研究成果，它把手机的意外致命的影响和大量手机使用数量联系起来，表明目前由于手机所引起的死亡数目有所增加，而在此之间的一段时间里，手机事实上能够帮助降低行人和交通致命率。但研究发现，当手机使用人数达到1亿这个临界数量时，手机降低交通致命率的作用就消失了。
这些研究涉及到从1975年到2002年间的手机使用和机动车辆事故之间的关系，也涉及包括车速、酒精消耗、安全带的使用和行驶的里数等其它方面。这些研究表明甚至当考虑比如速度、酒精消耗和安全带的使用这些因素时，二者之间的关联也是真实存在的。
在目前，Loeb和他的合著者决定手机的使用“在行人安全上有严重的反作用”并且“手机的使用数量已经超过了临界数量也增加了机动车辆的致命性。”在20世纪80年代末和90年代的一段时间，在手机使用数量达到大爆炸之前，手机的使用确实在交通事故中起到过“保护生命的作用”。“当发生交通意外时，手机使用者能够快速地打电话寻求医疗帮助，这种快速的医学求救反应确实能在一定时间内减少一定数量的事故死亡”，Loeb假设。
但是，在20世纪80年代当手机开始被使用时并不是这样，在那时手机在行人、司机和乘客间造成了“致命的效果。”在早些日子里，那时有不到一百万部手机，致命率增加了，Loeb说，因为司机和行人或许在那时还在适应怎样使用它们，还没有足够的手机能够在事故中呼叫帮助，他解释说。
这“保护生命的效果”是在20世纪90年代当大数量的手机被使用的时候出现的，越来越多的手机在事故之后拨打911求助，这就降低了致命率，Loeb解释说。但是一旦手机的使用量超过大约一亿的“临界数量”时，这种保护生命的效果就被抵消了，而且这种“致命的效果”——增加了事故和死亡——超过了能快速呼叫911服务的好处，根据Loeb所说。
Loeb和他的合著者们使用计量经济模式来分析从许多政府和私人研究中得来的数据。他和他的合著者们都推荐政府采取强制性措施来减少司机和行人的手机使用数量，来减少死亡事件的发生。
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2013年职称英语真题理工C（含答案解析） 第1部分：词汇选项（第1～15题，每题1分，共15分） 下面每个句子中均有1个词或短语划有横线，请为每处划线部分确定1个意义最为接近的选项。 1. I tried to detach myself from the reality of these terrible events. A. bring B. separate C. put D. set 2. The odd thing was that he didn’t recognize me. A. real B. whole C. same D. strange 3. That performance was pretty impressive. A. completely B. very C. Beautifully D. equally 4. I grabbed his arm and made him turn to look at me. A. throw B. seized C. broke D. stretched 5. The frame needs to be strong enough to support the engine. A. structure B. bottom C. Surface D. top 6. We found shelter from the rain under the trees. A. defense B. protection C standing D. room 7. “There is no other choice.” She sa id in a harsh voice. A. firm B. soft C. deep D. unkind 8. Traffic reaches its rush hour between 8:00 and 9:00 in the morning. A. border B. goal C. level D. peak 9. We have to change the public’s perception that money is everything. A. sight B. belief C. interest D. pressure 10. This was an unexceptionally brutal attack.
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Passage 1 Have you ever seen a moon that looks unbelievably big? 1.To what do we compare the size of the harvest moon? (all of these) 2.The main purpose of the article is to inform. 3.The author knew most people find the moon mysterious. 4.The moon looks bigger if it is near the horizon 5.The autumn moon helps farmers see as they harvest their crops. Passage 2 Strange thing happens to time when you travel. 1.The best title for this selection is How Time Changes Around the World. 2.The difference in time between zones is one hour. 3.From this selection it seems true that the Atlantic Ocean is divided into five time zones. 4.The international date line is the name for the point where a new day begins. 5.If you cross the ocean going east, you set you clock ahead one hour in each new time zone. Passage 3 Holidays in the United States usually occur at least once a month. 1.The government of the United States makes it a rule for workers to have a 3-day weekend almost once a month. 2.Workers in the United States sometimes work from Tuesday to Sunday. 3.Which statement is NOT true according to this passage? All the workers have a half-month vacation. 4.The reason why someone has to divide his vacation into several parts is that no one can be found to take his place . 5.Which of the following is the best title for this passage? Something about the holidays and Vacation in the U.S. Passage 4 Sarah Winchester was a very rich woman. 1.What did Sarah keep doing to her house? Making it bigger. 2.The story says that Sarah?s house had floors. 3.Who did the work on Sarah?s house? Carpenters and plumbers and other workers. 4.How long did the work on the house continue? For 38 years. 5.Sarah?s house was finally finished when she died. Passage 5 The diner is only a humble restaurant, but it has a special place in American life. 1.What?s the main idea of paragraph 2? The attraction of different people. 2.The purpose of the last paragraph is to give a summary of the whole passage. 3.Why do truck drivers like a diner?It’s a haven against loneliness. 4.Diners attract many different kinds of people. 5.Diners are fascinating. Passage 6 In the past two years, millions of Americans have suddenly embraced the bicycles as 1.The word “embrace” in the first sentence is closest in meaning to make use of. 2.It can be concluded that if people continue to concern themselves with air pollution and physical fitness, bicycle sales will continue to rise. 3.The bicycle is enjoying a strong revival. 4.The reader can also conclude that Americans are concerned with the quality of their lives . 5.In the sentence “…and this isn?t America?s first bicycle boom.” The word “boom” means a rapid increase in sale.
2013年度全国职称英语等级考试理工类(B级)试题及参考答案
2013年度全国职称英语等级考试理工类（B级）试题及参考答案 职称英语考试历年真题汇总>>https://www.wendangku.net/doc/8b11230070.html,/zZnTL （复制链接，点击“打开链接”即可访问） 更多精品备考资料在职称英语考试交流群：151033695 第1部分：词汇选项(第1～15题，每题1分，共15分) 下面每个句子中均有1个词或短语划有横线，请为每处划线部分确定1个意义最为接近的选项。 1. Come out, or I’ll bust the door down. A shut B break C set D beat 2. The police will need to keep a wary eye on this area of town. A naked B blind C cautious D private 3. The rules are too rigid to allow for human error. A general B inflexible C complex D direct 4. It seemed incredible that he had been there a week already. A right B unbelievable C obvious D unclear 5. These animals migrate south annually in search of food. A explore B inhabit C prefer D travel 6. Rumors began to circulate about his financial problems. A send B hear C confirm D spread 7. She came across three children sleeping under a bridge. A found by chance B passed by C took a notice of D woke up 8. I have little information as regards her fitness for the post. A about B at C with D from 9. As a politician, he knows how to manipulate public opinion. A express B divide C influence D voice 10. He was tempted by the high salary offered by the company. A taught B kept C changed D attracted 11. He paused, waiting for her to digest the information. A withhold B exchange C understand D contact 12. Make sure the table is securely anchored. A repaired B cleared C booked D fixed 13. She gets aggressive when she is drunk.
2014年职称英语综合类考试教材阅读理解文章及译文(4)
2014年职称英语综合类考试教材阅读理解文章及译文（4）2014年职称英语考试时间为3月29日。小编为您整理职称英语教材中，阅读理解部分的文章及译文，希望对您有所助益。 Motoring Technology 1.2 million road deaths worldwide occur each year, plus a further 50 million injuries. To reduce car crash rate, much research now is focused on safety and new fuels-though some electric vehicle and biofuel research aims at going faster. Travelling at speed has always been dangerous. One advanced area of research in motoring safety is the use of digital in-car assistants. They can ensure you don’t miss important road signs or fall asleep. Most crashes result from human and not mechanical faults. Some safety developments aim to improve your vision. Radar can spot obstacles in fog, while other technology "sees through" big vehicles blocking your view. And improvements to seat belts, pedal(脚踏)controls and tyres are making driving smoother and safer. The colour of a car has been found to be linked with safety, as have, less surprisingly, size and shape. But whatever is in the fuel tank, you don’t want a thief in the driving seat and there have been many innovations(创新).Satellite tracking and remote communications can also come into play if you crash, automatically calling for help. Accidents cause many traffic jams, but there are more subtle interplays between vehicles that can cause jams even on a clear but busy road. Such jams can be analyzed using statistical tools. Robotic drivers could be programmed to make traffic flow smoothly and will perhaps one day be everyons’s personal chauffeur(司机),but their latest efforts suggest that won’t be soon. 1.To reduce car crash rate,many scientists are working hard to A.design fully automatic cars. B.develop faster electric vehicles. C.analyze road deaths occurring worldwide each year. D.improve the safety of cars and develop new fuels.
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