2019年00596英语阅读（二）自考模拟试题（七）

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2019年00596英语阅读（二）自考模拟试题（七）

Passage Four 

The loss of biological diversity has become most spectacularly noticeable in the extinction or decline of populations of large and well-known animals. Many animal species have become extinct since the 1700’s, among them the California grizzly bear, the dodo, and the passenger pigeon. Hundreds of other animal species are threatened. In North America, endangered species include the black-footed ferret, the California condor, the desert tortoise, and the whooping crane.

Most species in danger of extinction anywhere in the world are suffering from the intrusion (侵入) of human beings. The Asian elephant, for example, has become an endangered species due to the expansion of the human population throughout its range in southern Asia. In Africa, the African elephants are being killed off for their tusks. Monkeys and other primates throughout the world are threatened by hunting, capture for medical use, and the destruction of their habitats. And the rhinoceroses, lions, and other large mammals of the African savanna (grassy plains with scattered trees) compete for land and life with some of the most rapidly growing human populations in the world.

The loss of biological diversity is most severe, however, in the tropical rain forests. The forests of the tropics are particularly vulnerable to disturbance because the soils have a low capacity for retaining nutrients. Most of the forests’ nutrient elements are held in the tissues of plants. When loggers and farmers destroy existing plant cover, the nutrients are washed from the land into streams, and the land itself becomes less able to support life. Destruction of these forests destroys the habitat of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of species from such creatures as the howler monkey and indigo macaw, to less visible species of plants, insects, and microbes, many of which are not yet known to science.

Questions 26-30 are based on Passage Four

26. According to the passage, animal distinction _____.

A. is most noticeable in North America

B. is mainly taking place among large animals

C. quickened with industrialization of the society

D. never took place before the 1700’s

27. The chief cause of gradual disappearance of biological diversity is ____.

A. human cruelty 

B. human interference

C. the increase of human population

D. the disappearance of the forests

28. Which of the following is NOT mentioned with regard to human intrusion?

A. Elephants are killed off for their tusks

B. Some primates are hunted for medical use

C. Growing human population results in the competition for land and life among animals

D. Men live increasingly on animals as their source of food.

29. In tropical forests, _____.

A. animals live a hard life due to competition

B. a lot of species die out for lack of food

C. rains constitute the major threat to species

D. a greater number of animals are yet to be known

30. It can be inferred from this passage that species extinction ____.

A. proceeds of a faster rate than noticeable

B. is the worst among well-known animals

C. is the most severe in Africa

D. is chiefly due to competition among species 

Passage Five 

“Climate change in the Arctic is a reality now!” So insists Robert Corell, an oceanographer with the American Meteorological Society. Wild-eyed proclamations are all too common when it comes to global warming, but in this case his assertion seems well founded.

Dr. Corell heads a team of some 300 scientists who have spent the past four years investigating the matter in a process known as the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA). The group, drawn from the eight countries with territories inside the Arctic Circle, has just issued a report called “Impacts of a Warming Arctic”, a lengthy summary of the principal scientific findings. A second report, which will sketch out recommended policies, is due out in a few weeks. A third, far heftier tome detailing all the scientific findings will not come out for some months yet.

Already, though, the ACIA has made a splash. One reason is the inevitable wrangling over policy recommendations. News reports have suggested that the Bush administration has tried to suppress signs of support in the second, as yet unreleased, report, for the UN’s Kyoto protocol or other mandatory policies for the control of greenhouse-gas emissions. But even setting politics aside, this week’s scientific report has still created a stir with its bold assessment of polar warming.

At first sight, its conclusions are not so surprising. After all, scientists have long suspected that several factors lead to greater temperature swings at the poles than elsewhere on the planet. One is albedo (反射率) — the posh scientific name for how much sunlight is absorbed by a planet’s surface, and how much is reflected. Most of the polar regions are covered in snow and ice, which are much more reflective than soil or ocean. If that snow melts, the exposure of dark earth (which absorbs heat) acts as a feedback loop that accelerates warming. A second factor that makes the poles special is that the atmosphere is thinner there than at the equator, and so less energy is required to warm it up. A third factor is that less solar energy is lost in evaporation at the frigid poles than in the steamy tropics.

And yet the language of this week’s report is still eye-catching: “the Arctic is now experiencing some of the most rapid and severe climate change on Earth.” The last authoritative assessment of the topic as done by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2001. That report made headlines by predicting a rise in sea level of between 10 cm (four inches) and 90cm, and a temperature rise of between 1.4℃ and 5.8℃ over this century. However, its authors did not feel confident in predicting either rapid polar warming or the speedy demise of the Greenland ice sheet. Pointing to evidence gathered since the IPCC report, this week’s report suggests trouble lies ahead. 

Questions 31-35 are based on Passage Five 

31. By saying “his assertion seems well founded”, the author means that _____.

A. his statement is not reasonable

B. his assertion can be discovered

C. his statement can hold water

D. his assertion is well-known to the public

32. Scientists of the team headed by Dr. Corell _____.

A. had much acquaintance with the Arctic circle prior to the investigation 

B. were absorbed in the South Pole climate impact Assessment

C. had no acquaintance with the Arctic Circle prior to the study

D. were detached from the South Pole snowstorm impact investigation 

33. The manipulation of greenhouse-gas emissions is in its strongest form echoed in _____.

A. the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment

B. the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

C. the American Meteorological Society

D. the UN’s Kyoto protocol or other mandatory policies

34. The vanishing of Greenland ice sheet, according to the text, is _____.

A. beyond dispute

B. still in doubt

C. at its early stage

D. in its distinctive ways

35. The loss of less solar energy in evaporation at the Arctic Circle may result in _____.

A. apparent temperature stagnation elsewhere on the planet

B. less temperature swings at the poles

C. consequent temperature regulation elsewhere on the planet

D. more temperature fluctuation at the poles 

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