雅思阅读-练习五 (总分40,考试时间90分钟)
Reading passage 1
You should spend about 20 migrates on Questions 1-14, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.
Global Warming and Animal Life
Global warming is having a significant impact on hundreds of plant and animal species around the world—although the most dramatic effects may not be felt for decades. \"Clearly, if such ecological changes are now being detected when the globe has warmed by an estimated average of only 1 degree F (0.6 C) over the past 100 years, then many more far-reaching effects on species and ecosystems will probably occur by 2100, when temperatures could increase as much as 11 F (6C) ,\" said Terry L.Root, a senior fellow with Stanford's Institute for International Studies (IIS). In their paper, Root and her colleagues analyzed 143 scientific studies involving a total of 1,473 species of animals and plants. Each study found a direct correlation between global warming and biological change somewhere in the world. For example, several studies revealed that, as temperatures increased in recent decades, certain species began breeding and migrating earlier than expected. Other studies found that the geographical range of numerous species had shifted pole ward or moved to a higher elevation— indicating that some plants and animals are occupying areas that were previously too cold for survival.
Were these biological and behavioral changes isolated events, or did they reflect a worldwide pattern consistent with global warming? After exhaustive statistical analyses of all 143 studies, the group concluded that global warming is, in fact, having a significant impact on animal and plant populations around the world.
\"Our study shows that recent temperature change has apparently already had a marked influence on many species,\" they wrote, noting that a rapid temperature rise in combination with other environmental pressures \"could easily disrupt the connectedness among species\" and possibly lead to numerous extinctions.
In their analysis, Root revealed that nearly 1,200 species—roughly 81 percent of the total number analyzed—have undergone biological changes that were \"consistent with our understanding of how temperature change influences various traits of a variety of species and populations from around the globe\".
Their overall analysis of studies involving temperate-zone species revealed that springtime events—such as blooming, egg laying and the end of hibernation—now occur about 5.1 days earlier per decade on average. The North American tree swallow offers a good example. Field biologists, who kept track of some 21,000 tree swallow nests in the United States and Canada over the last 40 years, concluded that the average egg-laying date for female swallows has advanced by
nine days-a phenomenon that mirrors other North American studies confirming higher temperatures.
Similar long-term observations of flowering plants in Wisconsin revealed that wild geraniums, columbine and other species are blooming earlier than before. Studies in Colorado also showed that marmots are ending their hibernations about three weeks sooner than they were in the late 1970s.
Other studies confirmed that a variety of species—including butterflies and marine invertebrates—have shifted their ranges northward as temperatures increased. Measurements taken in Alaska revealed that growth in white spruce trees has been significantly stunted in recent years another expected consequence of a rapidly warming climate, Root said.
\"Climate change models predict that the poles will warm more quickly than the equator, so it's not surprising that we're getting the strongest signals of biological change from Alaska and other northern regions,\" she added.
The authors pointed out that, although plants and animals have responded to climatic changes throughout their evolutionary history, a primary concern for wild species and their ecosystems is the rapid rate of change predicted during the next century.
\"The problem will be the differential response of species,\" Root explained. \"1 call it the tearing apart of communities. For example, four types of warblers feed on spruce budworm caterpillars. But the birds are shifting north. Some natural disasters happen when the birds no longer are present in the southern portion of their ranges, and the caterpillar population is no longer kept in check.\"
She predicted that rapid climate change, coupled with the loss of habitat and other ecological stressors, could lead to the disappearance of species—a consequence that might be avoided by taking proactive instead of reactive conservation measures.
\"For example, there's a very high probability that global warming could contribute to a 50 percent decline in breeding waterfowl populations,\" Root noted. \"One thing we might do now is to consider adjusting the bag limits for hunters so we don't add insult to injury in **ing years. Because anticipation of changes improves our capacity to manage, it behooves us to increase our understanding about the responses of plants and animals to a changing climate.\\
Questions 1-6
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1 ? In boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information FALSE if the statement contradicts the information NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
1. It is studied that a slight temperature ascending of the earth would have drastic impacts on nature in almost 100 years.
2. One of directing researches of Root and her co-workers is on prevention species from total extinction.
3. Root and her groups found that many animals have migrated to some warmer places than those where they used to live after temperatures increased.
4. The effects of global warming on the number of species have not been confirmed yet by Professor Root and her colleague.
5. The group concluded that the subtle rise on temperature would result in disappearance of some species.
6. The group found that some species living in temperate areas may face an earlier arrival of spring.
Questions 7-9
Look at the following species ( Question 7-9 ) and the list of statements below. Match each species with the correct statement, A-F.
Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 7-9 on your answer sheet. List of Statements
A They have moved to equator for survivals.
B They have, in general, awaked earlier three weeks than before.
C Global warming is thought to predate the reproduction period of this species. D Earlier blossom of this species has occurred due to high temperature.
E Study showed that this species' period of laying eggs has been shortened by 9 days. F The growth of this species has been retarded because of global warming.
7. tree swallows 8. geraniums 9. white spruces
Questions 10-14
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answer in boxes 10-14 on your answer sheet.
Root and her colleagues worried that chaos of ecosystem would happen with rising temperature of the earth and this would lead to different (10) For example, the number of (11) would change due to evacuation of (12) which usually feed on them. What is worse, they also anticipated that shrinking areas of habitat would **e true the (13) . Meanwhile, the number of (14) would decrease half as many as before. Consequently, proactive responses to these changes may be paid more attention by our human beings. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.
Reading passage 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 15-27, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.
Spreading Disease on Evolutionary Timescales
If you are trying to stay healthy this cold and flu season, you may find yourself washing your hands frequently and avoiding crowded places like schools and airports. That's because most infectious diseases that we are familiar with are passed from human to human—and the more human germs **e into contact with, the more likely you are to have one make its home in your body. However, on evolutionary timescales, pathogens, disease producing agents, don't necessarily respect species boundaries. And, as you might expect, the more closely related the other species are to us, the easier it seems to be for the pathogen to make this jump. The most recently discovered case of disease exchanging among species involves the deadliest strain or variety of malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, a kind of parasite, which causes more than a million deaths each year.
Up until two years ago, biologists thought that this parasite had been plaguing us since the dawn of human history. Its closest known relative was a species of malaria that infects chimpanzees, called plasmodium reichenowl, so it only made sense to hypothesize that **mon ancestor of these parasitic species infected **mon ancestor of humans and chimps. When our own lineage split from that of the chimps around six million years ago, each took a population of malaria parasites with them and these parasites evolved into separate species along with their hosts or at least up until genetic testing uncovered previously unknown strains of malaria infecting other great apes.
An international group of researchers announced that they'd discovered evidence that supports a very different hypothesis about the evolutionary origins of human malaria. The researchers were studying great apes infected with HIV's close relative, SIV (simian immunodeficiency virus). They were interested in whether parasites like' malaria are particularly bad for SIV-positive animals, as is the case with HIV infections in humans. The SIV study called for screening hundreds of wild chimps and gorillas—a daunting task since these animals are protected and human contact is regulated and limited. Luckily—or perhaps unluckily for the researchers in charge of collecting samples—you don't need a syringe to learn about the disease strains infecting a gorilla; a pooper scooper will do just fine. Feces picked up off the forest floor contain virus particles, parasites, and DNA from the host animal. The researchers collected hundreds of fecal samples from wild animals and further extracted genetic material from them to learn more about the animals and their infections. When **pared malaria strains infecting different primates, the results were a surprise.
The researchers used the genetic sequences from the malaria strains to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships among the strains. As you can see from the phylogeny below, the human malaria strains form a tiny twig on a big branch of gorilla malaria parasites. They are much more closely related to gorilla strains than to chimpanzee strains. This means that P.falciparum probably made the jump to human hosts from gorillas sometime after our lineage split from that of chimpanzees.
From this tree, a few additional things are clear. First, because the chimp strains and gorilla
strains don't all group together and are scattered on different branches of the tree, it seems that malaria parasites have switched hosts (e. g., jumped from chimps to gorillas) frequently. Second, because all the sequences from human malaria are grouped together on a single branch, it seems that the human strain of malaria made the jump to humans only once.
In retrospect, it's not surprising that malaria has jumped around from chimps to gorillas to humans so frequently. After all, HIV has jumped to humans at least five times from chimps, gorillas, and sooty mangabeys, and some human lice also trace their ancestry to gorilla lice. Humans, chimps, and gorillas are close evolutionary relatives, and have inherited similar physiologies from our **mon ancestor. So from a parasite's perspective, making one's home in a human may be similar to making a home in gorilla or chimp. This means that switching hosts from one great ape to another may not be that unlikely.
While new infectious diseases acquired from other organisms are certainly a concern, chimpanzees and gorillas probably have more to fear from our diseases than we do from theirs. Many human pathogens are capable of infecting other great apes, whose precarious population sizes add further concern. To guard against our close evolutionary relatives picking up human diseases, the researchers who did fieldwork in Africa for this study stayed at least 35 feet away from the apes, were vaccinated against diseases that might be passed to the wild animals, and even carried their own waste out of the forest to avoid exposing the apes to human parasites that might make a leap in the other direction. Unfortunately, the researchers also found that while such safeguards are effective, they are no guarantee against wild animals being infected with human pathogens. In the course of their research, the scientists discovered that human malaria strains have infected captive bonobos. These malaria parasites contained genes for drug resistance, a sure sign that the malaria infection was passed from human populations where malaria is treated with particular drugs. The acquisition of new infectious diseases from close evolutionary relatives is, apparently, a two way street.
Questions 15-18
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2 ? In boxes 15-18 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information FALSE if the statement contradicts the information NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
15. There is likelihood that humans could be infected by diseases from other species. 16. Plasmodium falciparum has been found in other species since human history.
17. It is studied that there is a similarity between HIV and SIV on scale of influence on their own subject.
18. The lineage of gorillas has emerged on the earth a little later than that of chimpanzee. Questions 19-21
Complete the graph below:
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
'*' means the split in our lineage causes split in malaria lineage
19. 20. 21.
Questions 22-27
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
A research on SIV has been launched by some scientists who have done experiments on numerous animals, first with collections of animals' (22) , then scientists receiving information about animals' infection by drawing (23) . They have established links of strains with (24) again. So, it is evident after the analysis of strains that times for which (25) choose the variety of animals is much more than that of human malaria. As a consequence, it is fairly easy for HIV to find suitable inhabits for humans and their relatives are alike in (26) . But it is concerned that (27) has been invaded by human malaria strains and new virus would be born from both human and their relatives. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27.
Reading passage 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 28-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.
Climbing Mount Publishable
The old scientific powers are starting to lose their grip Nov 11th, 2010
Twenty years ago North America, Europe and Japan produced almost all of the world's science. They were the aristocrats of technical knowledge, presiding over a centuries-old regime. They
spent the most, published the most and patented the most. And what they produced fed back into their industrial, military and **plexes to push forward innovation, productivity, power, health and prosperity.
All good things, though, come to an end, and the reign of these scientific aristos is starting to look shaky. In 1990 they carried out more than 95% of the world's research and development (R&D). By 2007 that figure was 76%.
Such, at least, is the conclusion of the latest report from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO. The picture the report paints is of a waning West and a rising East and South, mirroring the economic shifts going on in the wider world. ·GERD is good
Comparisons of the scientific prowess of countries frequently begin with spending. One measure of this is GERD, gross domestic expenditure on R&D. Globally, GERD amounted to $1.15 trillion in 2007 (the year the UNESCO report measures). That was up 45% compared with 2002. Moreover, in those five years Asia's share of the total rose from 27% to 35%.
**paring economies of different sizes, the share of national wealth spent on R & D is also useful—particularly as scientific excellence tends to concentrate itself in small areas of the world, allowing researchers in tiny countries like Singapore to challenge those of larger ones, such as America. In 2007 Japan spent 3.4% of its GDP on R&D, America 2.7%, the European Union (EU) collectively 1.8% and China 1.4% (see chart 1). Many countries seeking to improve their global scientific standing want to increase these figures. China plans to push on to 2.5% and Barack Obama would like to nudge America up to 3%.
The number of researchers has also grown everywhere. China is on the verge of overtaking both USA and the EU in the quantity of its scientists. Each had roughly 1.5m researchers out of a global total of 7.2m in 2007. Nevertheless, the number of scientists per million people remains relatively low in China. And India, second only to China in the size of its population, has only a tenth as many researchers. This is a surprising anomaly for a country that has become the world's leading exporter of information-technology services and ranks third after USA and then Japan in terms of the volume of pharmaceuticals produces.
Having lots of boffins does not matter, though, if they are not productive. One indicator of prowess is how much a country's researchers publish. As an individual country, America still leads the world by some distance. Yet USA's share of world publications, at 28% in 2007, is slipping. In 2002 it was 31%. The EU's collective share also fell, from 40% to 35%, whereas China's has more than doubled to 10% and Brazil's grew by 60%, from 1.7% of the world's output to 2.7% (see chart 2).
The size of Asia's population leads UNESCO to conclude that it will become the \"dominant scientific continent in **ing years\". But citation of English-language articles in Chinese journals by other publications remains low. This could be because Chinese science is poor or because researchers in America, Europe and Japan have an historical bias towards citing each other. The average USA's paper was cited 14.3 times between 1998 and 2008, whereas the average Chinese paper was cited only 4.6 times, about the same as papers published in India and less than those published in South Korea.
The prospects for R&D investment by business look bright in many of the emerging scientific
nations, however. Between 2002 and 2007 business investment as a proportion of GDP has risen rapidly in China, India, Singapore and South Korea (although India's increase was from a low base). But at least one aristo is fighting back, for investment has risen rapidly in Japan.
Although much of this might seem cause for the old regime to fret, there is one other pattern worth noting, that of growing international collaboration. Thanks to cheap travel and the rise of the internet, scientists find it easier than ever to work together. According to Sir Chris Llewellyn-Smith, the chairman of the advisory group for another report on global science (to be published early next year by the Royal Society, the world's oldest scientific academy), more than 35% of articles in leading journals are now the product of international collaboration. That is up from 25 % 15 years ago—something the old regime and the new alike can celebrate.
Questions 28-34
Look at the following descriptions in scientific contribution in 2007 ( Questions 28-34 ) and the list of countries below.
Match each description with the correct countries, A-J.
Write the correct letter, A-J, in boxes 28-34 on your answer sheet. List of countries
A US B China C Europe D Japan E India
F Brazil G Singapore H South Korea I Russia J International
28. Its portion of world publication has shrunk by 3%.
29. Over 35% of essays have been published among mainstream magazines. 30. The number of researchers was merely 10% of that in China. 31. In 2002, its share of world publications was only 5%.
32. The third has emerged in the country in terms of its share of patent offices. 33. It had the second largest amount of contribution in pharmaceutics. 34. It has surged by over half of its share of world publication. Questions 35-37
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3 ? In boxes 35-37 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information FALSE if the statement contradicts the information NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
35. UNESCO is an international collaborating organization of politics.
36. There is no relation between the proportion of country's finance on R&D expenditure and the size of that.
37. China has surpassed Europe in the number of scientists by 2007. Questions 38-40
Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
38. Chinese journalists have cited______far less frequently than those have done in the west countries.
39. Most of developed countries had lower speed of business investment except for the country of______
40. The application of Internet and______helped scientists in the world cooperate in scientific domain.
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