[2010四级] 12月四级强化备考：阅读练习(16)

Unit Sixteen
Passage 1
What Will Space People Look Like?
Once we are in space, the question arises—will we be the only ones? Will we find other intelligent beings plying (往返于) the space ways, and if so, what will they be like? We cannot predict everything, of course, but we do have a good idea of what space people might look like.
Suppose that this evening a spaceship from somewhere outside the solar system landed unnoticed in your neighborhood. Suppose you saw three beings from that ship walk down the road in front of your house at dusk. Would you run screaming to the telephone to call the police? No, the chances are that you wouldn't even give them a second look.
We can be almost certain that our visitors from space will not have three eyes, webbed (有蹼的) feet, or television antennae growing out of their foreheads. Instead, scientists theorize, they will probably bear a strong resemblance to the man next door.
The reason we can make this assumption is that science has shown that the shape of a living body is not accidental.
There are rules of "biological construction" that help us picture presumed visitors before they actually step out of their spaceship.
In applying the rules, we have to make just two assumptions. The first is that the bodies of spacemen consist of protoplasm (原生质) like ours. The second is that they are intelligent, which is an inescapable fact once we accept the idea that they are capable of building a spaceship.
With those assumptions in mind, we can paint this portrait of the man from Planet X. :
He breathes air. Water breathers might develop some intelligence, but they could not smelt (熔炼) metals under water. This means that any development above the level of our own Stone Age is the accomplishment of air breathers.
He eats both plants and meat. A strict plant-eater spends too much time stuffing himself with food to build the kind of civilization which is necessary to produce a spaceship. Animals which can digest meat only
would not be likely to survive the occasional adverse periods which very likely occur on all planets and wipe out the less adaptable forms of life.
He's probably not much larger than the largest human being. The limiting factor here is something called the spare-cube law. If you double the height of a, person without changing his proportions, you have a being with weight times the weight. This means that a person 12 feet tall, for example, must be clumsy and cannot perform precision work. And precision work will be essential, of course, in building the spaceship.
He weighs at least 40 pounds, and probably more. A brain of a certain size and complexity would be required for the building of a spaceship. The brain of our spacemen would weigh at least 2 pounds. And from our studies of animals on earth, we know that a body weighing at least 40 pounds is required to support a 2-pound brain.
He has a skull of some kind. The most valuable organ of an intelligent being is his brain, and his brain must be protected in some manner against injury.
He has two eyes and ears. The "three-eyed man from space" is not a very likely creation. Two eyes are better than one for the purpose of judging distance and shape, but three would not be better than two. The same goes for ears. More eyes and ears would be useful as spares in case of accidents but earth organisms, at least, do not run to spares. We do not know the reason for this but it is logical to assume that life on other planets would not have developed along different lines.
The eyes and ears are near the brain. Information gathered by eyes and ears must reach the brain quickly in order to be useful. This transmission by the nerves is slow. Therefore the sense organs must be close to the brain to shorten the time lag between information and reaction.
He has "hands" and "feet". We know that our spacemen will walk erect. In order to survive, any being must be able to move around. But in order to build he would need something resembling our hands. Somewhere along the line of his development he would have had to free one pair of legs to allow them to become hands. The only way to do this is to learn to stand.
Also, it is almost certain that once on his back legs he would develop bending fingers and a thumb. To produce a high state of development he would need to pick up things, to be able to grasp, hold, push and pull. Why not tentacles (触须) , such as on an octopus? Because tentacles can pull but cannot push effectively.
Now that we've drawn a rough portrait of the Man from Planet X, is there anything we can guess about Planet X itself?
Here again the answer is a familiar one; his planet is probably very much like ours. We would probably be able to live on it.
First of all, Planet X can't be much larger or much smaller than the earth. If it were much bigger, the gravity would be so crushingly great that life would never even get started. If it were too small, it would not have sufficient gravitational pull to hang on to its gases and there would be no "air" to breathe.
The planet's atmosphere would be much like ours. There are only two chemical combinations that are complex enough to support life: the carbon-oxygen-hydrogen cycle we live on, and the chlorine-fluoride (氟化氯) , methane cycle. The latter is a highly explosive mixture and though it is conceivable that somewhere there could be a life-form living on it, it is not likely. This cycle is so complex that the chances are heavily in favor of oxygen-based life developing long before the chlorine-based form of got a chance.
Planet X would have land and sea masses and a climate with drastic changes like ours. If the climate were static there would be no incentive for our visitor's race to build anything. Variable hot and cold, wet and dry seasons are needed to push him around. And, of course, there would have to be land for our spaceman to live on and water for him to drink.
All this tells that our visitor is from outside our solar system, since none of our sun's planets, besides the earth, is capable of supporting intelligent life. It also tells us something else: our space visitor is a good bit more advanced than we are.
Whether it is because his race is more intelligent, or just because Planet X is older than the earth and he has had more time to develop, we cannot tell. But the fact is that he has come from outer space. The nearest star system to us is Alpha Centauri, four light-years away. So our visitor has come a minimum of four light-years. Our science, just on the edge of interplanetary flight, couldn't even begin to tackle such an interstellar voyage. We would have a lot to learn from such a visitor.
1. Intelligent life is certain to be found on other planets of the solar system than the earth.
2. Spacemen would have to fly a distance of 4 light years to visit us.
3. The bodies of spacemen are made up of protoplasm.
4. In the near future, space light will be an almost everyday occurrence.
5. The occasional adverse periods on all planets require intelligent beings to eat meat for survival.
6. The judgment of distances increases with the number of eyes.
7. The passage mainly tells us about spacemen's resemblance to human beings and requirements of life-supporting planets.
8. The only way for legs to become hands is to_______.
9. In order to support life, a planet must have a size_______the earth.
10. The atmosphere of life-supporting planets contain
only_______chemical combinations.
Passage 2
If you are looking for information, library shelves are a good place to start. But if you need up-to-the-minute data or have specialized needs, you may find a computerized database more useful, less expensive, and less time 11 .A database, a file of information on one subject or family of subjects, can be stored and 12 in a computer's memory. The speed of the computer then 13 you to recall any item in this file almost 14
The three main types of databases are statistical, bibliographic, and full text. Statistical databases store 15 amounts of numerical data, such as wage and price indexes, census information, foreign 16 rates and bond prices. Bibliographic databases store references to and summaries of articles in periodicals and newspapers. Full-text databases offer the complex texts of such 17 as newspaper, magazine, and journal articles.
Thousands of databases exist today, and their numbers are growing. Many companies have their in-house database, which is 18 to employees through computer terminals or microcomputers. In addition, several hundred commercial databases are now available to the 19 , with literally millions of items of information readily obtainable. These databases 20 specific fields, such as law and financial forecasting, or general information, such as sports and weather data.
A. exchange
B. public
C. instantly
D. cover
E. enables
F. consuming
G. remained
H. materials
I. hide J. intensively K. vast L. communications
M. exhausting N. accessible 0. maintained
Passage 3
In order to give you as much help as possible, I have drawn up a list of questions that you ought to ask yourself.
v "Have I given thought to what I would like to be doing in 15 to 20 years from now?" Bear in mind that the career you choose will affect the future courseof your life. It will partially determine your range of friends, your choice of husband or wife, where you live, your recreational activities, and other important aspects of your life.
"Have I a clear knowledge of my abilities and aptitudes, as well as my interests and aims?" Be honest about your weak points as well as your strong ones. Take a really good look at yourself and give real thought to the kind of person you are, what you are good at, and what kind of person you want to be.
"Do I know the kind of occupation in which people like myself tend to find success and satisfaction?" Once you have examined and found out about yourself, your next question is what you can really do with yourself. You can gain some idea of what other people, with similar abilities and interests, consider to be important and challenging in the careers that interest you. Watch these people at work.
"Have I weighed carefully the immediate advantages against the long-term prospects offered by the jobs I am considering?" Will the occupation you select give you satisfaction, not just when you start, but in the years to come? Realize now the importance of education in all fields, technical and professional. Remember that when promotion occurs, preference is usually given to educated persons—other things being equal.
"Have I talked about my job preference with my careers master, my parents, teachers and my headmaster?" Remember they have a tremendous fund of experience from which you should benefit. They can stimulate you to give careful thought to what you really want to do, and offer useful suggestions as to how you might take full advantage of your personal qualities and qualifications.
21. The main idea of Paragraph 2 is that a person choosing a career should_______.
A. choose his career very carefully
B. make up his mind but be prepared to change it later
C. choose a career that fits the kind of life he leads
D. try to foresee how a career will affect his life
22. Which of these words is nearest in meaning to "aptitudes"?
A. Talents.
B. Preferences.
C. Standards.
D. Attitudes.
23. The fifth paragraph is mainly concerned with_______.
A. the present
B. education
C. long-term prospects
D. immediate advantages
24. When we say that a career has "challenge", we mean that it
is_______.
A. demanding
B. easy
C. well-paid
D. satisfying
25. This passage focuses on_______.
A. how you can choose the right career
B. whether you know your abilities and aptitudes
C. whether you have weighed the immediate advantages ag ainst the long-term prospects offered by the job
D. whether you have talked about your job preferences with your careers master, your parents, teachers and headmaster
Passage 4
Of all the continents, the most drastic reduction in wildlife has occurred in North America, where the transition from a rural to a highly industrialized society has been most rapid. Among the victims are birds, mammals, and fish. We will never again see the passenger pigeon or the eastern elk. They have been wiped out. Of many other species, only a few representatives still survive in the wild. The U. S. Department of the Interior has put no fewer than 109 species on the endangered species list. (An endangered species is one with poor prospects for survival and in need of protection. ) This list includes everything from the timber wolf to the whooping crane. Even the bald eagle, our national symbol, is threatened.
Animals that kill other game for food are called predators. The predators include the wolf, mountain lion, fox, bobcat, and bear. Attack against these animals began with the arrival of the first European settlers, who wished to protect their livestock. Eventually, a reward was offered to hunters for every predator that was killed. This reward is called a bounty. Ironically, the Federal government is the chief founder of predator-control programs.
The settlers also brought in their Old World fears and superstitions
concerning predators. Whether preying (捕食) on livestock or not, predators were shot on sight. This attitude continues to this day for coyotes, eagles, foxes, mountain lions, and bobcats, and is largely responsible for placing the eastern timber wolf, grizzly bear, and bald eagle on the endangered species list.
Yet every animal, including the predator, has its place in nature's grand design. Predators help maintain the health of their prey species by eliminating the diseased, young, old and injured. Predators like the mountain lion and the wolf help to keep the deer herds healthy. Occasional loss of livestock must be weighed against the good these animals do in maintaining the balance of nature.
26. In North America, the number of wild animals has reduced most greatly mainly because_______.
A. the birds, mammals and fish there are most predators
B. the development there has been at the highest pace
C. only a few species still live in the world
D. many species have been put on the endangered species list
27. The first European settlers killed predators chiefly in order to_______.
A. eat their meat
B. protect themselves
C. please the Federal government
D. protect their livestock
28. Some animal species are in danger of disappearing altogether from the earth as a result of_______.
A. people's superstitious attitude
B. people's dislike of some animals, such as bald eagle
C. people's hunting games
D. the self-killing of the predators
29. Bounty hunters are people who_______.
A. take care of wilderness areas
B. preserve our wildlife
C. kill meat-eating animals for money
D. work in the fund of predator-control programs
30. According to the writer, even if the meat-eating animals sometimes caused losses of livestock, man should_______.
A. estimate the value of predators
B. compare the losses with the benefits of predators
C. keep the balance of nature
D. raise more livestock
参考答案：
Unit Sixteen
I. N 2. Y 3. Y 4. NG 5. N 6. N 7. Y 8. learn to stand 9. similar to 10. two
II. F 12. O 13. E 14. C 15. K 16. A 17. H 18. N 19. B 20. D 21. A 22. A 23. C 24. A 25. A 26. B 27.
D 28. A 29. C 30. B。