2013年职称英语等级考试模拟题2

2013年职称英语等级考试模拟题2
D
错误信息，请选择B；如果该句的信息文中没有提及，请选择C。

Irish Dolphins May Have a Unique Dialect
Irish scientists monitoring dolphins living in a river estuary in the southwest of the country believe they may have developed a unique dialect to communicate with each other.
The Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Foundation (SDWF) has been studying a group of up to 120 bottle-nose dolphins in the River Shannon using vocalisations collected on a computer in a cow shed near the River Shannon.
As part of a research project, student Ronan Hickey digitised and analysed a total of 1, 882 whistles from the Irish dolphins and those from the Welsh dolphins on a computer and separated them into six fundamental whistle types and 32 different categories. Of the categories, he found most were used by both sets
of dolphins —but eight were only heard from the Irish dolphins.
“We are building up a catalogue of the different whistle types they use and trying to associate them with behaviour like foraging, resting, socialising and the communications of groups with calves,” project leader Simon Berrow said. “Essentially we are building up what is like a dictionary of words they use or sounds they make.”
Berrow, a marine biologist, said the dolphins’ clicks are used to find t heir way around and locate prey. The whistles are communications. “They do a whole range of other sound like barks, groans and a kind of gunshot,” he said. “The gunshot is an intense pulse of sound. Sperm whales use it to stun their prey.”
“When I first h eard it I was surprised as I thought sperm whales were the only species who used it. We can speculate the dolphins are using
it for the same reason as the sperm whales.” Borrow said.
References in local legend indicate there have been dolphins in the Shannon estuary for generations and they may even have been resident there as far back as the 6th century.
They are regularly seen by passengers on the Shannon ferry and an estimated 25, 000 tourists every year take special sightseeing tours on local boats to visit them.
16. The difference in eating habits between the
bottle-nose dolphins and the sperm whales interested the SDWF scientists.
A. Right
B. Wrong
C. Not mentioned
17. Ronan Hickey analysed almost 2,000 different dialects of the bottle-nose dolphins.
A. Right
B. Wrong
C. Not mentioned
18. Of the 32 categories, eight were produced only by the Irish dolphins.
A. Right
B. Wrong
C. Not mentioned
19. Whistles could also be used to communicate between adult dolphins and baby dolphins.
A. Right
B. Wrong
C. Not mentioned
20. Sperm whales can produce stronger ultrasonic waves to kill their prey than dolphins.
A. Right
B. Wrong
C. Not mentioned
21. As early as the 6th century, Irish fishermen started raising dolphins in the Shannon estuary.
A. Right
B. Wrong
C. Not mentioned
22. Irish dolphins attract tourists and over 25, 000 people come to see them every year.
A. Right
B. Wrong
C. Not mentioned
第3部分：概括大意与完成句子（第23～30题，每题1分，共8分）
下面的短文后有2项测试任务：(1)第23～26题要求从所给的6个选项中为第1～4段每段
选择1个最佳标题；(2)第27～30题要求从所给的6个选项中为每个句子确定1个最佳选项。

Washoe Learned American Sign Language
An animal that influenced scientific thought has died. A chimpanzee named Washoe and born in Africa died of natural causes late last month at the age of 42 at a research center in the American state of Washington. Washoe had become known in the scientific community and around the world for her ability to use American Sign Language. She was said to be the first non-human to learn a human language. Her skills also led to debate about primates and their ability to understand language.
Research scientists Allen and Beatrix Gardner began teaching Washoe sign language in 1966. In 1969, the Gardners described Washoe’s progress in a scientific report. The people who experimented with Washoe said she grew to understand about 250 words. For
example, Washoe made signs to communicate when it was time to eat. She could request foods like apples and bananas. She also asked questions like, “Who is coming to play?” Once the news about Washoe spread, many language scientists began studies of their own into this new and exciting area of research. The whole direction of primate research changed.
However, critics argued Washoe only learned to repeat sign language movements from watching her teachers. They said she had never developed true language skills. Even now, there are some researchers who suggest that primates learn sign language only by memory, and perform the signs only for prizes. Yet Washoe’s keepers disagree. Roger Fouts is a former student of the Gardners. He took Washoe to a research center in Ellensburg, Washington. There, Washoe taught sign language to three younger chimpanzees, which are still alive.
Scientists like private researcher Jane Goodall believe Washoe provided new
information about the mental workings of chimpanzees. Today, there are not as many scientists studying language skills with chimps. Part of the reason is that this kind of research takes a very long time.
Debate continues about chimps’ understanding of human communication. Yet, one thing is sure－Washoe changed popular ideas about the possibilities of animal intelligence.
23. Paragraph 1
24. Paragraph 2
25. Paragraph 3
26. Paragraph 4
A. Reason Why Not Many Scientists Carry out This Research Nowadays
B. Report about Washoe’s Progress in
Learning Sign Language
C. General Information about Washoe
D. The Gardeners’ Contributions Recognized
E. Debate on Chimps’ Intelligence
F. Washoe’s Love for Three Young Chimps
27. Washoe could make signs to communicate
.
28. Some scientists doubted .
29. Washoe taught three younger chimps sign language .
30. The experimenters thought Washoe was intelligent .
A. if the Gardeners’ argument was sound
B. because she was cleverer than other chimps
C. when she wanted to eat
D. while she was at a research center in Ellensburg
E . because she could use sign language to ask for fruits
F. while Washoe was learning sign language
第4部分：阅读理解(第31～45题，每题3分，共45分)
下面有3篇短文，每篇短文后有5道题。

请根据短文内容，为每题确定1个最佳选项。

第一篇
Food Fright
Experiments under way in several labs aim to create beneficial types of genetically modified (GM) foods, including starchier potatoes and caffeine-free coffee beans. Genetic engineers are even trying to transfer genes from a cold-water fish to make a frost-resistant tomato. A low-sugar GM strawberry now in the works might one day allow people with health problems such as diabetes to enjoy the little delicious red fruits again. GM beans and grains supercharged with protein might help people at risk of developing kwashiorkor. Kwashiorkor, a disease caused by severe lack of protein, is common in parts of the world where there are severe food shortages.
Commenting on GM foods, Jonathon Jones, a British researcher, said. “The fut ure benefits will be enormous, and the best is yet to come.”
To some people, GM foods are no different
from unmodified foods. “A tomato is a tomato,” said Brian Sansoni, an American food manufacturer.
Critics of GM foods challenge Sansonis opinion. They worry about the harm that GM crops might do to people, other animals, and plants.
In a recent lab study conducted at Cornell University, scientists tested pollen made by Bt corn, which makes up one-fourth of the U. S. corn crop. The scientist sprinkled the pollen onto milkweed, a plant that makes a milky juice and is the only known food source of the monarch butterfly caterpillar. Within four days of munching on the milkweed leaves, almost half of a test group of caterpillars had died. “Monarchs are consid ered to be a flagship species for conservation,” said Cornell researcher Linda Raynor. “This is a warning bell.”
Some insects that are not killed by GM foods might find themselves made stronger3.
How so? The insecticides used to protect most of today’s cr ops are sprayed on the crops when needed4 and decay quickly in the environment. But GM plants produce a continuous level of insecticide. Insect species feeding on those crops may develop resistance to the plants and could do so in a hurry, say the critics. Insects may also develop a resistance to the insecticide Bt.
At the forum on GM food held last year in Canada, GM crops that have been made resistant to the herbicide might crossbreed with wild plants, creating “super weeds” that could take over whole fields.
So where do you stand? Should GM foods be banned in the United States, as they are in parts of Europe? Or do their benefits outweigh any of the risks they might carry?
31. Paragraphs 1, 2 &3 try to give the idea that
A. GM foods may bring about great benefits to humans.
B. we cannot recognize the benefits of GM
foods too early.
C. GM foods may have both benefits and harm.
D. GM foods are particularly good to the kwashiorkor patients.
32. Why is the case of the pollen-sprayed milkweed cited in Paragraph 6?
A. It is cited to show GM foods can kill insects effectively.
B. It is cited to show GM foods contain more protein.
C. It is cited to show GM foods also have a dark side.
D. It is cited to show GM foods may harm crops.
33. What happens to those insects when not killed by the spray of insecticide?
A. They may lose their ability to produce offspring.
B. They may have a higher ability to adapt to the environment.
C. They move to other fields free from
insecticide.
D. They never eat again those plants containing insecticide.
34. Which of the following statements
concerning banning GM foods is true according to the passage?
A. Underdeveloped countries have banned GM foods.
B. Both Europe and the U. S. have banned GM foods.
C. Most European countries have not banned GM foods.
D. The United States has not banned GM foods.
35. What is the writer’s attitude to GM foods?
A. We cannot tell from the passage.
B. He thinks their benefits outweigh their risks.
C. He thinks their risks outweigh their benefits.
D. He thinks their benefits and risks are balanced.
第二篇
Digital Realm
In the digital realm, the next big advance will be voice recognition. The rudiments are already here but in primitive form. Ask a computer to “recognize speech,” and it is likely to think you want it to “wreck a nice beach.”But in a decade or so we’ll be able to chat away and machines will soak it all in. Microchips will be truly embedded in our lives when we can talk to them. Not only to our computers, we’ll als o be able to chat with our automobile navigation systems, telephone consoles, browsers, thermostats. VCRs, microwaves and any other devices we want to boss around.
That will open the way to the next phase of the digital age: artificial intelligence. By our providing so many thoughts and preferences to our machines each day, they’ll accumulate enough information about how we think so that
they’ll be able to mimic our minds and act as our agents. Scary, huh? But potentially quite useful. At least until they decide they don’t need us anymore and start building even smarter machines they can boss around.
The law powering the digital age up until now has been Gordon Moore’s: that microchips will double in power and halve in price every 18 months or so. Bill Gates rules because early on he acted on the assumption that computing power —the capacity of microprocessors and memory chips — would become nearly free; his company kept churning out more and more lines of complex software to make use of the cheap bounty. The law that will power the next few decades is that the bandwidth (the capacity of fiber-optic and other pipelines to carry digital communications) will become nearly free.
Along with the recent advances in digital switching and storage technologies, this means a future in which all forms of content — movies, music, shows, books, data, magazines,
newspapers, your aunt’s recipes and home videos — will be instantly available anywhere on demand. Anyone will be able to be a producer of any content; you’ll be able to create a movie or magazine, make it available to the world and charge for it, just like Time Warner!
The result will be a transition from a mass-market world to a personalized one. Instead of centralized factories and studios that distribute or broadcast the same product to millions, technology is already allowing products to be tailored to, each user. You can subscribe to news sources that serve up only topics and opinions that fit your fancy. Everything from shoes to steel can be customized to meet individual wishes.
36. The techniques of voice recognition
A. are mature enough for extensive use.
B. are in its initial stage of development.
C. will aid people to chat through computers.
D. will assist people to recognize each other’s
voice.
37. According to the second paragraph, when we reach the stage of artificial intelligence,
A. machines can be our agents us they understand our thoughts.
B. machines will give orders to smarter machines they build.
C. machines will not need us any more.
D. machines will be intelligent enough to boss around.
38. What’s the best description of Gordon Moore’s law as mentioned in the third paragraph?
A. It motivates the development of the digital world.
B. Bill Gates rules the digital world with the law.
C. It enables computing power to become free.
D. It helps the development of the bandwidth.
39. What can people do in a future scene as described in the fourth paragraph?
A. Compose music and make it available to the world.
B. Make films and charge for it.
C. Write books and sell them.
D. All of the above.
40. Which of the following statements is true of a personalized market?
A. The personalized market tends to be replaced by the mass market.
B. The same product is distributed to millions of users.
C. In a personalized market, products are tailored to each consumer.
D. Individuals can control centralized factories and studios.
第三篇
Plant Gas
Scientists have been studying natural sources of methane for decades but hadn’t regarded plants as a producer, notes Frank
Keppler, a geochemist at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg，Germany. Now Keppler and his colleagues find that plants, from grasses to trees，may also be sources of the greenhouse gas. This is really surprising, because most scientists assumed that methane (甲烷) production requires an oxygen-free environment.
Previously, researchers had thought that it was impossible for plants to make significant amounts of the gas. They had assumed that, microbes need to be in environments without oxygen to produce methane. Methane is a greenhouse gas, like carbon dioxide (二氧化碳). Gases such as methane and carbon dioxide trap heat in Earth’s atmosphere and contribute to global warming.
In its experiments, Keppler’s te am used sealed chambers that contained the same concentration of oxygen that Earth’s atmosphere has. They measured the amounts of
methane that were released by both living plants; and dried plant material, such as fallen leaves.
With the dried plants，the researchers took measurement at temperatures ranging from 30 degrees Celsius to 70 degrees C. At 30 degrees C, they found, a gram of dried plant material released up to 3 nanograms (微克) of methane per hour. (One nanogram is a billionth of a gram.) With every 10-degree rise in temperature, the amount of methane released each hour roughly doubled.
Living plants growing at their normal temperatures released as much as 370 nanograms of methane per gram of plant tissue per hour. Methane emissions tripled when living and dead plant was exposed to sunlight.
Because there was plenty of oxygen available, it’s unlikely that the types of bacteria that normally make methane were involved. Experiments on plants that were grown in water rather than soil also resulted in methane emissions (散发). That’s another strong sign that
the gas came from the plants and not soil microbes.
The new finding is an “interesting observation,” says Jennifer Y.King, a biogeochemist (生物地球化学家) at the University of Minnesota in St.Paul.Because some types of soil microbes consume methane, they may prevent plant-produced methane from reaching the atmosphere. Field tests will be needed to assess the plant’s influence, she notes.
41. What was scientists’ understanding of methane?
A. It was produced from plants.
B. It was not a greenhouse gas.
C. It was produced in oxygen-free environments.
D. It traps more heat than any other greenhouse gas.
42. To test whether plants are a sot，roe of methane，the scientists created
A. a oxygen-free environment.
B. an environment with the same concentration of oxygen as the Earth has.
C. a carbon dioxide-free environment.
D. an environment filled with the greenhouse gas.
43. Which statement is true of the methane emissions of plants in the experiment?
A. The lower the temperature, the higher the amount of methane emissions.
B. Living plants release less methane than dried plants at the same temperature.
C. When exposed to sunlight, plants stop releasing methane.
D. The higher the temperature, the greater the amount of methane emissions.
44. Which of the following about methane is Not mentioned in the passage?
A. Plants growing in soil release methane.
B. Plants growing in water release methane.
C. Soil microbes consume methane.
D. Microbes in plants produce methane.
45. What is the beneficial point of some microbes consuming plant-produced methane?
A. Methane becomes less poisonous.
B. Methane is turned into a fertilizer.
C. Less methane reaches the atmosphere.
D. Air becomes cleaner.
第5部分：补全短文(第46～50题，每题2分，共10分)
下面的短文有5处空白，短文后有6个句子，其中5个取自短文，请根据短文内容将其分别放回原有位置，以恢复文章原貌。

High Dive Chery Sterns aims to go boldly where no human has ever gone before in a balloon: 40 kilometers up into the atmosphere. 46 No one has ever leapt from such a height or gone supersonic1 without an airplane or a spacecraft. Yet Sterns, an airline pilot, is not the only person who wants to be the first to accomplish those feats. Two other brave people, an Australian man and a Frenchman, are also planning to make similar leaps.
47 First, she’ll climb into a cabin hanging from a balloon the size of a football field. Then the balloon will take her high into the stratosphere —the layer of Earth’s atmosphere 12 to 50 kilometers above the planet. “The ascent will take two and a half to three hours.” said Sterns. “I’ll be wearing a fully pressurized, temperature-controlled space suit.”
At 40 kilometers, Sterns will be able to see the gentle curve of Earth and the blackness of space over head. Then she’ll unclip herself from the cabin and dive headfirst, like a bullet, into the atmosphere. 48
For high dive, astronaut escape suits are a key to success. Current pilot and astronaut escape suits are guaranteed only a maximum altitude of 21 kilometers. Del Rosso, a NASA engineer of spacesuits and life-support systems, said the suit designed for Stern’s jump could serve as a model for the lethal environment of higher climbs. 49 The first hazard is oxygen-deficient air. Any person without an
additional oxygen supply at 40 kilometers would die within three to five seconds. The second hazard is low atmospheric pressure. Atmospheric presure is much lower at high altitudes than it is at sea level. The low atmospheric pressure of the upper stratosphere causes the gases in body fluids to fizz out of solution like soda bubbles. 50 Other hazards include temperatures as low as -55 degrees Celsius, flying debris, and solar radiation.
For Sterns to survive, her spacesuit will have to protect her from a ll of these hazards. “A spacesuit is like a one-person spaceship,” Del Rosso explained. “You have to take everything you need in a package that’s light enough, mobile enough, and tough enough to do the job. You can’t exist without it.”
A. It will handle several major hazards.
B. Escape suits are tough enough to stand the atmospheric pressure of the upper stratosphere.
C. From there, she’ll take a death-defying leap back to Earth at supersonic speed.
D. “In 30 seconds, I’ll be going Mach (马赫) speed.” s aid Sterns.
E. How will Sterns make her giant jump?
F. In short, blood boils.
第6部分：完形填空(第51～65题，每题1分，共15分)
下面的短文有15处空白，请根据短文内容为每处空白确定1个最佳选项。

Avalanche and Its Safety
An avalanche is a sudden and rapid flow of snow, often ______ (51) with air and water, down a mountainside. Avalanches are among the biggest dangers in the mountains for both life and property.
All avalanches are ______ (52) by an over-burden of material, typically snowpack that is too massive and unstable for the slope that supports it. Determining the critical load, the______ (53) of over-burden which is likely to cause an avalanche, is a complex task involving
the evaluation of a number of factors.
Terrain slopes flatter than 25 degrees or steeper than 60 degrees ______ (54) have a low ______ (55) of avalanche. Snow does not______ (56) significantly on steep slopes: also, snow does not______ (57) easily on flat slopes. Human triggered avalanches have the greatest incidence when the snow’s angle of rest is ______ (58) 35 and 45 degrees; the critical angle, the angle at which the human incidence of avalanches is greatest is 38 degrees. The rule of thumb is: A slope that is______ (59) enough to hold snow but steep enough to ski has the potential to generate an avalanche, regardless of the angle. Additionally, avalanche risk increases with______ (60); that is, the more a slope is disturbed by skiers, the more likely it is that an avalanche will occur.
Due to the complexity of the subject, winter travelling in the backcountry is never 100％safe. Good avalanche safety is a continuous ______ (61), including route selection and
examination of the snowpack, weather ______ (62), and human factors. Several well-known good habits can also ______ (63) the risk. If local authorities issue avalanche risk reports, they should be considered and all warnings should be paid ______ (64) to. Never follow in the tracks of others without your own evaluations: snow conditions are almost certain to have changed since they were made. Observe the terrain and note obvious avalanche paths where plants are _____ (65) or damaged. Avoid traveling below others who might trigger an avalanche.
51. A. mixed B. mixing C.
mixes D. have mixed
52. A. increased B. caused C.
removed D. encountered
54. A. clearly B. likely C.
typically D. surely
53. A. deal B. amount C.
number D. much
55. A. weight B. form C. risk
D. work
56. A. fall B. flow C. roll
D. gather
57. A. fall B. flow C. roll
D. gather
58. A. among B. between C. with D. for
59. A. thick B. thin C. flat D. rocky
60. A. use B. time C. snow D. rain
61. A. journey B. trip C. fact D. process
62. A. conditions B. reports C. forecast D. event
63. A. increase B. reduce C. improve D. remove
64. A. price B. effort C. attention D. money
65. A. missing B. grown C. big D. fresh
答案1－5 ACDBB
6－10 ACCAD
11－15 BCADA
16－20 CBAAC
21－25 BACBE
26－30 ACADE
31－35 ACBDA
36－40 BAADC
41－45 CBDDC
46－50 CEDAF
51－55 ABBCC 55－60 DBBCA 61－65 DABCA。