六级英语阅读词汇每日一练(15)

2009.06Passage OneQuestions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.For hundreds of millions of years, turtles(海龟) have struggled out of the sea to lay their eggs on sandy beaches, long before there were nature documentaries to celebrate them, or GPS satellites and marine biologists to track them, or volunteers to hand-carry the hatchlings(幼龟) down to the water’s edge lest they become disoriented by headlights and crawl towards a motel parking lot instead. A formidable wall of bureaucracy has been erected to protect their prime nesting sites on the Atlantic coastlines. With all that attention paid to them, you’d think these creatures would at least have the gratitude not to go extinct.But Nature is indifferent to human notions of fairness, and a report by the Fish and Wildlife Service showed a worrisome drop in the populations of several species of North Atlantic sea turtles, notably loggerheads, which can grow to as much as 400 pounds. The South Florida nesting population, the largest, has declined by 50% in the last decade, according to Elizabeth Griffin, a marine biologist with the environmental group Oceana. The figures prompted Oceana to petition the government to upgrade the level of protection for the North Atlantic loggerheads from “threatened” to “endangered”—meaning they are in danger of disappearing without additional help.Which raises the obvious question: what else do these turtles want from us, anyway? It turns out, according to Griffin, that while we have done a good job of protecting the turtles for the weeks they spend on land (as egg-laying females, as eggs and as hatchlings), we have neglected the years they spend in the ocean.“The threat is from commercial fishing,” says Griffin. Trawlers (which drag large nets through the water and along the ocean floor) and longline fishers (which can deploy thousands of hooks on lines that can stretch for miles) take a heavy toll on turtles.Of course, like every other environmental issue today, this is playing out against the background of global warming and human interference with natural ecosystems. The narrow strips of beach on which the turtles lay their eggs are being squeezed on one side by development and on the other by the threat of rising sea levels as the oceans warm. Ultimately we must get a handle on those issues as well, or a creature that outlived the dinosaurs(恐龙)will meet its end at the hands of humans, leaving our descendants to wonder how a creature so ugly could have won so much affection.52. We can learn from the first paragraph that______.A) human activities have changed the way turtles surviveB) efforts have been made to protect turtles from dying outC) government bureaucracy has contributed to turtles’ extinctionD) marine biologists are looking for the secret of turtles’ reproduction53. What does the author mean by “Nature is indifferent to human notions offairness” (Line 1, Para. 2)?A) Nature is quite fair regarding the survival of turtles.B) Turtles are by nature indifferent to human activities.C) The course of nature will not be changed by human interference.D) The turtle population has decreased in spite of human protection.54. What constitutes a major threat to the survival of turtles according to Elizabeth Griffin?A) Their inadequate food supply. B) Unregulated commercial fishing.C) Their lower reproductive ability. D) Contamination of sea water.55. How does global warming affect the survival of turtles?A) It threatens the sandy beaches on which they lay eggs.B) The changing climate makes it difficult for their eggs to hatch.C) The rising sea levels make it harder for their hatchlings to grow.D) It takes them longer to adapt to the high beach temperature.56. The last sentence of the passage is meant to______.A) persuade human beings to show more affection for turtlesB) stress that even the most ugly species should be protectedC) call for effective measures to ensure sea turtles’ survivalD) warn our descendants about the extinction of speciesaffirm / ә’fә:m/ vt.断言，批准；证实afflict / ә’flikt/ vt. 使痛苦,折磨agenda / ә’dʒendә/ n. 议程,应办事项aggravate / ‘ægrәveit/ vt. 使恶化,使更加重agitation / ædʒi’teiʃәn/ n.鼓动，煸动；搅动agony / ‘ægәni/ n.极度痛苦agreeable / ә’griәbl/ a.惬意的；alert / ә’lә:t/ a.警惕的；活跃的alien / ‘eiljәn/ a.外国的 n.外国人allege / ә’ledʒ/ vt. 宣称,申述,主张,断言alleviate / ә’li:vieit/ vt. 减轻,使缓和alliance / ә’laiәns/ n. 联盟,联合allocate / ‘ælәkeit/ vt. 分派,分配allowance / ә’lauәns/ n津贴，补助费ally / ‘ælai, ә’lai/ n.盟国，同盟者，伙伴alongside / ә’lɔŋ’said/ prep.在…旁边alternate / ɔ:l’tә:nit/ vt.使交替 a.交替的amateur / ‘æmәtә:/ a.业余的n.业余爱好者ambassador / æm’bæsәdә/ n.大使，使节ambiguous / æm’bigjuәs/ a.模棱两可的；分歧的ambitious / æm’biʃәs/ a.有雄心的；热望的amend / ә’mend/ vt. 修正,改善,vi. 改过自新amends / ә’mendz/ n. 赔偿ample / ‘æmpl/ a.足够的；宽敞的amplify / ‘æmplifai/ vt.放大，增analogy / ә’nælәdʒi/ n.相似，类似；比拟analytic / ænә’litik/ a. 分析的,解析的analytical / ænә’litikl/ a. 分析的,解析的angel / ‘eindʒәl/ n.天使，神差，安琪儿anniversary / ,æni’vә:sәri/ n.周年纪念日anonymous / ә’nɔnimәs/ a. 匿名的antarctic / ænt’a:ktik/ a.南极的n.南极区civilian / si’viljәn/ n.平民 a.平民的clamp / klæmp/ n.夹子 vt.夹住，夹紧clarity / ‘klæriti/ n. 清楚,透明clash / klæʃ/ n.碰撞声；抵触，冲突clasp / kla:sp/ n.扣子，钩子；别针classic / ‘klæsik/ n.名著 a.不朽的clause / klɔ:z/ n. 子句,条款clearance / ‘kliәrәns/ n. 清除,解除,间隙client / ‘klaiәnt/ n.顾客；诉讼委托人climax / ‘klaimæks/ n.顶点，高潮cling / kliŋ/ vi.粘住；依附；坚持clinic / klinik/ n.诊所，医务室；会诊clip / klip/ vt.剪；剪辑报刊clockwise / ‘klɔkwaiz/ a.&ad.顺时针方向转的closet / ‘klɔzit/ n.小房间；壁碗橱cluster / ‘klΛstә/ n.一串 vt.使成群clutch / klΛtʃ/ vt.抓住 vi.掌握，攫coherent / kәu’hiәrәnt/ a.粘着的；紧凑的coincide / kәuin’said/ vi.相符合；相巧合coincidence / kәuin’sidәns/ n.巧合,同时发生collaboration / kәlæbә’reiʃәn/n. 合作,通敌collide / kә’laid/ vi.碰撞；冲突，抵触colonial / kә’lәuniәl/ a.殖民地的，殖民的combat / ‘kɔmbæt/ vt.跟…战斗vi.格斗comedy / ‘kɔmidi/ n.喜剧；喜剧场面comet / ‘kɔmit/ n. 慧星commemorate / kә’memәreit/ vt.纪念commence / kә’mens/ vt.开始 vi.获得学位commend / kә’mend/ vt.称赞，表扬；推荐commentary / ‘kɔmәntәri/ n. 注释,评论,批评commitment /kә’mitmәnt/ n. 委托,承担义务,赞助commodity / kә’mɔditi/ n.日用品，商品，物品commonplace / ‘kɔmәnpleis/ a.平凡的 n.平常话commonwealth / ‘kɔmәnwelθ/ n.共和国；联邦。