英语报刊选读(专升本)

平顶山学院补考课程：英语报刊选读(专升本)总时长：120分钟1. (阅读理解题)California Condor’s Shocking RecoveryCalifornia condors are North America’s largest birds, with wind-length of up to 3 meters. In the 1980s, electrical lines and lead poisoning(铅中毒) nearly drove them to dying out. Now, electric shock training and medical treatment are helping to rescue these big birds.In the late 1980s, the last few condors were taken from the wild to be bred(繁殖).Since 1992,there have been multiple reintroductions to the wild, and there are now more than 150 flying over California and nearby Arizona, Utah and Baja in Mexico.Electrical lines have been killing them off. “As they go in to rest for the night, they just don’t see the power lines,” says Bruce Rideout of San Diego Zoo. Their wings ca n bridge the gap between lines, resulting in electrocution(电死) if they touch two lines at once.So scientists have come up with a shocking idea. Tall poles, placed in large training areas, teach the birds to stay clear of electrical lines by giving them a painful but undeadly electric shock. Before the training was introduced, 66% of set-free birds died of electrocution. This has now dropped to 18%.Lead poisoning has proved more difficult to deal with. When condors eat dead bodies of other animals containing lead, they absorb large quantities of lead. This affects their nervous systems and ability to produce baby birds, and can lead to kidney(肾) failures and death. So condors with high levels of lead are sent to Los Angeles Zoo, where they are treated with calcium EDTA, a chemical that removes lead from the blood over several days. This work is starting to pay off. The annual death rate for adult condors has dropped from 38% in 2000 to 5.4% in 2011.Rideout’s team thinks that the California condors’ average survival time in the wild is now just under eight years. “Although these measures are not effective forever, they are vital for now,” he says. “They are truly good birds that are worth every effort we put into recovering them. ”(1). (单选题) California condors attract researchers’interest because they . ( )(本题3.0分)A. are active at nightB. had to be bred in the wildC. are found on in CaliforniaD. almost died out in the 1980s答案: D解析: 无(2). (单选题) Researchers have found electrical lines are .( )(本题3.0分)A. blocking condors’journey homeB. big killers of Califorbnia condorsC. rest places for condors at nightD. used to keep condors away答案: B解析: 无(3). (单选题) According to Paraghaph 5 ,lead poisoning .( )(本题3.0分)A. makes condors too nervous to flyB. has little effect on condors’kidneysC. can hardly be gotten rid of form condors’bloodD. makes it different for condors to produce baby birds答案: D解析: 无(4). (单选题) The passage shows that .( )(本题3.0分)A. the average survival time of condors is satisfactoryB. Rideout’s research interest lies in electric engineeringC. the efforts to protect condors have brought good resultsD. researchers have found the final answers to the problem答案: C解析: 无2. (阅读理解题)Not so long ago, most people didn’t know who Shelly Ann Francis Pryce was going to become. She was just an average high school athlete. There was every indication that she was just another American teenager without much of a future. However, one person wants to change this. Stephen Francis observed then eighteen-year-old Shelly Ann as a track meet and was convinced that he had seen the beginning of true greatness. Her time were not exactly impressive, but even so, he seemed there was something trying to get out, something the other coaches had overlooked when they had assessed her and found her lacking. He decided to offer Shelly Ann a place in his very strict training seasons. Their cooperation quickly produced results, and a few year later at Jamaica’s Olympic games in early 2008, Shelly Ann, who at that time only ranked number 70 in the world, beat Jamaica’s unchallenged queen of the sprint(短跑).“Where did she come from?” asked an astonished sprinting world, before concluding that she must be one of those one-hit wonders that spring up from time to time, only to disappear again without signs. But Shelly Ann was to prove that she was anything but a one-hit wonder. Atthe Beijing Olympic she swept away any doubts about her ability to perform consistently by becoming the first Jamaican woman ever to win the 100 meters Olympic gold. She did it again one year on at the WorldChampionship in Briton, becoming world champion with a time of 10.73--- the fourth record ever.Shelly-Ann is a little woman with a big smile. She has a mental toughness that did not come about by chance. Her journey to becoming the fastest woman on earth has been anything but smooth and effortless. She grew up in one of Jamaica’s toughest inner-city communities known as Waterhouse, where she lived in a one-room apartment, sleeping four in a bed with her mother and two brothers. Waterhouse, one of the poorest communities in Jamaica, is a really violent and overpopulated place. Several of Shelly-Ann's friends and family were caught up in the killings; one of her cousins was shot dead only a few streets away from where she lived. Sometimes her family didn’t have enough to eat. She ran at the school championships barefooted because she couldn’t afford shoes. Her mother Maxime, one of a family of fourteen, had been an athlete herself as a young girl but, like so many other girls in Waterhouse, had to stop after she had her first baby. Maxime’s early entry into the adult world with its responsibilities gave her the determination to ensure that her kids would not end up in Waterhouse's roundabout of poverty. One of the first things Maxime used to do with Shelly-Ann was taking her to the track, and she was ready to sacrifice everything.It didn't take long for Shelly-Ann to realize that sports could be her way out of Waterhouse. On a summer evening in Beijing in 2008, all those long, hard hours of work and commitment finally bore fruit. The barefoot kid who just a few years previously had been living in poverty, surrounded by criminals and violence, had written a new chapter in the history of sports.But Shelly-Ann’s victory was far greater than that. The night she won Olympic gold in Beijing, the routine murders in Waterhouse and the drug wars in the neighbouring streets stopped. The dark cloud above one of the world’s toughest criminal neighbourhoo ds simply disappeared for a fewdays. “I have so much fire burning for my country,”Shelly said. She plans to start a foundation for homeless children and wants to build a community centre in Waterhouse. She hopes to inspire the Jamaicans to lay down their weapons. She intends to fight to make it a woman’s as well as a man’s world.As Muhammad Ali puts it, “Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them. A desire, a dream, a vision.”One of the things Shelly-Ann can be proud of is her understanding of this truth.(1). (单选题) Why did Stephen Francis decide to coach Shelly-Ann?( )(本题3.0分)A. He had a strong desire to free her family from trouble.B. He sensed a great potential in her despite her weaknesses.C. She had big problems maintaining her performance.D. She suffered a lot of defeats at the previous track meets.答案: B解析: 无(2). (单选题) What did the sprinting world think of Shelly-Ann before the 2008 Olympic Games?( )(本题3.0分)A. She would become a promising star.B. She badly needed to set higher goals.C. Her sprinting career would not last long.D. Her talent for sprinting was known to all.答案: C解析: 无(3). (单选题) What made Maxime decide to train her daughter on the track?( )(本题3.0分)A. Her success and lessons in her career.B. Her interest in Shelly-Ann’s quick profit.C. Her wish to get Shelly-Ann out of poverty.D. Her early entrance into the sprinting world.答案: C解析: 无(4). (单选题) What can we infer from Shelly-Ann's statement underlined in Paragraph 5?( )(本题3.0分)A. She was highly rewarded for her efforts.B. She was eager to do more for her country.C. She became an athletic star in her country.D. She was the envy of the whole community.答案: B解析: 无(5). (单选题) By mentioning Muhammad Ali’s words, the author intends to tell us that .( )(本题3.0分)A. players should be highly inspired by coachesB. great athletes need to concentrate on patienceC. hard work is necessary in one’s achievementsD. motivation allows great athletes to be on the top答案: D解析: 无(6). (单选题) What is the best title for the passage?( )(本题3.0分)A. The Making of a Great AthleteB. The Dream for ChampionshipC. The Key to High PerformanceD. The Power of Full Responsibility答案: A解析: 无3. (阅读理解题)In the depths of the French Guianese rainforest, there still remain unusual groups of indigenous(土著的) people. Surprisingly, these people live largely by their own laws and their own social customs. And yet, people in this area are in fact French citizens because it has been a colony(殖民地) of the French Republic since 1946. In theory, they should live by the French law is often ignored or unknown, thus making them into an interesting area of “lawlessness”in the world.The lives of these people have finally been recorded thanks to the effects of a Frenchman form Paris called Gin. Gin spent five months in early 2015 exploring the most remote corners of this area, which sits on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, with half its population of only 250,000 living in its capital, Cayenne.“I have a special love for the French Guianese people. I have worked there on and off for almost ten years,”says Gin. “I’ve been able to keep firm friendships with them. Thus I have been allowed to gain access to their living environment. I don’t see it as a lawless land. But rather I see it as an area of freedom.”“I wanted to show the audience a photographic record touching upon the uncivilized life,”continues Gin. “I prefer to work in black and white, which allows me to show different specific worlds more clearly.”His black-and-white pictures present a world almost lost in time. These pictures show people seemingly pushed into a world that they were unprepared for. These local citizens now have to balance their traditional self-supporting hunting lifestyle with the lifestyle offered by the modern French Republic, which brings with it not only necessary state welfare, but also alcoholism, betrayal and even suicide. (1). (单选题) Why does the author feel surprised about the indigenous people in French Guiana?( )(本题3.0分)A. They seldom follow the French law.B. They often ignore the Guianese law.C. They are separated from the modern world.D. They are both Guianese and French citizens.答案: A解析: 无(2). (单选题) Gin introduced the special world of the indigenous Guianese as _________.( )(本题3.0分)A. a tour guideB. a geographerC. a film directorD. a photographer答案: D解析: 无(3). (单选题) What is Gin’s attitude towards the lives of the indigenous Guianese?( )(本题3.0分)A. Cautious.B. Doubtful.C. Uninterested.D. Appreciative.答案: D解析: 无(4). (单选题) What does the underlined word “it”in the last paragraph referto?( )(本题3.0分)A. The modern French lifestyle.B. The self-supporting hunting.C. The uncivilized hunting.D. The French Republic.答案: A解析: 无4. (阅读理解题)One of the greatest contributions to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual. In1879, Oxford University in England asked Prof. James Murray to serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language. It would include every English word possible and would give not only the definition but also the history of the word and quotations (引文)showing how it was used.This was a huge task. So Murrary had to find volunteers from Britain, the United States, and the British colonies to search every newspaper, magazine, and book ever written in English. Hundreds of volunteers responded, including William Chester Minor. Dr. Minor was an American Surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England. He gave his address as “Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire,”” 50 miles from Oxford.Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray. Over the next years, he became one of the staff’s most valued contributors.But he was also a mystery. In spite of many invitations, he would always decline to visit Oxford. So in 1897，Murray finally decided to travel to Crowthorne himself. When he arrived, he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell at the Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally insane.Murray and Minor became friends, sharing their love of words. Minor continued contributing to the dictionary, sending in more than 10,000 submissions in 20 years. Murray continued to visit Minor regularly, sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds.In 1910, Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum in hisnative America. Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable friend.Minor died in 1920, seven years before the first editionof the Oxford English Dictionary was completed. The 12 volumes defined 414,825 words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient.(1). (单选题) According to the text, the first Oxford English Dictionary _________. ( )(本题2.0分)A. came out before minor diedB. was edited by an American volunteerC. included the English words invented by MurrayD. was intended to be the most ambitious English dictionary答案: D解析: 无(2). (单选题) How did Dr. Minor contributed to the dictionary? ( )(本题2.0分)A. He helped Murray to find hundreds of volunteers.B. He sent newspapers, magazines and books to Murray.C. He provided a great number of words and quotationsD. he went to England to work with Murray.答案: C解析: 无(3). (单选题) Why did Dr. Minor refuse to visit Oxford? ( )(本题2.0分)A. He was shut in an asylumB. He lived far from OxfordC. He was busy writing a bookD. He disliked traveling答案: A解析: 无(4). (单选题) Prof. Murray and Dr. Minor became friends mainly because __________. ( )(本题2.0分)A. they both served in the Civil War.B. They had a common interest in wordsC. Minor recovered with the help of MurrayD. Murray went to America regularly to visit Minor答案: B解析: 无(5). (单选题) Which of the following best describe Dr. Minor? ( )(本题2.0分)A. Brave and determinedB. Cautious and friendlyC. Considerate and optimisticD. Unusual and scholarly答案: D解析: 无(6). (单选题) What does the text mainly talk about? ( )(本题2.0分)A. The history of the English language.B. The friendship between Murray and MinorC. Minor and the first Oxford English DictionaryD. Broadmoor Asylum and is patients答案: C解析: 无5. (阅读理解题)Harvard researchers have created a tough, low-cost, biodegradable (可生物降解的) material inspired by insects' hard outer shells. The material's inventors say it has a number of possible uses and someday could provide a more environmentally friendly alternative to plastic. The material, made from shrimp ('虾) shells and proteins produced from silk, is called "shrilk." It is thin, clear, flexible and strong.A major benefit of the material is its biodegradability. Plastic's toughness and flexibility represented a revolution in materials science during the 1950s and '60s. Decades later, however, plastic's very durability (耐用性) is raising questions about how appropriate it is for one-time products such as plastic bags, or short-lived consumer goods, used in the home for a few years and then cast into a landfill where they will degrade for centuries. What is the point of making something that lasts 1,000 years?Shrilk not only will degrade in a landfill, but its basic components are used as fertilizer(肥料), and so will enrich the soil.Shrilk has great potential, the inventors said. Materials from which it is made are plentiful in nature, found in everything ranging from shrimpshells, insect bodies to living plants. That makes shrilk low cost, and its mass production possible should it be used for products demanding a lot of material.Work on shrilk is continuing in the lab. The inventors said the material becomes flexible when wet, so they're exploring ways to use it in wet environments. They're also developing simpler production processes, which could be used for non-medical products, like for computer cases and other products inside the home. They're even exploring combining it with other materials, like carbon fibers, to give it new properties.(1). (单选题) Paragraph I of the passage is mainly about shritk's_____. ( )(本题2.0分)A. remarkable designB. interesting nameC. major featuresD. basic elements答案: C解析: 无(2). (单选题) What has become a concern about plastic? ( )(本题2.0分)A. Using it properly.B. Producing it cheaply.C. Developing its properties quickly. ,D. Evaluating its contributions fairly.答案: A解析: 无(3). (单选题) According to the inventors, shrilk has great potential partly because_____. ( )(本题2.0分)A. it can help plastic degradeB. it can be found in living thingsC. its mass production has been realizedD. its raw materials are abundant in mature答案: D解析: 无(4). (单选题) What are the inventors doing in the lab? ( )(本题2.0分)A. Replacing carbon fibers with shrilk.B. Testing ahrilk's use in wet conditions.C. Making shrilk out of used household goods.D. Improving shrilk's flexibility for medical purposes.答案: B解析: 无(5). (单选题) Which of the following can be the best title for the passage? ( )(本题2.0分)A. Recent Progress in Environmental ProtectionB. Benefits of Insects in Scientific ResearchC. The Harm of One-time ProductsD. A Possible Alternative to Plastic答案: D解析: 无6. (阅读理解题)Two friends have an argument that bleaks up their friendship forever, even though neither one can remember how the whole thing got started. Such sad events happen over and over in high schools across the country. In fact, according to an official report on youth violence, "In our country today, the greatest threat to the lives of children and adolescents is not disease or starvation or abandonment, but the terrible reality of violence". Given that this is the case, why aren't students taught to manage conflict the way they are taught to solve math problems, drive cars, or stay physically fit?First of all, students need to realize that conflict is unavoidable.A report on violence among middle school and high school students indicates that most violent incidents between students begin with a relatively minor insult (侮辱). For example, a fight could start over the fact that one student eats a peanut butter sandwich each lunchtime. Laughter over the sandwich can lead to insults, which in turn can lead to violence. The problem isn't in the sandwich, but in the way students deal with the conflict.Once students recognize that conflict is unavoidable, they can practice the golden rule of conflict resolution (解决) stay calm. Once the student feels calmer, he or she should choose words that will calm the other person down as well. Rude words, name-calling, and accusation only add fuel to the emotional fir On the other hand, soft words spoken at a normal sound level can put out the fire before it explodes out of control.After both sides have calmed down, they can use another key strategy for conflict resolution; listening. Listening allows the two sides to understand each other. One person should describe his or her side, and the other person should listen without interrupting. Afterward, the listener can ask non-threatening questions to clarify the speaker's position. Then the two people should change roles.Finally, students need consider what they are hearing. This doesn't mean trying to figure out what's wrong with the other person. It means understanding what the real issue is and what both sides are trying toaccomplish. For example, a shouting match over a peanut butter sandwich might happen because one person thinks the other person is unwilling to try new things. Students need to ask themselves questions such as these: How did this start? What do I really want? What am I afraid of ? As the issue becomes clearer, the conflict often simply becomes smaller. Even if it doesn't, careful thought helps both sides figure out a mutual solution.There will always be conflict in schools, but that doesn't mean there needs to be violence. After students in Atlanta started a conflict resolution program, according to Educators for Social Responsibility, "64 percent of the teachers reported less physical violence in the classroom; 75 percent of the teachers reported an increase in student cooperation; and 92 percent of the students felt better about themselves". Learning to resolve conflicts can help students deal with friends,. teachers. parents, bosses, and coworkers. In that way, conflict resolution is a basic life skill that should be taught in schools across the country.(1). (单选题) This article is mainly about________. ( )(本题2.0分)A. the lives of school childrenB. the cause of arguments in schoolsC. how to analyze youth violenceD. how to deal with school conflicts答案: D解析: 无(2). (单选题) From Paragraph 2 we can learn that________. ( )(本题2.0分)A. violence is more likely to occur at lunchtimeB. a small conflict can lead to violenceC. students tend to lose their temper easilyD. the eating habit of a student is often the cause of a fight答案: A解析: 无(3). (单选题) Why do students need to ask themselves the questions stated in Paragraph 5? ( )(本题2.0分)A. To find out who to blame.B. To get ready to buy new things.C. To make clear what the real issue is.D. To figure out how to stop the shouting match.答案: B解析: 无(4). (单选题) After the conflict resolution program was started in Atlanta, it was found that______. ( )(本题2.0分)A. there was a decrease in classroom violenceB. there was less student cooperation in the classroomC. more teachers fell better about themselves in schoolsD. the teacher-student relationship greatly improved答案: B解析: 无(5). (单选题) The writer’s purpose for writing this article is to_______. ( )(本题2.0分)A. complain about problems in school educationB. teach students different strategies for school lifeC. advocate teaching conflict management in schoolsD. inform teachers of the latest studies on school violence答案: B解析: 无7. (问答题)假定你是李华，从互联网（the Internet）上得知一个国际中学生组织将在纽约举办夏令营，欢迎各国学生参加。