大学英语六级仔细阅读练习题（八）

　　Passage One

　　Questions 56 to 60 are based an the following passage.

　　Dropping out of university to launch a start-up is old hat. The twist with Joseph Cohen, Dan Getelman and Jim Grandpre is that their start-up aims to improve how universities work. In May 2011 the three founders quit the University of Pennsvlvania. to launch Coursekit,soon renamed as Lore.whichhas already raised $ 6m to develop what Mr. Cohen, its 21-year-old chief executive, describes as a social-learning network for the classroom.

　　Lore is part of a trend that builds on the familiarity with social networking that has come with the success of Facebook. It customizes the rules of a network to meet the specific needs of students. Anyone teaching a class would reasonably worry that students using Facebook were gossiping rather than learning useful information from their network of friends. Lore allows teachers to control exactly who is in the network by issuing a class-membership code and to see how they are using it. They can also distribute course materials, contact students, manage tests and grades, and decide what to make public and what to keep private. Students can also interact with each other.

　　In the academic year after launching its first version last November, Lore was used in at least one class in 600 diversities and colleges. Its goal for its second year, about to begin, is to spread rapidly within those 600 institutions, not least to see what the effects of scale are from having lots of classes signed up within the same institution.

　　The firm has a fast-growing army of fans in the faculty common room. Lore, says Edward Boches, who uses it for his advertising classes at Boston University, makes teaching more interactive, extends it beyond the classroom and stimulates students to learn from each other rather than just the professor.

　　Among other challenges for the company, there remains the small matter of figuring out a business model. For the moment it has none. Mr. Cohen hopes that eventually Lore could become the primary marketplace for everything from courses to textbooks, but so far the service is free and carries no advertising. Blackboard, the industry incumbent , charges users for its course-management software. It remains to be seen how it will respond to the upstart.

　　The lack of a plan does not appear to bother Lores founders or investors, -who seem content to learn a lesson from another university drop-out, Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook: achieve critical mass in your network and the profits will follow. And after that perhaps they can expect an honorary degree from the a/ma mater.

　　56. What do we learn from the first paragraph about Lore?

　　A. It specializes in producing old hats.

　　B. It aims to improve the way universities work.

　　C. It invests $ 6m in the development of social network.

　　D. It promotes the communication among classmates.

　　57. What does Lore enable teachers to do?

　　A. Meet specific needs of students.

　　B. Learn useful information from friends.

　　C. Control the online class membership.

　　D. Monitor students personal privacy.

　　58. For its second-year goal, Lore is to __

　　A. increase fans in the faculty common room

　　B. launch its second version in 600 universities

　　C. make more classes from 600 institutions signed up

　　D. spread its influence within the same institution

　　59. Concerning the prospect of Lore, Mr. Cohen expects it to

　　A. confront with Blackboard as an equal

　　B. offer free service to the advertisers

　　C. cover businesses from courses to textbooks

　　D. Develop its own come-management software

　　60. What do we learn about Lores founders?

　　A. They cant be bothered to design a business model.

　　B. They learn a lesson from the success of Facebook.

　　C. They will not make profits without drawing mass users.

　　D. They desire to receive an honorary degree from the alma mater.

　　Passage Two

　　Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.

　　A bull grazes on dry wheat husks in Logan, Kansas, one of the regions hit by the record drought that has affected more than half of the U. S. and is expected to drive up food prices.

　　Leadinu water scientists have issued one of the sternest warnings yet about global food supplies, saying that the worlds population may have to switch almost completely to a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years to avoid catastrophic shortages.

　　Adopting a vegetarian diet is one option to increase the amount of water available to grow more food in an increasingly climate-unstable world, the scientists said. Animal protein-rich food consumes 5 to 10 times more water than a vegetarian diet. One third of the worlds arable land is used to grow crops to feed animals. Other options to feed people include eliminating waste and increasing trade between countries in food surplus and those in deficit.

　　900 million people already go hungry and 2 billion people are malnourished in spite of the fact that per capita food production continues to increase, they said. With 70% of all available water being in agriculture, growing more food to feed an additional 2 billion people by 2050 will place greater pressure on available water and land.

　　The report is being released at the start of the annual world water conference in Stockholm, Sweden, where 2,500 politicians, UN bodies, non-governmental groups and researchers from 120 countries meet to address global water supply problems.

　　Competition for water between food production and other uses will intensify pressure on essential resources, the scientists said. The UN predicts that we must increase food production by 70% by mid-century. This will place additional pressure on our already stressed water resources, at a time when we also need to allocate more water to satisfy global energy demand--　which is expected to rise 60% over the coming 30 years--and to generate electricity for the 1.3 billion people currently without it, said the report.

　　Overeating, undernourishment and waste are all on the rise and increased food production may face future constraints from water scarcity.

　　We will need a new recipe to feed the world in the future, said the reports editor, Anders Jagerskog.

　　A separate report from the International Water Management Institute said the best way for countries to protect millions of farmers from food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia was to help them invest in small pumps and simple technology, rather than to develop expensive, large-scale irrigation projects.

　　Farmem across the developing world are increasingly relying on and benefiting from small-scale,locally-relevant water solutions. These techniques could increase yields up to 300% and add tens of billions of U. S. dollars to household revenues across sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. said Dr. Colin Chartres, the director general.

　　61. What can be inferred from the water scientists warning?

　　A. The record drought forces half of the U. S. to go hungry.

　　B. The record drought drives up food prices m the U. S.

　　C. Severe food shortage may happen without proper measures.

　　D. A vegetarian diet is the only option to avoid disastrous shortages.

　　62. What do the scientists say can be done to increase food supply?

　　A. Grow more animal protein-rich food.

　　B. Turn pastures into arable lands.

　　C. Promote trade between countries self-sufficient in food.

　　D. Increase the amount of water for food production.

　　63. According to the water scientists report,

　　A. per capita food production has been increasing

　　B. reduced food supply will make more people malnourished

　　C. 70% of water will be used to feed 2 billion people by 2050

　　D. researchers begin to seek solutions to tackle water problem

　　64. In regard to the problem of water supply, scientists believe

　　A. more water should be allocated to satisfy energy demand

　　B. food production must be increased to 70% by mid-century

　　C. energy demand will intensify pressure on water resources

　　D. electricity generation must be increased by 60% 30 years later

　　65. What does the IWMI say is the best solution to food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia?

　　A. Applying small pumps and simple technology.

　　B. Launching large-scale irrigation projects.

　　C. Increase the local household revenues.

　　D. Investing in a new expensive irrigation project.

　　56 B)。由题干中的first paragraph about Lore定位到原文第一段第二句：The twist with Joesph Cohen,Dan Getelman and Jim Grandpre is that their start-up alms to improve how universities work.

　　详解：事实细节题。本题考查学问公司的相关事实。定位句指出，约瑟夫.科恩.金提曼和吉姆.格兰坡的合作创业旨在提升学校的运作方式，故答案为B)。A)它专门制造旧帽子，完全误解了原文句子的意思，故排除;C)它投资6百万发展社交网络，由该段最后一句可知，是发展社交学习型的课堂网络而不是全社会的，故排除;D)促进同学间的交流，这是社交网络的一个好处，而不是主要意图，故排除。

　　57.C)。由题干中的Lore enable teachers to do 定位到原文第二段第四句：Lore allows teachers to control exactly who is in the network by issuing a class-membership code and to see how they are using it.

　　详解：事实细节题。本题考查学问公司对教师的帮助。定位句指出，学问使得教师们通过发行课堂成员代码来严格控制上网的学生以及他们如何使用网络，故答案为C)。A)满足学生们的具体要求，由该段第二句可知，这是学问公司自己的服务目标而不是给予老师的，故排除;B)向朋友们学习有用的信息，这是老师们希望学生们做的，故排除;D)监控学生们的隐私，由该段倒数第二句可知，老师们决定学生的隐私该保密，故排除。

　　58.C)。由题干中的its second.year goal定位到原文第三段第二句：Its goal for its second year，about to begin，is to spread rapidly within those 600 institutions，not least to see what the effects of scale are from having lots of classes signed up within the same institution.

　　详解：推理判断题。本题考查学问的第二年计划。定位句指出，即将开始实行的第二年计划是在600所机构里扩大影响范围，不仅仅是看到同机构里很多班级报名的规模效应，故答案为C)。A)增加教员休息室的粉丝文中没提及，只说了已经拥有越来越多的教师粉丝，故排除;B)在600所大学中发起第二个版本，该段开头指出使用的是第一个版本，未提及第二个版本，故排除;D)扩大它在同一所机构中的影响，文中的not least to see已经表明它们不满足于这个目标，故排除。

　　59.C)。由题干中的the prospect of Lore和Mr.Cohen定位到原文倒数第二段第三句：协.Cohen hopes that eventually Lore could become the primary marketplace for everything from courses to textbooks：..

　　详解：事实细节题。本题考查科恩先生对学问公司的期望。定位句指出，他希望最后学问能成为自课程到教科书等一切的主要市场，故答案为C)。A)平等面对黑板公司，该段最后一句指出，还不知道黑板公司如何对待学问这个新贵，故排除;B)给广告人提供免费服务，第三句后半部分说carries no advertising，所以没有广告服务;D)开发它自己的课程管理软件，该段倒数第二句指出课程管理软件是黑板公司的，它会向使用者收取费用，但没提及学问开发此类软件，故排除。

　　60.B)。由题干中的Lores founders定位到原文末段第一句：Lores founders or investors，who seem content to learn a lesson from another university dropout，Mark Zuckerber9，the C0founder of Facebook...

　　详解：推理判断题。本题考查学问公司创建者们的创业灵感。定位句指出，他们似乎满足于向另一所大学的辍学者和脸谱网的共同创建者马克扎克伯格学习经验，故答案为B)。A)他们没有为形成一种商业模式而困扰，倒数第二段前两句已经指出，他们现在存在着一个问题，那就是要形成一种商业模式，故有所困扰，可排除;C)没有大量的用户他们将赚不到利润，这是陈述事实，不属于推理，故排除;D)他们期望能得到母校的荣誉学位，这是作者自己的推测而不是他们自己所想的，故排除。

　　61.C)。由题干中的inferred和water scientistswarnin9定位到原文第二段....saying that the worlds population may have to switch almost completely to a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years to avoid atastrophic shortages.

　　详解：推理判断题。本题考查对水资源科学家警示的理解。定位段指出，一些水科学带头人发布了一个关于全球粮食供应的最高级警报，指出为了避免灾难性的粮食紧缺，在未来的四十年，世界人口的饮食可能不得不几乎全转换为素食，故答案为C)。A)创纪录的干旱使得一半美国人挨饿，文中第一段指出，这次干旱对大半个美国造成影响，故排除;B)创纪录的旱灾抬高了美国的食物价格，文中的is expected t0表示人们的预测而不是事实，故排除;D)素食成为避免灾害性食物短缺的唯一选择，文中说的这是一种选择，而不是唯一选择，故排除。

　　62.D)。由题干中的scientists和increase food supply定位到原文第三段第一句：Adopting a vegetarian diet is one option to increase the amount of water available to grow more food in an increasingly climate-unstable world，the scientists said.

　　详解： 事实细节题。本题考查科学家对于增加食物供应量的建议。定位句指出，科学家指出，素食的饮食习惯是在逐渐不稳定的气候条件下增加用来生产更多的食物的可用水资源总量的一种选择，故答案为D)。A)出产更多富含蛋白质的动物食物，该段第二句指出动物蛋白质食物要消耗大量的水资源，故不适宜，排除;B)退牧还耕，该段第三句指明世界三分之一的耕种土地用于种植喂养动物的食物，即使耕地多也不是多产食物给人们。故排除;C)增进与自给自足国家间的贸易往来，该段最后一句指出要让那些粮食有剩余和那些有短缺的国家加强贸易联系，故排除。

　　63.A)。由题干中的the water scientistsreport定位到文中第四段第一句：900 million people already go hungry and 2 billion people are malnourished in spite of the fact that per capita food 　　production continues to increase，they said.

　　详解：事实细节题。本题考查对水资源科学家研究报告的理解。文中第四段第一句指出，科学家们说： 尽管人均粮食产量在持续增加，但仍有9亿人正在挨饿，20亿人营养不良，故答案为A)。B)粮食供给量减少将使更多的人营养不良，文中说的是人均粮食产量在持续增加，而非减少，故排除;C)到2050年，70%的水将用来解决20亿人口的饮水问题.文中指出是给额外的20亿人种植食物，故排除;D)研究者们开始寻找解决水资源问题的办法，水资源科学家研究报告中未提及这一点，故排除。

　　64.c)。由题干中的the problem of water supply和scientists believe定位到文中第六段第一句：Competition for water between food production and other uses will intensify pressure on essential esources，the scientists said.和第三句：at a time when we also need to allocate more water to satisfy global energy demand

　　详解：观点态度题。本题考查科学家对于水资源供给的态度。文中第六段第一句指出，报告中提到，联合国预测，到本世纪中叶，我们必须增加70%的粮食产量。这会给本就紧张的水资源造成更大的压力。第三句指出，与此同时，我们需要分配更多的水资源来满足世界能源的需求，故答案为c)。A)更多的水资源应该分配给能源生产，这是联合国报告中陈述的一个事实，而不是科学家们的观点，故排除;B)到本世纪中叶，粮食产量必须增加到70%，这个目标是联合国制定的而不是水资源科学家所为，故排除;D)30年后电力资源使用人口将增加60%，由该段最后一句可知，是增加60%的能源资源而不是使用人口，故排除。

　　65.A)。由题干中的the best solution to food insecurity in subSaharan Africa and south Asia定位到原文倒数第二段：A separate report fromWas to help协em invest in small pumps and simple technology，rather than to develop expensive，largescale irrigation projects.

　　详解：事实细节题。本题考查解决撒哈拉以南非洲地区及南亚缺水问题的最佳途径。定位段指出，在撒哈拉以南非洲地区和南亚地区，防止农民遭受粮食危机的最好方法是帮助他们投资建造小型水泵和使用简单的技术，这远远好于开发昂贵的、大规模的灌溉工程，故答案为A)。根据该段最后一句提到的rather than to develop expensive，largescale irrigation projects，排除B)发起大规模的灌溉工程和D)投资建立昂贵的新灌溉工程C)增加当地人们的收入，这是改善水资源技术所带来的接过，故排除。