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第4部分：阅读理解(第31～45题，每题3分，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 Sunspots
Its not surprising that sunspots(太阳黑子)were observed by ancient astronomers(天文学家).The largest sunspots on the sun can be seen without a telescope.It was not until the invention of the telescope(望远镜)in the early l7th century，however，that systematic studies of sunspots could be undertaken.The great astronomer Galileo was among the first to make telescopic observations of sunspots.
Sunspots are regions of extremely strong magnetic fields(磁场)found on the suns surface.A sunspot has a dark central core known as the umbra.The umbra is surrounded by a dark ring called the penumbra，where the magnetic field spreads outward.Sunspots appear dark because they are giving off less radiation.They are cooler than the rest of the suns surface.
Sunspots are frequently observed in pairs or in paired groups.The members of a spot pair are identified as the leading spot and the following spot.They are identified by their position in the pair in terms of the direction in which the sun rotates(旋转).
The number of sunspots at any one time varies.A large spot group may consist of as many as 10 groups and 300 spots across the sun.The number of spots changes in a fairly regular pattern called the sunspot cycle.The largest number occurs about every 11 years.At sunspot minimum，there are at most just a few small spots.
The average lifetime of an individual spot group is roughly one solar rotation, which is about 25 days.The most persistent large spots, however, can survive for two to three months.
31 Careful observations and systematic studies of sunspots
A were made by ancient astronomers. B started in the early 17th century.
C were made by Galileo only. D could be made without a telescope.
32 Sunspots are cooler than the rest of the suns surface because
A they produce less energy. B they are buried in the sun.
C they are far away from magnetic fields.D they are close to magnetic fields.
33 The leading spot and the following spot are the names of
A two large sunspots. B a large spot and a small spot.
C the two spots in a spot pair.D the central core and the ring around it.
34 If an intense sunspot activity had occurred in 1857, the next one would have been in
A 1858. B 1862. C 1865. D 1868.
35 In the last paragraph the word persistent means
A important. B effective. C enduring. D visible.
第二篇 Where Have All the Bees Gone?
Scientists who study insects have a real mystery on their hands.All across the country, honeybees are leaving their hives(蜂巢)and never returning.Researchers call this phenomenon colony-collapse(群体瘫痪)disorder.It is reported that 25 to 40 percent of the honeybees in the US have vanished from their hives since last fall.So far, no one can explain why.
Colony collapse is a serious concern because bees play an important role in the production of about one-third of the foods we eat.As they feed，honeybees spread pollen(花粉)from flower to flower.Without this process，a plant cant produce seeds or fruits.
Now，a group of scientists and beekeepers have teamed up to try to figure out whats causing the alarming collapse of so many colonies.They hope to find out whats contributing to the decline and to prevent bee disappearance in the future.
It could be that disease is causing the disappearance of the bees.To explore that possibility，Jay Evans，a researcher at the United States Department of Agriculture(USDA)Bee Research Laboratory, examines bees taken from colonies that are collapsing. We know what a healthy bee should look like on the inside, and we can look for physical signs of disease,he says.And bees from collapsing colonies dont look very healthy. Their stomachs are worn down, compared to the stomachs of healthy bees,Evans says.It may be that a parasite(寄生虫)is damaging the bees digestive organs.Their immune(免疫的) systems may not be working as they should.Moreover, they have high levels of bacteria inside their bodies.
Another cause of colony-collapse disorder may be certain chemicals that farmers apply to kill unwanted insects on crops，says Jerry Hayes，chief bee inspector for the Florida Department of Agriculture. Some studies，he says，suggest that a certain type of insecticide (杀虫剂)affects the honeybees nervous system and memory. It seems like honeybees are going out and getting confused about where to go and what to do,he says.
If it turns out that a disease is contributing to colony collapse，bees genes could explain why some colonies have collapsed and others have not.In any group of bees there are many different kinds of genes.The more different genes a group has，the higher the groups genetic diversity.So far scientists havent determined the role of genetic diversity in colony collapse，but its a promising theory，says Evans.
36.What is the mystery that researchers find hard to explain?
A Honeybees are flying all across the country.
B Half of the honeybees in the US have died.
C Honeybees are leaving their hives and do not return.
D Honeybee hives are in disorder.
37 Researchers are seriously concerned with the phenomenon of colony-collapse disorder because
A honeybees help produce one-third of the foods we eat.
B parasites on bees may spread everywhere.
C honeybees cannot find enough food elsewhere.
D honeybees feed on flowers.
38 Which of the following is a possible cause of the colony-collapse disorder?
A Population explosion.
B Decreasing number of flowers around.
C Genetically modified products.
D Diseases and chemicals.
39 Which of the following explanations is given by Jerry Hayes to the phenomenon?
A Bee-keepers do not understand the honeybees behavior.
B A certain type of chemical destroys the honeybees nervous system.
C Honeybees are infected by unwanted insects.
D Some crops are poisonous to the honeybees.
40 The word diversity in the last paragraph means
A variety. B makeup. C disorder.D distinction.
第三篇 A Tale of Scottish Rural Life
Lewis Grassic Gibbons Sunset Song(1932)was voted the best Scottish novel of all time by Scotlands reading public in 2005.Once considered shocking for its frank description of aspects of the lives of Scotlands poor rural farmers, it has been adapted for stage, film，TV and radio in recent decades.
The novel is set on the fictional estate of Kinraddie, in the farming country of the Scottish northwest in the years up to and beyond World War l.At its heart is the story of Chris, who is both part of the community and a little outside it.
Grassic Gibbon gives us the most detailed and intimate account of the life of his heroine (女主人公).We watch her grow through a childhood dominated by her cruel but hard-working father; experience tragedy(her mothers suicide and murder of her twin children); and learn about her feelings as she grows into a woman.We see her marry, lose her husband, then marry again.Chris has seemed so convincing a figure to some female readers that they cannot believe that she is the creation of a man.
But it would be misleading to suggest that this book is just about Chris.It is truly a novel of a place and its people.Its opening section tells of Kinraddies long history, in a language that imitates the places changing patterns of speech and writing.
The story itself is amazingly full of characters and incidents.It is told from Chris point of view but also from that of the gossiping community, a community where everybody knows everybody elses business and nothing is ever forgotten.
Sunset Song has a social theme too.It is concerned with what Grassic Gibbon perceives as the destruction of traditional Scottish rural life first by modernization and then by World War l.Gibbon tried hard to show how certain characters resist the war.Despite this, the war takes the young men away, a number of them to their deaths.In particular，it takes away Chris husband, Ewan Tavendale.The war finally kills Ewan, but not in the way his widow is told.In fact,the Germans arent responsible for his death，but his own side.He is shot because he is said to have run away from a battle.
If the novel is about the end of one way of life it also looks ahead.It is a Sunset Song but is concerned too with the new Kinraddie, indeed of the new European world.Grassic Gibbon went on to publish two other novels about the place that continue its story.
41 What is Sunset Song mainly about?
A The First World War. B The beauty of the sunset.
C The new European world.D The lives of rural Scottish farmers.
42 Which statement is NOT true of Chris?
A She is the heroine, of Sunset Song. B She had a miserable childhood.
C She is the creation of a man.D She married only once.
43 What is the opening section of the novel mainly concerned with?
A The climate of Kinraddie. B The history of Kinraddie.
C The geography of Kinraddie. D The language spoken in Kinraddie.
44 Who killed Chris husband, Ewan?
A His own troops. B The French army.
C The Germans.D The Russian soldiers.
45 The word Sunset in the title of this novel most probably means
A the end of the heroines life. B the end of the story.
C the end of the traditional way of life.D the end of the day.