2009年12月英语六级阅读理解的全真模拟题七

　　为了提高广大考生的阅读理解能力，精选了以下全真模拟题。

　　Unit 13

　　Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension

　　Directions: There are 4 reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.

　　Passage One

　　Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage.

　　Low-level slash-and-burn farming doesnt harm rainforest. On the contrary, it helps farmers and improves forest soils. This is the unorthodox view of a German soil scientist who has shown that burnt clearings in the Amazon, dating back more than 1,000 years, helped create patches of rich, fertile soil that farmers still benefit from today.

　　Most rainforest soils are thin and poor because they lack minerals and because the heat and heavy rainfall destroy most organic matter in the soils within four years of it reaching the forest floor. This means topsoil contains few of the ingredients needed for long-term successful farming.

　　But Bruno Glaser, a soil scientist of the University of Bayreuth, has studied unexpected patches of fertile soils in the central Amazon. These soils contain lots of organic matter.

　　Glaser has shown that most of this fertile organic matter comes from black carbonthe organic particles from camp fires and charred wood left over from thousands of years of slash-and-burn farming. The soils, known as Terra Preta, contained up to 70times more black carbon than the surrounding soil, says Glaser.

　　Unburnt vegetation rots quickly, but black carbon persists in the soil for many centuries. Radiocarbon dating shows that the charred wood in Terra Preta soils is typically more than 1,000 years old.

　　Slash-and-burn farming can be good for soils provided it doesnt completely burn all the vegetation, and leaves behind charred wood, says Glaser. It can be better than manure . Burning the forest just once can leave behind enough black carbon to keep the soil fertile for thousands of years. And rainforests easily regrow after small-scale clearing. Contrary to the conventional view that human activities damage the environment, Glaser says: Black carbon combined with human wastes is responsible for the richness of Terra Preta soils.Terra Preta soils turn up in large patches all over the Amazon, where they are highly prized by farmers. All the patches fall within 500 square kilometers in the central Amazon. Glaser says the widespread presence of pottery confirms the soils human origins.

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　　The findings add weight to the theory that large areas of the Amazon have recovered so well from past periods of agricultural use that the regrowth has been mistaken by generations of biologists for virgin forest.

　　During the past decade, researchers have discovered hundreds of large earth works deep in the jungle. They are up to 20 meters high and cover up to a square kilometer. Glaser claims that these earth works, built between AD 400 and 1400, were at the heart of urban civilizations. Now it seems the richness of the Terra Preta soils may explain how such civilizations managed to feed themselves.

　　11. We learn from the passage that the traditional view of slash-and-burn farming is that ________.

　　A) it does no harm to the topsoil of the rainforest

　　B) it destroys rainforest soils

　　C) it helps improve rainforest soils

　　D) it diminishes the organic matter in rainforest soils

　　12. Most rainforest soils are thin and poor because ________.

　　A) the composition of the topsoil is rather unstable

　　B) black carbon is washed away by heavy rains

　　C) organic matter is quickly lost due to heat and rain

　　D) long-term farming has exhausted the ingredients essential to plant growth

　　13. Glaser made his discovery by ________.

　　A) studying patches of fertile soils in the central Amazon

　　B) examining pottery left over by ancient civilizations

　　C) test-burning patches of trees in the central Amazon

　　D) radiocarbon-dating ingredients contained in forest soils

　　14. What does Glaser say about the regrowth of rainforests?

　　A) They take centuries to regrow after being burnt.

　　B) They cannot recover unless the vegetation is burnt completely.

　　C) Their regrowth will be hampered by human habitation.

　　D) They can recover easily after slash-and-burn farming.

　　15. From the passage it can be inferred that ________.

　　A) human activities will do grave damage to rainforests

　　B) Amazon rainforest soils used to be the richest in the world

　　C) farming is responsible for the destruction of the Amazon rainforests

　　D) there once existed an urban civilization in the Amazon rainforests

　　为了提高广大考生的阅读理解能力，精选了以下全真模拟题。

　　Passage Two

　　Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage.

　　As a wise man once said, we are all ultimately alone. But an increasing number of Europeans are choosing to be so at an ever earlier age. This isnt the stuff of gloomy philosophical contemplations, but a fact of Europes new economic landscape, embraced by sociologists, real-estate developers and ad executives alike. The shift away from family life to solo lifestyle, observes a French sociologist, is part of the irresistible momentum of individualism over the last century. The communications revolution, the shift from a business culture of stability to one of mobility and the mass entry of women into the workforce have greatly wreaked havoc on Europeans private lives.

　　Europes new economic climate has largely fostered the trend toward independence. The current generation of home-aloners came of age during Europes shift from social democracy to the sharper, more individualistic climate of American style capitalism. Raised in an era of privatization and increased consumer choice, todays tech-savvy workers have embraced a free market in love as well as economics. Modern Europeans are rich enough to afford to live alone, and temperamentally independent enough to want to do so.

　　Once upon a time, people who lived alone tended to be those on either side of marriage-twenty something professionals or widowed senior citizens. While pensioners, particularly elderly women, make up a large proportion of those living alone, the newest crop of singles are high earners in their 30s and 40s who increasingly view living alone as a lifestyle choice. Living alone was conceived to be negative-dark and cold, while being together suggested warmth and light. But then came along the idea of singles. They were young, beautiful, strong! Now, young people want to live alone.

　　The booming economy means people are working harder than ever. And that doesnt leave much room for relationships. Pimpi Arroyo, a 35-year-old composer who lives alone in a house in Paris, says he hasnt got time to get lonely because he has too much work. I have deadlines which would make life with someone else fairly difficult. Only an Ideal Woman would make him change his lifestyle, he says. Kaufmann, author of a recent book called The Single Woman and Prince Charming, thinks this fierce new individualism means that people expect more and more of mates, so relationships dont last long-if they start at all. Eppendorf, a blond Berliner with a deep tan, teaches grade school in the mornings. In the afternoon she sunbathes or sleeps, resting up for going dancing. Just shy of 50, she says shed never have wanted to do what her mother did-give up a career to raise a family. Instead, Ive always done what I wanted to do: live a self-determined life.

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　　16. More and more young Europeans remain single because ________.

　　A) they are driven by an overwhelming sense of individualism

　　B) they have entered the workforce at a much earlier age

　　C) they have embraced a business culture of stability

　　D) they are pessimistic about their economic future

　　17. What is said about European society in the passage?

　　A) It has fostered the trend towards small families.

　　B) It is getting closer to American-style capitalism.

　　C) It has limited consumer choice despite a free market.

　　D) It is being threatened by irresistible privatization.

　　18. According to Paragraph 3, the newest group of singles are ________.

　　A) warm and lighthearted

　　B) on either side of marriage

　　C) negative and gloomy

　　D) healthy and wealthy

　　19. The author quotes Eppendorf to show that ________.

　　A) some modern women prefer a life of individual freedom

　　B) the family is no longer the basic unit of society in present-day Europe

　　C) some professional people have too much work to do to feel lonely

　　D) most Europeans conceive living a single life as unacceptable

　　20. What is the authors purpose in writing the passage?

　　A) To review the impact of women becoming high earners.

　　B) To contemplate the philosophy underlying individualism.

　　C) To examine the trend of young people living alone.

　　D) To stress the rebuilding of personal relationships.

　　为了提高广大考生的阅读理解能力，精选了以下全真模拟题。

　　Passage Three

　　Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.

　　Supporters of the biotech industry have accused an American scientist of misconduct after she testified to the New Zealand government that a genetically modified bacterium could cause serious damage if released.

　　The New Zealand Life Sciences Network, an association of pro-GM scientists and organisations, says the view expressed by Elaine Ingham, a soil biologist at Oregon State University in Corvallis, was exaggerated and irresponsible. It has asked her university to discipline her.

　　But Ingham stands by her comments and says the complaints are an attempt to silence her. Theyre trying to cause trouble with my university and get me fired, Ingham told New Scientist.

　　The controversy began on 1 February, when Ingham testified before New Zealands Royal Commission on Genetic Modification, which will determine how to regulate GM organisms. Ingham claimed that a GM version of a common soil bacterium could spread and destroy plants if released into the wild. Other researchers had previously modified the bacterium to produce alcohol from organic waste. But Ingham says that when she put it in soil with wheat plants, all of the plants died within a week.

　　We would lose terrestrial plants...this is an organism that is potentially deadly to the continued survival of human beings, she told the commission. She added that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency canceled its approval for field tests using the organism once she had told them about her research in 1999.

　　But last week the New Zealand Life Sciences Network accused Ingham of presenting inaccurate, careless and exaggerated information and generating speculative doomsday scenarios that are not scientifically supportable. They say that her study doesnt even show that the bacteria would survive in the wild, much less kill massive numbers of plants. Whats more, the network says that contrary to Inghams claims, the EPA was never asked to consider the organism for field trials.

　　The EPA has not commented on the dispute. But an e-mail to the network from Janet Anderson, director of the EPAs bio-pesticides division, says there is no record of a review and/or clearance to field test the organism.

　　Ingham says EPA officials had told her that the organism was approved for field tests, but says she has few details. Its also not clear whether the organism, first engineered by a German institute for biotechnology, is still in use.

　　Whether Ingham is right or wrong, her supporters say opponents are trying unfairly to silence her.

　　为了提高广大考生的阅读理解能力，精选了以下全真模拟题。

　　I think her concerns should be taken seriously. She shouldnt be harassed in this way, says Ann Clarke, a plant biologist at the University of Guelph in Canada who also testified before the commission. Its an attempt to silence the opposition.

　　21. The passage centers on the controversy ________.

　　A) between American and New Zealand biologists over genetic modification

　　B) as to whether the study of genetic modification should be continued

　　C) over the possible adverse effect of a GM bacterium on plants

　　D) about whether Elaine Ingham should be fired by her university

　　22. Ingham insists that her testimony is based on ________.

　　A) evidence provided by the EPA of the United States

　　B) the results of an experiment she conducted herself

　　C) evidence from her collaborative research with German biologists

　　D) the results of extensive field tests in Corvallis, Oregon

　　23. According to Janet Anderson, the EPA ________.

　　A) has cancelled its approval for field tests of the GM organism

　　B) hasnt reviewed the findings of Inghams research

　　C) has approved field tests using the GM organism

　　D) hasnt given permission to field test the GM organism

　　24. According to Ann Clarke, the New Zealand Life Sciences Network ________.

　　A) should gather evidence to discredit Inghams claims

　　B) should require that the research by their biologists be regulated

　　C) shouldnt demand that Ingham be disciplined for voicing her views

　　D) shouldnt appease the opposition in such a quiet way

　　25. Which of the following statements about Ingham is TRUE?

　　A) Her testimony hasnt been supported by the EPA.

　　B) Her credibility as a scientist hasnt been undermined.

　　C) She is firmly supported by her university.

　　D) She has made great contributions to the study of GM bacteria.

　　为了提高广大考生的阅读理解能力，精选了以下全真模拟题。

　　Passage Four

　　Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

　　Every fall, like clockwork, Linda Krentz of Beaverton, Oregon, felt her brain go on strike. I just couldnt get going in the morning, she says. Id get depressed and gain 10 pounds every winter and lose them again in the spring. Then she read about seasonal affective disorder, a form of depression that occurs in fall and winter, and she saw the light-literally. Every morning now she turns on a specially constructed light box for half an hour and sits in front of it to trick her brain into thinking its still enjoying those long summer days. It seems to work.

　　Krentz is not alone. Scientists estimate that 10 million Americans suffer from seasonal depression and 25 million more develop milder versions. But theres never been definitive proof that treatment with very bright lights makes a difference. After all, its hard to do a double-blind test when the subjects can see for themselves whether or not the light is on. Thats why nobody has ever separated the real effects of light therapy from placebo effects.

　　Until now. In three separate studies published last month, researchers report not only that light therapy works better than a placebo but that treatment is usually more effective in the early morning than in the evening. In two of the groups, the placebo problem was resolved by telling patients they were comparing light boxes to a new anti-depressant device that emits negatively charged ions . The third used the timing of light therapy as the control.

　　Why does light therapy work? No one really knows. Our research suggests it has something to do with shifting the bodys internal clock, says psychiatrist Dr. Lewey. The body is programmed to start the day with sunrise, he explains, and this gets later as the days get shorter. But why such subtle shifts make some people depressed and not others is a mystery.

　　That hasnt stopped thousands of winter depressives from trying to heal themselves. Light boxes for that purpose are available without a doctors prescription. That bothers psychologist Michael Terman of Columbia University. He is worried that the boxes may be tried by patients who suffer from mental illness that cant be treated with light. Terman has developed a questionnaire to help determine whether expert care is needed.

　　In any event, you should choose a reputable manufacturer. Whatever product you use should emit only visible light, because ultraviolet light damages the eyes. If you are photosensitive , you may develop a rash. Otherwise, the main drawback is having to sit in front of the light for 30 to 60 minutes in the morning. Thats an inconvenience many winter depressives can live with.

　　为了提高广大考生的阅读理解能力，精选了以下全真模拟题。

　　26. What is the probable cause of Krentzs problem?

　　A) An unexpected gain in body weight.

　　B) Unexplained impairment of her nervous system.

　　C) Weakening of her eyesight with the setting in of winter.

　　D) Poor adjustment of her body clock to seasonal changes.

　　27. By saying that Linda Krentz saw the light , the author means that she ________.

　　A) learned how to lose weight

　　B) realized what her problem was

　　C) came to see the importance of light

　　D) became light-hearted and cheerful

　　28. What is the CURRENT view concerning the treatment of seasonal depression with bright lights?

　　A) Its effect remains to be seen.

　　B) It serves as a kind of placebo.

　　C) It proves to be an effective therapy.

　　D) It hardly produces any effects.

　　29. What is psychologist Michael Termans major concern?

　　A) Winter depressives will be addicted to using light boxes.

　　B) No mental patients would bother to consult psychiatrists.

　　C) Inferior light boxes will emit harmful ultraviolet lights.

　　D) Light therapy could be misused by certain mental patients.

　　30. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

　　A) Winter depressives prefer light therapy in spite of its inconvenience.

　　B) Light therapy increases the patients photosensitivity.

　　C) Eye damage is a side effect of light therapy.

　　D) Light boxes can be programmed to correspond to shifts in the body clock.

　　Unit 13

　　11.B 12.C 13.A 14.D 15.D 16.A 17.B 18.D 19.A 20.C

　　21.C 22.B 23.D 24.C 25.A 26.D 27.B 28.C 29.D 30.A

　　为了提高广大考生的阅读理解能力，精选了以下全真模拟题。

　　Unit 14

　　Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension

　　Directions: There are 4 reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.

　　Passage One

　　Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

　　Too many vulnerable child-free adults are being ruthlessly manipulated into parent-hood by their parents, who think that happiness among older people depends on having a grand-child to spoil. We need an organization to help beat down the persistent campaigns of grandchildless parents. Its time to establish Planned Grandparenthood, which would have many global and local benefits.

　　Part of its mission would be to promote the risks and realities associated with being a grandparent. The staff would include depressed grandparents who would explain how grandkids break lamps, bite, scream and kick. Others would detail how an hour of baby-sitting often turns into a crying marathon. More grandparents would testify that they had to pay for their grandchilds expensive college education.

　　Planned grandparenthoods carefully written literature would detail all the joys of life grand-child-free a calm living room, extra money for luxuries during the golden years, etc. Potential grandparents would be reminded that, without grandchildren around, its possible to have a conversation with your kids, whoincidentallywould have more time for their own parents.

　　Meanwhile, most children are vulnerable to the enormous influence exerted by grandchildless parents aiming to persuade their kids to produce children. They will take a call from a persistent parent, even if theyre loaded with works. In addition, some parents make handsome money offers payable upon the grandchilds birth. Sometimes these gifts not only cover expenses associated with the infants birth, but extras, too, like a vacation. In any case, cash gifts can weaken the resolve of even the noblest person.

　　At Planned Grandparenthood, children targeted by their parents to reproduce could obtain non-biased information about the insanity of having their own kids. The catastrophic psychological and economic costs of childbearing would be emphasized. The symptoms of morning sickness would be listed and horrors of childbirth pictured. A monthly newsletter would contain stories about overwhelmed parents and offer guidance on how childless adults can respond to the different lobbying tactics that would-be grandparents employ.

　　为了提高广大考生的阅读理解能力，精选了以下全真模拟题。

　　When I think about all the problems of our overpopulated world and look at our boy grabbing at the lamp by the sofa, I wish I could have turned to Planned Grandparenthood when my parents were putting the grandchild squeeze on me.

　　If I could have, I might not be in this parenthood predicament . But heres the crazy irony, I dont want my child-free life back. Dylans too much fun.

　　21. Whats the purpose of the proposed organization Planned Grandparenthood?

　　A) To encourage childless couples to have children.

　　B) To provide facilities and services for grandchildless parents.

　　C) To offer counseling to people on how to raise grandchildren.

　　D) To discourage people from insisting on having grandchildren.

　　22. Planned Grandparenthood would include depressed grandparents on its staff in order to ________.

　　A) show them the joys of life grandparents may have in raising grandchildren

　　B) draw attention to the troubles and difficulties grandchildren may cause

　　C) share their experience in raising grandchildren in a more scientific way

　　D) help raise funds to cover the high expense of education for grandchildren

　　23. According to the passage, some couples may eventually choose to have children because ________.

　　A) they find it hard to resist the carrot-and-stick approach of their parents

　　B) they have learn from other parents about the joys of having children

　　C) they feel more and more lonely ad they grow older

　　D) they have found it irrational to remain childless

　　24. By saying ... my parents were putting the grandchild squeeze on me , the author means that ________.

　　A) her parents kept pressuring her to have a child

　　B) her parents liked to have a grandchild in their arms

　　C) her parents asked her to save for the expenses of raising a child

　　D) her parents kept blaming her for her childs bad behavior

　　25. What does the author really of the idea of having children?

　　A) It does more harm than good.

　　B) It contributes to overpopulation.

　　C) It is troublesome but rewarding.

　　D) It is a psychological catastrophe.