How can a creature weighing over 5 tons and normally taking 150 kilograms of foo

题型：不详难度：来源：

How can a creature weighing over 5 tons and normally taking 150 kilograms of food and 120 liters of water per day survive in a desert environment?
In the southwest African country of Namibia,and the Sahara lands of Mall further north,the desert elephant does just that.
Although not regarded as a separate species from the African elephant,the desert cousin differs in many ways.Their bodies are smaller,to absorb less heat,and their feet are larger for easier walking across sandy surfaces.They are taller,to reach higher branches.They have shorter tusks(象牙),and most importantly,longer trunks to dig for water in riverbeds.
Desert elephants can travel over 70 kilometers in search for feeding grounds and water-holes,and have a larger group of families.They drink only every 3-4 days,and can store water in a “bag” at the back of their throat,which is only used when badly needed.Desert elephants are careful feeders—they seldom root up trees and break fewer branches,and thus maintain what little food sources are available.Young elephants may even eat the dung(粪便) of the female leader of a group when facing food shortage.
During drought they are unlikely to give birth to their young but with good rains the birthrate will increase greatly.Desert elephants have sand baths,sometimes adding their own urine(尿液) to make them muddy!
As we continue to overheat our weak planet,it can only be hoped that other animal species will adapt as extraordinarily well to change as the desert elephant.
小题1:The underlined part in Paragraph 2 means “_______”.

A．remains in the African countries

B．drinks 120 liters of water a day

C．manages to live in desert areas

D．eats 150 kilograms of food daily

小题2:Desert elephants are called careful feeders because they______.

A．rarely ruin trees

B．drink only every 3-4 days

C．search for food in large groups

D．protect food sources for their young

小题3:The author answers the question raised in the first paragraph with______.

A．stories and explanation

B．facts and descriptions

C．examples and conclusion

D．evidence and argument

小题4:What can be inferred from the last sentence in the passage?

A．Overheating the earth can be stopped.

B．Not all animal species are so adaptable.

C．The planet will become hotter and hotter.

D．Not all animals are as smart as desert elephants.

答案

小题1:C
小题2:A
小题3:B
小题4:B

解析

小题1:这是一道词义理解题。第一段提出了疑问,第二段是解答第一段的疑问,所以“does just that”就是指做到了第一段提到的事情,也就是能在沙漠生存。选项B、D都是在沙漠生存的具体表现,不全面。
小题2:这是一道推断题。根据第四段“Desert elephants are careful feeders—they seldom root up trees and break fewer branches”可知他们被叫做“小心的觅食者”是因为他们很少破坏树木。
小题3:这是一道归纳题。第二段是回答第一段提出的问题,指出纳米比亚西南撒哈拉沙漠沙漠象可以做到在沙漠环境生存。所以回答的方式是用事实和描述。
小题4:这是一道推理题。最后一句指出如果地球再持续过热,只能寄希望于其他动物物种也能像沙漠象一样适应极端环境,隐含义是其他动物物种不可能适应那种环境。

举一反三

One of our biggest fears nowadays is that our kids might some day get lost in a “sea of technology”rather than experiencing the natural world.Fear-producing TV and computer games are leading to a serious disconnect between kids and the great outdoors,which will change the wild places of the world,its creatures and human health for the worse,unless adults get working on child’s play.
Each of us has a place in nature we go sometimes,even if it was torn down.We cannot be the last generation to have that place.At this rate,kids who miss the sense of wonder outdoors will not grow up to be protectors of natural landscapes.“If the decline in parks use continues across North America,who will defend parks against encroachment(蚕食)？”asks Richard Louv,author of Last Child in the Woods.
Without having a nature experience,kids can turn out just fine,but they are missing out a huge enrichment of their lives.That applies to everything from their physical health and mental health,to stress levels,creativity and cognitive(认知的)skills.Experts predict modern kids will have poorer health than their parents—and they say a lack of outside play is surely part of it:research suggests that kids do better academically in schools with a nature component and that play in nature fosters(培养)leadership by the smartest,not by the toughest.Even a tiny outdoor experience can create wonder in a child.The three-year-old turning over his first rock realizes he is not alone in the world.A clump of trees on the roadside can be the whole universe in his eyes.We really need to value that more.
Kids are not to blame.They are over-protected and frightened.It is dangerous out there from time to time,but repetitive stress from computers is replacing breaking an arm as a childhood rite(仪式)of passage.
Everyone from developers,to schools and outdoors’ citizens,should help regain for our kids some of the freedom and joy of exploring,taking friendship in fields and woods that cement(增强)love,respect and need for the landscape.As parents,we should devote some of our energies to taking our kids into nature.This could yet be our greatest cause.
小题1:The main idea of Paragraph 2 is that_______.

A．kids are missing the sense of wonder outdoors

B．parks are in danger of being gradually encroached

C．Richard Louv is the author of Last Child in the Woods

D．children are expected to develop into protectors of nature

小题2:According to the passage,children without experiencing nature will______.

A．keep a high sense of wonder

B．be over-protected by their parents

C．be less healthy both physically and mentally

D．change wild places and creatures for the better

小题3:According to the author,children’s breaking an arm is_______.

A．the fault on the part of their parents

B．the natural experience in their growing up

C．the result of their own carelessness in play

D．the effect of their repetitive stress from computers

小题4:In writing this passage,the author mainly intends to_______.

A．blame children for getting lost in computer games

B．encourage children to protect parks from encroachment

C．show his concern about children’s lack of experience in nature

D．inspire children to keep the sense of wonder about things around

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案

简答题(共3小题；每小题2分，满分6分)
阅读下面短文，根据第73至第75小题的具体要求，简要回答问题。
The north magnetic pole(磁极)is no longer a resident of Canada.It has drifted across the Canadian Arctic and is now angling toward Siberia.
Not to be confused with the geographic North Pole—the northern extremity of the Earth’s axis(地轴),the north magnetic pole(where the Earth’s magnetic field is directed downward)is moving due to natural changes in the Earth’s magnetic field,a process that originates about 3000 kilometers below our feet,in the outer core(核心)of the planet.But scientists are now noticing that the magnetic pole has picked up its pace.

Over the past century,the pole has been migrating at an average speed of about 10 kilometers per year,says Larry Newitt,head of Geomagnetic Laboratory at Natural Resources Canada in Ottawa.Since the 1970s,this speed has increased to about 50 kilometers per year.
Scientists are wondering why the speed is increasing,says Newitt.One hypothesis(假说)relates it to “magnetic jerks”,sudden shifts(变化)in the rate of change of the magnetic field.There have been three jerks in the past four decades,each one correlating to an increases in speed.
If the north magnetic pole continues at its current rate,it could reach Siberia by 2056.
“For most of recorded history,the pole has been a part of Canada,and now it’s not,”says Newitt.“It may be a blow to our collective psyche,but other than that,it doesn’t have a major effect on most people’s existence.”
73.Find in the passage a word closest in meaning to the underlined word “angling”.
____________________________________________________________
74.What could happen to the north magnetic pole by the middle of the 21st century?(回答词数不超过8个)
____________________________________________________________
75.What is the main idea of the passage?(回答词数不超过8个)
____________________________________________________________

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案

As a professor at a large American university,there is a phrase that I hear often from students:“I’m only a 1050.”The unlucky students are speaking of the score on the Scholastic Aptitude Test(SAT),which is used to determine whether they will be admitted to the college or university of their choice,or even if they have a chance to get a higher education at all.The SAT score,whether it is 800,1100 or 1550,has become the focus at this time of their life.
It is obvious that if students value highly their test scores,then a great amount of their self-respect is put in the number.Students who perform poorly on the exam are left feeling that it is all over.The low test score,they think,will make it impossible for them to get into a good college.And without a degree from a prestigious university,they fear that many of life’s doors will remain forever closed.
According to a study done in the 1990s,the SAT is only a reliable indicator of a student’s future performance in most cases.Interestingly,it becomes much more accurate when it is set together with other indicators-like a student’s high school grades.Even if standardized tests like the SAT could show a student’s academic proficiency(学业水平)，they will never be able to test things like confidence,efforts and willpower,and are unable to give us the full picture of a student’s potentialities(潜力).This is not to suggest that we should stop using SAT scores in our college admission process.The SAT is an excellent test in many ways,and the score is still a useful means of testing students.However,it should be only one of many methods used.
小题1:The purpose of the SAT is to test students’______.

A．strong will

B．academic ability

C．full potentialities

D．confidence in school work

小题2:Students’ self-respect is influenced by their______.

A．scores in the SAT

B．achievements in mathematics

C．job opportunities

D．money spent on education

小题3:“A prestigious university” is most probably______.

A．a famous university

B．a technical university

C．a traditional university

D．an expensive university

小题4:This passage is mainly about______.

A．how to prepare for the SAT

B．stress caused by the SAT

C．American higher education

D．the SAT and its effects

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案

These days we hear a lot about how air pollution is changing temperatures on the earth. New evidence from a mountaintop in China now suggests that pollution can also change the amount of rain and snow that falls in some places.
Usually, more rain falls in mountainous places than in flat areas upwind from the mountains. That’s because air can hold a lot of water. When wind blows wet air up a mountainside, the air gets colder. This temperature change often forces water to fall as rain or snow.
In recent years, however, many mountainous areas in the western United States have been getting less rain than normal. Mountains that are downwind from cities have experienced the biggest drops.
Some scientists have theorized（推理）that pollution drifts （趋势）from the cities into the mountains, affecting rainfall, but proving this link has been difficult.
Searching for answers, a team led by a scientist from the Hebrew University went to s mountain in China called Mount Hua, which is 2,060 meters tall and lies about 120 kilometers east of the Chinese city Xi’an. Since 1954, scientists have been collecting details about rainfall, humidity（湿度）, and visibility（能见度）in the area.
Using this data, the scientists compared rainfall on Mount Hua to rainfall in the nearest city, Huayin, on days with different levels of visibility. When the air was clear and people could see as far as 20 km, the scientists found that 65% more rain fell on the mountain than in the city.
But when the air was smoggy, allowing only 8 km of visibility through the mist, the mountain received just 20% more rain than the city. The new data supports the theory that pollution affects rainfall.
Some scientists believe that there are other explanations for the numbers. It’s possible, for example, that natural particles（微粒）in the air, rather than particles produced by pollution, are affecting visibility.
小题1:According to the 1^st paragraph, air pollution is changing the following EXCEPT ______.

A．the temperature	B．the amount of rain
C．the habit of eating	D．the amount of snow

小题2:According to the passage, what will probably happen when the wet air in the sky gets colder?

A．It will probably rain or snow	B．It will probably be cloudy.
C．It will probably wind	D．It will probably become dry.

小题3:Why did the team led by a scientist go to Mount Hua?

A．They wanted to pay a visit to Mount Hua.

B．They wanted to collect the data for their theory.

C．They wanted to measure Mount Hua.

D．They wanted to have a good rest on Mount Hua.

小题4:You can most probably read the passage in _______.

A．a travel guide

B．a telephone book

C．a cartoon book

D．a science book

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案

When next year’s crop of high-school graduates arrive at Oxford University in the fall of 2009, they’ll be joined by a new face: Andrew Hamilton, the 55-year-old provost(教务长) of Yale, who’ll become Oxford’s vice-chancellor——a position equal to university president in America.
Hamilton isn’t the only educator crossing the Atlantic. Schools in France, Egypt, Singapore, etc. have also recently made top-level hires from abroad. Higher education has become a big and competitive business nowadays, and like so many businesses, it’s gone global. Yet the talent flow isn’t universal. High-level personnel(人员) tend to head in only one direction: outward from America.
The chief reason is that American schools don’t tend to seriously consider looking abroad. For example, when the board of the University of Colorado searched for a new president, it wanted a leader familiar with the state government, a major source of the university’s budget. “We didn’t do any global consideration,” says Patricia Hayes, the board’s chair. The board finally picked Bruce Benson, a 69-year-old Colorado businessman and political activist(活动家) who is likely to do well in the main task of modern university presidents: fund-raising. Fund-raising is a particularlly American thing, since U.S. schools rely heavily on donations. The fund-raising ability is largely a product of experience and necessity.
Many European universities, meanwhile, are still mostly dependent on government funding. But government support has failed to keep pace with rising student numbers. The decline in government support has made fund-raising an increasingly necessary ability among administrators (管理人员), and has hiring committees hungry for Americans.
In the past few years, well-known schools around the world have joined the trend. In 2003, when Cambridge University appointed Alison Richard, another former Yale provost, as its vice-chancellor, the university publicly stressed that in her previous job she had overseen “a major strengthening of Yale’s financial position.”
Of course, fund-raising isn’t the only skill outsiders offer. The globalization of education means more universities will be seeking heads with international experience of some kind to promote international programs and attract a global student body. Foreigners can offer a fresh perspective(视角) on established practices.
小题1:What is the current trend in higher education discussed in the passage?

A．Institution worldwide are hiring administrators from the US.

B．A lot of activists are being hired as administrators

C．American universities are enrolling more international students.

D．University presidents are paying more attention to funding-raising.

小题2: What is the chief consideration of American universities when hiring top-level administrators?

A．The political correctness.	B．Their ability to raise funds.
C．Their fame in academic circles.	D．Their administrative experience.

小题3: What do we learn about European universities from the passage?

A．The tuitions(学费) they charge h

ave been rising considerably.

B．Their operation is under strict government control.

C．They are strengthening their position by globalization.

D．Most of their money comes from the government.

小题4:In what way do top-level administrators from abroad contribute to university development?

A．They can improve the university’s image.

B．They will bring with them more international personnel.

C．They will view a lot of things from a new angle.

D．They can set up new academic subjects.

小题5:Which of the following would make the best title of the passage?

A．Higher Education Globalization	B．Global Headhunting In Higher Education
C．Global Higher Education Cooperation	D．Universal Higher Education Development

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案