2009年考研英语冲刺阅读理解专项训练182考研

文章作者 100test 发表时间 2009:01:03 22:52:23
来源 100Test.Com百考试题网

　　 Directions ：
　　 In the foilowing text，some sentences have been removed．For Questions l-5，choose the most suitable one from the list A，G to fit into each of the numbered blanks．There are two extra choices，which do not fit in any of the blanks．
　　 For the endangered North Atlantic right whale，these are trying times．These leviathans who live and migrate in waters along the East Coast of North America teeter closer to the brink of extinction than perhaps any other whale species．①Their population is tiny一1ess than 350—and continues to shrink．(1) ______．
　　 Yet for scientists and conservationists anxious about the future of these creatures，rays of hope are beginning to pierce an otherwise gloomy horizon．。Thanks to a surge of scientific research and new tools for conducting it，they expect to learn far more about right whales，their interaction with the environment，and how to better protect them from their biggest threat：man．(2) ______．
　　 For the right whales，the leading causes of mortality are collisions with ships and encounters with fishing gear，researchers say．④Females appear to have the toughest time surviving the range of human and natural threats．It’s these challenges scientists hope to address with a growing momentum in right- whale research．
　　 (3)——．Conservationists are working with governments and the shipping industry to move or control traffic on heavily used sea lanes that ships and whales share．And recent research is yielding potentially useful insights into the impact of factors ranging from water quality to shifts in climate．
　　 “I’m not much of a Pollyanna；I can be very grumpy about the progress of right—whale biology and conservation，”says Scott Kraus，director of research at the New England Aquarium in Boston．But“in the next couple of years we’re going to see a tremendous burst of very creative scientific energy”applied to fundamental biological and ecological questions surrounding the whales．
　　 “When those questions get answered，we’re going to have very specific ideas about what management strategies will reduce mortality and perhaps enhance reproduction，”he says．⑦
　　 (4) ______．In principle,preventin9“two female deaths a year would have a major impact on the prospects for the population，”says Hal Caswell。a marine zoologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole，Mass。
　　 (5) ______．
　　 From l 500 t0 1 600，Basque whalers decimated right-whale populations in the eastern Atlantic， taking an estimated 25，000 t0 40，000．In the late l600s，by some accounts。it would have been possible to walk across Cape Cod Bay on the backs of whales．But by the mid-1 700s，New Englanders had taken another 3，000，Mr．Kraus says．By the early 20th century。“0nly a few dozen whales survived in the western North Atlantic．’’
　　 [A]If they can save a population this small，then it could boost hopes of saving other species from the unintended impact of humans on the environment．
　　 [B]Yet achieving that means untangling a web of intertwined human and environmental factors that contribute to the whales’plight．④The one factor that weighs most heavily is human．
　　 [C]In addition，researchers are exploring a number of acoustic approaches to avoiding ship—whale collisions．One technique scientists hope to test later this month involves the use of moored buoys that use passive sonar systems to listen for whales．
　　 [D]To an outsider，the goal looks deceivingly within reach．The population is so small that it would take only modest pains in saving whales to help turn the situation around．
　　 [E] That population had slowly rebuilt．Over the past 20 years，researchers have built an impressive collection of 250，000 photos--a catalog of some 460 North Atlantic right whales．Each animal bears unique growths of hardened skin，or callosities，in places where hair would appear on humans．The callosity patterns act as visual tags，allowing researchers to follow the whales’life history．
　　 [F]Later this month，for example，researchers are set to test new approaches to tracking the elusive whales in hopes of alerting ships to their presence．Meanwhile，chemists and engineers are developing whale-friendly commercial-fishing gear．
　　 [G]By some estimates，if current population trends hold，the species will vanish within the next 200 years．[645 words]
　　 超纲词汇
　　 Acoustic 有关声音的，声学的，音响学的
　　 aquarium n．养鱼池，玻璃缸，水族馆
　　 Basque n．巴斯克人(语)
　　 Brink n．(峭岸、崖的)边缘
　　 buoy n．(湖、河等中的)浮标，浮筒，救生圈
　　 callosity n．无情，冷酷，硬结，老茧皮
　　 cape n．海角，岬
　　 catalog n．目录，目录册
　　 conservationist n．(天然资源的)保护管理论者
　　 decimate vt．每十人杀一人，大批杀害
　　 elusive 难懂的，难捉摸的，易忘的
　　 extinction n．消失，消灭，废止，[物]消光
　　 gear n．工具，用具
　　 grumpy adj．脾气坏的，性情乖戾的
　　 intertwine v．(使)纠缠，(使)缠绕
　　 leviathan n．(《圣经》中象征邪恶的)海中怪兽，巨物
　　 marine 海的，海产的，航海的，船舶的
　　 moor 停泊，固定，系住
　　 mortality n．死亡率
　　 outsider n．外来者，外人；会外人，党外人
　　 plight n．情况，状态，困境，盟誓(婚姻)
　　 Pollyanna ]n．盲目乐观的人
　　 right whale咒．露脊鲸
　　 Sonar n．声呐，声波定位仪
　　 surge n．巨涌，汹涌，澎湃
　　 teeter 步履蹒跚，摇摇欲坠
　　 untangle v．解开
　　 zoologist n．动物学家